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A HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 IEISH POOE LAW, 
 
 IN CONNEXION WITH 
 
 THE CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 BY SIR GEORGE NICHOLLS, K.C.B., 
 
 LATE POOR LAW COMMISSIONER, AND SECRETARY TO THE POOR LAW BOARD, 
 
 " Let every man be occupied, and occupied in the highest employment of 
 which his nature is capable, and die with the consciousness that he has done 
 his best," STDNEY SMITH 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 O:EP 
 
 'FOB,' 
 
 LONDON: 
 JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 
 
 KNIGHT & Co., 90, FLEET STREET. 
 
 1856. 
 
LONDON ' PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFOUD STREET, 
 AND CFIAUTNG CROSS. 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 To the Ex-offtcio and Elected Members of the Boards 
 of Guardians in Ireland, in the hope that it may be of use 
 to them in the performance of their important Duties, this 
 History of the Irish Poor Law is dedicated, 
 
 By their faithful servant, 
 
 THE AUTHOR 
 
 November 1856, 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 THE Irish Poor Law was in its origin no more than 
 a branch or offshoot of the English law, but it is a 
 measure of so much importance, and has so close a 
 bearing upon the social well-being of the Irish people, 
 that it seems to be entitled to a separate consideration. 
 The severe trials moreover to which the law has been 
 exposed, and the changes that have been made in its 
 organization and executive, have given to it a new and 
 distinctive character, on which account also a separate 
 description of its progress and the incidents connected 
 with it appears to be necessary. Hence therefore the 
 intention which I at first entertained of combining the 
 history of the Irish Poor Law with that of its English 
 parent has been abandoned, and it is now published as 
 a separate and independent work. 
 
 Notwithstanding the separate publication of the 
 histories however, it must always be remembered that 
 the English and the Irish laws are similar in principle, 
 and identical in their objects. The end sought to be 
 attained by each is, to relieve the community from the 
 demoralization as well as from the danger consequent 
 on the prevalence of extensive and unmitigated des- 
 titution, and to do this in such a way as shall have 
 the least possible tendency to create the evil which it 
 is sought to guard against. This is the legitimate 
 object of a Poor Law, and the facts and reasonings 
 on which such a law is founded, are not limited to 
 Ireland or England or Scotland, but are in their nature 
 
VI PREFACE, 
 
 universal. I hardly need say that this object is distinct 
 from charity, in the ordinary sense of the term, although 
 it is undoubtedly charity in its largest acceptation, em- 
 bracing the whole community It is in truth the charity 
 of the statesman and the philanthropist, seeking to secure 
 the largest amount of good for his fellow men, with 
 the smallest amount of accompanying evil. 
 
 The part that was assigned to me, first in the fram- 
 ing of the Irish Poor Law, and then in its introduction, 
 seems to render any apology for my undertaking to 
 write its history unnecessary. Although failing health 
 and advancing years had compelled me to retire from 
 the public service, I thought that I might still be usefully 
 employed in recording the circumstances under which 
 the law was established, and the events attending its 
 administration ; and I am most thankful for having been 
 enabled to undertake the task, and for being permitted 
 to bring it to a conclusion. 
 
 It is true that for the last nine years I have not 
 been immediately connected with the Irish Poor Law, 
 but I have nevertheless continued to watch its progress 
 with the greatest solicitude, and have spared no pains 
 to obtain information as to its working. I could indeed 
 hardly have failed to do this, after the part I had taken 
 in the framing of the measure, even without reference 
 to the heavy trials through which the Irish people have 
 passed, and which obtained for them universal sym- 
 pathy and commiseration. If such was the general 
 feeling with regard to Ireland in its season of trial, 'it 
 will readily be believed that mine could not have formed 
 an exception ; and in the authorship of the present 
 work, I may therefore I trust venture to claim credit, 
 not only on account of my connexion with the origin 
 and introduction of the law, but also for having at- 
 tended to its subsequent progress, and acquired such a 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 knowledge of its operation and results as to warrant 
 the undertaking. 
 
 A history of the Irish Poor Law, explaining its origin 
 and the principles on which it was founded, together 
 with an account of its progress and the effects of its ap- 
 plication would, it might reasonably be supposed, afford 
 information that must be generally useful that it 
 would be useful to the administrators of the law, can 
 hardly admit of doubt. Such a history would place 
 before them in a complete and regular series, all that 
 it would be necessary for them to know, and all that 
 ought to be borne in mind, in order that the examples 
 of the past may prepare them for promptly dealing 
 with the present, or for anticipating the future. The 
 following work has been framed chiefly with this view ; 
 and I can only say that 1 have earnestly endeavoured 
 to make it sufficient for the purpose, without any 
 other wish or object than that it should prove useful 
 in a cause to which during several years my best ener- 
 gies were devoted, and to the furtherance of which I 
 could no longer contribute in any other way. 
 
 G-. N. 
 
 November 1856. 
 
CONTENT^. 
 
 PREFACE . . . . Page 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 State of Ireland before the conquest Its subjection by Henry II. Spenser's 
 account of the state of the country Plantation of Ulster Progress of 
 population Legislation previous to the accession of Anne Dublin and 
 Cork Workhouse Acts Hiring and wages Apprenticeship Provision 
 for foundling and deserted children Licensed beggars Arthur Young's 
 account of the state of Ireland , 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Rebellion of 1798 The Union Acts of the Imperial Parliament : respecting 
 dispensaries, hospitals, and infirmaries Examination of bogs Fever 
 hospitals Officers of health Lunatic asylums Employment of the 
 poor Deserted children Report of 1804 respecting the poor Dublin 
 House of Industry and Foundling Hospital Reports of 1819 and 1823 
 on the state of disease and condition of the labouring poor Report of 
 1830 on the state of the poorer classes Report of the Committee on 
 Education Mr. Secretary Stanley's letter to the Duke of Leinster 
 Board of National Education First and second Reports of commissioners 
 for inquiring into the condition of the poorer classes The author's 
 ' Suggestions ' The commissioners' third Report Reasons for and 
 against a voluntary system of relief Mr. Bicheno's ' Remarks on the 
 Evidence ' Mr. G. C. Lewis's ' Remarks on the Third Report ' ..67 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Recommendation in the king's speech Motions and other proceedings in the 
 House of Commons Lord John Russell's instructions to the author The 
 author's first Report Lord John Russell's speech on introducing a bill 
 founded on its recommendations Progress of the bill interrupted by the 
 death cf the king Author's second Report Bill reintroduced and passed 
 the Commons Author's third Report Bill passes the lords, and becomes 
 law 153 
 
 b 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Summary of the ' Act for the more effectual Relief of the Poor in Ireland,' 
 and of the * Amendment Act ' Arrangements for bringing the Act into 
 operation First and second Reports of proceedings Dublin and Cork 
 unions Distress in the western districts Third, fourth, fifth, and sixth 
 Reports Summary of the Act for the further amendment of the Law 
 Seventh Report Cost of relief, and numbers relieved Issue of amended 
 orders ^ Page 222 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Eighth Report of proceedings Failure of the potato A fourth commis- 
 sioner appointed Ninth Report Potato disease in 1846 Public 
 Works Act Distress in autumn 1846 Labour-rate Act Relief-works 
 
 Temporary Relief Act Pressure upon workhouses Emigration 
 Financial state of unions First Annual Report of Poor-Law Commis- 
 sioners for Ireland Extension Act Act for Punishment of Vagrants 
 Act to provide for execution of Poor Laws General import of the new 
 Acts Change of the commission Dissolution of boards of guardians 
 Report of Temporary Relief Act Commissioners British Association 
 Second Annual Report of Poor-Law Commissioners Recurrence of potato 
 disease Cholera Rate-in- Aid Act Further dissolution of boards of 
 guardians Boundary Commission Select committee on Irish Poor Laws 
 
 Expenditure, and numbers relieved 303 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Third Annual Report of Poor-Law Commissioners Further Amendment Act 
 
 Fourth Annual Report New unions and electoral divisions Consoli- 
 dated Debts Act Rates in aid Fifth Annual Report Annuities under 
 Consolidated Debts Act Treasury minute Act to amend Acts relating 
 to payment of advances Medical charities Medical Charities Act 
 First Report of Medical Charity Commissioners Census of 1851 Re- 
 trospection Sixth Annual Report Rate of wages Expenditure, and 
 numbers relieved Changes in Poor-Law executive New order of ac- 
 counts Author's letter to Lord John Russell, 1853 Present state and 
 future prospects of Ireland 364 
 
 INDEX 405 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE IRISH POOR LAW, 
 
 IN CONNEXION WITH 
 
 THE CONDITION OF THE 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 State of Ireland before the conquest Its subjection by Henry II. Spenser's 
 account of the state of the country Plantation of Ulster Progress of 
 population Legislation previous to the accession of Anne Dublin and 
 Cork Workhouse Acts Hiring and wages Apprenticeship Provision 
 for foundling and deserted children Licensed beggars Arthur Young's 
 account of the state of Ireland. 
 
 AFTER Strongbow's expedition to Ireland in the year 
 1170, which was followed by that of Henry the Second 
 and the general submission of the chieftains of the seve- 
 ral clans in 1172, the history of Ireland becomes closely 
 connected with and may be said to form a portion of 
 that of England. The accounts we have of the state of 
 the country anterior to Strongbow's invasion are vague 
 and uncertain, although there are grounds for believing 
 that some degree of civilization had prevailed, and that 
 intercourse with the East had been to some extent 
 maintained, at a very early period. It has been said 
 that " The Gauls or Celtes from the north-west parts of 
 Britain, and certain tribes from the north-west parts of 
 Spain peopled Ireland, either originally or by subduing 
 the Phoenician colonies which had been established 
 there ;" and that the Irish, and their kinsmen the High- 
 landers of Scotland, are supposed to be " the remains of 
 a people who in ancient times had occupied not only 
 
 B 
 
2 EARLY CONDITION OF IRELAND. CHAP. I. 
 
 Britain, but a considerable part of Gaul and Spain." a 
 The Irish were no doubt commonly known by the 
 name of Scots, and the proximity of the two countries, 
 irrespective of all other considerations, renders the 
 identity of origin highly probable. 
 
 The Romans never extended their conquests to Ire- 
 land, and it was protected by its insular position from 
 the irruption of barbarians which burst upon the Roman 
 provinces in the fifth and sixth centuries, and caused 
 the dismemberment of the western empire. In that age, 
 we are told, " Irish missionaries taught the Anglo- 
 Saxons of the north, who also resorted to Ireland for 
 instruction." Lingard says that " when learning was 
 almost extinguished on the continent of Europe, a faint 
 light was emitted from the shores of Erin ; and that 
 strangers from Britain, from Gaul, and from Germany, 
 resorted to the Irish schools." It is probable however 
 that the light was partial as well as faint, and that the 
 Christian monasteries with their learned men which 
 constituted the " schools," existed in only a few places 
 in Ireland, each establishment forming as it were a 
 speck of civilization, like an oasis in the desert of bar- 
 barism. It is certain that the Irish of that day paid no 
 Peter's pence, and acknowledged no supremacy in the 
 see of Rome ; and there is reason to believe that the 
 Irish Church was derived rather from the Greek than 
 the Latin hierarchy. b Whatever glimmering of civili- 
 zation prevailed in Ireland at this early period, must 
 have been damped and prevented from expanding " by 
 
 a Seethe 'Liber Munerum publicorum Hibernie/ the first and following 
 chapters on the Establishments of Ireland, supplementary to the History of 
 England, by Eowley Lascelles, of the Middle Temple, printed by authority in 
 1824. This work has been chiefly relied upon for historical reference. It bears 
 evidence of great research, and is on every account entitled to much weight in 
 the conflicting testimonies with regard to the early events of Irish history. 
 
 b See ' The Handbook of Architecture,' a recent publication in which the 
 ingenious author supports this conclusion by showing the similarity of the re- 
 ligious buildings erected in the East and in Ireland, which in both differ 
 materially from what is seen in Italy and the other countries of Europe. 
 
A.D. 1170. ITS SUBJECTION BY HENRY II. 3 
 
 the rude influence of the native institutions, and it was 
 nearly if not quite extinguished by the irruptions of 
 the Northmen, or Danes, who annually made incursions 
 into Ireland from the middle of the eighth to the end 
 of the tenth century." The ancient division of the 
 country into the four provinces of Munster, Connaught, 
 Leinster, and Ulster, which must be referred to this 
 early period, seems to have been for ecclesiastical pur- 
 poses. The division into counties, of which there are 
 thirty-two, took place long after. 
 
 The Conqueror is said to have at one time enter- 
 tained the project of bringing Ireland under subjection, 
 but notwithstanding its proximity to England, and the 
 obvious advantages that would result from uniting the 
 two islands under one government, neither he nor his 
 three immediate successors made any effort to accom- 
 plish this object. In the reign of Henry the Second 
 however, a circumstance occurred which drew the 
 attention of the English sovereign to the state of Ire- 
 land, and led to consequences most important to both 
 countries. In the year 1169 Dermod, king of Leinster, 
 who had been expelled by O'Connor, king of Connaught, 
 sought the protection of Henry, who accepted the ten- 
 dered allegiance, and permitted his subjects to assist 
 the Irish chief. Earl Strigul (or Strongbow) took 
 advantage of this permission, and in 1170 ]m 
 embarked for Ireland with a few armed re- ofSeSby 
 tainers. He was followed two years afterwards * 
 by the king himself, with a considerable force. Henry 
 was everywhere received as a conqueror, the Irish 
 princes and chiefs submitting without opposition ; and 
 at a council assembled at Lismore, the laws of England 
 are said to have been gratefully accepted by all, and 
 established under the sanction of a solemn oath. 
 
 The chieftains who had however, so readily submitted 
 to become Henry's vassals, as readily withdrew their 
 allegiance on his quitting Ireland, which he was com- 
 
 B 2 
 
4 THE REFORMATION. CHAP. I. 
 
 pelled to do at the end of little more than six months, 
 in consequence of Becket's murder, and the rebellion of 
 his own sons. Thenceforward for the long period of 
 400 years, the country was distracted by local dissen- 
 sions and jealousies, and the conflicts of contending 
 chiefs. Treachery and murder everywhere prevailed. 
 The sovereigns of England were too much occupied 
 with the crusades, and their French wars, to attend to 
 the state of Ireland ; and although the English race 
 maintained itself in that country, it is said to have 
 become wilder and less civilized in each succeeding 
 generation. " The first adventurers (we are told) 
 trampled down the original Irish ; they were themselves 
 in their turn trampled down by the next adventurers ; 
 these by subsequent ones ; and so on in a continual 
 series, as if each race had forfeited all rights, or power 
 of acquiring and retaining any rights whatsoever, more 
 than a common robber or pirate." 
 
 Little was done towards establishing order and the 
 supremacy of law in Ireland, until Henry the Seventh, 
 after having put an end to civil strife in England, was 
 enabled to direct his attention to the state of that 
 country, where he was alike successful. Henry the 
 Eighth assumed the title of king, instead of that of lord 
 of Ireland as used by his predecessors. His efforts 
 to establish the Reformation in Ireland, were not so 
 successful as in England, where a great majority of the 
 nobility and the people were with him, but in Ireland 
 he had neither. The power of the government more- 
 over was there less, and might be opposed or disre- 
 garded with comparative impunity. On the accession 
 of Mary in 1553, "so little had been done in advancing 
 the Reformation, that there was little to undo." In 
 the reign of Elizabeth, however, the whole ecclesiastical 
 system was assimilated to that of England, and such 
 of the clergy as would not conform, were deprived of 
 their cures. Throughout great part of Elizabeth's 
 
nser-s 
 
 account of 
 
 A.D. 1596. SPENSEK'S ACCOUNT OF IKELAND. 5 
 
 reign, Ireland was kept in a state of disquiet by Spanish 
 emissaries, the landing of Spanish troops, and the 
 intrigues of Tyrone and other Irish chieftains ; but the 
 Spaniards were compelled to evacuate the country, 
 Tyrone submitted, and before the close of her reign in 
 1603, peace had been everywhere restored. 
 
 Our great poet Spenser has left us a description of 
 the state of Ireland in the latter part of Eliza- 
 beth's reign. Both he and his friend Raleigh 
 
 > 
 
 had obtained grants of land there, and Spenser 
 had resided in Ireland for several years, and 
 thus acquired a knowledge of the country, which he 
 describes with all the fancy of a poet and the fervour of 
 a patriot " and sure (he says) it is a most beautiful 
 and sweet country as any under heaven, being stored 
 thro'out with many goodly rivers, replenished with 
 all sorts of fish most abundantly, sprinkled with many 
 very sweet islands and goodly lakes, like little inland 
 seas, that will carry even shippes upon their waters ; 
 adorned with goodly woods even fit for building houses 
 and ships, so commodiously, as that if some princes in 
 the world had them, they would soon hope to be lords 
 of all the seas, and ere long of all the world ; also full 
 of very good ports and havens opening upon England, 
 as inviting us to come unto them, to see what excellent 
 commodities that country can afford, besides the soyle 
 itself most fertile, fit to yield all kinds of fruit that 
 shall be committed thereunto. And lastly, the heavens 
 most mild and temperate, though somewhat more moist 
 in the parts towards the west." 
 
 After thus eulogising the country as most sweet and 
 beautiful, Spenser describes the habits of the people, in 
 less favourable colours certainly, but no doubt with 
 equal truth 
 
 " All the Irish almost (he says) boast themselves to 
 
 c In ten years Ireland is said to have cost Elizabeth the immense sum of 
 3,400,OOOZ. See ' History of the English Poor Law, ' vol. i . p. 205 . 
 
6 SPENSER'S ACCOUNT OF THE CHAP. I. 
 
 be gentlemen, no less than the Welsh ; for if he can 
 derive himself from the head of any sept (as most of 
 them can, they are so expert by their bardes) then he 
 holdeth himself a gentleman, and thereupon scorneth 
 to worke, or use any hard labour, which he saith is the 
 life of a peasant or churl ; but henceforth becometh 
 either an horseboy or a stocah (attendant) to some 
 kerne, inuring himself to his weapon, and to the gentle- 
 manly trade of stealing, as they count it. So that if a 
 gentleman, or any wealthy man yeoman of them, have 
 any children, the eldest of them perhaps shall be kept 
 in some order, but all the rest shall shift for themselves 
 and fall to this occupation. And moreover it is a com- 
 mon use among some of their gentlemen's sonnes, that 
 so soon as they are able to use their weapons, they 
 straight gather to themselves three or four straglers, or 
 kearnes, with whom wandering up and down idly the 
 country, taking only meate, he at last falleth unto some 
 bad occasion that shall be offered, which being once 
 made known, he is thenceforth counted a man of worth, 
 in whom there is courage ; whereupon there draw to 
 him many other like loose young men, which stirring 
 him up with encouragement, provoke him shortly to 
 flat rebellion ; and this happens not only sometimes in 
 the sonnes of their gentlemen, but also of their noble- 
 men, specially of them who have base sonnes ; for they 
 are not only not ashamed to acknowledge them, but 
 also boast of them, and use them for such secret services 
 as they themselves will not be seen in, as to plague 
 their enemies, to spoil their neighbours, to oppress and 
 crush some of their own too stubborn freeholders, which 
 are not tractable to their wills." 
 
 Having thus given a general description of the 
 country and the people, Spenser next adverts to cir- 
 cumstances connected with the landlord and tenant 
 classes in particular, to the first of which classes it will 
 be remembered he himself belonged 
 
A.D. 1596. STATE OF IRELAND. 7 
 
 " There is (he says) one general inconvenience which 
 reigneth almost thro'out Ireland : that is, the lords 
 of land and freeholders, doe not there use to set out 
 their land in farme, or for terme of years, to their 
 tenants, but only from year to year, and some during 
 pleasure ; neither indeed will the Irish tenant or hus- 
 bandman otherwise take his land than so long as he list 
 himself. The reason hereof in the tenant is, for that 
 the landlords there use most shamefully to racke their 
 tenants, laying upon them coigny and livery at plea- 
 sure, and exacting of them (besides his covenants) what 
 he please th. So that the poor husbandman either dare 
 not binde himself to him for longer terme, or thinketh 
 by his continual liberty of change, to keep his landlord 
 the rather in awe from wronging of him " " The evils 
 which cometh hereby are great, for by this means both 
 the landlord thinketh that he hath his tenant more at 
 command, to follow him into what action soever he 
 shall enter, and also the tenant being left at his liberty, 
 is fit for every occasion of change that shall be offered 
 by time, and so much the more ready and willing is he 
 to runne into the same, for that he hath no such state 
 in any his houlding, no such building upon any farme, 
 no such coste employed in fencing or husbanding the 
 same, as might withhold him from any such wilfull 
 course as his lord's cause, or his own lewde disposition 
 may carry him unto " " and this inconvenience may be 
 reason enough to ground any ordinance for the good of 
 the common wealth, against the private behoof or will 
 of any landlord that shall refuse to graunt any such 
 terme of estate unto his tenant, as may tende to the 
 .good of the whole realme." 
 
 It appears that Tipperary was at that time distin- 
 guished from the other counties, being the only county 
 palatine in Ireland ; and of it and its peculiar privileges, 
 and the consequences to which these gave rise, Spenser 
 thus complains " A county palatine is, in effect, to 
 
8 SPENSER'S ACCOUNT OF IRELAND. CHAP. I. 
 
 have a privilege to spoyle the enemy's borders adjoin- 
 ing. And surely so it is used at this day, as a privilege 
 place of spoiles and stealthes ; for the county of Tip- 
 perary, which is now the only county palatine in 
 Ireland, is, by abuse of some bad ones, made a recep- 
 tacle to rob the rest of the counties about it, by means 
 of whose privileges none will follow their stealthes ; so 
 as it being situate in the very lap of all the land, is 
 made now a border, which how inconvenient it is, let 
 every man judge." 
 
 Spenser also describes several measures which he 
 considered necessary for the repression of disorder and 
 the protection of life and property. In this " enu- 
 meration of needful points to be attended to for the 
 good of the common wealth," he first wishes "that 
 order were taken for the cutting and opening of all 
 places through woods, so that a wide way of the space 
 of 100 yards might be laid open in every of them for 
 the safety of travellers, which use often in such perilous 
 places to be robbed and sometimes murdered. Next 
 that bridges were built upon the rivers, and all the 
 fords marred and spilt, so as none might pass any other 
 way but by those bridges, and every bridge to have a 
 gate and a gatehouse set thereon, whereof this good 
 will come, that no night stealthes, which are com- 
 monly driven in by-ways, and by blind fordes unused 
 of any but such like, shall not be conveyed out of one 
 country into another, as they use, but they must pass by 
 those bridges, where they may be easily tracked, or not 
 suffered to pass. Also that in all straights and narrow 
 passages, as between two boggs, or through any deep 
 ford, or under any mountain side, there should be some 
 little fortilage set, which should keep and command that 
 straight. Moreover that all highways should be fenced 
 and shut up on both sides, having only forty feet for 
 passage, so as none shall be able to pass but through 
 the highways, whereby thieves and night robbers might 
 
A.D. 1606. PLANTATION OF ULSTER. 9 
 
 be more easily pursued and encountered where there 
 shall be no other way to drive their stolen cattle. And 
 further, that there shall be in sundry convenient places 
 by the highways, towns appointed to be built, the which 
 should be free burgesses and incorporate under bailiffs, 
 to be by their inhabitants well and strongly intrenched, 
 or otherwise fenced, with gates on each side to be shut 
 nightly, like as there is in many places in the English 
 pale, and all the ways about it to be strongly shut up, 
 so as none should pass but through the towne ; and to 
 some it were good that the privilege of a market were 
 given, for there is nothing that doth sooner cause 
 civility in any country than many market townes, by 
 reason that people repairing often thither for their 
 needs, will daily see and learn civil manners of the 
 better sort." d 
 
 These extracts throw much light upon the social con- 
 dition of Ireland at that time, and no apology can be 
 necessary for giving them insertion here. It is im- 
 possible to doubt the writer's sincerity, or the truthful- 
 ness of his descriptions ; and it is no small advantage 
 to have such a testimony to the state of things then 
 existing in Ireland, which may be regarded as a kind 
 of standard or starting-point for future comparison. 
 
 Shortly after Elizabeth's death, and the accession of 
 James the First, an insurrection again broke out in the 
 north of Ireland. It was soon put down however, but it 
 led to upwards of 500,000 acres of land being escheated to 
 the crown. This vast tract, situated in the six northern 
 counties, on which, we are told, " only robbers and 
 rebels had found shelter," now afforded James The 
 
 . plantation 
 
 the opportunity for carrying into effect his f uister. 
 favourite scheme of a plantation in Ireland. The natives 
 were removed to other localities, and settlers from 
 
 d See Spenser's View of the State of Ireland, written in 1596, vol. viii. of 
 his works, printed in octavo in 1805. 
 
10 KEBELLIONS. CHAP. I. 
 
 England and Scotland introduced ; and thus Ulster 
 shortly became the most civilized and best cultivated of 
 the four provinces, instead of being the most wild and 
 disorderly, as had previously been the case. 
 
 In the contest between Charles the First and the 
 parliament, the Eoman Catholics of Ireland adhered to 
 the cause of the king ; but their adherence to that 
 cause was accompanied by the treacherous massacre of 
 the Protestant settlers in 1641 an atrocity that gave 
 rise to the bitterest feelings throughout England, and 
 eventually led to the exacting of a stern and ruthless 
 retribution. In 1649, six months after the death of 
 Charles, Cromwell proceeded to Ireland, taking with 
 him a considerable body of his disciplined veterans. 
 He landed at Dublin in August, and shortly after- 
 wards Drogheda and Wexford were stormed with great 
 slaughter, upon which Cork, Kinsale, and other towns 
 opened their gates ; and in ten months the entire 
 country was brought under subjection, with the excep- 
 tion of Limerick and Waterford, the reduction of which 
 Cromwell left to his son-in-law Ireton, and re-embarked 
 for England where his presence had become necessary. 
 If Cromwell had remained longer in Ireland, it is pro- 
 bable that he would with his usual vigour have crushed 
 the seeds of many existing evils, and laid the founda- 
 tion for future quiet ; but this was not permitted, and 
 the elements of disorder remained, repressed and weak- 
 ened it is true, but still ready to burst forth whenever 
 circumstances should give vent to the explosion. 
 
 At the Revolution in 1688, when England adopted 
 William the Third, the Irish Roman Catholics adhered 
 to James ; and it was not until after the battle of the 
 Boyne, and the surrender of Limerick, that Ireland can 
 be said to have been again entirely subject to the 
 English crown. During the insurrections which took 
 place in favour of the exiled family in 1715 and 1745, 
 Ireland remained quiet. But in 1798 the triumph of 
 
A.D. 1798. PROGRESS OF POPULATION. 11 
 
 democracy in France, together with the active interfer- 
 ence of French agents, and the promises of assistance 
 held out by them, led to the outbreak of a rebellion, 
 in the progress of which great enormities were per- 
 petrated ; and which was not put down until after a 
 great loss of life, and the destruction of much property. 
 Although doubtless to be lamented on these accounts, 
 the rebellion of 1798 was not however without its use, 
 for it showed in the strongest light the defects of the 
 existing system in Ireland, and thus helped to establish 
 the legislative union of the two countries, which took 
 place at the commencement of the present century, when 
 the whole of the British islands were included under the 
 designation of " The United Kingdom of Great Britain 
 and Ireland." Since the passing of the Act of Union 
 in 1800, there is nothing distinctive requiring to be 
 noticed with regard to Ireland, its interests being 
 thenceforward merged in the general interests of the 
 empire. 
 
 The following summary of the estimated population 
 of Ireland at several periods is abstracted from Progress of 
 
 i r> -\/r m -\ it i rv population 
 
 the memoir of Mr. Shaw Mason, the officer in Ireland. 
 appointed under the Act for taking the census of 
 Ireland in 1821, as the same is given in the Appendix 
 to Selections from the Lords' Journals, by Mr. Rowley 
 Lascelles 
 
 1672 as estimated by Sir William Petty 1,320,000 
 
 1695 by Captain South (doubtful) 1,034,102 
 
 1712 by Thomas Dobbs Esq., founded on returns 
 
 of the hearth-money collectors .. .. 2,099,094 
 
 1718 do. .... 2,169,048 
 
 1725 do. .... 2,317,374 
 
 1726 
 1731 
 1754 
 1767 
 1777 
 1785 
 1788 
 
 do. .... 2,309,106 
 
 by the magistrates and clergy 2,010,221 
 
 by returns from the hearth-money collectors 2,372,634 
 
 do. .... 2,544,276 
 
 do. .. .. 2,690,556 
 
 do. .... 2,845,932 
 
 by Gcrvais Parker Bushc Esq., one of the 
 
 commissioners of revenue 4,040,000 
 
12 PEOGEESS OF POPULATION. CHAP. I. 
 
 1791 as estimated by returns from the hearth-money collectors 4,206,612 
 
 1792 by the Eev. Dr. Beaufort 4,088,226 
 
 1805 by Major Thomas Newenham 5,395,456 
 
 1813 founded on the incomplete census under the 
 
 Act of 1812 i 5,395,856 
 
 1821 ascertained by the census of 1821 6,801,827 
 
 e !831 do. 1831 7,767,401 
 
 e !841 do. 1841 8,175,124 
 
 e!851 do. 1851 6,522,386 
 
 With reference to the above summary, it may be 
 remarked that a rapid increase in the population of a 
 country, cannot always be taken as a proof of the in- 
 crease of wealth and civilization, or of improvement in 
 the social condition of the people. It is possible indeed 
 that it may be productive of results the very reverse 
 in these respects, when the increase unduly presses upon 
 or outruns the ordinary means of subsistence, as it 
 sometimes undoubtedly did in certain parts of Ireland. 
 But on the whole, and making every allowance for 
 adverse circumstances, the above table affords grounds 
 for concluding, that subsequently to 1672, the produc- 
 tive powers of the country were receiving continually 
 increased development, to meet the wants of a continu- 
 ally increasing population. Or we might perhaps go 
 further back, and date the increase from the time when 
 Cromwell, with a strong hand, enforced order and 
 established the ascendancy of the law in Ireland. The 
 decrease in the population which took place between 
 1841 and 1851, when the number was forced back 
 below what it had been thirty years preceding, indicates 
 a period of great trial and suffering. In the latter 
 portion of this period, the country was assailed by 
 famine and pestilence a fearful visitation which 
 will be noticed hereafter in its order of date, and 
 of which it would be out of place to say more at 
 present. 
 
 Until a comparatively recent period, there was no law 
 
 c These are taken from the census returns of the respective periods. 
 
A.D. 1310, EARLY LEGISLATION. 13 
 
 directly providing for the relief of the Irish poor. In 
 this respect the legislation of Ireland differed from that 
 of England and Scotland, in both of which countries we 
 have seen that such a provision was early made. The 
 difference in this respect, was probably at first owing to 
 the disturbed and unsettled state of Ireland ; and after- 
 wards, when it was brought more thoroughly under 
 subjection, the difference of race and religion with other 
 unfavourable circumstances, united to prevent the growth 
 of that orderly gradation of classes, and that sympathy 
 between one class and another, which exist in every 
 well-conditioned community, and of which a poor-law 
 is a natural development. 
 
 Although there was no direct provision for the relief 
 of the poor in Ireland, several Acts of the Irish par- 
 liament were more or less subsidiary to that object, 
 whilst others were calculated to illustrate the progress 
 of civilization, and the general condition of the country. 
 Various institutions of a charitable character were like- 
 wise established ; and it will be necessary to notice certain 
 of these matters, before entering upon a consideration of 
 the important measure of 1838. The legislative enact- 
 ments have precedence in order of time, and to these we 
 will now in the first instance direct our attention/ 
 
 As early as 1310, in the reign of Edward the Second, 
 we find that in a parliament assembled at Kil- 1310 
 kenny " it was agreed that none should keep Edward 1L 
 idle people or kearn in time of peace, to live upon the 
 poor of the country ; but those which will have them 
 shall keep them at their own charges, so that the free 
 tenants and farmers be not charged with them." And 
 130 years afterwards, in the reign of Henry the 1440 . 
 Sixth, among the ordinances established by a 
 parliament holden in Dublin, it was declared " that 
 
 f The citations hereafter made, are taken from * The Statutes at Large, 
 passed in the Parliament held in Ireland' published by authority in thirteen 
 volumes folio, in 1786. 
 
14 HENRY VI. CHAP. I. 
 
 divers of the English do maintain and succour sundry 
 thieves robbers and rebels, because that the same thieves 
 robbers and rebels do put them into their safeguard and 
 comrick, so that the king's faithful subjects dare not 
 pursue their right against such thieves robbers and 
 rebels, for fear of them which have taken them into 
 their safeguard and comrick " wherefore it is ordained, 
 that such as do put themselves, and such as do grant 
 such safeguard and comrick, be adjudged traitors, and 
 1450 . suffer accordingly. And in the same reign, at 
 
 Henry VI. ft certa i n great counc il h^ J n Dublin (1450) it 
 
 was declared " that thieves and evildoers increase in 
 great store, and from day to day do increase in malice 
 more than they have done heretofore, and do destroy 
 the commons with their thefts stealings and manslaught- 
 ers, and also do cause the land to fall into decay and 
 poverty and waste every day more and more " where- 
 fore it is ordained that it shall be lawful for every liege 
 man to kill or take notorious thieves, and thieves found 
 robbing spoiling or breaking houses " and that every 
 man that kills or takes any such thieves, shall have one 
 penny of every plough and one farthing of every cottage 
 within the barony where the manslaughter is done, for 
 every thief." 
 
 These enactments show that the state of the country 
 within the English pale, or that portion of it which was 
 subject to English rule, was then very similar to what 
 existed at the same periods in England arid Scotland, 
 more prone to violence and disorder perhaps, and there- 
 fore somewhat more backward in civilization ; but all 
 the leading characteristics are nearly identical. Beyond 
 the pale however a far worse state of things prevailed. 
 There violence and disorder ranged without control. 
 " The Irishry," as they were called, were continually 
 engaged in battleings and feuds among themselves, one 
 chief or one sept against another, or in making inroads 
 and committing robberies and murders within the pale, 
 
A.D. 1422-1461. HENRY VI. 15 
 
 which again led to retaliations ; and thus a species of 
 domestic or border warfare alike injurious to all parties, 
 and a state of ferment and insecurity throughout the 
 country, were kept up and perpetuated. 
 
 A parliament held at Trim in 1447, laments " that 
 the sons of husbandmen and labourers, which 1447- 
 in old time were wont to be labourers and 
 travaylers upon the ground, as to hold ploughs, to ere 
 the ground, and travayl with all other instruments 
 belonging to husbandry, to manure the ground, and do 
 all other works lawful and honest according to their 
 state and now they will be kearnes, evildoers, wasters, 
 idle men,, and destructioners of the king's leige people" 
 wherefore it is ordained that the sons of labourers and 
 travaillers of the ground, shall use the same labours and 
 travails that their fathers have done. And ten 1457 . 
 years afterwards, at a parliament held at Naas, 
 it was ordained " forasmuch as the sons of many men 
 from day to day do rob spoil and coygnye the king's 
 poor liege people, and masterfully take their goods 
 without any pity that every man shall answer for 
 the offence and ill doing of his son, as he himself that 
 did the trespass and offence ought to do, saving the 
 punishment of death, which shall incur to the trespasser 
 himself." This last enactment, making the father 
 answerable for the acts of his son, was perhaps under 
 the circumstances of the period calculated to check 
 violence and disorder and may be so far regarded as 
 defensible. But the same cannot be said of the former 
 enactment requiring the son to follow the same occupa- 
 tion as the father. Yet such has been the practice 
 throughout a great part of Asia from the earliest period. 
 In the present instance, the enforcement of the practice 
 by special enactment, seems to imply that the demand 
 for agricultural labour was increasing in Ireland, either 
 through an increase of land under cultivation, or an 
 increased amount of labour applied to it ; and either the 
 
1472 . 
 ' 
 
 16 EDWARD IV. CHAP. I. 
 
 one or the other must be considered as indicative of 
 improvement. 
 
 In the reign of Edward the Fourth (1465) an Act 
 UBS. was passed ordaining and establishing " that in 
 Edward iv. ever y English town of this land g that pass three 
 houses holden by tenants, where no other president is, 
 there be chosen by his neighbours or by the lord of the 
 said town, one constable to be president and governor 
 of the same town, in all things that pertaineth to the 
 common rule thereof" doubtless a useful provision, and 
 calculated to aid the cause of order and good govern- 
 ment. In the same reign, at a parliament held 
 at ^^ (1472) it is recorded" For that there 
 is so great lack of money in this land, and also the grain 
 are enhanced to a great price because of great lading 
 from day to day used and continued within this realm, 
 by the which great dearth is like to be of graines, 
 without some remedy be ordeyned " whereupon the 
 premises considered it is enacted " that no person or 
 persons lade no grain out of the said land to no other 
 parts without, if one peck of the said grains exceed the 
 price of ten pence, upon pain of forfeiture of the said 
 grain or the value thereof, and also the ship in which 
 the said grains are laden." 
 
 The prohibition of export has always been clamoured 
 for, and often resorted to whenever the price of corn 
 becomes high, whether it be in Ireland, England, or 
 elsewhere ; and this always moreover on the ground 
 here set forth, that is, for the sake of the poor classes, or 
 " for that there is so great lack of money in this land." 
 All such prohibitions are however based on erroneous 
 views of economical policy. By prohibiting export cul- 
 tivation is discouraged, and so in the long run corn is 
 made dearer rather than cheaper. It may moreover be 
 remarked, that if grain be exported, it will be for the 
 
 That is every town within the English pale. 
 
A.D. 1485-1509. HENRY VII. POYNINGS' ACT. 17 
 
 purpose of obtaining a higher price than can be obtained 
 at home, and the exporting country will thus be better 
 enabled to go to another market for a supply, and will 
 have the benefit of whatever profit may arise in the 
 double interchange. With respect to grain therefore, 
 as with respect to all other commodities, the true prin- 
 ciple is that of non-interference they will then each 
 and all find their own level, and that in the way most 
 beneficial to all parties interested, whether as producers 
 or consumers, whether those who want or those who 
 have to spare. But this great truth was not recognised 
 at that day. Neither is it indeed universally so at 
 present; for at this time (the end of 1855) there are 
 clamourings for a prohibition of the export of corn, on 
 account of the present high price. h 
 
 We are now arrived at the reign of Henry the Seventh, 
 by whom order was established in Ireland, as it pre- 
 viously had been established in England. The first 
 important measure towards the accomplishment of this 
 object was the passing of Poynings' Act, 1 Wth 1495. 
 Henry Tth, cap. 4, which directs that no parlia- ActT gs 
 ment shall be holden in Ireland, until the Acts ca p- 4 - 
 be first certified into England, and be thence returned 
 with sanction of the king and council expressed under 
 the great seal. This secured a harmony of action 
 between the legislatures of the two countries, and was 
 otherwise beneficial. But there were two other Acts 
 passed in the same year, not less important for the peace 
 and good government of the country than the preceding, 
 and therefore requiring to be separately noticed. 
 
 h The average price of wheat in Mark-lane for the week ending on the 10th 
 of November, was 83s. 8d. per qr. For the week ending on Nov. 15, 1851 the 
 price per quarter was 36s. 4d. ; and for the week ending Nov. 13, 1852 the 
 price per quarter was 39s. lid. 
 
 1 So called after Sir Edward Poynings, who was lord deputy in Ireland 
 during a great part of Henry's reign, and in the earlier part of that of his suc- 
 cessor. The lord deputy is described as " the active scourge of all insurgents," 
 arid it was latterly said of him that " he might call all Ireland his own." See 
 Liber Munermn, book ii. cap. 1. Mr. Lascelles gives 1494 as the year in which 
 this Act was passed. In the Statutes at Large it bears the date of 1495. 
 
 C 
 
18 HENRY VII. CHAP. I. 
 
 The first of these Acts, cap. 6, directs that no citizen 
 shall receive livery or wages of any lord or gentle- 
 man ; and it further enacts " That no lord nor 
 10 Hen. Vii. gentleman of the land shall retain by livery, 
 
 cap. 6. . , . , 
 
 wages, or promise, sign or token, by indenture, 
 or otherwise, any person or persons, but only such as 
 be, or shall be his officers, as baylifs, steward, learned 
 counsel, receivers, and menial servants daily in house- 
 hold at the said lord's cost." And if any lord or gen- 
 tleman retain any person contrary to this Act, both the 
 retainer and he that is retained are to forfeit to the king 
 twenty pounds of lawful money for every such offence. 
 10 Hen. vn. The second Act, cap. 17, directs " that no peace 
 cap ' 17 ' nor war be made with any man without licence 
 of the governor." It recites " Forasmuch as diverse 
 lords and great gentlemen of Ireland, useth daily to 
 make several peace with the king's Irish enemies, and 
 where the peace hath been taken and concluded by the 
 lieutenants and their deputies for the time being with 
 the aforesaid enemies, and for the universal weal of our 
 said sovereign lord's true subjects, the said lords and 
 gentlemen for singular lucor and for malice, have diverse 
 and many seasons and without any authority of the 
 lieutenant or deputy, entered into the countries of such 
 Irish enemies as have standen under the protection of 
 our sovereign lord, and the same countries have robbed, 
 spoiled, hurt and destroyed, by reason whereof the said 
 enemies have likewise entered into the English country, 
 and the true English subjects have robbed, spoiled and 
 brent in semblable wise" wherefore it is ordained, 
 that thenceforward " there be no peace nor war taken 
 or had within the land, without the lieutenant or 
 deputy's licence ;" and whatsoever persons break the 
 said peace, or rob or spoil contrary to this Act, as often 
 as they so offend are to forfeit 100/. to the king, and be 
 committed to ward until the same is paid. 
 
 We see from the above, that the Irish beyond the 
 
A.D. 1509-1547. HENRY VIII. 19 
 
 pale were still regarded as enemies ; and to prevent as 
 far as possible the barbarous conflicts that were con- 
 tinually taking place between them and the people 
 within the pale, was doubtless one reason for passing 
 these Acts. But independently of this object, the general 
 policy of the two measures is abundantly obvious. They 
 amount, taken together, to no more than extending to 
 Ireland the principle observed by Henry in his govern- 
 ment of England, namely,, that of reducing the exorbi- 
 tant power assumed by the great nobility and gentry, 
 and making them amenable to the general law, a thing 
 no less necessary in one country than in the other, 
 although widely differing in so many respects. 
 
 On the accession of Henry the Eighth, Irish legisla- 
 tion became more active, but we shall only ^22. 
 notice a few of the Acts. The 13th Henry 8th, ^p' 1 - 
 cap. 1, declares, that " many ill-disposed persons for 
 malice, evil will, and displeasure, do daily burn corn, 
 as well in ricks in the fields, as in villages and towns, 
 thinking that it is no felony, and that they should not 
 suffer death for so doing" wherefore it is enacted, that 
 all wilful burning of ricks of corn in fields and in 
 towns, and burning of houses of and upon any of the 
 king's true subjects, be high treason, and that execution 
 be awarded against such evil-doers accordingly. Twelve 
 years afterwards another Act (the 25th Henry 1534. 
 
 . v J 25 Hen. VIII. 
 
 8th, cap. 1) was passed against lezers of corn. ca p- l - 
 It recites " That whereas many inconveniences within 
 this land ensueth by reason that many and diverse per- 
 sons, labourers strong of body, as well men as women, 
 falleth to idleness, and will not labour for their living, 
 but have their sole respect to gathering and lezing of 
 corn in harvest-time, and refuse to take money for their 
 wages to rippe or binde corn, to the intent that the 
 poor earth-tillers should give them sheaves of corn for 
 their labour, by colour whereof they steal men's comes, 
 as well by night as by day, to the great hindrance and 
 
 c 2 
 
20 HENRY VIII. CHAP. I. 
 
 impoverishing of the poor earth-til] er s ; and also by 
 giving of said sheafes, the church is defrauded of the 
 tythe of the same." Wherefore it is ordained, that 
 henceforth no persons " being strong of body to labour 
 for their living, shall gather or leze in any place in 
 harvest-time, except it be in their own fields ; and that 
 no impotent persons gather or leze in any other place, 
 saving in the parish where their dwelling is ; and that 
 no man give nor take any corn in harvest for ripping 
 nor binding;" under penalty of the same being taken 
 from him and forfeited. 
 
 These Acts for the protection of the corn-grower 
 against waste in time of harvest, arid against incen- 
 diarism when the corn is in the rick, are indications of 
 the advance of agriculture in Ireland. The titheowner 
 may have had some influence in the passing of the 
 latter Act ; but taking the two together, it seems im- 
 possible to doubt that the occupation of the " poor 
 earth-tillers," as they are termed, was considered to be 
 important with regard to the general welfare, and 
 therefore deserving of special protection. 
 
 Three years after the last preceding Act, another was 
 1537. passed (The 28th Henri/ 8th, cap. 15) in which 
 cap.'is. ' it is declared that the king, considering that 
 " there is nothing which doth more conteyne and keep 
 many of his subjects of this his land in a certain savage 
 and wilde kind and manner of living, than the diver- 
 sitie that is betwixt them in tongue, language, order 
 and habite, which by the eye deceiveth the multitude, 
 and persuadeth them that they should be as it were of 
 sundry sorts, or rather of sundry countries, where in- 
 deed they be wholly together one body " wherefore it 
 is enacted, that no person shall wear hair on the head 
 or face nor any manner of clothing, mantle, coat, or 
 hood, after the Irish fashion, but in all things shall 
 conform to the habits and manners of the civil people 
 within the English pale. And it is further enacted, 
 
A.D. 1509-1547. EEGULATION OF WAGES. 21 
 
 that all persons of whatsoever degree or condition 
 " to the uttermost of their power cunning and know- 
 ledge shall use and speak commonly the English 
 tongue," and cause their children to do the same, " and 
 shall use and keep their houses and households as 
 near as ever they can, according to the English order." 
 Spiritual promotion is moreover directed to be given 
 only to such as can speak English ; so that nothing 
 appears to have been omitted for bringing about the 
 desired assimilation of the native Irish with their 
 fellow-subjects of the English race. Subsequent events 
 showed however that these efforts were not crowned with 
 success, and a long period elapsed before the Irish of the 
 western districts can be said to have at all assimilated to 
 English habits, or become amenable to English rule. 
 
 The regulation of wages by legislative enactment so 
 frequently adopted in England, 1 " was likewise 1542. 
 
 \ . T . 33 Hen. VIII. 
 
 attempted in Ireland, but apparently with no ca p- 9 - 
 better result ; for we find The 33rd Henri/ 8th, cap. 9, 
 complaining, that " forasmuch as prices of victuals, 
 cloth, and other necessaries for labourers, servants at 
 husbandry, and artificers, yearly change, as well some- 
 times by reason of dearth and scarceness of corn and 
 victual as otherwise, so that hard it is to limit in certain 
 what wages servants at husbandry should take by the 
 year, and other artificers and labourers by the day, by 
 reason whereof they now ask and take unreasonable 
 wages within the land of Ireland" wherefore it is 
 enacted that the justices of peace at a sessions to be 
 held yearly within a month after Easter and Michael- 
 mas, " shall make proclamation by their discretion, 
 having respect to such prices as victuals cloth and 
 other necessaries then shall be at, how much every 
 mason, carpenter, sclantor, and every other artificer and 
 labourer shall take by the day, as well in harvest-season 
 as any other time of the year, with meat and drink, 
 
 k See ' History of the English Poor Law,' vol. i. pages 100 and 110. llth 
 Henry 7th, cap. 2, and 6th Henry 8th, cap. 3. 
 
22 HENRY VIII. CHAP, I. 
 
 and how much without meat and drink, between both 
 the said seasons ; and also at the Easter sessions, how 
 much every servant at husbandry shall take by the 
 year following, with meat and drink ; and that every 
 of them shall obey such proclamation from time to 
 time, as a thing made by Act of parliament for a law 
 in that behalf," on pain of imprisonment. By thus 
 empowering justices to vary the rate of wages accord- 
 ing to the variations in the price of provisions and 
 clothing, the objection which exists to a permanent fixed 
 rate is no doubt so far obviated ; but the great primary 
 objection to any interference with the natural range of 
 prices, and to subjecting them to other control than 
 that of supply and demand still remains, and is not 
 susceptible of any defence. Thus much on the score of 
 principle. But the passing of such a measure as the 
 above, is nevertheless a proof of the increasing demand 
 for labour, and of the advance of regular industrial 
 employment, which is always an important step in the 
 progress of civilization. 
 
 The last enactment of the present reign requiring to 
 1537. be noticed, in connexion with our subject, is 
 3 ?a P D :S IL The 33rd Henry 8th, cap. 15, entitled ' An Act 
 for Vagabonds.' It recites " forasmuch as at a par- 
 liament holden at London, it was enacted and ordeyned 
 how aged poor and impotent persons compelled to live 
 by alms should be ordered, and how vagabonds and 
 mighty strong beggars should be punished, which 
 Act (22nd Henry 8#A, cap. 12) for divers causes, is 
 thought very meet and necessary to be enacted in 
 this land " wherefore it is ordained and established, 
 " That the same Act, and all and every article provi- 
 sion and thing comprised in the same, be an Act and 
 statute to be continued and kept as a law within this 
 land of Ireland, according to the tenor and purport of 
 the same." The English Act (22nd Henry Qth, cap. 12) 
 is then given at length, and stands in the statutes as 
 an Act of the Irish parliament, and is to be obeyed 
 
A.D. 1509-1547. ' AN ACT FOR VAGABONDS.' 
 
 accordingly. A full account of this statui 
 found in the ' History of the English Poor Law ' (vol. 
 i. page 115) to which the reader is referred. Whether 
 the Act wa$ entirely suited to the backward state of 
 Ireland at that time, may admit of doubt ; but there 
 can be no doubt that if enforced it was calculated to 
 bring about a better order of things by repressing 
 vagabondism, and making some provision for the relief 
 of the destitute. We have no means of knowing to 
 what extent the Act was enforced, or whether it was 
 enforced at all. It could hardly have been brought 
 into operation beyond the English pale, and even 
 within the pale the arm of the law was then feeble, 
 and its action uncertain ; so it is probable that like 
 many other measures intended for the benefit of Ire- 
 land, the present Act was permitted to lie dormant. It 
 remained in force however, as one of the Irish statutes, 
 until 1772, when it was repealed by the lltk and llth 
 George 3 re?, cap. 30. 1 
 
 There are only two of the Acts passed by the Irish 
 parliament in Elizabeth's reign calling for 1559. 
 
 Jp . . 11 Elizabeth, 
 
 notice, and this rather as exhibiting the con- ca p- 4 - 
 dition of the country at that time, than as directly con- 
 nected with our subject. The first of these is The llth 
 Elizabeth, cap. 4, entitled ' An Act that five persons 
 of the best arid eldest of every nation amongst the 
 Irishrie, shall bring in all the idle persons of their sur- 
 name, to be justified by law.' It declares that her 
 Majesty's " most humble and obedient subjects have been 
 these many years past grieved with a generation of 
 vile and base conditioned people (bred and maintained 
 by coynie and liveries), the ancient enemies to the 
 prosperity of this realm, of which sort the lords and 
 captains of this land hath to raise and stirr up some to 
 be maintained as outlaws to annoy each other's rules, 
 
 1 Sec post, p. 51. 
 
24 ELIZABETH. CHAP. I. 
 
 and so serving the iniquitie of the time, hath not only 
 in attending those practices imbased their own particu- 
 lar estates, but also brought the whole public wealth of 
 their supposed rules to ruin and utter decay." For 
 remedy whereof, it is now ordained, " that five persons 
 of the best and eldest of everie stirpe or nation of the 
 Irishrie, and in the countries that be not as yet shire 
 grounds, and till they be shire ground, shall be bound 
 to bring in to be justified by law, all idle persons of 
 their surname which shall be hereafter charged with 
 any offence, or else satisfie of their own proper goods 
 the hurts by them committed to the parties grieved, 
 and also such fines as shall be assessed upon them for 
 their offences." The Act we see applies to parts of 
 the country beyond the pale, " which be not yet shire 
 grounds," where " the lords, and captains of the land " 
 were in the habit of maintaining a number of base-con- 
 ditioned people in a state of outlawry to annoy each 
 other's rules, which practice it is said hath not only 
 injured their own estates, but also brought the whole 
 country under their supposed rule to ruin and utter 
 decay. The remedy for these evils now sought to be 
 applied, is by making five of the principal people of 
 each sept or nation of the " Irishrie " answerable for 
 the rest of the clan, and it seems likely that nothing 
 better could have been devised under the circum- 
 stances ; but the resorting to it is nevertheless an 
 indication of the lawlessness and insecurity which pre- 
 vailed, and how imperfectly the country had yet been 
 brought under subjection. 
 
 The other Irish Act of Elizabeth's reign requiring 
 1570. notice, is The Ylih Elizabeth, cap. 1, entitled 
 
 12 Elizabeth, 
 
 <? i. * An Act for the erection of Free Schools.' 
 It commences by reciting : " Forasmuch as the greatest 
 number of the people of this realm hath of long time lived 
 in rude and barbarous states, not understanding that 
 Almighty God hath by his divine laws forbidden the 
 
A.D. 1558-1603. FREE SCHOOLS. 25 
 
 manifold and heinous offences which they spare not daily 
 and hourly to commit and perpetrate, nor that He hath 
 by His Holy Scriptures commanded a due and humble 
 obedience from the people to their princes and rulers, 
 whose ignorance in these so high points touching their 
 damnation proceedeth only of lack of good bringing up 
 of the youth of this realm, either in public or private 
 schools, where through good discipline they might be 
 taught to avoid those loathsome and horrible errours " 
 Wherefore it is enacted that there shall be a free 
 school established in every diocess of Ireland, and that 
 the schoolmaster shall be an Englishman, "or of the 
 English birth of this realm." The archbishops of 
 Armagh and Dublin, and the bishops of Meath and 
 Kildare and their successors, are to appoint the school- 
 masters within their respective diocesses, and the lord 
 deputy for the time being is to have the appointment in 
 the other diocesses. The schoolhouses are to be built in 
 the principal shire towns, at the cost and charge of the 
 whole diocess, under direction of the ordinary, the 
 vicars general, and the sheriff ; and the lord deputy for 
 the time- being is " according to the quality and quan- 
 tities of every diocess," to appoint a yearly salary for 
 every schoolmaster, whereof the ordinary of every 
 diocess is to bear the third part, and the parsons, 
 vicars, prebendaries, and other ecclesiastical persons of 
 the diocess, by an equal contribution, are to bear the 
 other two parts. The whole charge of these free schools 
 was therefore, we see, to be borne by the clergy, on 
 whom their superintendence also devolved. 
 
 The Reformation had at this time been established 
 in Ireland, and the clergy whom the state recognised 
 were necessarily all Protestant. The desire for extend- 
 ing education as a means for improving and enlighten- 
 ing the people, was therefore to be expected from them ; 
 and it is not improbable this desire was accompanied, 
 and perhaps strengthened, by a belief that education 
 
2fi JAMES I. CHAP. I. 
 
 would bring about the conversion of such of the people 
 as were not yet of their flock, but still adhered to the 
 church of Rome. That such were the motives of the 
 Protestant clergy in the prominent part taken by them 
 with regard to these free schools, and that the govern- 
 ment and the proprietary classes generally were influ- 
 enced by similar motives, can hardly admit of doubt. 
 The result turned out different however from what was 
 anticipated. The great bulk of the people remained in 
 ignorance, and devotedly attached to the old religion, 
 as it was and still is called ; and thus a separation 
 sprung up between one class and another, between the 
 more English and Protestant class, and the more Irish 
 and Romanist class, which has been a fruitful source of 
 evil to each, and in spite of the countervailing efforts 
 which have of late years been made, can hardly be said 
 to have altogether disappeared even at the present 
 day. How strange it seems that religion, which ought, 
 and we must believe was designed to be, a bond of con- 
 cord and union, should be perverted into an occasion for 
 hatred and strife ! Yet so it unhappily too often has 
 been, and in no country perhaps more than in Ireland. 
 Little was done in the way of legislation during the 
 reign of James the First, and only one of 
 the Acts of the Irish parliament in his reign 
 requires to be noticed, namely The \lth and 
 Ylih James 1st, cap. 5. It is entitled 6 An Act of 
 Repeal of divers Statutes concerning the natives of this 
 kingdom of Ireland.' The preamble declares, that 
 " in former times the natives of this realm of Irish 
 blood, were for the most part in continual hostility 
 with the English and with those that did descend of 
 the English, and therefore the said Irish were held and 
 accounted, and in divers statutes and records were 
 termed and called Irish enemies." But " Forasmuch 
 as the cause of the said difference and of making the 
 said laws doth now cease, in that all the natives and 
 
 1612. 
 
A.D. 1603-1625. JAMES I. 27 
 
 inhabitants of this kingdom, without difference and 
 distinction, are taken under his Majesty's gracious pro- 
 tection, and do now live under one law as dutiful sub- 
 jects, by means whereof a perfect agreement is and 
 ought to be, settled betwixt them" Wherefore it is 
 enacted, " that all the said Acts and statutes, and every 
 clause and sentence in them conteyned, shall for ever 
 be utterly and thoroughly repealed, frustrated, annihi- 
 lated, and made void to all intents and purposes." The 
 passing of this Act manifests a change in public feel- 
 ing, and was certainly a step in the right direction. 
 To treat a people as enemies, is the sure way to make 
 them such ; and that the native Irish had long been so 
 treated, the records of the antecedent period abundantly 
 prove. The present was therefore a healing measure. 
 By abolishing the distinction of race, and bringing all 
 alike under protection of the law, the Act was no doubt 
 intended to pave the way for an entire amalgamation 
 of the two people. National distinctions and national 
 grievances are however not easily obliterated or for- 
 gotten ; time, intercourse, and the mutual interchange 
 of good offices being necessary for effecting the one, or 
 blotting out the remembrance of the other. And even 
 after this has been accomplished, and a kind of oblivion 
 of the past established, ancient feuds are too apt to be 
 revived by the occurrence of some circumstance, trivial 
 perhaps in itself, and race to be again put at enmity with 
 race, class to be arrayed against class, and sect against 
 sect. The history of Ireland abounds in examples of 
 such revival of enmities, promoting discord and dis- 
 order, retarding improvement, and . exercising a bane- 
 ful influence on the character as well as on the condition 
 of the people. 
 
 The Irish parliament was somewhat more active in 
 the reign of Charles the First, than it had been 
 in that of his predecessor, and four of its Acts, 
 all passed in the same year, we will now 
 
 1634 _ 5 
 
28 CHAKLES I. CHAP. I, 
 
 proceed to notice, the first of these being The IQth and 
 llth Charles 1st, cap. 4 entitled ' An Act for the 
 erecting of Houses of Correction, and for the punish- 
 ment of Rogues Yagabonds sturdy Beggars and other 
 lewd and idle persons' For which purpose it is en- 
 acted, that before Michaelmas in the following year 
 " there shall be built or otherwise provided within every 
 county of Ireland, one or more fit and convenient 
 house or houses of correction, with convenient backside 
 thereunto adjoining, together with mills, working-cards, 
 and other necessary implements, to set the said rogues 
 and other idle arid disordered persons on work ; the 
 same houses to be built or provided in some convenient 
 place or town in every county, which houses shall be 
 purchased conveyed or assured unto such person or 
 persons as by the justices of peace, or the most part of 
 them shall be thought fit, upon trust, to the intent the 
 same shall be used and employed for the keeping cor- 
 recting and setting to work of the said rogues, vaga- 
 bonds, sturdy beggars, and other idle and disorderly 
 persons." The justices are empowered to make orders 
 from time to time, for raising money upon the inhabit- 
 ants of the county for providing the said houses, and 
 for the government arid ordering thereof, and for 
 setting to work such persons as shall be committed to 
 the same ; and also for the yearly payment of the go- 
 vernor and such others as they shall think necessary 
 to be employed therein. The justices are moreover to 
 appoint honest and fit persons to be governors of such 
 houses, which governors " shall have power and au- 
 thority to set such rogues vagabonds idle and disor- 
 derly persons as shall be sent to the said houses, to 
 work and labour (being able) for such time as they 
 shall there continue, and to punish the said rogues &c. 
 by putting fetters or gyves upon them, and by moderate 
 whipping." And it is further ordered, that the said 
 rogues and vagabonds during the time they remain in 
 
A.D. 1625-1649. HOUSES OF CORRECTION. 29 
 
 such house of correction, " shall in no sort be charge- 
 able to the country for any allowance, either at their 
 bringing in or going forth, or during the time of their 
 abode there, but shall have such and so much allowance 
 as they shall deserve by their own labour and work." 
 
 The justices at their quarter session of the peace are 
 required to assign to the governors of the said houses 
 a fitting salary, to be paid quarterly in advance by the 
 treasurer of the county, which if the treasurer neglect 
 to pay, the governor is empowered to levy upon him 
 by distress of his goods. And in order that more care 
 may be taken by the governors of such houses of cor- 
 rection, " when the country hath been at trouble and 
 charge to bring all such disorderly persons to their safe 
 keeping," it is directed that they shall at every quarter 
 session yield a true account to the justices of all persons 
 committed to their custody ; and if any of such persons 
 " shall be troublesome to the country by going abroad, 
 or otherwise shall escape away from the said house of 
 correction before they shall be from thence lawfully 
 delivered, the justices may impose such fines and 
 penalties upon the said governor as they shall think 
 fit." The justices are to meet at least twice a year for 
 the better execution of this statute, and are by warrant 
 to command the constables of every barony, town, 
 parish, village and hamlet within the county (" who 
 shall be assisted with sufficient men of the same places ") 
 to make a general privy search in one night for find- 
 ing out and apprehending all rogues, vagabonds, wan- 
 dering and idle persons, who are to be brought before 
 the justices to be examined of their wandering idle life, 
 and punished accordingly, or otherwise sent to the 
 house of correction and there set to labour and work. 
 
 And that there may be 110 doubt as to who are liable 
 to punishment under these provisions, it is enacted 
 " that all persons calling themselves scholars going 
 about begging ; all idle persons going about in any 
 
30 CHARLES I. CHAP. I. 
 
 country either begging or using any subtle craft, or 
 who are to unlawful games or plays, or feigning them- 
 
 selves to have knowledge in physiognomy 
 stTrdj an ' palmistry or other like crafty science, or 
 
 pretending that they can tell destinies, for- 
 tunes, or such other like phantastical imaginations ; 
 all persons that be or utter themselves to be proctors, 
 procurers, patent gatherers, or collectors for gaols 
 prisons or hospitals ; all fencers, bear-wards, common 
 players of interludes and minstrels wandering abroad ; 
 all jugglers, wandering persons, and common labour- 
 ers being able in body, using loytering, and refusing 
 to work for such reasonable wages as is taxed and 
 commonly given, and not having living otherwise 
 to maintain themselves; all persons delivered out of 
 gaols that beg for their fees, or otherwise travaile 
 begging; all such as wander abroad, pretending loss 
 by fire or otherwise ; all such as wandering pretend 
 themselves to be Egyptians, or wander in the habit 
 form or attire of counterfeit Egyptians shall be taken 
 adjudged and deemed rogues vagabonds and sturdy 
 beggars, and shall sustain such punishments as are 
 appointed by the 33rd Henry Sth, cap. 15, m or be other- 
 wise dealt withall by sending them to the house of cor- 
 rection in the county where they shall be found, as to 
 the justices shall be thought fit." 
 
 It appears moreover that many wilful people having 
 children, and being able to labour for the maintenance 
 of themselves and their families, " do nevertheless run 
 away out of their parishes, and leave their families upon 
 the parish" Wherefore it is enacted that all such per- 
 sons so running away, shall be taken and deemed to be 
 incorrigible rogues, and suffer accordingly "and if 
 either such man or woman, being able to work, shall 
 threaten to run away and leave their families as afore- 
 
 Ante, p. 22. 
 
A.D. 1625-1649. VAGABONDS AND STURDY BEGGARS. 31 
 
 said, the same being proved by two sufficient witnesses 
 upon oath before two justices of peace, the person so 
 threatening shall by the said justices be sent to the 
 house of correction, there to be dealt with as a sturdy 
 and wandering rd^ue, unless he or she can put in suf- 
 ficient sureties for the discharge of the parish." This 
 enactment, and the recital by which it is introduced and 
 justified, might be taken for a part of our late English 
 poor-law system, so exactly does it accord with what 
 was frequently practised in English parishes. Yet no- 
 thing like settlement, or a right to relief, or any organi- 
 zation for providing or affording relief, existed in Ire- 
 land. The great principle of parochial chargeability 
 for relief of the destitute embodied in the 3rd of Eliza- 
 beth, seems nevertheless to have been in some degree 
 recognised, and was probably to some extent operative 
 in Ireland, although without legal sanction ; for unless 
 such were the case, persons running away could not be 
 said to leave their families a charge upon the parish, 
 neither perhaps w^ould their threatening to run away 
 be so stringently dealt with as we here find it to be. 
 
 The provisions of this Act are no doubt important, 
 and the Act itself taken as a whole, throws considerable 
 light upon the condition of Ireland at that time, and 
 shows that the state of society there was gradually ap- 
 proximating to that which prevailed in England. The 
 persons subjected to punishment as rogues and vaga- 
 bonds, are identical with those described in the English 
 Act 22/zcZ Henry 8th, cap. 12." The provisions with re- 
 spect to houses of correction, are similar to those directed 
 by the English Acts 18th Elizabeth, cap. 3, n and the 1th 
 James 1st, cap. 4 ; n and the privy search ordered to be 
 made for apprehending vagrants &c. is the same as in 
 the Act of James. n With such a similarity of enact- 
 ments therefore, we can hardly doubt that there was a 
 
 11 See History of the English Poor Law,' vol. i. pp. 115, 171, 233 and 234. 
 
1634-5 
 
 32 CHAKLES I. CHAP. I. 
 
 general similarity in the circumstances of the two coun- 
 tries, although those parts of Ireland which were latest 
 brought under subjection, may still have been in a rude 
 and backward state, as indeed it is known that they then 
 were, and for a long time afterwards continued to be. 
 
 In proof of the backwardness of at least some parts 
 f I re l an( l at that time, two Acts passed in the 
 same year as the foregoing may be cited. The 
 
 cap>15 first is, The 10th and llth Charles 1st, cap. 15, 
 entitled ' An Act against ploughing by the Tail and 
 pulling the Wool off living Sheep.' It declares that 
 " in many places of this kingdom there hath been a long 
 time used a barbarous custom of ploughing, harrowing, 
 drawing and working with horses, mares, geldings, 
 garrans, and colts, by the tail, whereby (besides the 
 cruelty used to the beasts) the breed of horses is much 
 impaired in this kingdom, to the great prejudice there- 
 of; and also, that divers have and yet do use the like 
 barbarous custom, of pulling off the wool yearly from 
 living sheep instead of clipping or shearing of them '* 
 "Wherefore all such barbarities are prohibited, and it is 
 enacted that whomsoever shall so act in either case in 
 future, or procure the same to be done, shall be subject 
 to fine and imprisonment. The other Act is the 
 10^ an ^ 11^ Charles 1st, cap. 17, entitled < An 
 Act to prevent the unprofitable custom of burn- 
 
 cap - 17> ing Corn in the Straw.' It recites " Whereas 
 there is in the remote parts of this kingdom of Ireland 
 commonly a great dearth of cattle yearly, which for 
 the most part happeneth by reason of the ill husbandrie 
 and improvident care of the owners, that neither pro- 
 vide fodder nor stover for them in winter, nor houses 
 to put them in extremitie of stormy cold weather, but a 
 
 1634-5. 
 
 A parallel to the " pulling off the wool from living sheep," may even now 
 be witnessed all over the west of Ireland, in the plucking off the feathers from 
 the living geese, a process that must be attended with great pain, and under 
 the pruel infliction of which many of the poor geese perish. 
 
A.D. 16254649. BURNING CORN IN THE STRAW. 33 
 
 natural lazie disposition possessing them, will not build 
 barnes to house and thresh their corn in, nor houses to 
 keep their cattle from the violence of such weather ; but 
 the better to enable them to be flitting from their lands, 
 and to deceive his Majesty of such debts as they may be 
 owing, and their landlords of their rents, do for a great 
 part instead of threshing, burn their corn in the straw, 
 thereby consuming the straw which might relieve their 
 cattle in winter, and afford materials towards covering 
 or thatching their houses, and spoiling the corn, making 
 it black, loathsome and filthy " for prevention of which 
 unprofitable and uncivil customs it is ordained, that no 
 person shall " by himself, wife, children, servants, or 
 tenants," burn or cause to be burned any corn or grain 
 in the straw, on pain of being imprisoned ten days for 
 the first offence, for the second offence one month, and 
 for the third offence to pay a fine of forty shillings and 
 be bound to good behaviour. 
 
 These Acts certainly indicate the existence of very 
 rude and barbarous practices in some parts of Ireland 
 so rude indeed, that one finds some difficulty in 
 giving credence to them; but that they did prevail, 
 there can be no reasonable doubt. To plough by the 
 tail, to strip the wool off sheep, and to burn corn in the 
 straw, are doubtless all indications of a lamentable state 
 of backwardness and barbarism ; but how far this back- 
 wardness was owing to " a natural lazie disposition " in 
 the Irish tenantry, or whether it was the " better to 
 enable them to be flitting from their lands to deceive 
 their landlords of their rents," as asserted above, or 
 occasioned by the oppressive conduct of the landlords, 
 as described by Spenser, p it is impossible to say with 
 certainty. Most likely all these causes were in opera- 
 tion, together with a general feeling of insecurity, a 
 
 l> Hco 
 
 D 
 
34 CHAELES I. CHAP. I. 
 
 backward state of civilization, and a feeble and uncer- 
 tain administration of the law. 
 
 Another cause of backwardness and disorder is indi- 
 1634-5. cated by the ' Act for the suppressing of Cosh- 
 chSi" erers and idle Wanderers.' This Act (the 10th 
 and llth Charles 1st, cap. 16) commences with 
 the following recital " Whereas there are many young 
 gentlemen of this kingdom that have little or nothing to 
 live on of their own, and will not apply themselves to 
 labour or other honest industrious courses to support 
 themselves, but do live idly and inordinately, coshering 
 upon the country, and sessing themselves their followers 
 their horses and their greyhounds upon the poor inhabit- 
 ants, sometimes exacting money from them to spare them 
 and their tenants, and to go elsewhere to their eaught 
 and edraugh, viz. supper and breakfast, and sometimes 
 craving helps from them ; all which the poor people 
 dare not deny them, sometimes for shame, but most 
 commonly for fear of mischief to be done them so re- 
 fusing, and therefore do bear it although unwillingly, and 
 many times when they are scarce able so to do, and yet 
 dare not complain for fear of the inconveniences afore- 
 said, and to that end do make cuts levies and plotments 
 upon themselves to pay them, and give such entertain- 
 ment and helps to the utter impoverishing and disabling 
 of the poor inhabitants to pay their duties to the king, 
 and their rents unto their landlords ; and by that law- 
 less kind of life of these idle gentlemen and others, 
 being commonly active young men, and such as seek to 
 have many followers and dependants upon them, many 
 other inconveniences are likely to arise, for they are 
 apt upon the least occasion of disturbance or insurrec- 
 tion, to rifle and make booty of his Majesty's loyal 
 subjects, and to be heads and leaders of outlaws and 
 rebels, and in the mean time do and must sometimes 
 support their excessive and expenceful drinking and 
 gaming by secret stealths, or growing into debts often- 
 
A.D. 1625-1649. SUPPRESSION OF COSHERERS." 35 
 
 times filch and stand upon their keeping, and are not 
 amenable to law" wherefore for prevention of such 
 inconveniences it is enacted, that if any person or per- 
 sons shall directly or indirectly follow any of the above 
 practices in future, the justices of assize are to cause 
 them to be apprehended and bound to good behaviour, 
 and imprisoned until good sureties for the same be 
 given. These " cosherers " are apparently the same 
 class of persons described by Spenser as infesting the 
 country half a century before, q too proud to beg, too 
 idle to labour, and for the most part living by the 
 plunder and intimidation of the poor tenantry. There 
 could hardly have been a greater obstruction to im- 
 provement, or a more certain incentive to violence and 
 disorder, than the conduct of these " cosherers and idle 
 wanderers" as above described. They must have been 
 in every way a curse to the country, stirring up and 
 perpetuating whatever was pernicious oppressive and 
 demoralizing, and subverting whatever had a contrary 
 tendency. 
 
 We have now approached the period of what is 
 emphatically called " the great Rebellion," which was 
 followed by the Commonwealth, the Protectorate, and 
 the Restoration ; and then, after an interval, by the 
 Revolution of 1688, which led to the establishment of 
 constitutional monarchy. But in none of these periods, 
 although all highly interesting and important in an 
 historical point of view, do we find anything in Irish 
 legislation so immediately bearing upon our present 
 subject, as to call for citation or remark. 
 
 The first enactment in the order of time which it is 
 necessary to notice, is The 'Ind Anne, cap. 19, ma. 
 entitled 6 An Act for erecting a Workhouse ew.it.' 
 in the city of Dublin, for employing and main- workhouse. 
 taining the poor thereof.' The preamble declares, that 
 
 " Ante, p. 6. 
 
 D 2 
 
36 ANNE. CHAP. I. 
 
 " the necessities number and continual increase of the 
 poor within the city of Dublin and liberties thereto ad- 
 joining, are very great and exceeding burdensome for 
 want of workhouses to set them at work, and a sufficient 
 authority to compel them thereto : and whereas the 
 lord mayor, sheriffs, commons and citizens of Dublin 
 for the encouragement of so charitable and necessary a 
 work, are willing not only to appropriate a piece of 
 ground for a workhouse within the said city, but also 
 to endow the same with lands of inheritance of, the 
 value of one hundred pounds per annum" It is enacted, 
 that from and immediately after the 1st of May 1704, 
 there shall be a corporation to continue for ever within 
 the county of the city of Dublin, to be entitled the 
 governors and guardians of the poor, and to consist of 
 the chief governor (or lord lieutenant) the lord mayor, 
 the lord chancellor, the archbishop of Dublin, the 
 sheriffs, the justices of peace, the members of the corpo- 
 ration, and a great many others specially named, who 
 are to have perpetual succession, with all the usual 
 powers and privileges of a corporation. They are to 
 assemble on the first Thursday in every month, " for 
 relieving, regulating, and setting at work, all vaga- 
 bonds and beggars which shall come within the city or 
 liberties," and are to provide such necessaries and 
 material as are needful for the same. They are likewise 
 empowered to apprehend all idle or poor people begging 
 or seeking relief, or who receive parish alms within the 
 city or liberties ; and also to detain and keep in the 
 service of the said corporation until the age of sixteen, 
 any poor child or children found or taken up within 
 the said city or liberties above five years of age, and to 
 apprentice out such children to any honest persons, 
 being protestants, a male child until the age of twenty- 
 four, and a female child until the age of twenty-one. 
 The governors and directors are moreover empowered 
 to inflict reasonable punishment or correction, from 
 
A.D. 1702-1714. THE DUBLIN WORKHOUSE. 37 
 
 time to time, on all persons within the workhouse who 
 shall not conform to the established regulations ; and 
 are to have the care of the poor of the said city and 
 liberties of what age or kind soever they be, infants 
 under the age of five years only excepted ; and in order 
 thereto, are empowered " to examine, search, and see 
 what poor persons are come into, inhabiting, or residing 
 within the said city and liberties, or any part thereof, 
 and to apprehend any idle vagrants and beggars, and 
 to cause them to be set and kept at work in the said 
 workhouse, for any time not exceeding seven years." 
 
 For the encouragement of such as shall become bene- 
 factors to the foregoing " good design," it is enacted 
 that a donor of fifty pounds and upwards shall be 
 eligible for the office of governor and guardian ; and 
 power is also given for granting licences for the keeping 
 of hackney coaches not exceeding 150 in number, and 
 for sedan-chairs not exceeding 80 in number, to ply for 
 hire within the city and liberties, every licence so 
 granted being charged with the sum of 5Z., to be paid 
 to the governors and guardians of the poor by way of 
 fine, and forty shillings annually afterwards, so long as 
 the said licence shall be continued. It is further 
 enacted for the support of the poor in the said work- 
 house, that a rate of 3d. in the pound be charged on 
 every house within the city and liberties, to be levied 
 in the same way as ministers' money ; but in case any 
 surplus should remain after defraying the necessary 
 charges of the workhouse, and the poor maintained and 
 employed therein,* a proportional abatement is to be 
 made in this tax upon houses. 
 
 The above is the substance of this important Act, 
 important, that is, as being the first in which a direct 
 provision is made for the relief of poverty in Ireland. 
 The Act is local, it is true, its operation being limited 
 to the city and liberties of Dublin ; but it recognises 
 the principle of taxing the public for the prevention of 
 
38 ANNE. CHAP. I. 
 
 vagrancy and begging, conjointly with the alternative 
 of relieving the destitute a principle universal in itself, 
 and susceptible of universal application. The endeavour 
 to effect these objects through the agency of work- 
 houses, was very generally resorted to in England 
 about this time. They had been recommended by Sir 
 Matthew Hale, and also by Mr. Locke in his Report on 
 the state of the poor, and the Bristol, Worcester, and 
 other workhouses were established with a like intent/ 
 although the employment of the inmates with a view 
 to profit, was no doubt at the same time regarded as a 
 collateral advantage. The direction that the poor 
 children " found or taken up" should be apprenticed to 
 " honest persons being protestants," seems, as in the 
 case of the free schools already noticed, 8 to indicate a 
 desire in the framers of the measure to make it sub- 
 servient to the spread of the reformed religion ; but at 
 that time the property, and nearly all the industrious 
 occupations of the country were in the hands of pro- 
 testants, so that with them alone was there likely to 
 be an eligible opportunity for apprenticing out the 
 children. The direction to do so was therefore super- 
 fluous, but it indicates the dominant feeling of the 
 time. The corporation was reconstituted and its powers 
 extended by the 1st George 2nd, cap. 27, in 1728, and 
 ultimately the workhouse became merged in the Dublin 
 Foundling Hospital ; but as it will hereafter be necessary 
 to revert to this point we need not dwell on it at present. 
 The Act passed in 1635, 'for the suppression of 
 e Anne cosherers and idle wanderers,' has already been 
 ca P . n n e : noticed. 1 In 1707 another was passed (the 6th 
 Anne, cap. 11,) explaining and amending the former, 
 and entitled ' An Act for the more effectual suppressing 
 tories robbers and rapparees, and for preventing persons 
 
 See History of the English Poor Law,' vol. i. pp. 302, 372, 373 and 385. 
 Ante, p. 24. * Ante, p. 34. 
 
A.D. 1702-1714. SUPPRESSION OF "TORIES," ETC. 39 
 
 becoming tories or resorting to them.' It directs 
 " that all loose idle vagrants, and such as pietend to be 
 Irish gentlemen, and will not work nor betake them- 
 selves to any honest trade or livelihood, but wander 
 about demanding victuals and coshering from house to 
 house among their fosterers followers and others, and 
 also loose persons of infamous lives and characters, upon 
 presentments of the grand juries at assizes and general 
 quarter sessions, and upon warrant of the justices, shall 
 be imprisoned until sent on board the fleet, or trans- 
 ported to some of her Majesties plantations in America, 
 whither the justices are empowered to send them, unless 
 sufficient security for their good behaviour be given. 
 Many persons are moreover said to make a trade of 
 obtaining robbery money from the country, pretending 
 to have been robbed, " whereas they never were robbed, 
 or were not robbed of near the value they allege, and 
 so get money on that account which they never lost" 
 Wherefore it is directed that all persons pretending 
 to be robbed, shall not only give notice thereof to some 
 neighbouring justice, but likewise to the high constable, 
 who is forthwith to publish the same in all the market 
 towns of the barony. 
 
 There appears to have been another species of fraud 
 in connexion with this " robbery money," for Robbery 
 the principal inhabitants, when applotments 
 were made for reimbursing the persons that had been 
 robbed, do it is said, " usually lay the whole burthen on 
 the poorer sort, that are least able to bear it, or least able 
 to resist or pursue the tories, and thereby they pay 
 little or nothing themselves, who ought to be charged 
 according to their abilities" Wherefore the parties 
 aggrieved are authorised to appeal to the judges of 
 assize, who are empowered to examine into the case 
 upon oath, and to determine the same. We thus see 
 how apt a law, however good in itself, is to be perverted 
 to a bad purpose. The making the county answerable 
 
40 GEORGE I. CHAP. I. 
 
 for reimbursing a person who had been plundered, 
 would seem calculated to array all the inhabitants on 
 the side of honesty and good order ; but without pre- 
 venting robbery, the law in this case appears to have 
 given rise to a fraudulent trafficking in " robbery 
 money," and to gross injustice in other respects. There 
 is no other Act of the Irish parliament in Anne's reign 
 requiring to be noticed, but there is one in that of her 
 successor which must not be passed over. 
 
 The 2nd George 1st, cap. 17, may be called a multitu- 
 2G 1 eOT 5 ei dinous ^ c ^> as ^ comprises a great variety of 
 cap. IT. enactments, but such parts only will be noticed 
 as bear upon our subject. It is entitled * An Act to 
 empower justices to determine disputes about servants' 
 wages &c.' and it recites " Whereas several persons 
 do refuse or neglect to pay the wages due to servants, 
 artificers, and day labourers, and there being no remedy 
 whereby they can in a summary way, without much 
 charge or delay recover what is due for their service" 
 it is therefore enacted for the more easy recovery of 
 the same, that any neighbouring justice of the peace 
 or chief magistrate may receive the complaint of any 
 such servant upon oath, and may summon the master or 
 mistress and determine the demand, which if not paid 
 within ten days as so determined, may be levied by 
 distress. " And forasmuch as several servants are 
 drunkards, idle or otherwise disorderly in their services, 
 or waste and purloin their master's goods, or lend the 
 same without their master's or mistress's consent or 
 knowledge, or depart their service within the time for 
 which they had obliged themselves to serve," it is 
 further enacted, that on complaint upon oath of any 
 master or mistress to such effect before any justice of 
 peace or chief magistrate, they are to hear and deter- 
 mine the same, and if the offence be duly proved, may 
 commit the offender for six hours to the stocks, or to 
 the house of correction with hard labour for any time 
 
A.D. 1714-1727. APPRENTICING HELPLESS CHILDREN. 41 
 
 not exceeding ten days. It is also enacted, that on the 
 discharge or quitting service of any servant, the master 
 or mistress shall give a certificate in writing to that 
 effect, " and shall in the said discharge certify, if desired, 
 or if the master or mistress shall think fit, the behaviour 
 of such servant ;" and no servant is in future to be 
 hired without producing such discharge or certificate of 
 character. These enactments appear alike calculated 
 to benefit the master and the servant class, and if fairly 
 administered could hardly fail of so doing. They show 
 moreover that social organization in Ireland had at- 
 tained a more stable and orderly form, that its grada- 
 tions were more distinctly marked and better under- 
 stood, and that the duties of each were more clearly 
 defined. We no longer see any allusion to the " Irishry" 
 as a separate race. All are brought within the pale of 
 the law, or it may rather be said that the law and the 
 pale have become conterminous. 
 
 By the Ilth section of the Act provision is made for 
 apprenticing helpless children. It commences llthBection> 
 with this preamble " and whereas there are $S$S?* 
 in almost every part of this kingdom great cl 
 numbers of helpless children who are forced to beg 
 their bread, and who will in all likelihood, if some 
 proper care be not taken of their education, become 
 hereafter not only unprofitable but dangerous to their 
 country ; and whereas it is hoped that many of them 
 may be entertained in comfortable services, and others 
 may be bound out to and bred up in useful callings, if 
 well-disposed persons could have any fair prospect of 
 receiving hereafter by the labour of such poor children, 
 any return suitable to the trouble and charges they 
 must necessarily undergo in bringing them through 
 that state of childhood" Wherefore it is enacted, that 
 the minister and churchwardens shall have power, with 
 consent of a justice of peace, to bind out any child they 
 find begging within their parish, or any other poor 
 child with consent of the parents, to any honest and 
 
42 GEORGE II. CHAP. I. 
 
 substantial protestant housekeeper or tradesman that 
 will entertain such child, until the age of 21, if as a 
 menial servant, or till the age of 24, if as an apprentice 
 to a trade. And to prevent abuse of power in masters 
 and mistresses towards such servants and apprentices, 
 it is further enacted that justices of peace may, on 
 complaint of ill usage or cruel treatment examine into 
 the case, and if the complaint appear groundless, may 
 order reasonable correction for the servant or ap- 
 prentice complaining without cause ; but if immoderate 
 severity or cruel usage be fully proved against the 
 master or mistress, the justice is empowered to discharge 
 the servant or apprentice from their service, and to bind 
 him or her to some other master or mistress for the 
 remainder of the time. We here see that the power of 
 apprenticing out poor children conferred upon the 
 Dublin corporation of governors and guardians of the 
 poor, u is now extended to the minister and church- 
 wardens of every parish in Ireland, accompanied by a 
 like condition as to the master's being a protestant. In 
 this respect only is there any material difference 
 between the present enactment, and The ^th Elizabeth, 
 cap. 3, x with regard to apprenticing poor children, 
 although better provision is now made for protecting 
 them against improper treatment subsequently. 
 
 In 1735 an Act was passed for establishing a work- 
 1735. house at Cork, similar in its main provisions 
 cap. 25. to that which was passed for Dublin in 1703. u 
 The present Act (The 9th George 2nd, cap. 25) however 
 makes provision for rebuilding the cathedral church of 
 St. Finbarry, as well as " for erecting a workhouse in 
 the city of Cork for employing and maintaining the 
 poor, punishing vagabonds, and providing for and edu- 
 cating foundling children." With respect to the former 
 of these provisions, it is only necessary to remark, that 
 the money authorised to be raised by a coal-tax, was 
 
 " Ante, p. 35. 
 See 'History of the English Poor Law,' vol. i. p. 183. 
 
A.D. 1727-1760. THE CORK WORKHOUSE. 43 
 
 directed to be applied during the first four years to the 
 purposes of the cathedral ; and we may therefore abstain 
 from further noticing that point, and proceed at once to 
 a consideration of the other provisions of the Act. 
 
 The 9th George 2nd, cap. 25, has the same preamble 
 as the Dublin Act. It constitutes the bishop of Cork, 
 and the mayor, recorder, aldermen, sheriffs, common 
 councilmen, the common speaker, together with twenty- 
 six other persons who are to be elected annually, a 
 corporation and body politic, entitled the-" Governors of 
 the Workhouse of the City of Cork." They are to have 
 a common seal, with all the usual powers, and may 
 purchase and take for the uses of the corporation any 
 lands or other hereditaments not exceeding the annual 
 value of 2000/. The ground for the workhouse is given 
 by the city corporation, and in order to defray the 
 expenses to be incurred in carrying the several provi- 
 sions of the Act into effect, a duty of one shilling per 
 ton is imposed on all coal and culm imported into Cork 
 during the term of thirty-one years, to be paid to the 
 governors of the workhouse. Four general assemblies 
 of the governors are to be held in every year, and they 
 may from among themselves annually appoint fifteen to 
 be assistants, any five of whom are to have full power 
 to carry the regulations established by the governors 
 into effect, and likewise to regulate the management 
 of the gaol or house of correction. The beadles strolling 
 and constables are authorised to seize all vSondsto 
 beggars and other idle vagabonds, found stroll- b 
 ing in or frequenting any of the streets or houses 
 within the city and suburbs, and to carry them 
 before one of the said assistants, who is empowered 
 to commit them to the workhouse and hard labour 
 until the next meeting of the governors, who may 
 if they see cause confine such beggars or vagabonds 
 in the workhouse for any term not longer than four 
 years, and keep them to hard labour or otherwise as 
 
44 GEOKGE II. CHAP. I. 
 
 shall be thought fit. If disorderly, they may be com- 
 mitted to the house of correction. 
 
 The workhouse at Cork, like that established in 
 Dublin, is thus we see primarily intended for the 
 repression of mendicancy and vagabondism, and like 
 that too it is further designed for the reception and 
 section 17. maintenance of foundlings. The 17 'th section 
 children. o f the Act declares that " the exposed or found- 
 ling children left yearly on the several parishes in the 
 city and suburbs of Cork are very numerous, and do 
 frequently perish for want of due care and provision 
 for them " Wherefore it is enacted, that as soon as 
 the workhouse shall be built, the governors shall receive 
 from the churchwardens of the respective parishes all 
 the exposed or foundling children that are then within 
 the same, and likewise all such as may thereafter be 
 found exposed or left to be maintained by any of the 
 said parishes, " and shall take due care to have such 
 children nursed, clad, and taught to read and write, 
 and thoroughly instructed in the principles of the pro- 
 testant religion." The male children are to be taught 
 some trade or calling, and employed thereon within 
 the workhouse until the age of 21, when they are to be 
 discharged, and furnished with a certificate under the 
 seal of the corporation, stating their having been so 
 brought up and taught such trade in the workhouse, 
 which -certificate will entitle them to 'the freedom of the 
 city of Cork, with all the privileges other freemen enjoy. 
 
 If the number of male foundlings should become so 
 great, that the fund appropriated to the maintenance 
 of the workhouse proves insufficient for continuing 
 them therein until they severally attain the age of 21 
 years, the governors or assistants are empowered to 
 place out so many of the male children to such art trade 
 or calling, or to the sea service, or to be household 
 servants, for any term not exceeding seven years, as 
 they shall judge necessary and expedient. The female 
 
A.D. 1727-1760. FOUNDLINGS. 45 
 
 children are to be instructed in such proper trades and 
 employments, and disposed of at such ages and in such 
 manner, as the governors may deem advisable ; and 
 in order to prevent the improper interference of the 
 parents of such deserted children, many of whom being 
 Eoman catholics are said to strive to hinder their 
 children from being brought up protestants, the go- 
 vernors of the workhouses of Dublin and Cork are 
 empowered to exchange the children maintained therein, 
 whenever such interchange shall be agreed upon by 
 the respective governors. This appears the only ma- 
 terial addition suggested by the experience obtained in 
 the thirty years between the passing of the two Acts, 
 and it strikingly illustrates the difficulty of dealing 
 with matters connected in any way with differences in 
 religion. Here are parents so wanting in natural 
 affection as to desert their own progeny, and leave 
 them to be cared for by their protestant fellow-sub- 
 jects, and who yet make it a point of conscience to 
 hinder their children's being brought up in the religion 
 of their protectors. It would seem impossible to carry 
 unreasoning inconsistency further. 
 
 Foundling hospitals have, from a remote period, 
 existed on the continent of Europe, especially in Italy 
 and France. It appears to have been thought that by 
 providing a place where mothers might deposit their 
 illegitimate offspring in safety, the frequent recurrence 
 of child-murder would be prevented. But it may be 
 doubted whether the exemption from the consequences 
 of illicit intercourse, does not tend to relax moral 
 restraints, and to increase the number of illegitimate 
 children. 
 
 The double functions assigned to the Dublin work- 
 house, of dealing both with vagrants and found- mi _ 2 
 ling children, were deemed to be inconsistent, 
 and The llth and 12th George 3rd, cap. 11, was 
 passed to remedy this defect, and in fact to 
 
46 GEORGE III. CHAP. I. 
 
 reconstitute the entire establishment. All former Acts 
 affecting it were accordingly repealed, and a new cor- 
 poration appointed, comprising a long list of persons 
 official and non-official, from the lord-lieutenant down- 
 wards, who are to be called " the Governors of the 
 Foundling Hospital and Workhouse of the city of 
 Dublin." The corporation is invested with large powers, 
 and may for its own use and benefit purchase and hold 
 any lands, tenements or hereditaments, not exceeding 
 the annual value of 2,000., or any personal estate 
 whatsoever ; and may make such rules by-laws and 
 other regulations, as the governors shall judge necessary 
 and expedient for the good government of the institu- 
 tion. There are to be four quarterly meetings of the 
 governors in the year, and as in the case of Cork the 
 governors may appoint annually from among them- 
 selves fifteen or more "to be called the Court of As- 
 sistants," who are to assemble as often as they think 
 proper for putting in execution the orders and regula- 
 tions ordained by the governors, and are invested with 
 authority to inspect and regulate the management of 
 the institution, " and the children received therein or 
 sent out to nurse therefrom." 
 
 And as " the reception of vagabonds and strolling 
 vagabonds beggars into the same house, or within the same 
 
 andstrolling . . . 
 
 STJbe walls with childen, will be manifestly injurious 
 admitted. ^y fa Q setting a bad example," it is enacted 
 that no vagabond or strolling beggar shall be sent into 
 the same house, or kept within the same walls with the 
 children ; but when apprehended shall be sent to bride- 
 well, or to such other place as the governors shall 
 appoint, separate and apart from the said children, and 
 be there maintained and set to work at the expense 
 of the corporation, under such management and regu- 
 lation as the governors shall prescribe, the produce of 
 their labour to be applied in aid of the revenues of the 
 institution. The governors and the court of assistants 
 
A.D. 1760-1820. FOUNDLINGS. 47 
 
 are empowered to inflict reasonable punishment or cor- 
 rection from time to time, on any vagabond beggar or 
 poor person within the said bridewell, or other place 
 of confinement ; and each of the governors, and every 
 justice of peace, may apprehend any poor persons beg- 
 ging or seeking relief, and all vagabonds and strolling 
 beggars, within the city and liberties. The beadles, 
 constables, and inhabitants generally, are moreover 
 required to seize and take all such persons before one 
 of the said governors, or one of the said justices, in 
 order to their being committed to bridewell or other 
 appointed place, until the next quarterly court of go- 
 vernors, who may confine the beggars and idle vaga- 
 bonds so committed for any term not exceeding three 
 years, " there to be kept to hard labour, or otherwise 
 usefully employed, as they shall see cause and shall 
 order and direct." 
 
 The entire separation of the vagrant classes from the 
 foundling; children being thus provided for, it section ie. 
 
 M Foundling 
 
 is then by the 16m section enacted " that all children. 
 and every poor child and children under the age of six 
 years, who shall be found or taken up within the said 
 city and liberties, or sent to the foundling hospital, 
 shall be received and kept therein, or sent to nurse 
 therefrom ; and that all children presented for recep- 
 tion who appear to be six years old, and not exceeding 
 eight, shall be received if there be room, and the 
 children appear to be sound in mind and body." The 
 children are to be instructed in the principles of the 
 protestant religion, and taught to read write and cast 
 accounts, together with such other useful matters as 
 " may tend to increase the fund for the support of the 
 said house." The governors may, from time to time, 
 place out as apprentices by proper indentures any of the 
 said children to persons being protestants and following 
 any trade or calling, or to seafaring men, or to gentle- 
 men or housekeepers for servants, for any term not 
 
48 GEORGE III. CHAP. I. 
 
 exceeding seven years/ The maintenance and educa- 
 tion afforded to these poor children, and their being 
 thus placed out as servants, or apprenticed to a trade, 
 naturally made the institution attractive ; and it is de- 
 clared to be necessary " that some further funds should 
 be provided, as it is found by experience that the 
 numbers of children are of late years greatly increased, 
 and the children are brought to the hospital from all 
 parts of the kingdom, and from his Majesty's neigh- 
 bouring dominions." 
 
 Accordingly, the governors are empowered for " the 
 better support of the said Foundling Hospital and 
 workhouse, and for the maintenance and education of 
 the children and other purposes of the Act," to grant 
 licences to persons keeping hackney coaches, stages, or 
 other vehicles plying for hire, and to porters or mes- 
 sengers within the city or suburbs or seven miles thereof, 
 on conditions and at rates of charge prescribed in the 
 Act ; and also to charge and receive 6 d. in the pound on 
 the yearly rent of all houses within the city and liber- 
 ties, or within two Irish miles of Dublin Castle, as the 
 same is returned for the minister's money, or if not so 
 returned, on the rents payable by tenants in possession. 
 And whenever the number of children causes the ex- 
 pense to exceed the revenue provided by the Act, the 
 governors are to cause notice thereof to be inserted in 
 the Dublin Gazette, after which no child is to be again 
 received until notice to that effect be in like manner 
 given. 
 
 On comparing this with the original Act of 1703, 
 and with the Cork Act of 1735, it will be seen that the 
 chief difference is the entire separation of the vagabond 
 or culpable class from the foundling children which is 
 now directed, and the reason for which is distinctly 
 
 y This limitation was afterwards removed by the 26th George 3rd, cap. 48, 
 which allowed of children being apprenticed for any term, provided it did not 
 exceed the age of 21 for a male and 18 for a female. 
 
A.D. 1760-1820. DESERTED CHILDREN. 49 
 
 stated. This was doubtless an advantage, and it led to 
 so many other improvements in the care and manage- 
 ment of the children, that the numbers deserted and 
 pressed upon the institution went on continually in- 
 creasing, and soon became excessive. It is indeed com- 
 plained of in the present Act, before the separation it 
 directs was carried into full effect, and the influence we 
 are told even extended beyond the limits of Ireland. 
 To provide for the additional charges thus arising, the 
 area of the house-tax was extended, and its rate in- 
 creased from 3d. to 6c?. in the pound. No change is 
 made in the charge for licensing carriages, but the 
 number to be licensed was increased, hackney coaches 
 from 150 to 300, and sedan-chairs from 80 to 400, 
 which may be taken as proof of the increasing wealth 
 and population of Dublin, if not of the country gene- 
 rally. This Act was repeatedly amended ; and even in 
 the following year, on the ground that " the number of 
 children of the age of six years and under, have of late 
 years increased so far beyond the expectation of the 
 governors," it is directed by the 13th and llth George 
 3rd, cap. 17, that children of three years old and 
 upwards are not to be received, and that the house-tax 
 be raised from 6d. to IQd. in the pound for two years, 
 on houses of 10Z. rental and upwards. 
 
 Nothing further need at present be said with respect 
 to the above statute. But two other Acts were 1772-74. 
 subsequently passed, one in the same year, and Geo^e m. 
 the other in the year following which require Q*J** 
 to be noticed. The first is The llth and 12th *'* 
 George 3rd, cap. 15, ' for the relief of poor infants who 
 are or shall be deserted by their parents ' the other is 
 The 13th and llth George 3rd, cap. 24, for amending the 
 same. The first-named Act commences with this re- 
 cital " Whereas poor infants are frequently deserted 
 by their parents, and left exposed to the inclemency of 
 the weather in the streets and other places in cities ; 
 
 E 
 
50 GEOKG-E III. CHAP. I. 
 
 and whereas the inhabitants of several parishes in which 
 children are so exposed refuse to raise money for the 
 support of such children, by which many of them 
 perish " it is therefore enacted, that in every parish 
 of every city (excepting Dublin and Cork) a vestry 
 shall be held in the first week of June annually, at 
 which three overseers are to be chosen, who shall take 
 up and provide for the maintenance and education of 
 all such children as shall be so deserted and exposed 
 within their respective parishes. The sum of 51. is 
 allowed for the bringing up of each child, and the 
 entire expense is to be equally borne by the inhabitants 
 of the cities respectively. The overseers are to collect 
 the sums assessed upon each inhabitant, and apply the 
 money so collected to the maintenance and education of 
 such deserted children within their respective parishes. 
 This provision is, we see, limited to cities ; but the other 
 Act (L3th and Uth George 3rd, cap. 24) makes the pro- 
 vision general throughout the country. After citing 
 the former Act, it directs " that in every parish in 
 this kingdom (except in the cities of Dublin and Cork 
 for which particular provision is made) a vestry shall 
 be held annually, at such time and with such powers as 
 the former Act prescribes ;" and the overseers in such 
 parishes are to " take up and provide for the mainte- 
 nance and education of all such children as shall be 
 deserted and exposed within their respective parishes 
 at the age of twelve months or under ;" and such sums 
 of money as shall be necessary for the purpose, are to 
 be " raised upon the respective parishes in the same 
 manner and with such remedies as other parish cesses." 
 If any parish refuses or neglects to raise the amount 
 necessary, the next going judge of assize, upon com- 
 plaint of the minister or curate thereof, may order such 
 sum to be raised as he shall think fit, "so as the same 
 do not exceed the sum of 51. for each child ;" and the 
 money so directed to be raised is to be assessed and 
 
A.D. 1760-1820. LICENSING OF BEGGAES. 51 
 
 levied in the manner and with the like remedies as the 
 presentments of grand juries, and is to be paid to the 
 minister or curate of such parish, and by him applied to 
 the purposes of the Act. 
 
 These Acts, taken together, make provision for the 
 support of exposed and deserted children of tender age 
 in every parish in Ireland, by means of a compulsory 
 assessment upon the inhabitants. This amounts in fact 
 to a limited relief of the poor, or a restricted kind of 
 poor-law, the children being in almost every instance 
 the offspring of parents too poor to rear and maintain 
 them, whence (as was the case in England) the parish 
 of necessity becomes responsible for the performance of 
 these duties, and stands in loco parentis. After thus 
 legislating for one class of the destitute, and recognis- 
 ing the principle of compulsory assessment, it seems 
 remarkable that nothing further should be done in the 
 way of establishing a regular system of relief for the 
 destitute of every class, especially as vestries were now 
 being organised, and overseers appointed in all the 
 parishes of Ireland. Perhaps an Act passed about the 
 same time, and to which we will now turn, may serve 
 to explain this omission, as it attempts to effect the 
 object circuitously and by indirect means, instead of 
 openly charging property for the relief of destitution. 
 
 The llth and 12th George 3rd, cap. 30, is entitled 
 4 An Act for Badging such Poor as shall be mi _ 2 
 found unable to support themselves by labour, (JJnSfra. 
 and otherwise providing for them, and for re- 
 straining such as shall be found able to support them- 
 selves by labour or industry from begging/ It com- 
 mences as follows " Whereas strolling beggars are 
 very numerous in this kingdom, and whereas it is 
 equally necessary to give countenance and assistance to 
 those poor who shall be found disabled by old age or 
 infirmities to earn their living, as to restrain and punish 
 those who may be able to support themselves by labour 
 
 E 2 " 
 
52 GEOKGE III. CHAP. I. 
 
 or industry, and yet may choose to live in idleness by 
 begging ; and it is just to call upon the humane and 
 affluent to contribute to the support of real objects of 
 charity ; and whereas those purposes may be better effect- 
 ed by one law, than by many laws tending to the same 
 purpose" it is enacted that the 33rd Henry 8#A, cap. 15, z 
 and the 10th and llth Charles 1st, cap. 4, z be repealed. 
 
 The Act then proceeds " And whereas the good 
 purposes intended by this Act are most likely to be 
 promoted by creating corporations in every county at 
 large, and in every county of a city or town in this 
 corporations kingdom, who may execute the powers and 
 wishefin trusts hereinafter expressed " it is enacted that 
 every county. guc j 1 corporations be established accordingly, 
 consisting in counties of the archbishop or bishop, the 
 county members, and the justices of peace ; and in 
 counties of a city or town, of the chief magistrate, 
 sheriffs, recorder, members of parliament and justices of 
 peace. Every such corporation is to be called " The 
 President and Assistants instituted for the relief of the 
 Poor, and for punishing Vagabonds and Sturdy Beg- 
 gars," of the county, city, or town, as the case may be ; 
 and is to have a common seal, and to hold meetings at 
 which the bishop when present is to preside, and to 
 make by-laws and appoint standing committees, and 
 is likewise empowered to elect such other persons as 
 shall be thought fit, including those who contribute 
 any sum not less than 20Z., or subscribe annually not 
 less than 3Z., to the charitable purposes of the corpo- 
 ration, to be members thereof respectively. The cor- 
 porations are authorised to accept donations, and to 
 take or purchase lands and tenements not exceeding 
 500/. annual value, and to hold leases for terms not 
 exceeding 21 years, and may also take by grant or 
 devise any quantity of land in a city or town not ex- 
 
 2 Ante, pp. 22 and 28. 
 
A.D. 1760-1820. WORKHOUSES. 
 
 ceeding two roods, and in the open country noT ex- 
 ceeding twenty acres, " for the sites of houses to be 
 built for the reception of the helpless poor, and for 
 keeping in restraint sturdy beggars and vagabonds." 
 
 The corporations, constituted as above, are empowered 
 to grant badges to such of the helpless poor as Tbe poor to 
 have resided one year in their respective coun- and b iSed 
 ties cities or towns, with a licence to beg fc 
 within such limits for such time as may be thought fit ; 
 and are also empowered to appoint certain of the jus- 
 tices to grant badges and licences likewise " specifying 
 the names and places of birth and the character of the 
 persons so licensed, and the causes as nearly as may 
 be collected of their poverty, and whether reduced to 
 that state by sickness or misfortune." 
 
 The said corporation are moreover required as soon 
 as they possess sufficient funds, to build hospitals Houses of 
 to be called workhouses or houses of industry for workfisw 
 the relief of the poor in their respective counties, provided. 
 " as plain, as durable, and at as moderate expense as 
 may be ;" which hospitals are to be divided into four 
 parts, one for such poor helpless men, and one other 
 for such poor helpless women as shall be judged worthy 
 of admission, a third for the reception of men able to 
 labour and committed as vagabonds or sturdy beggars, 
 and the fourth for idle strolling and disorderly women 
 committed to the hospital and found fit for labour. 
 
 Every man above the age of fifteen found begging 
 without a licence, and not wearing a badge, Persons 
 is to be committed to the stocks for any time wlffiL 
 not exceeding three hours for the first offence, apprehended. 
 arid six hours for every subsequent offence ; and old 
 persevering offenders may be indicted at the sessions, 
 and if convicted are to suffer imprisonment not exceed- 
 ing two months; after which if .they again offend they 
 may be publicly whipped, and be again imprisoned for 
 four months, and so on continually for every subse- 
 
54 GEORGE III. CHAP. I. 
 
 quent offence. Every female found begging without a 
 licence and badge, may be confined in any place ap- 
 pointed for that purpose, not exceeding three hours for 
 the first offence, and for every subsequent offence not 
 exceeding six hours ; and every old and persevering 
 offender is, as in the case of the men, to be proceeded 
 against at the sessions ; and in order that these direc- 
 tions may be carried into effect, the corporations are 
 empowered to appoint " such and so many persons as 
 they shall think fit, at reasonable salaries, to seize and 
 arrest all such persons whom they shall find begging 
 without such licence and badge, and carry them before 
 the next justice, who may commit the party to the 
 stocks or otherwise as aforesaid." Justices are more- 
 over empowered on their own view, to cause such 
 persons to be seized and dealt with as is above directed 
 for every first and subsequent offence. 
 
 Whenever a poor person deemed worthy of having a 
 licence to beg, has one or more children under 
 
 Poor children , , , 
 
 ^bepro. the age ol ten years not apprenticed or other- 
 wise provided for, the age and number of such 
 children are to be inserted in the licence by the person 
 applied to in such case, or he may " at his or their elec- 
 tion take such and so many of them as he or they shall 
 think fit from the parent, and convey such child or 
 children to the committee of that county, city or town, 
 and insert the names of the rest in the parents' licence." 
 If any fatherless or deserted poor children under eight 
 years of age are found strolling and begging, they are 
 to be conveyed to the committee of the particular county 
 city or town, to be placed in such charter school nursery 
 as will receive them when under eight, and the rest are 
 to be apprenticed. The committees are required to keep 
 up a correspondence with the Protestant Charter Schools 
 Society,* that they may be informed from time to time 
 
 n Ante, p. 25. 
 
an ^ com " 
 
 A.D. 1760-1820. THE FUNDS HOW RAISED. 55 
 
 when there is accommodation for poor children, in order 
 " that all poor children may as much as possible be pre- 
 vented from strolling, and may be put to trades* or to 
 industry." 
 
 As soon as the houses of industry are provided and 
 furnished for the purpose, the corporations are to place 
 therein so many vagrants sturdy beggars and vaga- 
 bonds, and so many helpless poor as their funds admit 
 of; " and they are authorised and required to seize every 
 strolling vagrant capable of labour who hath no stromn g 
 
 place of abode, and who doth not live by his or 
 
 IT i " i 
 
 her labour or industry, and every person above 
 
 the age of fifteen who shall beg publicly without a 
 licence or badge, and every strolling prostitute capable 
 of labour, and to commit the said persons to the divisions 
 allotted for them respectively in the said houses, and 
 there to keep them to hard labour, and compel them to 
 work, maintaining them properly," and inflicting reason- 
 able punishment when necessary, for the periods named 
 in the Act, varying from two months to four years. 
 
 " In order to furnish some revenues for the said cor- 
 porations at the outset," the grand juries are Money to be 
 required to present annually at every spring SWuy 
 assizes in every county of a city or town, to be ments - 
 raised off the lands and houses equally and rateably, any 
 sum not less than 100Z. nor more than 200/., and in every 
 county at large any sum not less than 200/. nor more 
 than 40 O/., to be assessed and collected as other county 
 taxes are, and paid to the corporations respectively, 
 without fee or deduction whatever, for the charitable 
 purposes of the Act. All rectors vicars and incumbents 
 of parishes are likewise required to permit such clergy- 
 men as the respective corporations may appoint, to preach 
 sermons in their churches annually, and to permit col- 
 lections to be made for the objects contemplated by the 
 Act. 
 
 We here see that provision has been made, partly by 
 
tion. 
 
 56 GEOEGE III. CHAP. I. 
 
 compulsory assessment, partly by voluntary contribu- 
 tions, and through the instrumentality of cor- 
 porations specially appointed for the badging 
 and licensing of the poor to beg for providing hospitals 
 workhouses or houses of industry in every county at 
 large and county of a city or town for separately con- 
 fining therein able-bodied vagabonds and disorderly 
 women who are to be kept to hard labour and for the 
 maintenance therein of poor helpless men and women. 
 Authority is likewise given to seize any one found 
 begging without a badge or licence, and to send such 
 as are above fifteen to the house of industry for punish- 
 ment, whilst the children are to be placed at school or 
 put out to trade or service. And finally, persons are 
 appointed at reasonable salaries to carry these enact- 
 ments against unlicensed begging into effect. 
 
 In this Act therefore we have stringent provisions 
 against mendicancy, coupled with a conditional per- 
 mission for practising it. The deserving poor are 
 permitted to beg, or if helpless are maintained ; the 
 undeserving poor if they beg are punished : but the 
 distinction between the two is not defined, neither is 
 it perhaps possible so to define it as to guard against 
 continual deception and fraud. The punishment of 
 vagrancy in every shape prescribed by this Act, accords 
 with what we find in all the earlier Scottish and Eng- 
 lish statutes, and if due provision were at the same 
 time made for relieving the destitute poor, this would 
 be open to little objection; but the relief of poverty 
 is here proposed to be effected chiefly by means of an 
 organised system of begging, the helpless poor for whom 
 provision is made in the houses of industry, being evi- 
 dently those only who are too infirm to travel about for 
 that purpose. By thus combining two objects of an 
 opposite nature, it is evident neither will be accom- 
 plished vagrancy will not be put down, and poverty 
 will not be relieved. The providing for the establish- 
 
A.D. 1760-1820. LEGISLATION BEFORE THE UNION. 57 
 
 ment of corporations in every county, with powers to 
 erect hospitals, houses of industry, or workhouses, and 
 to tax the property of the country for such purpose, was 
 no doubt an important advance in the legislation with 
 regard to the poor ; but like many other Irish enact- 
 ments the present does not appear to have been carried 
 into effect, except in a very few instances ; and as a 
 general measure the Act may be said to have been 
 inoperative. It possessed however so much of a general 
 character, and seemed to hold out such a promise of 
 efficiency by consolidating the provisions of former Acts, 
 that it was for a time relied upon, and upwards of half 
 a century elapsed before anything further was attempted 
 for the relief of the poor in Ireland. 
 
 The foregoing is the last of the Acts of the Irish 
 parliament which we shall have occasion to notice, and 
 when the Union took place in 1800, the Imperial legis- 
 lation superseded that which had been local. 
 
 On here closing the last volume of Irish statutes, it may- 
 be convenient to give a short statement of the nature 
 and extent of the previous legislation connected with our 
 subject. Houses of industry and foundling hospitals, 
 supported partly by public rates, and partly by voluntary 
 contributions, were we have seen established at Dublin 
 and Cork, for the reception and bringing up of exposed 
 and deserted children, and the confinement of vagrants 
 free schools were directed to be maintained in every 
 diocese, for educating the children of the poor parishes 
 were required to support the children exposed and 
 deserted within their limits, and vestries were organised 
 and overseers appointed to attend to this duty hos- 
 pitals, houses of industry or workhouses, were to be 
 provided in every county, and county of a city or town- 
 severe punishments were enacted against idle vagabonds 
 and vagrants ; whilst the deserving poor were to be 
 badged and licensed to beg, or if infirm and helpless 
 were to be maintained in the hospitals or houses of 
 
58 LEGISLATION BEFOKE THE UNION. CHAP. I. 
 
 industry, for the building and upholding of which how- 
 ever, reliance was chiefly placed on the charitable aid 
 of the humane and affluent, assessments for the purpose 
 being limited to 400Z. in counties at large, and to 200. 
 in counties of cities or towns. 
 
 It is evident that each of these measures partakes 
 more or less of the nature of a poor-law, but there is 
 one material deficiency pervading them all, that is, the 
 want of a certain and sufficient provision for carrying 
 them into effect. In no instance is such a provision 
 made compulsory upon the public. A portion only of 
 what is necessary for the purpose is so imposed, and 
 the remainder is sought to be obtained by voluntary 
 contributions, a combination always attended with un- 
 certainty, and in most cases leading to an insufficiency 
 of the necessary means. Even if the various provisions 
 were fully carried into effect and generally acted upon, 
 this would go far towards rendering them practically 
 inefficient ; but at that time in Ireland, it by no means 
 followed because an Act was passed that its provisions 
 would be enforced, and there is reason to believe that 
 in very few instances only were the provisions contained 
 in these Acts carried into operation. The existence of 
 such provisions however, defective and for the most 
 part inoperative as they were, would nevertheless serve 
 as an answer to any person who might be desirous of 
 seeing an efficient system established for the relief of 
 the destitute ; and thus the semblance of such a system 
 may have prevented the establishing of one that would 
 have been real, which it only could be when founded upon 
 a general rate, as in the Act of Elizabeth. No such 
 foundation was however, we see, here provided. Neither 
 parochial nor parental liability as recognised and en- 
 forced in England, was established by these Acts. 
 Even in the case of fatherless and deserted children, the 
 entire chargeability of the parish for any such child 
 was limited to 5/., an amount surely insufficient for its 
 
A.D. 1776-1778. STATE OF IRELAND. 59 
 
 rearing and maintenance until it attained an age to 
 support itself ; so that here also reliance must have been 
 placed on the co-operation of private charity, or else 
 upon the child's being received into one of the found- 
 ling hospitals, and the parish being thus relieved from 
 further expense. In short, the training up and edu- 
 cating poor children as protestants, arid the repression 
 of vagabondism, appear to be the objects chiefly sought 
 to be attained in all these Acts of the Irish parliament ; 
 and to these objects the relief of the infirm and desti- 
 tute poor, seems to be regarded as a matter altogether 
 secondary and subordinate. 
 
 A short account of the state of Ireland at this time 
 .will be a fitting conclusion of the present chapter, as 
 well as a useful preparative for what is to follow. The 
 best authority we can refer to for furnishing such an 
 account I believe to be Arthur Young, b who devoted 
 three years from 1776 to 1778 inclusive, to a personal 
 examination of the country, its agriculture, commerce, 
 and the social condition of the people. I have had con- 
 siderable opportunities of testing the accuracy of Arthur 
 Young's statements, and making due allowance for the 
 changes which must be presumed to have taken place 
 during a period of some sixty years, they have appeared 
 to me to exhibit the circumstances of the country about 
 the time they were written with remarkable accuracy 
 and perspicuity. Of these statements, the following is 
 such a condensed summary as will, it is hoped, show 
 the reader what were Arthur Young's views of the 
 then condition of Ireland, more especially with regard 
 to matters bearing upon our present subject. 
 
 In natural fertility, acre for acre, Ireland is said to be 
 superior to England. It has no such tracts of uncul- 
 
 b See Arthur Young's Tour in Ireland in the years 1776-77-78 and 
 brought down to 1779. 2 vols. 8vo. Published in 1780. 
 
60 AETHUR YOUNG'S ACCOUNT OF CHAP. I. 
 
 tivated mountain as are seen in the English northern 
 Arthur counties, and its lighter shallower and more 
 account of rocky soil (chiefly of limestone) is nourished by 
 Ireland. anc [ flourishes under a fall of rain, which if it 
 took place in England, would render the stiff clay lands 
 almost useless. There is no chalk, and little sand or 
 clay in Ireland. The fertility of England may be said 
 to be in great measure owing to the application of skill 
 industry and capital, that of Ireland chiefly to the soil 
 and climate ; whilst the bogs, which else would be waste, 
 afford abundance of fuel. Notwithstanding the naturally 
 superior fertility of Ireland however, the rent of land 
 there as compared with England is in the proportion of 
 two to five, or in other words, the land which lets in 
 Ireland for two shillings, would in England let for five. 
 It is considered that 5. per acre expended over all 
 Ireland (which would amount to about eighty-eight 
 millions) " would not more than build, fence, plant, 
 drain and improve that country to be upon a par in 
 those respects with England ;" and that it would take 
 above twenty millions more to put the farmers in the 
 two countries upon an equal footing. Profit in all 
 undertakings depends upon capital, and the deficiency 
 of capital thus accounts for the inferiority of the Irish 
 rents. Tillage is little understood, and the produce is 
 very inferior ; " and were it not for potatoes, which 
 necessarily prepare for corn, there would not be half 
 of what we see at present." The practice of harrow- 
 ing by the tail, and burning corn in the straw, was 
 still seen at Castlebar and other places in the west, not- 
 withstanding its being prohibited by statute. The 
 moisture of the climate is favourable to pasturage and 
 the keeping of cattle was much followed, as it well suited 
 the indolent habits of the people. 
 
 Considerable pains' are taken to show that the system 
 
 c See 10th and llth Charles 1st, caps. 15 and 17, ante page 32. 
 
A.D. 1776-1778. THE STATE OF IKELAND. 61 
 
 of middlemen which then prevailed, or persons holding 
 tracts of land intermediately between the head landlord 
 and the smaller occupiers, was injurious to both, and a 
 bar to improvement. It was defended on the ground of 
 its affording greater security for the rent. But Arthur 
 Young says that the smaller tenantry were found to be 
 the most punctual rent-payers ; and he further observes, 
 " that at the last extremity it is the occupier's stock 
 which is the real security of the landlord, it is that he 
 distrains, and finds abundantly more valuable than the 
 laced hat hounds and pistols of the gentleman jobber, 
 from whom he is more likely in such a case to receive 
 a < message ' than a remittance." These " profit- 
 renters " are said to waste their time and their means 
 in horseracing and hunting, and to be the hardest 
 drinkers and most dissolute class of men in Ireland, as 
 well as the greatest oppressors of the poor tenantry, 
 whose condition is described as little better than the 
 cottars they employ. 
 
 Arthur Young declares, that to be ignorant of the 
 condition of the labouring classes and the poor gene- 
 rally, is to be wanting in the first rudiments of political 
 knowledge, and he states that he made every endeavour 
 to obtain the best information on the subject, from per- 
 sons in every class of life. According to some, the 
 poor were all starving. According to others, they were 
 in a very tolerable state of comfort.- Whilst a third 
 party, who looked with a jaundiced eye on British ad- 
 ministration, pointed at their poverty and rags as proofs 
 of the cruel treatment of their country. When truth is 
 thus liable to be warped, an inquirer should, he remarks, 
 be slow to believe and assiduous to examine, and he in- 
 timates that such had universally been his practice. 
 
 The recompense for labour is the means of living. 
 In England the recompense is given in money, in Ire- 
 land for the most part in land or commodities. Gene- 
 rally speaking the labouring poor in Ireland are said to 
 
62 AKTHUR YOUNG'S ACCOUNT OF CHAP. I. 
 
 have a fair bellyfull of potatoes, and the greater part of 
 the year they also have milk. If there are cabins on a 
 farm, the labourers reside in them. If there are none, 
 the farmer marks out the potato-gardens, and the 
 labourers raise their own cabins, the farmer often 
 assisting them with the roof and other matters. A 
 verbal contract is then made for the rent of the potato- 
 garden, and the keep of one or two cows, as the case 
 may be ; after this the cottar works with the farmer at 
 the rate of the neighbourhood, " usually sixpence half- 
 penny a day, a tally being kept, half by each party, 
 and a notch cut for every day's labour." At the end 
 of six or twelve months they reckon, and the balance is 
 paid. Such it is said is the Irish cottar system, and it 
 does not differ materially from that which prevailed in 
 Scotland at a period somewhat anterior. Many cabins 
 are however seen by the road-side or built in the ditch, 
 the inhabitants of which have no potato-gardens u a 
 wandering family will fix themselves under a dry bank, 
 and with a few sticks, furze, fern &c., make up a hovel 
 no better than a pigsty, support themselves how they 
 can by work begging and pilfering, and if the neigh- 
 bourhood wants hands or takes no notice of them the 
 hovel grows into a cabin" these people are not 
 cottars, but are paid in money for whatever work they 
 perform, and consequently have no potato-ground. 
 
 The food of the smaller tenantry the cottars and 
 labouring poor generally, was potatoes and milk, of 
 which for the most part they are said to have a suffi- 
 ciency. The English labourer's solitary and sparing 
 meal of bread and cheese, is contrasted with " the 
 Irishman's potato-bowl placed on the floor, the whole 
 family upon their hams around it, devouring quantities 
 almost incredible, the beggar seating himself to it with 
 a hearty welcome, and the pig taking his share." It 
 must be admitted that the contrast is sufficiently 
 striking, and scenes such as here described were no 
 
A.D. 1776-1778. THE STATE OF IRELAND. 63 
 
 doubt then often witnessed in Ireland, and with some 
 little modification may even occasionally be met with 
 at the present day. This luxurious abundance was 
 however by no means universal, as is evident by state- 
 ments in other parts of the work, where many of the 
 people are described as living very poorly, " sometimes 
 having for three months together only potatoes and salt 
 and water." There is said to be a marked difference 
 between the habits of the people in the north, and those 
 inhabiting the southern and western districts. In the 
 latter, land is alone looked to for affording the means of 
 subsistence. The former are manufacturers as well as 
 farmers, each man holding from 5 to 10 acres of land, 
 and sometimes more, on which he raises the usual crops 
 of corn and potatoes, together with a certain quantity 
 of flax, which is prepared and spun, and sometimes also 
 wove by himself and his family. This double occupa- 
 tion is however not favourable to excellence or improve- 
 ment in either. The farming was bad, and the people 
 generally very poor. The practice of subdividing the 
 land, until it is brought down to the smallest modicum 
 that can support a family, prevailed in the north as in 
 the other parts of Ireland at that time, and has not 
 entirely disappeared at the present day. 
 
 The people are said to be everywhere very indif- 
 ferently clothed. Shoes and stockings were rarely 
 seen on the feet of women or children, and the men 
 were very commonly without them. They appeared 
 more solicitous to feed than to clothe their children, the 
 reverse of which is the case in England, where, as has 
 often been remarked, it is common to pinch the belly in 
 order to clothe the back. Education as far as read- 
 ing and writing goes was pretty general. " Hedge 
 schools," as they are called, were everywhere met with, 
 and it is remarked that they might as well be called 
 ditch schools, many a ditch being seen full of scholars. 
 This shows the people to have been desirous of instruc- 
 
64 AKTHUR YOUNG'S ACCOUNT OF CHAP. I. 
 
 tion, another proof of which is, the fact of there being 
 schools for men. " Dancing is so universal among 
 them that there are everywhere itinerant dancing- 
 masters, to whom the cottars pay sixpence a quarter for 
 teaching their families." The people are said to be 
 more cheerful and lively than the English, but lazy to 
 an excess at work, although active at play ; and their 
 love of society is as remarkable as is their curiosity, 
 which is declared to be insatiable. Their truthfulness 
 is however not to be relied upon, and petty thefts and 
 pilferings are very common. They are " hard drinkers 
 and quarrelsome, yet civil submissive and obedient.'' 
 Such is the summary of the Irish character at that 
 time, as drawn by Arthur Young, and there is no 
 reason to doubt its general accuracy. 
 
 With regard to other matters, an Irish cabin is de- 
 scribed as being the most miserable-looking hovel that 
 can well be imagined. It is generally built of mud, 
 and consists of only one room. There is neither 
 chimney nor window. The door lets in the light, and 
 should let out the smoke, but that for the sake of the 
 heat it is mostly preferred to keep it in, which injures 
 the complexion of the women. The roof, consisting of 
 turf straw potato-stalks or heath, has often a hole in it, 
 and weeds sprouting from every part, giving it all the 
 appearance of a weedy dunghill, upon which a pig or 
 a goat is sometimes seen grazing. The furniture ac- 
 corded with the cabin, often consisting only of a pot for 
 boiling the potatoes, and one or two stools probably 
 broken. A bed is not always seen, the family often 
 lying upon straw, equally partaken of by the cow and 
 the pig. Sometimes however the cabin and furniture 
 were seen of a better description, but on inquiry it 
 generally appeared that the improvement had taken 
 place within the last ten years. 
 
 The readiness with which habitations are procured 
 in Ireland, and the facility of obtaining food for a 
 
A.D. 1776-1778. THE STATE OF IRELAND. 65 
 
 family by means of the potato, are considered to be one 
 cause of the rapid increase of population which is shown 
 to have taken place towards the end of the 18th century . d 
 Marriage was, and indeed still is, more early and 
 more universal in Ireland than in England. An un- 
 married farmer or cottar is there rarely seen, and even 
 the house-servants, men as well as women, are com- 
 monly married. Yet notwithstanding the rapid in- 
 crease of population, there was a continual emigration 
 from the ports of Derry and Belfast, several ships 
 being regularly engaged in this passenger trade as it 
 was called, conveying emigrants to the American 
 colonies. These emigrants were however chiefly from 
 the northern counties, partly farmers partly weavers. 
 When the linen trade, the great staple of Ireland flou- 
 rished, the passenger trade was low, and when the 
 former was low the latter flourished. The emigrants 
 are said to have been chiefly protestants, the Roman 
 catholics at that time rarely quitting the country. 
 
 The towns were said to have very much increased 
 during the last twenty years. " It may in truth be 
 said that Ireland has been newly built over within that 
 period, and in a manner far superior to what was the 
 case before." Towns are the markets for the general 
 produce of the country, which they help to enrich, and 
 at the same time also to improve. The rise of rents 
 is a natural consequence of the increase of towns ; and 
 on an average throughout Ireland, the rents are said 
 to have doubled in the last twenty-five years. The 
 entire rental of Ireland at that time is set down at 
 5,293,312/., but Arthur Young considered it to be not 
 less than six millions. The cost of living was on the 
 whole found to be nearly one-half less than in England. 
 All the articles of use and consumption were cheaper in 
 Ireland, and the taxes trifling in comparison. There 
 
 See table at pages 11 and 12 ante. 
 
66 
 
 STATE OF IEELAND. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 was no land-tax, no poor's-rate, no window-tax, no 
 candle or soap tax, only half a wheel tax, no servants' 
 tax ; and a variety of other things heavily burthened 
 in England, were free or not so heavily burthened in 
 Ireland. The expenses of a family in Dublin and in 
 London, are considered to be in the proportion of five 
 to eight ; but the Irish do however, it is added, never- 
 theless contrive to spend their incomes. 
 
A.D. 1798. IRISH REBELLION. 67 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Rebellion of 1798 The Union Acts of the Imperial Parliament : respecting 
 dispensaries, hospitals, 'and infirmaries Examination of bogs Fever 
 hospitals Officers of health Lunatic asylums Employment of the 
 poor Deserted children Report of 1804 respecting the poor Dublin 
 House of Industry and Foundling Hospital Reports of 1819 and 1823 
 on the state of disease and condition of the labouring poor Report of 
 1830 on the state of the poorer classes Report of the Committee on 
 Education Mr. Secretary Stanley's letter to the_ Duke of Leinster 
 Board of National Education First and second Reports of commissioners 
 for inquiring into the condition of the poorer classes The author's 
 ' Suggestions ' The commissioners' third Report Reasons for and 
 against a voluntary system of relief Mr. Bicheno's ' Remarks on the 
 Evidence' Mr. Gr. C. Lewis's ' Remarks on the Third Report.' 
 
 THE commencement of the nineteenth century is me- 
 morable for the legislative Union of Great Britain and 
 Ireland. This measure, fraught with such important 
 benefits to both countries, was probably hastened by 
 what occurred in Ireland in 1798, when the partizans 
 of democracy, excited by the events of the French 
 Revolution, and stimulated by French emissaries and 
 promises of support, broke out into open retel- . ms. 
 lion. The rebellion was however soon put ^beiuon. 
 down, although not without the sacrifice of many of 
 the ignorant misguided people who had been led on to 
 take a part in it ; and the speech from the throne at 
 the opening of the session on the 20th of November 
 1798, announced that "the French troops which had 
 been landed for its support were compelled to sur- 
 render, and that the armaments destined for the same 
 purpose were, by the vigilance and activity of our 
 squadrons, captured or dispersed." On the 22nd of 
 January following, a royal message relative to a union 
 with Ireland was delivered to parliament, in which the 
 king expressed his persuasion, that the unremitting 
 industry with which the enemy persevered in their 
 
 F 2 
 
68 GEORGE III. CHAP. II. 
 
 avowed design of effecting the separation of Ireland 
 from this kingdom, cannot fail to engage the particular 
 attention of both houses, and he recommended them to 
 consider of the most effectual means of counteracting 
 and defeating such design. 
 
 In the debate which followed the delivery of the 
 royal message, Mr. Pitt observed " Ireland 
 is subject to great and deplorable evils, which 
 have a deep root, for they lie in the situation 
 of the country itself in the present character 
 manners and habits of its people in their want of 
 intelligence in the unavoidable separation between 
 certain classes in the state of property in its reli- 
 gious distinctions in the rancour which bigotry en- 
 genders and superstition rears and cherishes." If such 
 circumstances combine to make a country wretched, the 
 remedy ought, he said, to be sought for in the institu- 
 tion of " an imperial legislature, standing aloof from 
 local party connexion, and sufficiently removed from 
 the influence of contending factions, to be the advocate 
 or champion of neither. A legislature which will 
 neither give way to the haughty pretensions of a few, 
 nor open the door to popular inroads, to clamour, or to 
 invasion of all sacred forms and regularities, under the 
 false and imposing colours of philosophical improve- 
 ment in the art of government." This, he said, 
 " is the thing that is wanted in Ireland. Where is it 
 to be found ? in that country or in this ? certainly in 
 England ; and to neglect to establish such a legislature 
 when it is possible to do so, would be (he declared) an 
 improvidence which nothing could justify." 
 
 Much of the evil which Ireland then laboured under 
 arose, Mr. Pitt considered, from the condition of the 
 parliament of that country. " When there are two 
 independent parliaments in one empire," he observed, 
 " you have no security for a continuance of their har- 
 mony and cordial co-operation. We all have in our 
 mouths a sentence that every good Englishman and 
 
A.D. 1760-1820. THE UNION. 69 
 
 good Irishman feels we must stand or fall together, 
 we should live and die together but without such a 
 measure as that which is about to be proposed, there can 
 be no security for the continuance of that sentiment." 
 And he concluded a long and powerful address, by 
 saying, " I am bound to convey to this house every 
 information which it may be in my power to give ; but 
 however acceptable to the one or to the other side of 
 the house, however acceptable or otherwise to those 
 whom I respect on the other side the water, my sen- 
 timents upon this subject may be, my duty compels me 
 s to speak them freely. I see the case so plainly, and I 
 feel it so strongly, that there is no circumstance of 
 apparent or probable difficulty, no apprehension of 
 popularity, no fear of toil or labour, that shall prevent 
 me from using every exertion which remains in my 
 power to accomplish the work that is now before us, 
 and on which I am persuaded depend the internal tran- 
 quillity of Ireland, the interest of the British empire at 
 large, and I hope I may add, the happiness of a great 
 part of the habitable world." The address in answer 
 to the Eoyal message was carried without a division. 
 
 On the 31st of January following, Mr. Pitt submitted 
 to the house of commons certain resolutions woo. 
 declaratory of the principles on which it was speech on 8 
 
 J i T i i submitting 
 
 proposed to establish the union between the ^ S r the ions 
 two countries, and explained most fully the Union - 
 various circumstances connected with the measure. It 
 was not merely in a general view, he said, that the 
 question ought to be considered " We ought to look 
 to it with a view peculiarly to the permanent interest 
 and security of Ireland. When that country was threat- 
 ened with the double danger of hostile attacks by ene- 
 mies without, and of treason within, from what quarter 
 did she derive the means of her deliverance ? From 
 the naval force of Great Britain from the voluntary 
 exertions of her military of every description, not called 
 for by law and from her pecuniary resources added 
 
70 GEORGE III. CHAP. II. 
 
 to the loyalty and energy of the inhabitants of Ireland 
 itself, of which it is impossible to speak with too much 
 praise, and which shows how well they deserve to be 
 called the brethren of Britons." Great Britain has, he 
 observed, always felt a common interest in the safety 
 of Ireland ; " but the common interest was never so 
 obvious and urgent as when the common enemy made 
 her attack upon Great Britain through the medium of 
 Ireland, and when their attack upon Ireland went to 
 deprive her of her connexion with Great Britain, and 
 to substitute in its stead the new government of the 
 French Eepublic. When that danger threatened Ire- 
 land, the purse of Great Britain was as open for the 
 wants of Ireland as for the necessities of England." 
 
 Among the great defects of Ireland, Mr. Pitt re- 
 marked, " one of the most prominent is its want of 
 industry and capital How are those wants to be sup- 
 plied, but by blending more closely with Ireland the 
 industry and the capital of this country ?" The advan- 
 tages which Ireland will derive from the proposed 
 arrangement are, he said, " the protection she will 
 secure to herself in the hour of danger, the most effectual 
 means of increasing her commerce and improving her 
 agriculture, the command of English capital, the infu- 
 sion of English manners and English industry neces- 
 sarily tending to ameliorate her condition, to accelerate 
 the progress of internal civilization, and to terminate 
 the feuds and dissensions which now distract the country, 
 and which she does not possess within herself the power 
 either to control or to extinguish." And he added, 
 " while I state thus strongly the commercial advantages 
 to the sister kingdom, I have no alarm lest I should 
 excite any sentiment of jealousy here. I know that the 
 inhabitants of Great Britain wish well to the prosperity 
 of Ireland ; that if the kingdoms are really and solidly 
 united, they feel that to increase the commercial wealth 
 of one country, is not to diminish that of the other, but 
 
A.D. 1760-1820. THE UNION. 71 
 
 to increase the strength and power of both." He then 
 cited the example of the union with Scotland " a union 
 as much opposed, and by much the same arguments 
 prejudices and misconceptions, as are urged at this 
 moment ; creating too the same alarms, and provoking 
 the same outrages as have lately taken place in Dublin." 
 Yet the population of Edinburgh is said to have nearly 
 doubled since the Union, a new city being added to the 
 old ; whilst the population of Glasgow since the Union, 
 has increased in the proportion of between five and six 
 to one. The division in favour of the measure was 
 140 to 15. 
 
 On the 2nd of April 1800 Mr. Pitt presented a 
 message from the king, expressing his Majesty's satis- 
 faction at being enabled to communicate to the house, 
 the joint address of the lords and commons of Ireland, 
 containing the terms proposed by them for an entire 
 union between the two kingdoms; and he earnestly 
 recommends the house to take all such further steps as 
 may best tend to the speedy and complete execution of 
 a work so happily begun, and so interesting to the 
 security and happiness of his subjects, and to the gene- 
 ral strength and prosperity of the British empire. The 
 session terminated on the 29th of July, when the king 
 in his speech from the throne congratulated both houses 
 on the success of the steps taken for effecting the union 
 of Great Britain and Ireland, emphatically adding 
 " This great measure on which my wishes have been 
 long earnestly bent, I shall ever consider as the happiest 
 event of my reign, being persuaded that nothing could 
 so effectually contribute to extend to my Irish subjects, 
 the full participation of the blessings derived from the 
 British constitution, and to establish on the most solid 
 foundation the strength prosperity and power of the 
 whole empire.' 
 
 " a 
 
 a See British Statute 39th and 40tfi Geo. 3rd, c. 67, and Irish Statute 40th 
 Oco. 3rd, c. 38. 
 
72 GEORGE III. CHAP. II. 
 
 It would seem impossible, having regard to the cir- 
 cumstances of the times, to doubt the necessity for 
 such a union as was thus established, and perhaps 
 equally impossible to doubt or over-estimate the benefits 
 it was calculated to confer. But as in the case of Scot- 
 land a century previous, the Union was now denounced 
 as an act of injustice and degradation to Ireland, al- 
 though it is difficult to see how the combining of the 
 two countries under one united government and com- 
 mon designation, thus adding to the security and gene- 
 ral importance of both, could be an injustice or degra- 
 dation to either. The author is able to remember the 
 circumstances of that period, the alarms, the forebod- 
 ings of evil, the fervid declamations of popular patriots, 
 who regardless of the benefits that would ensue to their 
 country, could only be induced to acquiesce in the 
 measure by some immediate benefit accruing to them- 
 selves. The Union has indeed continued down even to 
 the present day, to be declaimed against as a grievance 
 by certain parties in Ireland, whenever for factious or 
 sectarian objects it suited their purpose to do so ; and 
 the blending and amalgamation of the two peoples 
 which was hoped for, and which was foretold and 
 relied upon as a certain consequence of the Union by 
 its great promoter, has therefore been less entire than 
 it otherwise would have been. Notwithstanding this 
 drawback however, the material resources of Ireland 
 have vastly increased, and its general condition been in 
 all respects greatly improved, since it has by the Union 
 become an integral portion of the British empire. 
 
 The first parliament of ," the United Kingdom of 
 
 Great Britain and Ireland," assembled on the 
 
 First paViia- 22nd of January 1801, when the king, in his 
 
 ^|he united opening speech, declared his confidence " that 
 
 anTireSd" their deliberations will be uniformly directed 
 
 to the great object of improving the benefits of 
 
 that happy union, which by the blessing of Providence, 
 
A.D. 1760-1820. DISPENSARIES. 73 
 
 has now been effected, and of promoting to the utmost 
 the prosperity of every part of his dominions." 
 
 There were certain Acts passed subsequent to the 
 Union which it will be requisite to notice, as they ex- 
 hibit the views of the now united parliament in regard 
 to Ireland and the relief of the Irish poor, and form 
 also a necessary introduction to the more important 
 measure which followed in 1838. 
 
 The first of these Acts is The k\st George 3rd, cap. 73, 
 which directs the application of certain sums of isoi. 
 
 TIT i -r\ 1 T 41 Ge0 ' In> 
 
 money granted by parliament to the Dublin ca p- 73 - 
 Society and the farming societies in Ireland namely 
 any sum not exceeding 4,500. Irish currency to the 
 Dublin Society, to be applied towards completing their 
 repository in Hawkins Street, and the botanic garden at 
 Grlassnevin ; and any sum not exceeding 2,000/. Irish 
 currency, to be applied in promoting the purposes of the 
 farming societies in Ireland for the current year. The 
 Irish Society is an institution founded for the pur- 
 pose of promoting improvements generally, and the 
 farming societies are exceedingly valuable as promoting 
 agricultural improvements in particular. The imperial 
 parliament could hardly therefore have better shown 
 its desire for the improvement of Ireland, than by thus 
 so immediately after it assembled giving its aid and 
 high sanction to these two societies. 
 
 After referring to the Irish Acts which provide for 
 the establishment of infirmaries and hospitals, 
 The bth Geo. 3rd, cap. Ill, recites " and 
 whereas the distance of many parts of each 
 county from the infirmary therein established, does not 
 allow the poor of those parts the advantages of imme- 
 diate medical aid and advice which such infirmary was 
 proposed to afford " it is then enacted, that in all 
 cases where the governors of the county infirmary shall 
 certify to the grand jury of the county, that they have 
 
 1805 
 
74 GEOKGE III. CHAP. II. 
 
 actually received from private subscription or donation 
 any sum since the preceding assize, for the purpose of 
 establishing in any place a dispensary for furnishing 
 medicine, and giving medical aid and relief to the poor 
 therein the grand jury are empowered to raise from 
 the county at large a sum equal in amount to the sum 
 or sums so received, to be applied by the said governors, 
 together with the moneys so received, in providing 
 medicines and medical or surgical aid and advice for 
 the poor of such place and its neighbourhood, in such 
 manner as the said governors shall deem most advis- 
 able. Every person subscribing not less than one 
 guinea towards the establishment or maintenance of 
 any local dispensary, or towards the county hospital or 
 infirmary, is entitled to be a member of the body cor- 
 porate thereof, " so far as relates to the management of 
 and direction of such local dispensary." The dispen- 
 saries are perhaps the most extensively useful of all 
 the medical institutions in Ireland, and this Act pro- 
 viding for their establishment, cannot therefore fail of 
 being considered as of great importance, more espe- 
 cially as regards the rural population residing at a 
 distance from towns, and who are consequently de- 
 prived of access to hospitals or infirmaries. 
 
 The 46^A Geo. 3rd, cap. 95, is entitled < An Act for 
 the more effectually regulating and providing 
 46 ca e 95 IL ^ or ^ ne -^ e ^ e ^ f the Poor and the Management 
 SfiSfes nd f Infirmaries and Hospitals.' It refers to the 
 llth and 12th Geo. 3rd, cap. 30, of the Irish 
 parliament, 1 " and directs that in case it shall be made 
 to appear to the satisfaction of the judge at the summer 
 assize in any county, that the corporation instituted 
 under that Act is properly conducted, and that on 
 comparison of the expense incurred in the former year, 
 it is expedient that a greater sum should be presented 
 
 b Ante, p. 
 
A.D. 1760-1820. HOSPITALS BOGS. 75 
 
 and levied, or that it is expedient to provide for the 
 expense of building the house of industry the grand 
 jury in the county of a city or town may present and 
 levy a sum not less in the whole than 400/., nor more 
 than 500/., and in any county at large a sum not less 
 than 500/., nor more than 700., to be applied to the 
 purposes directed by the said Act. The limits of such 
 presentments are thus we see greatly enlarged from 
 what was prescribed by the Act of 1772 ; but the entire 
 amount permitted to be raised by assessment is still 
 small, showing that voluntary contribution was still 
 chiefly relied upon. All infirmaries and hospitals are 
 moreover now required to make out returns annually, 
 showing in detail the amount of their funds and their 
 expenditure, and the lord lieutenant may order an 
 examination of their state and condition. By an Act 
 in the following year another sum of 100Z. was allowed 
 to be presented for a fever hospital, " whenever one 
 had been established." 
 
 6 An Act to appoint Commissioners for two years, to 
 examine into the nature and extent of the seve- 
 ral Bogs in Ireland &c., J was passed in 1809, 
 commencing with this recital " whereas there l 
 are large tracts of undrained bog in Ireland, the draining 
 whereof is necessary for their being brought into a 
 state of tillage ; and whereas the adding their contents 
 to the lands already under cultivation, would not only 
 increase the agriculture of Ireland, but is highly ex- 
 pedient towards promoting a secure supply of flax 
 and hemp within the United Kingdom for the use of 
 the navy, and support of the linen manufacture " it is 
 therefore enacted that the lord lieutenant may appoint 
 not exceeding nine persons, to be commissioners for as- 
 certaining the extent of such bogs as exceed 500 acres, 
 and for inquiring into the practicability and best modes 
 of draining the same, and the expense of so doing, 
 also as to the depth of bog soil, the nature of the strata 
 
 1809 
 
76 GEORGE III. CHAP. II. 
 
 underneath, the nature and distance of the manure best 
 fitted for their improvement &c. " together with the 
 opinion of the said commissioners as to such measures 
 as they shall deem necessary or expedient for carrying 
 into speedy effect the drainage cultivation and im- 
 provement of all such bogs, and the future increase of 
 timber in Ireland, by providing for the plantation and 
 preservation of trees in such parts thereof as shall be 
 best fitted for the purpose ;" and it is further enacted 
 that the commissioners shall act without a salary. 
 
 This inquiry could hardly fail to prove useful, by 
 directing attention to a subject of very great import- 
 ance, both in a general and a local point of view : but 
 in this, as in most other instances, the result fell short 
 of what was anticipated. The appointing of such a 
 commission however, evidenced a strong desire on the 
 part of the imperial legislature for the amelioration of 
 Ireland. The term of the commission was afterwards 
 extended for another two years by the 51st George 3rd, 
 cap. 122 ; and four elaborate Keports, the 1st in June 
 1810, and the last in April 1814, accompanied by a 
 large mass of evidence on all matters connected with 
 the subject, are proofs of the commissioners' zeal and 
 industry in discharging the duties assigned them. The 
 subject was moreover again reported upon by a special 
 committee in 1819, and valuable evidence was taken in 
 reference to it, in connexion with the employment of 
 the poor. 
 
 The 54*7i George 3rd, cap. 112 provides " that 
 whenever any fever hospital has been or shall 
 
 , , , . , *. . r. 
 
 be established in any county, or county. 01 a 
 c ity or town ? ^ sna H b e lawful for the grand 
 hospitals, jury at the spring or summer assize to present 
 such sum or sums of money, not exceeding 250Z., as 
 shall appear to be necessary for the support of such 
 fever hospital, to be raised off the county at large, or 
 the county of a city or town as the case may be ;" and 
 
 54 Geo. III. 
 
A.D. 1760-1820. FEVER HOSPITALS. 77 
 
 four years afterwards another Act on the same subject 
 was passed (The 58^A George 3rd, cap. 47) entitled ' An 
 Act to establish Fever Hospitals, and make other regu- 
 lations for relief of the suffering Poor, and for prevent- 
 ing the increase of Fevers in Ireland,' commencing with 
 this preamble " Whereas fevers of an infectious nature 
 have for some time past greatly prevailed among the 
 poor in several parts of Ireland, whereby the health of 
 the whole country has been endangered, and it is ex- 
 pedient that hospitals should be established for the 
 relief of the sufferers in such cases, and that regulations 
 should be made to prevent, as effectually as possible, 
 the increase of infection ; and such good purposes are 
 most likely to be promoted by creating corporations in 
 every county at large, and every county of a city or 
 town" it is therefore enacted that such corporations 
 shall be created accordingly, to consist in counties of 
 the bishop or archbishop of the diocess, the represen- 
 tatives in parliament, and the justices of peace for the 
 county ; and in the county of a city or town, to consist 
 of the chief magistrate, sheriffs, recorder, representa- 
 tives in parliament, and justices of peace, all for the 
 time being, and also donors of not less than 20?., or 
 contributors of one guinea annually which corporation 
 is to be called " The President and Assistants of the 
 Fever Hospital of ," and is to have perpetual suc- 
 cession &c., and to hold meetings and make by-laws &c., 
 arid purchase and hold lands not exceeding 500/. yearly 
 value, as they shall think fit. 
 
 The corporations are required to build or hire houses 
 for hospitals for relief of the poor who are ill of fever, 
 in the several counties or counties of cities or towns, 
 " as soon as they shall be possessed of funds sufficient 
 for this purpose, as plain, as durable, and at as moderate 
 expense as may be." The hospitals are to be divided 
 into two parts, one for poor helpless men, the other 
 for poor helpless women, and the corporations are to 
 
78 GEORGE III. CHAP. II. 
 
 appoint masters, physicians, surgeons, apothecaries, 
 nurses, and other fit persons and servants to govern 
 and take care of such hospitals and the patients therein. 
 Grand juries are empowered to present sums, not ex- 
 ceeding double the amount of private donations and 
 subscriptions to fever hospitals, whether the same be 
 attached to any dispensary or not, and they may also 
 present in like proportion for local dispensaries ; and 
 whenever such presentments are certified by the clerk 
 of the crown, the lord lieutenant may order an advance 
 of money from the consolidated fund ; and on the ap- 
 pearance of fever in any town or district, he may also 
 appoint a board of health, with powers " to direct that 
 all streets, lanes and courts, and all houses and all 
 rooms therein, and all yards gardens or places belonging 
 to such houses, shall be cleansed and purified, and that 
 all nuisances prejudicial to health shall be removed 
 therefrom." 
 
 The powers of this Act were extended in the follow- 
 1819 ing year by The 59^ George 3rd, cap. 41, which 
 59 c^ P e0 4i? L declares that " it has become highly expedient 
 he^i c th rs tobe to provide for and secure constant attention to 
 the health and comforts of the inhabitants of 
 Ireland," and authorizes the appointment of officers of 
 health to carry the sanitary measures specified above 
 into effect. The increase of fever indicated by the 
 passing of these Acts, would seem to have been very 
 marked about this time, and may possibly have been in 
 part owing to the rapid increase of the population, and 
 the consequent overcrowding in the dwellings of the 
 poorer classes. The practice of subdividing their land 
 among all the members of a family, may also have had 
 some share in causing fevers, by reducing the means 
 and lowering the general standard of living, as well in 
 their dwellings as in their food clothing and ordinary 
 mode of subsistence. 
 
 The 57th George 3rd, cap. 106, commences by de- 
 
A.D.a760-1820. LUNATIC ASYLUMS. 79 
 
 claring it to be " expedient, that the distressed state of 
 the lunatic poor in Ireland should be provided isn. 
 for ;" and it empowers the lord lieutenant to ca P e io6. ' 
 
 Lunatic 
 
 direct, that any number of asylums for the asylums. 
 lunatic poor shall be established in such districts as he 
 shall deem expedient ; " and that every such district 
 shall consist of the whole of two or more counties, or of 
 one or more county or counties, and one or more county 
 or counties of cities or towns, but shall not include part 
 only of any county, or county of a city or town ;" and 
 that all lunatic poor within any such district respec- 
 tively, shall be maintained and taken care of in the 
 asylum belonging thereto ; and that every such asylum 
 shall be sufficient to contain such number of lunatic 
 poor, not being less than 100, nor more than 150 in 
 any one asylum, as shall seem expedient to the lord 
 lieutenant. The grand juries respectively are to present 
 such sum or sums of money as shall be requisite for 
 defraying the expenses of erecting and establishing 
 such asylums, and for maintaining the same, to such 
 amount and in such proportion as shall be directed 
 by the lord lieutenant; who is further empowered 
 to appoint such persons as he shall think fit, to 
 be governors and directors of every such 'asylum, 
 and also to nominate any persons not exceeding 
 eight to be commissioners for superintending direct- 
 ing and regulating such asylums " provided that 
 all such governors directors and commissioners shall 
 act without salary fee reward or emolument what- 
 
 soever." 
 
 The necessity for attending to the state of the poor 
 generally, including the lunatic and insane poor, seems 
 now to have been strongly felt, and this feeling natu- 
 rally led to the passing of the present Act. Lunacy is 
 said to be more prevalent in Ireland, than it is either in 
 England or Scotland, whilst the poverty of the people 
 caused it to be there, if possible, a greater affliction than 
 
80 GEORGE IV. CHAP. II. 
 
 elsewhere, and rendered greater care necessary for the 
 protection of its hapless victims. 
 
 The year 1822 was a period of much distress in 
 1822 Ireland, and on the 24th of May The 3rd George 
 Lps e .3 r !ndT4. 4*A, cap. 3, entitled ' An Act for the employ- 
 StS>n nd ment of the Poor ' was passed, empowering the 
 lord lieutenant in certain cases to order ad- 
 vances to be made from the public treasury, in antici- 
 pation of but not exceeding the amount of grand-jury 
 presentments actually made. This does not however 
 appear to have been sufficient to meet the emergency, 
 and on the 26th of July The 3rd George 4th, cap. 84, was 
 passed, the preamble declaring that " Whereas by 
 reason of the distress that exists in many parts of 
 Ireland, it is in many counties thereof impossible 
 without great severity and great mischief to the country 
 to levy and raise the sums heretofore presented by the 
 grand juries of such counties, and which ought by law 
 to be levied and raised on or within the said counties 
 respectively ; and whereas the roads and works and 
 other objects and purposes for which many of the said 
 sums have been presented, cannot be delayed without 
 great injury to the persons interested therein, and the 
 commencement of such works, by employing the poor, 
 must tend to alleviate the existing distress " it is 
 therefore enacted that certain advances which had been 
 provisionally made by the lord lieutenant should be 
 confirmed, and that he may further order advances for 
 public works to be applied according to such directions 
 as he shall give in connexion therewith ; and the re- 
 spective grand juries on being certified of the sums so 
 advanced, are to present the same, to be raised by not 
 less than four nor more than twelve half-yearly instal- 
 ments, according to the state of the country. Such 
 advances are therefore loans at longer or shorter 
 periods, for road-making or other public works, as a 
 means of relieving the distress of the people, there 
 
A.D. 1820-1830. DESERTED CHILDREN. 81 
 
 being then no other source whence relief could be 
 derived. 
 
 In 1825 an Act was passed * to amend the Laws re- 
 specting Deserted Children in Ireland.' After ms. 
 
 r A 1-1 j ri ^ 6 Geor s e lv - 
 
 referring to previous Acts, which provide that 
 
 the sum of 5/. sterling shall be leviable on any children. 
 parish for the support of each deserted child found 
 therein, it proceeds " and whereas the sum of 5Z. is 
 now required to be paid previous to the reception of 
 any such deserted child into the General Foundling 
 Hospital of Dublin, transmitted from any such parish ; 
 and whereas no fund at present exists either to pay the 
 expense of maintaining such deserted children in the 
 parishes wherein found, or of transmitting them to the 
 city of Dublin " It is therefore enacted that it shall 
 henceforward be lawful " for the several parishes in 
 Ireland to raise and levy such additional sum as may 
 be necessary for maintaining such deserted children as 
 shall be found therein, until such children shall be 
 admitted into the foundling hospital aforesaid, and for 
 transmitting such children thither." But it is further 
 provided that no greater sum than fifty shillings shall 
 be raised in any one year for the support of any such 
 deserted child, or for its transmission to the foundling 
 hospital in Dublin. The city and liberties of Cork 
 are exempted from the provisions of the Act, which is 
 limited to two years. It will not fail to be observed 
 that this Act gives a legislative sanction to the rating 
 of a parish for the relief of a destitute class " found 
 therein," and so far may be said to amount to a species 
 of poor-law. 
 
 The foregoing are the only Acts requiring to be 
 noticed, between the period of the Union and the 
 passing of the Irish Poor Relief Act in 1838. They 
 show the feeling of the legislature with regard to the 
 state of Ireland, and seem to point to further measures 
 as being necessary for amending its social defects. 
 
 Q 
 
82 REPOKT OF COMMITTEE CHAP. II. 
 
 But in the interval there were moreover several commis- 
 sions appointed by the crown, and several committees of 
 parliament, whose reports contain much valuable infor- 
 mation as to the state of the country and the condition 
 of the people at the respective periods ; and some of the 
 more prominent of these we will now proceed to notice. 
 
 In 1804 a Eeport was made to the house of com- 
 mons by a committee which had been specially 
 appointed to make inquiry " respecting the 
 common s of poor in Ireland." The committee, after con- 
 sidering the several statutes, and examining 
 
 
 such evidence as was laid before them, came 
 to the resolution " that the adoption of a general 
 system of provision for the poor of Ireland, by way of 
 parish rate, as in England, or in any similar manner, 
 would be highly injurious to the country, and would 
 not produce any real or permanent advantage, even to 
 the lower class of people who must be the objects of 
 such support." The committee further resolved, " that 
 the Acts directing the establishment of a house of 
 industry in every county and county of a city or town, 
 have not been complied with, nor any presentment 
 made by grand juries to assist in the support of such 
 establishments for relief of the aged and infirm poor, 
 and the punishment of vagrants and sturdy beggars, 
 except in the counties of Cork, Waterford, Limerick, 
 and Clare, and in the cities of Cork, Waterford, and 
 Limerick." But the committee remark, that the house 
 of industry in Dublin is open to the admission of the 
 poor from all parts of Ireland, which may have induced 
 the other counties and cities to consider it sufficient, 
 " and precluded the necessity of their making further 
 provision for the poor." The futility of this excuse 
 must be sufficiently apparent, and coupled with the 
 resolution against any systematic provision for the re- 
 lief of the poor " by way of parish rate," shows the kind 
 
A.D. 1804. RESPECTING IRISH POOR. 83 
 
 of feeling which prevailed at the time in parliament on 
 the subject. It appeared to the committee however, 
 that the Acts directing the establishment of infirmaries 
 or county hospitals, and granting a certain allowance 
 from the Treasury for the salary to the surgeon or 
 physician attending thereon, " have been carried into 
 effect in almost all the counties ;" whilst the provisions 
 of the 57^ George 3rd* " empowering grand juries to 
 present the sums necessary for support of a ward for 
 idiots and insane persons have not been complied with ; 
 and the committee consider that there is a great want 
 of accommodation for idiotic and lunatic persons, and 
 recommend the establishment of an asylum in each of 
 the four provinces, to be erected and maintained either 
 by grand-jury presentment or otherwise as may there- 
 after be determined." The very important objects which 
 had been referred to the committee require however, 
 they say, more deliberation than the advanced period 
 of the session permitted, and they therefore recommend 
 that the investigation should be resumed in the ensuing 
 session ; but it does not appear that this was done, 
 although the Acts passed in the two following years 
 with regard to dispensaries infirmaries and hospitals, 
 may very possibly have had their origin in the in- 
 quiries instituted by this committee. 
 
 The notice taken of the Dublin house of industry in 
 the above Report, as well as the real import- Dtlblinhouse 
 ance of the institution, renders some account ofindustr y- 
 of it here necessary. The house of industry was esta- 
 blished in 1772, by the llth and 12th George 3rd, cap. 
 11, under the provisions of which Act it was separated 
 from the foundling hospital, of which it had before 
 formed a part ; and was thenceforward applied to the 
 maintenance of such helpless men and helpless women 
 as from age and infirmity were deemed fitting objects 
 
 Ante, p. 79. Ante, p. 45. 
 
 G 2 
 
84 KEPORT OF COMMITTEE CHAP. IT. 
 
 for admission, for the confinement of men who were 
 committed as vagabonds or sturdy beggars, and for 
 the punishment of such idle strolling and disorderly 
 women as the magistrates might commit thither. Con- 
 siderable additions were made to the building, and after 
 a time some changes and modifications took place in 
 the management, which ultimately led to the house of 
 industry being used for the reception of poor aged and 
 infirm men and women, idiots and incurable lunatics 
 removed from the Richmond Lunatic Asylum, the sick 
 poor and persons labouring under acute chronic and 
 surgical complaints, for whom appropriate hospitals had 
 been provided, and lastly strolling beggars thither com- 
 mitted by the magistrates of police. From the year 
 1773 to 1776 inclusive, the house of industry was sup- 
 ported by subscriptions, donations, and charity sermons, 
 and afterwards by annual parliamentary grants, volun- 
 tary contributions, the profits (so called) arising from 
 the labour of the poor, and a small sum of interest 
 accruing on certain legacies. The voluntary contribu- 
 tions became less after aid was obtained from parlia- 
 ment, and as might be expected, soon ceased altogether. 
 In 1776 the parliamentary grant to the institution was 
 3,000/. In 1786 it was 8,600/. In 1796 it was 14,500/. 
 In 1806 it was 22,177Z. In 1814 it was 49,113/. In 
 1820 it was 26,474/., and in 1827 it was 23,000/. d At 
 first the house of industry was managed and governed 
 by the corporation for the relief of the poor in the 
 county of the city of Dublin, under the provisions of 
 the Act of 1772 afterwards by seven persons balloted 
 for and appointed " acting governors of the house of 
 industry," in conformity with the 39^ George 3rd, cap. 
 38. In 1800 the number of governors was reduced to 
 
 d The grants were made annually, and these years are selected as indicating 
 the average amount. The whole is abstracted from a return made to parliament 
 in 1828, and from Warburton Whitlaw and Walsh's History of Dublin, pub- 
 lished in 1818. 
 
A.D. 1804. RESPECTING IRISH POOR, 85 
 
 five, and in 1820 the management was vested in a 
 single governor, with a salary of 500/. a year. The 
 number of admissions in 1803 was 4,468, and the 
 average number in the house was 1,313. In 1807 the 
 admissions were 5,900, and the average number in the 
 house was 1862. In this latter year 271 of the admis- 
 sions were by committal. 
 
 The foundling hospital originally formed part of 
 the house of industry, the joint establishments ^j lin 
 being founded in 1704 under the 2nd Anne, cap. Hospital. 
 19. e They remained so united until 1772, when the 
 objects of the two institutions being deemed incom- 
 patible, they were as before stated placed under separate 
 and distinct government by the llth and 12th George 
 3rd, cap. ll. e The object of the institution is thence- 
 forward said to be " the preservation of the lives of 
 deserted or exposed infants, by their indiscriminate ad- 
 mission from all parts of Ireland ; f putting them out to 
 nurse in the country until they are of a proper age to 
 be drafted into the hospital, and educating them there 
 in such manner as to qualify them for being appren- 
 ticed to trades, or as servants, and thus rendering them 
 useful members of society." 8 Down to 1823 the insti- 
 tution was supported partly by a house-tax levied on 
 the citizens of Dublin and its liberties and suburbs, 
 amounting to between 7,OOOZ. and 8,000/. annually, 
 and partly by parliamentary grants, and the rent of a 
 small property of 115Z. per annum : but the citizens of 
 Dublin were then relieved from the house-tax, and the 
 sum of 5. was required to be paid with every child on 
 its admission to the hospital, by the overseers or the 
 minister and churchwardens of the parish whence the 
 infant was sent, no child being admissible whose age 
 
 e Ante, pp. 35 and 45. 
 
 f " Every child presented at the gate, or placed in the cradle, was imme- 
 diately received, and taken to the infant nursery by a person appointed for that 
 purpose." See Warburton Whitlaw and Walsh's History of Dublin. 
 
 g See Parliamentary Return No. 2, ordered to be printed 21st March 1828. 
 
igi9 
 
 86 KEPORT ON DISEASE AND CHAP. II. 
 
 exceeded twelve months. The aggregate of these latter 
 payments amounted to about 2,000/. annually, and the 
 annual grants by parliament varied from 21,554. in 
 1800, to 34,000/. in 1828. The number of admissions 
 was 2,041 in 1800, 2,168 in 1806, and 2,359 in 1811, at 
 which time the number of children remaining on the 
 books of the institution was 6,498. 
 
 In 1819 a select committee of the commons of 
 which Sir John Newport was the chairman, 
 was appointed to inquire into the state of dis- 
 ease, and also into the condition of the labour- 
 ing poor in Ireland ; and a Report on each of 
 these subjects was presented to the house in 
 course of the session, of which Reports the following is 
 an abstract. 
 
 With regard to the first point, although it is said not 
 on the to be " the most essential or most difficult 
 
 prevalence -,.. ...... 
 
 of fever. object of their investigation, the committee 
 consider the prevalence of contagious fever in Ireland a 
 calamitous indication of general distress ; and in order 
 " to prevent the migration through the country of 
 numerous bodies of mendicant poor, who pressed by 
 want and seeking for relief, have fatally contributed to 
 the general diffusion of disease," they recommend that 
 magistrates, churchwardens, or other appointed officers 
 " be empowered to remove out of their respective 
 parishes any persons found begging or wandering as 
 vagabonds therein, or to confine such persons to hard 
 labour for twenty-four hours in any bridewell or other 
 public place of confinement, or to adopt both measures 
 as the case may require ; and also to cause the persons 
 and clothes of such vagabond beggars to be washed 
 and cleansed during the period of such confinement." 
 The committee consider that the Act of last session 
 George 3rd, cap. 47) h " enacted under circum- 
 
 h Ante, p. 76. 
 
A.D. 1819. CONDITION OP LABOURING POOR. 87 
 
 stances of severe and calamitous visitation," has on the 
 whole been productive of good, and they think it of 
 infinite moment that there should be a systematic local 
 control established in all cities and great towns for the 
 removal of nuisances which generate and increase dis- 
 ease ; for which purpose they recommend that officers 
 of health should be annually elected by the house- 
 holders in places containing above 1,000 inhabitants, 
 with power to direct the cleansing of streets &c., the 
 removal of nuisances, the ventilation of houses, and the 
 doing of all things necessary for the health and pre- 
 servation of the inhabitants ; and also that such country 
 parishes as think proper may do the same, and that 
 the expenses incurred in performance of these duties 
 should be levied as a parish rate, and the expenditure 
 accounted for as in the case of other parochial assess- 
 ments. 
 
 The committee then express their intention of pro- 
 ceeding, " in further execution of their duty," to 
 inquire into the practicability of ameliorating the con- 
 dition of the labouring poor, " by facilitating the 
 application of the funds of private individuals and 
 associations for their employment in useful and produc- 
 tive labour," by which alone the entire and permanent 
 removal of the malady can be expected, although it is, 
 they say, much mitigated in its severity, and more 
 circumscribed in its extent than heretofore. The dis- 
 ease still however, it is observed, continues to press 
 heavily on the community, and by " the united testi- 
 monies of every competent inquirer is attributed to the 
 want of employment of the labouring classes, as a 
 primary and powerfully efficient cause." 
 
 On the second head of inquiry, the condition, or in 
 other words, the employment of the labouring 
 poor, the committee " find themselves in a 
 great measure controlled by the unquestionable 
 principle that legislative interference in the 
 
88 REPORT ON DISEASE AND CHAP. II. 
 
 operations of human industry is as much as" possible to 
 be avoided." There are however, they say, certain 
 exceptions to such a rule, either when injurious impe- 
 diments are to be removed, or where any branch of 
 industry cannot at its commencement be carried on by 
 individual exertion, on which occasions, it is considered, 
 parliament may with advantage interpose its aid. The 
 existence of general distress and the deficiency of em- 
 ployment were so notorious, that the committee deemed 
 it unnecessary to encumber their Eeport with evidence 
 on the subject. Their inquiries were particularly di- 
 rected to agriculture and the fisheries, as being the two 
 most important departments of labour, and as " those 
 likewise to which the greatest extension may be given 
 without hazarding reaction." They refer to the Eeport 
 of the Commissioners on the Bogs of Ireland, which 
 they consider " prove the immense amount of land 
 easily reclaimable, and convertible to the production of 
 grain almost without limit for exportation" whilst, 
 " the small extent to which the commissioners' recom- 
 mendations have been acted upon, demonstrates lament- 
 ably that want of capital which in Ireland unnerves all 
 effort for improvement." The institution of commis- 
 sioners of sewers, as in England, is then recommended, 
 as is also the draining of the great bogs and marshes, 
 and the making a legal provision for repayment of the 
 necessary outlay. The formation of roads in the moun- 
 tainous districts is likewise recommended, those districts 
 not having, it is said, " their due share of the benefits 
 of the grand-jury system." 
 
 The want of capital the committee consider is attri- 
 butable to a variety of causes. Capital, they justly 
 remark, " can accumulate only out of the savings of 
 individuals ; and in Ireland there are few persons who 
 conduct their operations on such a scale, as to admit 
 of much surplus for accumulation." The manufacture 
 which flourishes most is the linen-trade, and this is said 
 
A.D. 1819. CONDITION OF LABOURING POOH. 89 . 
 
 to be " spread abroad amongst a population which at 
 the same time cultivates the soil for their sustenance," 
 a state of things incompatible with large savings. 
 Whilst in agriculture, the tendency to the subdivision 
 of farms, and the practice of throwing the expense of 
 buildings and repairs on the tenants, prevent the accu- 
 mulation of profit in the hands of the farmers, and its 
 application to agricultural improvements. There are, 
 it is said, two millions of acres of bog in Ireland, eapa- 
 ble when reclaimed of growing corn ; and the mountain 
 districts comprise a million and half of acres at present 
 nearly unproductive, but about one-half of which is 
 suitable for agriculture, and the remainder for pastur- 
 age and planting. The reclamation and improvement 
 of these bogs and mountain districts would, the com- 
 mittee observe, afford profitable employment to the 
 people, and greatly increase the productive powers of 
 the country; but for this capital is necessary, and in 
 Ireland the capital is not to be found. 
 
 With regard to the fisheries, it is declared that " in 
 whatever view they can be considered, whether as a 
 source of national wealth, as a means of employing an 
 overflowing population, or as a nursery of the best 
 seamen," they are of the utmost importance ; and the 
 revision and simplification of the fishery laws, and the 
 direct application of encouragement to the fishermen of 
 the coast, whose actual condition is said to be miserable, 
 the committee consider essential to any successful fishery 
 in Ireland. The northern, western, and southern coasts, 
 are said to afford every advantage for a bay or coast 
 fishery, and to be admirably suited for a deep-sea cod- 
 fishery of great importance ; and after noticing what 
 had been done in Scotland, where an improved system 
 of fishery laws, and parliamentary encouragement wisely 
 applied, had been eminently successful, the committee 
 earnestly recommend " on every ground of policy as 
 well as justice," that the precedent of Scotland should 
 
90 REPOKT ON THE CONDITION CHAP. II. 
 
 be applied to Ireland. The circumstances of the two 
 countries are declared to be remarkably similar, " both 
 being mountainous and uncultivated, and abounding 
 with an unemployed population." 
 
 On this last point, the committee remark " It is 
 almost impossible in theory to estimate the mischiefs 
 attendant on a redundant, a growing and unemployed 
 population, converting that which ought to be the 
 strength into the peril of the state." It is obvious, they 
 say, that the tendency of such a population to general 
 misery, and the boundless multiplication of human 
 beings satisfied with the lowest condition of existence, 
 must be rapid in proportion to the facility of procuring 
 human sustenance ; and it is declared " that such a 
 population, excessive in proportion to the market for 
 labour, exists and is growing in Ireland, a fact that 
 demands the most serious attention of the legislature, 
 and makes it not merely a matter of humanity, but of 
 state policy, to give every reasonable encouragement 
 to industry in that quarter of the empire." The nori- 
 residence of a great portion of the proprietors, and 
 their spending their incomes in England, is then ad- 
 verted to, as being a circumstance which " enhances 
 the claim of Ireland on the generous consideration of 
 parliament." 
 
 No one better knew the state of Ireland than the 
 chairman of this committee, the substance of whose 
 Report is here given. We may therefore rely upon 
 the correctness of the statement, that there was then, 
 twenty years after the Union, a redundant, an increas- 
 ing, and unemployed population in Ireland, subsisting 
 on food obtained with peculiar facility, (the potato) and 
 consequently " leading to the boundless multiplication 
 of human beings satisfied with the lowest condition of 
 existence." Yet the land was fertile, the sea-coasts 
 abounded in fish, and the bogs and mountain districts 
 solicited improvement. It will probably be said that 
 
A.D. 1823. OF THE LABOURING POOR. 
 
 there must be something wrong in the charad 
 habits, or social position of a people, where such cir- 
 cumstances existed. The Report points to want of 
 capital, and the non-residence of proprietors, as being 
 the cause or causes of what was wrong ; and no doubt 
 both circumstances may have been influential in the 
 matter. But capital we are told is the accumulation of 
 savings, which are the fruits of industry, which again 
 is nourished and supported by its own progeny; so 
 that a want of industry may have lain at the root of 
 the evil as regards the mass of the population, whilst 
 the proprietors through absence, or want of sympathy 
 with the other classes, probably failed in their duty of 
 originating and urging forward improvement. With 
 the proprietor class indeed, as with the others, the 
 capital arising from savings and applicable to objects 
 of improvement, was of slender amount ; and the com- 
 mittee appear to rely more upon " the generous consi- 
 deration of parliament," than upon native energy or 
 resource, for supplying the deficiencies and remedying 
 the evils of which they complain. 
 
 In 1823 another select committee 1 was appointed 
 " to inquire into the condition of the labouring 
 poor in Ireland, with a view to facilitate the Report on 
 
 PIP i P i 1 i condition 
 
 application of the funds of private individuals 
 and associations for their employment in useful 
 and productive labour." The committee made their 
 Report on the 16th of July, and after adverting to the 
 course pursued in the former inquiry of 1819, they 
 state that during the last year " a pressure of distress 
 wholly unexampled was felt in Ireland, which directed 
 the attention of government, of parliament, and of the 
 British public, to the condition of the Irish peasantry, 
 and led to the appropriation of large sums voted by the 
 legislature, and subscriptions by individuals for the 
 
 1 Mr. Spring Rice, now Lord Monteagle, was the chairman of this com- 
 mittee. 
 
92 REPORT ON THE CONDITION CHAP. II. 
 
 purpose of mitigating if not of averting, that famine 
 and disease which had extended to so alarming a degree 
 in many districts in Ireland." k 
 
 It appears that early in May of the preceding year, 
 a public meeting was held in the city of London to 
 raise subscriptions for the relief of the distress in Ire- 
 land, and a committee of gentlemen was appointed to 
 superintend the distribution of the money subscribed. 
 Considerable grants of public money were also made by 
 parliament for the same purpose. The committee state 
 that the distressed districts comprised one-half of the 
 surface of Ireland, and there were grounds for believing 
 that considerably more than one-half of the entire popu- 
 lation of these districts depended upon charitable assist- 
 ance for support. The sums distributed through the 
 city of London committee amounted to nearly 300,000/., 
 which with the amount advanced by government fur- 
 nished means for continuing the relief until the month 
 of August, when the necessity for its further continu- 
 ance seems to have ceased ; and it is satisfactory, the 
 committee observe, to find that the most lively feel- 
 ings of gratitude have been excited by this benevo- 
 lent interposition, " which it is to be hoped will tend 
 to unite the two parts of the empire in the strong ties 
 of sympathy and obligation." 
 
 In the districts where the distress chiefly prevailed, 
 the potato constituted the principal food of the pea- 
 santry, and the potato crop had failed ; but there was 
 no deficiency in the other crops, and the prices of corn 
 and oatmeal were moderate. Indeed the exports of 
 grain from ports within the distressed districts, was 
 considerable during the entire period of the distress : 
 so that those districts, the committee observe, " pre- 
 sented the remarkable example of possessing a surplus 
 of food, whilst the inhabitants were suffering from 
 
 k Ante, p. 80. 
 
A.D. 1823. OF THE LABOURING POOH. 93 
 
 actual want." The calamity of 1822 may therefore be 
 said to have proceeded less from want of food in the 
 country, than from the people's want of the means to 
 purchase it, " or in other words, from their want of 
 profitable employment." In some districts where the 
 potato failed, but where the population were engaged 
 in the linen- trade, no individual so employed is said to 
 have had occasion for relief; and the committee come 
 to the conclusion that the late distress had chiefly 
 arisen from the circumstance that the peasantry de- 
 pended for subsistence upon the food raised by them- 
 selves. When the potato fails, they have not the 
 means to purchase other food, and the potato is not 
 only uncertain as a crop but it soon decays, so that the 
 surplus of one year cannot be preserved to supply the 
 deficiency in another. 
 
 The agents of government, and of the London con- 
 tributors, as well as the local associations which had 
 been formed, made a point on all occasions as far as 
 possible, of affording the necessary assistance in return 
 for labour ; and the committee express their entire ap- 
 probation of this principle. " Relief purely gratuitous 
 (they observe) can seldom in any case be given without 
 considerable risk and inconvenience ; but in Ireland, 
 where it is more peculiarly important to discourage 
 habits of pauperism and indolence, and where it is the 
 obvious policy to excite an independent spirit of in- 
 dustry, and to induce the peasantry to rely upon them- 
 selves and their own exertions for support, gratuitous 
 relief can never be given without leading to most mis- 
 chievous consequences." Any system of relief, it is 
 remarked 1 , which leads the peasantry to depend upon 
 the interposition of others, rather than upon their own 
 labour, however benevolently it may be intended, can- 
 not fail to repress the spirit of independent exertion 
 which is essentially necessary to the improvement of 
 the condition of the labouring classes. 
 
94 EEPOBT ON THE CONDITION CHAP. II. 
 
 The condition of the people in the districts to which 
 the evidence obtained by the committee chiefly applied, 
 appears " to be wretched and calamitous to the greatest 
 degree." A large portion of the peasantry in those 
 districts, are described as living in a state of the utmost 
 misery. Their cabins scarcely contain an article that 
 can be called furniture. In some families there are no 
 such things as bedclothes, the place of which is sup- 
 plied by a little fern, and a quantity of straw thrown 
 over it, upon which they sleep in their working clothes. 
 The witnesses agreed in this description with regard 
 to a large portion of the peasantry, and they agreed 
 also in attributing the existence of this state of things 
 to the want of employment. Yet the people are re- 
 presented as being willing to labour, and we are told 
 that they quit their homes at particular seasons in 
 search of employment elsewhere, whilst the inhabitants 
 of the coasts bordering on the Atlantic, carry on their 
 backs the sand and seaweed many miles inland for the 
 purpose of manure. 
 
 The committee are of opinion that the rapid increase 
 of the population l is one immediate cause of the want 
 of employment. The demand for labour, they say, has 
 not kept pace with the continually increasing number 
 of persons seeking employment. Another cause of 
 the want of employment, they consider, arises from the 
 effect produced on the gentry of the country by the 
 fall of prices. The fixed payments to which many of 
 the landlords are subjected, whether in the shape of 
 head-rents or interest on incumbrances, bear a greater 
 proportion to the whole income than they did during 
 the war, and consequently the balance remaining in 
 the hands of the resident gentry is diminished, a re- 
 duced employment follows, labourers are discharged, 
 and the distress of the higher class is thus visited upon 
 the lower. 
 
 1 See table, ante pp. 11 ancl 12. 
 
A.D. 1823. OF THE LABOURING POOR. 95 
 
 The want of capital was however in most instances 
 assigned as the principal cause of the want of employ- 
 ment. This want was manifested in the wretched de- 
 scription of implements commonly in use. The ploughs, 
 carts, harrows, were of the very rudest kind, and there ap- 
 peared to be a deficiency even of these. The same want 
 of capital has, it is said, led to the payment of wages, not 
 in money, but by allowances in account, or as a set-off 
 against the landlord's claims for rent, or presentments, 
 or some other object, which is not only a hardship to 
 the labourer, but tends to an increase of local burdens ; 
 and as it was " generally admitted that if the wages of 
 labour were paid in money, the labour would be more 
 cheaply purchased and more cheerfully and efficiently 
 given," the committee express a hope " that a system 
 of ready money payment may be introduced, so far at 
 least as the public works of the country are concerned." 
 
 The encouragement of the fisheries, the erection of 
 piers, the formation of harbours, and the opening of 
 mountain roads, are all recommended, as is also the 
 instruction of the peasantry in agriculture, by combin- 
 ing instruction in this branch, with the other instruc- 
 tion imparted in the various educational establishments 
 throughout the country. In conclusion, the committee 
 admit that danger attends all interferences with indus- 
 trial pursuits, which prosper best when left to their 
 own natural development ; but they consider that the 
 state of Ireland constitutes it an exception to the gene- 
 ral rule, and that the aid of government in support of 
 local effort is there absolutely necessary. 
 
 At the end of seven years, another select committee 
 of the commons was appointed " to take into 
 consideration the state of the poorer classes in 
 Ireland, and the best means of improving their state of SM 
 
 , . . ,, IT' IT 
 
 condition, and their very elaborate and com- 
 
 1830 . 
 
 state of SM 
 
 poorerclasses 
 
 m Mr. Spring Rice (now Lord Monteagle) was also the chairman of this 
 committee. 
 
96 WILLIAM IV. CHAP. II. 
 
 prehensive Report, (which was ordered to be printed on 
 the 16th of July,) will require to be especially considered. 
 
 The committee commence their Eeport by declaring 
 that they entertain a deep sense of the difficulty and im- 
 portance of the question referred to them, and that they 
 have felt it their duty to make most minute inquiries 
 into the actual state and condition of the Irish poor, 
 considered in all points of view, moral, political, physical 
 and economical, in order to enable the house to form a 
 correct opinion on the entire subject. The Report is 
 arranged under three principal heads 1st, the state 
 and condition of the poorer classes 2ndly, the laws 
 which affect the poor, and the charitable institutions 
 Srdly, the remedial measures suggested ; and each of 
 these is again subdivided into several minor headings. 
 It is not intended to adhere to these divisions in the 
 following summary, but to select such portions only as 
 immediately bear upon our subject, and as are calculated 
 to show what was then the general state of the country 
 and the condition of the people. 
 
 Regret is expressed by the committee at their being 
 state of the compelled to state " that a very considerable 
 coSfefof portion of the population is considered to be out 
 the people. Q em pl O y men t." The number is, they say, esti- 
 mated differently by some at one-fifth, by others at 
 one-fourth ; and this want of demand for labour neces- 
 sarily causes distress among the labouring classes, which 
 combined with the consequences of an altered system of 
 managing land, is said to produce " misery and suffer- 
 ing which no language can possibly describe, and 
 which it is necessary to witness in order fully to esti- 
 mate." Yet the price of labour is not considered to 
 have materially fallen. By returns from the county 
 treasurers, the rate of wages appears to average Wd. 
 per day on presentment works throughout Ireland, and 
 an extensive contractor thinks that there is a tendency 
 in wages to increase rather than otherwise, notwith- 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. REPORT ON THE POORER CLASSES. 97 
 
 standing that the labourers can now, he says, purchase 
 for 65., what would formerly have cost them 125. 
 These are seemingly contradictions, and there is much 
 more of the same kind of conflicting testimony given 
 in the Keport, which can only be accounted for by the 
 fact, that the several parts of Ireland differ widely 
 from each other, and that what is true in one case is 
 not true in another. This indeed appears to be the 
 view taken by the committee, for they say however 
 consolatory the favourable testimony may be, it would 
 lead to a false inference were it to induce a disbelief 
 in the existence of very great distress and misery in 
 Ireland. " The population and the wealth of a 
 country may (they observe) both increase, and increase 
 rapidly ; but if the former proceeds in a greater ratio 
 than the latter, an increase of distress among the poor 
 may be concurrent with an augmentation of national 
 wealth." The state of the labouring classes must, it is 
 considered, mainly depend on the proportion existing 
 between the number of the people and the capital which 
 can be profitably employed in labour. Of the truth of 
 these propositions, there can be no reasonable doubt ; 
 neither can it well be doubted, that much of the dis- 
 tress and misery which were seen in Ireland, was owing 
 to a disturbance of this proportion, the population 
 having become greatly in excess of the capital neces- 
 sary for and applicable to profitable employment. 
 
 The committee consider that it would be impossible 
 to form a correct estimate of the condition of the poorer 
 classes in Ireland, without first ascertaining the nature 
 of the relations which existed between landlord and 
 tenant, " the connexion between the inheritor and the 
 occupier of the soil being one which must influence if 
 not control the whole system of society." Great atten- 
 tion is accordingly bestowed on this part of the subject, 
 and much evidence was taken in reference to it. 
 
 Under the excitement of war prices, it is observed, 
 
 H 
 
98 WILLIAM IV. CHAP. II. 
 
 agriculture advanced with extreme rapidity. The de- 
 mand for labour increased, and the population aug- 
 mented in proportion. Land rose in value from year 
 to year, and lessees realised large profit rents by sub- 
 letting, one or more persons being frequently inter- 
 posed between the owner and the occupier who was 
 ultimately liable for the rent, both to the head landlord 
 and the intermediate tenants. It became the practice 
 in most cases, we are told, for the occupying tenant 
 either to sublet, or to divide the land among the mem- 
 bers of his family in the former case a class of middle- 
 men was created, which operated as a bar to improve- 
 ment, and led to the paying or to the promise of paying 
 higher rents in the latter case the practice of sub- 
 dividing led to consequences perhaps still more mis- 
 chievous. When the farmer of 40 acres subdivided 
 the land among his children, those children were led 
 to do the same among theirs, until the farm of 40 
 acres was cut up into holdings of one two or three 
 acres, each holding occupied by its particular owner, 
 and yielding no more than was barely sufficient for his 
 subsistence. " Now if the tenant of 40 acres had been 
 prevented from subdividing his land, he would," as is 
 observed by one of the witnesses, 11 " have provided for 
 his children by sending them one into the army, another 
 into the navy, and then left his holding to a third, and 
 thus the farm would have been continued in its first 
 state." The cultivation of the land so subdivided and 
 cut up is moreover always of the very worst description. 
 The crops are uncertain, the liabilities to scarcity greater, 
 the cabins are most miserable, and the visitations of 
 fever are more frequent. The soil itself becomes de- 
 teriorated by bad tillage, and not a bush nor a tree is 
 left standing ; whilst the ease with which a cabin is 
 
 n Dr. Doyle, the Koman catholic Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, whose 
 evidence is entitled to the utmost consideration on this and every other ques- 
 tion connected with the state of Ireland. 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. REPORT ON THE POORER CLASSES. 99 
 
 reared, and the meal of potatoes provided, induces early 
 marriages, and the land teems with an excessive popu- 
 lation. 
 
 The above is not an overdrawn description of the 
 consequences of subdividing land, but a change in 
 management is said to have taken place soon after the 
 peace, when the decline in the price of agricultural 
 produce disabled many of the middlemen as well as the 
 occupying tenants from paying their rents, and created 
 much anxiety and alarm in the minds of the landlords. 
 An apprehension was morever, we are told, generally 
 felt that a pauper population would go on increas- 
 ing, and the value of the land at the same time go on 
 diminishing, until the entire produce would become 
 insufficient to maintain the people. The proprietors 
 sought to devise a remedy for this state of things, so as 
 to prevent the occurrence of such an evil ; and Dr. 
 Doyle stated in his evidence, that they did apply 
 remedies, the principle of which he fully approved ; but 
 he added " that he thought, and still thinks, that those 
 remedies ought to have been accompanied by some 
 provision for the poor." 
 
 The remedy or change in management here adverted 
 to was the consolidating of farms, which it is said would 
 lead to better husbandry, to a greater certainy of crop, 
 to the providing farm-buildings and more comfortable 
 habitations, and to an increase in the quantity and im- 
 provement in the quality of the produce. These are all 
 important considerations, and if the landlords and the 
 tenants who continued in possession were alone to be 
 regarded, the change would appear an unmixed good. 
 But there is another class, the ejected tenants, whose 
 condition, it is said, necessarily becomes most deplorable. 
 " It would be impossible for language to convey an 
 idea of the state of distress to which the ejected tenantry 
 have been reduced, or of the disease, misery, and even 
 vice, which they have propagated in the towns wherein 
 
 H 2 
 
100 WILLIAM IV. CHAP. II. 
 
 they have settled ; so that not only they who have 
 been ejected have been rendered miserable, but they 
 have carried with them and propagated that misery." 
 
 Such is the testimony of Dr. Doyle on this point, and 
 although the committee express a hope that it may be 
 regarded as descriptive of an extreme case, they yet 
 have no doubt " that in making the change, in itself 
 important and salutary, a most fearful extent of suf- 
 fering must have been produced." The change was 
 however, they say, unavoidable, and delay would have 
 increased and aggravated the evil which followed in its 
 train. Various suggestions were made with a view to 
 carry the country through the period of change, and 
 the severe trials by which it must be attended 
 " Emigration, the improvement of bogs and waste 
 lands ; the embankment and drainage of marsh lands ; 
 the prosecution of public works on a large scale ; the 
 education of the people not only in elementary know- 
 ledge, but in habits of industry ; the encouragement of 
 manufactures ; the extension of the fisheries ; and lastly, 
 the introduction of a system of poor-laws, either on the 
 English or Scotch principles, or so modified as to be 
 adapted to the peculiar circumstances of Ireland," were 
 all recommended, and on each of these questions, the 
 committee say, valuable evidence had been taken and 
 would be submitted to the house. 
 
 On the subject of vagrancy, after referring to the 
 
 old laws against it which had fallen into 
 
 desuetude, and which are recommended to be 
 
 repealed, the committee quote the 6th Anne, cap. 11, 
 
 under which (as amended by the 9th George 2nd, cap. 
 
 6) idle vagrants, or pretended Irish gentlemen, who 
 
 will not work &c., may on the presentment of a grand 
 
 jury be apprehended and transported for seven years. 
 
 They likewise quote * The llth and 12th George 3rd, 
 
 Ante, p. 38. 
 
A.D. 1830-4837. REPORT ON THE POORER CLASSES. 101 
 
 cap. 30, for establishing houses of industry, and these 
 statutes are said to be in full force. A table is also 
 given, showing that on an average of eight years the 
 number of commitments under the first-named statutes 
 was 160 annually; and the committee observe, that 
 " although it is necessary to continue penalties against 
 vagrancy," they " cannot but think that a more con- 
 stitutional and efficient system may be adopted, than 
 one which allows the penalty of transportation to be 
 inflicted upon the mere presentment of a grand jury, 
 and this, not for an offence defined with precision, but 
 under contingencies extremely vague and uncertain." 
 In the opinion thus expressed by the committee, every 
 one must concur. 
 
 With regard to the county infirmaries, of which 
 there were thirty-one, 15 the committee, after county 
 referring to the several Acts under which they " 
 were established, 01 state that during the last year relief 
 had been given to 7,729 intern patients, besides other 
 medical assistance ; and that the entire incomes amount- 
 ed to 54,693^., the whole derived from local subscrip- 
 tions and grand-jury presentments, excepting 3,000/. 
 (Irish currency) furnished by government. The com- 
 mittee recommend that the several statutes should be 
 consolidated, and that the grand juries should be en- 
 abled to provide more than one infirmary in the larger 
 counties, and that their presenting powers should be 
 extended in order to guard against insufficiency in any 
 case. An efficient audit of the accounts, and a duly 
 authenticated Report half-yearly of all particulars con- 
 nected with the hospitals, together with a regular in- 
 spection by the grand juries, are likewise recommended ; 
 
 Ante, p. 51. 
 
 P There was an infirmary in every county excepting Waterford, where the 
 peculiar provisions of a local Act had prevented one being erected. 
 
 q Namely 5th George 3rd, cap. 20 ; 45th George 3rd, cap. Ill ; and 47th 
 George 3rd, cap. 50. 
 
102 WILLIAM IV. CHAP. II. 
 
 and with these alterations, the committee are of opinion 
 that " the county infirmaries of Ireland may be con- 
 sidered as adequate to the purposes for which they were 
 intended." There does not however, it is added, appear 
 to be any reason for continuing the government grant 
 of 3,000. Aid from the public purse should, it is said, 
 be reserved exclusively for loans and advances, " and 
 for cases in which local funds are inadequate to the 
 immediate discharge of a necessary duty." 
 
 The subject of fever and fever hospitals is next 
 
 adverted to by the committee. " From the 
 
 hospitals and occasional failure of the potato crop, and the 
 
 dispensaries. . 1-11 i i 
 
 misery which then invariably ensues, the poor 
 of Ireland are (it is said) peculiarly liable to fever, 
 which has at various times spread with such violence, 
 and to such an extent, as to require extraordinary aid, 
 not only from private charity and local assessment, but 
 from the public purse." Dublin had suffered most 
 severely from this calamity, upwards of 60,000 persons 
 having in one year passed through the fever hospitals 
 of that city. In 1817 fever extensively prevailed in 
 Ireland, and a board of health was constituted whose 
 Report to government showed " that on a moderate 
 calculation a million and a half of persons suffered from 
 fever, of which number at least 65,000 had died." By 
 the 58th George 3 re?, cap. 47, r additional facilities were 
 given for establishing fever hospitals, and provision 
 was made for the appointment of local boards of 
 health. By the 59th George 3rd, cap. 41, effect was 
 given to the recommendations of the select committee 
 of 1819, 8 and under these statutes fever hospitals have 
 been established in most parts of Ireland. No county 
 is said to be without one in Munster, and the county 
 of Cork has four, and Tipperary eight ; but many 
 
 r Ante, p. 77. Ante, pp. 78 and 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. REPORT ON THE POORER CLASSES. 103 
 
 counties in the provinces of Ulster and Oonnaught have 
 omitted to provide fever hospitals, and the committee 
 consider that if the grand juries persist in such omission, 
 the providing of them should be made compulsory. 
 With respect to dispensaries for the medical relief of the 
 sick poor, these were sanctioned by the kbth George 3rd, 
 cap. Ill,* under which Act nearly 400 are said to have 
 been established, " affording relief annually to upwards 
 of half a million of persons." But some doubts appear 
 to have arisen as to whether the presentments for their 
 support were optional or otherwise, and the committee 
 recommend that such doubts should be removed by 
 making the presentment imperative, as was apparently 
 the intention of the framers of the statute ; and for 
 security against abuse, it is also recommended that a 
 Report of all matters connected with the dispensary, 
 should in each case be annually submitted to the grand 
 jury making the presentment. 
 
 The provision for the lunatic poor is said to have 
 been for a long time very defective in Ireland. Lunatic 
 A hospital attached to the house of industry in as * l{ms - 
 Dublin, a large asylum at Cork, and cells connected 
 with some of the county infirmaries, were all that ex- 
 isted for the safe custody and proper treatment of the 
 insane poor. In 1810 a grant was made for the esta- 
 blishment of the Richmond Lunatic Asylum, with 
 accommodation for 200 patients. In 1817 the subject 
 was inquired into by a select committee, 11 in accordance 
 with whose recommendation the 57^ George 3rd, cap. 
 106, x was passed, empowering the lord lieutenant to 
 fix certain districts within which lunatic asylums should 
 be erected, the cost in the first instance to be advanced 
 by government, but to be ultimately repaid by local 
 
 1 Ante, p. 73. The chapter is by mistake stated in the Report to be 91. 
 u Of this committee Mr. Vesey Fitzgerald was chairman. 
 x Ante, p. 79. 
 
104 WILLIAM IV. CHAP. II. 
 
 presentments, from which also the maintenance of the 
 asylums is to be derived. " When these institutions 
 are completed, which is easily practicable within three 
 years, every county in Ireland will be provided with 
 receptacles for their lunatic poor ; and if these shall not 
 be found sufficient for incurable as well as curable cases, 
 a ward or two may be attached to each at a moderate 
 expense, and the exigency may be thus completely pro- 
 vided for." This quotation is given from the inspector's 
 Report to the Irish government on the subject in 1830, 
 and the committee express their satisfaction, that as 
 regards " one of the most painful afflictions to which 
 humanity is exposed, there has been provided within a 
 few years, a system of relief for the Irish poor as exten- 
 sive as can be wished, and as perfect and effectual as is 
 to be found in any other country." Still however the 
 cases of idiots and incurable lunatics are not separately 
 provided for ; and the committee consider it important 
 that curable and incurable cases should be kept distinct, 
 and that space should not be appropriated to the safe 
 custody of incurables, which would be more usefully 
 employed in the treatment of cases where there was 
 a probability of recovery. Every lunatic establishment 
 in Ireland, whether public or private, is subject to the 
 visitation of the inspectors of prisons, who report regu- 
 larly upon the condition and management of these 
 institutions. 
 
 After referring to the llthand 12th Geo. 3rd, cap. 30, 
 Ho^of tne 46#A @ eo - 3r< ^ ca P- 95 > and tne 58*A G eo - 
 
 industry. 3^ m ^ j j fa Q J^ un( J er which hoUS6S of 
 
 industry are established and regulated, the committee 
 state that the number of these institutions in Ireland 
 does not exceed twelve " including the great establish- 
 ment bearing that name in Dublin, which is supported 
 exclusively by votes of parliament." There are eight 
 
 Ante, pp. 51. 74, and 77. 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. REPORT ON THE POORER CLASSES. 105 
 
 in Munster, and three in Leinster, but none either in 
 Ulster or Connaught. A proposition is said to have 
 been made for extending houses of industry generally 
 throughout the country, and for rendering their erec- 
 tion and support compulsory. But the committee are 
 of opinion that " establishments of this description com- 
 bining the two distinct purposes of punishment and 
 relief, are not likely to be useful either as prisons or 
 hospitals." They think that coercion is more likely to 
 be effective when applied in houses of correction, than 
 when applied in asylums intended for old age infirmity 
 and destitution. They also think that the criminal 
 ought to be separated from the distressed poor, and that 
 these asylums should be reserved for particular descrip- 
 tions of the latter class only or in the words of Dr. 
 Chalmers, for " cases of hopeless and irrecoverable dis- 
 ease, and all cases of misery the relief of which has no 
 tendency to increase the number of cases requiring 
 relief." To the poor who suffer from loss of sight or 
 limbs, and the deaf and dumb, the house of industry 
 judiciously managed, would they say " afford a suitable 
 place of refuge." Such are the ^views of the committee 
 with regard to houses of industry, and they do not 
 materially differ from what prevailed in England a cen- 
 tury previous with regard to the almshouses or old 
 parish poorhouses then so common. 
 
 The number of voluntary charities in Ireland main- 
 tained by private benevolence, independently of voluntary 
 any contribution from general or local taxation, 
 is said to be very great, and they are stated to be most 
 liberally supported. " Among them will be found 
 schools, hospitals, Magdalen asylums, houses of refuge, 
 orphan establishments, lying-in hospitals, societies for 
 relief of the sick and indigent, mendicity associations, 
 and charitable loans." Yet notwithstanding the exist- 
 ence of these multifarious institutions, and the active 
 exercise of private benevolence, and the frequent col- 
 
106 WILLIAM IV. CHAP. II. 
 
 lections by the clergy of all persuasions, 2 " the commit- 
 tee have not the satisfaction to hope that more is 
 accomplished than the mitigation of distress." Societies 
 for the suppression of mendicity have it is said been 
 formed in many parts of Ireland, on a plan similar to 
 those established in London, Bath, and other places in 
 England. In Dublin the income of the Mendicity 
 Society amounts to 7,000^., and the committee are in- 
 formed " that although the voluntary contributions are 
 scarcely sufficient to maintain the establishment, still on 
 the whole, supporting the poor as they do, they have 
 enough." When the funds are very low, a threat is 
 held out either of applying to parliament for a power 
 of compulsory assessment, or else that the poor people 
 supported by the society will be discharged into the 
 streets, " and by these means additional subscriptions 
 are called in." Institutions of this kind, supported by 
 private contributions, are said to be complained of as 
 casting an unfair and unequal burden upon the bene- 
 volent, and it has been suggested that they should be 
 supported or at least aided by local assessment : but this 
 suggestion, the committee observe, involves the entire 
 principle of a poor-law, a question on which at that 
 advanced period of the session they are not prepared to 
 enter. They however recommend it as a subject for 
 future consideration and inquiry. 
 
 With regard to emigration, although in some districts 
 
 ation "there exists a population exceeding that for 
 
 whose labour there is a profitable demand," the 
 
 committee nevertheless consider emigration to the full 
 
 as much an imperial as a provincial question. The 
 
 cause of the great influx of Irish labourers into Great 
 
 z Dr. Doyle in his evidence before the committee, stated that the poor were 
 almost exclusively supported by the middle classes ; and that " although these 
 form a class not over numerous, and subject to great pressure, still of the 
 million and a half or two millions now expended to support the Irish poor, 
 nearly the entire falls upon the farmers and the other industrious classes." 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. REPORT ON THE POORER CLASSESi 107 
 
 Britain is, they say, the higher rate of wages which 
 prevails there, and emigration from Ireland would 
 " diminish that inducement, and lessen the number of 
 Irish labourers in the British market." It might seem 
 therefore that the expense of such emigration should be 
 defrayed out of the general funds of the empire. But 
 the committee say they are not prepared to recommend 
 any compulsory system of taxation for the purpose, 
 " nor yet to discuss the probability of the repayment of 
 advances made to colonial settlers." They have how- 
 ever no doubt that colonization might be carried on to 
 a great extent, " if facilities were afforded by govern- 
 ment to those Irish peasants who were disposed volun- 
 tarily to seek a settlement in the colonies, and who 
 could by themselves or their landlords provide all the 
 expense required for their passage and location." In 
 districts where the population is in excess, it must be 
 alike the interest of all, of the landlords, the tenants, 
 and the labourers, that such excess should be removed ; 
 and the committee consider the most legitimate mode of 
 effecting this to be " that upon the actual deposit of a 
 sum sufficient to cover the entire expense, the govern- 
 ment should undertake the appropriation of that sum 
 in the way most effectual for the purpose " that is, for 
 the conveyance of the emigrants to, and helping them 
 to obtain a suitable location in, some British colony. 
 
 Amongst the various remedial measures suggested, the 
 committee urge at great length the importance of an 
 extension of public works, roadmaking, drainage, em- 
 bankments &c., founded chiefly on the example of 
 Scotland, and the benefits which there ensued from 
 opening out the Highlands by the formation of roads 
 and the construction of the Caledonian canal. The evi- 
 dence given by Mr. Telford the eminent engineer in 
 1817, is cited and much relied upon in this particular, 
 and certainly no higher authority on the subject could 
 have been adduced. An emendation of the grand-jury 
 
1828 
 
 108 REPOKT OF COMMITTEE CHAP. II. 
 
 and vestry laws is also recommended, together with 
 several other matters of minor import. 
 
 In the present very comprehensive Report, as in all 
 preceding Eeports on the state of Ireland, 
 
 Education. i . . T* 
 
 whether by committees of parliament or Koyal 
 commissions, the necessity for education is adverted 
 to as a matter of paramount importance. It is now 
 moreover said, that " the entire body of the Roman 
 catholic hierarchy have by petitions to both houses of 
 parliament, entreated that the recommendations of the 
 select committee of 1827, a should be adopted" on 
 which account, as well as on account of its intrinsic 
 importance with regard to the question of education 
 generally, that Report now requires to be noticed. 
 The Report of the select committee appointed in 
 1827 here- referred to, was printed by order 
 of the House of Commons on the 19th May 
 1 8 2 8 . a The committee declare that they " have 
 proceeded to consider the Reports on the state 
 of education in Ireland, with a full sense of the import- 
 ance of the subject, and of the peculiar difficulties with 
 which it is encompassed." During several centuries, 
 they observe, the necessity for providing the means of 
 education in Ireland has been recognised. As early as the 
 reign of Henry the Eighth the prevalence of crime was 
 attributed to the ignorance of the people, " and educa- 
 tion was relied upon as producing moral improvement, 
 and supporting the institutions of civil policy." Various 
 statutes were passed and charters granted, and endow- 
 ments made, with a view to this object ; and inquiries 
 had likewise been at different times instituted with the 
 same intent. Of the commissions appointed, the two 
 latest are the most important, namely that issued in 
 1806, and which terminated in 1812, after making 
 
 
 * The committee consisted of twenty-one members, and Sir John Newport 
 was the chairman. 
 
A.D. 1828. ON EDUCATION IN IEELAND. 109 
 
 " fourteen Reports upon the schools of royal and private 
 foundation, the charter schools, foundling hospital, 
 and the parochial and diocesan schools ;" and that 
 issued in 1824, which terminated in 1827, after making 
 " nine Eeports on the various establishments for educa- 
 tion." But the interference of the State was not solely 
 confined to regulation and inquiry. " Parliamentary 
 grants have been at various times most liberally made 
 for the purposes of education," and of these a list is 
 given, amounting in the whole to 2,914,140/. The 
 number of scholars receiving instruction in the existing 
 schools in 1826, is stated to be 560,549, " leaving in 
 all probability upwards of 150,000 without the means 
 of education." Of the number of scholars returned, it 
 is said that 394,732 are brought up in the common pay 
 schools, 46,119 in schools supported exclusively by the 
 Roman catholic priesthood and laity, 84,295 in various 
 establishments of private charity, and 55,246 in schools 
 maintained in whole or in part at the public expense. 
 
 In pursuing their investigations, the committee say 
 "their sole object has been to consider the principle 
 upon which it will be expedient hereafter to grant 
 public money in aid of Irish education ;" and they prefer 
 recording the conclusions at which they have arrived in 
 the form of abstract propositions, instead of reasoning 
 upon and discussing the merits of different modes of 
 procedure in this respect. After the most anxious de- 
 liberation, they have, they say, adopted a series of reso- 
 lutions on the subject, which are given at length, and 
 in fact constitute the substance of their Report ; and it 
 is now proposed to select such portions of these resolu- 
 tions as will enable the reader to see clearly what the 
 views of the committee were. To give the whole is 
 unnecessary, and would be inconvenient. The various 
 Reports of committees and commissioners on Irish edu- 
 cation are so voluminous, as to make it impossible to 
 quote them at length, and the abstracts of the more 
 
110 REPORT OF COMMITTEE CHAP. II. 
 
 important portions herein given will be sufficient for 
 our purpose. 
 
 A passage from the Report of the commissioners in 
 1812 b is cited, to the effect " that no plan of education, 
 however wisely and unexceptionably contrived in other 
 respects, can he carried into effectual operation in Ire- 
 land, unless it be explicitly avowed, and clearly under- 
 stood as its leading principle, that no attempt shall be 
 made to influence or disturb the peculiar religious tenets 
 of any sect or denomination of Christians." A passage 
 from the Report of the commissioners in 1824 is likewise 
 cited, to the effect " that in a country where mutual 
 divisions exist between different classes of the people, 
 schools should be established for the purpose of giving 
 to children of all religious persuasions, such useful in- 
 struction as they may severally be capable and desirous 
 of receiving, without having any ground to apprehend 
 any interference with their respective religious prin- 
 ciples." Another passage of the same Report is also 
 cited " in favour of the expediency of devising a 
 system of mutual education, from which suspicion should 
 impossible be banished, and the causes of distrust and 
 jealousy be effectually removed ; and under which the 
 children may imbibe similar ideas, and form congenial 
 habits, tending to diminish, not to increase, that distinct- 
 ness of feeling now but too prevalent." 
 
 The committee of 1828 adopt these several proposi- 
 tions, and resolve " that it is of the utmost importance 
 to bring together children of different religious persua- 
 sions in Ireland, for the purpose of instructing them in 
 the general subjects of moral and literary knowledge, 
 and providing facilities for their religious instruction 
 separately, when differences of creed render it imprac- 
 ticable for them to receive religious instruction together." 
 
 b This Report was signed by three bishops, the provost, and several other 
 distinguished clerical and lay members of the established church. 
 
A.D. 1828. ON EDUCATION IN IRELAND. Ill 
 
 And in accordance likewise with the recommendations 
 of the commissioners of 1812 and 1824, the committee 
 further resolve " that considering the very large sums 
 of public money annually voted for the encouragement 
 of education in Ireland, as well as the extreme discretion 
 required in adopting a new system of united education, 
 without permitting any interference in the peculiar 
 religious tenets of the scholars it is indispensably 
 necessary to establish a fixed authority acting under 
 the control of the government and of the legislature, 
 bound by strict and impartial rules, and subject to full 
 responsibility for the foundation control and manage- 
 ment of such public schools of general instruction, as 
 are supported on the whole or in part at the public 
 expense." 
 
 The committee likewise record their opinion, that the 
 selection of teachers in the schools should be made 
 without regard to religious distinction, and that their 
 qualifications should be proved by instruction or exami- 
 nation in a model school, the teacher first producing a 
 certificate of character from a clergyman of his own 
 communion. And they further resolve " that for the 
 purpose of carrying into effect the combined literary, 
 and the separate religious education of the scholars, the 
 course of study for four days of the week should be 
 exclusively moral and literary ; and that of the two 
 remaining days, the one should be appropriated solely 
 to the separate religious instruction of the protestant 
 children, the other for the separate religious instruction 
 of the Eoman catholic children the religious instruc- 
 tion in each case being placed under the exclusive super- 
 intendence of the clergy of the respective communions." 
 The committee moreover recommend that a board of edu- 
 cation should be appointed, " all persons being eligible 
 without reference to religious distinctions ;" and they 
 also recommend, that as a rule the children be required 
 to pay such small sums as may be directed, " but that free 
 
112 REPORT ON EDUCATION. CHAP. II. 
 
 scholars, being either orphans or the children of parents 
 unable to afford payment, be received on the recom- 
 mendation of the parochial clergy, and dissenting minis- 
 ters, and persons subscribing to the schools, or having 
 granted land for the site." 
 
 The conditions under which the committee consider 
 that the parliamentary grants in aid of the establishment 
 and support of schools in Ireland, should in future be 
 made, are as follows 
 
 " Not to exceed two-thirds of the sum required. 
 
 " The school-houses and site to be conveyed to the 
 
 commissioners. 
 " The managers to undertake to conduct the school 
 
 according to the prescribed rules. 
 " Gratuities to teachers according to regulations pre- 
 scribed by the commissioners. 
 " Books for the literary instruction of the children to 
 
 be furnished at half price, and for the separate 
 
 religious instruction at prime cost. 
 " A model school for the education of teachers to be 
 
 provided. 
 
 " A system of inspection to be established. 
 " Public aid to depend on private contributions, and 
 
 adherence to the commissioners' rules." 
 
 In conclusion the committee observe, that it has been 
 their object to discover a mode in which the combined 
 education of protestant and Roman catholic children 
 may be carried on, resting upon religious instruction, 
 but free from the suspicion of proselytism. They have 
 endeavoured, they say, " to avoid any violation of the 
 liberty of conscience, or any demands or sacrifices incon- 
 sistent with the religious faith of any denomination of 
 Christians." They propose to leave to the clergy of 
 each persuasion, the duty and the privilege of giving 
 religious instruction to those who are committed to their 
 care. And finally, they express an earnest hope that if 
 
A.D. 1831. MR. SECRETARY STANLEY'S LETTER. 113 
 
 adopted, their recommendations will satisfy moderate 
 and rational men of all opinions. 
 
 There can be no doubt that the committee were 
 entitled to avow the expectation here expressed. The 
 perfect fairness and impartiality of what they proposed 
 with regard to religious teaching, and the simplicity 
 and moderation of their recommendations, fortified 
 moreover as these substantially are by the Reports of 
 'the commissions of 1812 and 1824, seem to leave no 
 room for cavil or objection on any side. Yet we do not 
 find that any steps were specifically taken for carrying 
 the committee's recommendations into effect until Oc- 
 tober 1831, when Mr. Stanley, the then Secretary for 
 Ireland, addressed a letter to the Duke of Leinster, 
 stating that it had been determined to constitute a board 
 for the superintendence of a system of national education 
 in Ireland, and that it was proposed, with the duke's con- 
 sent, to place him at its head. The motives for consti- 
 tuting the new board, and the powers intended to be 
 conferred upon it, " and the objects which it is expected 
 that it will bear in view and carry into effect," are all 
 then very fully explained. 
 
 A preceding government, it is observed, imagined 
 that they had found a superintending body i 8 3i. 
 acting upon the impartial and non-proselytising Sfe^toSe* 
 
 111 ,-\ -li. P-IOTO Duke of 
 
 system recommended by the committee 01 1812, Leinster on 
 
 ,,,. ,, 'i c* i tueforra ation 
 
 and had intrusted the distribution 01 the of the Board 
 
 of National 
 
 national grants to the care of the Kildare- Educati ^ n - 
 street Society , d But, the letter proceeds 
 
 c Afterwards Lord Stanley, and now Earl of Derby. 
 
 d This society, originally founded in 1811 under the designation of " The 
 Society for promoting the Education of the Poor in Ireland," was managed by 
 gentlemen of various religious persuasions, on the principle of promoting the 
 establishment and assisting in the support of schools, in which the appoint- 
 ment of governors and teachers, and the admission of scholars should be unin- 
 fluenced by religious distinctions, and in which the Bible and Testament, 
 without note or comment should be read, excluding catechisms and books of 
 religious controversy. In 1814-15 a grant of 6,980?. Irish currency, for the 
 above objects, was made to this society, which removed its establishment to 
 
 1 
 
114 WILLIAM IV. CHAP. II. 
 
 " His Majesty's present government are of opinion 
 that no private society deriving a part, however small, 
 of their annual income from private sources, and only 
 made the channel of the munificence of the legislature, 
 without being subject to any direct responsibility, could 
 adequately and satisfactorily accomplish the end pro- 
 posed ; and while they do full justice to the liberal views 
 with "which that society was originally instituted, they 
 cannot but be sensible that one of its leading principles 
 was calculated to defeat its avowed objects, as experience 
 has subsequently proved that it has. The determina- 
 tion to enforce in all their schools the reading of the 
 Holy Scriptures without note or comment, was un- 
 doubtedly taken with the purest motives ; with the 
 wish at once to connect religious with moral and lite- 
 rary education, and at the same time not to run the 
 risk of wounding the peculiar feelings of any sect, by 
 catechetical instruction, or comments which might tend 
 to subjects of polemical controversy. But it seems to 
 have been overlooked, that the principles of the Eoman 
 catholic church (to which, in any system intended for 
 general diffusion throughout Ireland, the bulk of the 
 pupils must necessarily belong) were totally at variance 
 with this principle ; and that the indiscriminate reading 
 of the Holy Scriptures without note or comment, by 
 children, must be peculiarly obnoxious to a church 
 which denies, even to adults, the right of unaided 
 private interpretation of the sacred volume, with respect 
 to articles of religious belief." 
 
 " Shortly after its institution, although the society 
 prospered and extended its operations under the fos- 
 tering care of the legislature, this vital defect began to 
 be noticed ; and the Eoman catholic clergy began to 
 
 Kildare-street, and thence took the name of " The Kildare-street Society ;" 
 and annual grants were continued subsequently, varying from 10,OOOZ. in 1821, 
 to 25,000?. in 1830, the number of pupils within that period increasing from 
 36,637 to 132,530. 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. BOAKD OF NATIONAL EDUCATION. 115 
 
 exert themselves with energy and success against a 
 system to which they were on principle opposed, and 
 which they feared might lead in its results to pro- 
 selytism, even although no such object were contem- 
 plated by its promoters, When this opposition arose, 
 founded on such grounds, it soon became manifest 
 that the system could not become one of national 
 education." 
 
 " The commissioners of education in 1824-5, sensible 
 of the defects of the system, and of the ground, as well 
 as the strength of the objection taken, recommended 
 the appointment of two teachers in every school, one 
 protestant and the other Roman catholic, to superin- 
 tend separately the religious education of the children ; 
 and they hoped to have been able to agree upon a 
 selection from the Scriptures that might have been 
 generally acquiesced in by both persuasions. But it 
 was soon found that these schemes were impracticable ; 
 and, in 1828, a committee of the house of commons, 6 
 to which were referred the various Reports of the com- 
 missioners of education, recommended a system to be 
 adopted, which should afford, if possible, a combined 
 literary, and a separate religious education, and should 
 be capable of being so far adapted to the views of the 
 religious persuasions which prevail in Ireland, as to 
 render it, in truth, a system of National education for 
 the poorer classes of the community." 
 
 The letter next points out, that on the composition of 
 the board will in a great degree depend the obtaining 
 of public confidence, and the success of the measure ; and 
 it is then declared to be the intention of government 
 
 " That the board should exercise a complete control 
 over the various schools which may be erected under 
 its auspices ; or which having been already established, 
 
 Ante, p. 108. 
 
 i 2 
 
116 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS CHAP. II. 
 
 may hereafter place themselves under its management, 
 and submit to its regulations. Subject to these, ap- 
 plications for aid will be admissible from Christians of 
 all denominations ; but as one of the main objects must 
 be to unite in one system, children of different creeds, 
 and as much must depend upon the co-operation of 
 the resident clergy, the board will probably look with 
 peculiar favour upon applications proceeding either 
 from 
 
 " 1st. The protestant and Roman catholic clergy of 
 the parish ; or 
 
 " 2nd. One of the clergymen, and a certain number 
 of the parishioners professing the opposite creed ; or 
 
 " 3rd. Parishioners of both denominations. 
 
 " Where the application proceeds exclusively from 
 protestants, or exclusively from Roman catholics, it will 
 be proper for the board to make inquiry as to the cir- 
 cumstances which lead to the absence of any names of 
 the persuasion which does not appear. 
 
 " The board will note all applications for aid, whether 
 granted or refused, with the ground of the decision; 
 and annually submit to parliament a Report of their 
 proceedings. 
 
 " They will invariably require, as a condition not to 
 be departed from, that local funds shall be raised, upon 
 which any aid from the public will be dependent." 
 
 The letter then goes into a statement of various kinds 
 of local aid to be required ; the school-hours to be 
 observed ; and the time for religious instruction. After 
 which, it proceeds 
 
 " The board will exercise the most entire control 
 over all books to be used in the schools, whether in 
 the combined moral and literary, or separate religious 
 instruction ; none to be employed in the first except 
 under the sanction of the board, nor in the latter, but 
 with the approbation of those members of the board 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. OF NATIONAL EDUCATION. 117 
 
 who are of the same religious persuasion with those for' 
 whose use they are intended. Although it is not de- 
 signed to exclude from the list of books for the combined 
 instruction such portions of sacred history, or of religious 
 or moral teaching as may be approved of by the board, it 
 is to be understood that this is by no means intended to 
 convey a perfect and sufficient religious education, or to 
 supersede the necessity of separate religious instruction on 
 the day set apart for the purpose" 
 
 The part here printed in italics is not in the copy of the 
 letter published with the 1st Report of the Commissioners 
 of National Education, but it is in a copy annexed to the 
 8th fieport, and is believed to be the true one. The 
 remainder of the letter relates to school arrangements 
 and other proceedings of the board. 
 
 On the 6th of March 1832, a lengthened discussion 
 on the government plan of education took 183? . 
 place in the house of commons, in the course 
 
 
 of which Mr. Stanley stated his views on the 
 
 ! . . J . . plan of 
 
 subject in answer to the objections raised education. 
 by several members ; and ended by saying, that " He 
 was far from thinking the system now about to be 
 carried into effect was perfect, but he believed that 
 it was the most likely to unite the people of all re- 
 ligious persuasions in the education of their children, 
 and produce those results which, the Scriptures said, 
 were the fruits of the Christian religion peace, meek- 
 ness, gentleness and love." On the 23rd of July fol- 
 lowing, 37,500. was voted "in aid of the funds to be 
 appropriated to the new system of education," which 
 thenceforward may be regarded as permanently estab- 
 lished ; and in 1844 the board was duly incorporated 
 by royal charter. 
 
118 WILLIAM IV. CHAP. II. 
 
 We now approach a period when public attention 
 was very generally and very earnestly directed to the 
 condition of the poor, and to the operation of the 
 laws providing for their relief. In 1832 commissioners 
 were appointed to inquire into these subjects in Eng- 
 land, and the reader is referred to the 2nd volume 
 of the ' History of the English Poor Laws' for inform- 
 ation as to their Report on the occasion, and also for 
 an account of the important measure which was founded 
 thereon. 
 
 On the 25th September 1833, commissioners were 
 issa appointed " to inquire into the condition of the 
 Suire on P rer classes in Ireland, and into the various 
 condition of institutions at present established by law for 
 cSySI? their relief; and also whether any and what 
 further remedial measures appear to be requisite 
 to ameliorate the condition of the Irish poor or any 
 portion of them." f An extensive field of inquiry was 
 thus laid open to the commissioners, who forthwith 
 entered upon the duties confided to them ; and it must 
 be admitted that there could hardly have been any 
 more important, or more highly responsible. 
 
 In July 1835 the commissioners made their first 
 1835 Report " as to the modes in which the destitute 
 SSS?fim classes in Ireland are supported, to the extent and 
 efficiency of those modes, and their effects upon 
 those who give, and upon those who receive relief." A large 
 body of evidence is appended to the Report, which evi- 
 dence the commissioners say is now complete, containing 
 parochial examinations made in one parish in each of 
 seventeen counties, relative to the present modes of 
 relieving 
 
 f The commissioners were, the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr. Murray (the 
 Roman catholic Archbishop), Rev. Charles Vignoles, Richard More O'Farrall 
 Esq., Rev. James Carlisle, Fenton Hort Esq., John Corrie Esq., James Naper 
 Esq. and William Battie Wrightson Esq. The Right Hon. A. R. Blake was 
 subsequently added to the commission. 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. FIRST REPORT OF INQUIRY COMMISSION. 119 
 
 " Deserted and orphan children. 
 
 " Illegitimate children and their mothers. 
 
 " Widows having families of young children. 
 
 " The impotent through age or other permanent 
 infirmity. 
 
 " The sick poor, who in health are capable of earning 
 their subsistence. 
 
 " The able-bodied out of work. 
 
 " Vagrancy as a mode of relief." 
 
 An examination of every dispensary in nine counties 
 is also given, and of every infirmary, and some dis- 
 pensaries and hospitals in eleven counties. Likewise 
 the examinations concerning institutions not medical, 
 for the relief of different classes of the poor, which are 
 said to be " principally mendicity institutions, houses of 
 industry, almshouses, and societies for visiting the desti- 
 tute and distributing food, money, or clothes," in all the 
 large towns. 
 
 After thus enumerating the several heads or divisions 
 under which their investigations were conducted, the 
 commissioners proceed to state 
 
 1st. The difficulties they had to encounter from 
 the extensive and complicated nature of the subject, 
 and the peculiar social condition of the Irish people. 
 
 2ndly. The course they pursued in collecting in- 
 formation, " showing how far it is full and im- 
 partial, and therefore how far worthy of confi- 
 dence." And 
 
 3rdly. The reasons why they are not yet able to 
 report " Whether any and what further remedial 
 measures appear to be requisite to ameliorate the 
 condition of the Irish poor, or any of them." 
 
 These points are all largely dwelt upon, especially 
 the first. On every side, the commissioners say, they 
 were assailed by the theories of persons who might be 
 
120 FIRST REPORT OF INQUIRY COMMISSION. CHAP. II. 
 
 supposed to possess means of forming a sound judgment 
 " one party attributed all the poverty and wretched- 
 ness of the country to an asserted extreme use of ardent 
 spirits, and proposed a system for repressing illicit dis- 
 tillation, for preventing smuggling, and for substi- 
 tuting beer and coffee. Another party found the cause 
 in the combination among workmen, and proposed 
 rigorous laws against trades unions. Others again were 
 equally confident, that the reclamation of the bogs and 
 waste lands was the only practicable remedy. A fourth 
 party declared the nature of the existing connexion 
 between landlord and tenant to be the root of all the 
 evil. Pawnbroking, redundant population, absence of 
 capital, peculiar religious tenets and religious differ- 
 ences, political excitement, want of education, the mal- 
 administration of justice, the state of prison discipline, 
 want of manufactures and of inland navigation, with a 
 variety of other circumstances, were each supported by 
 their various advocates with earnestness and ability, as 
 being either alone, or jointly with some other, the 
 primary cause of all the evils of society ; and loan 
 funds, emigration, the repression of political excitement, 
 the introduction of manufactures, and the extension of 
 inland navigation, were accordingly proposed each as 
 the principal means by which the improvement of 
 Ireland could be promoted." The commissioners abstain 
 from expressing their opinion upon any of these pro- 
 positions, but they determine " that the inquiry should 
 embrace every subject to which importance seemed to 
 be attached by any large number of persons." 
 
 Under the second division of their Keport, the com- 
 missioners advert in considerable detail to the obvious 
 impossibility of collecting the necessary information 
 themselves, and the difficulty of finding Irishmen at 
 once competent and impartial to undertake the duty ; 
 and they determine as the only mode of combining 
 local knowledge with impartiality, to unite in the in- 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. FIRST REPORT OF INQUIRY COMMISSION. 121 
 
 quiry " a native of Great Britain with a resident 
 native of Ireland." And in order that the evidence 
 might he full and impartial, and be collected and regis- 
 tered in a satisfactory manner, the assistant-commis- 
 sioners who had been appointed were desired to adopt 
 in their investigations the following course of pro- 
 cedure i- 
 First " To request the attendance of persons of each 
 grade in society, of each of the various religious 
 persuasions , and of each party in politics ; to give 
 to the testimony of each class an equal degree of 
 attention, and to make the examinations in pre- 
 sence of all. Not to allow any person to join in 
 conducting the examination, and to state at the 
 opening of the proceedings, that any statement 
 made by an individual, and not impugned by any 
 person present, would be considered to be acknow- 
 ledged as at least probable by all." 
 
 Second " To note down at the time of examination, 
 the replies given, or the remarks which occurred 
 to him ; to register, as nearly as might be possible 
 in the words of each witness, the statements which 
 might be made ; to register the names of all 
 the persons who attended the examination ; and 
 before proceeding to examine another district, to 
 send the minutes of the previous examination to 
 the office in Dublin, signed by both the assistant- 
 
 commissioners." 
 
 With regard to the third head, that is the reasons for 
 not yet being able to report " whether any and what fur- 
 ther remedial measures appear to be requisite to amelio- 
 rate the condition of the Irish poor, or any portion of 
 them" The commissioners observe that the reasons 
 are sufficiently apparent in the fact that they have not 
 yet completed their inquiry into the causes of destitu- 
 
122 FIRST EEPORT OF INQUIRY COMMISSION. CHAP. II. 
 
 tion. They would, they say, be little worthy of the 
 high trust reposed in them, were they content with 
 deciding upon the extent and nature of distress, or 
 upon the means of only present alleviation. " We 
 consider it our duty (they remark) to endeavour if 
 possible, to investigate the causes of the destitution 
 which we discover, and to ascertain why classes of his 
 Majesty's subjects are from time to time falling into 
 a state of wretchedness ; why the labouring popula- 
 tion do not provide against those events which seem 
 inevitable ; why the able-bodied labourer does not 
 provide against the sickness of himself, or that of the 
 various members of his family ; against the temporary 
 absence of employment ; against the certain infirmity 
 of age ; against the destitution of his widow and his 
 children in the contingent event of his own premature 
 decease ; whether these omissions arise from any pecu- 
 liar improvidence in his habits, or from the insuffi- 
 ciency of employment, or from the low rate of his 
 wages." It would not even be sufficient to answer that 
 the limited amount of employment and the rate of his 
 wages will not permit him. " It is our duty (they 
 say) to carry the investigation further, and at least to 
 endeavour to trace whether there be any circumstances 
 which restrict the amount of employment, or the rate 
 of wages; or in any other way oifer impediments to 
 the improvement of the people, which are such as can 
 be remedied by legislation." 
 
 The commissioners accordingly in the first place 
 directed their attention to agriculture, that being, 
 they observe, the principal occupation of the Irish 
 people. There was said to be much unreclaimed land 
 which might be brought into cultivation, and through- 
 out Ireland the land already in cultivation might be 
 better worked, and thus the demand for labour be 
 increased. The commissioners wish to ascertain the 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. FIEST REPORT OF INQUIRY COMMISSION. 123 
 
 extent to which such statements are well founded, and 
 whether the evil is attributable to want of capital or to 
 want of skill ; and " whether there are any circum- 
 stances which have deterred British capitalists from 
 coming to Ireland, or have prevented the investment 
 in agriculture of capital existing in Ireland, and to 
 what extent those circumstances have proved injurious ; 
 and in case the evil arises from a deficiency of skill in 
 the tenantry, to ascertain whether there are any means 
 by which a superior knowledge of agriculture can be 
 diffused." By endeavouring to prevent the occurrence 
 of destitution, they consider that they will more effectu- 
 ally fulfil their mission, than if they merely devised the 
 means for its alleviation after it had arisen. They 
 shall, they say, " feel deep pain should they be com- 
 pelled to leave to any portion of the peasantry of 
 Ireland, a continuation of distress on the one hand, or 
 a mere offer of charity on the other far more grateful 
 (it is added) would be the office of recommending mea- 
 sures by which the industrious labourer might have the 
 prospect of a constant field for his exertions, with a 
 remuneration sufficient for his present demands, and 
 admitting of a provision against those contingencies 
 which attach to himself and to his family." They declare 
 it to be their anxious wish to do more than diminish 
 the wretchedness of portions of the working classes, and 
 that they are most solicitous to place the whole of those 
 classes in the greatest state of comfort consistently with 
 the good of the rest of society. 
 
 In answer to certain complaints which appear to 
 have been made " within and out of parliament " of the 
 time and money consumed in the present inquiry, the 
 commissioners explain at some length the impossibility 
 of proceeding more rapidly. They however admit that 
 the time will exceed that occupied by several other in- 
 quiries, and particularly by that on the English Poor- 
 
124 COMMISSIONERS' SECOND REPORT. CHAP. II. 
 
 law, to which they specially refer " because the highest 
 estimate has been formed of the manner in which it 
 was conducted, both as regards diligence and accuracy, 
 and because they feel that in measuring their labours, 
 and the time they are likely to occupy by such a stan- 
 dard, they shall have taken the surest mode of showing 
 that they have used the utmost diligence." 
 
 The foregoing summary exhibits the general purport 
 of the commissioners' first Keport, which it will be ob- 
 served aims rather at explaining what ought to be and 
 what is further intended to be done, than pointing out 
 remedies or deducing practical conclusions from the 
 " large body of evidence " which had been taken. It 
 is impossible not to concur in the views and reasonings 
 expressed by the commissioners with regard to the 
 spirit in which the inquiry should be conducted, and 
 also as to the objects sought to be attained : but no- 
 thing definite is proposed, nor any practical suggestion 
 offered ; and as the commissioners admit that they had 
 been occupied a year and ten months in the inquiry, 
 we can hardly wonder that some impatience should be 
 manifested " both in and out of parliament " on the 
 occasion. The evidence presented with the Eeport was 
 no doubt important, and calculated to afford much 
 valuable information on the several points to which 
 it specifically referred ; g but the mere collecting and 
 grouping of such evidence, unaccompanied by any con- 
 densed summary of its import, or practical deduction 
 from its details, could not be expected to be very satis- 
 factory or very useful, either to the legislature or to 
 the public generally. 
 
 In the early part of the following year the commis- 
 1836. sioners made a second Eeport " on that part of 
 
 ,-,. . i-i ii > 
 
 the inquiry which respects the various institu- 
 tions at present established by law for the relief 
 
 See the seven heads of inquiry set out, ante page 119. 
 
 The com- 
 
 missio 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. COMMISSIONERS' SECOND REPORT. 125 
 
 of the poor." These are said to be medical institu- 
 tions, lunatic asylums, houses of industry, and foundling 
 hospitals ; and although much of the information given 
 respecting them has been anticipated by the Eeport of 
 the select committee of 1830, h it will be convenient to 
 insert in this place a short abstract of the Report on 
 these institutions, the most numerous of which are the 
 medical charities. 
 
 To establish an infirmary, 500. must be first raised 
 by voluntary contributions, to which a grant T 
 
 J J " Infirmaries. 
 
 not exceeding 1,500/. may be made by go- 
 vernment, provided the distance be not less than ten 
 miles from any existing infirmary. The funds for its 
 support are provided by grand-jury presentments not 
 exceeding 600/. in any one year, and a grant of 100Z. 
 by government towards the salary of the surgeon. The 
 number of county infirmaries is stated to be 31, in addi- 
 tion to which there are 5 city and town infirmaries. 
 Each is governed by a corporation, consisting of certain 
 official persons, together with the donors of twenty 
 guineas and upwards, and annual subscribers of three 
 guineas. The corporation of governors appoint the 
 medical officers, regulate the admission of patients, 
 enact by-laws, and have the entire control of the in- 
 stitution. 
 
 Dispensaries were established for affording medical 
 relief to those poor persons who are too distant 
 
 .-.^P . ,, Dispensaries. 
 
 to receive aid irom an infirmary. They are 
 governed by the same corporation, with the addition 
 of subscribers of not less than one guinea annually, 
 and are supported by such subscriptions, together with 
 grand-jury presentments not exceeding a like amount. 
 The number of separate dispensaries is 452, and there 
 are 42 more united with fever hospitals, 
 
 The great prevalence of fever in Ireland rendered 
 
 h Ante, pp. 95 to 108. 
 
126 COMMISSIONERS' SECOND REPORT. CHAP. II. 
 
 hospitals for the special treatment of fever cases, ab- 
 Fever solutely essential to the general security ; and 
 for providing such hospitals, of which there 
 are 28, grand juries may present sums equal to double 
 the amount of voluntary subscriptions, and government 
 may also make advances for the purpose, to be subse- 
 quently repaid by instalments. By the 58#A Geo. 3rd, 
 cap. 47, 1 provision is made for the appointment of a 
 board of health, with extensive powers, whenever fever 
 occurs in a town or district ; but it appears that this 
 provision has been rarely acted upon. 
 
 The total expense of supporting these infirmaries, 
 dispensaries and fever hospitals, in the year 1833 as 
 stated in tables appended to the Report, was 109,054/. 
 of which amount grand-jury presentments furnished 
 55,065/. subscriptions 37,562. parliamentary grants 
 6,66 1Z., and petty-sessions fees and miscellaneous 
 funds 9,766. The entire number of cases relieved 
 in the same year, was 30,634 intern, and 1,243,314 
 extern. 
 
 The lord-lieutenant is empowered to direct as many 
 Lunatic lunatic asylums to be provided as he may think 
 fit, and the grand juries are required to pre- 
 sent such sums as may be necessary for defraying the 
 expense of erecting and supporting them. Eleven 
 were completed, or in progress towards completion ; 
 and the total amount of expenditure on them in 1833 
 was 26,247/. 
 
 With regard to these institutions the commissioners 
 remark "The medical relief at present afforded 
 throughout Ireland is very unequally distributed. In 
 the county of Dublin, containing exclusive of the city 
 about 176,000 inhabitants, and about 375 square miles, 
 there are 24 dispensaries, or one to every 7,333 in- 
 habitants. In the county of Meath, containing about 
 
 1 Ante, p. 77. 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. COMMISSIONERS' SECOND REPORT. 127 
 
 176,800 inhabitants, and about 886 square miles, there 
 are 19 dispensaries, or one for every 9,306 inhabitants. 
 In the county of Mayo, containing 366,328 inhabitants, 
 and about 2,100 square miles, there is only one dispen- 
 sary supported at the public expense." Such inequali- 
 ties, it is observed, are the necessary consequence of a 
 law which renders the establishment of a dispensary 
 contingent upon voluntary contributions. In districts 
 abounding in rich resident proprietors, a medical charity 
 is least wanted, but subscriptions are there most easily 
 obtained ; whilst in districts where there are few or 
 possibly no resident proprietors, the aid is most wanted, 
 but there are no subscribers, and consequently there is 
 no medical charity. 
 
 Houses of industry (or workhouses) are established 
 and regulated under the provisions of the llth Houses of 
 and 12th Geo. 3rd, cap. 30, k the 46*A Geo. 3rd, industry ' 
 cap. 95, k and the 58*A Geo. 3rd, cap. 47. k There are 
 nine of these institutions in Ireland, and of some of 
 them a brief account is given ; but it is said to be 
 difficult to judge of the economy with which they are 
 conducted. The total income of the houses of industry 
 in the year 1833 derived from grand-jury presentments, 
 subscriptions, and miscellaneous sources, and including 
 a parliamentary grant of 20,000^. to the Dublin institu- 
 tion, was 32,967^., and the number of inmates on the 
 books was 2,732. 
 
 There were two large foundling hospitals, one in 
 Dublin, the other in Cork, and a small one in FoU ndiing 
 Gal way. With the exception of one child under hospitals ' 
 peculiar circumstances, there have been no admissions for 
 some time into the Dublin house, and the establishment 
 is only used for the occasional accommodation of such 
 children as are still on the books ; and as these are dis- 
 posed of, will cease altogether. The Cork hospital is 
 
 k Ante, pp. 51, 74, and 77. 
 
128 COMMISSIONERS' SECOND REPORT. CHAP. II. 
 
 supported principally by a tax on coals : it is still open, 
 and has 1,329 on the books. At Galway the number of 
 children is only eight. These institutions, the commis- 
 sioners remark, are now acknowledged to be in their 
 nature utterly indefensible. The expense of the Cork 
 and Galway establishments in 1833, derived from miscel- 
 laneous sources, was 6,628^. The parliamentary grant 
 to the Dublin foundling hospital in 1828 was 34,OOOZ. 
 Supposing it to have been 30,000. in 1833, it would 
 make the entire charge of these institutions, in the 
 latter year, amount to 36,628. 
 
 The total charge of the foregoing institutions as 
 stated in the tables appended to the Report, is as 
 follows : 
 
 Infirmaries 
 
 Dispensaries \ 109,054 
 
 Fever hospitals 
 
 Lunatic asylums 
 Houses of industry 
 Foundling hospitals 
 
 26,247 
 32,967 
 36,628 
 
 204,896 
 
 Of this sum upwards of 50,000. appears to have been 
 furnished by parliamentary grants, the remainder being 
 derived from grand-jury presentments, voluntary con- 
 tributions, and other local sources. 
 
 The commissioners think that some provision ought 
 to be made for poor persons discharged from hospitals 
 in a state of convalescence, and also for persons suf- 
 fering from chronic and incurable disease, neither 
 being proper objects of ordinary hospital treatment. 
 They are likewise of opinion that a public provision 
 should be made for the deaf dumb and blind poor, such 
 persons being, they consider, peculiarly deserving of 
 assistance. 
 
 The impatience of the public was not likely to be 
 satisfied by the appearance of this second Report, which 
 contained no recommendations, and added nothing to 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. COMMISSIONERS' SECOND REPORT. 129 
 
 what was previously known of the condition of the 
 Irish poor. For a series of years inquiry after inquiry 
 had been instituted by commissions and committees 
 into that condition, with a view to devise means for its 
 amelioration ; but without leading to any satisfactory 
 result. And now, after two years and a half had been -, 
 spent in prosecuting like inquiries, and this moreover 
 by men specially selected for the task, and standing 
 deservedly high in public estimation for talent and 
 acquirements, people began to fear that the result 
 would be again the same, and that time labour and 
 money would have been expended in vain. It was 
 known, or at least generally surmised, that differences 
 of opinion existed among the commissioners, as to the 
 nature of the recommendations which should be made 
 by them conjointly ; some being in favour of the im- 
 position of a general rate for the relief of the poor, and 
 others advocating a system of voluntary contributions 
 for that purpose. The latter pointed to Scotland as an 
 example to be followed, and the former to England. 
 Under these circumstances it is not surprising that the 
 question should occupy a good deal of public attention, 
 and that those who possessed, or were supposed to 
 possess information on the subject, should be induced 
 or invited to express their opinions with regard to it. 
 Pamphlets were written, and speeches made, contrast- 
 ing the advantages and disadvantages inherent in the 
 compulsory and the voluntary systems of relief, as well 
 generally, as with reference to the case of Ireland ; and 
 the entire subject became a matter of very general dis- 
 cussion, of which the proceedings under the amended 
 Poor Law in England naturally formed a part, and thus 
 gave additional interest to the question. 
 
 The author being at that time a member of the 
 English Poor Law Commission, the subject was -sugges- 
 necessarily much pressed upon his notice ; and theauthor, 
 having reason to believe that a statement of i836. dry 21 ' 
 
 K 
 
130 THE AUTHOR'S ' SUGGESTIONS.' CHAP. II. 
 
 his views in reference to it would be acceptable, he pre- 
 pared for the consideration of government, a series of 
 suggestions founded upon a general view of social re- 
 quirements, and upon his experience of the working of 
 the English Poor Law. He did not pretend to any per- 
 sonal knowledge of the state of Ireland, but considered 
 that the information furnished by the evidence appended 
 to the commissioners' first Eeport, showed that destitu- 
 tion and wretchedness prevailed to such an extent among 
 the poorer classes in that country, that legislative in- 
 terference could no longer be delayed without compro- 
 mising the general security ; and contrasting the state 
 of the English poor with what existed in Ireland, 
 he attempted to point out a remedy, or at least a 
 palliative for the evils which prevailed there. This 
 he was induced to do without waiting for the final 
 report of the inquiry commissioners, as the mode of 
 comparison pursued by him was different from the 
 course which they would adopt, and likewise because 
 the commissioners indicated their intention of taking 
 the general circumstances of the country into considera- 
 tion, whilst he proposed to limit his suggestions to one 
 object, with a view to a single and specific remedy. 
 
 These * Suggestions ' were framed in considerable 
 detail, and recommended the application of the amended 
 system of English Poor Law to Ireland, with certain 
 modifications, calculated to guard against the evils which 
 had sprung from the old law in England, and at the 
 same time be sufficient for the relief of a large portion 
 of the destitute classes who stood most in need of it. 
 The ' Suggestions' were presented to Lord John Eussell 
 in January, about the same time as the commissioners' 
 second Eeport ; and on perusing them now, after so 
 long an interval, and with all the experience since ac- 
 quired, the author finds little to alter in what he then 
 ventured to suggest. 
 
 The long-expected final Eeport was at length re- 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. COMMISSIONERS' THIRD REPORT. 131 
 
 ceived, embodying all the recommendations for ame- 
 liorating the condition of the Irish poor, which me. 
 after nearly three years of inquiry and deli- g^ rs ' 
 beration, the commissioners felt themselves war- re p rt - 
 ranted in submitting to government. It commenced 
 by stating, that the evidence annexed to the former 
 Reports proves the existence of deep distress in all parts 
 of Ireland. There is not, it is said, the division of 
 labour which exists in Great Britain. The labouring 
 class look to agriculture alone for support, whence the 
 supply of agricultural labour greatly exceeds the demand 
 for it ; and small earnings, and widespread misery, are 
 the consequence. Tables are given of the population 
 of Great Britain and Ireland respectively, of the classes 
 and occupations in each, the quantity of cultivated and 
 uncultivated land, the proportions of agricultural pro- 
 duce, and the wages of agricultural labourers from 
 which, the commissioners say it appears " that in 
 Great Britain the agricultural families constitute little 
 more than a fourth, while in Ireland they constitute 
 about two-thirds of the whole population ; that there 
 were in Great Britain in 1831, 1,055,982 agricultural 
 labourers, in Ireland 1,131,715, although the culti- 
 vated land of Great Britain amounts to about 34,250,000 
 acres, and that of Ireland only to about 14,600,000." 
 So that there are in Ireland about five agricultural 
 labourers for every two that there are for the same 
 quantity of land in Great Britain. It further appears 
 that the agricultural produce of Great Britain is more 
 than four times that of Ireland ; that agricultural wages 
 vary from 6J. to Is. a day ; that the average of the 
 country is about S^d. ; and that the earnings of the 
 labourers come on an average of the whole class, to from 
 2s. to 2s. 6d. a week, or thereabouts, for the year round. 
 Thus circumstanced, the commissioners observe, " it 
 is impossible for the able-bodied, in general, to provide 
 against sickness or the temporary absence of employ- 
 
 K 2 
 
132 COMMISSIONERS' THIRD REPORT. CHAP. II. 
 
 ment, or against old age, or the destitution of their 
 widows and children in the contingent event of their 
 own premature decease." A great portion of them 
 are, it is said, insufficiently provided with the com- 
 monest necessaries of life. " Their habitations are 
 wretched hovels, several of a family sleep together 
 upon straw, or upon the bare ground, sometimes with a 
 blanket, sometimes even without so much to cover 
 them; their food commonly consists of dry potatoes, 
 and with these they are at times so scantily supplied, 
 as to be obliged to stint themselves to one spare meal 
 in the day. There are even instances of persons being 
 driven by hunger to seek sustenance in wild herbs. 
 They sometimes get a herring or a little milk, but they 
 never get meat except at Christmas, Easter, and Shrove- 
 tide. 131 Some go in search of employment to Great 
 Britain during the harvest, others wander through 
 Ireland with the same view. The wives and children 
 of many are occasionally obliged to beg, but they do so 
 reluctantly and with shame, and in general go to a 
 distance from home that they may not be known. 
 Mendicity too is the sole resource of the aged and im- 
 potent of the poorer classes in general, when children 
 or relatives are unable to support them. To it therefore 
 crowds are driven for the means of existence, and the 
 knowledge that such is the fact leads to an indiscrimi- 
 nate giving of alms, which encourages idleness, im- 
 posture and general crime." 
 
 Such is described as being the condition of the great 
 body of the labouring classes in Ireland, and " with 
 these facts before us (the commissioners say) we cannot 
 hesitate to state, that we consider remedial measures 
 requisite to ameliorate the condition of the Irish poor 
 What those measures should be is a question compli- 
 
 n To partake of meat at these seasons is enjoined upon all the members of 
 the Roman catholic church. 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. COMMISSIONERS' THIRD REPORT. 133 
 
 cated, and involving considerations of the deepest im- 
 portance to the whole body of the people, both in 
 Ireland and Great Britain. Society is so constructed, 
 its various parts are so connected, the interests of all 
 who compose it are so interwoven, the rich are so de- 
 pendent on the labour of the poor, and the poor upon 
 the wealth of the rich, that any attempt to legislate 
 partially, or with a view to the good of a portion only, 
 without a due regard to the whole of the community, 
 must prove in the end fallacious, fatal to its object, and 
 injurious in general to a ruinous degree." 
 
 None will deny the truth of these propositions, which 
 doubtless ought to be kept in view in legislating for the 
 relief of the poor, or for any other matter of general 
 interest or importance. Their enunciation does not 
 however materially assist in discovering a remedy for 
 the fearful amount of destitution and suffering shown to 
 prevail in Ireland, the descriptions of which as given in 
 the Eeport, are here brought together in one point of 
 view, in order that the reader may have the extent of 
 the evil laid open before him. 
 
 It has, the commissioners say, " been suggested to us 
 to recommend a Poor Law for Ireland similar to that 
 of England, but we are of opinion that the provision to 
 be made for the poor in Ireland must vary essentially 
 from that made in England." The English law, it is 
 said, requires that work and support should be found 
 for all able-bodied persons who may be out of employ- 
 ment, and such work and support will now be provided 
 for them only in a workhouse ; so that if workhouses 
 were to be established in Ireland as a means of relief, 
 they must be sufficiently capacious for setting vast 
 numbers of unemployed persons to work within them. 
 The commissioners state that they " cannot estimate the 
 number of persons in Ireland out of work and in distress 
 during thirty weeks of the year, at less than 585,000, 
 nor the number of persons dependent upon them at less 
 
134 COMMISSIONERS' THIRD REPORT. CHAP. II. 
 
 than 1,800,000, making in the whole 2,385,000 This 
 therefore (it is added) is about the number for which 
 it would be necessary to provide accommodation in 
 workhouses, if all who require relief were there to be 
 relieved ;" and they consider it impossible to provide 
 for such a multitude, or even to attempt it with safety. 
 The expense of erecting and fitting up the necessary 
 buildings would, they say, " come to about 4,000,000?., 
 and allowing for the maintenance of each person 2 id. 
 only a day (that being the expense at the mendicity 
 establishment of Dublin) the cost of supporting the 
 whole 2,385,000 for thirty weeks would be something 
 more than 5,000,000?. a year ; whereas the gross rental 
 of Ireland (exclusive of towns) is estimated at less than 
 10,000,000?. a year, the net income of the landlords at 
 less than 6,000,000?., and the public revenue is only 
 about 4,000,000?." 
 
 The commissioners do not however think that such 
 an expense would actually be incurred. On the con- 
 trary they are convinced that the able-bodied arid their 
 families would endure any misery rather than make a 
 workhouse their domicile ; and they add " now if we 
 thought that employment could be had provided due 
 efforts were made to procure it, the general repugnance 
 to a workhouse would be a reason for recommending 
 that mode of relief, for assistance could be afforded 
 through it to the few that might from time to time fall 
 into distress, and yet no temptation be afforded to 
 idleness and improvidence ; but we see that the labour- 
 ing class are eager for work, that work there is not for 
 them, and that they are therefore, and not from any 
 fault of their own, in permanent want." This, it is said, 
 is just the state to which, on the authority of a passage 
 quoted from the English Poor Law Commissioners," 
 
 n The entire of the paragraph quoted would not bear out the interpretation 
 here put upon it. 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. COMMISSIONERS' THIRD REPORT. 135 
 
 the workhouse system is held not to be applicable; 
 and if it were established in Ireland, would, the com- 
 missioners are persuaded, " be regarded by the bulk of 
 the population as a stratagem for debarring them of 
 that right to employment and support with which the 
 law professed to invest them." It is unnecessary, the 
 commissioners add, to point out the feelings which must 
 thus be created, or the consequences to which they 
 might lead ; and they conclude this section of their 
 Report by saying " We cannot therefore recommend 
 the present workhouse system of England as at all 
 suited to Ireland." i 
 
 Having thus rejected the workhouse, the commis- / 
 sioners next consider how far the objections applicable 
 to a provision for enforcing in-door work, would be 
 applicable to one for enforcing out-door employment ; 
 and they .come to the conclusion, that having regard to 
 the number of persons for whom work must be found, 
 and the experience of the consequences to which out- 
 door compulsory employment led in England, any 
 attempt to introduce it into Ireland would be attended 
 with most pernicious results. " If (it is said) the- 
 farmers were compelled to take more men than they 
 chose or thought they wanted, they would of course 
 reduce the-wages of all to a minimum. If, on the other 
 hand, magistrates or other local authorities were em- 
 powered to frame a scale of wages or allowances, so as 
 to secure to each labourer a certain sum by the week, 
 we do not think they could, with safety to their persons 
 and property, fix a less sum than would be equal to the 
 highest rate of wages pre-existing in the district for 
 which they were required to act ; nor would anything 
 less enable the labourer to support himself and his 
 family upon such food, with such clothing, and in such 
 a dwelling, as any person undertaking to provide per- 
 manently for human beings in a civilized country could 
 say they ought to be satisfied with. It would therefore 
 
136 COMMISSIONERS' THIRD REPORT. CHAP, II. 
 
 (the commissioners think) be necessary to fix different 
 scales of wages or allowances, which would average 
 for the whole of Ireland about 4s. 6c?. a week. This 
 would be to double the present earnings of the body 
 of labourers, and these appear to amount to about 
 6,800,000/. a year. The additional charge would there- 
 fore come to about that sum." 
 
 The tenantry, the commissioners say, cannot be ex- 
 pected to bear this burden. They have not capital for 
 it, and the charge must therefore fall upon the landlords. 
 Rents would diminish, commerce would decay, and the 
 demand for agricultural produce and all commodities 
 save potatoes and coarse clothing would contract, while 
 the number of persons out of employment and in need 
 of support would increase, and general ruin ensue. The 
 well-known case of " Cholesbury" is then cited, and 
 held up as an example of what would follow in Ire- 
 land, " at the end of a year from the commencement 
 of any system for charging the land indefinitely with 
 the support of the whole labouring part of the com- 
 munity." 
 
 " With such feelings," the commissioners observe, 
 " and considering the redundancy of labour which now 
 exists in Ireland, how earnings are kept down by it, 
 what misery is thus produced, and what insecurity of 
 liberty property and life ensues, we are satisfied that 
 enactments calculated to promote the improvement of 
 the country, and so to extend the demand for free and 
 profitable labour, should make essential parts of any 
 law for ameliorating the condition of the poor. And 
 for the same reasons, while we feel that relief should be 
 provided for the impotent, we consider it due to the 
 whole community, and to the labouring class in parti- 
 cular, that such of the able-bodied as may still be unable 
 to find free and profitable employment in Ireland, 
 should be secured support only through emigration, or 
 as preliminary to it those who desire to emigrate 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. COMMISSIONERS' RECOMMENDATIONS. 137 
 
 should be furnished with the means of doing so in 
 safety, and with intermediate support when they stand 
 in need of it at emigrant depots. It is thus, and thus 
 only, that the market of labour in Ireland can be re- 
 lieved from the weight that is now upon it, or the 
 labourer be raised from his present prostrate state." 
 Long quotations are then given from the several 
 Reports of the assistant-commissioners, showing that, 
 " the feelings of the suffering labourers in Ireland are 
 also decidedly in favour of emigration." They do not 
 desire workhouses, it is said, but they do desire a free 
 passage to a colony where they may have the means of 
 living by their own industry. 
 
 The commissioners conclude this section of their 
 Report by saying, that they do not look to emigration 
 as an object to be permanently pursued upon an ex- 
 tensive scale, nor as the chief means of relief for the. 
 evils of Ireland, but " as an auxiliary essential to a 
 commencing course of amelioration." They then " pro- 
 ceed to submit a series of provisions for the improve- 
 ment of Ireland, and the relief of the poor therein, 
 including ki the latter means of emigration." 
 
 The recommendations extend from section 5 to 15 
 inclusive, and are all more or less connected with agri- 
 culture, which is said to be the only pursuit for which 
 the body of the people of Ireland are qualified by habit, 
 and that it is chiefly through it that any general im- 
 provement in their condition can be effected. It is 
 recommended 
 
 1st. That a board constituted on the principle of the 
 Bedford Level Corporation should be established, 
 for carrying into effect a system of national im- 
 provement in Ireland, having a president and vice- 
 president with suitable salaries, and who together 
 with two of the judges to be appointed for the 
 purpose, are to form a court of review and record, 
 
138 COMMISSIONERS' EECOMMENDATIONS. CHAP. II. 
 
 with power to hear and determine all matters con- 
 nected with such improvements. 
 
 2nd. The "Board of Improvement" is to be au- 
 thorized to appoint commissioners, who are to be 
 armed with the usual powers given to commis- 
 sioners under Enclosure Acts, and are from time 
 to time to make surveys and valuations, and parti- 
 tions of waste lands, the Board of Works making 
 such main drains and roads as may be required, 
 and taking, in consideration thereof, an allotment 
 of a certain part of each waste in trust for the 
 public, in proportion to the expense incurred in 
 making the survey, partition, drainage, and roads. 
 
 3rd. With regard to land under cultivation, it is re- 
 commended that both draining and fencing should 
 be enforced by law, and that the " Board of Im- 
 provement " should be empowered to appoint local 
 commissioners for the purpose, for any district they 
 may think proper. If the outlay to be incurred 
 should exceed what the landlords or occupiers may 
 be able to pay, 5 per cent, on the amount may be 
 annually assessed and made payable to the Board 
 of Works, which in consideration thereof is to 
 advance the requisite sum the funds placed at its 
 disposal being proportionally increased. 
 
 4th. The " Board of Improvement " to be enabled to 
 cause cabins which may be nuisances to be taken 
 down, and to require the landlords to contribute 
 towards the expense of removing the occupants 
 and providing for them. 
 
 5th. The " Board of Improvement " to establish an 
 agricultural model school, with four or five acres 
 of land attached, in so many parishes or districts 
 as may be thought necessary, the master to undergo 
 due examination, and to give instruction in letters 
 and in agriculture. 
 6th. Tenants for life, with the approval of the 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. COMMISSIONERS' RECOMMENDATIONS. 139 
 
 " Board of Improvement," to be empowered to 
 grant leases for thirty-one years, and to charge the 
 property with the amount expended in effecting 
 permanent improvements. 
 
 7th. A fiscal board to be established in every county, 
 with the powers to make presentments for public 
 works now vested in grand juries, and to be re- 
 quired to present such sums as may be appointed 
 by the Improvement Board. 
 
 8th. The Board of Works to be authorized to under- 
 take any public works " such as roads, bridges, 
 deepening rivers, or removing obstructions in them, 
 and so forth," that within certain limitations may 
 be approved by the " Board of Improvement." 
 
 A dissertation is then introduced on the effect of 
 Irish immigrants on the labour-market of England, and 
 ending with this quotation from. Burke " England and 
 Ireland may flourish together. The world is large 
 enough for us both. Let it be our care not to make 
 ourselves too little for it." The commissioners say it 
 was their intention "to inquire relative to trade and 
 manufactures, to the fisheries, and to mining ; but that 
 it has been found impossible to go into those matters 
 through want of time." 
 
 The foregoing summary of the commissioners' recom- 
 mendations can hardly be said to come within the pro- 
 vince of poor-law legislation, but it has been thought 
 right to insert them here, in order that the reader may 
 see what were the commissioners' views with regard to 
 the state of Ireland, and especially with regard to its 
 wants, which apparently consist in a want of capital, 
 and a want of skill. The first is proposed to be fur- 
 nished by government through the Board of Works, 
 the last it is proposed to supply by constituting a 
 " Board of Improvement." 
 
 The 1 6th section of the Eeport commences with the 
 
140 COMMISSIONERS' THIRD REPORT. CHAP. II. 
 
 declaration " We now come to measures of direct relief for 
 the poor." After adverting to the Poor Laws of Eng- 
 land and Scotland, the one carried into universal effect 
 by local assessments, and the other " in general sup- 
 ported by voluntary contributions administered by 
 officers known to the law and responsible to it " the 
 commissioners say " they have shown by their second 
 Report that the institutions existing in Ireland for the 
 relief of the poor are houses of industry, infirmaries, 
 fever hospitals, lunatic asylums, and dispensaries ; that 
 the establishment of thes , except as to lunatic asylums, 
 is not compulsory, but dependent upon private sub- 
 scriptions, or the will of grand juries ; that there are 
 but nine houses of industry in the whole country ; that 
 while the provision made for the sick poor in some 
 places is extensive, it is in other places utterly inade- 
 quate ; and that there is no general provision made for 
 the aged, the impotent, or the destitute." Much, it is 
 added, is certainly given in Ireland in private charity, 
 " but it is not given upon any organised system of 
 relief, and the abundant alms which are bestowed, in 
 particular by the poorer classes, unfortunately tend to 
 encourage mendicancy with its attendant evils." 
 
 The commissioners then declare that upon the best 
 consideration they have been able to give to the whole 
 subject, they think that a legal provision should be 
 made, and rates levied, " for the relief and support of 
 incurable as well as curable lunatics, of idiots, epileptic 
 persons, cripples, deaf and dumb and blind poor, and 
 all who labour under permanent bodily infirmities such 
 relief and support to be afforded within the walls of 
 public institutions ; also for the relief of the sick poor 
 in hospitals, infirmaries, and convalescent establish- 
 ments, or by extern attendance and a supply of food as 
 well as medicine where the persons to be relieved are 
 not in a state to be removed from home ; also for the 
 purpose of emigration, for the support of penitentiaries 
 
L.D. 1830-1837. COMMISSIONERS' THIRD REPORT. 141 
 
 ^ 0* THU 
 
 to which vagrants may be sent, and for the mai 
 tenance of deserted children ; also towards the relief 
 aged and infirm persons, of orphans, of helpless widows 
 with young children, of the families of sick persons, 
 and of casual destitution," 
 
 For effecting these several purposes, it is recommended 
 that powers should be vested in Poor Law Commis- 
 sioners as in England, " for carrying into execution all 
 such provisions as shall be made by law for the relief 
 of the poor in Ireland, and that they shall be authorized 
 to appoint assistant-commissioners to act under their 
 directions." It is proposed that the commissioners 
 should divide the country into relief districts, and cause 
 the lands of each to be surveyed and valued, with the 
 names of all proprietors of houses or lands and of all 
 lessees and occupiers thereof, and the annual value of 
 such houses and lands respectively, the same to be 
 lodged at such place within the district as the commis- 
 sioners shall appoint, and public notice thereof to be 
 given. 
 
 It is also recommended that a board of guardians 
 should be elected for each district by the ratepayers, 
 consisting of proprietors, lessees, and occupiers, a certain 
 number of the board to go out each year and others to 
 be elected in their stead. The board of guardians to 
 have the direction of all the institutions for the relief 
 of the poor within the district which are supported by 
 local rates, and to cause them to be duly upheld and 
 maintained. If any district refuse or neglect to appoint 
 guardians, or when appointed if the guardians refuse or 
 neglect to act, the Poor Law Commissioners to be em- 
 powered to appoint assistant-commissioners for such 
 district with suitable salaries, who are to exercise all 
 the powers of the board of guardians. The salaries to 
 be paid by a rate on the district. 
 
 It is likewise proposed that there should be so many 
 asylums in Ireland for the relief and support of lunatics 
 
142 COMMISSIONEKS' THIRD REPORT. CHAP. II. 
 
 and idiots, and for the support and instruction of the 
 deaf and dumb and blind poor, so many depots for 
 receiving persons willing to emigrate, and so many 
 penitentiaries for vagrants, as the Poor Law Commis- 
 sioners shall appoint that these several establishments 
 should be national, and that for maintaining them &c. 
 the commissioners should be empowered to rate the 
 whole of Ireland, and to require the boards of guardians 
 to raise a proportional share thereof in each district, 
 according to the annual value of its property. It is 
 moreover recommended that there should be in each 
 district an institution for the support and relief of 
 cripples, and persons afflicted with epilepsy or other 
 permanent disease ; also an infirmary, hospital and con- 
 valescent establishment, and such number of dispen- 
 saries as may be necessary, the whole to be provided 
 for by local assessment. A loan fund administered 
 according to regulations approved by the commis- 
 sioners, is likewise recommended to be established in 
 every district. 
 
 With regard to emigration, as the whole United 
 Kingdom will, it is said, " be benefited in a very great 
 degree, and particularly in point of revenue, by the 
 improvement which extensive emigration coming in aid 
 of a general course of amelioration cannot fail to pro- 
 duce in Ireland, one-half of the expense should, the 
 commissioners submit, be borne by the general funds 
 of the empire." And considering the particular benefit 
 which Ireland will derive from it, and especially those 
 landlords whose estates may thus be relieved from a 
 starving population, it is proposed that in rural districts 
 the other half should be defrayed partly by the national 
 rate, and partly by the owners of the lands from which 
 the emigrants remove, or from which they may have 
 been ejected within the preceding twelve months. It 
 is further proposed that all the necessary arrangements 
 for carrying on emigration, should be made between the 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. COMMISSIONERS' THIRD REPORT. 143 
 
 Poor Law Commissioners and the Colonial Office ; 
 " and that all poor persons whose circumstances require 
 it, shall be furnished with a free passage and with the 
 means of settling themselves in an approved British 
 colony ;" and likewise " that the means of emigration 
 shall be provided for the destitute of every class and 
 description who are fit subjects for emigration ; that 
 depots shall be established, where all who desire to 
 emigrate may be received ; that those who are fit for 
 emigration be there selected for the purpose, and that 
 those who are not shall be provided for under the 
 directions of the Poor Law Commissioners ;" who will 
 moreover be authorized to borrow moneys from the 
 Exchequer Bill Loan Commissioners for the purposes 
 of emigration, or for defraying the cost of any build- 
 ings they may think necessary, and also " to secure 
 the repayment thereof by a charge upon the national 
 rate." 
 
 The commissioners likewise propose that the laws 
 with respect to vagrancy should be altered. " At pre- 
 sent," they say, " persons convicted' of vagrancy may 
 be transported for seven years our recommendation 
 is that penitentiaries shall be established to which 
 vagrants when taken up shall be sent ; that they be 
 charged with the vagrancy before the next quarter 
 sessions, and if convicted shall be removed as free 
 labourers to such colony, not penal, as shall be ap- 
 pointed for them by the Colonial Department." But 
 the wages earned in the colony are to be attached until 
 the expense of their passage be defrayed ; and it is 
 added by way of summary, that by such provisions as 
 are now suggested, " all poor persons who cannot 
 find means of support at home, and who are willing 
 to live by their labour abroad, will be furnished with 
 the means of doing so, and with intermediate support, 
 if fit to emigrate ; and if not, will be otherwise pro- 
 vided for, while the idle who would rather beg than 
 
144 COMMISSIONERS' THIRD REPORT. CHAP. II. 
 
 labour, will be taken up, and the evil of vagrancy sup- 
 pressed." 
 
 The 58th George 3rd, cap. 47, and an Act of the fol- 
 lowing year (cap. 41) amending the same, are then 
 referred to, and the commissioners recommend that the 
 powers given by these Acts to vestries should be trans- 
 ferred to the boards of guardians of each district, and 
 that officers of health should be elected by them for 
 every parish within their jurisdiction such officers of 
 health to grant tickets of admission to the next emigra- 
 tion depot to any poor inhabitants of their parish who 
 may, on behalf of themselves or their families, demand 
 the same ; and also, where necessary, to procure means 
 for passing such persons to the depot. The officers of 
 health are moreover to pass all persons taken up under 
 the provisions of the above Acts to a penitentiary, and 
 also to cause all foundlings to be sent to nurse, " and 
 when of a suitable age to cause them to be removed 
 to an emigration depot, from whence they may be 
 sent to an institution in some British colony, which 
 shall be appointed for receiving such children, and 
 training and apprenticing them to useful trades or 
 occupations." The officers of health are also to provide 
 in like manner for all orphan children, 5 and the funds 
 for the several purposes are to be raised by local assess- 
 ment in the district. Provision is likewise to be made 
 at each depot for receiving the persons sent thither 
 by the officers of health, such persons to be there sup- 
 ported and set to work until the period for emigration 
 arrives ; and any persons who after entering an emi- 
 gration depot shall leave it, " without discharging such 
 expenses as may have been incurred with respect to 
 them, or who shall refuse to emigrate, shall be sub- 
 
 e Ante, pp. 77 and 78. 
 
 P The duties here proposed to be performed by the officers of health, are 
 similar to what are required from the relieving officer under the amended Poor 
 Law in England. 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. COMMISSIONERS' THIRD REPORT. 145 
 
 jected to the provisions recommended with respect to 
 vagrants." 
 
 With respect to the relief of the aged and infirm, of 
 orphans, helpless widows with young children, and 
 destitute persons in general, it is stated that there is a 
 difference of opinion some of the commissioners " think 
 the necessary funds should be provided in part by the 
 public through a national rate, and in part by private asso- 
 ciations, which, aided by the public, should be authorized 
 to establish mendicity-houses and almshouses, and to 
 administer relief to the indigent at their own dwellings, 
 subject however to the superintendence and control of 
 the Poor Law Commissioners ; while others think the 
 whole of the funds should be provided by the public, 
 one portion by a national rate and another by a local 
 rate, and should be administered as in England by the 
 board of guardians of each district." The majority are 
 however of opinion, " that the plan of voluntary asso- 
 ciations, aided by the public, should be tried in the first 
 instance." Recommendations are then made as to the 
 mode of raising and apportioning the rate. The com- 
 missioners have, they say, " anxiously considered the 
 practicability of making the rate payable out of pro- 
 perty of every description ; but the difficulty of reach- 
 ing personal property in general by direct taxation, 
 except through very inquisitorial proceedings, has 
 obliged them to determine on recommending that the 
 land should be the fund charged in the first instance 
 with it." 
 
 There being, the commissioners say, reason to believe 
 that the landed property of Ireland is so deeply encum- 
 bered, that a rate might absorb the whole income 
 of some of the nominal proprietors, the Masters of the 
 Court of Chancery were consulted on the subject, and 
 from the facts they stated, " it appears that the average 
 rent of land is under II, 12s. 6d. the Irish acre, equal to 
 about 14s. Id. the English; that the gross landed rental 
 
146 COMMISSIONERS' THIRD REPORT. CHAP. II. 
 
 of Ireland amounts to less than 10,000,000^. ; that the 
 expenses and losses cannot be taken at less than ten 
 per cent., nor the annuities and the interest of charges 
 payable out of the land at less than 3,000,000. a year ; 
 so that the total net income is less than 6,000,000^." 
 The commissioners think therefore, that the encum- 
 brancers should bear a share of the burden, and recom- 
 mend " That persons paying any annual charge in 
 respect of any beneficial interest in land, shall be au- 
 thorised to deduct the same sum in the pound thereout, 
 that he pays to the poor-rate." They also recommend 
 " that the original rate shall never be raised by more 
 than one-fifth, unless for the purpose of emigration." 
 
 As regards voluntary associations, it is proposed that 
 the Poor Law Commissioners shall frame rules for their 
 government, and that each association shall transmit to 
 the commissioners an estimate of its probable expenditure 
 and its funds for the year ensuing, and that they shall 
 award such grant to it as they think proper. The 
 commissioners to be also authorised " to advance to any 
 voluntary association, out of the national rate, the 
 whole sum which may be necessary for the building 
 and outfit of a mendicity or alms house for any parish ;" 
 and if such mendicity or alms house be not afterwards 
 duly maintained, the sum so advanced is to be repaid 
 by the parish to the credit of the national rate. 
 
 Certain recommendations are then made with the 
 view of promoting sobriety, and lessening " the inor- 
 dinate use of ardent spirits " also with reference to 
 the Board of Charitable Bequests, whose functions may, 
 it is suggested, be advantageously transferred to the 
 Poor Law Commissioners likewise the details of a 
 plan for purchasing the tithe composition, and vesting 
 it in the Poor Law Commissioners as a fund for the 
 relief of the poor, by doing which, it is said, " there 
 would be a surplus of 313,000. a year applicable to 
 the purposes of the national rate." In conclusion, the 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. COMMISSIONERS' THIRD REPORT. 147 
 
 commissioners express their belief, that upon the whole 
 there is a rising spirit of improvement in Ireland,, 
 which however requires to be stimulated by sound 
 legislation, "or it cannot speedily relieve the country 
 from the lingering effects of the evil system of former 
 times." At present, it is observed, with a population 
 nearly equal to half that of Great Britain, Ireland 
 yields only about a twelfth of the revenue to the state 
 that Great Britain does, nor can it yield more until it 
 has more to yield. Increased means must precede 
 increased contribution, and to supply Ireland with these 
 is, the commissioners say, the great object of their re- 
 commendations. 
 
 Such was the commissioners' final Report on the con- 
 dition of the Irish poor and the means for its ameliora- 
 tion, the substance and general import of which I have 
 endeavoured to give with the fulness and completeness 
 the importance of the subject demanded. The Report 
 was not however signed by all the commissioners. 
 Three of their body withheld their signature, and re- 
 corded their " reasons for dissenting from the principle 
 of raising funds for the relief of the poor by the volun- 
 tary system, as recommended in the Report." q The 
 ' Reasons ' are set forth in thirteen propositions, the 
 most material of which are the following. 
 
 " Because in the lamentably distressed state of the Irish poor, 
 any system of relief to be effectual must be comprehensive, 
 uniform, and prompt ; whilst the very constitution of volun- 
 tary associations proclaims that their operations must be tardy ; 
 and circumstanced as Ireland is in the distribution of her 
 population, must be partial and precarious. 
 
 " Because it is notorious that many contributions, in name volun- 
 tary, are frequently obligations of the severest character. 
 The pressure of such a tax must be unequal. The class least 
 removed from want, would furnish as it now does, the largest 
 number of contributors, and to the greatest amount; whilst 
 
 1 These were Dr. Vignoles, J. W. S. Naper Esq., and Lord Killeen. 
 
 L 2 
 
148 REASONS AGAINST VOLUNTARY RELIEF. CHAP. II. 
 
 the wealthier classes, resident as well as absentee, would in a 
 great measure be exempted from the liability of contributing 
 in proportion to their wealth, or even from contributing at all. 
 
 " Because viewing the peculiar state of society in Ireland, the 
 extent to which religious zeal prevails, as well as the influence 
 it must exercise, we consider the difficulties attendant on the 
 raising of a voluntary fund in the first instance, and of an 
 impartial distribution of relief in the next, all but insur- 
 mountable. 
 
 " Because the mendicity institutions of Dublin, Limerick, 
 Newry, Birr, Sligo, Waterford and Londonderry, as well as 
 the voluntary poor's fund established in some of the rural 
 districts, afford strong proofs of the inefficiency of the support 
 afforded to these institutions ; for although they have not 
 totally failed, yet their subscriptions are falling off, and they 
 are by no means adequate to the relief of the objects they 
 contemplate. 
 
 " Because although we admit that there are districts in Ireland 
 in which voluntary societies might be established, and which 
 would afford means of constructing a local administration for 
 the management of the poor's fund still we feel satisfied 
 that in the present state of society, and under the existing 
 distribution of the population, such a system cannot be either 
 comprehensive or uniform. We are therefore of opinion that 
 the fund should be obtained by an assessment, wholly and 
 not partially compulsory ; and that it will be most efficiently 
 managed by elective boards of guardians as in England, 
 directed by responsible public officers whose proceedings shall 
 be subjected to the strictest public scrutiny." 
 
 These are no doubt weighty reasons in favour of 
 certain means being provided to meet a certainly re- 
 curring contingency. But reasons were also adduced 
 on the opposite side of the question, the other eight 
 commissioners having in a series of sixteen propositions 
 likewise recorded their " reasons for recommending 
 voluntary associations for the relief of the poor ;" r of 
 which ' Reasons ' the following are the chief : 
 
 r The commissioners who signed this schedule of reasons are, the Archhishop 
 of Dublin, Dr. Murray the Roman catholic archbishop, Rev. Mr. Carlisle, Mr. 
 F. Hort, Mr. John Corre, Mr. W. B. Wrightson, the Eight Hon. A. R. Blake, 
 and Mr. J. J. Bicheno. The two latter had been subsequently added to the 
 original commission. 
 
AD. 1830-1837. REASONS FOR VOLUNTARY RELIEF. 149 
 
 " Because there are and must necessarily be continually arising, 
 many cases of real destitution which cannot be relieved by a 
 compulsory assessment, without bringing claims upon it to 
 an unlimited extent. The attempt was made in England to 
 meet all cases of distress by a compulsory rate, and the con- 
 sequence was, that in one year the rate amounted to the 
 enormous sum of more than 7,800,000/. sterling ; and besides 
 the oppressive amount of the assessments, it did much evil 
 in pauperising a large portion of the labouring population. 
 
 " Because although such cases of distress might, and probably would 
 be, relieved by spontaneous charity, yet the leaving of such cases 
 of distress to be relieved by the operation of undirected bene- 
 volence, inevitably leads to an extensive vagrancy. This is 
 now the state of Ireland. On the most moderate computation 
 the amount of spontaneous alms given, chiefly by the smaller 
 farmers and cottars, is from one to two millions sterling 
 annually ; but being given without system or without inquiry 
 to the good and to the bad, the really destitute and the pre- 
 tenders to destitution receive alike their maintenance out of 
 the earnings of the industrious, to their great impoverish- 
 ment, and to the great injury of the morals and good order 
 of the kingdom. 
 
 " Because the most direct and effectual, if not the only means 
 of avoiding these two great evils, namely, an extensive and 
 ruinous pauperism created by an attempt to make compulsory 
 provision for all cases of destitution, and an extensive and 
 equally ruinous vagrancy created by the want of public pro- 
 vision, is to endeavour to bring voluntary almsgiving under 
 regulations and system, so as to direct it to the relief of real 
 distress exclusively. 
 
 " Because the best means of systematising and regulating volun- 
 tary almsgiving, is to hold out the offer of a measure of public 
 aid for all voluntary associations, based on certain prin- 
 ciples, and governed by fixed regulations approved by a cen- 
 tral board. 
 
 " Because while a fund thus founded upon voluntary contributions 
 would provide effectual relief for those who are really desti- 
 tute, the very nature of it would debar the poor from esta- 
 blishing legal claims upon it ; since the contribution to a 
 voluntary fund being wholly spontaneous, the contributors 
 could at any time withhold them, if an attempt were made to 
 compel an appropriation of the joint fund contrary to their 
 instructions. 
 
 " Because the example of an organised system of relief for the 
 
150 REASONS FOR VOLUNTARY RELIEF. CHAP. II. 
 
 poor by voluntary contribution is afforded in Scotland, where 
 it has been eminently successful. 
 
 " Because although the system of providing for the poor by means 
 of voluntary associations, aided by the public purse, and con- 
 structed upon well-digested principles, may not succeed at 
 once in every part of the country yet that, so far as it 
 does succeed, it will tend to bring the population into a 
 sound state with respect to the poor, and will we trust 
 gradually work its way over the face of the island, and pro- 
 bably supersede in many places, as the Scottish system does 
 so extensively, the necessity of a compulsory rate. Whereas 
 we are convinced, that although a compulsory rate might be 
 rendered general more rapidly, and be administered by 
 artificial means, it would every day become more difficult to 
 manage, and tend to bring the country into a worse state than 
 our inquiry has found it." 
 
 The arguments for and against establishing a system 
 of relief in Ireland founded upon voluntary contribu- 
 tions, are here deliberately stated by the advocates of 
 such a procedure on one side, and by its opponents on 
 the other. The question is vitally important with re- 
 gard to the relief of the Irish poor, and deserves the 
 most careful consideration. If the voluntary system 
 be susceptible of the organisation and the certainty its 
 advocates assume, it might doubtless be made to a con- 
 siderable extent available, although still open to the 
 objection that it would operate unequally upon the ab- 
 sentee and the resident proprietor, upon the liberal man 
 and the niggard. The majority of the commissioners, 
 we see, attach much weight to the example of Scotland, 
 where they believe the voluntary system to have " been 
 eminently successful." How little ground there was 
 for such belief, is shown in the recent working of that 
 system ; s and as regards the combining public aid with 
 voluntary contributions which is recommended, it may be 
 
 8 See ' History of the Scotch Poor Law.' The number of parishes assessed 
 to the relief of the poor in Scotland in 1855, was 700, and the number un- 
 assessed, in which the relief is raised by voluntary contributions, was 183. 
 The latter are continually diminishing, and will probably ere long cease alto- 
 gether. 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. REMAKES ON THE REPORT. 151 
 
 remarked, that such a combination has always led to 
 the whole charge being eventually borne by the public. 
 
 In addition to the two schedules of ' Reasons ' al- 
 ready noticed, another document was appended Mr Biche . 
 to the Report, entitled < Remarks on the Evi- i r e emar " ks 
 dence &c., by one of the Commissioners.' evidence - 
 This was prepared by Mr. Bicheno, as an exposition 
 of his own peculiar views, and fills upwards of forty 
 closely printed folio pages. It contains a good deal of 
 information upon the state of the country, and the 
 condition and habits of the people, selected from the 
 evidence furnished by the assistant-commissioners ; but 
 is too long for insertion. The concluding paragraph 
 however indicates the spirit in which the ' Remarks ' 
 were written, and may therefore have a place ; it is as 
 follows " After all the assistance that can be extended 
 to Ireland by good laws, and every encouragement 
 afforded to the poor by temporary employment of a 
 public nature, and every assistance that emigration and 
 other modes of relief can yield, her real improvement 
 must spring from herself, her own inhabitants, and her 
 own indigenous institutions, irrespective of legislation, 
 and English interference. It must be of a moral na- 
 ture ; the improvement of the high and the low, the rich 
 and the poor. Without this, her tenantry will be still 
 wretched, and her landlords will command no respect ; 
 with it, a new face will be given to the whole people." 
 
 Another paper, entitled ' Remarks on the Third Re- 
 port of the Irish Poor Inquiry Commissioners,' Mr. G. c. 
 was submitted to government shortly after the ^|^ r s d on 
 delivery of that Report. It was dated in July re p rt - 
 1836, and was drawn up by George Cornewall Lewis 
 Esq.,* who had been one of the assistant-commissioners 
 for prosecuting the inquiry in Ireland. The objections 
 to the system, or rather the several systems of relief 
 
 * Now Sir George Cornewall Lewis Bart., and Chancellor of the Exchequer. 
 
] 52 REMARKS ON THE REPORT. CHAP. II. 
 
 recommended by the commissioners, are stated by Mr. 
 Lewis with great force and clearness, and he comes to 
 conclusions on the whole question very similar to those 
 contained in the ' Suggestions ' which had been sub- 
 mitted by the author in the month of January preced- 
 ing." He proposes to apply the principle of the 
 amended English Poor Law to Ireland, including the 
 workhouse, with regard to the rejection of -which by 
 the commissioners, he remarks " as the danger of 
 introducing a poor-law into Ireland is confessedly 
 great, I can conceive no reason for not taking every 
 possible security against its abuse. Now if anything 
 has been proved more decisively than another by the 
 operation of the Poor Law Amendment Act in England, 
 it is that the workhouse is an all-sufficient test of 
 destitution, and that it is the only test ; that it succeeds 
 as a mode of relief, and that all other modes fail. Why 
 therefore, this tried guarantee against poor-law abuses 
 is not to be employed, when abuses are, under the best 
 system, almost inevitable, it seems difficult to under- 
 stand. If such a safeguard were to be dispensed with 
 anywhere, it would be far less dangerous to dispense 
 with it in England than in Ireland." 
 
 An account of the further steps taken with reference 
 to the commissioners' Report, and as regards the whole 
 of the very important question to which it applies, will 
 be given in the next chapter. 
 
 Ante p. 129. 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. OPINION IN ENGLAND. 153 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Recommendation in the king's speech Motions and other proceedings in the 
 House of Commons Lord John Russell's instructions to the author The 
 author's first Report Lord John Russell's speech on introducing a bill 
 founded on its recommendations Progress of the bill interrupted by the 
 death of the king Author's second Report Bill reintroduced and passed 
 the Commons Author's third Report Bill passes the Lords, and be- 
 comes law. 
 
 THE impatience generally felt for the Report of the 
 Irish Poor Inquiry Commissioners, was not a little 
 increased by the uncertainty as to what would be its 
 nature. It was known that there were great differences 
 of opinion among the commissioners with regard to the 
 remedy, although they were all agreed as to the existence 
 of the evil, and the necessity for something being done 
 towards its mitigation ; but what that something should 
 be, was a question on which it was understood they by 
 no means coincided. It was feared therefore, that the 
 present inquiry would end, as others had ended, with- 
 out any practical result. An impression had long pre- 
 vailed, and was daily becoming stronger, of the neces- 
 sity for making some provision for the relief of the 
 destitute poor in Ireland. The perpetually-increasing 
 intercourse between the two countries, brought under 
 English notice the wretched state of a large proportion 
 of the people in the sister island ; and the vast numbers 
 of them who crossed the Channel in search of the means 
 of living, and became more or less domiciled in the 
 large towns and throughout the western districts of 
 England, made it a matter of policy, as it assuredly was 
 of humanity, to endeavour to improve their condition ; 
 and nothing seemed so equitable or so readily effective for 
 the purpose, as making property liable for the relief of 
 destitution in Ireland, as was the case in England in 
 other words, establishing some description of poor-law. 
 
154 WILLIAM IV. CHAP. III. 
 
 On the assembling of parliament, the subject was 
 The king's ^ nus referred to in the Royal speech " a fur- 
 
 ther Eeport of the Commission of Inquiry 
 into the condition of the poorer classes in Ire- 
 land will speedily be laid before you. You 
 will approach this subject with the caution due to its 
 importance and difficulty ; and the experience of the 
 salutary effect produced by the Act for the amendment 
 of the laws relating to the poor in England and Wales, 
 may in many respects assist your deliberations." A 
 few days after (February 9th) Sir Richard Musgrave 
 moved for leave to bring in a bill for the relief of the 
 poor of Ireland in certain cases " He himself," he said, 
 " lived in an atmosphere of misery, and being compelled 
 to witness it daily, he was determined to pursue the 
 subject, to see whether any and what relief could be 
 procured from parliament." On the 15th of February 
 another motion was made by the member for Stroud for 
 leave to introduce a bill for the ' Relief and Employment 
 of the Poor of Ireland ;' and on the 3rd of March fol- 
 lowing j a bill was submitted by Mr. Smith O'Brien, 
 framed upon the principle that in a system of poor-laws 
 for Ireland, there ought to be local administration, com- 
 bined with central control " local administration by 
 bodies elected by, and representing the contributors to 
 the poor-fund, and general central supervision and con- 
 trol on the part of a body named by the government, 
 and responsible to parliament." 
 
 These bills were all introduced, it will be observed, 
 irrespective of the final Report of the Commis- 
 
 Lord John * . t i -i 
 
 sioners of Inquiry, which indeed had not yet 
 
 J ' . , 
 
 been presented. But on the 18th of April, in 
 answer to a question respecting it, Lord John 
 Russell, then Secretary of State for the Home 
 Department, said " that the Report had been under 
 the consideration of government, and they certainly 
 had found in it a great variety of important matters ; 
 
 observations 
 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT. 155 
 
 at the same time he must add, that the suggestions in 
 it were not of that simple and single nature as to allow 
 them to be adopted without the caution which was 
 recommended by the commissioners themselves." He 
 could not, he said, conclude without adding, " that the 
 Eeport was not only of extreme importance, but that 
 the subject of it was of a nature to render it absolutely 
 necessary that some measure should be brought forward 
 arid adopted. It would be anxiously considered by the 
 government with a view to such measures, and there 
 were none as affecting Ireland, either at present or 
 perhaps within the next hundred years, which could 
 possibly be of greater magnitude." On the 4th of May 
 Mr. Poulett Scrope moved a series of resolutions ex- 
 pressive of the necessity for some provision for the 
 relief of the Irish poor in commenting on which, 
 Lord Morpeth a admitted " that the hideous nature of 
 the evils which prevailed amongst the poorer LordMor . 
 classes in Ireland, called earnestly for redress, SKn S ?n er ~ 
 and he thought no duty more urgent on the SF!S?UIV 
 government and on parliament than to devise a q 
 remedy for them." Government were now he said en- 
 gaged in determining on the steps proper to be taken, 
 and at the first moment they were in a condition 
 to propose such a general measure as they could re- 
 commend for adoption on their own responsibility, 
 they would do so. On the 9th of June following, 
 on the motion for postponing the consideration of 
 Sir Kichard Musgrave's bill, Lord Morpeth again 
 assured the house "that the subject was under the 
 immediate consideration of government ; and that he 
 was not without hope of their being enabled to intro- 
 duce some preparatory measure in the present session ; 
 but at all events they would take the first opportunity 
 
 a The present Earl of Carlisle, then Secretary for Ireland, and now Lord 
 Lieutenant. 
 

 156 WILLIAM IV. CHAP. III. 
 
 in the next session, of introducing wliat he hoped would 
 be a complete and satisfactory measure ;" and here the 
 matter rested for the present. 
 
 Parliament was prorogued on the 20th of August, 
 parliament without anything having been done, either 
 with the bills introduced by individual mem- 
 bers, or in regard to the Eeport of the com- 
 missioners of inquiry. The recommendations of the 
 commissioners seem indeed to have increased rather 
 than lessened the difficulties attending any measure for 
 the relief of the Irish poor, owing probably to the 
 recommendations u not being of that simple and single 
 nature " to which the home secretary adverted in his 
 address to the house on the 18th of April. Public 
 attention nevertheless continued to be directed to the 
 subject with undiminished earnestness, and government 
 felt the necessity of coming to some early and definite 
 conclusion as to the steps to be taken in regard to it. 
 
 We have now reached a portion of our narrative 
 The author's when the author will be compelled to speak of 
 
 himself, and the part taken by him, first in de- 
 vising a poor-law for Ireland, and next in super- 
 intending its introduction into that country ; and he is 
 very anxious to bespeak an indulgent consideration for 
 the difficulty in which he is placed, by having been thus 
 personally engaged in the transactions which he will 
 have to describe. The great social importance of the 
 Irish Poor Law, imposes upon him the duty of giving 
 a full and complete account of all that took place with 
 regard to it ; and he feels that this duty cannot be ren- 
 dered less imperative, by the fact of his official connexion 
 with the measure. He will therefore proceed to detail 
 the circumstances as they severally occurred ; and it 
 will be more simple, and may save circumlocution for 
 him to speak in the first person, on the occasions in 
 which he was himself immediately concerned. 
 

 A.D. 1830-1837. INSTRUCTIONS TO THE AUTHOK. 157 
 
 On the 22nd of August I received directions to pro- 
 
 ceed to Ireland, taking with me theEeports of the Lord John 
 
 commissioners of inquiry, and there to examine 
 
 how far it might be judicious or practicable to 
 
 offer relief to whole classes of the poor, whe- 
 
 ther of the sick, the infirm, or orphan children whe- 
 
 ther such relief might not have the effect of promoting 
 
 imposture, without destroying mendicity whether the 
 
 condition of the great bulk of the poorer classes would be 
 
 improved by such a measure whether a rate limited in 
 
 its amount rather than its application, might be usefully 
 
 directed to the erection and maintenance of workhouses 
 
 for all those who sought relief as paupers whether 
 
 any kind of workhouse can be established which should 
 
 not give its inmates a superior degree of comfort to 
 
 the common lot of the independent labourer whether 
 
 the restraint of a workhouse would be an effectual 
 
 check to applicants for admission ; and whether, if the 
 
 system were once established, the inmates would not 
 
 resist, by force, the restraints which would be necessary. 
 
 Supposing the workhouse system not to be advisable, I 
 
 was directed to consider in what other mode a national 
 
 or local rate might be beneficially applied ; and to 
 
 examine the policy of establishing depots where candi- 
 
 dates for emigration might resort. My attention was 
 
 also specially directed to the machinery by which rates 
 
 for the relief of the poor might be raised and expended ; 
 
 and to the formation and constitution of a central 
 
 board, of local boards, of district unions, and of paro- 
 
 chial vestries. I was also directed to inquire whether 
 
 the capital applied to the improvement of land, and the 
 
 reclaiming of bogs and wastes was perceptibly or noto- 
 
 riously increasing or diminishing, and to remark gene- 
 
 rally upon any plans which might lead to an increased 
 
 demand for labour ; and lastly, to " carefully read the 
 
 bills which had been brought into the house of com- 
 
 mons on this subject during that year, and the draft 
 
158 WILLIAM IV. CHAP. III. 
 
 of a bill prepared by one of the commissioners of in- 
 quiry in conformity with their Report." 
 
 It will thus be seen that the proposed inquiry was 
 sufficiently extensive ; and I hardly need say that I 
 entered upon the duty assigned me with a deep sense 
 of the responsibility it involved. The working of the 
 English Poor Law, afforded means for obtaining some 
 insight into the character and habits of such of the 
 Irish as had become resident in the metropolis and 
 the larger towns of England, and I immediately insti- 
 tuted inquiries on the subject among the workhouse 
 masters and other officers of several of the London 
 parishes where the Irish labourers principally resided. 
 They all assured me as the result of their experience, 
 that the discipline of a workhouse operated with 
 the Irish precisely as it did with the English poor. 
 There was in fact no difference in this respect, nor 
 any greater difficulty with regard to the one, than 
 there was in the management of the other. This 
 was so far satisfactory ; but further examination and 
 inquiry were necessary for giving entire confidence 
 on this point, and these could best be pursued in 
 Ireland whither I accordingly proceeded early in Sep- 
 tember. 
 
 The evidence collected by the late commissioners of 
 inquiry and appended to their Report, established so 
 conclusively the existence of a state of poverty through- 
 out Ireland, amounting in numerous cases to actual 
 destitution, 1 " that I felt it to be unnecessary to adduce 
 any aditional proofs on the subject. To this extent 
 moreover, the evidence was fully borne out by previous 
 investigations of committees and commissions on the 
 state of Ireland. The fact of wide-spread destitution 
 
 b Whether the number of persons in distress and requiring relief during 
 thirty weeks in every year, amounted to 2,385,000, as estimated by the com- 
 missioners, may admit of question ; but there can be no doubt that much dis- 
 tress prevailed, and that occasionally it was exceedingly severe. 
 
A.D. 1830-1837. THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. 159 
 
 was therefore notorious, and its existence was univer- 
 sally admitted ; so that in reporting to government at 
 the end of my mission, I considered it enough to state as 
 the result of my own inquiries, " that the misery now 
 prevalent among the labouring classes in Ireland, 
 appears to be of a nature and intensity calculated to 
 produce great demoralization and danger ;" and such 
 being the case, it was doubtless the duty of govern- 
 ment and the legislature to endeavour to devise a 
 remedy for the one, and thus at the same time to guard 
 against the other. 
 
 My first Report was delivered on the 15th of No- 
 vember. It stated that after examining the Theauthoi , s 
 several institutions in Dublin, I had visited the Not'iT, *' 
 west of Ireland from Cork to Limerick West- l 
 port and Sligo, and back by Armagh " everywhere 
 examining and inquiring as to the condition and habits 
 of the people, their character and wants ; and endea- 
 vouring to ascertain whether, and how far, the system of 
 relief established in England, was applicable to the pre- 
 sent state of Ireland." The above route was deemed the 
 most eligible, because the inhabitants of the manufac- 
 turing and commercial districts of the north and east, 
 more nearly resembled the English than those of the 
 southern and western parts of Ireland ; and if the Eng- 
 lish system should be found applicable to them, there 
 could be no doubt of its applicability to the oilier s. 
 
 The Report is divided into three parts or principal 
 di visions 
 
 The first, gives the general result of inquiries into 
 the condition habits and feelings of the people, especi- 
 ally with regard to the introduction of a law for the 
 relief of the poor. 
 
 In the second part, the question whether the workhouse 
 system can with safety and advantage be established in 
 Ireland is considered, and also whether the means for 
 creating an efficient union machinery exists there. 
 
160 THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. CHAP. III. 
 
 Assuming these questions to be answered affirma- 
 tively, the chief points requiring attention in framing 
 a poor-law for Ireland, are in the last part considered. 
 
 It is now proposed to insert, under the above divi- 
 sions, so much of the Eeport as will be sufficient for 
 showing its general import, and the nature of its recom- 
 mendations ; but omitting such portions as are not 
 necessary for this purpose 
 
 First Report. Nov. 15, 1836. 
 
 PART THE FIRST. " The investigations and inquiries in which 
 I have been engaged, have led to a conviction that Ireland 
 has, on the whole, during the last thirty or forty years, been 
 progressively improving. It is impossible to pass through the 
 country without being struck with the evidence of increasing 
 wealth almost everywhere apparent, although it is of course 
 more visible in towns than in the open country. Great as 
 the improvement in England has been within the same period, 
 that in Ireland, I believe, has been equal. There are towns 
 and districts there, as there are towns and districts in Eng- 
 land, in which little improvement is seen, or which may even 
 
 * have retrograded ; but the general advance is certain, and 
 the improvement in the condition and increase in the capital 
 of the country, are still, I think, steadily progressive. If it 
 be asked how this accords with the misery and destitution 
 apparent among a large portion of the people, the answer is 
 obvious The capital of the country has increased, but the 
 increase of the population has been still greater; and it 
 therefore does not follow that there is an increase of capital 
 or comfort in the possession of each individual, or even of the 
 majority. The reverse is unhappily the fact Towns, ex- 
 hibiting every sign of increased wealth, are encircled by 
 suburbs composed of miserable hovels, sheltering a wretched 
 population of mendicants. In the country, evidence of the 
 extreme subdivision of land everywhere appears, and as a 
 consequence, the soil, fertile as it naturally is, becomes ex- 
 hausted by continual cropping ; for the cottier tenant, too 
 often reduced to a level little above that of the mendicant, is 
 unable to provide manure for his land, and has no other mode 
 of restoring its vigour but by subjecting it to a long and pro- 
 fitless fallow. Farmers of three hundred acres, or even of 
 two or one hundred, except in the grazing districts, have be- 
 come almost extinct in Ireland. A variety of circumstances 
 seem to have contributed to bring about this change. In 
 
A.D. 1836. THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. 161 
 
 some instances the proprietor has himself subdivided his land 
 into small holdings of five, ten, or fifteen acres, with a view 
 of increasing his rent-roll, or adding to his political influence. 
 In other cases the land has been let on lease to a single 
 tenant on lives, or for a term of years, or both conjointly ; 
 and he has sublet to others, who have again gone on dividing 
 and subletting, until the original proprietor is almost lost 
 sight of, and the original holding is parcelled out among a 
 host of small occupiers. 
 
 " The occupation of a plot of land has now gotten to be con- 
 sidered, by a great portion of the Irish people, as conferring 
 an almost interminable right of possession. This seems to 
 have arisen in great measure out of the circumstances in 
 which they have been placed ; for there being no legal pro- 
 vision for the destitute, and the subdivision of the land into 
 small holdings having destroyed the regular demand for 
 labour, the only protection against actual want, the only 
 means by which a man could procure food for his family, was 
 by getting and retaining possession of a portion of land ; for 
 this he has struggled for this the peasantry have combined 
 and burst through the restraints of law and humanity. So 
 long as this portion of land was kept together, it was possibly 
 sufficient to supply his family with a tolerable degree of com- 
 fort; but after a time he would have sons to provide for, and 
 daughters to portion off, and this must all be effected out of 
 the land until the holding of ten or fifteen acres became 
 divided into holdings of two, three, or five acres. After a 
 time, too, the same process of subdivision is again resorted 
 to, until the minimum of subsistence is reached ; and this is 
 now the condition of a large portion of the Irish peasantry. 
 Land is to them the great necessary of life. There is no 
 hiring of servants. A man cannot obtain his living as a day- 
 labourer. He must get possession of a plot of land to raise 
 potatoes, or starve. It need scarcely be said that a man will 
 not starve, so long as the means of sustaining life can be 
 obtained by force or fraud ; and hence the scenes of violence 
 and murder which have so frequently occurred in Ireland. 
 
 " One of the circumstances that first arrests attention on visiting 
 Ireland, is the prevalence of mendicancy. It is not perhaps 
 the actual amount of misery existing amongst the mendicant 
 class, great as that may be, which is most to be deprecated ; 
 but the falsehood and fraud which form a part of their pro- 
 fession, and spread by their example. Mendicancy appeals 
 to our sympathies on behalf of vice, as well as want ; and 
 encouragement is often afforded to the one, by the relief 
 intended for the other. To assume the semblance of misery 
 
 M 
 
162 THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. CHAP. III. 
 
 is the business of the mendicant, and his success depends 
 upon the skill with which he exercises deception. A mass of 
 filth, nakedness, and squalor, is thus kept moving about the 
 country, entering every house, addressing itself to every eye, 
 and soliciting from every hand ; and much of the filth and 
 indolence observable in the cabins, clothing, and general 
 conduct of the peasantry, may I think be traced to this 
 source, and I doubt even if those above the class of labourers 
 altogether escape the taint. Mendicancy and filth have be- 
 come too common to be disgraceful. 
 
 " The Irish peasantry have generally an appearance of apathy 
 and depression. This is seen in their mode of living, in their 
 habitations, in their dress, in the dress of their children, and 
 in their general economy and conduct. They seem to have 
 no pride, no emulation ; to be heedless of the present, and 
 careless of the future. They do not strive to improve their 
 appearance, or add to their comforts. Their cabins are 
 slovenly, smoky, dirty, almost without furniture, or any article 
 of convenience or common decency. On entering a cottage, 
 the woman and children are seen seated on the floor sur- 
 rounded by pigs and poultry, the man is lounging at the 
 door, which can only be approached through mud and filth. 
 Yet he is too indolent to make a dry approach to his 
 dwelling, although there are materials close at hand, and his 
 wife is too slatternly to cleanse the place in which they live, 
 or sweep the dirt and offal from the floor. If you point out 
 these defects, and endeavour to show how easily they might 
 improve their condition and increase their comforts, you are 
 invariably met by excuses as to their poverty. Are a woman, 
 and her children, and her cabin filthy, whilst a stream of 
 water runs past the door the answer invariably is, ' Sure, 
 how can we help it ? we are so poor ! ' With the man it is 
 the same ; you find him idly basking in the sun, or seated by 
 the fire, whilst his cabin is scarcely approachable through the 
 accumulation of mud and he too will exclaim, ' Sure, how 
 can we help it ? we are so poor ! ' whilst at the very time he 
 is smoking tobacco, and has probably not denied himself the 
 enjoyment of whisky. Now poverty is not the cause, or at 
 least not the sole cause, of this condition of the Irish 
 peasantry. If they desired to live better, or to appear better, 
 they might do so ; but they seem to have no such ambition, 
 and hence the depressed tone of which I have spoken. This 
 may be partly owing to the remains of old habits ; for bad as 
 the circumstances of the peasantry now are, they were yet, I 
 am persuaded, worse fifty or thirty years ago. A part also 
 may be attributed to the want of education, and of a feeling 
 
A.D. 1836. THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. 163 
 
 of self-respect ; and a part likewise to their poverty to which 
 last cause alone, everything that is wrong in Ireland is inva- 
 riably attributed. 
 
 " The desultory habits of the peasantry are likewise remarkable. 
 However urgent the demands for exertion if, as in the pre- 
 sent season, their crops are rotting in the fields from excessive 
 wet, and every moment of sunshine should be taken advantage 
 of still, if there be a market to attend, a fair, or a funeral, 
 a horse-race, a fight, or a wedding, all else is neglected or 
 forgotten ; they hurry off in search of the excitements which 
 abound on such occasions, and with a recklessness hardly to 
 be credited, at the moment that they are complaining of 
 poverty, they take the most certain steps to increase it. Their 
 fondness for ardent spirits is probably one cause of this, and 
 another will be found in their position as occupiers of land. 
 The work required upon their small holdings is easily per- 
 formed, and may, as they say, ' be done any day.' Working 
 for wages is rare and uncertain ; and hence arises a disregard 
 of the value of time, a desultory sauntering habit, without 
 industry or steadiness of application. Such is too generally 
 the character, and such the habits, of the Irish peasantry ; 
 and it may not be uninstructive to mark the resemblance 
 which these bear to the character and habits of the English 
 peasantry in the pauperised districts, under the abuses of the 
 old Poor Law. Mendicancy and indiscriminate almsgiving 
 have produced in Ireland, results similar to what indiscri- 
 minate relief produced in England the like reckless disregard 
 of the future, the like idle and disorderly conduct, and the 
 same proneness to outrage having then characterised the 
 English pauper labourer, which are now too generally the 
 characteristics of the Irish peasant. An abuse of a good law 
 caused the evil in the one case, and a removal of that abuse 
 is now rapidly effecting a remedy. In the other case, the evil 
 appears to have arisen rather from the want, than the abuse 
 of a law ; but the corrective for both will, I believe, be found 
 to be essentially the same. 
 
 " The objections usually urged against the introduction of Poor 
 Laws into Ireland, are founded on an anticipated demoraliza- 
 tion of the peasantry and on the probable amount of the 
 charge. The first objection derives its force from the ex- 
 ample of England under the old Poor Law ; but the weight 
 of this objection is destroyed by the improved administration 
 under the new law, which is rapidly eradicating the effects of 
 previous abuse ; and will, there is good reason to believe, 
 effectually prevent their recurrence. This belief is founded 
 
 M 2 
 
164 THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. CHAP. III. 
 
 on the experience of the effects of the system in every in- 
 stance in which it has been brought into operation, and par- 
 ticularly in two important parishes in Nottinghamshire, where 
 the workhouse principle was first established in its simplicity 
 and efficiency fifteen or sixteen years ago, and where it has 
 continued to be equally effective up to the present time. 
 Similar results have invariably attended its application in the 
 unions formed under the new law, which are conducted essen- 
 tially upon the same principle, but with a superior combina- 
 tion of machinery, and administrative arrangement. 
 
 " With respect to the second objection, founded on the probable 
 amount of expenditure, it may be remarked that the Irish 
 population, like every other, must be supported in some way 
 out of the resources of the country ; and it does not follow 
 that the establishment of such a system of relief will greatly 
 increase the charge, if it increase it at all. During the pro- 
 gress of my inquiries, I was often told that the recognition oi 
 any legal claim for relief would lead to universal pauperism, 
 and would amount to a total confiscation of property. Many 
 Irish landowners appeared to participate in this apprehension 
 under the influence of which it seems to. have been over- 
 looked, that the only legal claim for relief in England is 
 founded on the actual destitution of the claimant, and that as 
 the existence of destitution is the ground of the claim, so is 
 its removal the measure of relief to be afforded. This, if the 
 destitution be rightly tested, will be a sufficient protection to 
 property. At present there is no test of destitution in Ire- 
 land. The mendicant, whether his distress be real or fictitious, 
 claims and receives his share of the produce of the soil in the 
 shape of charity, before the landlord can receive his portion 
 in the shape of rent, and before the tenant has ascertained 
 whether he is a gainer or a loser by his labours and his risks. 
 The mendicant's claim has now precedence over every other. 
 If the whole property of Ireland was rated to the relief of the 
 poor, it would be no more ; but in such case the charge would 
 be equally borne, whereas at present it is unequal, and tends 
 to evil in its application. 
 
 " The voluntary contributions of Scotland have been recommended 
 as an example to be followed, rather than the compulsory 
 assessments of England ; and the Dublin Mendicity Associa- 
 tion has been referred to, and its working described as at 
 once effective for the suppression of mendicancy, and for the 
 relief of the indigent within the sphere of its operations, with- 
 out injury to the sensibilities of individual benevolence. But 
 the feelings of charity and gratitude, which it is delightful to 
 contemplate as the motive and the fruit of benevolent actions, 
 
A.D. 1836. THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. 165 
 
 can only exist between individuals. It matters not whether 
 the fund to be distributed has been raised by voluntary con- 
 tribution, or by legal assessment, or whether it has been 
 devised for purposes of general charity. The application of 
 the fund becomes, in each case, a trust ; it is distributed as a 
 trust, and it is received as a right, not as a gift. It may 
 moreover be remarked, that the Dublin Mendicity Associa- 
 tion has with difficulty been kept in existence by great exer- 
 tions on the part of the committee, and by threats of parading 
 the mendicants through the streets. If difficulty is thus found 
 in supporting such an institution in Dublin, how impracticable 
 must it be to provide permanent support for similar institu- 
 tions in other parts of the country. Some persons contend 
 that relief for the indigent classes in Ireland should be pro- 
 vided in * houses of industry,' similar to those now existing 
 in Dublin and a few other places. These institutions are in 
 general not badly managed, and some classification is enforced 
 in them, ^and the sexes are invariably separated. But they 
 are certainly not entitled to the designation of 4 houses of 
 industry.' They are in fact places for the maintenance of a 
 number of poor persons, mostly aged or infirm, and idiots, 
 and lunatics ; but as a general means of supplying neces- 
 sary relief, and of testing the necessity, they are totally in- 
 efficient. 
 
 " Notwithstanding these objections, I found everywhere, after 
 quitting Dublin, a strong feeling in favour of property being 
 assessed for the relief of the indigent. At present, the burthen 
 falls almost exclusively upon the lower classes, whilst the 
 higher classes generally escape. A system of poor-laws, 
 similar in principle to the English system, would go far to 
 remedy this inequality the people are aware of this and, 
 as the general result of my inquiries, I have been led to the 
 conclusion, that poor-laws may be now established in Ire- 
 land, guarded by the correctives derived from experience in 
 England, with safety and success. I think also, that such a 
 measure would serve to connect the interest of landlords and 
 tenants, and so become a means of benefiting both, and pro- 
 moting the general peace and prosperity of the country. The 
 desire now so generally expressed for a full participation in 
 English laws and English institutions, will dispose the Irish 
 people to receive with alacrity any measure tending to put 
 them on the same footing as their fellow-subjects of England 
 a circumstance particularly favourable to the establishment 
 of a poor-law at this moment. At another season, or under 
 other circumstances, it might be difficult to surround a legal 
 provision for the relief of the Irish poor, with sufficient guards 
 
166 THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. CHAP. III. 
 
 against abuse; but at present, I think the legislature may 
 venture to entertain the subject, having the experience of 
 England before them, with a reasonable confidence of being 
 able to bring the measure to a successful issue ; and if the 
 landed proprietors and gentry of Ireland will there perform 
 the same part, which the proprietors and gentry of England 
 are now performing in the administration of the new Poor 
 Law, the result will be neither distant nor doubtful. 
 
 " If a poor-law were established in Ireland, it must not however 
 be expected to work miracles. It would not give employ- 
 ment or capital, but it would, I think, help the country 
 through what may be called its transition period ; and in 
 time, and with the aid of other circumstances, would effect a 
 material improvement in the condition of the people. The 
 English Poor Laws, in their earlier operation, contributed to 
 the accomplishment of this object in England ; and there 
 seems nothing to prevent a similar result in Ireland. Faci- 
 lities now exist in Ireland for helping forward the transition, 
 and for shortening its duration as well as securing its benefits, 
 which England did not possess in the time of Elizabeth, or 
 for a century and a half afterwards. By ' transition period,' 
 I mean that season of change from the system of small hold- 
 ings, con-acre, and the subdivisions of land, which now pre- 
 vails in Ireland, to the better practice of day-labour for 
 wages, and to that dependence on daily labour for support, 
 which is the present condition of the English peasantry. This 
 transition is, I believe, generally beset with difficulty and 
 suffering. It was so in England ; it is, and for a time will 
 probably continue to be so in Ireland ; and every aid should 
 be afforded to shorten its duration, and lessen its pressure. 
 It has been considered that the existence of the con-acre 
 system is favourable to such a transition. I am disposed to 
 concur in this view, and think that the annual hiring of the 
 con-acre, may help to wean the Irish peasantry from their 
 present desire of occupying land, and lead them to become 
 labourers for wages. The eager clinging to land, and its 
 subdivision into small holdings, is at once a cause and a con- 
 sequence of the rapid increase of the people, and of the 
 extreme poverty and want which prevail among them. It is 
 not because the potato constitutes their food, that a kind of 
 famine occurs annually in Ireland between the going out of 
 the old, and the in-coming of the new crop ; but it is because 
 the peasantry are the sole providers for their own necessities, 
 each out of his own small holding ; and being all alike hard 
 pressed, and apt to under-calculate the extent of their wants, 
 they thus often find themselves without food before the new 
 
A.D. 1836. THE AUTHOK'S FIRST REPORT. 167 
 
 crop is ripe. In this emergency there is no store provided to 
 which they can have recourse, and misery and disease ensue. 
 A poor-law would lighten the pressure under such a visit- 
 ation, and the poor-law machinery might be useful in cases 
 of extreme need, as well as for preventing a recurrence of the 
 calamity. 
 
 "It is impossible to mix with the Irish people without noticing the 
 great influence of the clergy, and it seemed important therefore 
 to ascertain their views in regard to a poor-law. I discussed 
 the subject with many of them, as well Roman catholic as 
 protestant, in all parts of the country ; and I found them, 
 with few exceptions, decidedly favourably to such a law. In 
 the cases where they were not so, it appeared to be owing to 
 an apprehension that their influence might be lessened, by 
 taking from them the distribution of the alms which now pass 
 through their hands ; but this feeling was of rare occurrence, 
 and I am warranted in saying, that the clergy of every deno- 
 mination are almost unanimously favourable to a system of 
 Poor Laws for Ireland. This was perhaps to be expected, 
 the duties of the clergy leading them to mix more with the 
 people, and to see more of their actual wants, than any other 
 class of persons. The shopkeepers too, and manufacturers 
 and dealers generally, I found favourable to a poor-law. 
 They declared that they should be gainers at the end of the 
 year, whatever might be the amount legally assessed upon 
 them ; for that they could neither close their doors, nor turn 
 their backs upon the wretched objects who were constantly 
 applying to them ; whilst the gentry, if resident, were in a 
 great measure protected from such applications, and if non- 
 resident, escaped them altogether. 
 
 " A legal provision for the destitute, is moreover an indispensable 
 preliminary to the suppression of mendicancy. If the state 
 offers an alternative, it may prohibit begging it would be in 
 vain to do so otherwise, for the law would be opposed to our 
 natural sympathies, and would remain inoperative. This was 
 the course adopted in England, where it was long endea- 
 voured to repress vagrancy by severe enactments, but appa- 
 rently with little advantage. At last the offer of relief was 
 coupled with the prohibition of mendicancy, and until our 
 Poor Law administration became corrupt, with perfect suc- 
 cess. To establish a poor-law, then, is I believe a necessary 
 preliminary to the suppression of mendicancy. That it will 
 be, on the whole, economical to do this in Ireland, it is I 
 think scarcely possible to doubt ; but whether it be so or not, 
 the advantage both morally and socially of removing such an 
 evil, is beyond question important. 
 
168 THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. CHAP. III. 
 
 " It may be regarded as a circumstance favourable to the intro- 
 duction of a poor-law, that so much land is lying waste arid 
 uncultivated in Ireland. Much of this land is susceptible of 
 cultivation, and the order and security which a poor-law 
 would tend to establish, will encourage the application of 
 capital to Such objects. If capital were to be so applied, con- 
 siderable tracts would be brought under culture, and thus 
 afford occupation to the now unemployed labourers. Most of 
 the reclaimed bog which I saw in the western .counties, was 
 effected by the small occupiers, who partially drained and 
 enclosed an acre or two at a time ; but such operations were 
 without system or combination, and for the most part indif- 
 ferently performed. In this way, however, the reclamation 
 of these wastes will of necessity proceed constantly adding 
 to the number of small cottier tenants, and swelling the 
 amount of poverty and wretchedness in the country unless 
 proprietors and capitalists shall be induced to take the matter 
 in hand, and by enclosing and effectually draining whole 
 tracts, secure the means of applying economical management 
 on a large scale. The enclosing and draining, and the whole 
 process of reclamation, would afford employment to labourers 
 who are now, for a great portion of the year, idling about 
 without occupation ; and when the land so reclaimed becomes 
 subjected to a regular process of cultivation, it will continue 
 to afford them regular employment at daily wages, instead of 
 the often miserably insufficient produce of their own small 
 holdings, to which they now are compelled to cling as their 
 sole means of support. 
 
 " It appears then, I think, that a poor-law is necessary for re- 
 lieving the destitution to which a large portion of the popu- 
 lation in Ireland is now exposed. It appears too, that 
 circumstances are at present favourable for the introduction 
 of such a measure. A poor-law seems also to be necessary, 
 as a first step towards bringing about ^improvement in the 
 habits and social condition of the people. Without such im- 
 provement, peace, good order, and security cannot exist in 
 Ireland ; and without these, it is in vain to look for that 
 accumulation of wealth, and influx of capital, which are 
 necessary for developing its resources, agricultural and com- 
 mercial, and for providing profitable employment for the 
 population. Ireland is now suffering under a circle of evils, 
 producing and reproducing one another. Want of capital 
 produces want of employment want of employment, turbu- 
 lence and misery turbulence and misery, insecurity insecu- 
 rity prevents the introduction or accumulation of capital and 
 so on. Until this circle is broken, the evils must continue, 
 
A.D. 1836. THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. 169 
 
 and probably increase. The first thing to be done is to give 
 security that will produce or invite capital and capital will 
 give employment. But security of person and property can- 
 not co-exist with extensive destitution. So that, in truth, the 
 reclamation of bogs and wastes the establishment of fisheries 
 and manufactures improvements in agriculture, and in the 
 general condition of the country and lastly, the elevation of 
 the great mass of the Irish people in the social scale, appear 
 to be alt more or less contingent upon establishing a law pro- 
 viding for the relief of the destitute. How such a law may 
 be best formed, so as to secure the largest amount of good, 
 with the least risk of evil, it is proposed next to consider. 
 
 PART THE SECOND. " There are two points for consideration 
 under this division of the subject which are of primary import, 
 the question of a Poor Law for Ireland mainly depending 
 upon them. First Whether the workhouse system can be 
 safely and effectively established in Ireland ; and secondly 
 Whether a machinery can be there established for their 
 government, such as exists in the English unions. 
 
 " In my inquiries with regard to these points, I endeavoured to 
 exercise a care and vigilance proportioned to their importance. 
 The inquiry was entered upon under an apprehension that 
 the workhouse would be less efficient in Ireland, than experi- 
 ence had shown it to be in England ; and that it would pro- 
 bably be applicable to the able-bodied in a limited degree 
 only, if applicable to them at all. I was doubtful also, 
 whether it would be practicable to control any considerable 
 number of the able-bodied in a workhouse whether the 
 proneness of the Irish peasantry to outrage and insubordina- 
 tion would not, as had often been represented, lead them to 
 break through all restraint, and perhaps demolish the building, 
 and commit other acts of violence. The probability of such 
 outrage is strongly insisted upon by the Commissioners of 
 Inquiry, and the same argument was urged upon me by some 
 persons with whom I communicated in Dublin. In the 
 progress of my inquiries however, I soon found reason for 
 concluding that there was no ground for apprehension, either 
 as to the applicability of the workhouse for the purposes of 
 relief, or as to any danger of resistance to such a system of 
 classification and discipline within it, as would make it a test 
 of destitution. In the several ' houses of industry ' established 
 in Ireland, a strict separation of the sexes is enforced, and a 
 discipline more or less approximating to our workhouse dis- 
 cipline is established. No spirits are admitted, and on the 
 
170 THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. CHAP. HI. 
 
 whole, there is enough in these institutions to render them 
 distasteful as places of partial restraint. Yet from no governor 
 of a house of industry could I learn that resistance had ever 
 been made to their regulations, and surprise was even ex- 
 pressed at my thinking it necessary to make the inquiry. I 
 received the same opinion from the governors of gaols. In 
 short, every man whom I conversed with, who had any expe- 
 rience of the habits of the people, declared that the peasantry 
 are perfectly tractable, and never think of opposing authority, 
 unless stimulated by drink, or urged on by that species of 
 combination for securing the occupancy of land, which has 
 become so common in certain districts. Neither of these 
 influences will interfere with the establishment of a work- 
 house, or the regulation of its inmates, all of whom will have 
 sought refuge in it voluntarily, and may quit it at any mo- 
 ment. As regards the security of the workhouse, therefore, 
 and the establishment of a system of discipline as strict as 
 that maintained in the English workhouses, I believe that 
 there will be neither danger nor difficulty. 
 
 " How far the workhouse, if established, may be relied upon as a 
 test of destitution and a measure of the relief to be afforded ; 
 how far it will be effectual for the prevention of pauperism, 
 and for stimulating the people to exertion for their own sup- 
 port; how far, in short, the workhouse system, which has 
 been safely and effectually applied to dispauperise England, 
 may be applied with safety and efficiency to prevent pau- 
 perism in Ireland, now remains for inquiry. The governing 
 principle of the workhouse system is this : that the support 
 which is afforded at the public charge in the workhouse, shall 
 on the whole be less desirable than the support obtained by 
 independent exertion. To carry out this principle, it might 
 seem to be necessary that the inmates of a workhouse should 
 be in all respects worse situated worse clothed, worse lodged, 
 and worse fed, than the independent labourers of the district. 
 In fact, however, the inmates of our English workhouses are 
 as well clothed, and generally better lodged and better fed 
 than the agricultural labourer and his family : yet the irk- 
 someness of the discipline and confinement, and the privation 
 of certain enjoyments, produce such disinclination to enter the 
 workhouse, that experience warrants the fullest assurance that 
 nothing short of destitution, and that necessity which the law 
 contemplates as the ground for affording relief, will induce 
 the able-bodied labourer to seek refuge therein ; and that if 
 driven thither by necessity, he will quit it again as speedily 
 as possible, and strive (generally with increased energy and 
 consequent success) to obtain subsistence by his own efforts. 
 
 
A.D. 1836. THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. 171 
 
 " It would perhaps be in vain, even if it were desirable, to seek to 
 make the lodging, the clothing, and the diet, of the inmates 
 of an Irish workhouse, inferior to those of the Irish peasantry. 
 The standard of their mode of living is so low, that the esta- 
 blishment of one still lower is difficult, and would under any 
 circumstances be inexpedient. In Ireland therefore, there 
 would not perhaps be found the same security in this respect 
 for the efficiency of the workhouse test, which may in some 
 degree be operative in England. There are countervailing 
 circumstances in Ireland however, which more than balance 
 this drawback, even if it were greater than it really is. The 
 Irish are naturally, or by habit, a migratory people, fond of 
 change, hopeful, sanguine, eager for experiment. They have 
 never been practically limited to one spot by a law of settle- 
 ment, as has been the case with the English peasantry. They 
 have never been enervated by a misapplied system of parish 
 relief. Rather than bear the restrictions of a workhouse, the 
 Irishman, if in possession of health and strength, would 
 wander the world over to obtain a living. All the opinions I 
 have collected from persons most conversant with the Irish 
 character, agree in this. Confinement of any kind is even 
 more irksome to an Irishman than to an Englishman. Hence, 
 although he might be lodged, fed, and clothed, in a work- 
 house, better than he could lodge, feed, and clothe himself 
 he will yet, like the Englishman, never enter the workhouse, 
 unless driven thither by actual necessity; and he will not 
 then remain there longer than that necessity exists. The 
 test of the workhouse is then, I think, likely to be as efficient 
 in Ireland, as it is proved to be in England ; and if relief be 
 there restricted to the workhouse, it will be at once a test of 
 destitution, and a measure of relief, and will serve to protect 
 the administration of a legal provision for the destitute poor, 
 from those evils and abuses which followed the establishment, 
 and led to the perversion, of the old Poor Laws in England. 
 I speak of the workhouse as a test of destitution generally, 
 without limiting its operation to age, infirmity, or other cir- 
 cumstances ; for independent of the difficulty of discriminating 
 between those who may fairly be considered as aged and 
 infirm, and those who are not as well as certain other diffi- 
 culties, practical and theoretical, in the way of making any 
 such distinction I have found in the state of Ireland, no 
 sufficient reason for departing from the principle of the Eng- 
 lish Poor Law which recognises destitution alone as the ground 
 of relief, nor for establishing a distinction in the one country, 
 which does not exist in the other. 
 
 " The expense of providing workhouses, will not, I apprehend, be 
 so considerable as has by some been anticipated. If the sur- 
 
172 THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. CHAP. III. 
 
 face of Ireland be divided into squares of twenty miles each, 
 so that a workhouse placed in the centre would be distant 
 about ten miles from the extremities in all directions, this 
 would give about eighty workhouses for the whole of Ireland. 
 A diameter of twenty miles was the limit prescribed for the 
 size of unions by Gilbert's Act, but it was often exceeded in 
 practice it may however, be assumed as a convenient size 
 on the present occasion. In some cases, owing to the position 
 of towns, or other local causes, the unions will probably be 
 smaller ; in others, especially in the thinly-peopled districts 
 of the west, they may be larger : but still, there is, I think, 
 every probability that the number of workhouses required 
 will not greatly exceed eighty. In aid of this number, the 
 houses of industry, and mendicity and other establishments, 
 which will be unnecessary as soon as a legal provision is made 
 for the relief of the destitute, will become available at pro- 
 bably a small expense. In some instances, moreover, bar- 
 racks, factories, or other buildings suitable for conversion into 
 workhouses, may perhaps be obtained on easy terms : but 
 excluding all such considerations, and assuming that instead 
 of eighty workhouses, a hundred will be required, and that 
 the' cost of erecting each will be about the same as for the 
 largest class of English workhouses, namely, about 7,000. 
 this would give a gross outlay of 700,000?. for the whole of 
 Ireland a sum not disproportionally large, when the nature 
 of the object is taken into account. If government were to 
 advance the sum necessary for providing the workhouses by 
 way of loan, as has been done to the unions in England, re- 
 quiring an instalment of five per cent, of the principal to be 
 paid off annually out of the rates, it would make the whole 
 charge so easy, that it would scarcely be felt. The payment 
 of 35,000/. per annum for twenty years, with the interest on 
 the constantly-decreasing principal, could not be considered a 
 hardship on Ireland ; and this is in fact the whole of the 
 new or additional outlay proposed : for as regards the relief 
 of the destitute, that would not be a new charge, the des- 
 titute classes being now supported, although in a manner cal- 
 culated to injure and depress the general character of the 
 people. 
 
 " As respects the means for local management in Ireland, if it 
 were attempted to establish a parochial machinery similar 
 to that which exists in England, I believe the attempt would 
 fail. The description of persons requisite for constituting 
 such a machinery, will not be found in the majority of Irish 
 parishes. In some parts however, and especially in the north 
 and the east, competent individuals would be found in many, 
 
A.D. 1836. THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. 173 
 
 if not in most of the parishes. If an Irish Poor Law were 
 established, the uniting of parishes for the purpose of securing 
 the benefits of combined management, is therefore more 
 necessary even than it was in England ; and by making the 
 unions sufficiently large, there can be no doubt that in almost 
 every instance, such a board of elected guardians may be 
 obtained as would secure the orderly working of the union, 
 under a due system of supervision and control. 
 
 " In the first instance, and until a rate for the relief of the desti- 
 tute is established, the contributors to the county-cess might 
 be empowered to elect the guardians. But in some cases an 
 efficient board may not be obtainable by election, and this is 
 most likely to occur at the commencement, when individuals 
 will be ill instructed as to their duties, and when the public 
 will perhaps have formed erroneous notions of what is intended 
 to be done. To meet such a contingency, it seems essential 
 that large general powers should be vested in some central 
 authority, to control and direct the proceedings of the boards 
 of guardians, and even to supersede their functions altogether, 
 whenever such supersession shall be necessary. Power should 
 also be given to declare unions, and to appoint paid officers 
 to conduct the business, under the direction of the central 
 authority, without the intervention of a board of guardians ; 
 and in order to guard against mistakes to be expected on the 
 first introduction of an entirely new order of things, and to 
 prevent the mischief that might ensue from failure or miscon- 
 duct at the outset, the central authority should also, I think, 
 be empowered to dispense with the election of the first board 
 of guardians, and to appoint such persons as may appear 
 most fit and competent to act as guardians of the union, until 
 the Lady-day next ensuing, or the Lady-day twelvemonths. 
 The number and selection of such specially-appointed 
 guardians to be at the discretion of the central authority. 
 These powers are greater than were given to the English 
 commissioners by the Poor Law Amendment Act : but they 
 are, in my opinion, necessary in the present state of Ireland. 
 With such powers confided to the central authority, no diffi- 
 culty can arise for which it will not be prepared ; and it will, 
 I think, be enabled to establish the unions, and to constitute 
 an adequate machinery for their government throughout the 
 whole of Ireland, with certainty and efficiency. 
 
 " In England, the county magistrates residing and acting within 
 a union, are ex-qfficio members of the board of guardians. 
 The number and position of the magistracy in Ireland seem 
 to require some modification in this respect. The principle 
 
174 THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. CHAP. HI. 
 
 of administration established in England by the Poor Law 
 Amendment Act, is based essentially upon popular represent- 
 ation. The guardians are elected by the occupiers and 
 owners of the property rated, and in the hands of the 
 guardians the administrative power is vested. The county 
 magistrates, it is true, in virtue of their office, sit and act as 
 members of the board ; but this does not destroy its elective 
 character, as the number of elected so far exceeds that of the 
 ex-officio guardians, that the popular character of the board 
 is maintained ; whilst the presence of the magistrates, who in 
 virtue of their office are permanent members, and therefore 
 connecting links between the successive boards of elected 
 guardians, secures a stability and continuity of action, which, 
 if based entirely upon election, the board might not possess. 
 This is the constitution of the boards of guardians in Eng- 
 land, and nothing can work better: but in Ireland, the 
 number of magistrates who would be entitled under a similar 
 provision to act as ex-officio guardians, would in general 
 greatly exceed the number so qualified in England, and in 
 some cases might outnumber the elected guardians. If this 
 should occur, the elective character of the board would of 
 course be destroyed ; but even if this should not be the case, 
 yet any undue preponderance of the permanent ex-officio 
 guardians would detract from the popular character of the 
 governing body, and lower it in the confidence of the people. 
 With a view therefore of keeping as nearly as possible to the 
 practical constitution of the English boards of guardians, I 
 propose in the Irish unions, 1st. That the number of ex- 
 officio guardians shall never exceed one-third the number of 
 elected guardians : 2dly. That immediately on the declara- 
 tion of a union, the county magistrates residing and acting 
 within its limits, shall nominate from among themselves a 
 number nearest to, but not exceeding, one-third of the elected 
 guardians, which magistrates so nominated by their com- 
 peers, shall be entitled to act as ex-officio guardians of the 
 union, until the Michaelmas twelvemonth after such nomina- 
 tion : and 3dly. That at each succeeding Michaelmas, the 
 magistrates entitled as aforesaid, shall proceed to a new elec- 
 tion. These regulations will, I think, not only preserve a 
 due proportion in the constitution of the boards of guardians, 
 but also ensure the co-operation of the most efficient portion 
 of the magistracy in the government of the unions ; as the 
 magistrates will doubtless nominate those members of their 
 body who are most active and able. 
 
 " A different practice from that established in England, seems 
 also to be necessary with respect to the Clergy. Under the 
 
A.D. 1836. THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. 175 
 
 provisions of the Poor Law Amendment Act, ministers of 
 religion of every denomination are eligible for the office of 
 guardian, elected or ex-qfficio. In the present condition of 
 Ireland, I fear this would be attended with inconvenience, 
 and might destroy the efficiency of the boards of guardians. 
 I therefore propose that no clergyman, or minister of any 
 religious denomination, shall be eligible to act either as elected 
 or ex-qfficio guardian. This exclusion is not proposed from 
 any notion of the general unfitness of the clergy to fill the 
 office of guardian ; but with reference solely to the present 
 state of religious opinion in Ireland, and to the importance 
 of keeping the functions of the boards of guardians free from 
 the suspicion of sectarian bias. If the ministers of one per- 
 suasion were to be admitted, the ministers of every persuasion 
 must be so ; and then the deliberations would too probably 
 be disturbed by religious differences. On no point have I 
 taken more pains to arrive at a sound conclusion than on this, 
 being fully sensible of the objections, on principle, to the 
 exclusion of any class of men from office : but the great 
 majority of the clergy themselves with whom I have conversed, 
 Roman catholic and protestant, have agreed in thinking that 
 it will be, on the whole, inexpedient to admit any of the 
 ministers of religion to act as guardians ; and after the fullest 
 consideration and inquiry, I therefore recommend that they 
 should all be declared ineligible. 
 
 " In England, under the provisions of the Poor Law Amendment 
 Act, every parish or township rated for the maintenance of 
 its poor, and included in a union, is entitled to return a 
 guardian. In Ireland it will, I think, be essential that the 
 central authority should be empowered to fix the limits of a 
 union, without being restricted to parish boundaries. It 
 should be enabled to divide parishes, either for the purpose 
 of electing guardians, or for joining a portion of a parish to 
 one union, and another portion to another union. It should 
 also be empowered to consolidate parishes for the purpose of 
 electing one or more guardians, and likewise to form election 
 districts for this purpose, without reference to parochial 
 boundaries. And lastly, the central authority should be em- 
 powered to add to, take from, and remodel unions, whenever 
 such change might be found necessary. These powers would 
 have enabled the English Poor Law Commissioners to make 
 their unions more compact and convenient than they at pre- 
 sent are, local prejudices and local interests having frequently 
 compelled them to abandon the arrangement which would 
 have been best for the general interest In Ireland, full 
 powers in these respects are, I think, indispensable for en- 
 
176 THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. CHAP. 111. 
 
 abling the central authority to deal with the various circum- 
 stances under which the unions will there have to be formed. 
 But with adequate powers, and with such modifications as are 
 before described, the principle of union which has been esta- 
 blished in England by the Poor Law Amendment Act, may 
 I think be advantageously extended to Ireland ; and as it 
 has been shown that no insurmountable difficulty exists to 
 prevent the introduction of the workhouse as a test of desti- 
 tution so neither will there be any insurmountable difficulty 
 in establishing an adequate machinery for the government of 
 the unions when formed. 
 
 PART THE THIRD. " Assuming that a system of Poor Laws ought 
 to be established in Ireland ; that the workhouse system may 
 there be relied upon, as a test of destitution ; and that the 
 means of forming and governing unions exist there, as well 
 as in England It now remains to describe the several points 
 which require attention in framing a measure comprising these 
 objects ; and also to offer such further observations, as did not 
 seem to come within the scope of the preceding divisions. 
 
 " The governing principle to be observed in dealing with this 
 portion of the subject is, that the Poor Law of Ireland should 
 assimilate in all respects as nearly as possible to that esta- 
 blished in England, varying only in those instances, in 
 which the different circumstances of the two countries re- 
 quire it. In conformity with this principle, the first point 
 for consideration would naturally be the constitution of the 
 central or chief authority, and the powers to be confided to 
 it ; but I postpone this part of the subject assuming only 
 that a central authority is to be established, with powers 
 similar in kind to those conferred upon the English Poor Law 
 Commissioners. The other points for consideration are the 
 following 
 
 l.sf. Of Relief . " The only legal claim for relief in England, is 
 founded upon the destitution of the party claiming it. I 
 propose to extend the same principle to Ireland ; and as a 
 test of the actual existence of such destitution, and to guard 
 against the evils which have invariably attended the distri- 
 bution of out-door relief, (that is, of relief administered either 
 in money or in kind to parties out of the workhouse) I further 
 propose that, in Ireland, no relief should be given except in 
 the workhouse. I do not propose to impart a right to relief, 
 even to the destitute poor. The claim to relief in England, 
 is founded on prescription, rather than enactment; for al- 
 though the 4,3rd of Elizabeth provides for the levying a rate 
 
A.D. 1836. THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. 177 
 
 for the purpose of relieving the destitute poor, it invests them 
 with no right to claim relief, the administration of which is 
 left to the local authorities, who are of course responsible for 
 its due exercise. The promulgation of rules for the adminis- 
 tration of relief will therefore rest with the central authority, 
 limited by the proviso that relief is only to be administered 
 in the workhouse. The central authority will declare when 
 the workhouse shall be so applied in each union, and will also 
 take care that no time be lost in providing suitable workhouse 
 accommodation, as well as to establish such regulations as 
 may be necessary for the guidance of the local authorities in 
 the interim ; but it will be most safe to prohibit all relief 
 whatever, until the test of the workhouse can be applied. 
 
 " The strict limitation of relief to the workhouse may possibly be 
 objected to, on the ground that extreme want is found occa- 
 sionally to assail large portions of the population, who ought 
 then to be relieved at the public charge, without being sub- 
 jected to the restraint of the workhouse. But this is an 
 exceptional case, and it would not, I think, be wise to adapt 
 the regulations of poor-law administration in Ireland to the 
 possible occurrence of such a contingency. In a period of 
 famine, the whole population may be said to become desti- 
 tute ; but it surely would not be expedient to hold out an 
 expectation, that if this should unhappily occur, support for 
 all would be unconditionally provided at the public charge ? 
 During such a visitation, the workhouse might not be suffi- 
 cient for the numbers who were anxious to crowd into it ; but 
 to the extent of its means of accommodation it would help to 
 relieve the general distress, and the union machinery would 
 probably be found useful in other respects. The occurrence 
 of a famine, however, if general, seems to be a contingency 
 beyond the powers of a poor-law to provide for. There is 
 then an actual deficiency of supply ; and as there is less to 
 consume, less must be consumed. It is however, 1 think im- 
 possible to contemplate the continuance of such a state of 
 things in Ireland, as that in which any considerable portion of 
 its population would be subjected to the occurrence of famine. 
 As the habits and intelligence of the people improve, these 
 visitations will be guarded against or averted ; and I do not 
 propose to make any exception permissive of out-door relief 
 in such cases, but recommend that relief should be limited 
 strictly to the workhouse. It is moreover necessary that no 
 individual of a family should be admitted, unless all its 
 members enter the house. Relief to the father or husband is 
 equivalent to relief to the child or the wife, and vice versa ; 
 and, while they continue one family, a part cannot be consi- 
 
 N 
 
178 THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. CTTAP. TIT. 
 
 dered as- destitute, and the rest not so ; a family must be 
 taken as a whole, and so admitted or excluded. The provi- 
 sions of the 4:3rd of Elizabeth, requiring parents to support 
 children, and children to support parents, should also be ex- 
 tended to Ireland ; and I think relief by way of loan, as pro- 
 vided for by the 58^7* section of the Poor Law Amendment 
 Act, might in certain cases be useful, and if exercised with 
 discretion, can scarcely be productive of mischief. 
 
 ^ndly. Of the Local Machinery. " I propose that the local ma- 
 chinery for the administration of relief to the destitute in 
 Ireland, under the direction of a central authority, should be 
 the same as is provided in England by the Poor Law Amend- 
 ment Act; namely, the union of a district for common 
 management, under a board of guardians elected by the 
 ratepayers, with paid officers appointed or approved by the 
 central authority. 
 
 " In forming the unions, it will be necessary to observe the civil, 
 rather than the ecclesiastical boundaries of parishes; but 
 cases will arise, in which it may be requisite to disregard all 
 such boundaries it being obviously more important that the 
 district to be united should be compact, convenient, and ac- 
 cessible, and be naturally connected with its centre, than that 
 the old and often inconvenient boundaries should be observed. 
 This applies no less to county or baronial boundaries than to 
 those of parishes or other divisions. The principle which has 
 governed the formation of the English unions, whenever the 
 commissioners have not been driven from it by local circum- 
 stances, has been to fix upon some market-town conveniently 
 situated as a centre, and to attach to it the whole surrounding 
 district, of which it may be considered the capital, and in 
 which the general business of the district, both public and 
 private, for the most part centres. The roads of a district 
 always converge upon the market-town. The communications 
 with it are constant, and the people settled within the range 
 of its influence constitute almost a distinct community. To 
 form such a district into a union, seems an obvious course, 
 and I recommend its being adopted in Ireland. There may 
 be parts of the country in which such a convenient centre 
 -does not exist, but this will be of rare occurrence, and the 
 general powers of the central authority will be competent to 
 deal with it. 
 
 " Much of what appeared to be necessary with reference to the 
 members of the boards of guardians, both elected and ex- 
 officio, is given in the second part of this Report : but the 
 important question in whose hands the right of appointing 
 
A.D. 1836. THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. 179 
 
 guardians shall be confided, and in what way that right shall 
 be exercised, still remains to be considered. In this, as in 
 other cases, the principle established in England, should, I 
 think, be applied to Ireland, and the election of guardians be 
 vested in the ratepayers and owners of property within the 
 union ; but the circumstances of Ireland require some modifi- 
 cation of the English practice, in this respect. The owners 
 of property in England, are entitled to vote according to the 
 scale which was established by the Select Vestry Act, and 
 which ascends by gradations of 257. each, from a rated value 
 of 507. per annum up to 1507. per annum, giving one vote 
 for the former, and six votes for the latter. This scale seems 
 open to some objection, on the grounds of complexity and 
 over-minuteness. It moreover differs from the scale of voting 
 fixed for the ratepayers by the Poor Law Amendment Act, 
 which provides that ratepayers, if rated under 2007. shall 
 have one vote ; if rated at 2007. and under 4007., two votes ; 
 and if at 4007. and upwards, three votes. Such a scale seems 
 on the whole well adapted to the condition of ratepayers in 
 England, but the amounts specified are too high for Ireland ; 
 and the scale is not sufficiently minute in its graduation, for 
 the subdivision of property which prevails there. Instead of 
 adopting these English scales, therefore, I propose to esta- 
 blish one scale in Ireland, by which simplicity of detail, and 
 a right result, will I think be more effectually secured ; and 
 I recommend the following for regulating the votes of owners 
 of property, as well as occupiers, 
 
 above 57. and under 507. . . one vote. 
 
 507. and under 1007. . . two votes. 
 
 1007. 1507. . . three votes. 
 
 1507. 2007. . . four votes. 
 
 2007. and upwards . five votes. 
 
 3rdty. Of Rating. " The power to assess the property and levy 
 a rate within a union for the purpose of relieving the desti- 
 tute, must, I think, be confided to the board of guardians, 
 by whom such relief is to be administered. The mode of 
 assessing and collecting the rate, as well as its application, 
 will be prescribed by the central authority. The Parochial 
 Assessments Act passed last session, establishes the principle 
 that the rates are to be paid upon the net annual value of 
 property. This was always the law, although it had not 
 always been acted upon. As regards the principle by which 
 the assessment of property should be regulated, it will there- 
 fore be only necessary to extend the provisions of that Act to 
 Ireland, substituting the union for the parish authorities. 
 The valuation of property for rating need not, I apprehend, 
 
 N 2 
 
180 THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. CHAP. III. 
 
 be made in every instance by surveyors or professional valu- 
 ators. The fairly-estimated value of the property is all that 
 is necessary. In many instances a valuation has already been 
 made for the purpose of tithe commutation, and wherever 
 that, or any other fair valuation has been made, it will be 
 available for rating to the relief of the poor. Hitherto there 
 has been no such rate in Ireland. The destitute classes have 
 gone on increasing in numbers, but still there has been no 
 recognised or legal provision for their relief. Property has 
 been acquired, capital invested, and contracts made, under 
 this state of things, and it will be impossible now to impose a 
 rate upon property, without affecting existing arrangements : 
 but I believe the effect will be slight, and that in a few years it 
 will cease altogether. If it were far greater than I anticipate 
 however, all objections to the imposition of a rate on this ground 
 must be overborne by considerations of the public welfare. 
 
 " The question as to who shall pay the rate, and in what propor- 
 tions, is next to be considered. The parties immediately 
 interested are the owner or person possessing the beneficial 
 interest of the property assessed, and the tenant or occupier. 
 Between these therefore, it seems both equitable and expe- 
 dient to apportion the rate. Where the two are combined, 
 the same person would be answerable for the entire rate. 
 The Irish Poor Inquiry Commissioners appeared to be of 
 opinion that the owner should pay two-thirds of the rate, 
 and the occupier one-third ; and it seemed to me, at first, 
 that this would be a suitable division : but after further con- 
 sideration and inquiry, I thought that each should be called 
 upon to pay half the ra.te. I was mainly influenced to adopt 
 this view, by the consideration that at present nearly the 
 whole support of the destitute falls upon the tenantry. It is 
 to the occupiers that the mendicant resorts, and from them 
 he receives his daily rations. There is thus in reality, a rate 
 now levied, although not sanctioned by legal enactment ; and 
 no occupier, however limited may be his means, turns away 
 the mendicant empty-handed from his door. The pressure of 
 these continual calls upon the occupiers, help to bear them 
 down, and keep them at their present low level ; but if the 
 destitute classes were relieved by means of a general rate 
 upon property, of which the occupiers were called upon to pay 
 half,, they would be relieved from nearly one-half their pre- 
 sent burthen. A poor-law, if rightly administered, although 
 it ensures relief for the destitute, will not increase their 
 number, or eventually swell the fund appropriated to their 
 
 In Scotland the rate is divided equally between the landlord and tenant. 
 
A.D. 1836. THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. 181 
 
 support. On the contrary, I believe it will help to lessen 
 both. But admitting that the number and the amount remain 
 the same,' still the occupiers will then have to pay only one- 
 half, the landlord the other; whereas now the occupier 
 contributes nearly the whole. 
 
 . Of Settlement. "Parochial settlement, as established in 
 England, is almost universally admitted to have been produc- 
 tive of great mischief. It has led to much litigation and 
 expense ; and by fixing the peasantry to the narrow limits 
 of their parish, beyond which the world was to them almost 
 a blank, it has done more to injure their character, to 
 destroy its elasticity, and to banish self-reliance and resource, 
 than any other portion of the old Poor Law system. It will 
 not, therefore, I presume, be considered right to establish 
 parochial settlement in Ireland. The habits of the Irish are 
 migratory, their movements depending upon their own voli- 
 tion. To establish a law of settlement, would be to fix them 
 to one locality. No such law has yet been established there ; 
 and it is therefore open to the legislature to prescribe the 
 limits, if a settlement shall be deemed advisable ; or else to 
 dispense with settlement altogether. 
 
 " Without a law of settlement, it is true, vagrants from other dis- 
 tricts may congregate in particular unions, and may claim 
 relief, or be sent to the workhouse ; but if the workhouses are 
 all regulated upon the same scale of diet and discipline, there 
 would be no inducement for the vagrant classes to prefer one 
 union to another, and they would probably remain scattered 
 throughout the country, in much the same proportion as at 
 present. If such a preference was in any instance shown by 
 them, it might be taken as a proof of inefficient management 
 or lax discipline on the part of the favoured union, and would 
 be a signal for the central authority to interfere. Thus, if 
 there should be no law of settlement, the number of inmates 
 in the several workhouses would serve as a kind of index to 
 the management of each ; and the local authorities would be 
 compelled in self-defence to keep their unions in good order, 
 to prevent their being overrun with paupers. Such a compe- 
 tition, if well regulated, might go far to ensure the general 
 efficiency of the unions. 
 
 bthly. On Mendicancy " Whenever relief is provided for the 
 destitute, mendicancy may be suppressed. A law which says, 
 ' You shall not beg or steal, but you shall starve,' would be 
 contrary to natural justice, and would be disobeyed ; but if 
 the law first makes provision for the destitute, and then says, 
 4 You shall not beg, but you shall be relieved at the public 
 
182 THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. CHAP. III. 
 
 charge,' the alternative thus offered will entitle the com- 
 munity to suppress a practice which is held to be injurious. 
 On these grounds, I think the law which establishes a system 
 of public relief for destitution, should at the same time pro- 
 hibit mendicancy. The present state of Ireland however, 
 and the habits and feelings of the Irish people, throw con- 
 siderable difficulty in the way of an immediate suppression of 
 mendicancy. The number of mendicants is very great, and 
 they are therefore of some importance as a class, and support 
 and keep each other in countenance whilst following, what 
 they consider, no disreputable vocation. They enter the cot- 
 tages of the peasantry as supplicants, it is true, but still with 
 a certain sense of right ; and the cottager would be held to 
 be a bold, if not a bad man, who resisted their appeal. In 
 fact, the appeal never is resisted, if there is only a handful 
 of potatoes, they are divided with the beggar ; and there is 
 thus perhaps levied from the produce of the soil in Ireland 
 for the support of mendicancy, as large a contribution as it is 
 now proposed to raise by an assessment of property for the 
 relief of destitution. The ' sturdy beggars,' noticed in the 
 14^ of Elizabeth, must have been very similar to those now 
 common in Ireland. Indeed the state of society at the two 
 periods seems to have been nearly the same in both countries, 
 the prevalence of begging in each being accompanied by the 
 same general disposition to give, and this disposition of course 
 increasing the number of beggars. 
 
 " The evils of mendicancy in Ireland are certainly very great, and 
 its suppression should be provided for at the earliest prac- 
 ticable period. The best mode of effecting this would pro- 
 bably be, to enact a general prohibition, and to cast upon 
 the central authority the responsibility of bringing it into 
 operation in the several unions, as the workhouses became 
 fitted for the reception of inmates. The central authority 
 might, I think, so regulate their proceedings, as that the now 
 itinerant mendicants who may be really unable to provide for 
 themselves, should be placed in the several workhouses with 
 the least degree of coercion and inconvenience ; and that the 
 ablebodied vagrants and disorderly persons should be com- 
 pelled to provide for their own subsistence, by the application 
 of strict workhouse discipline. Time and forbearance will 
 doubtless be necessary in carrying such a measure into ope- 
 ration in Ireland, and these the powers of the central autho- 
 rity will enable it to afford. The present generation will 
 probably pass away before the disposition to encourage beg- 
 ging by indiscriminate almsgiving, which now prevails so gene- 
 rally among all classes in Ireland, will be corrected by the 
 
A.D. 1836. THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. 183 
 
 adoption of a more enlightened benevolence. It will then 
 we may hope be seen, that the real friends of the people are 
 those who lead them to independent exertion, to a reliance 
 upon themselves and their own efforts for support not those 
 who, by the constant doling of miscalled charity, entice the 
 people into a state of dependence. It may minister to human 
 pride, to be surrounded by a crowd of such dependents ; but 
 it surely is inconsistent with genuine benevolence to encourage, 
 or even to permit this, if it can possibly be prevented. 
 
 bthly. Of Bastardy. " As far as I had opportunity of observing 
 and inquiring, the Irish females are generally correct in their 
 conduct. I am aware that opinions somewhat different have 
 been expressed ; but my own impression of the moral con- 
 duct of the Irish females is highly favourable. Their duties 
 appear to be more laborious than those of the same class in 
 England. Their dress, too, is inferior, and so likewise seems 
 their social position; yet they universally appear modest, 
 industrious, and sober I state this as the result of my own 
 observation ; and if the Irish females have preserved their 
 moral character untainted hitherto, as I believe in the main 
 to be the case, it affords an argument for ' letting well alone.' 
 If it had been otherwise however, and if the extent of bas- 
 tardy, and its demoralising influence on public manners had 
 been greater, I should still have recommended that the Irish 
 females should be left, as now, the guardians of their own 
 honour, and responsible in their own persons for all deviations 
 from virtue. The abuses under the old English bastardy 
 law, and our brief experience of the improved practice esta- 
 blished by the Amendment Act, warrant the recommenda- 
 tion that no such law should be applied to Ireland ; but that 
 bastards, and the mothers of bastards, in all matters con- 
 nected with relief, should be dealt with in the same manner 
 as other destitute persons solely on the ground of their 
 destitution. 
 
 Ithty. Of Apprenticeship. "The experience which England 
 affords with regard to apprenticeship, is of a somewhat con- 
 flicting character, although the preponderance of testimony 
 is opposed to it. It is open to much abuse, and has operated 
 mischievously in several parts of the country, by increasing 
 that dependence upon the parish which under the old Poor 
 Law had become so characteristic of the English peasantry. 
 It must however I think be admitted, that the apprenticing 
 of orphan and destitute children, as provided for by the &3rd 
 of Elizabeth, has in many cases been productive of good ; 
 and if judiciously limited, so as not to be regarded as the 
 ordinary mode of providing for the children of the labouring 
 
184 THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. CHAP. III. 
 
 classes, but merely as a resource for the destitute and the 
 orphan, it might still I think be continued with advantage. 
 I am aware that this opinion differs somewhat from that 
 of the members of the late English Poor Law Inquiry Com- 
 mission ; but the evidence of abuse submitted to the com- 
 missioners was taken in the time of the old Poor Law, which 
 converted everything it touched into an abuse ; and it does 
 not follow, because apprenticeship added to the accumulation 
 of evils under such circumstances, that it is incapable of 
 producing good under others. It is on the different appli- 
 cation of apprenticeship, and on the different circumstances in 
 which it would be applied, that I now rely. None of the 
 abuses exist in Ireland which prevailed under the old paro- 
 chial management in England ; and by the ,aid of the union 
 machinery apprenticeship may, I think, be safely applied to 
 the placing out of destitute and orphan children, the number 
 of whom in Ireland is very considerable. The Poor Law 
 Amendment Act empowers the commissioners to frame regu- 
 lations for apprenticing the children of poor persons ; and I 
 propose to extend this provision to Ireland, by which it may 
 be hoped that all the beneficial effects of the law may be 
 secured, whilst the evils which certainly have resulted from 
 it in England will in great measure be avoided. 
 
 Sthfy. Of Pauper Idiots and Lunatics. " For individuals of this 
 description, if not dangerous, the union workhouses will be 
 available. Dangerous lunatics, and insane persons, must of 
 course be sent to asylums, as at present ; and it is important, 
 I think, that these institutions should be kept distinct from 
 poor-law administration. The deprivation of reason is a 
 misfortune so extreme, that special efforts are called for on 
 behalf of individuals subjected to such a visitation. The 
 careful supervision of such unhappy persons is necessary for 
 the protection of the community. But with respect to pauper 
 idiots and lunatics not dangerous, these might, I think, be 
 advantageously provided for in the several workhouses, where 
 a lunatic ward should be prepared for such of them as might 
 be unfitted to mingle with the other paupers. Idiots, labour- 
 ing under a deficiency, rather than -a deprivation of reason, 
 appear in general to feel contentment in proportion as they 
 are employed on something of a nature suitable for them. 
 In a workhouse, such employment might always be found, 
 and they would probably there partake as largely of comfort 
 as their unhappy state is susceptible of. I propose, there- 
 fore, that the provision of the Poor Law Amendment Act, 
 permissive of the retention in a workhouse of idiot and lunatic 
 paupers, not dangerous, be extended to Ireland, and that 
 
A.D. 1836. THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. 185 
 
 their mode of treatment and employment be in all cases 
 subject to the direction of the central authority. 
 
 $thty. Of Emigration. " A country may be so circumstanced, as 
 to require that a portion of its population should migrate 
 from one part of it to another, either permanently or occa- 
 sionally ; and may still, on the whole, have no actual excess 
 of population. A country may also, with reference to its 
 means of employment, labour under an excess of population ; 
 or both these circumstances may exist at the same time, 
 which appears, in fact, to be the state of Ireland at present. 
 The Irish population is excessive, compared with the means 
 of employment ; and the effect of this excess would be more 
 felt, were it not for the opening which England presents for 
 migration. Where the population is in excess, it must be 
 exceedingly difficult to effect any material improvement in 
 the condition of a people ; for as long as the labourers exceed 
 the number required, so long will their competition for em- 
 ployment serve to depress their condition, and counteract 
 whatever efforts may be made to improve it. The only 
 alternative in such case is, either to increase the amount of 
 employment, or to decrease the number of labourers depend- 
 ing upon it To bring about by direct interposition any 
 material increase of permanent employment, is in every view 
 difficult, and under common circumstances, perhaps impos- 
 sible ; but something may be done indirectly in this respect, 
 by the removal of impediments and the establishing of in- 
 creased facilities for the application of capital, and something 
 also perhaps by the intervention of government : but all such 
 aids must of necessity be limited in their application, as well 
 as remote in their effects it is from spontaneous or natural 
 employment alone, that the labouring classes can look for 
 permanent occupation, and the means of support. 
 
 " To aim directly at effecting an increase of employment in Ire- 
 land, is beyond the powers if it be not foreign to the province 
 of a poor-law, the immediate object of which is to provide for 
 the relief of the destitute. Now destitution may be caused 
 by an excess of labourers, or by a deficiency of employment, 
 which are in truth convertible terms. If an able-bodied 
 labourer becomes destitute through want of employment, he 
 must be relieved at the common charge, like any individual 
 reduced to a state of destitution by age or infirmity. If the 
 want of employment and destitution be owing to an excess of 
 population, to relieve that excess by emigration must be a 
 good. Yet it may be doubted whether the parent stock is 
 not enfeebled by the remedy, for in general the most active 
 and enterprising emigrate, leaving the more feeble and less 
 
186 THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. CHAP. III. 
 
 robust at home ; and thus a continual drain of its best ele- 
 ments will lower the tone and reduce the general vigour of a 
 people, at the same time that it imparts an additional stimulus 
 to their increase. 
 
 " Emigration however, not only may, but I believe must be had 
 recourse to as a present means of relief, whenever the popu- 
 lation becomes excessive. The excess will be indicated by 
 the pressure of able-bodied labourers on the workhouse. If 
 any considerable number of these enter the workhouse, and 
 remain there subject to its discipline, it may be taken as a 
 proof of their inability to provide for themselves, and of the 
 consequent excess of labourers beyond the means of employ- 
 ment. Under such circumstances, emigration must be looked 
 to as the only present remedy ; and provision should be made 
 for defraying the expense which this would occasion, as well 
 as for the regulations under which it should be carried into 
 effect. With regard to the expense, I propose that the 
 charge should in every case be equally borne by the govern- 
 ment, and the union from which the emigrants proceed. This 
 division of the charge appears equitable, for although the 
 union only is immediately benefited, yet eventually the whole 
 empire is relieved, excess in one portion of it tending to occa- 
 sion an excess in the whole. But the emigration should, I 
 think, be limited to a British colony, and should be conducted 
 under the control of the central authority, and be subjected 
 to such regulations as the government may deem it right to 
 establish. 
 
 . Of Houses of Industry, and Charitable Institutions. 
 u There is now a kind of poor-law established in Ireland, 
 under which the < houses of industry ' are managed, but it 
 is partial and ineffective ; and the several statutes providing 
 for these houses of industry, and the other institutions in- 
 tended for the relief of the poor, should be repealed, and the 
 management of such establishments placed under the central 
 authority. Institutions strictly charitable, and supported by 
 voluntary contribution or otherwise, would of course remain 
 as at present ; but it would, I think, be extremely desirable 
 to invest the central authority with such a power of revising 
 their rules and superintending their practice, as would ensure 
 their acting in unison with, or at least prevent their acting in 
 contravention of, the principles which the Act establishes for 
 poor-law administration in Ireland. The ' houses of in- 
 dustry' would generally become available as union work- 
 houses, for which they are for the most part well adapted ; 
 and the other establishments, where they are public property, 
 or supported by government, or by local grants from the 
 
A.D. 183&. THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. 187 
 
 county-rates, may be appropriated in like manner, under 
 direction of the central authority. 
 
 " The foregoing appear to be the only points requiring especial 
 attention, in framing a poor-law for Ireland, although there 
 are several other matters of minor interest not to be over- 
 looked. The ' Poor Law Amendment Act ' should, I think, be 
 taken as a guide in framing the measure, and the language, 
 order, and general provisions of that Act should be adhered 
 to, except where the contrary is herein indicated, or where a 
 variation is obviously necessary. There will be much prac- 
 tical convenience in thus assimilating the two statutes, which 
 provide for poor-law administration in the two countries. 
 A measure framed on the principles developed in this Report, 
 is I think necessary for Ireland. Unless the people are pro- 
 tected from the effects of destitution, no great or lasting im- 
 provement in their social condition can be expected. The 
 establishment of a poor-law is, I conceive, the first step neces- 
 sary to this end ; and followed as it will be by other ame- 
 liorations, to the introduction of which it is a necessary 
 preliminary, we may hope that it will ultimately prove the 
 means of securing for Ireland the full amount of those benefits 
 which ought to arise from her various local advantages, and 
 the natural fertility of her soil. 
 
 " The proposed measure may, I believe, be carried into effect, 
 either by means of a separate commission in Ireland, or by 
 the existing English Poor Law Commission. One of these 
 modes, I presume, must be adopted; and before deciding 
 which, it will be necessary to consider the advantages and 
 disadvantages of each. In doing this, it is important to bear 
 in mind, that it is the English Poor Law system which is now 
 proposed to be established ; and that the knowledge and 
 experience acquired in working that system, can be best 
 made available for Ireland, by employing individuals con- 
 versant with the English practice. If there should be a 
 separate commission for Ireland, it would be necessary that 
 the commissioners should be acquainted with the English 
 Poor Law, as now administered ; and this, I apprehend, 
 would exclude most of those Irishmen who might otherwise 
 be deemed qualified for the office. Such exclusion, however 
 necessary, would have an ungracious appearance, and might 
 excite angry comment But independent of this consideration, 
 if there were a separate commission, the law would be similar 
 in both countries, but the practice might become widely dif- 
 ferent, as was the case in different parts of England under 
 the old Poor Law administration. With two commissions, 
 
188 THE AUTHOR'S FIRST REPORT. CHAP. III. 
 
 -, there might possibly be no unity of principle, there would 
 certainly be no unity of action, and probably no identity of 
 result. Unless the existing English Poor Law Commission 
 should be unequal to the additional duty of introducing the 
 proposed law into Ireland, or unless it should appear that 
 the commissioners ought not to be intrusted with the per- 
 formance of this duty, the above reasons would seem to be 
 conclusive against a separate commission. 
 
 " It must be admitted that the official duties of the English Poor 
 Law Commissioners have been, and in fact still are, very 
 heavy. As a member of the commission, and one too not 
 unaccustomed to work, I may be permitted to say, that the 
 labour has been throughout unceasing and excessive, to an 
 extent that nothing but the hope of accomplishing a great 
 public good would have rendered bearable. The success of 
 the measure, however, in lessening the pressure on the rate- 
 payers, and in improving the condition of the labouring 
 classes, coupled with the support which has been afforded by 
 government, and by nearly all the intelligent portions of the 
 community, have given the commissioners encouragement and 
 confidence ; and when the process of forming unions shall be 
 completed, their labours will become lighter. Under these 
 circumstances, there would seem to be no insuperable dif- 
 ficulty in the way of the present Poor Law Commissioners 
 being made the instruments of establishing the new law in 
 Ireland ; and whatever may be the difficulty at first, it will 
 lessen as the amount of English business decreases, and the 
 organisation of the Irish machinery is perfected. If, then, 
 no other grounds of objection exist, and if it shall be deemed 
 desirable, I see no reason to doubt that the English Poor 
 Law Commissioners are competent to the additional duty of 
 introducing the proposed measure into Ireland." 
 
 Such was the substance of my first Report, which it 
 has been here endeavoured to condense as far as was con- 
 sistent with a full exposition of its import ; and this it 
 is necessary to give, in order to prepare the reader for 
 correctly appreciating the important measure which was 
 founded upon it. After undergoing much consideration, 
 the Keporfc was finally adopted by government on the 
 13th of December 1836, and on the following day I was 
 directed to have a bill prepared embodying all its recom- 
 mendations. This was accordingly done, and after being 
 
 
A.D. 1837. BILL PREPARED AND INTRODUCED. 189 
 
 scrutinised clause by clause in a committee of the Cabi- 
 net specially appointed for the purpose, and receiving 
 various emendations, the bill was introduced on the 
 13th February 1837. d The public and parliament had 
 been prepared for the measure by the Royal speech at 
 the commencement of the session, in which his Majesty 
 recommended for early consideration " the difficult and 
 pressing question of establishing some legal provision 
 for the poor in Ireland, guarded by prudent regulations, 
 and by such precautions against abuse as their experience 
 and knowledge of the subject enable them to suggest." 
 Lord John Russell e introduced the bill in a compre- 
 hensive and very able speech It appears, he Lord John 
 said, from the testimony both of theory and speech, 
 experience, that when a country is overrun by 1837 - 
 marauders and mendicants having no proper means of 
 subsistence, but preying on the industry and relying on 
 the charity of others, the introduction of a poor-law 
 serves several very important objects. In the first place 
 it acts as a measure of peace, enabling the country to 
 prohibit vagrancy which is so often connected with 
 outrage, by offering a substitute to those who rely on 
 vagrancy and outrage as a means of subsistence. When 
 an individual or a family are unable to obtain subsist- 
 ence, and are without the means of living from day to 
 day, it would be unjust to say they shall not go about 
 and endeavour to obtain from the charity of the affluent, 
 that which circumstances have denied to themselves. 
 But when you can say to such persons here are the 
 means of subsistence offered to you when you can say 
 this on the one hand, you may on the other hand say, 
 " you are not entitled to beg, you shall no longer infest 
 the country in a manner injurious to its peace, and liable 
 to imposition and outrage." Another way, he observed, 
 
 d The author's Report was presented to the house at the same time. 
 e Then secretary of state for the home department, and leader in the house 
 of commons. 
 
190 LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S SPEECH. CHAP. III. 
 
 in which a poor-law is beneficial is, that it is a great 
 promoter of social concord, by showing a disposition in 
 the state and in the community to attend to the welfare 
 of all classes. It is of use also by interesting the land- 
 owners and persons of property in the welfare of their 
 tenants and neighbours. A landowner who looks only 
 to receiving the rents of his estate, may be regardless 
 of the numbers in his neighbourhood who are in a state 
 of destitution, or who follow mendicancy and are ready 
 to commit crime ; but if he is compelled to furnish means 
 for the subsistence of persons so destitute, it then be- 
 comes his interest to see that those around him have the 
 means of living, and are not in actual want. He con- 
 sidered that these objects, and several others collateral 
 to them, were obtained in England by the Act of 
 Elizabeth. Almost the greatest benefit that could be 
 conferred on a country was, he observed, a high standard 
 of subsistence for the labouring classes, and such a benefit 
 was secured for England chiefly by the great Act of 
 Elizabeth. His lordship then alluded to the abuses 
 which subsequently arose, and to the correction of those 
 abuses then in progress under the provisions of the Poor 
 Law Amendment Act ; and said that " we ought to en- 
 deavour to obtain for Ireland all the good effects of the 
 English system, and to guard against the evils which 
 had arisen under it." 
 
 The Eeport of the Poor Inquiry Commissioners for 
 Ireland was next adverted to. They had, he said, re- 
 commended many measures of improvement for Ireland, 
 and suggested certain measures with regard to the indi- 
 gent. It was to the latter he wished to call the attention 
 of the house, as being the principal object of the present 
 bill. The other suggestions for the general improve- 
 ment of Ireland he proposed to leave for future con- 
 sideration. With regard to the question of immediate 
 relief for the destitute, the commissioners, he said, pro- 
 pose in the first place, that a large class of persons 
 
A.D. 1837. LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S SPEECH. 191 
 
 should be provided for at the public expense by means 
 of a national and local rate. They advise also that there 
 should be money afforded for emigration, and that depots 
 should be provided for persons .preparing to emigrate. 
 In considering that Keport, great doubts occurred to his 
 Majesty's ministers whether it was a good principle to 
 provide only for certain classes, and whether those 
 depots for emigration could be safely and advantageously 
 adopted. It appears, he observed, from every reflection 
 on the subject, that the real principle is to afford relief 
 to the destitute, and to the destitute only ; and it would 
 be quite as wrong to refuse relief to the able-bodied 
 person in that situation, as to afford relief to the cripple, 
 the widow, or a deaf and dumb person who had other 
 means of support. It is not then the peculiar circum- 
 stances which excite public or individual compassion that 
 we are to regard ; but if we have a poor-law at all, it 
 ought to be grounded on destitution, as affording a plain 
 guide to relief. Then with regard to the emigration 
 depots, that part of the commissioners' recommendations 
 could not be adopted without a great deal more of con- 
 sideration than the plan proposed by them appears to 
 have received. And, he added, " deeply impressed as 
 we have been with the responsibility that attaches to a 
 government which proposes a law upon this subject, it 
 occurred to us that the best method was to see whether 
 the law which, as amended, has been applied to England, 
 could be introduced with advantage in Ireland." For 
 this purpose Mr. Nicholls, one of the Poor Law Com- 
 missioners, was requested to go to Ireland, and ascertain 
 on the spot whether anything resembling the machinery 
 of the English Poor Law could be there applied ; and 
 the result of Mr. Nicholls's inquiry is, that supposing it 
 to be expedient to extend a poor-law to Ireland, there 
 was no insurmountable obstacle or objection to the esta- 
 blishment of a law in many respects resembling the 
 amended Poor Law in England. The reasons for that 
 
192 LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S SPEECH. CHAP. III. 
 
 opinion are stated in the Eeport which has been laid. on 
 the table, and on which the bill is founded. His lord- 
 ship then adverted to the chief portions of the Report, 
 and stated generally his own views on the subject. 
 
 There is no doubt, he said, that there have occurred 
 in Ireland many outrages consequent upon vagrancy 
 and destitution, and the people's being left without 
 remedy or relief ; and also that a large portion of the 
 people, especially those not having land, do practise 
 mendicancy for a great portion of the year. He had 
 made some inquiry with respect to the amount of the 
 relief thus afforded to mendicants, and the result is that 
 in most cases a shilling an acre is paid in course of the 
 year by farmers for the support of mendicants. In 
 some cases it has been 6d. an acre, in others 9c?., and in 
 others Is. ; but in one case it amounted to 2s. an acre. 
 This is a heavy tax, which cannot upon the whole 
 amount to less than between 700,000. and 800,000/., 
 perhaps a million a year. But this practice of mendi- 
 cancy, which raises so vast a sum, is not like a well- 
 constituted poor-law, which affords relief to the really 
 indigent that which seems to afford relief to the dis- 
 tressed, also promotes and keeps up imposture, and in 
 Ireland where mendicancy is so general, and relief so 
 freely given, the number of impostors must be enormous. 
 
 His lordship then proceeded to consider whether the 
 workhouse system was applicable to Ireland ; and after 
 noticing the objection made by the commissioners of 
 inquiry, and urged by others, that the workhouse would 
 not be safe that there would be too much violence 
 that there would be such a dislike of restraint that it 
 could not be enforced he came to the conclusion " that 
 there was no reason to apprehend anything of the sort." 
 In some of the houses of industry, he remarked, they 
 have carried the system of restraint further than in the 
 old English workhouses, and have established the sepa- 
 ration of sexes such as exists in the new English work- 
 
A.D. 1837. LORD JOHN RUSSELL'S SPEEC 
 
 houses ; and no regulation was proposed whTl 
 
 now exist, so " there need be no fear that violence would 
 
 be used, or that we could not protect the workhouses in 
 
 Ireland, as well and as securely as the workhouses in 
 
 England." 
 
 It had been much urged, he said, as a means of pre- 
 venting undue pressure on the workhouse, that a resi- 
 dence in the district of three years or some other definite 
 period should be a condition to any person's being re- 
 lieved therein ; but he declared that he was opposed to 
 establishing a law of settlement in Ireland, being quite 
 convinced that it is one of the greatest evils of the poor- 
 laws in England. It circumscribes the market for in- 
 dustry. It has led to immense litigation, and any person, 
 he observed, " who has attended the quarter sessions, 
 and there witnessed the disputes that arise between 
 parishes as to whether a person had been hired for a 
 year and a day, whether he had been ordered to go 
 home on the day before the expiration of the term so as* 
 to destroy the settlement, or whether he had served a 
 fulf year and a day, and various other similar questions 
 any person who has attended to this litigation and 
 those disputes, will not have any wish that I should 
 introduce the question of settlement into this bill." 
 
 When the whole of the workhouses are in operation, 
 and we are enabled to relieve all that are entitled to it, 
 we may then, he observed, prohibit vagrancy ; but until 
 we can do the one, it will not be just altogether to pro- 
 hibit the other. It is not therefore proposed to prevent 
 persons asking alms, if they can show they have applied 
 for and failed in obtaining relief. This is a necessary 
 step in the transition from one state to another. If 
 it succeeds, we shall hereafter be able to prohibit 
 vagrancy. 
 
 His lordship then went over tlie ground more fully 
 discussed in the Eeport, with, regard to the local ma- 
 chinery, the question of rating, the extent of the unions, 
 
 o 
 
194 WILLIAM IV. CHAP. III. 
 
 cost of the workhouses, emigration, and some other 
 minor points ; and then stated that the safest way of 
 introducing such a law as had been described, would be 
 to use the simple machinery which had been found so 
 advantageous in England. It was therefore proposed, 
 instead of forming a separate commission for Ireland, 
 that the Poor Law Commissioners for England should 
 have the power of intrusting to one or two of their body, 
 the power of acting in Ireland for carrying the law 
 into operation. This would he thought be better than 
 establishing a separate commission. A lengthened dis- 
 cussion then took place in reference to the proposed 
 measure, in which Mr. Shaw, Mr. O'Connell, Lord 
 Howick, Sir Eobert Peel, Lord Stanley, and other mem- 
 bers took part. Doubts were of course expressed, and 
 The wit read objections stated ; but on the whole the measure 
 me> was not received unfavourably, and the bill was 
 ordered to be read a first time. 
 
 On the 25th of April Lord John Eussell moved the 
 The bm read second reading of the bill, arid the debate thereon 
 and e !com- time was continued by adjournment to the 1st of 
 May, when the second reading was carried 
 without a division, although not without long and some- 
 what hostile discussion. On the 9th of May the house 
 went into committee on the bill, and the first fourteen 
 clauses were passed with only a few verbal alterations. 
 On the llth the committee got to the end of the 
 20th clause, after two unimportant divisions. It had 
 been announced that on the 12th of May the question 
 of settlement should be considered. Many members 
 were still of opinion that a settlement law was neces- 
 sary ; but after a long and temperate discussion of the 
 subject in all its bearings, the committee decided against 
 the introduction of settlement by 120 to 68. On the 
 26th of May the bill was again in committee, when the 
 clauses up to the 35th were agreed to. On the 2nd, 
 5th, 6th and 7th of June, the committee proceeded in- 
 
A.D. 1837. DEATH OF THE KING. 195 
 
 considering the clauses of the bill up to the 60th, 
 but the vagrancy clauses (53 to 58 inclusive) vagrancy 
 were postponed. These clauses provided for the postponed. 
 repression of mendicancy in the unions, as the work- 
 houses were successively completed and in operation ; 
 but there appeared to be a strong feeling in the house 
 that nothing should be done to prevent begging, until the 
 poor-law was everywhere fully established. The clauses 
 were therefore postponed for further consideration. 
 
 At this time the king's illness had so much increased 
 that his recovery became highly improbable, Deathof 
 and the business of parliament was conse- XTJ?, 1 ^ 
 quently suspended. William the Fourth died on 1 
 the 20th of June, and was succeeded by his niece the 
 Princess Victoria, our present gracious sovereign. On 
 the 17th of July parliament was prorogued by the 
 youthful queen, in a speech from the throne, which the 
 manner of its delivery and the occasion combined to 
 render mope than ordinarily interesting. The Irish Poor 
 Eelief bill, and the other measures then in progress, 
 were therefore put an end to, and would have to be 
 commenced anew on the re-assembling of parliament. 
 
 The interval thus interposed, afforded opportunity for 
 further consideration and inquiry, and it was determined 
 that this should be taken advantage of, and that the 
 author should again proceed to Ireland for the purpose of 
 visiting " those districts which a want of time prevented 
 his inspecting last year." I was also directed to bear 
 in mind the discussions which had taken place during 
 the progress of the bill in the late session, and generally 
 to report whether the circumstances of the districts about 
 to be visited, or any new matter that I might discover, 
 " shall have caused me in any way to alter or modify 
 the recommendations set forth in my last Report." 
 
 Accordingly at the end of August I proceeded to 
 Ireland, and continued in the active prosecution of my 
 
 2 
 
196 VICTORIA. CHAP. III. 
 
 inquiries until early in October. I moreover took ad- 
 vantage of the opportunity afforded me in going and 
 returning, to inquire very carefully at Bristol, Liver- 
 pool, Manchester, and Birmingham, into the habits of 
 the large number of Irish congregated in each of these 
 towns, and into the mode of dealing with such of them 
 as become destitute, or stand in need of relief, on which 
 points I obtained much valuable information, for the 
 most part confirmatory of my previous views. On the 
 3rd of November I reported the result of my further 
 inquiries ; f and I will now, as was done in the case of 
 the ' First Heport,' give an abstract of this ' Second 
 Report,' although much less fully, it not being now 
 necessary to go so much at length into what may be 
 considered matters of detail, as was requisite in the first 
 instance 
 
 Second fieport.Nov. 3, 1837. 
 
 " The investigations which I have just concluded, have not 
 afforded ground for any material change of opinion. I may 
 perhaps estimate the difficulty of establishing a poor-law in 
 Ireland somewhat higher than I did before, but of the necessity 
 for such a measure, I am if possible more fully convinced ; and 
 now, after a more extended inquiry, both in England and in 
 Ireland, I am enabled substantially to confirm the statements 
 in my Report of last year, to which I can add but little in 
 the way of recommendation, although it may be necessary to 
 notice certain objections which have been made to portions 
 of the Report, and to some of the provisions of the bill of last 
 session. No material change in the bill however appears to 
 be called for, and I presume government will again proceed 
 with it as then proposed. The measure is essentially based 
 upon the English workhouse system ; and as, notwithstanding 
 the facts and reasonings which were adduced in proof of its 
 applicability to Ireland, doubts were still expressed both in 
 and out of parliament upon this vital point, it seemed im- 
 portant to ascertain whether any grounds for such doubts 
 really existed. 
 
 f The Eeport was accompanied by appendices containing important evidence 
 on several of the points to which it referred; and in particular a communica- 
 tion from Mr. Stanley, on the extent of destitution among the poorer classes 
 in Ireland, in which he shows that the estimate of the inquiry commissioners 
 was founded on erroneous data. 
 
A.D. 1837. THE AUTHOR'S SECOND REPORT. 197 
 
 " With this view I visited Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, and 
 Birmingham, through which places nearly the whole of the 
 Irish migrants pass and repass, and in all of which there is a 
 large resident Irish population, and where therefore their 
 habits are well known. All the persons whom I consulted in 
 these places, were unanimous in declaring their belief, that 
 nothing but absolute inability to provide for himself would 
 induce an Irishman to enter the workhouse. But it may 
 be objected, that although disinclination to the workhouse is 
 characteristic of the Irish when in England, such would not 
 be the case if the system were established in Ireland. This 
 objection does not admit of an answer founded on direct 
 experience ; but judging from analogy, and making due 
 allowance for the circumstances of the two countries, there 
 seems no reason to doubt that the result would be the same 
 in one as in the other. The Irishman is by habit and tem- 
 perament more roving and migratory than the Englishman ; 
 but this is surely not calculated to reconcile him sooner 
 to the restraints of a workhouse. I made it my business to 
 inquire, and obtain information from all classes of persons, 
 and was everywhere assured that the Irish would not go into 
 the workhouse, if they could in any way obtain support out 
 of it. The result of my investigations in the several houses 
 of industry and mendicity establishments has been to the 
 same purport, all tending to show that if the workhouse 
 is properly regulated, it will be resorted to only by the actu- 
 ally destitute. It is not less important to state however, that 
 I found the same persons decidedly opposed to anything in 
 the shape of out-door relief. I have not met with an indi- 
 vidual conversant with the subject, either in England or in 
 Ireland, who did not declare against out door relief. ' Con- 
 fine relief to the workhouse,' was the general reply, ' and you 
 will be safe ; but if you once grant out-door relief, your 
 control is gone, and the whole Irish population will become a 
 mass of paupers/ 
 
 " It has been argued that the workhouses will eventually fail in 
 Ireland, as they have failed in France, at Munich, and at 
 Hamburgh ; but there is no analogy between the two cases. 
 The workhouse principle was never recognised in these esta- 
 blishments, which were all either poorhouses for the mainte- 
 nance of the aged and infirm, or manufactories for setting to 
 work vagrants, mendicants, and other idle persons. All these 
 institutions were established under the notion that profitable 
 labour could be always found, and that pauper labour could 
 be made profitable to the community, and their management 
 had reference to these objects. There were certain varia- 
 tions in practice to suit local circumstances, but this was the 
 
198 THE AUTHOR'S SECOND REPORT. CHAP. III. 
 
 view under which the institutions were founded, by Count 
 Rumford, at Munich, by the imperial government in France, 
 and by Baron de Voght, at Hamburgh. I need scarcely say 
 that this view is essentially different from the workhouse 
 system established in England, and as it is proposed to 
 establish it in Ireland. Experience has proved that pauper 
 labour can never be profitable. The workhouse is here used 
 merely as a medium of relief; and in order that the destitute 
 only may partake of it, the relief is administered in such a 
 way, and on such conditions, that none but the destitute will 
 accept it. This is the workhouse principle, as first established 
 in the two parishes of Bingham and Southwell eighteen or 
 twenty years ago, and as it has recently been established in 
 the unions formed under the Poor Law Amendment Act ; 
 and we have the experience of these parishes, and the more 
 varied, though less prolonged experience of the English 
 unions, in proof of the efficiency of the system, which has 
 worked hitherto without a single instance of failure. It is 
 not therefore upon mere hypothesis, that it is proposed to 
 proceed with regard to the Irish Poor Law, but upon the 
 surer ground of experience. 
 
 " It has been further argued, that there is always a tendency 
 to deterioration in such institutions, and that after a time 
 they fall away from the principle on which they were ori- 
 ginally established to which it may be answered, that no 
 such deterioration occurred in the two parishes above named 
 on the contrary, the workhouse principle continued to 
 operate in these parishes in all its simplicity and efficiency, 
 up to the day when they were each constituted the centre 
 of a union. May it not therefore be inferred, that if esta- 
 blished as a test of destitution, the workhouse will continue 
 to be effective, and the principle free from deterioration, 
 as in the two cases named above ? But the proposed mea- 
 sure does not depend on this inference alone a safeguard is 
 provided by the Poor Law Amendment Act in the appoint- 
 ment of commissioners, who under the control of the exe- 
 cutive, and the supervision of parliament, are to superin- 
 tend the working of the measure, and to apply from time 
 to time such correctives, whether local or general, as may be 
 necessary for securing its efficiency. Whatever doubts may 
 have arisen on either side of the Channel, as to the sufficiency 
 of the workhouse for relieving the destitute, as well as for 
 protecting the ratepayers, I therefore feel warranted in 
 expressing my conviction, not only that the workhouse 
 system is applicable to Ireland, btft that it is the only mode 
 in which relief can be safely administered to the destitute 
 classes in that country. 
 
A.D. 1837. THE AUTHOR'S SECOND REPORT. 199 
 
 " The question of the workhouse being thus disposed of, I shall 
 now proceed to notice such objections as have been made to 
 the bill generally, or to any of its provisions ; and in doing 
 this, I will endeavour to introduce such illustrations as seem 
 to be called for, and such further information as I have been 
 able to collect during my recent visitation, which extended 
 from Waterford to Belfast and Londonderry, and the counties 
 of Donegal, Fermanagh, Cavan, and Meath. 
 
 " The chief objections which have been made to the measure, 
 as it was introduced in the last session, are comprised under 
 the heads hereafter specified, to each of which a full ex- 
 planation is appended in the Report. From these several 
 explanations, so much is here given, as will, it is hoped, 
 serve to lessen, if not altogether to remove, the weight of the 
 objections which were raised during the discussion on the bill, 
 or which may have appeared in pamphlets or in any other 
 shape. 
 
 The measure is said not to be applicable to the North of Ireland. 
 " It has frequently been asserted, both in and out of parlia- 
 ment, that the condition of the people in the north of Ireland 
 differs so essentially from those in the south, that a poor-law 
 which might be applicable in one case, would be inapplicable 
 in the other ; and it was urged as a ground of objection to 
 the measure of last session, that it had been framed exclu- 
 sively with reference to the southern and western districts. 
 This objection seems to have been made mainly on the 
 ground, that no specific information had been obtained as to 
 the north of Ireland ; whereas, in fact, a large mass of infor- 
 mation had been collected by the commissioners of Irish Poor 
 Inquiry, with respect to the north, as well as the other parts 
 of the country ; and this information, coupled with what I 
 had obtained from other sources, and supported by my own 
 observation in those of the northern counties which I had 
 visited, appeared to be sufficient, without further examination 
 of the northern districts. An opportunity for such examina- 
 tion having however been afforded by the postponement of 
 the bill, I have now visited most of the northern counties, 
 and carefully examined the condition and habits of the people, 
 with special reference to the contemplated measure ; and I 
 can with entire confidence state, in my opinion, it is as well 
 adapted to the circumstances existing in the north, as to 
 those which prevail in the south. The habits of the people 
 are there in some degree fitted for its reception. The neces- 
 sity of relieving the destitute is there admitted, and in most 
 of the northern towns of any note, there is now a kind of 
 voluntary poor-law established. In Monaghan, in Armagh, 
 
200 THE AUTHOR'S SECOND REPORT. CHAP. III. 
 
 at Newry, Belfast, Coleraine, Londonderry, I found provi- 
 sion made for relieving destitution, and the principle virtually 
 recognised, that it is the duty of a civilised community to 
 protect its members from perishing by want. Indeed, if any 
 doubt existed as to establishing a poor-law in Ireland, an 
 inspection of the northern counties would, I think, remove 
 the doubt, and show the expediency of such a measure. The 
 extent of poverty is there less than in the south and west ; 
 but the amount of destitution is probably as great. There is 
 this important difference however in the south and west the 
 destitute depend for support upon the class immediately above 
 them, the small cottiers and cultivators ; but in the north, the 
 sympathy existing between the different ranks of society be- 
 tween the opulent and the needy has led to the making of 
 some provision for the relief of the latter class. If the charge 
 of this provision was fairly spread over the whole community 
 if the relief afforded was sufficient, and permanent, and equally 
 distributed, it would be equivalent to a poor-law ; but the 
 charge is unequal, the provision uncertain, and the relief 
 partial and inefficient. To apply the proposed measure to 
 the north of Ireland, will therefore be little more than carry- 
 ing out, in an equal and effective manner, that which has been 
 long but unequally and ineffectually attempted by the com- 
 munities themselves. 
 
 " In speaking of the north of Ireland, I ought to except the 
 county of Donegal, the inhabitants of which differ materially 
 from those of the other northern counties, and approximate 
 to those of the west and south. Small holdings, and minute 
 subdivisions of land, prevail in Donegal to a greater extent 
 than I have found in any other part of Ireland ; and the con- 
 sequent growth of population there presses so hard upon the 
 productive powers of the soil, as to depress the condition of 
 the people to nearly the lowest point in the social scale ex- 
 posing them, under the not unfrequent occurrence of an un- 
 favourable season, or a failure of the potato-crop, to the 
 greatest privations. This has unhappily been the case during 
 the last four years, in each of which, and especially in the 
 last, there has been a failure of the crops in Donegal. In 
 May, June, and July last, nearly the whole of the popula- 
 tion along the northern and western coasts of the county, 
 were reduced to a state bordering on starvation ; and had 
 not government sent a supply of meal and medical aid, 
 numbers of the people would have fallen victims to famine 
 and disease. The surface of Donegal is generally covered 
 with bog, susceptible of profitable cultivation wherever lime 
 or sea-sand or sea-weed is obtainable, and the people have 
 
A.D. 1837. THE AUTHOR'S SECOND REPORT. 201 
 
 in consequence congregated wherever these elements of fer- 
 tility abound along the coasts, and on the shores of the 
 numerous bays and inlets opening upon the Atlantic, along 
 the banks of the rivers, and up the narrow valleys and ravines 
 with which the country is intersected everywhere, in short, 
 where the soil is most easily reclaimed by individual exertion. 
 But wherever combined effort, or an outlay of capital is neces- 
 sary for draining, fencing, and reclaiming there nothing 
 has been done, and the surface is permitted to lie waste and 
 unproductive. The process of reclamation in such circum- 
 stances is above the limited means of the people, each one of 
 whom just manages to cultivate land enough to raise potatoes 
 for his family a patch of oats to supply them, mostly I fear, 
 with whisky and then, as to rent (for they all pay rent), 
 they rely for raising that upon a few cattle or sheep running 
 wild upon the mountains. 
 
 " Nothing can exceed the miserable appearance of the cottages in 
 Donegal, or the desolate aspect of a cluster of these hovels, 
 always teeming with a crowded population. Yet if you enter 
 their cabins, and converse with them frankly and kindly, you 
 will find the people intelligent and communicative, quick to 
 comprehend, and ready to impart what they know. They 
 admitted that they were too numerous, ' too thick upon the 
 land,' and that, as one of them declared, ' they were eating 
 each other's heads off,' but what could they do ? There 
 was no employment for the young, nor relief for the aged, 
 nor means nor opportunity for removing their surplus num- 
 bers to some more eligible spot. They could only therefore 
 live on, 'hoping,' as they said, 'that times might mend, and 
 that their landlords would sooner or later do something for 
 them.' To improve the condition of such a people would 
 increase the productive powers of the country, a point well 
 deserving the attention of the great landowners, with whom 
 it mainly rests. But no material or lasting improvement can 
 be effected, so long as the present subdivision of land con- 
 tinues. This practice, wherever it prevails, forces the popu- 
 lation down to the lowest level of subsistence to that point 
 where subdivision is arrested by the dread, or by the actual 
 occurrence of want ; and it is alike the duty and the interest 
 of the landowner, so to exercise the right of property as to 
 guard his tenantry from such depression. In the case of 
 Donegal, a two-fold remedy seems to be necessary, that is, 
 emigration, and an extension of cultivation. There is abun- 
 dant room for the latter, and if undertaken with spirit and 
 intelligence, it will not only ensure an ample return on the 
 capital expended, but also afford employment, and provide 
 
202 THE AUTHOR'S SECOND REPORT. CHAP. Til. 
 
 suitable locations for a part of the surplus population. If a 
 portion of this surplus were removed by emigration, and an- 
 other portion placed on new grounds, effectually reclaimed, 
 a consolidation of the present small holdings might be effected. 
 This would be a great point gained, where the average rental 
 of such holdings does not exceed 2/., and numbers are under 
 II. per annum. A poor-law would facilitate this change, so 
 necessary for the landowners, as well as for the great mass of 
 the people of Donegal. The principle of a poor-law is to 
 make the property of a district answerable for the relief of des- 
 titution within it ; and the application of this principle would 
 serve to connect the several orders of society, and teach them 
 to act together it would show them that they have recipro- 
 cal interests, reciprocal duties that each is necessary to the 
 other and that the cordial co-operation of all is necessary 
 to the well-being of the whole. I therefore augur much 
 good from the establishment of a poor-law, under circum- 
 stances similar to those now existing in Donegal ; and believe 
 that such a law, whilst it provides for the relief of the desti- 
 tute, will be a safeguard to property, and facilitate the intro- 
 duction of other ameliorations. 
 
 There ought to be a law of Settlement. " There is no part of the 
 subject to which I have given more attention than to the 
 question of settlement. Of the evils arising from settlement 
 in England, there can be no doubt, and the grounds on which 
 it was proposed to establish a poor-law in Ireland without 
 settlement, are explained in my former Report. But it appears 
 that many persons still consider some law of settlement neces- 
 sary for securing local co-operation based upon local interests, 
 for the protection of particular unions from undue pressure, 
 and for guarding the towns on the eastern coast from being 
 burdened with the destitute who may flock thither, or be sent 
 thither from England or Scotland, or with the families of the 
 large body of migrants who proceed to Great Britain in the 
 harvest season and return at its conclusion. If there were 
 danger from all or any of these sources, it might be right to 
 make provision against it in the bill ; but I am satisfied that, 
 in carrying out the measure as now proposed, none of these 
 inconveniences would arise, beyond what the commissioners 
 could meet by special regulations, without recurring to a 
 settlement law. There is this primary objection to settle- 
 ment, that it impedes the free distribution of labour, and in- 
 terferes with the fair and open competition which is alike 
 necessary for protecting the employer and the employed, and 
 by which an equalisation of supply and demand in the labour- 
 market can alone be maintained. Its direct tendency is to 
 
A.D. 1837. THE AUTHOR'S SECOND REPORT. 203 
 
 depress the social condition and character of the people ; for 
 by narrowing the field of labour, and binding individuals to a 
 particular locality, not perhaps favourable to the development 
 or most profitable employment of their faculties, improvement 
 is checked, independence is destroyed, and the working 
 classes, without resource or elasticity of spirit, are led to 
 depend upon their place of settlement in every contingency, 
 instead of upon themselves. If therefore the bill as at pre- 
 sent proposed, by requiring the rate to be levied upon the 
 union for relief of the actually destitute within it is sufficient, 
 as I believe it to be, for securing attention to the business 
 of the union, there can be no necessity to establish a law of 
 settlement for such purpose ; and nothing short of absolute 
 necessity in that or some other respect, could justify the in- 
 troduction of a law, the direct tendency of which would be 
 in other respects so injurious. 
 
 Out-door Relief should have been provided for. " Much has been 
 said as to the necessity of providing out-door relief in Ire- 
 land ; but most of the arguments in favour of an extension 
 of relief beyond the workhouse appear to be founded, either 
 upon a misapprehension of the objects of a poor-law, or upon 
 an exaggerated estimate of the number of destitute persons 
 for whom relief would be required. The object of a poor- 
 law is to relieve the destitute that is, to relieve those indivi- 
 duals who from sickness, accident, mental or bodily infirmity, 
 failure of employment, or other cause, may be unable to 
 obtain the necessaries of life by their own exertions. Under 
 such circumstances, the destitute individual, if not relieved, 
 might be driven to beg or to steal ; and a poor-law, by pro- 
 viding for the relief of destitution, prevents the necessity or 
 the excuse for resorting to either. This is the legitimate 
 object of a poor-law, and to this its operations are limited in 
 the bill of last session. But if, disregarding this limitation, 
 it be attempted to provide relief for all who are needy, but 
 not destitute for all who are poor, and whose means of 
 living are inferior to what it may be desirable that they 
 should possess if property is to be taxed, not for the relief 
 of the destitute only, but for ensuring to every one such a 
 portion of the comforts and conveniences of life as are as- 
 sumed to be necessary the consequence of any such attempt 
 must be in Ireland, as it notoriously was in England, not 
 only to diminish the value of property, but also to emasculate 
 and demoralise the whole labouring population. 
 
 " The evidence collected by the Commissioners of Poor Law In- 
 quiry in England, establishes the conclusion that out-door 
 relief is inevitably open to abuse, and that its administration 
 
204 THE AUTHOR'S SECOND REPORT. CHAP. III. 
 
 entails consequences prejudicial to the labouring classes, and 
 to the whole community in short, that there is no security 
 for the prevention of abuse, nor any mode of ensuring a right 
 administration of relief, but by restricting it to the workhouse. 
 The facts and reasonings contained in the Reports on this 
 subject, have been confirmed by the experience of the present 
 Poor Law Commission ; and although out-door relief has not 
 yet been totally prohibited in any of the English unions, 
 there can be no doubt that the intention of the Poor Law 
 Amendment Act points eventually to the workhouse as the 
 sole medium of relief, and requires that it should be so 
 restricted as early as circumstances permitted. To establish 
 out-door relief in Ireland, would therefore be in direct con- 
 tradiction to English experience, and to the spirit of the 
 English law. It would introduce a practice in the one country, 
 under the prejudicial effects of which the other has long been 
 suffering, and from which it has not yet entirely recovered. 
 Some persons have recommended that out-door relief in Ire- 
 land, should be restricted to the aged, sick, and infirm ; but 
 even with this limitation, how is abuse to be prevented, and 
 how is the precise limit to be defined of the age, sickness, or 
 infirmity, entitling an individual to be relieved out of the 
 workhouse ? I believe it to be impossible so to define the 
 conditions as to prevent the occurrence of gross abuses, which 
 would not only be a source of demoralisation, but would 
 also serve to engender strifes jealousies and ill feeling in 
 every locality. After the best consideration which I have 
 been able to give the subject, in all its bearings, I still re- 
 tain the opinion that in Ireland relief should be restricted to 
 the workhouse, or in other words, that out-door relief in any 
 shape should be prohibited. 
 
 The mode of Rating is objected to. " The question of rating is 
 obviously open to much contrariety of opinion. The mode of 
 valuation, of assessment, of collection, and the proportions in 
 which the rate shall be paid, are all questions on which dif- 
 ferent opinions might possibly be formed by different persons ; 
 and accordingly the views expressed upon these points have 
 been various and conflicting. Some have contended that the 
 whole of the rate should be charged upon the owner, on the 
 ground that the tenant derives little profit, often no profit what- 
 ever from the occupation, and ought not therefore to be called 
 on to pay any part of the rate. Those taking this view, 
 appear to overlook the fact that the destitute classes in Ire- 
 land are now supported almost entirely by the occupiers, who 
 will be relieved from this charge when the proposed measure 
 shall have come into operation. To require the occupiers to 
 
A.D. 1837. THE AUTHOR'S SECOND REPORT. 205 
 
 pay half the rate, is not therefore to impose on them a new 
 charge, but a portion only of an old charge, to which they 
 had long heen accustomed. Moreover the occupiers have an 
 interest in the property rated not permanent indeed like 
 the owners, hut more immediate ; arid on this ground also 
 they are fairly chargeable with a portion of the rate. If the 
 owners paid the whole, the occupiers would of course not be 
 entitled to take part in the distribution of the funds, nor in 
 the management of the business of the union they would 
 have no interest in common with their landlords, and would 
 to a certain extent be arrayed against them ; for their interest 
 and their sympathies would probably lead them to increase 
 the amount of the burthen, rather than lessen it. Even if 
 there were a sufficient number of resident owners, it would be 
 inexpedient to place the whole control of the unions in their 
 hands, thus constituting them a separate class, and at the 
 same time lowering the position of the occupiers ; but in the 
 present state of Ireland, such a proposition seems especially 
 open to objection. The exemption in favour of occupiers of 
 5/. value and under, and the charging the owners of such 
 property with the entire rate, forms an exception to the above 
 reasoning, and will probably be disapproved by those whose 
 interests may appear to be affected by it. But every such 
 charge is eventually borne by the property, and in the long run 
 it is perhaps not very material whether the rate is paid by the 
 owner or by the tenant, it being in fact a portion of the rent. 
 This arrangement is proposed, partly as a matter of conveni- 
 ence, on account of the difficulty and expense of collecting a 
 rate from the vast number of small holdings of 57. value and 
 under which exist in Ireland, and partly also with the view 
 of relieving this description of occupiers, who are for the most 
 part in a state of poverty bordering on destitution, from a 
 portion of the burthen ; and it is gratifying to find that this 
 proposition has on the whole been favourably received. 
 
 The Unions as proposed are too large. " In almost every discus- 
 sion during the progress of the bill last session, the proposed 
 number and size of the unions were objected to. Yet the 
 discretion of the commissioners is unfettered in these respects. 
 They are left at liberty to form the unions, as may appear 
 best adapted to the circumstances in each case. The same 
 discretion was confided to the commissioners in England, and 
 it must be equally necessary that they should possess it in 
 Ireland. The objections to the intended size of the unions, 
 do not therefore apply to the bill, but to my first Report, in 
 which it is stated that, ' If the surface of Ireland be divided 
 into squares of twenty miles each, so that a workhouse placed 
 
206 THE AUTHOR'S SECOND REPORT. CHAP. III. 
 
 in the centre would be about ten miles from the extremities 
 in all directions, this would give about eighty workhouses for 
 the whole of Ireland.' Instead of eighty workhouses how- 
 ever, I assumed that a hundred might be required, and cal- 
 culated the probable expense accordingly. But this was mere 
 assumption, for it is obviously impossible to state what will 
 be the precise number of unions, until some progress has been 
 made in the work of formation. The commissioners are 
 bound to form the unions in the test manner, according to 
 the best of their judgment. Their credit as public func- 
 tionaries would be compromised by any failure in this respect ; 
 and it may be fairly presumed that they will use due vigilance 
 and impartiality, and avail themselves of all the experience 
 which England affords in this matter. 
 
 The suppression of Mendicancy oljected to. " Objections have 
 been made to the vagrancy clauses, and it has been contended 
 that if such provisions were necessary, they should be esta- 
 blished by a separate Act. Whether the suppression of men- 
 dicancy be provided for in the Poor Law Bill, or by a separate 
 bill, does not seem very material ; but it is important that 
 the provision should be made concurrently with the Poor 
 Law measure. To establish a poor-law, without at the same 
 time suppressing mendicancy, would be imperfect legislation, 
 especially with reference to the present condition of the Irish 
 people. It is true there are now vagrancy laws in Ireland, 
 which enact whipping, imprisonment, and transportation as 
 the punishments of mendicancy ; but these laws are inopera- 
 tive, partly from their severity, and partly from other causes. 
 Ireland wants a vagrancy law that shall operate in unison 
 with the Poor Law, for without such concurrent action, both 
 laws would be in a great measure ineffective. The suppres- 
 sion of mendicancy is necessary for the protection of the 
 peasantry themselves. No Irish cottier, however poor, closes 
 his door whilst partaking of his humble meal. The mendi- 
 cant has free access, and is never refused a share. There is 
 a superstitious dread of bringing down the beggar's curse, 
 and thus mendicancy is sustained in the midst of poverty, 
 perpetuating itself amongst its victims. Much of the feeling 
 out of which this state of things has arisen may, I think, be 
 traced to the absence of any provision for relieving the desti- 
 tute. A mendicant solicits charity on the plea of destitution. 
 His plea must be admitted, for it cannot be disproved ; and 
 to refuse relief, may occasion the death of a fellow-creature, 
 which would be a crime of great magnitude. Hence the 
 admission of the mendicant's claim, which is regarded in the 
 light of an obligation by the Irish peasantry. To make pro- 
 
A.D. 1837. THE AUTHOR'S SECOND REPORT. 207 
 
 vision for relieving mendicants at the public charge, without 
 at the same time preventing the practice of begging, would 
 leave the peasant exposed to much of the pressure which he 
 now sustains from this source ; for the mendicant class would 
 generally prefer the vagrant life to which they are accus- 
 tomed, to the order and restraint of a workhouse. To sup- 
 press mendicancy, is therefore necessary both as an adjunct 
 of the proposed Poor Law, and for the protection of the 
 labouring classes throughout Ireland. 
 
 Objections to cumulative voting, Sfc. " It might perhaps be suffi- 
 cient to say, in answer to the objections which were made to 
 cumulative voting, voting by proxy, and constituting magis- 
 trates cx-officio guardians, that the Irish bill follows in these 
 cases the example of the English Poor Law Amendment Act. 
 There are, however, weighty reasons in favour of each of 
 these provisions, some of which it may be useful to notice. 
 
 " With respect to cumulative votes, it may be observed, that the 
 raising and disbursing of a poor-rate involves nothing poli- 
 tical, but is to be regarded rather in the light of a mutual 
 assurance, in which the community joins for the purpose of 
 being protected against the effects of pauperism, each member 
 contributing in proportion to his means, and each having an 
 interest according to the amount of his contributions. If 
 therefore the amount contributed be the measure of each 
 ratepayer's interest, it ought in justice also, within certain 
 convenient limitations, to be the measure of his influence ; 
 and these limitations the bill provides, by fixing a scale 
 according to which every ratepayer is entitled to vote. As 
 regards the voting by proxy, such a power is necessary for 
 enabling the owner to protect his property, his interest in 
 which is permanent, although he may not always be present 
 to represent it by his personal vote ; and the bill therefore 
 provides for his doing so by proxy. The occupier is always 
 present, and may vote in person ; not so the owner, whose 
 interest would be unprotected without this power of voting by 
 proxy. That the owner's interest ought to be represented 
 will not be denied. The rate is levied upon property, and 
 thus in fact becomes a portion of the rent, which would be 
 increased by the amount of the rate, if this were not levied 
 for Poor Law purposes ; so that in reality it is the landlord, 
 the permanent owner of the property, who finally bears the 
 burthen of the rate, and not the tenant or temporary occupier. 
 It seems consonant with justice therefore, that every facility 
 should be afforded to the owner for protecting his interest by 
 his vote. 
 
208 THE AUTHOR'S SECOND REPORT. CHAP. III. 
 
 " There are many reasons why magistrates should form a portion 
 of every board of guardians. The elected guardians will for 
 the most part consist of occupiers, or renters, not the owners 
 of property ; and their interest will be temporary, whilst the 
 interest of the owner is permanent. Some union of these two 
 interests seems necessary towards the complete organization 
 of a board of guardians ; and as the magistrates collectively 
 may be regarded as the chief landed proprietors of the 
 country, the bill proposes to effect this union by creating them 
 ex-qfficio members of the board. The elected guardians 
 are moreover subject to be changed every year, and their 
 proceedings might be changeable, and perhaps contradictory, 
 and confusion might arise through the opposite views of suc- 
 cessive boards. The ex-offido guardians will serve as a cor- 
 rective in this respect Their position as magistrates, their 
 information and general character, and their large stake as 
 owners of property, will necessarily give them much weight ; 
 whilst the proposed limitation of their number to one-third of 
 the elected guardians, will prevent their having an undue 
 preponderance. The elected and the ex officio members may 
 be expected each to improve the other, and important social 
 benefits may arise from their frequent mingling, and from the 
 necessity for mutual concession and forbearance which such 
 mingling cannot fail to teach. Each individual member will 
 feel that his influence depends upon the opinion which his 
 colleagues entertain of him, or upon the respect or regard 
 which they feel towards him ; and hence will arise an inter- 
 change of good offices, and a cultivation of mutual good- 
 will, beginning with the board of guardians, and extending 
 throughout the union, and eventually it may be hoped 
 throughout the country ; and thus the union system may be- 
 come the means of healing dissensions, and reconciling jarring 
 interests in Ireland. On these grounds, I consider that the 
 establishment of cx-(fficio guardians, voting by proxy, and 
 cumulative voting, as provided in the bill, should be ad- 
 hered to. 
 
 " Many measures, local as well as general, have been suggested, 
 either for removing restrictions to the application of capital, 
 or for giving direct encouragement to its application in Ire- 
 land ; and some of these measures, I understand government 
 intend taking into early consideration. In the survey which 
 I have been able to take of the state of Ireland, and of the 
 condition of the Irish people, it has appeared to me that 
 quiet, and the absence of excitement, is the object chiefly to 
 be desired. With repose would come security, and the 
 investment of capital, and thence would arise employment, 
 
A.D. 1837. THE AUTHOR'S SECOND REPORT. 209 
 
 and the development of the productive powers of the country. 
 The proposed Poor Law will not of itself accomplish these 
 objects, but it will be found a valuable accessory ; and with 
 the progress of education, and that orderly submission to 
 lawful authority which is at once the cause and the conse- 
 quence of peace and prosperity, all those other objects will, 
 we may hope, be eventually secured for Ireland." g 
 
 My Eeport was considered by the Cabinet, 11 and the 
 whole subject was again very fully discussed, and 
 several minor alterations in the bill were decided upon. 
 It was also determined to bring it forward as the first 
 measure of the session. The subject continued to occupy 
 
 g The following estimate was prepared during the progress of the bill, and 
 was printed by order of the house of lords. 
 
 Assuming that there will be a hundred unions, each having a workhouse 
 capable of accommodating 800 persons, the paid officers, with their respective 
 salaries in each union, may be stated as follows : 
 
 Clerk of the union from 60 to 80 
 
 Master and mistress of the workhouse . . 60 PO 
 
 Chaplains 50,, 80 
 
 Medical officers and medicines .. .. 100 150 
 
 Auditor 20 30 
 
 Returning officer 10 20 
 
 Collector 50 70 
 
 Schoolmaster and schoolmistress . . . . 50 80 
 
 Porter and assistant-porter 20 30 
 
 Other assistants in the workhouse and union, 
 
 say 30 30 
 
 450 to 650 
 
 For the hundred unions, this would give a total expenditure in salaries of 
 from 45,000?. to 65,000?. per annum ; or say 55,000?. on an average. 
 
 In addition to the above, it may be further assumed, that on an average 
 throughout the year the workhouses will be three parts full, and that the 
 total cost of maintenance clothing bedding wear and tear &c., will amount 
 to Is. Gd. per head per week, which is equal to 31. 18s., or say 42. per head per 
 annum ; this will give an expenditure of 240,0002. per annum for mainte- 
 nance &c., in the hundred unions : which added to the 55,000?. for salaries, 
 will make a total charge of 295,000?. annually for the relief of the destitute, 
 under the provisions of the bill. 
 
 The money for building the workhouses is to be advanced by government, 
 free of interest for ten years ; and is to be repaid by annual instalments of five 
 per cent. The cost of the workhouses has been stated at 700,000?., but 
 assuming it to amount to 1,000,000?., this would impose an additional charge 
 of 50,000?. annually for the first twenty years (exclusive of the interest after 
 the first ten years on the then residue of the principal), which, added to the 
 above, makes an aggregate charge of 345,000?. per annum. G. N. 
 
 h ft was laid on the table of both houses on the assembling of parliament. 
 
The bill re- 
 introduced, 
 
 
 210 VICTOKIA. CHAP. III. 
 
 a good deal of public attention, as well in England as 
 in Ireland. It was discussed in the papers, and pamph- 
 lets were written upon it. In this instance however, 
 as in most others, the opponents were the most active, 
 and much ingenuity was displayed in animadverting on 
 the asserted incongruities of the proposed Irish Poor 
 Law. The inquiry commissioners also had their advo- 
 cates, and in Ireland especially their recommendations 
 were, as might be expected, more popular than the 
 government bill. However, on the whole, the mea- 
 sure may be said to have held its ground, and to be 
 regarded as a matter of first-rate importance. 
 
 Parliament assembled on the 10th of November, and 
 on * ne 1^ of December Lord John Russell re- 
 introduced the bill, in an argumentative speech 
 of considerable length. After going through 
 and commenting on the several recommendations of the 
 inquiry commissioners, 1 and noticing the objections to 
 which they were all more or less open, he explained by 
 way of contrast the principle on which the present bill 
 was founded, much in the same manner that he had 
 done on the first introduction of the measure. The 
 statement was generally well received, although there 
 were some marked exceptions in this respect, and the 
 bill was read a first time without a division. It was in 
 like manner read a second time on the 5th of February 
 1838. But on the motion for going into committee on 
 the 9th, Mr. O'Oonnell strongly opposed the bill, and 
 moved that it be committed that day six months. The 
 amendment was however negatived by 277 to 25, a 
 majority which made the passing of the measure in 
 some form pretty certain. On the 23rd of February 
 the question of settlement was again very fully dis- 
 cussed, and its introduction decided against by 103 to 
 31, the latter number comprising all who could be 
 
 Ante, pp. 137 to 146. 
 
A.D. 1838. PROGRESS OF BILL. 211 
 
 brought to vote for a settlement law of any kind. The 
 vagrancy clauses were now also withdrawn from the 
 bill, on the understanding that there would hereafter 
 be a separate measure for the suppression of medicancy. 
 The bill continued to be considered in successive com- 
 mittees until the 23rd of March, when all the clauses 
 having been gone through and settled, it was ordered 
 to be reported, which was done on the 9th 
 of April. On the 30th of April the bill was 
 read a third time and passed by the commons, 
 and on the day following was introduced and 
 read a first time in the lords. 
 
 It had been thought desirable that during the Easter 
 vacation I should visit Holland and Belgium, with the 
 view of ascertaining whether there was anything in the 
 institutions of those countries, or in the management of 
 their poor, that could be made available in the present 
 measure of Irish Poor Law ; and it was arranged that 
 Dr. Kay, one of our assistant-commissioners should 
 accompany me. The time at our disposal was short, 
 and our investigations were necessarily hurried ; but 
 the letters with which we were furnished procured for 
 us ready access everywhere, and enabled us to obtain 
 information which would not otherwise have been ac- 
 cessible. On our return, I reported to government 
 the result of our inquiries. k The first portion of the 
 Report was chiefly furnished by my companion, and 
 had reference to the subject of education, in which Dr. 
 Kay m felt a deep interest, and in the promotion of 
 which he afterwards took a distinguished part. The 
 latter portions of the Report applied more immediately 
 to our present subject, and from these portions I will 
 now abstract so much as seemed calculated to be useful 
 with regard to the question of Irish Poor Law, or to 
 bear in any way upon the state of Ireland 
 
 k The Report was printed, and laid before parliament. 
 m Now Sir James Kay Shuttleworth, Bart. 
 
 p 2 
 
212 THE AUTHOR'S THIRD REPORT. CHAP. III. 
 
 Third Report. May 5, 1838. 
 
 " The institutions for the relief of indigence are numerous in Hol- 
 land, and consist of hospices for the aged and infirm, orphan- 
 houses, workhouses of towns, depots de mendicite, or district 
 workhouses, the poor colonies, and private charitable institu- 
 tions. The funds for the support of these establishments are 
 to a great extent derived from endowments and voluntary 
 contributions, the direct tax not being more than about 
 1,800,000 guilders, or 150,0007. per annum. Among the 
 classes having ability to labour, a state of even temporary 
 dependence is considered disgraceful, and great exertions are 
 made by the labouring population to avoid it. But no sense 
 of degradation attaches to the orphan establishments, which 
 are calculated to invite rather than to discourage dependence. 
 The depots de mendicite, or provincial workhouses bear so 
 close a resemblance to the old English workhouses and those 
 established under Gilbert's and the various local Acts, as to 
 warrant a belief that the English workhouses must have been 
 formed upon a Dutch model ; but however this may be, the 
 result has certainly been the same in both countries, the evil of 
 pauperism having been increased rather than diminished by these 
 institutions, in which the profitable application of pauper labour 
 has been sought for, rather than the repression of pauperism. 
 
 " The workhouse of Amsterdam is a vast building, capable of con- 
 taining upwards of 1,500 inmates. The imposing character 
 of its exterior, the elegance of its entrance-hall, and the deco- 
 rations of the rooms appropriated to public business, were in 
 marked contrast with the aspect of the several wards. The 
 inmates chiefly consisted of the lowest and least moral part 
 of the population of the great cities, who had sought refuge 
 in the workhouse because they had forfeited their claim to 
 regular employment, and the vigilance of the police did not 
 permit them to subsist by mendicancy. The sexes were 
 strictly separated at all times, but the children were in the 
 same apartment with the adults of each sex. The males and 
 females each occupied separate day-rooms, in which the dirt 
 and disorder were very offensive. In these rooms the inmates 
 ate their meals, without any attention to regularity or pro- 
 priety. Here also they worked in the looms, or at other 
 occupations. The first group of men to whom we advanced, 
 were seated at a table playing at cards ; we found another 
 party playing at draughts, and a third at hazard. Others 
 were idly sauntering up and down the room. The women's 
 day-room presented a scene of similar disorder. Both men 
 and boys were clothed in a coarse kind of sacking. The 
 chief article of their diet is rye-bread, almost black, and not 
 
A.D. 1838. THE AUTHOK'S THIRD REPORT. ] 213 
 
 over-abundant, with an indefinite quantity of boiled butter- 
 milk ; but they are permitted to work at certain rates of 
 wages, and to spend a portion of their earnings at a canteen 
 in the house, where coffee tobacco gin c. may be obtained. 
 On application for admission, the paupers undergo a strict 
 examination as to their ability to maintain themselves ; and 
 while inmates they are not permitted to go abroad, unless 
 they give positive hopes that on re-entering society, they will 
 render themselves worthy of their liberty, by diligently endea- 
 vouring to gain their own livelihood by honest means.' 
 
 " The establishment at La Cambre, near Brussels, was superior in 
 its internal arrangements to the workhouse at Amsterdam, 
 particularly in the separate classification of the aged, the 
 children, and the adults, and also in the good arrangement 
 and cleanliness of the sleeping-rooms. The sexes are strictly 
 separated, as is invariably the case in all the other Dutch and 
 Belgian institutions. By the penal code, a mendicant once 
 condemned to a depot de mendicite for begging, may be kept 
 there during the remainder of his life ; but in practice, he is 
 allowed to leave the establishment whenever the commission 
 of superintendence are satisfied that he is disposed to labour 
 for his subsistence, without resorting to mendicancy. 
 
 66 There are three great workhouses for the whole of Holland, 
 which are situated, one at Amsterdam, another at Middle- 
 burgh, and a third in the commonalty Nieuve Pekel A, in 
 the province of Groningen. Belgium has five great work- 
 houses, situated respectively at La Cambre, near Brussels, 
 for the province of Brabant ; at Bruges, for the two Flanders ; 
 at Hoogstraeten, for the province of Antwerp ; at Mons, for 
 Hainault, Namur, and Luxembourg ; and at Reickheim, for 
 Liege and Limburgh. Under their present regulations, these 
 provincial workhouses, or depots de mendicite, both in Hol- 
 land and Belgium, are I think, judging from what we could 
 learn and what we saw, very defective institutions; and 
 hence seems to have arisen the necessity for resorting to some 
 stricter measures, which ended in the establishment of the 
 poor colonies. In England, the defects of the old work- 
 houses were remedied by the introduction of regulations cal- 
 culated to render them efficient tests, by the aid of which we 
 have succeeded in establishing the distinction between poverty 
 and destitution : for the latter we have provided relief, but 
 we have left the former to its own natural resources. In 
 Holland and Belgium no such distinction has been made, or 
 test established. Their workhouses remain as they were 
 originally formed nurseries for indolence, and stimulants to 
 pauperism. But in order to correct this evil, the Dutch have 
 
2 14 THE AUTHOK'S THIRD REPORT. CHAP. III. 
 
 had recourse to the establishment of penal colonies, to which 
 all persons found begging (or committing vagabondage as it 
 is termed) are sent, if able to work, and compelled to labour 
 for their subsistence, under strict discipline and low diet. 
 Had the workhouses been made efficient, there would have 
 been no occasion for these establishments; but the work- 
 houses not being efficient, recourse has been had to the penal 
 colonies, where the test of strict discipline, hard labour, and 
 scanty diet, is so applied as to be held in the greatest dread 
 by the vagrant classes. All beggars are apprehended by the 
 police ; if able to work, they are sent to the penal colonies ; if 
 aged or infirm, or unable to perform out-door work, they are 
 sent to the workhouses; and although the discipline of the 
 workhouses is defective, and the management in many respects 
 faulty, yet with the aid of the- penal colonies they secure the 
 repression of mendicancy. 
 
 " In the workhouses of the penal colonies to which the able-bodied 
 mendicants are sent, one ward is used in common as a dor- 
 mitory, refectory, and workshop. The inmates sleep in 
 hammocks, and are very coarsely clad. They labour in the 
 fields, or in making bricks, or at manufactures in the house, 
 under the superintendence of an inspector. Each colonist is 
 furnished with a book, in which is entered the work executed 
 daily, the amount of food and clothes furnished, his share of 
 the general expenses of the establishment, and whatever he 
 has received in the paper-money of the colony. Guards on 
 horseback to patrol the boundary of the colony, rewards 
 given for bringing back any colonist who has attempted to 
 escape, and an uniform dress, are the means adopted to pre- 
 vent desertion from the colony. Mendicants when arrested, 
 may choose whether they will be brought before the tribunals 
 as vagabonds, or be sent to the coercive colony, where they 
 must remain at least one year. These rigorous measures for 
 the suppression of mendicancy, have been adopted in the 
 absence of any acknowledgment of a right to relief, and not- 
 withstanding that a large portion of the relief actually admi- 
 nistered arises from endowments and voluntary contributions. 
 This forms an important feature in the Dutch and Belgian 
 system ; and if, as I believe, the rigour of this part of their 
 institutions has been caused by the imperfect organization of 
 the others, the true remedy would have been, not in the esta- 
 blishment of penal colonies, but in such an improvement of 
 those other institutions as would have rendered them efficient 
 for the repression of mendicancy, as well as for the adminis- 
 tration of relief. On comparing the modes of relief existing 
 in Holland and Belgium, with the system of relief it is pro- 
 
A.D. 1838. THE AUTHOR'S THIRD REPORT. 215 
 
 posed to establish in Ireland, the latter will I think be found 
 to be much more simple and complete, and consequently to 
 promise greater efficiency. No right to relief exists in Hol- 
 land or Belgium, yet mendicancy is suppressed in both those 
 countries. It is proposed not to give a right to relief in Ire- 
 land, and it is intended to suppress mendicancy, in this 
 respect therefore the circumstances are similar. But in Ire- 
 land, it is proposed to divide the whole country into districts 
 of convenient extent, with a workhouse to each, so that every 
 destitute and infirm person will be within easy reach of ade- 
 quate relief ; and this arrangement is obviously preferable to 
 the various, and in some respects conflicting modes of relief 
 which exist in Holland and Belgium, and will be more effec- 
 tive in its operation. The example of Holland and Belgium 
 may therefore be cited, in addition to that of England, in 
 support of the proposed Irish Poor Law. 
 
 " Another matter of much interest, is the different condition of the 
 smaller class of cultivators in the two countries. Small farms 
 of from five to ten acres abound in many parts of Belgium, 
 closely resembling the small holdings in Ireland ; but the 
 Irish cultivator is without the comforts and conveniences of 
 civilised life, whilst the Belgian peasant-farmer enjoys a large 
 portion of both. The houses of the small cultivators in Bel- 
 gium are generally substantial, with a sleeping-room in the 
 attic, and closets for beds connected with the lower apartment, 
 a dairy, a store for the grain, an oven, a cattle-stall, piggery, 
 and poultry-loft. There is generally decent furniture and 
 sufficient bedding, and although the scrupulous cleanliness of 
 the Dutch may not be everywhere observable, an air of com- 
 fort and propriety pervades the whole establishment In the 
 cowhouse the dung and urine are preserved in the tank ; the 
 ditches are scoured, the dry leaves potato -tops and offal of 
 every kind are collected for manure, and heaps of compost 
 are in course of preparation. The premises are kept in com- 
 pact order, and a careful attention to economy is everywhere 
 apparent. The family are decently clad, none are ragged or 
 slovenly, although their dress may be of the coarsest material 
 The men universally wear the bleuse, and wooden shoes are 
 in common use by both sexes. Their diet consists chiefly of 
 rye-bread milk and potatoes. The contrast of what is here 
 described, with the state of the same class of persons in Ire- 
 land, is very marked. Yet the productive powers of, the soil 
 in Belgium are certainly inferior to the general soil of Ire- 
 land, and the climate does not appear to be superior. To 
 the soil and the climate therefore, the Belgian does not owe 
 his superiority in comfort and position over the Irish cultivator. 
 
216 THE AUTHOE'S THIKD REPOET. CHAP. III. 
 
 The difference is rather owing to the greater industry economy 
 and forethought of the people. 
 
 " A small occupier, whose farm we examined near Ghent, paid 
 225 francs per annum for about two bonniers, or six acres of 
 land, with a comfortable house, stabling, and other offices 
 attached, all very good of their kind ; this makes the rent 
 (reckoning the franc at 10d.) equal to 9/. 7s. Qd. sterling per 
 annum ; and, if we allow 3/. 7s. $d. for the rent of the house, 
 stabling, and other offices, there will be 6/., or \l. per acre 
 for the land, which accords with the information we obtained 
 at other places. This farmer had a wife and five children, 
 and appeared to live in much comfort. He owed little or 
 nothing, he said, but he had no capital beyond that employed 
 on his farm. We questioned him respecting his resources in 
 case of sickness. He replied that if he were ill, and his ill- 
 ness was severe and of long duration, it would press heavily 
 upon him, because it would interrupt the whole farm- work ; 
 and in order to provide for his family and pay the doctor he 
 feared he should be obliged to sell part of his stock. If his 
 wife and family were long ill, and he retained his strength, 
 the doctor would give him credit, and he should be able to 
 pay him by degrees in a year or two. We suggested that 
 the Bureau de Bienfaisance, or charitable individuals, might 
 afford him aid in such a difficulty, but he replied cheerfully 
 that he must take care of himself If a sick club, or benefit 
 society, were established among these people, to enable them 
 by mutual assurance to provide for the casualty of sickness, 
 the chief source of suffering to their families would be obviated, 
 and there would be little left to wish for or amend in their 
 social condition. The Belgian peasant farmer here described, 
 is not very different from the small Irish occupier as respects 
 his position in society, but how much better is his condition as 
 regards the comforts and conveniences of life. The cause of 
 this difference I believe to be, the more skilful system of cul- 
 ture pursued by the six-acre farmers of Belgium, the rigid 
 economy which characterises them as a class, and the perse- 
 vering industry and forethought with which they adjust their 
 limited resources to their wants ; and one of the first steps to 
 the improvement of this important class in Ireland should be, 
 to endeavour to assimilate their farming operations and 
 domestic management, to that of the same class in Belgium. 
 
 '* It is not necessary to discuss the comparative advantages of small 
 and large farms, it being notorious that the former abound in 
 all parts of Ireland, in some districts almost to the exclusion 
 of the other ; and that any attempt at a rapid consolidation of 
 these small holdings would occasion great misery and suf- 
 
A.D. 1838. THE AUTHOR'S THIRD REPORT. 217 
 
 fering. Changes of this nature cannot be successful, without 
 special regard to local circumstances; and the obstructions 
 which arise from fixed habits and old social arrangements, 
 generally render any great organic change impracticable, ex- 
 cepting in the lapse of years. An improved management of 
 the small farms in Ireland, would however afford the means 
 of increasing the comfort, and ameliorating the condition of 
 the cottier tenantry, and at the same time facilitate the pro- 
 gress of other changes conducive to their general well-being. 
 It would, in fact, be beginning at the lowest point of the 
 sca l e improved management would bring increase of capital 
 and improved habits, and thence would arise an enlargement 
 of occupancies, which the vast extent of now waste but 
 reclaimable land in Ireland would greatly facilitate. The 
 establishment of a poor-law, by removing the burthen of 
 supporting mendicancy which now presses almost exclusively 
 on the class of small cultivators, will afford them relief and 
 encouragement, and facilitate the improvement of their con- 
 dition : but the Poor Law alone will not effect the necessary 
 ameliorations, which can only be accomplished by a combina- 
 tion of efforts, of which the establishment of a poor-law is 
 one, possibly it is the chief; for a poor-law will unite the 
 interests of the other classes with the well-being of the poorest, 
 and thus secure for the least intelligent, and therefore the 
 most dependent portion of the community, the sympathies and 
 the assistance of the most competent and intelligent of the 
 middle and higher classes. The Poor Law will in this way, 
 I believe, become the means of combining the now discordant 
 elements of society in Ireland, for the promotion of the common 
 interest ; but the first impulse in the career of amelioration 
 must be given by the landed proprietors, who should unite in 
 promoting improvements among their tenantry, as well as in 
 carrying out the provisions of the law." 
 
 The feeling in the house of lords with regard to the 
 bill, was decidedly more adverse than had been the 
 case in the house of commons. Many of the 
 Irish peers whose properties were deeply en- 
 cumbered, were alarmed at the threatened im- 
 position of a poor-rate, which they feared would 
 swallow up a large portion of their incomes. These 
 fears were appealed to, and the danger declaimed against 
 and magnified, both by the economical opponents of 
 any poor-law whatever, and by the opponents of the 
 
218 VICTORIA. CHAP. III. 
 
 
 
 present measure. It was evident therefore from the 
 first that the bill would encounter a strenuous opposi- 
 tion in the lords, and that its passing was far from 
 certain. On the 21st of May the bill was read 
 
 rJill read a v 
 
 !TSe iw a secon( i time, after a long and stormy debate, 
 which lasted nine hours. Lord Melbourne 
 moved the second reading in a judicious and temperate 
 speech, touching skilfully on most of the leading points, 
 and deprecating the intervention of party feeling. The 
 bill was, he said, founded on the amended system of the 
 English Poor Law. It was in fact an adaptation of the 
 Act of 1834 to the circumstances of Ireland, with such 
 alterations as were required by the peculiar condition 
 of that country, and as the experience of its working 
 suggested. He thought the establishment of the mea- 
 sure would be the beginning of a system of order, and 
 that it would introduce order in a beneficial form. It 
 would among other things form the foundation of a 
 measure for the suppression of mendicancy ; and one 
 great advantage to which he looked as arising from it 
 was, that the struggle for land, and the violent means 
 the people took of enforcing what they conceived to be 
 their right with regard to it, would be much lessened, if 
 not extinguished. The writings of eminent political 
 economists had, he said, led him at one time to doubt 
 whether the evil effects attending a system of poor- 
 laws, did not more than counterbalance any advantage 
 to be derived from them ; but a full and careful con- 
 sideration of the subject had convinced him, that it was 
 most beneficial for the landlords to be made to take an 
 interest in the condition of the people on the land. 
 The principle on which a poor-law should be esta- 
 blished, was that of the general benefit of the country 
 we should relieve the destitute, but not do so in a way 
 to paralyze the feeling of energy and enterprise which 
 ought to be paramount in every man's bosom ; and for 
 this purpose he thought the workhouse system was the 
 
A.D. 1838. DEBATE IN THE LORDS. 219 
 
 one best adapted for testing the necessity and means of 
 the applicant. 
 
 The Marquis of Londonderry spoke strongly against 
 the bill, and moved that it be read that day six months. 
 Many other peers joined in denouncing the measure, 
 but none more violently than Lord Lyndhurst, who 
 declared that it would lead to a dissolution of the Union. 
 The Duke of Wellington supported the second reading, 
 with a view to amending the bill in committee, and 
 rendering it better fitted for its objects. The distress 
 existing in Ireland was he said undoubted. There had 
 been inquiry after inquiry on the subject, and on the out- 
 rages of every description to which it led. He expected 
 from this bill that it would improve the social relations 
 of the people of Ireland, and prevent the distress which 
 now so often prevailed there. Another result he anti- 
 cipated from the measure was, that it would induce the 
 gentry of Ireland, whether resident or not, to look after 
 their properties, and pay some attention to the state 
 of the population on their estates. This, the duke ob- 
 served, would improve the social relations between land- 
 lord and tenant between the occupier and the labourer 
 of the soil. If the Poor Laws had not been amended in 
 England, he should have hesitated before consenting to 
 the introduction of a poor-law into Ireland ; but seeing 
 the results the measure of 1834 had produced in this 
 country seeing the great advantage which had oc- 
 curred from the working of that system and seeing 
 how it has improved the relations of landlord and ten- 
 ant, he could not help desiring some such measure for 
 Ireland, in order, if possible, to remedy in like manner 
 the evils of that country. With regard to settlement, 
 he was firmly convinced that its establishment in con- 
 nexion with the bill, would be productive of unbounded 
 litigation and expense, and lead to disputes of which 
 no one could foresee the end. At the same time, he 
 thought care should be taken that all parishes should 
 
220 VICTORIA. CHAP. III. 
 
 be required to pay the expenses connected with the 
 relief of their paupers, " that being one of the prin- 
 ciples of the Poor Law in this country ; and such an 
 amendment should be introduced into the present bill." 
 The measure being thus supported by the duke, the 
 second reading was carried by a majority of 149 to 20. 
 
 It was proposed that the bill should be committed on 
 The bin m the 28th of May, but the debate was exceed- 
 tee ' ingly violent and was continued by adjourn- 
 ment to the 31st. It is difficult to describe the scene 
 which took place, on the motion for going into com- 
 mittee on the bill. The confusion then, and indeed 
 during the whole night, surpassed anything one could 
 have expected in such a deliberative assembly. The 
 alarms of the Irish peers as to the effects of the measure 
 exceeded all bounds, and they were joined by several 
 English peers who are supporters of the English Poor 
 Law. On the resumption of the debate on the 31st 
 however, and after a further discussion for eight hours, 
 the house resolved by 107 to 41 to support the principle 
 of the bill, as embodied in the 41s clause. This clause 
 provided that relief to the destitute might be adminis- 
 tered in the workhouses, at the discretion of the boards 
 of guardians, subject to the condition in the first place 
 of a preference being given to the aged and infirm 
 poor, and to destitute children ; and in the second place 
 to persons residing in the union before those not so 
 resident, when there is not sufficient accommodation for 
 all the destitute. 
 
 These latter provisions were introduced at the instance 
 of the Duke of Wellington, in order to meet the ob- 
 jections and mitigate the hostility of the opponents of 
 the bill, as was also the provision in the 44^A clause 
 charging the cost of relief to the several electoral divi- 
 sions, instead of to the unions at large, as it before stood. 
 These changes were arranged between the duke and 
 myself, with the approval of government, previous to 
 
A.D. 1838. THE BILL PASSED. 221 
 
 the second reading. The bill was considered in com- 
 mittee on the 7th, 21st, 22nd, and 26th of June, and 
 was read a third time on the 6th of July. On The W11 rea d 
 the llth I find it recorded in my journal 
 " The bill is now clear of the lords, altered and in 
 some respects improved, although the localisation of 
 the charge upon the electoral divisions approximates 
 too nearly to settlement to be quite satisfactory. I 
 wish this had been left as it at first stood ; but so 
 long as no right to relief, and no power of removal are 
 given, we shall I trust be able to avoid the infliction of 
 actual settlement." 11 
 
 Although so far " clear of the lords," there neverthe- 
 less remained much to be done in reconciling differences 
 between the two houses with regard to some of the 
 amendments, and in particular with regard to the 
 schedule of rating, which it was desired to make avail- 
 able for the purposes of the municipal franchise. 
 Several conferences were held, and " reasons" pro and 
 con were delivered in, and it was not until the 27th of 
 July that the bill was ready for the royal assent This 
 was given on the 31st, and thus a law was at length 
 established, making provision for the systematic and 
 efficient relief of destitution in Ireland. 
 
 n This quotation is from a journal which I had kept of the proceedings 
 with regard to the Irish Poor Law, from the commencement of my connexion 
 with the question in August 1836, and which has heen very useful in framing 
 the present narrative. In this journal is recorded from day to day, the pro- 
 gress of my inquiries in Ireland and elsewhere, the deliberations and consult- 
 ations with government on the subject, the discussions with different public 
 men in reference to it, and also the various interviews with the Duke of Well- 
 ington after the bill had passed the commons, in which it was my good 
 fortune to be the medium of communication for settling the points at issue 
 between his grace and the government. I say " my good fortune," for without 
 the duke's assistance the bill would not have passed the house of lords, and 
 without the part taken by myself in negotiating and bringing about a right 
 understanding on the subject, I doubt if that assistance would have been 
 accorded. If therefore the enactment of the Irish Poor Law was, as I believe, 
 a measure of great social importance, and as subsequent events have moreover 
 I think shown it to be, it cannot but be regarded as a great privilege to have 
 been permitted to assist in any way towards the accomplishment of such an 
 object. With this privilege I was so fortunate as to be invested, and I feel 
 happy in the consciousness of having spared no pains to fulfil the obligations 
 it involved. 
 
222 VICTORIA. CHAP. IV. 
 
 CHAPTEK IV. 
 
 Summary of the ' Act for the more effectual Relief of the Poor in Ireland,' and 
 of the ' Amendment Act ' Arrangements for bringing the Act into operation 
 
 First and second Reports of proceedings Dublin and Cork unions 
 Distress in the western districts Third, fourth, fifth, and sixth Reports 
 
 Summary of the Act for the further amendment of the Law Seventh 
 Report Cost of relief, and numbers relieved Issue of amended orders. 
 
 HAVING in the last chapter described the progress of 
 the bill from the commencement till it became law, I 
 now propose, as in the case of the English and Scottish 
 Acts, a to give a summary of the Irish statute sufficiently 
 in detail for enabling the reader, with the aid of the 
 Reports on which the measure was founded, to under- 
 stand clearly both the import and the object of the 
 several provisions 
 
 Summary of the 1st and 2nd Victoria, cap. 56, 
 
 Entitled ' An Act for the more effectual Eelief of the Poor in 
 Ireland' 31st July 1838. 
 
 Sections 1, 2, 3. Empower the Poor Law Commissioners for the 
 time being to carry the Act into execution, and to issue such 
 orders for the government of workhouses, the appointment 
 and removal of officers, the guidance and control of guardians, 
 and for keeping and auditing of accounts, as they shall think 
 proper. 
 
 Sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. General rules issued by the commissioners 
 are to be submitted to the secretary of state, and not to take 
 effect until the expiration of forty days, and arc to be laid 
 before parliament at the commencement of every session. 
 The rules are to be made public, and to be open to the 
 inspection of the ratepayers ; and whenever disallowed, the 
 disallowance is also in like manner to be made public. 
 
 a See the author's Histories of the English and Scotch Poor Laws. 
 
A.D. 1838. SUMMAEY OF THE POOR RELIEF ACT. 223 
 
 Sections 9, 10, 11. The assistant-commissioners, secretary, and 
 other officers appointed by the commissioners, are to be officers 
 under the present Act. The commissioners may with the 
 approbation of the secretary of state, delegate their powers 
 (except the power to make general rules) to one of the com- 
 missioners, or to one or more of the assistant-commissioners 
 acting in Ireland, subject to such regulations as the commis- 
 sioners may direct. 
 
 Sections 12, 13, 14. The assistant-commissioners are empowered 
 to summon and examine witnesses on oath, and persons re- 
 fusing to attend, or giving false evidence, or altering or con- 
 cealing documents required for the purposes of the Act, are 
 to be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. The commissioners 
 may order reasonable expenses of witnesses to be defrayed. 
 
 Sections 15, 16. The commissioners may by order under their 
 seal, unite so many townlands as they think fit to be a union 
 for the relief of the destitute poor ; and may add to, take 
 from, or dissolve the same, and may determine the propor- 
 tionate amount chargeable in any such case, as shall appear 
 to them to be just. But no such dissolution or alteration of a 
 union is to take place without the consent of a majority of the 
 guardians, and a copy of every order for the same is forthwith 
 to be transmitted to the secretary of state. 
 
 Sections 17, 18, 19. Whenever a union is declared, a board of 
 guardians is to be elected, for which purpose the commis- 
 sioners may divide the union into electoral divisions, and 
 from time to time alter the same ; but in making or altering 
 such electoral divisions, no townland is to be divided. The 
 commissioners are to determine the number of guardians, 
 having regard to the circumstances of each electoral division ; 
 and also the qualification, which in no case is to exceed a 
 rating of 30/. net annual value " provided always that no 
 person being in holy orders, or being a regular minister of 
 any religious denomination, shall be eligible as a guardian." 
 
 Sections 20, 21, 22. The first election of guardians is to take 
 place at the time fixed by the commissioners, and afterwards 
 on the 25th of March in each year. Outgoing guardians 
 may be re-elected, and in case of vacancy occurring through 
 death removal or resignation, the remaining guardians are 
 to act. 
 
 Sections 23, 24. Every justice of peace not being a stipendiary 
 magistrate or assistant-barrister or minister of any religious 
 denomination, is an ex-officio guardian of the poor of the 
 union in which he resides, and after the board of guardians 
 
224 VICTORIA. CHAP. IV. 
 
 is duly constituted may act as a member of the board, in like 
 manner as an elected guardian. But when the justices duly 
 qualified and residing in the union exceed one-third the 
 number of elected guardians, they are at a meeting specially 
 assembled for the purpose, to appoint from among themselves 
 a number nearest to but not exceeding one-third of the 
 elected guardians, to act as ex-officio guardians from the time 
 of such apppointment, until the 29th of September following, 
 and so annually on each succeeding 29th of September- the 
 number of ex-officio guardians being in no case permitted to 
 exceed one-third the number of the guardians elected by the 
 ratepayers. 
 
 Sections 25, 26. If an election of guardians does not take place, or 
 if any of those elected shall neglect or refuse to act, the com- 
 missioners may order a fresh election, and on failure thereof 
 may appoint another to fill the place of any guardian so 
 failing, until an election of guardians takes place under the 
 provisions of the Act. And if regular meetings of the 
 guardians be not held, or if their duties be not effectually 
 discharged according to the intentions of this Act, the com- 
 missioners may dissolve such board, and order a fresh election ; 
 and if the guardians then elected likewise fail, the commis- 
 sioners may appoint paid officers to carry out the provisions 
 of the Act, and define their duties, and regulate their salaries, 
 which are to be paid out of the poor-rates of the union. 
 
 Sections 27, 28, 29, 30. The board of guardians is declared a body 
 politic and corporate for all the purposes of the Act. The 
 commissioners and assistant-commissioners may attend the 
 meetings, and take part in the discussions of the boards of 
 guardians, but are not entitled to vote. The guardians are 
 to assemble at such times as the commissioners direct, and 
 no guardian, whether ex-officio or elected, has power to act, 
 except as a member, and at a meeting of the board, for consti- 
 tuting which the presence of three members is necessary. No 
 defect in the election or qualification of a guardian, is to 
 make void the proceedings of any board in which he may 
 have taken a part. 
 
 Sections 31, 32, 33. The commissioners may direct the appointment 
 of such paid officers, with such qualifications, as they think 
 necessary in every union, and may define their duties and 
 determine their continuance in office or dismissal, and regulate 
 their salaries. The commissioners are further empowered, 
 with or without the concurrence of the guardians, to remove 
 any paid officer whom they deem unfit or incompetent, and to 
 require the appointment of a fit and competent person in his 
 
A.D. 1838. SUMMAEY OF THE POOR RELIEF ACT. 225 
 
 room, failing in which the commissioners may themselves 
 make the appointment. 
 
 Sections 34, 35, 36. When a union is declared, every house of in- 
 dustry, workhouse, and foundling hospital within its limits, and 
 supported wholly or in part by parliamentary grant &c., with 
 all things thereto belonging, is to become vested in the Poor 
 Law commissioners, subject to the debts and encumbrances 
 thereof in trust for, and subject to, the powers and provisions 
 of this Act. The commissioners may from time to time as 
 they see fit, build or cause to be built a workhouse or work- 
 houses for any union, or may hire any building or buildings 
 to be used as a workhouse, and may enlarge and alter the 
 same, in such manner as they deem most proper for carrying 
 the provisions of the Act into execution, and may purchase or 
 hire any land not exceeding twelve acres to be occupied with 
 such workhouse, and may order the guardians to uphold and 
 maintain, and to furnish and fit up the same, and provide 
 means for setting the poor to work therein for all which 
 purposes the guardians are required to raise and levy the 
 necessary sums as a poor-rate, or to borrow the money and 
 charge the same on the future poor-rate, as the commissioners 
 shall direct But after the workhouse has been declared fit 
 for the reception of the destitute poor, the commissioners are 
 restricted from ordering the expenditure of more than 4007. 
 without the consent of the guardians. 
 
 Sections 37, 38, 39, 40. Incapacitated persons empowered to 
 convey land &c. the powers of 1th George 4^A, cap. 74, re- 
 garding the purchase and valuation of sites extended to this 
 Act Where the purchase-money is paid into the bank of 
 Ireland, the commissioners exonerated from liability as to its 
 application The commissioners may sell lands &c., and 
 apply the proceeds in purchase of other lands &c. ; but are 
 restricted from selling the workhouse of a union without the 
 consent of the guardians. 
 
 Section 41. When a workhouse has been declared fit for the 
 reception of destitute poor, and not before, the guardians, 
 subject to the orders of the commissioners, are to take order 
 for relieving and setting to work therein, in the first place, 
 such destitute poor persons as by reason of old age infirmity 
 or defect, may be unable to support themselves, and destitute 
 children ; and in the next place, such other persons as the 
 guardians deem to be destitute poor, and unable to support 
 themselves by their own industry or other lawful means 
 provided that in any case where there may not be sufficient 
 accommodation for all the destitute persons who apply, the 
 
 Q 
 
226 VICTORIA. CHAP. IV. 
 
 guardians shall relieve such as reside in the union, in pre- 
 ference to those who do not. 
 
 Sections 42, 43, 44. A register-book in a prescribed form, is to 
 be kept by the master of every workhouse of the persons 
 relieved therein, and such register is to be examined, corrected 
 and signed by the chairman at every meeting of the guardians, 
 and countersigned by the clerk Accounts of the expendi- 
 ture are to be kept and made up every six months, charging 
 to every electoral division the proportion incurred in respect 
 of persons relieved who are stated in the registry to have 
 been resident in such electoral division ; the expenses incurred 
 in respect of all others are to be charged against the whole 
 union. At the end of three years, any two or more electoral 
 divisions may, with the commissioners' concurrence, agree to 
 bear the expense of the relief chargeable to each in common, 
 a copy of every such agreement to be deposited with the 
 commissioners, and another copy with the clerk of the peace. 
 
 Sections 45, 46, 47. On the declaration of a workhouse in any 
 union, all local Acts relating in any way to the relief of the 
 poor therein, are to cease and determine. The commis- 
 sioners are to inquire into the state of fever hospitals and 
 dispensaries, and report thereon to the secretary of state, 
 stating the number of such institutions which in their opinion 
 ought to be provided. They are also to examine into the 
 administration of hospitals and infirmaries, and give direc- 
 tions for the more effective management thereof. 
 
 Sections 48, 49. The commissioners are to take order for the due 
 performance of religious service in the workhouse, and are to 
 appoint fit persons to be chaplains for that purpose, one being 
 of the established church, another a protestant dissenter, and 
 another of the Roman catholic church, and they are to fix 
 the salaries of such chaplains. But no inmate of a work- 
 house is to be compelled to attend any religious service con- 
 trary to the religious principles of such inmate, or to which his 
 or her parents or guardians object. 
 
 Section 50. The board of guardians are to appoint a fit person in 
 each parish or townland within the union to be the warden 
 thereof, who is to provide for the conveyance to the workhouse 
 of such destitute poor persons as the guardians shall direct, 
 and perform such other duties as the orders of the commis- 
 sioners shall prescribe. 
 
 Section 51. If a meeting of the ratepayers of any electoral division 
 agree to the raising of a rate to assist emigration, the com- 
 missioners may direct the guardians to raise such sums (not 
 
A.D. 1838. SUMMARY OF THE POOR RELIEF ACT. 227 
 
 exceeding Is. in the pound in any one year) as they think re- 
 quisite for the purpose, either by a rate under this Act, or by 
 a charge on the future rates ; and the money so raised is, 
 under the direction of the commissioners, to be applied by the 
 guardians of the union in assisting the emigration to British 
 colonies of poor persons residing in such electoral division. 
 
 Section 52. The money raised under authority of the Act, is only 
 to be applied as is expressly provided for in the Act. 
 
 Sections 53, 54, 55, 56. Every husband is made liable for the 
 maintenance of his wife, and every child under the age of 15, 
 whether legitimate or illegitimate, which she may have ; and 
 every father is liable to maintain his child, and every widow 
 to maintain her child, and the mother to maintain her bastard 
 child, until such children respectively attain the age of fifteen. 
 Relief given to a wife or child, is to be considered as given to 
 the person liable to maintain such wife or child. Relief may 
 be declared to be a loan, and be recoverable accordingly, and 
 when given to a person entitled to any pension or other allow- 
 ance, the guardians may require the next payment thereof to 
 be made to them for indemnity of the union, and are then to 
 repay the surplus to the person entitled thereto. 
 
 Section 57. Every child of a poor person who may be unable to 
 support himself, shall be liable according to his ability to 
 support his parents, and if any relief under this Act be 
 afforded to such parents, it may by order of two justices 
 be recovered by the guardians from such child, together with 
 such other relief as shall subsequently be given. 
 
 Sections 58, 59, 60. Every person absconding from a workhouse 
 and leaving his wife or child to be relieved therein, or who 
 refuses to work, or is guilty of drunkenness or disobedience to 
 the rules prescribed for the government of the workhouse, or 
 who shall introduce spirituous or fermented liquors into any 
 workhouse, is on conviction to be subjected to imprisonment 
 with hard labour for not exceeding one month. Any person 
 who deserts and leaves his wife or child so that they become 
 chargeable, is on conviction to be subjected to hard labour in 
 the house of correction for not exceeding three months ; and 
 every justice of peace may issue his warrant for apprehension 
 of the offenders. 
 
 Sections 61, 62, 63. For defraying the expenses incurred under 
 this Act, the guardians are empowered to make and levy such 
 rates as may be necessary on every occupier of rateable here- 
 ditaments within the union, regard being had to the propor- 
 tion previously charged upon any electoral division. The 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 VICTORIA. CHAP. IV. 
 
 rateable hereditaments are then enumerated. But it is pro- 
 vided that no church chapel or other building exclusively 
 dedicated to religious worship, or used for education of the 
 poor, nor any burial-ground or cemetery, nor any building 
 used for charitable or public purposes shall be rateable, 
 except where any private profit or use is derived therefrom, 
 in which case, the person deriving such profit or use, is to 
 be rated as an occupier according to the annual value of the 
 same. 
 
 Sections 64, 65. Every rate is to be a poundage rate, made upon 
 an estimate of the net annual value of the several heredita- 
 ments " that is to say, of the rent at which, one year with 
 another, the same might in their actual state be reason- 
 ably expected to let from year to year, the probable annual 
 average cost of repairs insurance and other expenses, if any, 
 necessary to maintain the hereditaments in their actual state, 
 and all rates taxes and public charges, if any, except tithes, 
 being paid by the tenant." The particulars of every rate are 
 to be entered in a book (the form of which is given in a 
 schedule annexed) and the guardians and other officers whose 
 duty it may be to make the rate, are to sign the declaration 
 at the end of the same, after which it is to be evidence of the 
 truth of the particulars contained therein. 
 
 Sections 66, 67, 68, 69, 70. Existing surveys and valuations may 
 be used, but if these are not deemed sufficient, the guardians 
 may cause new ones to be made. All proprietors of tolls and 
 profits liable to be rated are to keep accounts thereof, which 
 the guardians are to have liberty to inspect. The commis- 
 sioners may direct the cost of any survey and valuation to be 
 defrayed by a separate rate, or by a charge upon the poor- 
 rate, as they see fit. Twenty-one days' notice to the rate- 
 payers for inspecting the valuation is to be given before 
 making a rate, copies of which may be taken at all reasonable 
 times. 
 
 Sections 71, 72, 73. The poor-rate is to be paid by the occupiers, 
 but in cases where the property is rated at less than 5/. and 
 where the parties have agreed thereto, the lessor may be 
 rated instead. County-cess collectors may be appointed to 
 collect the poor-rate on giving security and being approved 
 by the commissioners failing in which the rate may be col- 
 lected by any other officer appointed for the purpose with like 
 approval. 
 
 Sections 7 k 4, 75, 76, 77. Every occupier may deduct half the 
 poundage rate paid by him, from the rent payable to the 
 owner; and where any person so receiving rent, shall also 
 
A.D. 1838. SUMMARY OF THE POOR RELIEF ACT. 229 
 
 pay a rent in respect of the same property, he will be entitled 
 to deduct from such rent a sum proportionate to what was 
 deducted from the rent he received. The entire rate is to be 
 deducted from tithe ; and all agreements to forego the deduc- 
 tion of rate are declared void. 
 
 Sections 78, 79. If a rate is not paid within two months after it 
 has been made, the guardians may levy the same by distress, 
 or sue for such rate by civil bill. The receipt for poor-rate 
 is in all cases to be accepted by persons entitled to receive 
 rent or tithe, in lieu of such sum as the person tendering the 
 receipt is entitled to deduct from such rent or tithe. But no 
 deduction is to be made from any rent-charge or terminable 
 annuity. 
 
 Sections 80, 81. Every occupier paying rate, and every receiver 
 of rent from which a deduction has been made on account of 
 rate, and every owner of tithe, is to be deemed a ratepayer ; 
 and at the election of guardians in any union, every rate- 
 payer is entitled to vote b according to the following scale 
 
 Where the annual value of the property rated shall not 
 
 amount to 20? One vote. 
 
 Where it amounts to 201. and not to 50?. .. 
 to 50?. and not to 100?. . . 
 
 to 100?. and not to 150?. .. 
 
 to 150?. and not to 200?. .. 
 
 ,, to 200?. and upwards 
 
 Two votes. 
 Three votes. 
 Four votes. 
 Five votes. 
 Six votes. 
 
 Where the occupier is also the owner, he will be entitled to 
 double the above number of votes ; and where the net annual 
 value of the property rated exceeds the rent paid by the 
 occupier, he is in addition to his votes as occupier, to be en- 
 titled to vote for such excess as if it were rent received by 
 him. 
 
 r 
 
 Sections 82, 83, 84, 85. Where two or more ratepayers are 
 jointly liable, each is to be entitled to vote according to the 
 proportion borne by him, but one may claim to vote for the 
 whole. The votes are to be given in writing in such manner 
 as the commissioners may direct, and the majority returned 
 in each electoral division is to be binding on such division. 
 
 b In altering the bill to localise the charge upon the electoral divisions re- 
 spectively (see ante, p. 220) it was omitted to substitute the term Electoral 
 Division for that of Union in the 81st sect. ; so that a person who might pay 
 a rate in every electoral division of the union, could only as the clause stood 
 vote in one, although each electoral division was separately chargeable. This 
 would be contrary to what was intended by the Duke of Wellington's amend- 
 ment, and the error was remedied as soon as discovered by the 2nd Viet. cap. 
 1, sec. 5. See post, p. 233. 
 
230 VICTORIA. CHAP. IV. 
 
 Votes may be given by proxy, but no occupier can vote unless 
 all rates assessed upon him of six months' standing be first 
 paid. 
 
 Sections 86, 87, 88. The members of a corporation or joint-stock 
 company are not entitled to vote, but their officers may do so 
 if duly authorised by the governing body. Where a rate has 
 not been made, the cess-payers are to form a constituency 
 for electing guardians, with the same proportion of votes as 
 is prescribed for ratepayers, each shilling of county cess to 
 be reckoned as one pound of annual value. The commis- 
 sioners are to appoint a returning officer, and prescribe the 
 duties to be performed by him in the election of guardians. 
 
 Sections 89, 90, 91. The guardians may with consent of the com- 
 missioners borrow money for purchasing and providing a 
 workhouse, either from the Exchequer Bill Loan Commis- 
 sioner^, or any persons willing to advance the same on 
 security of the rates. The money so borrowed is to be repaid 
 in twenty years by annual instalments, together with the 
 interest accruing thereon. The securities for money so ad- 
 vanced to a union may be transferred or assigned on notice 
 thereof being given to the guardians. 
 
 Sections 92, 93. Contracts made by the guardians are not valid, 
 unless conformable to the rules of the commissioners ; and no 
 guardian, paid officer, warden or other person engaged in 
 collecting the rates, or in the management of the union, is 
 either directly or indirectly to furnish supplies of any kind for 
 the use of the union, under penalty of 1007. with full costs 
 of suit to any person who shall sue for the same. 
 
 Sections 94, 95, 96, 97. Guardians treasurers and other officers 
 are to render a true account of receipts and payments &c,, 
 at such times and in such a form as the commissioners shall 
 direct. Auditors are to be appointed to examine such ac- 
 counts, and are to disallow all payments made contrary to the 
 Act, or at variance with the orders of the commissioners. 
 Bonds contracts advertisements &c. for carrying the Act into 
 effect are exempted from stamp-duty, and letters relating 
 exclusively to the execution of the Act, sent by or addressed 
 to the commissioners, are exempted from postage. 
 
 Sections 98, 99, 100, 101, 102. Justices may proceed by sum- 
 mons for recovery of penalties - penalty on officers disobeying 
 guardians penalty on officers and others purloining goods 
 &c. belonging to any union penalty on persons wilfully 
 disobeying the orders of the commissioners or assistant-com- 
 missioners. 
 
A.D. 1338. SUMMARY OF THE POOR RELIEF ACT. 231 
 
 Sections 103, 104, 105. Forfeitures costs and charges may be 
 levied by distress under warrant of two justices, and are to be 
 applied to the use of the union ratepayers are competent 
 witnesses distress not to be deemed unlawful for want of 
 form in the proceedings plaintiff not to recover for wrongful 
 proceeding, if tender of amends be made. 
 
 Sections 106, 107, 108, 109. Persons aggrieved may within four 
 months after the cause of complaint, appeal against the poor- 
 rate, or against a conviction where the penalty exceeds 5/., 
 and the justices and assistant-barrister before whom the appeal 
 is brought, are empowered finally to determine the same ; but 
 fourteen days' notice of the appeal is to be given. 
 
 Sections 110, 111, 112. Notwithstanding any appeal or notice 
 thereof, the rate is to be paid, unless and until it be actually 
 quashed or amended. Persons appealing are to enter into 
 recognisance to prosecute the same at the next sessions, and 
 to abide the order and pay such costs as the justices and 
 assistant-barrister shall award. 
 
 Section 113. No action to be commenced against any person for 
 anything done under authority of the Act, until after twenty- 
 one days' notice thereof, nor after sufficient satisfaction has 
 been tendered to the party aggrieved, nor after three months 
 from the time the action complained of was committed ; and 
 the defendant may plead the general issue. 
 
 Sections 114, 115, 116, 117. No order of the commissioners, 
 assistant-commissioners, or guardians, is removable by writ of 
 certiorari except into the Court of Queen's Bench in Dublin, 
 and every order or rate c so removed is to continue in force 
 until declared to be illegal. No application for writ of cer- 
 tiorari to be made, unless ten days' notice of the particulars 
 thereof shall have been delivered in writing to the commis- 
 sioners, who may thereupon show cause against such applica- 
 tion, and the court may if it think fit, proceed at once to hear 
 and determine the case. Recognisances must be entered into 
 previous to application for a writ of certiorari, and if the 
 order be quashed, notice thereof is to be given to the unions 
 to which it was directed ; but the judgment is in no case to 
 annul existing contracts. 
 
 Sections 118, 119, 120, 121. The Poor Law Commissioners for 
 England and Wales are declared to be " The Poor Law Com- 
 
 c A rate was excepted from such removal by the Amendment Act passed 
 shortly afterwards, 2nd Viet. cap. 1. See post, p. 233. 
 
232 VICTORIA. CHAP. IV. 
 
 missioners " under the provisions of this Act, and are 
 empowered to carry the same into effect. A fourth commis- 
 sioner may be appointed, and any two or more of the 
 commissioners may sit as a board in England and Wales, or 
 in Ireland, as they shall deem expedient. They are to have 
 a common seal, and all orders or copies thereof purporting to 
 be sealed therewith, are to be received as evidence that the 
 same have been duly made. 
 
 Sections 122, 123. When required by the ^secretary of state, or 
 when the board shall think fit, one of the commissioners may 
 act in Ireland, and have all the powers given to the board of 
 commissioners, except the power of making general rules ; 
 but the whole of the commissioners are to assemble in London 
 once at least in every year, for the purpose of submitting a 
 report of their proceedings, which report is to be made on or 
 before the 1st of May, and is to be annually laid before par- 
 liament, " together with an account of the expenditure upon 
 the relief of the poor in each union, and of the total number 
 relieved in each union during the year ended the 1st of 
 January preceding." 
 
 Section 124. Interpretation clause. 
 
 Notwithstanding all the care that had been taken 
 in framing this Act, it was found on proceeding to 
 carry it into operation that there were several de- 
 fects, partly owing to a want of information with re- 
 gard to certain peculiarities existing in Ireland, but 
 principally arising out of the changes made in the pas- 
 sage of the bill through parliament. Thus, on the 
 assumption that the division into townlands was univer- 
 sal, an alteration was made in the Lords constituting 
 a townland the unit in the formation of unions ; but in 
 some places it was found that no townland existed, and 
 in very many cases the extent of the townland was not 
 known. There was uncertainty also with regard to 
 parishes, their limits being in many instances unde- 
 fined. It became necessary therefore with as little 
 delay as possible to take steps for remedying these 
 defects, and to pass a short Act amending the former, 
 which was accordingly done ; and as this last was 
 
A.D. 1839. SUMMARY OF THE AMENDMENT ACT. 233 
 
 essential to the one which preceded it, so that the two 
 Acts may he said to form one statute, it will be conve- 
 nient to insert a summary of it here in continuation of 
 the ahove 
 
 Summary of the 2nd Victoria, cap. 1 , to amend the 1st and 2nd 
 Victoria, cap. 56. 15th March, 1839. 
 
 Section 1. The boundaries of many townlands not being accu- 
 rately known, and there being places which are not known as 
 townlands it is enacted that the provisions in the preceding 
 Act relating to townlands, shall " apply to every place in 
 Ireland whether known as a townland or not." 
 
 Section 2. Where the population of any city borough or town 
 exceeds ten thousand, or where the population of any other 
 place within an area of three miles exceeds ten thousand, the 
 commissioners may constitute such city borough town or other 
 place, or any part or parts thereof respectively, an electoral 
 division ; and may divide such electoral division into wards for 
 the purpose of conducting the election of guardians. 
 
 Sections 3, 4. The commissioners may by order under seal de- 
 clare any place not known as a townland, to be a townland ; 
 and where the boundaries of a townland are not known, may 
 declare and determine the boundaries thereof. 
 
 Sections 5, 6. In the election of guardians, every ratepayer 
 who under the last rate made shall have paid or be liable to 
 pay rate in respect of property in any electoral division, " shall 
 have a vote or votes in the election of guardians in such 
 electoral division, according to the scale of votes prescribed." 
 And where needful expenses are incurred before any rate can 
 be levied for defraying the same, a sum not exceeding 200/. 
 may be borrowed and charged upon the first rate made. 
 
 Sections 7, 8. Conveyances of land &c. to the Poor Law com- 
 missioners are to be made according to the form set forth in 
 the schedule annexed to the Act, or as near thereto as cir- 
 cumstances admit. The purchase-money is to be paid into the 
 Bank of Ireland to account of the accountant-general of the 
 Court of Chancery, " ex parte the Poor Law commissioners." 
 
 Sections 9, 10. Appeals may be made heard and determined 
 at general or quarter sessions of the peace, although an 
 assistant-barrister be not present. So much as relates to the 
 removal by writ of certiorari of any rate made under the pre- 
 vious Act, is by the present Act repealed. 
 
234 SUBSEQUENT PROCEEDINGS. CHAP. IV. 
 
 We will now resume our narrative, in the order of 
 1838 date. It has been stated that the Irish Poor 
 S? to 40 Belief Act was passed on the last day of July. 
 ActSito 6 A fortnight afterwards it was arranged that 
 I should proceed to Ireland for the purpose 
 of carrying the new law into operation. I had an 
 interview with Lord John Eussell on the occasion, 
 and urged the necessity of proceeding vigorously and 
 without delay in the introduction of the measure, and 
 expressed my conviction that our so doing was essential 
 to success. His lordship assured me that government 
 approved of our at once going forward with the forma- 
 tion of unions and providing workhouses, and were 
 prepared to afford every assistance that we might re- 
 quire. It was settled that I should go to Ireland at the 
 end of the month, taking with me four of our assistant- 
 commissioners, whose experience in the administra- 
 tion of the English Poor Law would, it was thought, 
 be found highly useful in Ireland. d I quitted London 
 on the 1st of September, and as soon as the assistant- 
 commissioners had assembled in Dublin, one of them 
 was sent to Belfast, another to Limerick, a third to 
 Cork, and one was retained in Dublin. They were fur- 
 nished with instructions in which the objects to which 
 their attention should be chiefly directed were pointed 
 out. The mode of commencing operations was one of 
 the first things which had to be considered. Would it 
 be better to commence by forming unions of the chief 
 towns, and then work back from them to the interior of 
 the country ; or else to begin in the interior, and work up 
 to the great towns ? This, the assistant-commissioners 
 were told, was an important question, requiring to be 
 decided as quickly as possible ; and in order to obtain 
 the requisite data for so deciding, it was necessary that 
 
 d The gentlemen selected for this purpose, were Mr. Gulson, Mr. Earle, Mr. 
 Hawley, and Mr. Voules. 
 
A.D. 1838. FORMATION OF UNIONS. 235 
 
 some of the chief towns should be first examined, in 
 doing which, they were desired at the same time to 
 endeavour to obtain such a knowledge of other parts of 
 the country, as would assist them in forming a judg- 
 ment upon the question. 
 
 The investigations in which the assistant-commis- 
 sioners would thus be engaged, would it was considered, 
 serve to bring them acquainted with the condition and 
 habits of the people, and prepare them for entering 
 upon the formation of unions as soon as arrangements 
 for the purpose were sufficiently advanced. The posi- 
 tion size and character of the towns, the existence of 
 barracks or other buildings readily convertible into 
 workhouses, the disposition of the inhabitants with 
 respect to the new law, whether favourable or other- 
 wise, were all to be noted, as constituting materials for 
 judging of when and where the unions should be 
 formed ; it being important to begin, where the least 
 difficulty or opposition would have to be encountered. 
 
 The principle adopted in the formation of unions in 
 England was considered applicable to Ireland, namely, 
 that the union should consist of a market town as a 
 centre, and the district surrounding and communicating 
 with it. The unions so formed would, it was supposed, 
 be pretty equally distributed throughout the country, 
 and be of a size not materially differing from what had 
 been stated in the Eeports to be the most eligible, that 
 is embracing a radius of about ten miles. Some persons 
 had contended for smaller unions, but the smaller the 
 union, the larger in proportion would be the establish- 
 ment charges ; and as the provisions introduced in the 
 house of lords for localizing the rate upon each electoral 
 division, had removed one of the objections to large unions 
 chiefly insisted upon, it would now probably be con- 
 sidered, that in taking the market town as a guide, the 
 commissioners could not be far wrong, since the people 
 who frequent the market would find no difficulty in 
 
236 VICTORIA. CHAP. IV. 
 
 attending at the union workhouse, whether as guardians 
 or applicants for relief. At the same time however, 
 local interests were not to be disregarded in the ar- 
 rangement of unions and electoral divisions ; but the 
 boundaries of private property, and of counties and baro- 
 nies were to be observed, as far as might be consistent 
 with the general interest and convenience. 
 
 The assistant-commissioners were likewise cautioned 
 as to the sensitiveness of the Irish people, and the 
 importance of conciliating their feelings and gaining 
 their confidence, which would be best accomplished 
 by observing a simple straightforward line of conduct 
 towards them, a scrupulous fulfilment of promises, and 
 not raising or encouraging expectations unless they were 
 pretty certain of being fulfilled. " We know," it was 
 added, " that the object of the law we are called upon 
 to administer is kind and beneficent, and calculated to 
 better the condition and improve the social habits of 
 the people ; and knowing this, we cannot feel otherwise 
 than confident in its application, and earnestly zealous 
 in working out the results contemplated by the legis- 
 lature in its enactment." 
 
 The assistant-commissioners re-assembled in Dublin on 
 the 9th October, and reported the result of their inves- 
 tigations ; and being joined by four others who had 
 been appointed in the interim, 6 the whole question as to 
 the mode of bringing the law into operation was very 1 
 fully discussed and considered. The assistant-commis- 
 sioners shortly afterwards proceeded to Cork, Lime- 
 rick, Londonderry, and Belfast, furnished with full in- 
 structions for their guidance in the formation of unions 
 in and around those places, it being considered that 
 clusters of unions so formed would be better protected 
 
 e These were Mr. Clements, Mr. Hancock, Mr. O'Donoghue, and Mr. Phelan, 
 the latter with an especial view to the medical chanties. Mr. Stanley had been 
 appointed secretary to the board in Dublin. 
 
A.D. 1838. FORMATION OF UNIONS., 237 
 
 from undue pressure at the outset, than if they stood 
 singly and isolated. Mr. Earle remained in Dublin for 
 a like purpose. With regard to the formation of unions, 
 the instructions previously given were confirmed, but 
 careful consideration, they were told, would be required 
 in arranging the electoral divisions, as well as in deter- 
 mining the number ; for although the commissioners 
 were empowered " to alter the electoral divisions from 
 time to time as they may see fit," it was important that 
 the divisions should be so formed at the outset as to 
 render subsequent alteration unnecessary. As a general 
 rule the board considered that there should be as many 
 electoral divisions as there were elected guardians, and 
 that the divisions should be all nearly of the same size. 
 There might however be cases, owing to the extent of 
 individual properties or other cause in which this rule 
 could not be observed, and in such cases, the larger 
 divisions might properly have more than one guardian, 
 as in the larger English parishes : but it would be well 
 to deal with such cases as exceptions, and as far as 
 practicable to form the several electoral divisions of the 
 same size, and each to return one guardian. 
 
 The townland being the unit, and some townlands 
 being heavily charged with pauperism, while others were 
 comparatively free, it was thought that difficulties might 
 sometimes arise in determining upon the townlands of 
 which an electoral division should consist. Landed pro- 
 prietors might be naturally desirous of having all their 
 land in one division, unmixed with the land of others, 
 especially where they have taken pains, or incurred 
 expense to improve their properties. The board deemed 
 it impossible to lay down any unvarying rule that would 
 be applicable to all such cases, but considered that the 
 wishes of the proprietor, where the lands are contiguous, 
 should be attended to whenever it could be done without 
 injury or inconvenience to others ; and in grouping 
 pauperised and unpauperised townlands together, it 
 
238 ELECTOEAL DIVISIONS. CHAP. IV. 
 
 should be endeavoured so to arrange the district, as to 
 make the junction as little oppressive as possible to the 
 latter. In Dublin, Limerick, and a few of the older 
 towns, it was thought likely that the electoral divisions 
 could not be so formed as to maintain an equality of 
 pressure, owing to some parishes being exclusively in- 
 habited by the poor and mendicant classes, whilst others 
 were entirely free from them. The board declared that 
 it was " very sensible of the magnitude of this difficulty, 
 which will receive its best attention with the view of 
 endeavouring to devise a palliative, if not a remedy ; and 
 it is much to be desired that the efforts of the assistant- 
 commissioners should be directed to the same end." 
 
 As respects the number of elected guardians to be 
 Number and assigned to a union, it was on the whole consi- 
 
 qualification , , , . ' 
 
 of guardians, dercd, having regard to the satisfactory despatch 
 of business as well as the importance of there being an 
 executive so extended as to command the confidence of 
 the ratepayers, that a number varying according to 
 circumstances from 16 to 24, would be best calculated 
 for carrying into effect the provisions of the Act. These 
 numbers, with the proportion of one-third ex-officio 
 guardians, would give to each union a board of from 21 
 to 32 members, which would be sufficient for the purpose 
 of deliberation, and yet not so numerous as to impede 
 efficient action. The qualification of guardians must of 
 course depend very much upon the circumstances of the 
 district. " In some parts of Ireland a 61. qualification 
 would not be too low, whilst in others the maximum of 
 30. would not be much if at all too high ;" and the 
 assistant-commissioners were told to use their discretion 
 between these extremes in the recommendations they 
 might make. The board however considered that it 
 would be advantageous to assume WL as a preferable 
 medium to be observed, except in cases where a greater 
 or a smaller amount of qualification appeared to be 
 required. Recommendations were then made as to the 
 
A.D. 1838. WORKHOUSES. 239 
 
 selection and duties of returning-officers, the nomination 
 of parish wardens, and the appointment of clerks to the 
 boards of guardians, and also as to the necessity for 
 observing strict economy in all the arrangements con- 
 nected with the formation and working of the unions. 
 The board likewise, under the heavy responsibility de- 
 volved upon it, considered it to be a duty " to point out 
 to the assistant-commissioners the vast importance of 
 their avoiding even the semblance of party bias, either 
 in politics or religion." 
 
 The commissioners being by the 35/A section of the Act 
 made responsible for providing the workhouses, very par- 
 ticular instructions were given to the assistant-commis- 
 sioners on the subject, which constituted in fact the foun- 
 dation of the whole measure. They were directed " at 
 the formation of every union to make a careful survey, 
 not only of the present state of destitution and mendi- 
 cancy within it, and of what will be the extent of work- 
 house accommodation required immediately, or in the 
 first two or three years, but also what was likely to be ne- 
 cessary afterwards ; so as to frame such plans and adopt 
 such arrangements in the construction of the buildings, 
 as should afford the earliest present accommodation, and 
 at the same time afford facilities for enlargement when- 
 ever it should become necessary." In cases where 
 barracks or other buildings should be taken for work- 
 house purposes, care ought likewise to be taken that the 
 necessary alterations and additions were so framed that 
 a portion only need be constructed in the first instance, 
 and that the whole of the plan as designed might be 
 completed whenever it should afterwards be found 
 necessary, without materially interfering with the parts 
 already in use. The quantity of land to be occupied 
 with the workhouse is by the Act restricted to twelve 
 acres, and the assistant -commissioners were recom- 
 mended to endeavour to convince the guardians of 
 the inexpediency of occupying more land than was 
 
240 ASSESSMENTS. CHAP. IV. 
 
 sufficient for the purposes of a garden, or than could 
 be conveniently managed by the boys and aged and 
 infirm men. 
 
 Next in importance to the workhouse, was the esta- 
 blishing an assessment founded upon the actual value 
 of all the rateable property within the union, in con- 
 formity with the 54^A section of the Act. The assistant- 
 commissioners were directed to call the attention of the 
 boards of guardians at their first and second meetings to 
 this important duty, for the performance of which they 
 were responsible. Suggestions were then offered with 
 regard to the government valuation, and that made 
 under the Tithe Composition Act, and also to the pro- 
 bable necessity in some cases of procuring a new valu- 
 ation; although in general it was considered that it 
 would be found practicable at the outset to establish a 
 fair and equitable assessment for the poor-rate, without 
 resorting to the expensive process of a valuation by 
 professional men. 
 
 The board next determined upon the kind of returns, 
 statistical and otherwise, to be required from the assist- 
 ant-commissioners, and the extent of information in all 
 cases to be obtained before any unions should be de- 
 clared ; and a circular containing full directions on every 
 point, together with a form for tabulating the several 
 heads of information, was addressed to the assistant- 
 commissioners for their guidance in this highly important 
 part of their duty. 
 
 Whilst the assistant-commissioners were pursuing 
 their inquiries and collecting information preparatory 
 to forming unions, the commissioner acting as a board 
 in Dublin was occupied in preparing the several forms 
 and orders for declaring unions, governing elections, 
 and regulating the proceedings of boards of guardians. 
 These were all framed, as nearly as circumstances ad- 
 mitted, on the model of those issued in England, and 
 were transmitted to the board in London for revision 
 
A.D. 1838. PRELIMINARY MEASURES. 241 
 
 and approval. And here it may be well to state, that 
 although under the 122nd section, I was when acting 
 singly in Ireland invested with all the powers of a hoard, 
 and might make and issue all orders and regulations 
 with the exception of " general rules," yet I never 
 directly exercised this power, hut forwarded every such 
 instrument to he approved and sealed by the board 
 in London. This course was adopted in consideration 
 that it afforded greater certainty of keeping up a unity 
 of action, and a more complete interchange of informa- 
 tion between the two boards, than would be likely to 
 exist if the commissioner acting in Ireland were to frame 
 and issue orders without the participation of his col- 
 leagues acting in England. 
 
 At the commencement of their proceedings, the assist- 
 ant-commissioners found that vague and often very 
 exaggerated notions prevailed with regard to the new 
 law, and their approach was at first everywhere viewed 
 with more or less of suspicion and alarm. By great 
 patience and perseverance however in explaining the 
 objects and intentions of the Act, and by the examples 
 they were enabled to cite of the working of the amended 
 law in England, they generally succeeded in removing 
 these impressions, and in obtaining a willing co-opera- 
 tion ; so that ere long, the requirements of the law, if 
 not universally popular, were at least very generally 
 acquiesced in. Perhaps this change may also have 
 been in some degree owing to the magistrates and the 
 clergy of each denomination having been furnished with 
 copies of the Act, elucidated by copious explanatory 
 notes, and likewise with copies of the Reports on which 
 the Act was founded. The extensive correspondence 
 which was continually going forward, and the frequent 
 personal communications with the board in Dublin, con- 
 tributed moreover to diffuse information as to the nature 
 objects and working of the law, and not only helped to 
 prepare the way for its introduction, but proved likewise 
 
 R 
 
242 VICTORIA. CHAP. IV. 
 
 the means of raising up zealous administrators for carry- 
 ing it into execution. 
 
 Having thus generally stated the nature of the pre- 
 liminary arrangements for bringing the law into opera- 
 tion, it is now proposed, as in the author's ' History 
 of the English Poor Law,' and as is also done in his 
 6 History of the Poor Law of Scotland,' to take the Com- 
 missioners' annual Reports as the groundwork of the 
 narra ^ ve Their first Report of proceedings 
 * n I re l an( ! i g dated 1st May 1839. f It comprises 
 Ireland. on iy a snor t period, and will not require a 
 lengthened notice ; but it is of considerable interest, as 
 showing the steps earliest taken in the introduction of 
 the measure. 
 
 As the time approached for declaring Unions, and 
 Election for constituting boards of guardians, it was 
 dmgs> necessary to be prepared for conducting the 
 elections. Arrangements were accordingly made, 
 with the sanction of the Irish government, for the 
 distribution and collection of the voting-papers by the 
 constabulary ; and as the commissioners were imme- 
 diately responsible for the appointment of returning 
 officers to conduct the elections, the assistant-commis- 
 sioners were directed to seek for and recommend com- 
 petent individuals for the purpose, that is, some one in 
 each district about to be united who was well known, 
 and possessed the confidence of the ratepayers ; and 
 the Report states that there is every reason to be 
 satisfied with the manner in which the selections have 
 been made. 
 
 To aid the returning officers in the performance of 
 their novel duties, they were furnished with ample 
 instructions on every point not provided for in the 
 
 f This is included in the fifth annual Eeport of the Poor-Law Commissioners, 
 but I shall continue to number the Reports of proceedings in Ireland separately", 
 without regard to the number of the commissioners' general Eeports. 
 
A.D. 1839. FIRST REPOET OF PROCEEDINGS. 243 
 
 election order; and the assistant-commissioners were 
 required to attend at all the early stages of the pro- 
 ceedings in every union, to afford such further assist- 
 ance and counsel as might be necessary. Some few 
 irregularities occurred, but not more than was to be 
 expected under the circumstances. There were like- 
 wise a few instances of party or sectarian feeling, but 
 in no case were improper individuals returned as guar- 
 dians ; and allowance being made for the want of pre- 
 vious training, the Irish boards will, it is said, " fairly 
 bear a comparison with the boards in England," and a 
 hope is confidently expressed that the measure will not 
 fail through the want of an efficient executive. 
 
 Eelief in the workhouse being the only mode of 
 relief sanctioned by the Act, it was evident that The work . 
 until a workhouse is provided the law must h 
 be practically inoperative. Attention was therefore early 
 directed to this object, for the due execution of which 
 the commissioners were alone responsible ; and much 
 pains were taken to ascertain the kind of buildings that 
 would be most suitable, having regard to the circum- 
 stances of the country and the habits of the people. After 
 extensive inquiry, as well in England as in Ireland, 
 and a careful consideration of the whole subject, it was 
 determined to engage an architect experienced in the 
 construction of English workhouses, and to employ him 
 in conjunction with the assistant-commissioners, and 
 with the aid of the best local information that could 
 be obtained, in devising a series of plans for the Irish 
 workhouses, of different sizes, together with descrip- 
 tive specifications and estimates for each. g This was 
 accordingly done, and the proceeding was fully justi- 
 fied by the result. The style of building adopted for 
 
 g The architect engaged for this service was Mr. Wilkinson, who had 
 erected several of the English workhouses, and who continued to superintend 
 the huilding operations in Ireland until all the workhouses were completed, 
 and for some years subsequently. 
 
 R 2 
 
244 FIRST REPORT. CHAP. IV. 
 
 the workhouses, was of the cheapest description com- 
 patible with durability ; and effect was sought to be 
 obtained through harmony of proportion and simplicity 
 of arrangement, all mere decoration being studiously 
 excluded. The unoccupied barracks were originally 
 proposed to be converted into workhouses, and at first 
 a few of the unions were arranged with a view to this 
 object. But after repeated discussions with the Ord- 
 nance authorities, it became evident that very few if 
 any of these buildings could be obtained, the whole 
 appearing to be considered necessary for military pur- 
 poses. 11 
 
 One of the first duties to which a board of guardians 
 valuations ^ s required to attend, was the valuation of the 
 
 ltmg> property within the union for the purpose of its 
 being rated to the relief of the poor. This under any 
 circumstances is a matter of some difficulty, but in 
 Ireland the difficulty was increased by the condition 
 of the country, and the absence in many parts of any 
 reliable data for framing such a valuation. To assist 
 the guardians in the performance of their duties in this 
 respect, they were furnished with very full instructions, 
 pointing out in detail the principle on which the valua- 
 tion and the rating were to be conducted, and all that 
 was necessary to be attended to, in order to fulfil what 
 the law required. 
 
 Shortly after the commencement of operations in 
 Ireland, it was discovered, as has been before stated, 
 that there were certain defects in the Act, which it was 
 necessary forthwith to remedy ; and this it has been 
 shown was accordingly done by the passing of the 
 2nd Viet., cap. I, 1 until after which no union could be 
 
 h A portion only of one barrack was ultimately taken, that of Fermoy ; and 
 it turned out to be neither satisfactory nor economical. At the end of a few 
 years it was restored to its original use, and a new and more convenient work- 
 house was provided for the union. 
 
 j Ante, p. 233. 
 
A.D. 1840. SECOND REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS. 245 
 
 formed in Dublin and some of the other chief towns, 
 owing to the townland division not being there known. 
 On the 25th of March, the end of the usual parochial 
 year, the Report states that " the number Unions 
 of unions declared was 22, and that in 18 of d 
 these boards of guardians had been elected. The re- 
 quisite statistical details were also completed for nine 
 other unions, which would shortly be declared, and 
 considerable progress had likewise been made in ar- 
 ranging nine more." Such were the results of some- 
 what less than six months' operations in the introduc- 
 tion of the Irish Poor Law, and they were generally 
 regarded as satisfactory, and as warranting an expecta- 
 tion of the successful introduction of the measure. 
 
 The Report of the second year's proceeding is dated 
 30th April 1840, and is considerably longer mo. 
 
 , i , -, r J -D A Tx Second 
 
 than the preceding Keport. It was moreover report of 
 
 . , , *- , . proceedings 
 
 accompanied by an Appendix containing in Ireland - 
 copies of Orders and Reports, in fact a copy of each 
 class of important documents issued or received by the 
 Dublin board, thus showing not only everything that 
 was done for bringing the law into operation, but also 
 the mode of doing it, and whatever took place in con- 
 nexion with it. 
 
 The first Report brings the proceedings down to 
 the 25th of March 1839. The second Report Unions 
 brings them down to the same date in 1840, t e o c rkh e ou s es d 
 at which time the number, of unions declared mprogresi 
 was 104, and it was thought that 30 more would pro- 
 bably complete the number into which it might be 
 desirable that the country should be arranged. This 
 would be a greater number than was at first contem- 
 plated, but a strong desire for small unions was found 
 to be very general ; and this desire, added to the want 
 of convenient centres, and other local circumstances, 
 led to an increase of the number beyond .the original 
 
246 SECOND EEPORT. CHAP. IV. 
 
 estimate. Sixty workhouses had been contracted for, 
 and were in progress of building, and arrangements for 
 ten others were considerably advanced. 
 
 It soon appeared to be on many ac.counts exceedingly 
 desirable, not only that the formation of the unions, 
 but also that the necessary arrangements for administer- 
 ing relief, should be urged forward as rapidly as pos- 
 sible. The government concurred in this view, and 
 Three sanctioned the appointment of two additional 
 
 additional . ..1,1 r> ^ 
 
 assistant- assistant-commissioners, who alter a short 
 
 commis- 
 
 sioners, training in England, were assigned to their 
 respective duties in Ireland, whither also another of the 
 English assistant-commissioners was transferred. 15 The 
 valuable services of Mr. Earle were in the present year 
 withdrawn from the commission, and he was succeeded 
 in the charge of the Dublin district by Mr. Hall, who 
 had previously been acting in England. 
 
 Great pains were taken in forming the unions, and 
 Formation ^ OT ^ ne mos ^ part the arrangements made were 
 f unions, satisfactory to the parties interested, but not 
 always so to the extent desired ; for it was not always 
 found possible " to adapt the limits of the union to the 
 limits of individual properties, and at the same time ad- 
 here to other local boundaries and pay a due regard to 
 general convenience." Difficulties likewise arose in deter- 
 mining the portion of rural district to be included in the 
 same electoral division with towns, or with other places 
 where the. destitute and mendicant classes were numer- 
 ous. Such places were regarded as likely to bring a 
 burden upon whatever else they might be combined 
 with. It does not follow however because mendicancy 
 prevails in a town, that the poor-rates will be heavier 
 there than in the neighbouring country districts. The 
 reverse will often be the case, the larger amount of 
 
 k These were Mr. Burke and Mr. Otway ; and Mr. Muggeridge was trans- 
 ferred from England. 
 
A.D. 1840. THE FORMATION OF UNIONS. 247 
 
 property rateable in a town, being more than equiva- 
 lent to its comparatively greater charge of pauperism. 
 The practice generally adopted on such occasions, was 
 to attach to a town as much of the adjoining district as 
 seemed naturally to belong to it, and over which the 
 town mendicants habitually levied contributions. No 
 part of an electoral division so formed would be sub- 
 jected to any new burden. It had supported the men- 
 dicant classes heretofore it would have to pay rates 
 for supporting the destitute thereafter ; and of the two, 
 the latter would probably be found the lighter. 
 
 Before submitting a proposal for establishing a union, 
 the assistant-commissioners in every instance called 
 a meeting of the inhabitants of the district, and ex- 
 plained the nature and intent of the law, together with 
 the proposed arrangements for carrying it into effect, 
 and also took into consideration whatever objections or 
 suggestions there might have been made on the occa- 
 sion ; and it was not until after this public exposition 
 of the course proposed to be pursued, arid a careful 
 sifting of testimony for and against it, that the arrange- 
 ments for the several unions were proposed to, and 
 received the sanction of the board in Dublin. The 
 Eeports of the assistant-commissioners on these occa- 
 sions were sometimes long and minute, entering into 
 a detail of the circumstances of the district, and thus 
 forming " a valuable body of information general and 
 statistical, which may hereafter serve to test the work- 
 ing of the measure, and its effects upon the population." 
 A copy of one of these Eeports furnished by each of 
 the assistant-commissioners, was inserted by way of 
 example in the Appendix to the annual Report. 
 
 The Board's attention was early directed to the state 
 of the charitable institutions in Dublin, and The Dublin 
 
 llOUSG of 
 
 especially to the house of industry and the industry. 
 foundling hospital, both of which became vested in the 
 commissioners under the 34#A section of the Poor Re- 
 
248 SECOND EEPOET. CHAP. IV. 
 
 lief Act. The house of industry consisted of an asylum 
 for aged and infirm poor and incurable lunatics, together 
 with the Hardwick, the Whitworth, and the Eichmond 
 Hospitals, and the Talbot Dispensary. It was constituted 
 under the Irish Act of ll^A and 12th Geo. 3rd, cap. ll, m 
 and was expected to be supported by voluntary con- 
 tributions, but these soon failed, and in 1777 it received 
 a grant of 4,000. from parliament, and had continued 
 ever since to be supported in like manner. In 1816 
 it was determined to appropriate the house of industry 
 to the reception of the aged and infirm and the sick 
 poor, orphan children, and lunatics and idiots. This 
 led to the introduction of a large number of persons 
 requiring medical treatment, and made it necessary to 
 provide hospitals for the purpose. The expense of the 
 entire establishment was defrayed by parliament, and 
 the grant for each of the preceding five years had been 
 20,000^. The estimate for 1839 was 21,136J. The 
 number of inmates was as follows 
 
 Aged and infirm poor 888 
 
 Incurable lunatics and epileptics 474 
 
 1,362 
 Sick in the hospitals ' 303 
 
 Total 1,665 
 
 The foundling hospital was established in 1704 by 
 The Dublin the 2nd Anne, cap. 19, and was re-constituted 
 ho U S pftaL g in 1772 by the llth and llth Geo. 3, cap. ll. n 
 With the exception of a small rent from property de- 
 vised to it, the institution had been supported by par- 
 liamentary grants, which during the last five years had 
 averaged 14,765. The estimate for the current year 
 was 11,255. Infants were at first, and for many years 
 subsequently, received into the hospital without pay- 
 ment or inquiry, the annual number varying from 1,500 
 to 2,000. In 1822 a deposit of 5. was required with 
 
 m Ante, p. 45. n Ante, pp. 35 and 45. 
 
A.D. 1840. SECOND KEPORT. 
 
 each child, which soon had the effect of 
 missions to below 500 ; and in 1829 a 
 house of commons recommended that admissions should 
 cease altogether, which they accordingly did in the fol- 
 lowing year. The previous admissions however had 
 been so numerous, that on the 25th of March 1839 the de- 
 pendents on the institution still amounted to 4,258, viz. 
 
 Children at nurse in the country, of whom 446 are under 
 
 ten years of age 1,484 
 
 Apprentices 2,528 
 
 In course of being apprenticed, or under medical treat- 
 ment in the house .. ., .. 40 
 
 Adults on the invalid list 206 
 
 4,258 
 
 The invalid class consisted of 150 females and 56 males, 
 and had accumulated principally since 1797, only 13 
 having been admitted previous to that year. " Many 
 were blind, some crippled, others were severe cases of 
 scrofula, and a few were deaf and dumb. They were 
 quartered in the country, and were annually visited by 
 the inspectors." 
 
 The capacity of the house of industry and foundling 
 hospital for being converted to workhouses, 
 and the great prevalence of mendicancy in 
 Dublin, made it expedient to introduce the 
 new law with as little delay as possible ; and steps 
 were taken for this purpose, as soon as the passing 
 of the Amendment Act enabled the board to unite 
 districts not being townlands. Arrangements were, 
 with the approbation of government, made for the 
 lunatic inmates of the house of industry, amounting 
 with their attendants to 523, by preparing certain 
 old barracks at Island Bridge for their reception ; and 
 as the hospitals and the dispensary, when detached 
 from the house of industry, would stand in need of 
 kitchen and other office accommodation, these essentials 
 
 Ante, p. 233. 
 
250 SECOND REPORT. CHAP. IV. 
 
 were accordingly provided, and the appointments in 
 connexion with them were consigned to the Irish go- 
 vernment. With regard to the foundling hospital, a 
 suitable residence was provided for the officers, and for 
 such of the children as it might be occasionally neces- 
 sary to bring to Dublin. The expense attendant upon 
 making these various changes was very considerable, 
 but the whole was accomplished " without calling for 
 any advance beyond the money already voted by par- 
 liament for the house of industry and foundling hos- 
 pital, the balance remaining from the vote of the year 
 preceding, and the saving of expenditure by enforcing 
 a rigid economy during the past year, having afforded 
 sufficient funds to effect all that was necessary." This 
 result is declared to have been chiefly owing to the 
 confidence which government placed in the commis- 
 sioners with regard to a matter of much intricacy, and 
 which did not perhaps strictly come within the line of 
 their duty. It was also in no slight degree owing to 
 the prompt support afforded by his excellency the lord 
 lieutenant, whose cordial co-operation and assistance on 
 all occasions is gratefully noticed in the Report. p 
 
 A full account of the measures adopted with regard 
 The two to the Dublin foundling hospital and house 
 unioils. of industry, is given in the assistant-commis- 
 sioners' Report q on these institutions, and also of what 
 was required to be done preparatory to their being 
 used as the workhouses of the two Dublin unions, for 
 which they were well suited both as to size and situa- 
 tion. One of the unions comprised the district on the 
 south side of the Liffey, with a population of 182,767 ; 
 and the other comprised the district on the north side, 
 
 p Lord Ebrington (now Earl Fortescue) was lord lieutenant at this time, and 
 I feel it a duty to state that much of our success in the early part of our pro- 
 ceedings, was owing to the aid and countenance he was ever ready to afford us. 
 He knew the difficulties with which the commission had to contend, and 
 never withheld assistance when it was needed. 
 
 q This is inserted in the Appendix to the Annual Report. 
 
A.D. 1840. THE DUBLIN AND COEK WORKHOUSES. 251 
 
 having a population of 125,245. The workhouses 
 would each be made capable of accommodating 2,000 
 inmates, and were very conveniently placed, with a 
 sufficiency of land attached to them. A belt of unions 
 had been formed nearly encircling the city, so that the 
 Dublin unions would be protected from undue pressure. 
 The guardians exhibited a good spirit, and promised an 
 active co-operation in carrying out the law. The Dublin 
 unions were both declared on the 6th of June declared? 61 
 1839 ; and the order declaring the workhouses * 
 fit for the reception of paupers was issued on the 25th 
 of March 1840, the interval being occupied in making 
 the necessary preparations. 
 
 Cork possessed a foundling hospital and a house of 
 industry as well as Dublin ; but both were much The Co rk 
 smaller than the metropolitan ones, and the u 
 house of industry alone was susceptible of being used as 
 a workhouse, and that only temporarily until an ade- 
 quate building could be provided for the purpose. With 
 respect to the foundling hospital, steps were taken as 
 in the case of that of Dublin, to bring it to a close at 
 the earliest period compatible with the wellbeing of the 
 children maintained in it. The Cork guardians entered 
 with alacrity on the discharge of their new duties, and 
 took immediate steps for obtaining a valuation, and 
 levying a rate. It was therefore determined in com- 
 pliance with the desire strongly expressed by them, and 
 by the inhabitants generally, to bring the law into full 
 operation in the Cork union with the least possible 
 delay, although it was not unlikely that some incon- 
 venience might arise from relief being administered 
 there so much sooner than it would be practicable to 
 provide for its administration in the neighbouring 
 districts. The union was declared on the 3rd of April 
 
 1839 ; and on the 15th of February 1840 an cork 
 .,,,. ill! /> work 
 
 order was issued declaring the old house of 
 
 industry to be the temporary workhouse of the SS?" 7 15 ' 
 
 workhouse 
 
252 SECOND REPORT. CHAP. IV. 
 
 union for administering relief. Full instructions were 
 furnished to the guardians on the occasion, and an 
 intention was expressed of watching the progress 
 of the Cork and the Dublin unions, with a view to 
 the prompt exercise of the powers provided by the 
 law for mitigating " whatever inconveniences might 
 arise from thus early bringing the law into operation." 
 The proceeding was one of great interest, and of great 
 anxiety also to those on whom the responsibility rested, 
 so much depending on the success of the first unions. 
 The author has a vivid recollection of all that passed 
 on the occasion, and of the deep thankfulness expe- 
 rienced on witnessing the efficient working of these 
 unions, and this moreover under difficulties far greater 
 than would be likely to arise when the course of pro- 
 cedure was more matured. 
 
 As the period approached for bringing the Cork and 
 workhouse the Dublin workhouses into operation, it be- 
 
 regulations n p 11 
 
 and order came necessary to prepare a code 01 workhouse 
 
 of accounts . / J. A 
 
 prepared. regulations, and a system of union accounts. 
 The latter, it was endeavoured to make as simple as pos- 
 sible, having regard to accuracy and to a proper discri- 
 mination of subjects ; and the former it was determined 
 to frame on the model of the English workhouse regu- 
 lations, making such changes only as were necessary 
 for adapting them to the circumstances existing in 
 Ireland. The " order for regulating the workhouse, 
 and for keeping and auditing accounts," r was accord- 
 ingly prepared, and was issued successively as the 
 unions became sufficiently -advanced for its reception. 
 The With regard to the dietaries, an "order" 
 
 workhouse t v" 
 
 dietaries. f O r which it was also necessary to prepare, 
 the Board instituted inquiries into the mode of living in 
 different parts of Ireland, so as to be able to establish 
 dietaries in the different unions that should accord with 
 
 r A copy of the order is appended to the 2nd Annual Report. 
 
A.D. 1840. WORKHOUSE REGULATIONS. 253 
 
 the general habits of the people, and yet " not be in 
 any case superior to the ordinary mode of subsistence 
 of the labouring classes in the neighbourhood." On 
 this principle the Board continued to frame the work- 
 house dietaries, as being essential adjuncts of workhouse 
 management. But for the efficiency of the workhouse, 
 reliance was chiefly placed on the enforcement of 
 order, sobriety, cleanliness, daily occupation, the ob- 
 servance of decency and decorum, and the exclusion of 
 all stimulants to excitement these constitute the real 
 strength of the workhouse as a test of destitution, 
 and would be in a great degree effective, even if the 
 diet, clothing, and other merely physical appliances 
 were superior to what is seen in the neighbouring 
 cottages ; and these essentials the workhouse regulations 
 are calculated to maintain. 
 
 Very exaggerated notions prevailed as to what would 
 be the effect of the Poor Law, when brought 
 into full operation. Some declared that all the expectations 
 
 JL as to the 
 
 charitable institutions would be immediately 
 annihilated, as people would cease to subscribe 
 as soon as they were called upon to pay a poor-rate, 
 and compensation was claimed on behalf of certain 
 functionaries, on the ground that they would be de- 
 prived of their means of living when the workhouses 
 were opened. Numerous applications were made on 
 the subject, and among others by the officers of the 
 Dublin Mendicity Association who claimed to be com- 
 pensated on this account. They were however told 
 that the association might still be continued with ad- 
 vantage, as an independent auxiliary to the Poor Law ; 
 for that it was highly probable there would be a class 
 of persons whose destitution would not be so urgent as 
 to compel them to become inmates of the workhouses, 
 and who yet would be proper objects of such charitable 
 assistance as it came within the province of the mendi- 
 city institution to bestow. 
 
254 SECOND REPORT. CHAP. IV. 
 
 The measures connected with the erection of work- 
 Erection of houses required much care and circumspection, 
 lses ' and a constant watchfulness of the prices of 
 labour and materials in the several districts. The 
 buildings were proceeded with in such a way as to 
 create the least disturbance in the labour-market, and 
 it was endeavoured to spread the operations as equally 
 as possible throughout the country. Notwithstanding 
 these precautions however, a tendency to advance in 
 prices was sometimes manifested ; but on such occasions 
 the Board made it to be understood, that it was pre- 
 pared to put out repeated advertisements, or to postpone 
 building altogether for a season, rather than submit to 
 terms above what it considered to be the fair market 
 price. On the other hand, the Board did not bind 
 itself to accept the lowest tender, and generally gave 
 a preference to builders resident in the district, when of 
 good character and possessing a sufficient command of 
 means. The extreme wetness of the previous season 
 was very unfavourable to building, and also delayed 
 the valuations, so that the completion and opening of 
 the workhouses was delayed longer than had been at 
 first contemplated ; but an assurance was given, that no 
 effort would be spared to effect this object at the earliest 
 possible period. 
 
 Numerous representations were addressed to the 
 Kepression of board on the subject of mendicancy, urging 
 *"*' that provision should be made for its being put 
 an end to simultaneously with the commencement of 
 relief under the Poor Law. The question was very 
 generally discussed by the boards of guardians, and 
 forty of them, for the most part unanimously, passed 
 resolutions in favour of a measure for the suppression 
 of mendicancy ; but three of the boards took a different 
 view, and were adverse to such suppression. The cor- 
 respondence which took place on these occasions appears 
 in the Annual Eeport, and also a minute which the 
 
A.D. 1840. EMIGRATION. 255 
 
 Dublin board addressed to the assistant-commissioners 
 on the occasion. In this minute, after pointing out the 
 necessity for repressing vagrancy and mendicancy as a 
 measure of police, the repression is declared to be like- 
 wise necessary for ensuring the effective operation of 
 the Poor Law ; for so long as the vagrant classes were 
 permitted to levy contributions on the plea of destitu- 
 tion, the ratepayers, although taxed for the relief of the 
 destitute, would not be protected from the daily de- 
 mands of the mendicant, nor be exonerated from those 
 compulsory contributions which the mendicant so well 
 knows how to exact. Unless mendicancy were re- 
 pressed therefore, great injustice would be inflicted on 
 the ratepayer, whose payment of the poor-rate entitles 
 him to protection from such demands. The most ex- 
 pedient way of effecting this object, was considered 
 to be by establishing a law founded on the English 
 Vagrancy Act, with such modifications as might be 
 necessary for adapting it to the state of Ireland. 8 
 
 The subject of emigration was generally regarded 
 with great interest in Ireland, and had latterly 
 
 ? . J Emigration. 
 
 occupied more than usual attention, partly on 
 account of a persuasion that it would be necessary to 
 have recourse to it as the corrective for a redundant 
 population, and partly also in consequence of the efforts 
 which were made by certain associations to promote it, 
 In answer to the various representations on the subject, 
 the Board did not offer any opinion as to whether an 
 extensive and organized system of emigration were 
 necessary or not, but considered that there might be 
 localities over-densely peopled, to which it might be 
 applied with advantage. When the unions were all in 
 operation, and when the effects of the Poor Law had 
 been fully developed, the Board would be prepared to 
 
 8 Clauses to this effect had been inserted in the original bill, but were with- 
 drawn, as has been before stated. Ante, p. 195. 
 
256 DISTRESS IN THE WESTERN DISTRICTS. CHAP. IV. 
 
 state its views on the subject " but pending the intro- 
 duction of the Poor Law, one object of which was to 
 establish an identity of interest between the owners and 
 occupiers of property and the working classes, and to 
 hold out to the former the strongest inducements to 
 extend the field of employment at home" -pending the 
 development of this great impulse upon the home 
 energies .of the country, it was considered that it would 
 be premature to offer any opinion on the general ques- 
 tion of emigration. 
 
 As the summer of 1839 advanced, severe distress 
 Distress in began to prevail in several districts of the west 
 d^tS- 11 of Ireland, and the government deputed Captain 
 Sbrded by Chads of the Royal Navy to investigate its 
 extent, and furnished him with means for 
 affording such present relief as might be found im- 
 peratively necessary. 1 It was at first thought, that 
 where poor-law unions had been formed, use might be 
 made of the union machinery in dispensing the relief 
 which government was prepared to furnish ; but it soon 
 appeared that this would be inexpedient if not imprac- 
 ticable, and that the administering of government aid 
 must be kept totally distinct from the poor-law execu- 
 tive, except only as regarded information and advice 
 and whatever other facilities the assistant-commissioners 
 might be able to afford. The relief distributed by the 
 agent of government on this occasion, was in every case 
 made contingent upon an equal amount being raised by 
 persons resident or having property in the district ; and 
 notwithstanding the danger from fraud and misrepre- 
 sentation to which a person so deputed was obviously 
 liable, and the still greater danger of creating an undue 
 dependence upon government aid, there is reason to 
 believe that a considerable amount of good was effected, 
 
 * The money expended on this occasion amounted to 5,441Z. See * The 
 Irish Crisis,' by Sir Charles Trevelyan, p. 18. 
 
A.D. 1839. BOARD'S MINUTE ON THE OCCASION. 257 
 
 and that little mischief was caused by what was done 
 by the agent of government in this instance. 
 
 The extremely wet and ungenial summer and autumn 
 of 1839, caused great apprehension throughout unfavourable 
 Ireland as to the effect upon the crops, and s 
 steps were taken to obtain correct information on the 
 subject, particularly with regard to the potato crop, it 
 being the one most universally important to the Irish 
 people. The result of these inquiries through the 
 assistant-commissioners and other sources, showed that 
 there was much ground for alarm, " the crop appearing 
 to be deficient in quantity in some districts, whilst 
 owing to the almost incessant rains the quality would 
 it was feared be found inferior in all, and probably so 
 far inferior as not to admit of the potatoes being kept 
 for the usual time." If such should turn out to be the 
 case, distress wide spreading and severe would inevitably 
 ensue, and the distress would moreover be aggravated 
 by the want of fuel, the people having been prevented 
 by the continual wet from gathering in their turf. 
 
 Many applications were addressed to the Poor Law 
 board, and to the Irish government on this suggestions 
 subject, several of them containing schemes the distress? 
 and suggestions for rendering the Poor Law available, 
 in case the danger apprehended should actually arise ; 
 and it was therefore deemed advisable that the views of 
 the Board in reference to this question should be made 
 known. This was accordingly done by a minute, calling 
 attention to the provisions by which relief was to be 
 governed. 
 
 The minute states, that the 3rd section of the Act 
 directed that relief should be administered " ac- Board's 
 cording to such laws as shall be in force at HM**. 
 the time being;" and that the 4=lst section provides 
 " That when the commissioners shall have declared 
 the workhouse of any union to be fit for the recep- 
 tion of destitute poor, and not before, it shall be law- 
 
 s 
 
258 SECOND REPOKT. CHAP. IV. 
 
 ful for the guardians to take order for relieving and 
 setting to work therein destitute poor persons &c." 
 Nowhere else is power given to the guardians to ad- 
 minister relief their functions in this respect are limited 
 to receiving destitute persons into the workhouse, and 
 relieving and setting them to work " therein.''' And by 
 the bind section it is further provided, " that it shall not 
 be lawful for the commissioners, or guardians, or other 
 persons acting in execution of this Act, to apply di- 
 rectly or indirectly any money raised under authority 
 of this Act,- to the relief of destitute poor in any other 
 manner than is herein expressly mentioned, or to any 
 purpose not expressly provided for in this Act." 
 Whether the relief so provided for be or be not in the 
 opinion of the guardians suitable or sufficient, the Act 
 under which they are constituted, and whence their 
 administrative functions are derived, is thus seen to be 
 precise and definite in its provisions ; and they were 
 told that they could not legally deviate in the slightest 
 degree from the course it prescribes, neither did 
 there reside in the Poor Law Commissioners any power 
 or discretion to authorize any such deviation. Some 
 persons however suggested that the law should be 
 altered early in the next session, so as to allow of other 
 modes of relief as a temporary measure, to meet the 
 then apprehended exigency. But this, it was said, would 
 be re-opening a question upon which the deliberate 
 sense of the legislature had been recently recorded ; 
 and parliament having deemed it right to prohibit all 
 relief except in the workhouse, the commissioners could 
 not encourage an application which had for its object 
 the reversal of that decision. 
 
 Such was the general purport of the minute, although 
 considerably more in detail, and embracing some minor 
 points not noticed above. It was circulated among the 
 boards of guardians, and was thought to have produced 
 a good effect by directing attention to the principle as 
 well as to the provisions of the Act. There was reason 
 
A.D. 1841. THIRD REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS. 259 
 
 to believe moreover, that the potato crop, although 
 scanty in some districts, was on the whole not materially 
 deficient in produce, and that although the quality was 
 generally inferior, the potatoes would keep nearly as 
 well as in ordinary seasons. There was likewise reason 
 to believe that the dread of scarcity had influenced the 
 people to be more careful and economical in the use of 
 their stores than they probably otherwise might have 
 been, and that they would thus by provident fore- 
 thought avert the occurrence of any very serious 
 amount of distress, notwithstanding that a general de- 
 ficiency in the grain crops was superadded to the other 
 evils arising out of the extreme wetness of the season. 
 
 The third Eeport of proceedings in Ireland is dated 
 May 1st, and contains an account of all that 
 was done during the previous parochial year, 
 ending March 25th 1841. At the date of the 
 second Report 104 unions had been declared. At the 
 date of the third Report we find the number in- 
 creased to 127, and it is stated that only 3 more will 
 be required, and that these will be declared in the 
 course of the present month, making the entire number 
 of unions in Ireland amount to 130. At the Unionsan4 
 date of the last Report 60 workhouses had been workhouses - 
 contracted for, and the buildings were in different 
 stages of progress. The number of workhouses con- 
 tracted for and built or in process of building up to the 
 25th of March 1841, was 115, of which a particular 
 account is given in a Report by the architect inserted 
 in the Appendix to the present Report. 
 
 The providing of the Irish workhouses was a large and 
 difficult operation, involving a great variety of Erection 
 details, and requiring constant attention. The workhouses, 
 contracts were as stated in the last Report entered into 
 so gradually, and the works were spread so equally 
 throughout the country, that although the number ac- 
 tually in progress at one time was greater than it might 
 
 s 2 
 
260 THIRD REPORT. CHAP. IV. 
 
 at first have been considered safe or expedient to under- 
 take, it yet was not found that prices were materially 
 affected, or that any other material inconvenience had 
 arisen. One of the chief impediments was the delay 
 and difficulty encountered in obtaining sites for the 
 workhouses, owing to encumbrances arid other circum- 
 stances connected with landed property in Ireland, and 
 to the Act's containing no special provision for the 
 purpose. At one time indeed it was thought that it 
 would have been necessary to apply to parliament on the 
 subject ; but by determined perseverance sites were at 
 length everywhere obtained, and although not in every 
 case so good as might be wished, no union was left with- 
 out one sufficient for its object. The winter of 1841 
 began early, and continued late, and was unusually 
 severe, which greatly retarded the progress of the 
 buildings ; but the contractors were generally sensible 
 of the value of time, and whenever the weather per- 
 mitted, exerted themselves to recover what was unavoid- 
 ably lost through unfavourable seasons. It may per- 
 haps not be deemed irrelevant to mention, that the 
 author being then the resident commissioner in Ireland, 
 he made a point of examining every workhouse site 
 purchased, or intended to be purchased, and also in- 
 spected once at least in every year each of the work- 
 houses, whether built or in progress of building. These 
 inspections were no doubt a great addition to his other 
 labours, but they were very necessary for correcting the 
 defects and omissions which are sure to occur in carry- 
 ing out so extensive an operation. 
 
 Eleven workhouses were completed and opened for 
 Fourteen the relief of the destitute poor during the year 
 Co^S. 1840-41 in addition to those of Dublin and 
 Cork opened in the preceding year, and making four- 
 teen in all. Two of these belonged to the important 
 unions of Londonderry and Belfast. The Londonderry 
 house had been open throughout the winter, and con- 
 
A.D. 1841. THIRD REPORT. 261 
 
 tinued to work in all respects satisfactorily. The others 
 had been too recently declared to afford reliable indi- 
 cations as to their future working, but nothing had 
 occurred to excite apprehension with respect to them. 
 
 The two Dublin workhouses had been opened up- 
 wards of twelve months, and the guardians The Dublin 
 had attended to the administration of relief unions * 
 and the union business generally, in a very exemplary 
 manner. Before the houses were thoroughly completed 
 and organized, the closing of the Dublin mendicity 
 institution threw a sudden pressure upon these esta- 
 blishments, especially upon that of the South Dublin 
 union, as many as 500 poor persons having been ad- 
 mitted there in one week, and 1,473 within the first 
 month, a great majority of whom had been previously 
 supported in the Dublin Mendicity. Such an influx 
 could hardly fail of causing embarrassment and con- 
 fusion, and it may be regarded as a proof of the effi- 
 ciency of the workhouse system, that notwithstanding 
 the want of preparation which necessarily prevailed, 
 and the inexperience of the guardians and union officers, 
 so large an admission was provided for, and order 
 speedily established. Even after the first influx of 
 mendicity paupers had ceased, there was great pressure 
 for admission, on which account a cautionary letter 
 was addressed to the guardians, recommending that 
 from the numerous applicants they should at one time 
 select such a moderate number only " as could be con- 
 veniently cleansed, classified, placed in their proper 
 wards, and registered in course of that and the follow- 
 ing day ;" and likewise, that the visiting committee 
 should report as to the condition of the inmates, and 
 whether they had been disposed of in accordance with 
 the regulations, previous to further admissions taking 
 place on the days fixed for the purpose. In the absence 
 of strict discipline, the workhouse will, they are told, 
 become a place to which the idle would resort to the 
 
262 THIRD REPORT. CHAP. IV. 
 
 exclusion of those who are real objects of charity ; and 
 this was the more to be apprehended in the Dublin 
 unions, from the circumstance of their workhouses being 
 open while no relief was given in the neighbouring 
 unions, and were consequently attracting from the sur- 
 rounding country those poor persons who needed or who 
 professed to need such relief. The number of inmates in 
 the South Dublin workhouse on the 25th of March was 
 2,080, and in the North Dublin the number was 1,837. 
 The case of Cork differed materially from the two 
 The cork Dublin unions. These had each a capacious 
 workhouse in which classification could be esta- 
 blished and order be enforced ; but the Cork house was 
 small, ill-arranged, and altogether insufficient for these 
 purposes ; and it was not without considerable mis- 
 giving, that in compliance with the wishes of the 
 guardians, it had been permitted to be used as the tem- 
 porary workhouse of the union, until the new house 
 should be ready . u The inconvenience was certainly less 
 felt than might be expected, the guardians having 
 made the most of the old building, and established a 
 tolerable degree of order among the inmates under cir- 
 cumstances extremely unfavourable for the purpose. 
 The number of inmates on the 25th of March was 
 1,844, nearly the half of whom were former inmates of 
 the old house of industry. This number was much 
 beyond what could be properly accommodated, but 
 owing to the severity of the winter and the high price 
 of provisions there had been much distress among the 
 poor, and the pressure for admission had consequently 
 been very great. When relief shall be administered 
 in the neighbouring unions, the pressure upon Cork 
 may be expected to subside. The new house is cal- 
 culated for 2,000 inmates, and will it is considered, when 
 completed, be sufficient to meet the wants of the union. 
 
 Ante, p. 251. 
 
A.D. 1841. EXPENDITURE, AND NUMBERS RELIEVED. 263 
 
 The foregoing account of the proceedings in the 
 Cork and Dublin unions, exhibits the actual working of 
 the Poor Law in the only unions in which it had been 
 in operation sufficiently long for showing any definite 
 result. In each of these unions workhouse relief had 
 been administered for upwards of a year, and the 
 boards of guardians and other executives had mostly 
 held office for double that period. The circumstances 
 under which they had to act, were moreover peculiarly 
 trying. These unions may therefore be regarded as 
 average examples of the working of the law, and might 
 be appealed to in proof of its sufficiency for the objects 
 contemplated in its enactment. There was no doubt 
 still in these three unions much to adjust and regulate, 
 which it required time and watchfulness to effect. But 
 the general establishment of the law throughout Ire- 
 land might now, it was considered, be looked forward 
 to with confidence, nothing having hitherto occurred to 
 raise a doubt as to its applicability ; but on the con- 
 trary, all the proceedings had served to show that the 
 system was suitable to the circumstances of the country, 
 and adequate for the relief of the destitute poor. 
 
 By the 123rd section of the Relief Act it is directed, 
 that an account of the expenditure upon the relief of 
 the poor during the year, and the total number of per- 
 sons relieved, in each union on the 1st of January, shall 
 be annually laid before parliament, together with the 
 commissioners' General Report, On the 1st of January 
 1841, the returns showed that the expense of relief in 
 the previous year, and the numbers relieved in the four 
 unions then in operation, were as follows 
 
 No. in the workhouse 
 on the 1st Jan. 1841. 
 
 Cork 12,453 8 1,549 
 
 North Dublin 10,40712 7 1,601 
 
 South Dublin 12,732 3 8 1,987 
 
 Londonderry (two months) . . 1,464 4 5 331 
 
 37,057 8 8 Total 5,468 
 
264 THE WORKHOUSE CHILDREN. CHAP. IV. 
 
 The education of the children maintained in the 
 Education workhouse, was from the very outset felt to 
 S? wSkSSSe be a matter of the utmost importance. In 
 the North Dublin workhouse there were 500 
 children under sixteen years of age, and in the South 
 Dublin workhouse there were 635. That these children 
 should be trained up in moral and religious habits, and be 
 fitted by education and by instruction in useful branches 
 of industry for earning their own living, all must admit 
 to be necessary ; and for these purposes a protestant 
 and a Roman catholic chaplain, and a schoolmaster and 
 schoolmistress, were appointed to each workhouse. The 
 girls were taught sewing, and were employed in the 
 domestic work of the house, so as to fit them for ser- 
 vice. The boys were taught tailoring, shoemaking, 
 carpentering, and some were set to work in the garden : 
 but the various employments to which boys reared in 
 the workhouse are likely in after life to betake them- 
 selves, hardly admit of their being specifically trained 
 for them, and little more can be done in the way of pre- 
 paration than to send them forth imbued with habits 
 of industry, their frames strengthened and inured to 
 labour, their tempers and mental faculties duly culti- 
 vated, and above all with their minds duly impressed 
 with a sense of their moral and religious duties. When 
 thus prepared, they will be best fitted for entering upon 
 the duties incidental to their position, on the right per- 
 formance of which their future condition in life must 
 depend. The earnest attention of the Dublin boards 
 was given to this subject, and arrangements were made 
 with the Commissioners of National Education for in- 
 specting the workhouse schools, and for supplying them 
 with books and other requisites on the most favourable 
 terms. The Board likewise took advantage of every 
 opportunity for impressing upon the guardians and 
 union officers the great importance of attending to the 
 education and training of these children, and of getting 
 
A.D. 1841. VALUATIONS. 265 
 
 them out into service and other occupations as soon as 
 they were fitted for it. 
 
 Shortly after the opening of the Dublin workhouses, 
 a marked decrease was observed in the number 
 
 Mendicancy. 
 
 of beggars, and persons before adverse to the 
 Poor Law were then heard to speak in its favour. 
 Many of the beggars had in fact entered the work- 
 houses, and thus the public were relieved from their 
 solicitations ; but the relief was short-lived, for others 
 soon flocked in from the neighbouring districts, and 
 many who had entered the workhouses experimentally 
 as it were, or through fear that their vocation might be 
 suddenly put a stop to, again left them and resumed 
 their former practice of begging ; and thus after a time, 
 the streets and suburbs of Dublin were as full of beggars 
 as before. This circumstance appears to have produced 
 a very general conviction, not in Dublin only but 
 throughout the country, of the necessity for suppress- 
 ing mendicancy, and Lord Morpeth x introduced a 
 bill for the purpose, which however was not proceeded 
 with. The commissioners nevertheless again empha- 
 tically declared " that a law for the repression of men- 
 dicancy was essential to the well-working of the Poor 
 Eelief Act in Ireland." 
 
 Much attention was given to the valuations of the 
 rateable property in the several unions, and T hevaiu- 
 such advice and assistance as appeared to be 
 necessary were afforded on the occasion. The valua- 
 tions were said to be complete in fifty of the unions, 
 and were in progress in most of the others ; and not- 
 withstanding that they were said to be too low, " there 
 was on the whole reason to be satisfied with the manner 
 in which this very important duty had been performed, 
 although in so large an operation, entered upon under 
 such a variety of circumstances, there must be variances 
 
 x Then secretary for Ireland. 
 
266 THIRD REPORT. CHAP. IV. 
 
 and imperfections requiring time and experience to 
 rectify." It was at this time proposed to found the 
 parliamentary franchise upon the Poor Law valuations, 
 and the author's opinion was asked as to their accuracy, 
 and whether the commissioners possessed sufficient power 
 for securing their correctness in future. A good deal 
 of communication took place on the subject, and the 
 author stated that he considered no further powers to 
 be necessary that strictly speaking the valuation was 
 only applicable to one rate, and was constantly open to 
 revision as the value of property changed, or as cir- 
 cumstances required it ; so that supposing the valuations 
 not to be accurate then, as provision was made for suc- 
 cessive revisions, it could hardly be doubted that after 
 a few rates had been levied, they would be made to 
 approximate very closely to what was contemplated by 
 the Act, and would also be kept in that state by the 
 self-corrective principle with which they were imbued. 
 With respect to any consequences likely to arise from 
 basing the parliamentary or the municipal franchise 
 upon the Poor Law valuations, if either should be de- 
 termined on, he thought " that whatever influence such 
 a connexion might have, must tend to raise the valua- 
 tions ; and as these were now confessedly too low, the 
 effect would be so far beneficial." 
 
 Many irregularities had occurred in the election of 
 Election of guardians, and there had likewise been in- 
 ans ' stances of improper interference with the dis- 
 tribution and collection of the voting papers. An 
 inquiry was therefore instituted with a view to ascertain 
 whether it might not be expedient to make some change 
 in these respects. Under the Municipal Corporation 
 Act, the suffrages are required to be given at polling- 
 places appointed for the purpose, while by the Board's 
 order for the election of guardians they are directed to be 
 given by means of voting papers ; and of the two modes, 
 many persons thought the former best suited to the 
 
A.D. 1841. MEDICAL CHARITIES. 267 
 
 state of Ireland. But although irregularities and im- 
 proper influence had no doubt in some cases interfered 
 with the distribution and collection of the voting papers, 
 intimidation and undue influence of another kind might, 
 it was thought, be as effectually practised, and in a more 
 turbulent manner, when the electors proceed to polling- 
 places to record their votes ; and to make so impor- 
 tant a change at the then early stage of the proceed- 
 ings, unless it were absolutely necessary, would tend to 
 weaken public confidence on all which accounts, and 
 after much consideration, it was determined to adhere 
 to the mode of conducting the elections then established 
 endeavouring however at the same time to improve 
 the details, and as far as possible to guard against 
 irregularities and improper influences of every kind. 
 Elections had taken place in 99 unions, and in 25 of 
 these the guardians were returned without a contest. 
 The other 74 unions comprised 1,234 electoral divi- 
 sions, and ten divisions which were subdivided into 54 
 wards, making in all 1,288 election districts, in 254 of 
 which contests took place, whilst in 1,034 the guardians 
 were returned without a contest. These results seemed 
 to augur well for the future elections under the existing 
 order. A tabular statement showing the particulars of 
 all these elections, with the names of the several return- 
 ing officers, is given in the Appendix to the Annual 
 Report. 
 
 A limited inquiry into the state of a few of the 
 medical charities had been made in the previous The me dicai 
 year, but a more extended inquiry under the c 
 provisions of the Poor Relief Act appearing to be 
 desired, and the time indicated by the 46#A section for 
 commencing such inquiry, namely " so soon as con- 
 veniently may be after the formation of the unions," 
 having arrived, it was determined that the whole of the 
 medical charities should forthwith be examined, and a 
 series of instructions were accordingly prepared for the 
 
268 VACCINATION. CHAP. IV. 
 
 purpose/ At the date of the commissioners' third 
 Annual Report the medical charities within 53 of the 
 unions had been examined and reported upon, and as 
 these were spread over every part of the country, and 
 comprised every variety of circumstance usually con- 
 nected with such institutions, they might be considered 
 as presenting a fair sample of the wants, and of the 
 actual state and condition of the whole. It was there- 
 fore thought that a sufficient amount of information had 
 been obtained for reporting the same to government, 
 and suggesting such corrective measures as appeared to 
 be called for, although the inquiry had not been com- 
 pleted in all the unions ; and this was soon afterwards 
 accordingly done. 
 
 The 3rd and kth Viet., cap. 29, 'to extend the practice 
 of vaccination,' had been passed in the year 
 
 Vaccination. ' . . J 
 
 preceding, and no time was lost in bringing the 
 Act into operation in Ireland, so far as depended on the 
 Poor Law executive. Letters were addressed to the 
 unions, advising and instructing the guardians as to 
 the steps to be taken by them on the occasion, and fur- 
 nishing them with the necessary forms of contract &c. 
 for carrying the law into effect. These were generally 
 found sufficient for the purpose, and ninety of the 
 unions had already contracted in the form and on the 
 terms proposed ; and the others would, it was expected, 
 do the same, when their organization became sufficiently 
 advanced. The rate of remuneration recommended for 
 the medical practitioners, was a shilling for each case of 
 successful vaccination treated during the year up to 200, 
 and sixpence for each such case beyond that number ; 
 but the guardians were not restricted to these rates, if 
 in any case they should appear to them to be unsuitable. 
 
 y The gentlemen to whom this very important duty was confided were Mr. 
 Phelan who had been specially appointed with a view to this object, and Dr. 
 Corr afterwards temporarily employed for the like purpose ; and to them was 
 joined the assistant-commissioner in charge of the district within which the 
 particular inquiry took place. 
 
A.D, 1841. THIRD REPORT. 269 
 
 It had always been considered that the union ma- 
 chinery would afford facilities for the iiitroduc- union 
 
 ri -i T i i TT' agricultural 
 
 tion 01 local improvements in Ireland. Hitherto societies. 
 there had been a want of means for carrying any such 
 object into effect. But the Union authorities now afforded 
 the means, and possessed sufficient local influence for 
 setting on foot and supporting whatever local measures 
 might be necessary for promoting the comfort and 
 well-being of the people. I had frequent communica- 
 tions on this interesting subject with persons residing 
 in different parts of the country, and I omitted no oppor- 
 tunity of adverting to the important considerations 
 which it involved. Agriculture is the chief staple of 
 Ireland, on which the welfare, and it may be said the 
 very existence of its inhabitants depended. Yet agri- 
 culture was, with few exceptions, confessedly in a very 
 backward state ; and it appeared to me likely that tj^is 
 backwardness might to some extent be remedied by the 
 establishment of union agricultural societies that is, 
 associations for promoting improvements in agriculture 
 within the limits of the respective unions ; but of course 
 to be in no way connected with the administration of 
 the Poor Law. Efforts were accordingly made for 
 accomplishing this object, and with considerable success, 
 several such associations having been formed at the date 
 of the third Report, the Ballinasloe union under its 
 chairman Lord Clancarty being the first, and others 
 likewise being in course of formation, with every pros- 
 pect of beneficial results. 
 
 The prices of provisions were high during nearly 
 the whole of last year (1840), and there was Prevalence 
 a good deal of distress in some districts. Appli- 
 cations for assistance were as usual made to govern- 
 ment on the approach of summer in the present year, 
 and these being referred to the Dublin Board, were in 
 every instance fully inquired into. It was evident that 
 much pressure prevailed in some parts of the country, 
 owing to the exhaustion or short supply and conse- 
 
270 PEEVALENCE OF DISTEESS. CHAP. IV. 
 
 quent clearness of the potato ; but " it did not appear 
 that the pressure was so great, or the distress in any 
 district so urgent, as to call for extraordinary inter- 
 ference on the part of the government." The distress 
 which usually took place in the western parts of Ire- 
 land between the months of June and September, from 
 a failure of the old and pending the incoming of the 
 new crop, will it may be feared continue more or less 
 to prevail, so long as the potato continues to be the 
 chief or nearly sole food of the population. The in- 
 tensity of the distress is always in proportion to the 
 length of the interval between the exhaustion of one 
 crop and the maturity of the other ; and this interval 
 under ordinary circumstances can only be reduced by 
 the exercise of forethought and prudential considera- 
 tions by the people themselves. These qualities hap- 
 pily appear to be increasing and becoming more 
 general, the pressure of the preceding year having been 
 sustained, not only without the usual aid from govern- 
 ment, but with less suffering and privation than had 
 prevailed in former years, although the last year's 
 crops were considerably under an average. The people 
 therefore must have been more careful in husbanding 
 their means, and were likewise, it may be presumed, 
 better informed with regard to their social position, and 
 the duties which it imposed upon them. Perhaps a 
 portion of this improvement may be attributed to the 
 frequent discussions with reference to the Poor Law 
 question during the last five or six years, partly also to 
 the organization of unions latterly in progress through- 
 out the country, and partly likewise to the spread of 
 temperance which had happily taken place of late. 
 
 The Report for 1842 brings the account of proceed- 
 
 1842, ings down to the 1st of May, instead of ending 
 
 reports at the 25th of March, as in the case of the 
 
 proceedings 
 
 three preceding Eeports. This was done in 
 
A.D. 1842. FOURTH REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS. 271 
 
 order to assimilate the dates of the English and Irish 
 Reports, the statements of proceedings in each now ter- 
 minating at the same period. 
 
 At the date of the preceding Report, the unions had 
 all been declared excepting three, for the de- Unions 
 claring of which the preliminary arrangements 
 had all been made, and these were declared shortly 
 afterwards. 2 The whole of Ireland must now therefore 
 be regarded as being divided into unions, with the extent 
 of each union defined, and its population and other cir- 
 cumstances ascertained and recorded. In each union 
 likewise, an administrative body had been formed on a 
 broad representative principle, and there could be no 
 doubt that the boards of guardians so elected would 
 possess the confidence of the people. A complete re- 
 turn of the 130 unions, with their area and population, 
 the number of electoral divisions, the number of 
 guardians elected and ex-officio, and the date of de- 
 claration of each union, is given in the Appendix to the 
 Report. 
 
 Next in order to the formation of the unions, and 
 it may be added next also in importance, T he work- 
 is the erection of the workhouses ; and to a de- 
 scription of the steps taken in carrying forward this 
 extensive operation, several pages are devoted in the 
 fourth Report, at the date of which, all the workhouses 
 had been built, or were in progress of building, and 81 
 had been declared fit for the reception of destitute 
 poor. In all of these, excepting a few of the last 
 finished, relief was being then administered, and by the 
 end of the summer it was expected that at least 100 of 
 the workhouses would be completed and opened, and 
 the others far advanced towards completion. A hope 
 is also expressed that by the end of the following 
 spring, " or at latest by midsummer," the workhouses 
 
 z Ante, p. 259. 
 
272 FOURTH REPORT. CHAP. IV. 
 
 throughout Ireland would be all in operation. This it 
 is observed was perhaps as much as could be expected 
 under the most favourable circumstances ; but the pre- 
 valence of wet weather during the last three years had 
 greatly impeded the progress of the buildings, and much 
 increased the labour and difficulty of superintendence. 
 Even in favourable seasons, it would not be a light 
 task to superintend and direct extensive buildings, pro- 
 ceeding simultaneously in every part of the country; 
 but with such weather as had prevailed in the last 
 three years, and with a hundred of these buildings in 
 progress at one time, all requiring constant attention, 
 the labour and the difficulty must obviously have been 
 increased. The builders likewise were sufferers from 
 the same cause, which made them lose much time, as well 
 as incur much additional expense. Generally however 
 the buildings were well finished, and the several con- 
 tractors evinced, with few exceptions, an honest deter- 
 mination to fulfil their engagements, although this was 
 in some instances done to their own loss. 
 
 The money required for providing the workhouses, 
 workhouse being under the provisions of the Relief Act, 
 and with consent of government, advanced 
 by the exchequer-bill loan commissioners, arrange- 
 ments had been made for its reception, safe custody, 
 and correct appropriation, through the medium of 
 the Bank of England and the Bank of Ireland. A 
 separate loan was in the first instance granted to each 
 union, and as the money was successively required to 
 pay for land purchased, or to pay the stipulated instal- 
 ments to the contractor, the amount was transmitted 
 to the Bank of Ireland for the credit of the person to 
 whom it was payable in Dublin ; and thus these loans 
 passed from her Majesty's exchequer into the hands of 
 the parties severally entitled to receive them, without 
 ever departing from the custody of one or other of the 
 two great national banks, and consequently without 
 

 A.D. 1842. COST OF WORKHOUSES. 273 
 
 risk, or the possibility of malversation. On the com- 
 pletion of the buildings, and after the accounts had 
 been duly examined and certified, they were together 
 with all the original documents laid before the boards 
 of guardians, in order that every step which had been 
 taken in the matter might be distinctly seen by them 
 the amount claimed, the amount deducted, and the 
 quantity and price on which the deduction was founded 
 or the claim allowed, all appeared on the face of the 
 accounts ; and a statement was at the same time deli- 
 vered showing in detail the amount of the several 
 receipts from the loan, and the expenditure on account 
 of the union, and exhibiting the excess if there were 
 a balance in hand, or the deficiency if there was not 
 enough to cover the expenditure, in which case a fur- 
 ther order to the guardians to raise or borrow the sum 
 deficient was necessarily issued. 
 
 It was originally estimated that the cost of the work- 
 houses would not exceed a million sterling, and cost of the 
 provision had been at the outset made to that v 
 extent : but as the buildings advanced, it became evident 
 that this amount would not be sufficient, and application 
 was made for a further loan of 150,000^. One cause of 
 the excess was, that it had not been originally proposed 
 to finish and fit up the workhouses in so expensive a way 
 as was afterwards found to be necessary. As the general 
 condition of the people with respect to their habitations 
 and mode of living, was inferior to that of the corre- 
 sponding classes in England, it was thought that the 
 workhouses might properly be of a somewhat less finished 
 and costly character, and the arrangements for the build- 
 ings were framed in accordance with this view. Further 
 experience however showed it to be necessary that the 
 Irish workhouses should be made in all respects as com- 
 plete as those in England. Indeed the guardians very 
 generally wished that the finishing and fittings should 
 be more costly and complete than was the case in the 
 
 T 
 
274 FOURTH REPORT. CHAP. IV. 
 
 English houses; and if the prevalent desire on this 
 point had been complied with, the workhouses in 
 Ireland would have been finished and fitted up after 
 the model and with all the appliances of an hospital 
 or infirmary. This will account for much of the excess 
 beyond the original estimate in providing the Irish 
 workhouses. 
 
 In connexion with the workhouses, the difficulty of 
 workhouse always finding suitable employment for the 
 employment. j nma f- eg re q u i res to be noticed. That pauper 
 
 labour is unprofitable, was generally admitted ; and if 
 it were so in England where there is a constant demand 
 for labour, it could not fail of being so in Ireland where 
 the labour market was for the most part overcharged. 
 All that had hitherto been done in this respect in the 
 Irish workhouses, was to keep the inmates occupied as 
 far as possible in employments of the commonest kind. 
 The aged and infirm of both sexes who constituted a 
 great majority of the inmates, were generally employed 
 in oakum-picking, in the picking carding and spinning 
 of wool, in knitting, and some few in making and mend- 
 ing the clothes belonging to the establishment. There 
 were scarcely any able-bodied men in the workhouses, 
 although there were many partially disabled, who were 
 mostly occupied in the kitchen or doing the rougher 
 work about the yards, and where this did not afford 
 sufficient occupation they were employed in breaking 
 stones. The able-bodied women were employed in house- 
 hold work, and there were not always a sufficient number 
 of these to clean and keep the house in proper order ; 
 but where the number was greater than could be so 
 employed, they were set to work with the needle, or in 
 carding spinning or knitting. With regard to the 
 children of both sexes, when not at school, they are 
 employed in occupations suited to their age and strength 
 the girls under the matron in household work, or in 
 working with their needle ; the boys working in the 
 
A.D. 1842. SANITAKY STATE OF WORKHOUSES. 275 
 
 yards, or in the garden, or at some trade in the house, 
 thus accustoming their hands to labour, and fitting them 
 for the everyday occupations of life. Much difficulty 
 had always been found in getting young persons out 
 into service or other occupation in Ireland. The better 
 the workhouse children are trained and educated how- 
 ever, the better will be their chance in this respect. 
 With the boys there will probably be less difficulty than 
 the girls. Emigration would seem to be the suitable 
 remedy for an excess of numbers in either case ; but 
 emigration, contrary to what was originally intended, 
 was by the 51st section of the Relief Act made a charge 
 upon the electoral division. The board of guardians 
 collectively had no power to deal with it. And hence, 
 although there were a number of friendless young per- 
 sons, mostly females, the residuum of a former system, 
 in the workhouses of the two Dublin unions, and at 
 Cork, Waterford, Limerick, and Belfast, for whom no 
 employment could be found, the money necessary for 
 defraying the expense of their emigration could not be 
 raised, and they continued a burden upon the unions 
 instead of becoming useful as colonists. 
 
 The sanitary condition of the workhouses had gene- 
 rally been good, although they were in some 
 
 / 1 -I 1 xl , Sanitai 7 
 
 instances much crowded during the winter, state of the 
 
 i i i i~\ i i workhouses. 
 
 This was especially the case with the Dublin 
 and Cork houses. Yet the inmates had on the whole 
 been remarkably healthy, and fewer deaths occurred 
 than might have been expected, looking at the advanced 
 age and generally depressed physical condition of a large 
 proportion of the individuals admitted. But the absence 
 of all exciting influences, the regular hours, due supplies 
 of food and clothing, and the warmth and ventilation 
 which are found in a workhouse in a superior degree to 
 what can be obtained by the same class out of it, no 
 doubt conduce to the preservation of the health, and the 
 extension of the life of its inmates. Such is not always 
 
 T 2 
 
276 FOURTH REPORT. CHAP. IV. 
 
 the case however with respect to children. In the Dublin 
 workhouses, a large proportion of the infants were in a 
 diseased or extremely emaciated state when admitted, 
 and very many of them in their then condition could 
 hardly be expected to live. The mortality which took 
 place was accordingly so considerable as to lead to an 
 inquiry being instituted, the result of which showed 
 " that although the mortality among the infants under 
 two years of age in the workhouse was large, it yet had 
 not exceeded, but rather fallen short of the average 
 mortality among infants of the same age and class in 
 foundling hospitals and other like institutions, or even 
 at large under the care of their parents." 
 
 The accounts of the unions in which workhouses were 
 Audit of the in operation were severally audited by the assist- 
 ant-commissioners, and duly reported upon. 
 These reports showed the working of the system in all 
 its details, pointing out and commenting upon the good 
 and bad parts of the administration, and exhibiting and 
 explaining the general results. The audit reports are 
 in fact calculated to afford a complete view of the work- 
 ing of the Poor-law, wherever the administration of 
 relief under its provisions had been brought into opera- 
 tion. Several of these were appended to the fourth 
 annual Report, 
 
 The expenditure on relief of the poor during the 
 Amount of previous year, and the numbers relieved on the 
 ^number 1st of January, in the four unions then in ope- 
 ration, of which an account has been given, a was 
 in the year ending January 1st 1842 as follows 
 
 Number in the house 
 on the 1st January 1842. 
 
 Cork -.: 11,775 1881 
 
 North Dublin 14,643 1940 
 
 South Dublin .... .. 15,613 2124 
 
 Londonderry.. .. ...... .. 3,711 385 
 
 45,742 Total 6,330 
 
 .' Ante, p. 263. 
 
A.D. 1842. COLLECTION OF POOR-RATES. 277 
 
 These unions may therefore be considered as being in 
 orderly working, and equal to the duties imposed upon 
 them by the Poor Relief Act. Thirty-three other unions 
 in different parts of the country were likewise in opera- 
 tion during a portion of the year, longer or shorter 
 according to the respective orders of declaration ; and 
 the expenditure in these unions down to the same date 
 as the above, had amounted to 64,53 5/., the number of 
 inmates in the several workhouses at that time being 
 8,916, of which number 1,310 were in the Limerick 
 house. It thus appears that at the commencement of 
 1842, after somewhat more than two years' preparation, 
 workhouse relief was administered in 37 unions, to 
 15,246 destitute persons, at an expense of 110, 277/. a 
 result which, having regard to all circumstances, could 
 hardly fail of being deemed satisfactory, and as holding 
 out a promise of the early maturing of the other unions, 
 all of which had been declared and were in progress of 
 organization. 
 
 Apprehensions had been expressed, that in some parts 
 of the country it would be difficult if not impos- collection of 
 sible to collect the poor-rates ; but with very tbe rate ' 
 few exceptions no difficulty whatever occurred. There 
 was nowhere any concerted resistance to the payment 
 of the rate. " In a few instances, (it is observed) per- 
 sonal caprice or misapprehension of the law, has led 
 individuals to refuse to pay the rate when it has been 
 demanded ; but such refusals have not been persisted in, 
 after the commencement of legal proceedings, or after 
 due explanation has been given ; and in no instance 
 has any material difficulty arisen, where the magistrates 
 have evinced a prompt and firm determination in carry- 
 ing out the law." Whatever apprehensions may have 
 been felt on this point, experience hitherto had therefore 
 shown to be without foundation. 
 
 By the 53rd and four followng sections of the Eelief 
 Act, the relatives of persons maintained in a workhouse 
 
278 FOUKTH EEPOET. CHAP. IV. 
 
 are, when of sufficient ability, made liable for the cost of 
 Liability of such maintenance ; and the boards of guardians 
 were advised, whenever a case of this kind 
 occurred, and the ability of the relatives was undoubted, 
 to take the necessary steps for enforcing the law. That 
 the guardians ought to do this can hardly admit of doubt, 
 it being no less a legal than a social obligation. No 
 fitting opportunity of pressing the fulfilment of this 
 duty upon the guardians was therefore omitted, and an 
 intention was expressed of continuing to do so " in the 
 conviction that the liabilities of natural relations, as 
 established by the 53rd and following sections, were 
 calculated to confer an important benefit upon the whole 
 community." 
 
 The valuations of rateable property had now been 
 The vaiua- completed in a hundred and ten of the unions, 
 and were in progress in all the others. Before 
 the end of the present year they would it was expected 
 be complete throughout Ireland, and confidence is ex- 
 pressed as to their general sufficiency, " without how- 
 ever venturing to assert that they are in every instance 
 free from error." It was indeed said to be almost impos- 
 sible that they should be so, the value of properties con- 
 tinually changing ; but they had attained a satisfactory 
 state of average accuracy, and would, it was considered, 
 become more and more correct through the successive 
 revisions they will undergo previous to the imposition 
 of every new rate. On the Municipal Corporations Act 
 coming into operation in Dublin however, and when the 
 poor-rate was taken as the basis of the municipal fran- 
 chise, respecting the possession and exercise of which 
 much excitement prevailed, the accuracy of the valuations 
 was more closely scrutinised, and an inquiry with regard 
 to the means for their revision was instituted. The 
 result of the inquiry was, that although the valuations 
 in their present state might be sufficient for poor-law 
 purposes, yet with reference to the Municipal Act, it 
 
A.D. 1842. MEDICAL CHARITIES. 279 
 
 was desirable that a supervisor of the rates should be 
 appointed in the unions comprising large towns. This 
 was accordingly at once done in Dublin and Limerick, 
 and was determined to be done in other places, as it 
 should be found necessary. Instructions were at the 
 same time prepared for the guidance of supervisors in 
 the execution of this duty. 
 
 The Report on the medical charities in pursuance of 
 the powers conferred by the 46A and 47#A sec- Report on 
 
 A a T T> i* A A T the medical 
 
 tions of the Poor Relief Act, was presented to Rarities. 
 government shortly after the date of the last annual 
 Report, b together with the evidence which had then 
 been taken, and including " the heads of a proposed bill 
 for the better regulation and support of the medical 
 charities of Ireland." The remainder of the evidence 
 was presented on the conclusion of the inquiry, and 
 the whole was in due course laid before parliament. 
 I was then the commissioner acting in Ireland, and 
 being highly impressed with the importance of the 
 numerous medical institutions, and with the necessity 
 for their better support and regulation, I had bestowed 
 much time and labour on the subject, and had earnestly 
 endeavoured to devise the means of placing these 
 valuable charities in a more secure condition with regard 
 to their finances, and at the same time to improve the 
 position of the medical practitioners by whose exertions 
 they were in very many cases chiefly supported. All 
 my efforts were directed to these ends, and to increasing 
 the efficiency of the charities for the objects for which 
 they were instituted. I was aware that there were dif- 
 ficulties to be overcome, arising from interested motives 
 professional jealousies and misapprehensions ; but there 
 was no concealment, the course adopted was open, no 
 pains were spared, able assistance had been obtained, 
 and I was hopeful of success. The Report, with the heads 
 of the proposed bill, was sent to every medical institution 
 
 Ante, p. 268. 
 
280 FOURTH REPORT. CHAP. IV. 
 
 throughout Ireland, and had also been otherwise exten- 
 sively circulated, without calling forth any expression of 
 dissent, either from the medical profession or other par- 
 ties ; and with the sanction of government a bill was 
 prepared in exact conformity with the headings set forth 
 in the Eeport, and was about being introduced into par- 
 liament, when so violent an opposition was suddenly 
 manifested by a great majority of the medical profession, 
 that government deemed it inexpedient to proceed with 
 the bill. The measure for " the better regulation and 
 support of the medical charities in Ireland " was there- 
 fore suspended, but it was not abandoned; and the 
 author had a few years afterwards the satisfaction of 
 seeing a measure substantially the same as he had re- 
 commended, and founded on the inquiry which he had 
 instituted, generally acquiesced in and become the law. 
 Every attention was continued to be given for carrying 
 vaccination ^ Q ^ eG ^ * ne provisions of the Vaccination Act, 
 and no efforts were spared to realize the bene- 
 volent intentions of the legislature for extending the 
 benefits of vaccination, and for preventing the occur- 
 rence and the spreading of smallpox. The Appendix 
 to the Annual Report contains a return showing the 
 numbers successfully vaccinated in each of 100 unions, 
 the whole amounting to 104,713, a number fully equal 
 to if not exceeding what could reasonably have been 
 expected under the circumstances. 
 
 The prevalence of mendicancy continued to be felt as 
 ^ burden, an d was very generally regarded as 
 an evil which ought to be put an end to. It is 
 true that the law did not confer an actual right to relief, 
 and that the workhouses might possibly be sometimes 
 inadequate for the reception of all who were in a state 
 of destitution ; but a rate was nevertheless made for the 
 relief of the destitute, and the persons who were most 
 helpless would be received into the workhouses. It was 
 
 The 14th and 15th Viet. cap. 68. See post, p. 382. 
 
A.D. 1842. MENDICANCY. 281 
 
 therefore considered that means should be taken, if not 
 for putting an end to mendicancy altogether, at least for 
 its diminution in a ratio corresponding with the means 
 which had been provided for the relief of destitution. 
 Many of the boards of guardians had passed resolu- 
 tions to this effect ; and at a public meeting held in 
 Dublin for considering the subject, it was resolved to 
 apply to the Irish government, urging the necessity of 
 immediate steps being taken to put down the evil. The 
 prevalence of mendicancy was found to be a positive 
 obstacle to the working of the Poor Law. Thus in 
 some of the unions, after the stock of habitual mendi- 
 cants had for the most part been taken into the work- 
 houses, the ratepayers of particular electoral divisions 
 finding that the removal of what might be called their 
 own established poor did not protect them from men- 
 dicancy, but was followed by inroads of beggars from 
 other districts, deemed it better that their own poor 
 should be permitted to levy contributions from house to 
 house as theretofore, than that the ratepayers should 
 incur the charge of maintaining them in the workhouse, 
 and at the same time be called upon for contributions 
 to the mendicants by whom their doors were beset. If 
 the mendicancy clauses in the Poor Belief Bill as 
 originally framed had been retained, these evils would 
 have been prevented, and the repression of begging 
 would have kept pace with the administration of relief 
 under the Poor Law ; but in the passage of the measure 
 through parliament, these clauses, as before stated, were 
 withdrawn, and no step had subsequently been taken for 
 their re-enactment in any shape, as was understood to 
 be intended at the time. d 
 
 During the greater portion of the last year, excessive 
 rains and a general prevalence of cold ungenial Unfavour . 
 weather affected both the grain and the potato baikwar a d ther> 
 crops, which were in consequence neither so Sequent 
 early, so good, nor so abundant, as under more 
 
 d Ante, p. 211. 
 
282 FIFTH REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS. CHAP. IV. 
 
 favourable circumstances they might have been. The 
 same had been the case in the two or three previous 
 years ; and this succession of adverse seasons neces- 
 sarily tended to increase the distress which usually 
 more or less prevails in Ireland, especially in the western 
 districts, during the months of June July and August. 
 But notwithstanding the existence of much distress from 
 these causes, it was in the present as in the preceding 
 year met and overcome by the energies of the people 
 themselves, without aid from government as on former 
 like occasions ; a circumstance which must be regarded 
 as indicative of improved habits, and as warranting 
 hopeful anticipations with regard to the future. 
 
 At the date of the last Report (May 1st 1842), the 
 1843. whole of Ireland had been formed into 130 
 unions, all the workhouses were either built or 
 
 land. i n progress of building, and 8 1 had been de- 
 
 clared fit for the reception of destitute poor. It was 
 then likewise expected that by midsummer of the fol- 
 lowing year all the workhouses throughout Ireland 
 would be in operation. 6 This expectation however was 
 not fulfilled, for at the date of the present Report (1st 
 May 1843) no more than 110 of the workhouses had 
 been declared, and in only 98 of these was relief ad- 
 ministered. In the earlier proceedings, it had been the 
 practice to declare and bring the workhouses into opera- 
 tion as quickly as possible, leaving certain minor matters 
 to be more leisurely completed afterwards. This was 
 done, often at some inconvenience, in order to give 
 effect to the law at the earliest practicable period. But 
 it was now deemed more expedient to have the work- 
 house and all the arrangements fully completed before 
 bringing it into operation ; and hence a period longer 
 or shorter according to circumstances, would necessarily 
 intervene between the declaration of the house and the 
 
 Ante, p. 271. 
 
. 
 
 ^ ^.4--, 
 
 1843. FIFTH EEPOBT. 283 
 
 actual admission of applicants by the guardians. This 
 accounts for relief being administered in only 98 of the 
 houses, although 110 had been declared. It may also 
 account for the non-fulfilment of the expectation which 
 had been expressed, as to the declaration of the whole 
 of the workhouses. 
 
 In the 37 unions, the workhouses of which were in 
 operation previous to the 1st of January 1842, 
 
 ....... P Cost of relief 
 
 the numbers then relieved and the amount ot 
 expenditure have already been stated. f On the 
 1st of January 1843 the numbers relieved in these 
 unions amounted to 17,529, and the expenditure to 
 150,050^., thus showing an increase in the former of 
 2,283 persons, and in the latter of 39,773?. And in 55 
 other unions in which the workhouses had been brought 
 into operation in course of the preceding year, the 
 numbers relieved on the 1st of January 1843 amounted 
 to 14,043, and the expenditure to 131,183?., making 
 when added to the above 31, 572 g persons receiving 
 relief in 92 workhouses, at a cost of 281,233/. The 
 comparative amount of relief administered in the years 
 1840, 1841, and 1842 will thus stand as follows 
 
 No. of workhouses No. of Cost of relief in 
 
 in operation. inmates. the previous year. 
 
 On the 1st of January 1841 4 5,468 37,057 
 
 1842 37 15,246 110,277 
 
 1843 92 31,572 281,233 
 
 In connexion with this statement of the relief afforded 
 during these three years, it should be borne in mind 
 that the relief was administered in workhouses so re- 
 gulated as not to deter the really destitute from availing 
 themselves of the shelter afforded, whilst the discipline 
 and regularity of the establishment made it an un- 
 welcome residence for such of the able-bodied as had the 
 means of supporting themselves by their own exertions. 
 
 f Ante, p. 277. 
 
 g Although this was the total number in the 92 workhouses on the 1st of 
 January 1843, no less than 56,000 had been admitted and discharged, and 
 consequently relieved for a longer or shorter period, during the previous year. 
 
284 INSPECTION OF WORKHOUSES. CHAP. IV. 
 
 At the end of 1842, the author quitted Ireland. The 
 The author charge and direction of the proceedings in 
 L that country, had hitherto from the commence- 
 ment been devolved upon him ; and as these were so 
 far advanced as to leave no doubt with regard to their 
 completion, and as the commissioners were jointly re- 
 sponsible for carrying the law into effect, it was con- 
 sidered desirable that his colleagues should now take 
 their full share in the management of the Irish business. 
 It was intended that each of the commissioners should 
 reside for a time in Dublin, when and as it might be 
 found necessary, as had been recommended in the 
 author's first Report, and as is provided for by the ll^A 
 section of the Act. This arrangement was accordingly 
 acted upon, but only for a short time, it not being 
 deemed satisfactory ; and with the sanction of the Home 
 Office, it was determined to delegate to two of the 
 assistant-commissioners the powers necessary for con- 
 ducting the Irish business, 11 this being considered, it is 
 said " a course more consistent with the intention of 
 the legislature as expressed in the Irish Poor Relief 
 Act." The author will now therefore be relieved from 
 a difficulty he has hitherto experienced in regard to 
 the proceedings in Ireland. With these proceedings he 
 will no longer be individually connected, and may 
 advert to them with greater freedom, as being the acts 
 of the commission collectively. 
 
 Before leaving Ireland, I visited the several unions, 
 inspection and inspected all the workhouses whether 
 
 of the work- 1,1 P .- TIT 
 
 houses. completed or in course 01 erection, as I had 
 done in previous years, for the purpose of satisfying 
 myself with respect to the arrangements and manage- 
 ment in the former case, and as to the condition 
 and progress of the works in the latter. The result 
 of this inspection was for the most part satisfactory. 
 
 h The gentlemen selected for this duty were Mr. Gulson and Mr. Power ; 
 and the instrument of delegation is dated 20th April 1843. 
 
A.D. 1843. DISTRESS, AND GOVERNMENT AID. 285 
 
 There were exceptions, no doubt, and in two instances 
 owing to the bankruptcy of the contractors, the houses 
 had to be in great measure built, and entirely fitted up 
 and completed by the Dublin Board. But on the whole, 
 the contractors had fulfilled, and were fulfilling their 
 engagements satisfactorily. The workhouses in opera- 
 tion were also managed in a creditable manner; and 
 the guardians were generally attending to the business 
 of their respective unions with regularity and effi- 
 ciency. I quitted Ireland therefore without appre- 
 hending the occurrence of any material difficulty or 
 delay, and looked forward with confidence to the early 
 and universal establishment of the law, and with a 
 deep sense of thankfulness for the prospect which was 
 afforded of its successful operation. 
 
 In the early part of the summer of 1842, the weather 
 having continued unfavourable, distress again Distress, and 
 
 .P , p n i T government 
 
 maniiested itself especially in the western dis- aid - 
 tricts, as had been the case in the three preceding 
 years ; and it was considered necessary that some assist- 
 ance should be afforded, and that the people should 
 not be left entirely to their own resources, as on the 
 two last occasions. Accordingly on the application of 
 the Irish government, coupled with an intimation of its 
 desire to extend its aid " in such a way as not to pre- 
 judice or embarrass the future proceedings of the com- 
 missioners," the assistant-commissioners in charge of the 
 districts where the distress prevailed, were directed to 
 give all the facilities in their power by making in- 
 quiries and furnishing information on the cases for- 
 warded to them, preparatory to the distribution of such 
 aid as the government might think fit to bestow. 1 But 
 before the end of June the weather changed, and be- 
 came so favourable as to promise abundant crops. The 
 
 5 The amount distributed by government on this occasion, in aid of local 
 subscriptions, was 3,448Z. See ' The Irish Crisis ' by Sir Charles Trevelyan, 
 p. 19. 
 
286 FIFTH REPORT. CHAP. IV. 
 
 markets immediately fell, and the scarcity, which had 
 arisen rather from the holding back of supply than from 
 any general deficiency, no longer existed. 
 
 These facts appear to indicate, that a portion of 
 the distress which periodically takes place in Ireland, 
 may be referred to a cause, the operation of which is 
 likely to be increased by grants of public money ; for 
 provisions are said to be sometimes accumulated in the 
 stores of persons who will not bring them to market, 
 under the expectation of being able to dispose of them 
 at a famine price as soon as government shall be in- 
 duced, on the plea of distress, to make an advance of 
 public money for the purpose. Wherever the union 
 workhouse was in operation, it proved of the greatest 
 use throughout these periods of difficulty, from what- 
 ever cause arising. It not only afforded efficient relief 
 in numerous cases where it was needed, but likewise 
 effectually tested the representations of distress which 
 were continually being made. The fluctuations in the 
 numbers admitted and discharged, afforded moreover 
 the means of forming from time to time a correct judg- 
 ment on the condition of the poor in the surrounding 
 district, and was thus an index of the intensity of the 
 distress wherever it existed. 
 
 Applications had been frequently made both to the 
 pauper luna- Irish government, and to the Board in Dublin, 
 representing that if the idiotic and harmless 
 lunatics then confined in the gaols or maintained in the 
 lunatic asylums, were transferred to the workhouses of 
 the unions to which they belonged, those institutions 
 would be greatly relieved, more especially the asylums, 
 which would then be enabled to receive more curable 
 cases, and thus extend their usefulness. To such com- 
 munications it had always been replied " that the Irish 
 Poor Eelief Act made no provision for the support of 
 insane and lunatic persons, specially as such ; but that 
 a destitute person, being insane or lunatic, might be 
 
A.D. 1843. EMIGEATION. 287 
 
 admitted into the workhouse if the guardians so de- 
 cided, in the same manner as any other destitute indi- 
 vidual." To provide for cases of this description, idiot 
 wards had heen prepared in every workhouse, which 
 were calculated to afford accommodation for about 2,400 
 of this class of paupers, whenever the guardians in the 
 exercise of their discretion, should think fit to admit 
 them. It had however been thought right to dis- 
 courage any forced or immediate transfer of insane or 
 idiotic persons or harmless lunatics from the asylums 
 and gaols, but rather to wait for the gradual absorption 
 by the workhouses of such of these unfortunates as could 
 be properly relieved therein. 
 
 Fruitless efforts were made, particularly at Cork 
 and Belfast, to raise the funds necessary for 
 
 "L Emigration. 
 
 defraying the expense of emigration. In Cork, 
 Dublin, Waterford, Belfast, and certain other large 
 towns, a considerable number of young persons chiefly 
 females, and for the most part the remnants of a former 
 system, had as has been before stated, k accumulated in 
 the workhouses, for whom emigration would afford at 
 once the most eligible, and it may almost be said the 
 only outlet. Yet in the present state of the law, it was 
 found nearly if not quite impossible to take advantage of 
 it. The workhouses had not created the present burden, 
 but they had gathered it into mass, and might be made 
 useful auxiliaries to a well-directed plan of emigration. 
 The commissioners declared that it would materially 
 facilitate this object, if the boards of guardians were em- 
 powered to apply a portion of the rates for the emigra- 
 tion of such fit persons as had been resident sufficiently 
 long in the workhouse for testing their actual helpless- 
 ness and destitution. This would in fact be reverting 
 to what was originally proposed, but which had been 
 altered in the progress of the bill through the house of 
 
 k Ante, p. 275. 
 
288 ELECTOEAL DIVISIONS. CHAP. IV. 
 
 lords, by substituting divisional cbargeability for that 
 of the entire union a change to which is mostly owing 
 whatever difficulties have since occurred in the working 
 of the measure. 
 
 The ISth and kkth sections of the Eelief Act provide 
 Electoral for dividing the unions into electoral divisions, 
 and for charging against each electoral division 
 not only its proportion of the general expenses of the 
 union, but also the expense incurred for the relief of 
 persons stated in the registry to have been resident in 
 such electoral division ; the relief of others not stated 
 to have been so resident, being charged against the 
 union at large. These provisions were inserted in the 
 bill in the house of lords, on the motion of the duke of 
 Wellington, with the professed view of assimilating the 
 mechanism of the Irish unions to the unions in Eng- 
 land ; but the circumstances in the two countries were 
 widely different, and there would be little analogy 
 between the long-established English parish, and the 
 newly-created electoral divisions. This difference was 
 however overlooked in the desire for assimilation, and 
 the electoral division system was incorporated in the 
 Act, together with a sort of quasi settlement as between 
 the different divisions, approximating to settlement as 
 between parishes in the English unions. Under these 
 circumstances, it can hardly occasion surprise, that 
 although arranged with the utmost care, and with 
 every endeavour to give them a general harmony and 
 coherence, the electoral divisions did not work smoothly. 
 Their separate chargeability interfered with the efficient 
 action of the unions for general purposes, as in the case 
 of emigration, and led to struggles and contention in 
 the boards of guardians as soon as the unions got fully 
 into operation, each division endeavouring to relieve 
 itself from the charge of a registered pauper, by fixing 
 it upon some other, or by casting it upon the union at 
 large ; and thus one of the evils of the English settle- 
 
A.D. 1843. VALUATION AND RATING. 289 
 
 ment-law was inflicted upon the Irish unions, contrary 
 to the intentions of the original framers of the Act, and 
 contrary likewise to what a more thorough knowledge 
 of the condition of the two countries would it is believed 
 have dictated. 
 
 There was moreover still considerable difficulty with 
 respect to the valuations, and the difficulty was valuation 
 not a little increased by the complexity of the andrating - 
 form in which the rate is directed to be made out. 
 This form is expressly prescribed by the Amendment 
 Act, and is rather calculated for the state of things 
 in England, than for what exists in Ireland, although 
 it is too minute and complex to admit of its work- 
 ing satisfactorily in either. The form was engrafted 
 on the bill in the house of lords, with a view to 
 other than poor-law purposes, and contrary to the 
 author's earnest representations. As the number and 
 the business of the unions increased, it was found 
 nearly impossible to adhere to this form, owing to 
 the extreme subdivision of property." 1 In all the 130 
 unions the number of persons rated whose valua- 
 tions did not exceed 51. was 630,272, whilst the num- 
 ber whose valuations were above that amount was 
 550,866, and those at 50. and upwards 46,565; thus 
 showing that a considerable majority of the ratepayers 
 were valued at and under 5/. n Believing that such 
 would turn out to be the case, the author had recom- 
 
 ln See the author's first Report on Irish Poor Laws, p. 160. 
 
 n These numbers were ascertained by returns which the author had obtained 
 in 1842, and caused to be tabulated by desire of the Irish government, with a 
 view to the parliamentary franchise. The same returns show that the net 
 annual value of property assessed to the relief of the poor in Ireland, was 
 13,428, 787Z. ; but more exact returns subsequently obtained place the amount 
 at 13,253,825?. The annual value of property assessed to the poor-rate in 
 England and Wales at that time was 62,540,003?. See return to an order of 
 the house of commons dated 3rd May 1842. Both of these valuations are no 
 doubt below the actual amount, probably by 20 or 25 per cent. ; but of the 
 two, the Irish valuation is perhaps somewhat nearer the truth than the 
 other. 
 
 U 
 
290 VALUATION AND RATING. CHAP. IV. 
 
 mended that no occupier under 5/. should be called 
 upon to pay the poor-rate, but that the rate on all such 
 holdings should be paid by the landlord. It was how- 
 ever provided by the *12nd section of the Act, that 
 instead of the exemption of 51. holdings, the landlord 
 might agree to pay the rate himself, and be allowed a 
 rebate of 10 per cent, for so doing : but this provision 
 has not been acted upon, and all the small tenements 
 are required to be rated in the complex form of the 
 2nd schedule of the Act, comprising no less than eigh- 
 teen distinctive columns, under penalty of the rates 
 being deemed illegal. There can be no doubt that in 
 the abstract, as the commissioners observe, " all pro- 
 perty should contribute to the rate, and the whole 
 population be interested in the prevention of pauperism, 
 and in the well-being of the class for whose immediate 
 benefit statutory provision has been made." But the 
 small ratepayers in Ireland are so numerous, and the 
 amounts to be severally collected from them are so 
 trifling, whilst the distinction between them and the 
 destitute is often so little perceptible, that Ireland seems 
 to constitute an exception to the general rule in this 
 respect ; and it would be a great convenience, and tend 
 to facilitate the working of the Poor Law, if as was 
 at first proposed, the burden of the rate on the smaller 
 holdings were to be thrown upon the owner or imme- 
 diate lessor, rather than on the tenant himself. 
 
 The defects above noticed are explained and com- 
 mented upon at great length in the fifth Eeport. They 
 no doubt impede the orderly working of the law, and 
 add to the labours and embarrass the proceedings of 
 the entire executive ; but they do not affect the prin- 
 ciple of the measure, nor very materially detract from 
 its usefulness. They are of a different origin from the 
 measure itself, having been grafted upon the bill in its 
 progress through parliament ; and they will no doubt 
 be removed, or so modified as to be less obstructive 
 
A.D. 1843. SIXTH REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS. 291 
 
 than at present, to which end they were now brought 
 prominently under notice. 
 
 The Eeporfc of 1844, like those preceding, is dated 
 the 1st of May ; and it will be convenient to 
 commence the account of the year's proceedings 
 
 ,, P ingsinlre- 
 
 with a summary 01 the Act lor amending the land - 
 law, which was passed on the 24th August 1843, and 
 which what is said above will have prepared the 
 reader to expect. 
 
 Summary of the 6th and 1th Viet, cap. 92. 
 
 For the further Amendment of the Law for the Eelief of the Poor 
 
 in Ireland. 
 
 Sections 1, 2. That where the property rated is not of greater 
 value than 4?., or in certain boroughs named than 8, the 
 rate on such property shall be made on the immediate lessor, 
 and if his name be not known he may be rated as " the 
 immediate lessor ;" and the rate is to be recoverable together 
 with costs, notwithstanding any defect or error in the name, 
 by action, or by civil bill, or by complaint before a justice, 
 but no action is to be brought without consent of the Poor 
 Law Commissioners. 
 
 Sections 3, 4. If a rate be not paid by the lessor in four months, 
 it may be recovered from the occupier, who in such case may 
 deduct the amount from the rent due to the lessor, or recover 
 it from him. If a house be let in lodgings, the lessor is to be 
 rated for the whole house, and if the rate be not paid within 
 thirty-one days, it may be recovered from the occupiers, who 
 will be entitled to deduct it from the rent due by them ; but 
 the Municipal Corporations Act is not to be affected by any of 
 these provisions. 
 
 Sections 5, 6. When the property rated is above 5., the lessors 
 may in like manner be rated instead of the occupiers, if both 
 enter into a written agreement for the purpose, and if the 
 guardians consent thereto. All goods and chattels to whom- 
 soever belonging, found on premises for which the occupier is 
 liable to pay rate, may be distrained for the same. 
 
 Sections 7, 8. To remove certain doubts with regard to valuators 
 and valuations, the commissioners are empowered to appoint 
 valuators, or they may direct the guardians to do so ; and the 
 person so in either case appointed, may enter premises for the 
 
 u 2 
 
292 VICTORIA. . CHAP. IV. 
 
 purpose of making or revising any survey or valuation ; and 
 rates are to be assessed on the valuations so made or revised, 
 and sealed by the commissioners ; and are not to be altered 
 unless appealed against, when on receiving a copy of the 
 order of court amending such rate, the commissioners are to 
 Authorize its alteration in conformity therewith. The appeal 
 in all cases is to be made to the sessions of the peace of the 
 county, or county of a city or town within which the heredita- 
 ments are situate. 
 
 Sections 9, 10, 11. Any person affected by a rate, may on all 
 days except Sunday, between ten o'clock and four, inspect the 
 valuation on which the rate is made, and take copies thereof. 
 The form of rate prescribed by the Amendment Act is repealed, 
 and the commissioners are empowered to prescribe the form in 
 which the rates are to be made. The clerk to certify that 
 the rate when made conforms to the valuation, and the chair- 
 man and two or more of the guardians' present are to certify 
 that they allow the same. In Dublin the poor-rate is to be 
 collected in the same manner and with the like remedies as 
 the grand jury cess. 
 
 Sections 12, 13. The residence required in order that the .expense 
 of relief may be charged to an electoral division in any case, 
 is the occupation of a tenement for eighteen months, or hav- 
 ing usually slept within such division for twelve months before 
 the person's admission to the workhouse. The expense of all 
 others not having so occupied or slept, is to be charged against 
 the whole union. If a person after quitting the workhouse 
 be again admitted within six months, the expense of such 
 person is to be charged as before. The charge of every child 
 admitted, is to conform with that of the person liable for its 
 maintenance. The guardian or any three or more ratepayers 
 of an electoral division, may with consent of the commissioners 
 appeal against its being separately charged in any case. 
 
 Sections 14, 15, 16. The guardians, subject to the commissioners' 
 approval, may send any poor deaf and dumb or blind child 
 under the age of eighteen, to a deaf and dumb or blind insti- 
 tution, and defray the expense of its maintenance therein ; 
 and may also defray the expense of conveying any poor per- 
 son from the workhouse to a fever hospital or lunatic asylum 
 and his maintenance therein. Persons affected with fever or 
 other contagious disease, may be relieved in houses hired for 
 the purpose under the commissioners' regulations, and the 
 expense be charged upon the rates. 
 
 Section 17. The guardians may charge the rates with any ex- 
 pense reasonably incurred, in apprehending or prosecuting 
 
A.D. 1843. SUMMARY OF THE SECOND AMENDMENT ACT. 293 
 
 offenders against the provisions of any of the Poor-law 
 Acts. 
 
 Section 18. Two-thirds of the guardians of any union, subject to 
 the regulations of the commissioners, niay assist any poor 
 person who has been in the workhouse for three months, to 
 emigrate to a British colony, and may charge the expense on 
 the union, or on the electoral division to which such poor 
 person has been chargeable ; but the entire amount of such 
 expense is not in any one year to exceed sixpence in the 
 pound on the net annual value of the rateable property of the 
 union or the electoral division respectively. 
 
 Sections 19, 20, 21. If the number of ex-officio guardians be 
 reduced by death removal or disqualification, the commis- 
 sioners may appoint a day for the election of another ex-officio 
 guardian in the place of the one so removed. A person put 
 in nomination for an elected guardian, may refuse by notice 
 in writing to serve the office ; and in case of vacancy or refusal 
 to act, the commissioners may order a fresh election if they 
 think fit, but not otherwise. 
 
 Sections 22, 23. A person convicted of felony fraud or perjury, or 
 adjudged liable to forfeiture under the provisions of the Poor 
 Law, is incapacitated for acting as a guardian. The com- 
 missioners empowered to inquire into and decide disputes in 
 regard to the elections. 
 
 Sections 24, 25. Notice of claims to vote by owners and proxies, 
 extended from one week to one calendar month. Any person 
 knowingly tendering a false claim to vote, or forging falsify- 
 ing or altering any such claim, or altering carrying off de- 
 stroying or defacing any voting-paper, subjected to a penalty 
 of ten pounds. 
 
 Sections 26, 27. In case of reasonable doubt in regard to any 
 claim, the returning officer may refuse the vote until proof of 
 its correctness be produced. Ratepayers, guardians, and 
 union officers, not incapacitated for giving evidence. 
 
 Section 28. This and the two previous Acts (1st and 2nd, and 2nd 
 Viet. cap. 56 and 1) to be construed as one Act, except where 
 otherwise provided. 
 
 The alterations made by the above Act relate exclu- 
 sively to matters of detail. There is no change of 
 principle in the measure. The electoral division system 
 remains entire, except only as regards emigration, the 
 expense of which the guardians have now the option of 
 
294 SIXTH REPORT. CHAP. IV. 
 
 making either a union or a divisional charge. The 
 definition of residence for establishing the chargeability 
 of an electoral division, may be of some practical con- 
 venience, and would amount to a law of settlement if a 
 power of removal were given ; but as it is, it will 
 merely in a slight degree facilitate the working of the 
 divisional system. The abolition of the previous com- 
 plicated form of rate is no doubt an advantage, as is 
 also the power of rating the immediate lessors in certain 
 cases, instead of leaving it optional with them to com- 
 pound for the rates of their tenantry as before. The 
 provisions in regard to fever cases will be of much use, 
 especially as the measure proposed for regulating the 
 medical charities was not carried into effect. The ad- 
 ditional powers given to the commissioners in election 
 cases are likewise desirable ; and it may indeed be said 
 of the Act generally, that it is calculated to remedy 
 certain minor defects and omissions, and to promote the 
 more orderly working of the law. 
 
 We will now turn to the commissioners' Eeport of 
 1844, which commences by declaring that " The ad- 
 ministration of relief of the poor in Ireland had been 
 attended with some difficulties during the past year, 
 arising in a great measure from the political influences 
 which had agitated that country." The influences and 
 agitations here alluded to, were connected with the 
 great movement for a repeal of the Union, stirred up 
 and organized by the late Mr. O'Connell, the conse- 
 quences of which were in various ways exceedingly 
 pernicious, diverting the people from their legitimate 
 and necessary occupations, exciting jealousy and ill- 
 feeling towards England, inculcating distrust of the 
 government, weakening the authority of law, and in- 
 citing to a Resistance of whatever was established, of 
 course including the Poor Law. Some indications of this 
 
 Ante, p. 280. 
 
iih< 
 
 A.D, 1844. OPPOSITION TO THE LAW. 295 
 
 hostility appeared before the author quitted Ireland 
 towards the end of 1842, but shortly afterwards it was 
 openly manifested, and the Poor Law was declaimed 
 against as being an intolerable burden inflicted and 
 enforced by England and English officials, and that it 
 ought consequently to be opposed by every true Irish- 
 man. 
 
 Under these circumstances, and in the then state of 
 Ireland, it cannot excite surprise that there Resistance to 
 should be resistance to the law, and that efforts tbe law> 
 should be made to evade its provisions. As early as 
 the end of 1842 there had been resistance to payment 
 of the rates in some of the divisions of the Skibbereen 
 and Waterford unions, which afterwards extended to 
 Tipperary and several other unions in different parts 
 of Ireland. At Skibbereen indeed a death had unhap- 
 pily occurred, through the violent resistance made to 
 the constabulary while assisting the collectors in levy- 
 ing the rates. In a return made to a a order of the 
 house of commons, 21 unions are named as having 
 down to the 1st of January 1844, so far resisted the 
 payment of the poor-rates as to require the intervention 
 of the constabulary or the military to enforce the col- 
 lection. In 11 of these unions, a military as well as 
 constabulary force was deemed necessary. In the 
 other 10, the constabulary alone were found sufficient 
 to protect the collectors in the execution of their duty. 
 But it was not alone resistance to the rates which ob- 
 structed the working of the law ; in the Tuam union a 
 rate was made in October 1842, p but no part of it had 
 been collected on the 1st of January 1844. This was 
 not owing to resistance on the part of the ratepayers, 
 but to the unwillingness of the guardians to proceed 
 in the administration of relief. The workhouse, capable 
 
 p The rate amounted to 3,796?. The population of the union exceeded 
 70,000. 
 
296 BESISTANCE TO THE LAW. CHAP. IY. 
 
 of accommodating 800 persons, had been declared fit 
 for the reception of destitute poor in August 1842, a 
 master matron medical officer and porter had been 
 appointed, but such was the backwardness of the 
 guardians in fulfilling the requirements of the law, that 
 no case of destitution however urgent, was or could be 
 relieved except by application to some neighbouring 
 union. 
 
 Even after the workhouse had been opened, arid 
 relief therein administered, there were several in- 
 stances of unwillingness on the part of the guardians 
 to make rates of sufficient amount to meet the liabilities 
 of the union, and at the same time to provide for the 
 relief of the poor. Some of the boards moreover re- 
 fused to borrow and charge the rates with the sums 
 necessary to cover the expense of building the work- 
 houses, on the alleged ground of dissatisfaction with the 
 architect's certificates in favour of the contractors, or 
 of the manner in which the work had been executed.* 1 
 Legal proceedings against the guardians were in conse- 
 quence taken on account of these refusals, and much ex- 
 pense was thus injudiciously incurred, whilst the poor 
 were curtailed of their needful relief. The contracts 
 entered into under such circumstances for supplying the 
 workhouse, if they could be made at all, were necessarily 
 made on extremely disadvantageous terms ; and thus 
 the intentions of the legislature were frustrated, and 
 disaffection towards the law was generated, by the very 
 parties appointed to carry out the one, and guard 
 against the occurrence of the other. Several unions 
 are named in the Keport, in which such was or had 
 been the case, and in one (Carrick on Shannon) a poor 
 
 * The complaints of the architect's certificates were not confined to the 
 guardians, for whilst these complained of his too liberal allowance of charges, 
 the contractors complained that their charges were unduly cut down. Both 
 complaints were however totally without foundation, and in fact one negatived 
 the other. 
 
A.D. 1844. SIXTH BEPOET. 297 
 
 man had died in consequence of being refused relief. 
 Yet there can be no doubt that where the unions were 
 properly in operation, a large amount of actual destitu- 
 tion and extreme suffering was effectually met by oppor- 
 tune relief afforded in the workhouses. In many cases 
 however the poor people were so reduced as to be in 
 an extremely debilitated state when admitted, and they 
 often died shortly afterwards. In this worst extremity 
 to which, in a physical sense, a human being can be 
 exposed, an institution affording shelter, medical at- 
 tendance, and the last consolations of religion, must 
 surely be one of the most effective forms in which relief 
 can be administered, more especially among a popula- 
 tion such as exists in Ireland. 
 
 Much dissatisfaction continued to be expressed with 
 regard to the apportioning the charge of relief ^ si e onal 
 upon the several electoral divisions. Those in abilit y- 
 which the rated property was large, and the number 
 of poor inconsiderable, complained of the proportion 
 they had to pay towards the common charges of the 
 union, whilst the amount of relief required by them was 
 so small. The divisions on the contrary in which the 
 number of paupers was considerable, and the amount 
 of relief bore a large proportion to their rated value, 
 complained of the high rate of poundage to which they 
 were subjected, in comparison with the other divisions. 
 The change now made in the law may help gradually 
 to reconcile although it does not remove these distinc- 
 tions. As new admissions take place, the proportion 
 charged upon the union at large would most likely in- 
 crease, and there would thus be a closer approximation 
 towards an equal rating of the whole union. But many 
 boards of guardians expressed themselves as not satis- 
 fied with this gradual and partial change, and declared 
 themselves favourable to a union rate, whereby all 
 charges would be borne by an equal poundage-rate 
 over the several electoral divisions. That these guar- 
 
298 SIXTH REPOET. CHAP. IV. 
 
 dians took a correct view of the question seems hardly 
 to admit of doubt. They had seen the evils of divi- 
 sional chargeability, and wished to apply the obvious 
 remedy by bringing the law back to what was 
 originally proposed ; but the time for so doing had not 
 arrived, and the evils and inconveniences were still to 
 be continued, although perhaps in a somewhat miti- 
 gated form. 
 
 At the date of the present Eeport (1st May 1844) 
 collection of resistance to the collection of the rates was in 
 the rates. g rea t measure overcome, and the authority of 
 the law vindicated. The general results of the collection 
 are stated to have been as follows In 98 of the unions, 
 in which the rates made previously to the 24th August 
 1843 amounted to 605,864^., there remained uncollected 
 on the 1st January 1844 only 46,322., or something less 
 than 8 per cent, of the entire amount. But it must not 
 be supposed that even the whole of this arrear was col- 
 lectable. All tenements, whether occupied or not, are 
 usually included in the rate, the infinite number of 
 small tenements making it impossible to distinguish 
 with^ certainty what are unoccupied at the time the rate 
 is made ; and it is only the occupied tenements which 
 pay. Public property legally exempt is also often in- 
 cluded in the rate, and the arrears in the South Dublin 
 union amounting to 4,47 9 ., are likely to include sums 
 of this nature. On the whole therefore, it appeared to 
 the commissioners, that " considering the great difficulty 
 of collecting the rates from the occupiers of very small 
 tenements, on which class a large portion of the entire 
 rate is laid, these results would not be regarded as un- 
 satisfactory." 
 
 In order to secure regularity and efficiency in the 
 Auditors ap- collections, and the proper keeping of the union 
 pointed. acc ounts, it was determined to appoint four 
 auditors, who would be employed exclusively in that 
 capacity ; and it is expected that they would be the 
 
r SEVENTH REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS. 299 
 
 of establishing a greater degree of uniformity as 
 well as accuracy throughout all the unions in Ireland. 
 
 Fourteen workhouses had been brought into opera- 
 tion in course of the year 1843, the cost of relief 
 
 T -i-i i rko nfr^TT Cost of relief , 
 
 administered in which amounted to 23,277/., and numbers 
 
 7 relieved. 
 
 and the number of inmates to 1,529, on the 
 1st of January 1844 on which day the number of in- 
 mates in the 92 workhouses in operation prior to 1843 
 was 31,981, and the cost of relief 221,097^. So that 
 the entire number of persons relieved on 1st January 
 1844 in 106 workhouses was 33,510, and the cost of 
 relief during the year amounted to 244,3 74/. This 
 appears less than in the preceding year, but the differ- 
 ence is probably owing to the much greater number of 
 workhouses which were opened in 1843, and the extra 
 expenditure always attendant upon first bringing the 
 houses into operation. By a statistical table appended 
 to the Eeport, the total number of inmates of all classes 
 in the several workhouses on 31st January 1845, is 
 shown to have been 43,293, of whom 9,231 were able- 
 bodied (that is 2,809 males and 6,422 females) and 
 11,441 were disabled through sickness age or other 
 infirmity. Another minutely framed table in the Ap- 
 pendix to the Eeport shows, that of 27,529 adults above 
 the age of fifteen, and 22,585 children under that age, 
 5,942 of the former were widows, and 3,622 widowers ; 
 and that of the children 19,886 were legitimate (4,164 
 being orphans) and 2,639 were illegitimate. 
 
 The Report of 1st May 1845, commences by declaring 
 that " the administration of the law in Ireland 1845. 
 had proceeded satisfactorily upon the whole ponofpro" 
 since the date of the last Eeport." The in- Jawi> 
 stances of resistance to the collection of the rates, or in 
 which violence had occurred, were comparatively few, 
 
 This forms a part of the eleventh Report of the Poor Law Commissioners. 
 
300 SEVENTH REPORT. CHAP. IY. 
 
 and the financial embarrassments which had operated 
 prejudicially in several of the unions, had for the most 
 part ceased. There were altogether 118 workhouses 
 open for the purposes of relief. Of the 12 which re- 
 mained, 3 were not yet declared fit for the reception of 
 inmates, and in a few instances the guardians still neg- 
 lected or refused to proceed in duly administering relief, 
 although the workhouses had long since heen declared. 
 The most remarkable instance of this kind was in the 
 Tuam union ; but the commissioners had deemed it 
 right to proceed against the Tuam guardians by man- 
 damus, and their submission to the authority of the law 
 was shortly expected. Meantime however they had, it 
 is said, been sued for debts which they did not hesitate 
 to incur, although they neglected to provide the means 
 of payment. 
 
 Many of the unions had taken steps under the 15th 
 provision for an ^ l^A sections of the late Amendment Act, 
 fever cases. or p rov iding for the relief of persons suffering 
 from fever or other contagious complaints, either by 
 building fever wards distinct from the workhouses, or 
 hiring premises for the purpose, or by arranging for the 
 reception of such cases into fever hospitals ; and the 
 result had in several instances been highly beneficial. 
 " In Galway for example, during a severe epidemic, the 
 guardians erected a temporary hospital near the work- 
 house, and received into it during a period of about six 
 months 1,096 cases, of which 995 were discharged cured." 
 
 A statement is given in the Appendix to the Report, 
 showing the progress made in bringing the 
 Vaccination Act into operation in Ireland. By 
 this statement it appears that, although not duly carried 
 out in several of the unions, the measure had obtained 
 a wide and beneficial operation, and was in course of 
 gradual extension. The amount expended for vaccina- 
 tion in all the unions during the previous year, ex- 
 ceeded 4,0 OO/., the rate of payment being Is. on each 
 
 Vaccination. 
 

 A.D. 1845. SEVENTH REPORT. 301 
 
 case successfully vaccinated for the first two hundred 
 cases, and 6 d. on each successful case afterwards. This is 
 one of the charges for which the poor-rate is made liable, 
 although not strictly appertaining to the relief of the 
 poor ; but it is no doubt calculated to prevent a far 
 greater charge, by protecting the people against the 
 smallpox, a fearful scourge which generally leaves dis- 
 ablement and destitution in its train. 
 
 In the 106 workhouses which had been opened prior 
 to 1844. the number of inmates on the 1st of cost of relief, 
 
 T ._ >_ it and numbers 
 
 January 1845 was 37,701, and the expenditure relieved - 
 on relief amounted to 251,467/. 8 In the 7 workhouses 
 declared in course of that year, the number of inmates 
 on January 1st 1845 was 1,474, and the expenditure 
 18,063/., making the total number of persons relieved 
 on that day in 113 workhouses amount to 39,175, and 
 the expenditure on relief during the year to 269,530?. 
 The average weekly cost of the inmates of the work- 
 houses was Is. 5J<i. per head for maintenance, and 2J<i. 
 for clothing, making together Is. Sd. per head. The 
 cost had at the outset been estimated at Is. 6d. per 
 head. 1 Bates were made in 126 of the unions, in all in 
 fact excepting four u situate in the extreme west ; but in 
 8 of the unions in which rates had been made, the work- 
 houses were still not in operation. The commissioners 
 trusted however, that they would " be enabled to report 
 next year that the whole of the 130 workhouses in Ireland 
 were open for the reception and relief of the destitute 
 poor, in accordance with the intention of the legislature, 
 and the provisions of the Irish Poor Belief Act." 
 
 On comparing the expenditure with the net annual 
 value of property rateable in each union, it will be 
 found that it does not on an average amount to sixpence 
 
 8 No return could be obtained from the Athlone union, which is one of the 
 106, and its operations are therefore not included in these amounts. 
 * See author's memorandum at page 209 ante. 
 u These were Cahirciveen, Clifden, Glenties, and Milford. 
 
302 SEVENTH REPORT. CHAP. IY. 
 
 in the pound. The expenditure moreover includes the 
 instalments which had been repaid on account of the 
 workhouse loans; but as there was a large arrear of 
 these instalments then due, and few of the workhouses 
 had their full complement of inmates, it was thought 
 likely that the average might be higher by and bye, 
 although not so much higher as to afford reasonable 
 ground for dissatisfaction or alarm. The aggregate of 
 the loans granted by government for building and 
 fitting up the workhouses amounted to 1, 140,3 5 O/., or 
 about Is. Sd. in the pound, on the net annual value of 
 rateable property in Ireland, that is a poundage of some- 
 what less than Id. in the pound per annum for repay- 
 ment of the money borrowed. The poundage varied 
 considerably however in different unions, according to 
 the proportion the cost of the workhouse bore to the 
 value of the rateable property. 
 
 Advantage was at this time taken of the experience 
 issue of acquired during the five years that the law had 
 
 amended or- * P -i -i 
 
 been in operation, to revise the orders and re- 
 gulations which were at first promulgated. And ac- 
 cordingly an amended order was issued for the election 
 of guardians, together with a new circular of instruc- 
 tions to the clerks of unions with regard to the duties 
 to be performed by them as returning officers. An 
 amended general order was also issued regulating the 
 proceedings of boards of guardians, and defining the 
 duties of union officers ; and likewise a general order 
 containing amended regulations for the management of 
 workhouses, together with a new form for the half- 
 yearly abstract of accounts, with ample instructions 
 thereon. In short, nothing in the way of regulation 
 which came within the powers confided to the commis- 
 sioners, was omitted or neglected ; and all resistance to 
 the payment of the poor-rates having ceased, it was 
 hoped that henceforward the working of the law would 
 everywhere proceed in an orderly and effective manner. 
 
A.D. 1846. EIGHTH REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS. 303 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Eighth Report of proceedings Failure of the potato A fourth commis- 
 sioner appointed Ninth Report Potato disease in 1846 Public 
 Works Act Distress in autumn 1846 Labour-rate Act Relief-works 
 
 Temporary Relief Act Pressure upon workhouses Emigration 
 Financial state of unions First Annual Report of Poor-Law Commis- 
 sioners for Ireland Extension Act Act for Punishment of Vagrants 
 Act to provide for execution of Poor Laws General import of the new 
 Acts Change of the commission Dissolution of boards of guardians 
 
 Report of Temporary Relief Act Commissioners British Association 
 
 Second Annual Report of Poor-Law Commissioners Recurrence of 
 potato disease Cholera Rate-in-Aid Act Further dissolution of 
 boards of guardians Boundary commission Select committee on Irish 
 Poor Laws Expenditure, and numbers relieved. 
 
 THE Eeport for 1845-6, like those of preceding years, 
 
 is dated on the 1st of May, and represents the me. 
 >.. i i ,i i Eighth re- 
 
 progress of the law during the previous twelve portrf pro- 
 months as being on the whole satisfactory. All freiand 
 the workhouses were open and the rates in course of col- 
 lection, except in the two small unions of Clifden and 
 Cahirciveen, in each of which however the guardians had 
 taken steps for making a rate and opening the workhouse. 
 The number of persons relieved in the several work- 
 houses continued to increase throughout the 
 present year, the total number amounting to 
 114,205. In the week ending 27th December 
 1845 the number so relieved was 41,218, whilst in the 
 week ending 28th March 1846 (the last for which 
 the returns were complete) the number was 50,717, 
 being an increase of 9,499 in three months, and indi- 
 cating that the distress which had now become very 
 general was beginning to press upon the workhouses. 
 The number described as able-bodied was 8,246, that 
 
 a This eighth Report of proceedings in Ireland, is included in the twelfth 
 Report of the Poor Law Commissioners ; but as before stated it has been 
 thought, better to keep the Irish portion of the Reports distinct from the 
 other, and to give them a separate number. 
 
304 EIGHTH REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS. CHAP. V. 
 
 is 1,984 males and 6,262 females. The total expen- 
 diture on relief of the poor during the preceding year 
 in the 113 unions of which the workhouses were opened 
 prior to 1845, amounted on the 1st of January 1846 to 
 298, 81 3^. The number of inmates at that date was 
 40,876. In the 10 other unions the workhouses of which 
 were opened in the course of 1845, the expenditure on 
 relief amounted to 17,21 3., and the number of inmates to 
 1,192, so that on January 1st 1846 there were 42,068 
 poor persons relieved in 123 workhouses, and the entire 
 cost of relief during the year amounted to 316,026/. 
 
 The financial state of the unions generally, appears 
 to have been satisfactory. In the monthly returns for 
 February 1846, comprising 128 unions, the rates col- 
 lected during the month amounted to 41,8 71/., leaving 
 206,664^. in course of collection. The aggregate of the 
 balances against the guardians in 25 unions was 5,294., 
 whilst in the remaining 103 unions, the whole of the 
 balances were in favour of the guardians and amounted 
 to 54,3 14., thus showing a net balance of 49,020^. in 
 the hands of the treasurers. This sum added to what 
 was in course of collection, making together 2 5 5, 6 8 4, 
 must be regarded as sufficient for covering an expendi- 
 ture of say 320,000/. per annum, the rates in a great 
 number of the unions being made half-yearly. 
 
 The number of electoral divisions amounted to 2,049, 
 Electoral di- each on an average containing a population of 
 about 4,000 persons. The dissatisfaction ex- 
 pressed in many instances with the divisional system, and 
 with the inequalities of charge to which it gave rise, has 
 already been noticed. 13 The 44 h section of the Poor Eelief 
 Act seeks to provide a remedy for, or at least a miti- 
 gation of such inequalities, by enabling the guardians 
 of the several divisions of a union to agree to a common 
 rating : but it is evident that wherever the inequality 
 
 b Ante, p. 288. 
 
A.D. 1846. TUAM AND CASTLEKEAGH BOAKDS. 305 
 
 of rating is greatest, there will be the greatest diffi- 
 culty in effecting such an arrangement. In fact the 
 only instance in which it has been effected is in the 
 Dunmanway union, where the guardians of all the 
 electoral divisions signed an agreement in the terms of 
 the statute, that the charges should thenceforth be borne 
 in common. In this union therefore one great source 
 of contention will have been removed, although at a 
 sacrifice in some degree of that local interest which 
 attaches to guardians representing a district separately 
 chargeable : but enough of such interest will remain in 
 a common chargeability to secure attention to the 
 general interests of the union, in which all that is 
 exclusively local will become merged ; and it may there- 
 fore be expected that the well-working of the Dun- 
 manway board will not be impeded through a want 
 of harmony among its members. 
 
 The Tuam guardians, against whom judgment had 
 been pronounced under the proceedings by man- The Tuam 
 damus, as noticed in the last Report, although reiK^ds 
 professing compliance with the peremptory ^ 
 order issued by the court, were still backward in fulfill- 
 ing the duties which the law imposed upon them, as 
 were also the guardians of the Castlereagh union. The 
 commissioners therefore deemed it right to dissolve 
 both these boards, on whom it was evident that reliance 
 could not be placed for an effective administration of 
 the law, in the impending season of scarcity and dis- 
 tress through the failure of the potato crop ; and it was 
 at the same time intimated, that if the boards elected 
 in lieu of those dissolved " failed to discharge effectually 
 their duties as guardians of the poor," paid officers would 
 be appointed under the 26A section of the Relief Act 
 to carry its provisions into execution. " It is satisfac- 
 tory (the commissioners observe), prepared as we are 
 
 c Ante, p. 300. 
 
306 EIGHTH REPORT. CHAP. V. 
 
 in case of necessity to resort to the exercise of those 
 powers, that we have, in the first instance, always en- 
 deavoured to give effect to the views of the legislature, 
 when resisted, by an appeal to judicial authority. We 
 still trust that the decisions which the Court of Queen's 
 Bench has pronounced in vindication of the law, and 
 which have invariably been followed by submission 
 elsewhere, will finally have their due effect in the Tuam 
 and Castlereagh unions, and render unnecessary the 
 appointment of paid officers to perform the functions of 
 guardians in those unions." 
 
 Considerable progress had been made in providing 
 for poor persons afflicted with fever. In 50 of 
 
 Fever wards. A . - 1 - . 
 
 the unions, fever wards in connexion with the 
 workhouses were either built or in course of building, 
 and in others houses had been hired for the purpose, 
 or temporary provision was made until fever wards 
 could be erected. Arrangements had likewise been 
 made for sending fever patients from the workhouses to 
 county fever hospitals, and no pains were spared in 
 urging upon the guardians the necessity of their being 
 prepared for the occurrence of fever, which experience 
 had shown to be always prevalent in seasons of distress, 
 from whatever cause arising. 
 
 We are now arrived at the period of the potato 
 Failure of the failure, some account of which as affecting Eng- 
 land and Scotland has been given in the re- 
 spective histories. 5 " The potato disease," so called to 
 distinguish it from the less general and entire failure 
 of that root which has occasionally occurred, first ap- 
 peared in America in 1844, but it did not show itself 
 in Ireland until the autumn of 1845. The early crops 
 generally escaped its ravages, but the late or main crop 
 
 d See * History of the Scotch Poor Law,' p. 199. See also < History of the 
 English Poor Law,' 2nd vol. pp. 391-393. 
 
A.D. 1846. FAILURE OF THE POTATO CROP. 307 
 
 was found to be so far tainted with the disease, that 
 although much of it was susceptible of being used at 
 the time the potatoes were dug, they afterwards rotted 
 in the pits, and became an offensive mass unfitted for 
 the use of man or beast. This was especially the case 
 in the western districts ; and there as well as wherever 
 the small cottier or the conacre systems prevailed, any 
 failure in the potato crop, even although it were small 
 and partial, would necessarily occasion much distress, 
 the population being in such cases generally redundant, 
 and subsisting nearly altogether on that root. 
 
 In the present instance there was not only a failure 
 in the quantity raised, but the portion of the crop 
 stored for future use was known to be in jeopardy, and 
 the distress and alarm were proportionally increased. 
 Both were in fact excessive, the one adding to the other, 
 and causing the most serious apprehensions throughout 
 the country. Government participated in these appre- 
 hensions, and took early steps for obtaining 100,000/. 
 worth of Indian corn from America, in anticipation of 
 the distress and difficulties sure to arise through the 
 failure of the potato, and for which the country itself 
 afforded no substitute. 6 This timely supply arrived in 
 course of the spring of 1846, and in order to its dis- 
 tribution, depots were established in various places 
 along the coast under the direction of commissariat 
 officers, with sub-depots in charge of the constabulary 
 and coast-guard. f Wherever the ordinary supplies of 
 food were found to be deficient, Indian meal was sold 
 from these depots at a moderate price, to the relief 
 
 e In March 1846, on the introduction of the measure (Qth and 10th Viet. cap. 2) 
 for enabling the Treasury to make advances on security of grand jury present- 
 ments, Mr. O'Connell, whose knowledge of Ireland must be admitted, de- 
 clared that government had acted wisely in causing a quantity of maize or 
 Indian corn to be imported, to replace the damaged potatoes, as by so doing 
 they had added to the quantity of food for the people. 
 
 f Sec ' The Irish Crisis,' by Sir Charles Trevelyan, reprinted in 1848 from 
 the Edinburgh Review No. 175. 
 
 x 2 
 
308 THE POTATO DISEASE. CHAP. V. 
 
 committees if any such had been formed, and likewise 
 to all who applied for it. The meal was not however 
 at first relished by the people, for although far more 
 nutritious than the potato, it was new, and they pre- 
 ferred that to which they had been accustomed. But 
 necessity is ever a successful controller of taste, and 
 Indian meal which was at first disliked, and about 
 which the most absurd stories were promulgated, be- 
 came ere long, and after the mode of preparing it came 
 to be understood, a favourite description of food with 
 the Irish people. 
 
 Although the potato had thus failed, not only in 
 Ireland but in England and Scotland, and throughout 
 the greater portion of Europe, the grain crops were 
 generally abundant, and would in a great degree supply 
 the deficiency caused by such failure, except where the 
 potato constituted the chief or nearly sole article of 
 subsistence, as was the case in many parts of Ireland. 
 Here the void caused by the loss of the potato could 
 only be supplied by imports from abroad, and this cir- 
 cumstance was adduced by Sir Robert Peel in January 
 1846 as one of the reasons for a reduction of the corn- 
 duties, and led to Indian corn being admitted at a duty 
 of Is. per quarter, instead of being charged the same 
 duty as barley, as it previously had been, and owing to 
 which charge probably, it was little used or known 
 either in England or Ireland. 
 
 In the autumn of 1845, as soon as the prevalence of 
 the " potato disease " had been ascertained, government 
 deputed three gentlemen of high scientific attainments g 
 to examine into its nature, and to suggest means for 
 checking its ravages. But the result showed that the 
 evil was beyond the reach of human skill, for notwith- 
 standing the application of every remedy which science 
 could devise or experience dictate, the decay of the 
 
 These \vere Professors Kane, Lindley, and Play fair. 
 
A.D. 1847.. NINTH REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS. 309 
 
 root continued with undiminished rapidity. On the 
 appearance of the disease, the Poor Law Commissioners 
 entered into active communication with the several 
 boards of guardians on the subject, and endeavoured to 
 mitigate the consequences of the potato failure, by au- 
 thorizing the use of other kinds of food in the union 
 dietaries. These were for the most part modified ac- 
 cordingly, and bread, or stirabout prepared from Indian 
 meal, was substituted for potatoes. 
 
 The circumstances of Ireland at this time, induced 
 the government to exercise the power conferred A fourth com- 
 by the 119th section of the Irish Poor Eelief appointed. 
 Act, and to appoint a fourth commissioner to act in 
 that country. The gentleman selected was Mr. Twisle- 
 ton, of whom mention has been made in connexion 
 with the Scotch Poor Law ; h and on his proceeding to 
 Ireland, the powers previously delegated to the two 
 assistant-commissioners 1 were revoked. 
 
 The ninth Report (for 1846-7) is like the others 
 dated on the 1st of May. It describes very i8. 
 fully the effects consequent on the potato dis- of 'proceed- 01 
 
 J . ft ings in Ire- 
 
 eaSe of the previous autumn, so lar as these laild - 
 
 effects bore upon the working of the Poor Law. The 
 connexion between the two, although in one sense inti- 
 mate, is in other respects limited ; for where the land 
 has ceased to be productive, the necessary means of 
 relief cannot be obtained from it, and a poor-law will 
 no longer be operative, or at least not operative to an 
 extent adequate to meet such an emergency as then 
 existed in Ireland. A poor-law, rightly devised and 
 judiciously administered, will generally be found equal 
 to the relief of destitution in the ordinary progress of 
 events ; but a state of famine, or a total failure of the 
 
 Sec History of the Scotch Poor Law,' pp. 130 and 1G5. 
 Ante, p. 284. 
 
310 THE POTATO DISEASE. CHAP. V. 
 
 means of subsistence is extraordinary, and the wide- 
 spread destitution thence arising is beyond the powers 
 of a poor-law effectually to relieve, although it may 
 doubtless be applied to some extent in mitigation. 
 Under the circumstances at that time unhappily exist- 
 ing in Ireland, other aid was necessary beyond what 
 could be derived from any modification of the Poor 
 Law ; and the nature of those circumstances, and the 
 means pursued in dealing with them, will be explained 
 in the following pages. 
 
 The potato disease made its appearance in 1846 
 The^teto much earlier than in the preceding year, and it 
 18 " 46 - was also much more general and destructive. 
 Captain Mann in his narrative of events in the county 
 of Clare at this period, says that the symptoms of the 
 disease were first noticed in the latter part of July ; 
 but that the change which took place in one week in 
 August was such as he shall never forget " On the 
 first occasion (he says) I had passed over thirty-two 
 miles thickly studded with potato-fields in full bloom. 
 The next time the face of the whole country was 
 changed the stalk remained a bright green, but the 
 leaves were all scorched black. It was the work of a 
 night. Distress and fear was pictured in every coun- 
 tenance, and there was a general rush to dig and sell, 
 or consume the crop by feeding pigs and cattle, fearing 
 in a short time they would prove unfit for any use." 
 And in a letter printed in the Parliamentary Papers, 
 Father Mathew k states" On the 27th of July I passed 
 from Cork to Dublin, and this doomed plant bloomed in 
 all the luxuriance of an abundant harvest. Returning 
 on the 3rd of August, I beheld with sorrow one wide 
 waste of putrifying vegetation. In many places the 
 wretched people were seated on the fences of their 
 
 k Commonly known in Ireland as " the Apostle of Temperance," a worthy 
 arid benevolent man. 
 
A.D. 1846. PREVALENCE OF DISTRESS. 311 
 
 decaying gardens, wringing their hands and wailing 
 bitterly the destruction that had left them foodless." 
 
 The disease made its first appearance in the form of 
 little brown spots on the leaves of the plant. These 
 continued to increase until the leaves became withered, 
 leaving the stem bare, and so brittle that it snapped 
 off on being handled. The whole was effected in less 
 than a week, the fields appearing as if they were burnt, 
 and the growth of the root entirely destroyed. No 
 potatoes were pitted this year, and the wheat crop 
 barely amounted to an average, whilst barley and oats 
 were decidedly deficient. " On the continent the rye 
 and potato crops again failed, and prices rose there 
 early in the season above those ruling in England, 
 which caused the shipments from the Black Sea, Tur- 
 key and Egypt to be sent to France, Italy and Bel- 
 gium ; and it was not till late in the season that our 
 prices rose to a point which turned the current of 
 supplies towards England and Ireland. The Indian 
 corn crop in the United States this year was however 
 happily very abundant, and it became a resource of 
 the utmost value to this country. 
 
 In June 1846, The 9* and lOth Viet. cap. 22, was 
 passed, providing for the gradual reduction of 
 
 f, -, (2 . ., , -, Reduction of 
 
 the import duty on corn, and nxing it at Is. duty on com 
 
 -, '. . . , i f, ^ported. 
 
 per quarter on every description imported alter 
 the 1st of February 1849. On the assembling of par- 
 liament in January 1847, two other Acts were passed 11 
 making further reductions in the duty on corn, and 
 removing the restriction imposed by the Navigation 
 Laws on the importation of corn in foreign vessels ; 
 and shortly afterwards the whole duty on rice and 
 Indian corn and Indian meal was suspended. 
 
 In the early part of 1846, relief committees were 
 
 "' See ' The Irish Crisis,' by Sir Charles Trevelyan, p. 41. 
 " The 10th and lltli Viet. cap. 1 and 2. 
 
312 PREVALENCE OF DISTRESS. CHAP. V. 
 
 formed throughout Ireland, under the superintendence 
 Relief com- of 3, central commission established in Dublin, 
 formed. for the purpose of dispensing food, the requisite 
 funds being furnished by private subscriptions assisted 
 by donations from government. The months of June 
 and July was the period of heaviest pressure, during 
 which one of the central depots established by govern- 
 ment, issued in a single week no less than 233 tons of 
 meal to its various sub-depots, and one of these latter 
 again retailed 20 tons to the public daily. If the people 
 had lived by wages like the labouring classes in Eng- 
 land, the providing a cheap substitute for the potato 
 would have been sufficient for the present emergency. 
 But money-wages were comparatively little known in 
 Ireland, the people chiefly subsisting on produce raised 
 by themselves ; and it was therefore necessary to adopt 
 some plan for enabling them to purchase the new 
 description of food which had been procured for them. 
 The plan adopted was by establishing public works, 
 as had been done on former somewhat like occa- 
 The public sions; and an Act was accordingly passed 
 enabling the magistrates and principal cess- 
 payers to obtain advances of public money for 
 this purpose, one-half as a free grant, the other half as 
 a loan to be repaid by the barony out of the grand-jury 
 cess. The greatest number of persons employed under 
 this system was 97,000. It was brought to a close in 
 the month of August, and may be said on the whole 
 to have answered its intended purpose, although not 
 without considerable drawbacks, partly through the mis- 
 application of public money, and partly by increasing 
 the tendency which has always prevailed in Ireland to 
 rely upon government aid. The entire amount ex- 
 pended by the government down to the 15th of August 
 1846, in affording relief to the Irish people during this 
 season of distress was 733, 372/., of which one-half was 
 a free grant, and the other half a loan. The sum raised 
 
 

 A.D. 1846. TOTAL FAILURE OF THE POTATO CROP. 313 
 
 by voluntary subscription for like purposes was 98,000?., 
 making together 8 3 1,3 7 2/., obtained from other than 
 poor-law sources, and expended during this first season 
 of severe pressure in relief of persons many of whom 
 would else have perished through absolute want. 
 
 "With the approach of autumn another period of dis- 
 
 tress commenced in Ireland, far heavier and 
 
 . 1 i i ^ke au t umn 
 
 more intense than the preceding, the potato of me. se- 
 
 37 * vere distress. 
 
 crop having now almost universally and en- 
 tirely failed. In the former season there were helps or 
 palliatives, some districts having nearly escaped the 
 disease and others being less generally affected by it ; 
 but in the present season there were no such exceptions, 
 and neither help nor hope was to be found in the 
 natural resources of the country. A new emergency 
 may thus be said to have arisen, and the public works 
 which had been put an end to in August were renewed 
 in the following month, and the entire machinery of 
 provision depots and relief committees was reorganized 
 on a more comprehensive scale than before. 
 
 In order to check the exorbitant demands which had 
 in many instances been made in the previous season, 
 the whole expense of the public works was now The Labour . 
 under the new Labour-Kate Act made a local 
 charge, to be defrayed by a rate levied and as- 
 sessed in a manner similar to the poor-rate, which makes 
 the landlord liable for the whole on tenements under 4. 
 yearly value, and for half the rate on tenements valued 
 above that amount. It was also determined that as far 
 as possible task-work should be adopted, and at a rate 
 of payment below what was usual in the district. It 
 was further determined in order to avoid embarrassing 
 the operations of the private trader, that government 
 should not order supplies from abroad, and that its 
 interference should be confined to the western districts, 
 in which no trade in corn for local consumption existed. 
 Moreover, the government depots were not to be opened 
 
 c 
 
314 UNIVERSAL DISTRESS, CHAP. V. 
 
 for the sale of food so long as it could be obtained from 
 private dealers, and no purchases were to be made in 
 the local market, where the appearance of government 
 as a purchaser would be certain to raise prices. 
 
 Such generally was the plan proposed to be pursued 
 under the pressure of famine, and the other distressing 
 circumstances consequent on the failure of the potato 
 crop at the end of 1846 ; and it was expected that the 
 resident proprietors and ratepayers would perform their 
 part, by ascertaining the extent of destitution in the 
 several localities, and determining what was necessary 
 to be done in the way of relief, and the best mode of 
 doing it. This expectation however was not fulfilled, and 
 in almost every instance these duties were left to be per- 
 The board of f rme d by the board of works, which had thus to 
 
 obtain the best information it could through 
 hired agents, " to advance the necessary funds, to select 
 the labourers, to superintend the works, to pay the people 
 weekly, to enforce a proper performance of the labour, 
 to ascertain the quantity of labour required for farm- 
 works, to select and draft off proper persons to perform 
 it, to settle the wages to be paid to them by the farmers 
 and to see that they were paid, to furnish food not only 
 for all the destitute out of doors, but in some measure 
 for the paupers in the workhouses" in short, " the 
 board of works became the centre of a colossal organi- 
 zation, 5,000 separate works had to be reported upon, 
 12,000 subordinate officers had to be superintended, and 
 their letters averaged upwards of 800 a day." 
 
 The strain upon the executive through this system of 
 The relief- centralization was excessive. Government had 
 
 to bear the entire pressure of the masses on the 
 sensitive points of wages and food. Task-work was 
 
 See * The Irish Crisis,' by Sir Charles Trevelyan, under whose able super- 
 intendence the government aid was chiefly administered in Ireland, and on 
 whose statements of what took place I have chiefly relied in this account of the 
 dismal periods of 1846 and 1847. 
 
A.D. 1846. THE BELIEF-WORKS. 315 
 
 generally objected to, and its enforcement gave rise to 
 frequent struggles, in which the safety of the superin- 
 tending officers was sometimes put in jeopardy. The 
 number of persons employed on the works continued to 
 increase " Thousands upon thousands were pressed 
 upon the officers of the board of works in every part of 
 Ireland, and it was impossible for those officers to test 
 the accuracy of the urgent representations which were 
 made to them. The attraction of money wages regu- 
 larly paid from the public purse, or ' The queen's pay,' 
 as it was popularly called, led to a general abandon- 
 ment of other descriptions of industry, in order to par- 
 ticipate in the advantages of the relief-works. Landlords 
 competed with each other in getting the names Evilsofthe 
 of their tenants placed on the lists ; farmers dis- system * 
 missed their labourers and sent them to the works ; the 
 clergy insisted on the claims of the members of their re- 
 spective congregations ; the fisheries were deserted ; and 
 it was often difficult even to get a coat patched or a pair 
 of shoes mended, to such an extent had the population 
 of the south and west of Ireland turned out upon the 
 roads. The average number employed in October was 
 114,000, in November 285,000, in December 440,000, 
 and in January 1847, 570,000." It was obviously im- 
 possible to exact from such a multitude the amount of 
 labour that would operate as a test. Huddled together 
 in masses they screened each other's idleness. It was 
 thought that the enforcement of taskwork would stimu- 
 late their industry ; but when after a hard struggle 
 this point had been carried, an habitual collusion be- 
 tween the labourers and the overlookers appointed to 
 measure their work revived the former abuse, and the 
 labourers were as idle as ever. 
 
 The Labour-Kate Act (Wi and Wth Viet. cap. 107) 
 was founded on the assumption that the owners and 
 occupiers of land would themselves make efforts com- 
 mensurate with the magnitude of the crisis, and that 
 
316 THE RELIEF- WOKKS. CHAP. Y. 
 
 only a manageable number of persons would have to 
 be supported on the public works. But including' the 
 families of those so employed, more than 2,000,000 
 persons were maintained by the relief-works, and there 
 were others behind including the most helpless, for 
 whom no work could be found. The extent to which 
 the rural population were thrown upon the relief-works, 
 Failure of re- threatened likewise to interrupt the ordinary 
 iief-works. tillage O f fa e } anc i ? an( j t } ing to perpetuate a 
 
 state of famine. In short, a change of system had 
 become necessary, and at the end of January (1847) it 
 was announced that government intended to put an end 
 to the public works, and to substitute another mode of 
 relief. The pressure nevertheless continued to increase. 
 The 570,000 men employed daily in January, became 
 708,000 in February, and 734,000 in March, represent- 
 ing with their dependents upwards of 3,000,000 of 
 persons. The expenses were in proportion, and ex- 
 ceeded a million sterling per month. p At the end of 
 February however preparation was made for a change 
 of system by passing the Temporary Eelief Act (IQth 
 Viet. cap. 7). In March the numbers employed were 
 reduced by 20 per cent., and successive reductions con- 
 tinued to be made as the change of system was brought 
 into operation. In the first weeks of April, May and 
 June respectively, the numbers employed were 525,000, 
 419,000, and 101,000; and in the week ending the 
 26th of June the number was reduced to 28,000. The 
 necessary labour was thus returned to agriculture, and 
 a foundation was laid for the ensuing abundant har- 
 vest. " The remaining expenditure was limited to a 
 sum of 200,000/. for the month of May, and to 100,000/. 
 a month for June, July, and the first 15 days of 
 August, when the Act expired." 
 
 P In the month of March the expenditure upon relief-works including labour 
 and plant, and the cost of the staff, amounted to 1,050,772?. 
 
A.D. 1847. TEMPOEARY RELIEF ACT. 317 
 
 The system of affording relief through the agency of 
 public works having broken down, while that 26thFeb> 
 of administering it in a direct form on the 
 principle of the Poor Law had generally been m 
 
 found effective wherever it had been tried, it 
 was as above stated determined to give validity to this 
 mode bypassing the IQth and \\th Viet., cap. 7, which 
 directs that a relief committee consisting of the magis- 
 trates, a clergyman of each persuasion, the poor-law 
 guardian and the three highest ratepayers, shall be 
 constituted in each electoral division, and that a finance 
 committee of four gentlemen of character and know- 
 ledge of business should be formed to control the 
 expenditure in each union. Inspecting officers are also 
 to be appointed, and a central commission sitting in 
 Dublin,* 1 was to superintend and control the working of 
 the whole system. The expense incurred was to be 
 defrayed out of the poor-rates, and when these proved 
 insufficient they might be reinforced by government 
 loans, to be repaid by rates subsequently levied. But 
 no loan is to be made, until the inspecting officer had 
 certified that the guardians have passed a resolution 
 for making the rate upon which the loan was to be 
 secured. Such were the chief provisions of the Act, 
 but free grants were also made in aid of the rates in 
 the poorest unions, and when private subscriptions were 
 raised the government made donations to an equal 
 amount. The liability of the ratepayers would, it was 
 considered, operate as a check to undue expenditure ; 
 and with regard to the recipients, the test applied con- 
 sisted in requiring the personal attendance of all who 
 needed relief, (excepting only the sick and impotent 
 poor, and children under the age of nine) and that the 
 
 q Sir John Burgoyne was the chairman of this commission, and Mr. Tvvisle- 
 ton the poor-law commissioner was a member. The other members were Mr. 
 Redington the first under secretary, and Col. Jones and Col. M'Gregor the 
 heads of the board of works and the constabulary. 
 
318 TEMPORARY RELIEF ACT. CHAP. V. 
 
 relief should be given in cooked food, r in portions suf- 
 ficient to maintain health and strength. 
 
 The cooked-food system of relief was found to a 
 great degree efficacious in preventing abuse. 
 
 The cooked- ?.,,..; l j. i , i. H / 1 n 
 
 food system but it was obiected to at first, and the enlorce- 
 
 of relief. J 
 
 ment of it was in some cases attended with 
 difficulty. Undressed meal might be sold or exchanged 
 for other articles. " Even the most destitute often 
 disposed of it for tea tobacco or spirits/ 5 " but stirabout 
 soon becomes sour by keeping, and was not likely to 
 be applied for except by persons who wanted it for 
 their own immediate use. Depots of corn and meal 
 were formed relief committees were established mills 
 and ovens were erected huge boilers cast specially for 
 the purpose were sent over from England for preparing 
 the stirabout and large supplies of clothing were col- 
 lected. In July 1847 the system reached its highest 
 point " 3,020,712 persons then received separate ra- 
 tions, of whom 2,265,534 were adults, and 755,178 
 were children." This vast multitude was however 
 rapidly lessened at the approach of harvest, 8 which 
 happily was not affected by the disease. Food became 
 cessation of comparatively abundant, and labour in demand. 
 
 By the middle of August relief was discon- 
 tinued in nearly one-half the unions, and ceased alto- 
 gether on the 12th September. It was limited by the 
 Act to the 1st October. 
 
 This was the second year in which upwards of 
 3,000,000 of people had been fed " out of the hands of 
 the magistrate " in Ireland, but it was now done more 
 effectually than at first. The relief-works had been 
 
 r The best form in which cooked food could be given was " stirabout," made 
 of Indian meal and rice steamed. It is sufficiently solid to be easily carried 
 away by the recipients. The pound ration thus prepared swelled by the absorp- 
 tion of water to between 3 and 4 pounds. 
 
 8 The price of Indian corn in the middle of February was 19Z. per ton, at 
 the end of March it was 13?., and by the end of August it had fallen to 11. 10s. 
 per ton. The quantity of corn imported into Ireland in the first six months 
 of 1847 was 2,849,508 tons. 
 
A.D. 1847. PREVALENCE OF FEVEE. 319 
 
 crowded, often to the exclusion of numbers who were 
 really destitute ; but a ration of cooked food was less 
 attractive than money wages had been, and it also 
 proved a more effectual relief to the helpless poor. 
 " The famine was stayed." Deaths from starvation no 
 longer occurred. Cattle-stealing and other crimes con- 
 nected with the want or insufficiency of food became 
 less prevalent, and the system of relief which had been 
 established is with allowable self-gratulation declared to 
 be " the grandest attempt ever made to grapple with 
 famine over a whole country." Organized armies, it is 
 said, had been rationed before ; " but neither ancient 
 nor modern history can furnish a parallel to the 
 fact that upwards of three millions of persons were 
 fed every day in the neighbourhood of their own 
 homes, by administrative arrangements emanating from 
 and controlled by one central office." i The expense 
 of this great undertaking amounted to 1,557,212/., 
 a moderate sum in comparison with the extent of the 
 service performed, and in which performance the ma- 
 chinery of the Poor Law unions was found to afford 
 most important aid. Indeed without such aid, the ser- 
 vice could hardly have been performed at all ; and the 
 anticipations of the advantage to be derived from the 
 Poor Law organization in such emergencies," were 
 fully verified. 
 
 Fever as usual followed in the train of famine, and 
 in order to check its ravages the Wth and \\th 
 Viet. cap. 22 was passed, " making provision 
 for the treatment of poor persons afflicted with fever," 
 and enabling the relief committees to provide tem- 
 porary hospitals, to ventilate and cleanse cabins, to 
 remove nuisances, and to procure the proper burial of 
 the dead, the funds necessary for these objects being 
 
 * See * The Irish Crisis.' See also the Reports of the Irish relief commis- 
 sioners, which give full information on this interesting but distressing subject. 
 u See the author's first Report, p. 167 ante. 
 
320 ADVANCES BY GOVERNMENT. CHAP. V. 
 
 advanced by the government in the same way as for 
 furnishing food. Upwards of three hundred hospitals 
 and dispensaries were provided under this Act, with 
 accommodation for at least 23,000 patients, and the 
 sanitary powers which it conferred were extensively 
 acted upon. The expense incurred for these objects 
 amounted to 119,055^., " the whole of which was made 
 a free gift to the unions in aid of the rates." 
 
 The amount expended under the Public Works Act 
 
 Advancesby (9*A and Wth Viet, cap. 1) was 476,000/., One- 
 government, j^f ^^ & ^^ ^ ^^ ^f t() be repaid 
 
 by twenty half-yearly instalments. The expenditure 
 under the Labour-Kate Act ($th and IQth Viet. cap. 
 107) was 4,850,000/., half of which was a grant and 
 the other half to be repaid as before. The sum ad- 
 vanced under Wi and Wth Viet. cap. 2 for local pur- 
 poses, was 130,000/., to be repaid in various periods out 
 of grand jury presentments. Lastly the sums expended 
 under the Temporary Relief Act, Wth Viet. cap. 7, 
 in the distribution of food, and under the lO^A Viet. 
 cap. 22 in medical and sanitary relief, amounted to 
 1,676,268?., of which 961, 739. was to be repaid, and 
 the remaining 714,529/. was a free grant. So that the 
 entire amount advanced by government in 1846 and 
 1847 towards the relief of the Irish people under the 
 fearful calamity to which they were exposed, was 
 7,132,268Z., of which 3,754,739*. was to be repaid 
 within ten years, and the remaining 3, 3 7 7,5 2 9. was a 
 free grant. x 
 
 But it was not the government alone that contri- 
 buted to the relief of the Irish people in this 
 trying emergency. Individual subscriptions 
 were 'poured forth from all parts of the British empire. 
 Associations were formed, local committees were ap- 
 pointed, all were active in sympathy and benevolent 
 
 x See 'The Irish Crisis/ p. 110. 
 
A.D. 1847. AND PRIVATE SUBSCRIPTIONS. 321 
 
 efforts for the relief of Irish distress. The chief organ 
 for receiving and dispensing these various contributions 
 was " The British Association," 2 which collected sub- 
 scriptions to the amount of 2 6 9,30 2Z., and to which was 
 likewise committed the proceeds of two royal letters 
 inviting contributions, amounting to 200,738^., making 
 together no less than 470,041/., one-sixth of which was 
 apportioned to Scotland,* and the remainder to Ireland. b 
 Then there was the " Society of Friends" who col- 
 lected 168,000/., which was distributed almost entirely 
 in provisions, whilst a great number of persons in all 
 parts of England acted independently of any association, 
 but all directing their efforts to the same benevolent 
 object. 
 
 In administering the funds placed at its disposal, the 
 committee of the British Association acted con- 
 currently with the government and the Poor- 
 Law authorities, each of whom bore testimony to its great 
 usefulness. It determined at the outset " That all grants 
 should be in food, and not in money ;" and " That no 
 grant should be placed at the disposal of any individual 
 for private distribution." The committee conclude 
 their Eeport to the subscribers by declaring, that 
 although evils of greater or less degree must attend 
 every system of gratuitous relief, they are confident that 
 any evils which may have accompanied the application 
 of this fund, will have been far more than counterba- 
 lanced by the benefits which have been conferred upon 
 their starving fellow-countrymen. " If ill desert has 
 sometimes participated in this bounty, a vast amount of 
 human misery and suffering has (it is said) been relieved." 
 
 J 
 
 z The present Lord Overstone, then Mr. Jones Loyd, was chairman of the 
 acting committee of the association, and Mr. Thomas Baring was the vice- 
 chairman. 
 
 a See 'History of the Scotch Poor Law,' p. 202. 
 
 b In fact the amount applied to these objects by the association exceeded 
 500,000?., upwards of 130,000^. having been obtained by the sale of provisions 
 and seed-corn in Ireland, and interest accruing on the money contributed. 
 
 See Report of the British Association for the Relief of extreme Distress in 
 Ireland and Scotland, 1st January 1849. 
 
 Y 
 
322 NINTH REPORT. CHAP. V. 
 
 The foregoing account of proceedings by the govern- 
 ment and by individuals for relieving the distress 
 which prevailed in Ireland during the years 1846 and 
 1847, through the failure of the potato-crops, has been 
 continued down beyond the date of the ninth Eeport in 
 order to keep the subject together, and to obviate the 
 necessity of again recurring to it. These proceedings 
 form no part of the Poor Law administration, and are 
 only so far connected with it as being directed to the 
 relief of distress, and as having been latterly carried on 
 very much in accordance with recognised Poor Law 
 principles, and moreover to a considerable extent with 
 the aid of the Poor Law machinery. We will now 
 return to the detail of proceedings during the twelve 
 months preceding the 1st of May 1847, as given in the 
 commissioners' ninth Report. 
 
 All the workhouses had been opened for the relief of 
 Amount of tne poor, and every union had made a rate, so 
 that the law might now be said to be in opera- 
 tion throughout Ireland. The amount of ex- 
 penditure for the year ending 31st December 1846 was 
 43 5,00 II. 9 and the number of persons then receiving 
 relief in the several workhouses was 94,437, which 
 exceeds by 52,369 the number in the preceding year, 
 and the expenditure is greater by 11 8,97 5. The entire 
 number of persons relieved during the year was 243,933. 
 All the unions being now in operation, and their 
 accounts being made up and audited half-yearly on the 
 25th March and 29th September, it is intended hereafter 
 to substitute the latter dates for the return which has 
 hitherto been made up on the 1st of January, at which 
 time no perfectly authentic account of the expenditure 
 could be obtained, owing to its not corresponding with 
 either of the audit periods. This therefore is the last 
 occasion on which that statement will be given ; and it 
 may here be convenient to exhibit in a tabular form 
 its progress from the commencement, as shown in the 
 several annual Reports 
 
 
1846. 
 
 NINTH REPORT. 
 
 323 
 
 The year ended 
 December 3Jst. 
 
 Number of unions 
 in operation. 
 
 Expenditure 
 during the year. 
 
 Number in the 
 workhouses on 
 December 31st. 
 
 Total number of 
 persons relieved 
 during the year. 
 
 1840 
 
 4 
 
 37,057 
 
 5,648 
 
 10,910 
 
 1841 
 
 37 
 
 110,278 
 
 15,246 
 
 31,108 
 
 1842 
 
 92 
 
 281,233 
 
 31,572 
 
 87,604 
 
 1843 
 
 106 
 
 244,374 
 
 35,515 
 
 87,898 
 
 1844 
 
 113 
 
 271,334 
 
 39,175 
 
 105,358 
 
 1845 
 
 123 * 
 
 316,026 
 
 42,068 
 
 114,205 
 
 1846 
 
 130 
 
 435,001 
 
 94,437 
 
 243,933 
 
 " The potato disease " having as before stated again 
 
 appeared at the end of July (1846), letters were Rea 
 , , 
 
 addressed to the boards of guardians requiring potato dis . 
 
 ance of the 
 
 
 full information as to the state of the crop in the 
 several electoral divisions. Early in September 
 replies were received, which left no doubt as to the almost 
 total destruction of the crop that had everywhere taken 
 place, and the commissioners had anxiously to consider in 
 what manner the poor-law could be made operative in 
 mitigation of the distress which must inevitably ensue. 
 Relief from the poor-rates being limited to accommoda- 
 tion in workhouses, it was manifest that such relief would 
 be insufficient for meeting the present calamity, " and 
 that the comprehensive remedial measures adopted by 
 government in the establishment of a general system of 
 public works, and the organization of relief committees, 
 were to be looked to as the principal means." The 
 commissioners nevertheless considered that it was impe- 
 ratively necessary to use all the powers provided Measurea 
 by the law on this occasion, and they addressed ^m^ tbe 
 letters to the several boards of guardians, draw- 8 
 ing their attention to the probability of a great increase 
 of distress, and requesting them " to be prepared to make 
 the utmost use of the means of relief which the law 
 placed at their command." They were urged to look to 
 the state of their contracts for provisions and other sup- 
 plies, and to their stocks of bedding and clothing, and to 
 base their financial and other estimates on the assump- 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 PRESSUEE UPON THE WORKHOUSES. CHAP. V. 
 
 tion that the whole accommodation in the workhouse 
 would be required, probably for a considerable time. 
 These recommendations were very generally acted upon. 
 The total rates made in the months of September, Oc- 
 tober, November and December, amounted to 2 3 2,251 Z., 
 and much activity was manifested in the collection of the 
 rates, as well as in providing the necessary supplies. 
 
 On the 29th August 1846, the returns for the week 
 Pressure showed that the inmates of the several work- 
 
 upon the 
 
 workhouses, houses amounted to 43,655, and the numbers 
 continued to increase until on the 17th October, four 
 of the workhouses were reported to be full, d and most 
 of the others became so shortly after, although they 
 fluctuated in this respect from time to time. The aggre- 
 gate weekly returns however showed a continual increase 
 down to the end of February 1847, when the inmates 
 amounted to 116,321. From that time the number 
 decreased, but the decrease was probably owing to the 
 distressed circumstances in which the unions were them- 
 selves placed, rather than to any abatement of the general 
 distress. There can, it is observed, be few situations 
 more painful than that of a board of guardians in the 
 present condition of Ireland, surrounded by an appalling 
 extent of destitution, yet without the means of relieving 
 the sufferers. " Possessed of a workhouse capable of 
 holding a few hundred inmates, the guardians are looked 
 to with hope by thousands of famishing persons, and are 
 called on to exercise the mournful task of selection from 
 the distressed objects who present themselves for admis- 
 sion as their lust refuge from death." It was no longer 
 a question whether the applicants were fit objects for 
 relief, but which of them could be rejected and which 
 admitted with the least risk of sacrificing life. Were 
 persons in the last extremities of want to be denied 
 admittance, or on the other hand were those already 
 
 d Those of Cork, Granard, Ballina, and Skibbereeu. 
 
A.D. 1847. PRESSURE UPON THE WORKHOUSES. 325 
 
 admitted to be made the victims of over-crowding ? 
 The course which prudence dictated was the one most 
 opposed to human sympathies. Eyewitnesses of the 
 distress which was endured, the guardians could not 
 always resist the appeals made to them ; and applicant 
 after applicant was admitted to the workhouse, long after 
 the sanitary limit had been passed. 
 
 It was the duty of the commissioners to resist all such 
 impulsive yieldings, and they failed not to urge 9j e r d - 
 upon the guardians the necessity for such re- workhouses. 
 sistance on their part, without which the limited means 
 of relief at their disposal would be sacrificed. They 
 were told that effectual relief, even to the extent of the 
 existing accommodation could not be given, if contagious 
 disease took possession of the workhouse ; and that in 
 attempting to go beyond due sanitary limits, the guar- 
 dians would turn what was designed and adapted for 
 good purposes into an active evil, and deprive them- 
 selves of the power of using effectually those means of 
 relief which had been placed at their command. In 
 some instances orders under seal were issued, prohibiting 
 the guardians from admitting beyond a certain number. 
 The commissioners likewise " called into action the 
 proper functions of the medical officers of the work- 
 houses, and placed upon them the direct responsibility 
 of advising and warning the guardians of those limits, 
 beyond which their admissions could not be extended 
 without danger." Notwithstanding these precautions 
 however, such was the fearful prevalence of distress, 
 especially in Oonnaught and the south of Ireland, that 
 all considerations of this nature were borne down, and 
 the workhouses became crowded to an extent far beyond 
 their proper capacity, the consequences of which were 
 in some cases very disastrous. 
 
 The workhouse hospitals were prepared for cases of 
 sickness occurring among inmates, presumed to be in an 
 average state of health, and they were generally found 
 
326 SICKNESS AND MORTALITY. CHAP. V. 
 
 sufficient for the purpose. But now unhappily, almost 
 every person admitted was a patient was either suffering 
 from dysentery or fever, or extreme exhaustion, or had 
 the seeds of disease about him. Under such circum- 
 stances separation became impossible, diseases spread, 
 and the whole workhouse was changed into one large 
 hospital, without the appliances necessary for rendering 
 Mortality ^ efficient as such. This state of things was 
 among the no ^ a ]^t[ e aggravated by the illness retirement 
 or death of many of the principal officers. The 
 usual difficulty of replacing a master or a matron, or 
 medical officer when suddenly removed, was much in- 
 creased by the dangerous nature of the service, there 
 having been great mortality among these officers. Dur- 
 ing the first four months of the current year, at least 
 a hundred and fifty were attacked with disease, of whom 
 fifty-four had died, including seven clerks, nine masters, 
 seven medical officers, and six chaplains a number un- 
 usually large, and calculated no doubt to excite some in- 
 disposition to undertake such duties. 
 
 The weekly mortality in the workhouses went on in- 
 creasing from 4 in the 1,000 at the end of 
 October 1846, to 13 in the 1,000 at the end of 
 January 1847, 20 in the 1,000 at the end of February, 
 and 25 in the 1,000 at the middle of April ; the number 
 of inmates at these periods respectively being 68,839 
 111,621 116,321 and 104,455. In the last week of 
 February, when the number of inmates attained its maxi- 
 mum, the deaths amounted to 2,267 ; whilst on the 10th 
 of April, when the inmates had been reduced to 104,455, 
 the deaths of the preceding week were 2,613, thus show- 
 ing an increase of mortality notwithstanding a reduction 
 in the number of inmates. The people had in fact become 
 so exhausted by the severity of the distress, that in many 
 cases death occurred immediately after admission. This 
 was the time when to escape famine and pestilence at 
 home, the great rush of immigrants to Liverpool and the 
 
1847. EMIGRATION. 327 
 
 western coasts of England and Scotland took place, and 
 it is needless to say that the pressure must have been 
 fearful to cause such an outpouring of the population. 6 
 We must not omit to state however, that at this time 
 great exertions were being made in many, indeed it may 
 be said in most of the unions to obtain increased accom- 
 modation for fever patients, by erecting or hiring build- 
 ings temporary or permanent according to the urgency 
 and nature of the case ; and also in like manner for in- 
 creasing the means of workhouse accommodation, so as 
 to bring it more nearly up to the wants of the period. 
 The money expended upon these objects was in some in- 
 stances obtained by way of loan, and in others was de- 
 frayed directly from the rates ; but in all cases there was 
 a considerable addition to the current expenditure by 
 the provision thus made for affording additional relief. 
 
 Emigration was regarded by many persons as the 
 most prompt and effective remedy, under the cir- Em . at . on 
 cumstances then existing in Ireland; and govern- 
 ment was appealed to for assistance in promoting it, by 
 defraying the expense of passage and outfit for the 
 emigrants. But it was thought highly probable that the 
 emigration which would take place independently of 
 any such inducement, would be quite as large as the 
 United States and Canada could with advantage receive ; 
 and the government therefore limited its interference to 
 appointing additional agents to superintend the embark- 
 ation of the emigrants, and to increasing the fund 
 applicable to the relief of the sick after their arrival 
 in the colonies/ In 1846 the emigration from Great 
 Britain amounted to 1 2 9,8 5 1 . This was the largest ever 
 then known; but in the first nine months of 1847 the 
 
 c See ' History of the English Poor Law,' vol. ii. p. 393, where however there 
 is a misprint in the eighth line from the bottom, of 1846 for 1847, which tho 
 reader is requested to correct. 
 
 f Upwards of 100,0002. was expended in relieving the sick and destitute emi- 
 grants landed in Canada in 1847. 
 
328 NINTH REPORT. CHAP. V. 
 
 number of emigrants was 240,461, nearly the whole of 
 them from Ireland, and proceeding to Canada and the 
 United States, whence large remittances had been sent 
 by former emigrants to enable their relations and friends 
 in Ireland to follow them. Within the same period 
 278,000 immigrants reached Liverpool from Ireland, of 
 whom only 123,000 sailed from thence to foreign parts ; 
 and the remainder must therefore have continued a 
 burden on the inhabitants, or wandered about the 
 country begging, or died of disease the seeds of which 
 they had brought with them, and which proved fatal to 
 a great number of other persons as well as to the immi- 
 grants themselves. It was the same everywhere. 8 In 
 Mortality the United States, in Canada and on the voyage 
 
 among the / J, c 
 
 ^migrants. O ut, the poor emigrants seeking to escape from 
 famine at home, were assailed by disease whithersoever 
 they turned, arid very many of them sunk under its 
 ravages. During this fearful crisis, the deaths on the 
 voyage to Canada increased from 5 in the 1,000, to about 
 60 ; and so many more arrived sick, that the proportion 
 of deaths in quarantine to the numbers embarked, in- 
 creased from a little more than 1 to about 40 in the 1,000, 
 besides still larger numbers who died at Quebec, Mont- 
 real, and elsewhere in the interior. 11 
 
 Reference is made in the Report of 1846, to the 
 Financial generally satisfactory state of the finances of 
 
 state of the . J * 
 
 unions. the unions; 1 but such was no longer the case 
 in 1847, the heavy pressure consequent on the potato 
 failure having exhausted their resources, and in many 
 cases caused the most serious embarrassment. The 
 returns show, that instead of there being as before 
 money in the hands of the treasurers to meet the 
 current expenditure, there was now, taking in the 
 whole of the unions, a considerable deficit. Even 
 
 See * History of the Scotch Poor Law,' p. 205. See also ' History of the 
 English Poor Law,' vol. ii. p. 393. 
 " h~ See ' The Irish Crisis,' p. 143. | * Ante, p. 304. 
 
A.D. 1846. FINANCIAL STATE OF UNIONS. 329 
 
 those unions which were accustomed to maintain their 
 finances in a fair state of efficiency, had latterly failed 
 to obtain funds from the ratepayers proportioned to 
 their expenditure. In some instances, the commis- 
 sioners say, they have been compelled by the extreme 
 urgency of the case, to supply the guardians with 
 bedding and clothing, and with the means of procuring 
 food to satisfy the immediate wants of the inmates, 
 " the means of doing so having been furnished by 
 government ;" and they close their observations on 
 these financial difficulties by stating, " that while the 
 total expenses have been at the rate of at least 756,000^. 
 a year, the sums collected have not much exceeded the 
 rate of 609,056." 
 
 The effect upon prices caused by the failure of the 
 potato, may in some measure be judged of by the weekly 
 cost of maintenance in the workhouses, which instead 
 of being about Is. 5J. per head as in former years, 
 averaged Is. Sd. per head in March, and Is. 9d. per 
 head in September 1846, after which it ex- increase in 
 ceeded 2s. per head. This increase of cost must relie f - s 
 have materially added to the difficulties of the unions, 
 not only by augmenting the pressure of the poor-rate, 
 but also by reducing the means of the ratepayers for 
 satisfying its demands. On every side there appeared 
 ground for alarm, and no one could venture to look 
 forward without feeling the most serious apprehen- 
 sions. A third failure of the crops, should such un- 
 happily occur, would be attended with consequences 
 the disastrous extent of which it must be alike impos- 
 sible fully to estimate or guard against ; and the period 
 was approaching when uncertainty on this vital point 
 would be removed At the end of another three months 
 it would be seen whether want disease and misery were 
 again, but in a more aggravated form, to overspread the 
 land, or whether the earth would yield forth its increase 
 for the sustenance of man. 
 
330 THE COMMISSIONERS' FIEST REPOHT. CHAP. V. 
 
 The Report for 1847-8 would, in the regular order, 
 
 1848. have formed the tenth of the series. But it 
 
 Report of the had now been deemed necessary to establish a 
 
 Poor-law . . , . , 
 
 separate commission for Ireland, entirely inde- 
 pendent of the English commission, and the 
 Report is consequently entitled the first of the new 
 executive. This Report like the nine preceding, is 
 dated on the 1st of May ; and as three Acts making 
 very important changes in the law for the relief of the 
 Irish poor had been passed early in the period to which 
 the Report applies, (namely on the 8th of June and the 
 22nd of July 1847), the insertion of the following sum- 
 maries of these three Acts will be a fitting preliminary 
 to our consideration of the Report itself. 
 
 The 10th and llth Viet., cap. 31, is entitled An Act 
 The Exten- to make further Provision for the Relief of the 
 andiithVict. Destitute Poor in Ireland' Sth June 1847. 
 
 cap. 31. 
 
 Section 1. Directs the guardians of the poor to make provision for 
 the due relief of all destitute poor persons disabled by old 
 age or infirmity ; and of destitute poor persons disabled by 
 sickness or serious accident, and thereby prevented from earn- 
 ing a subsistence for themselves and their families ; and of 
 destitute poor widows, having two or more legitimate children 
 dependent upon them. Such poor persons, being destitute, 
 are to be relieved either in the workhouse or out of the work- 
 house as the guardians may deem expedient ; and the guar- 
 dians are also to take order for relieving and setting to work 
 in the workhouse when there shall be sufficient room for so 
 doing, such other destitute poor persons as they shall deem to 
 be unable to support themselves by their own industry. 
 
 Sections 2, 3. Whenever relief cannot be afforded in the work- 
 house owing to want of room, or when by reason of fever or 
 infectious disease the workhouse is unfit for the reception of 
 poor persons, the Poor Law Commissioners may by order em- 
 power the guardians to administer relief out of the workhouse 
 to such destitute poor persons, for any time not exceeding two 
 months ; and on the receipt of such order, the guardians are to 
 make provision accordingly Relief to able-bodied persons 
 out of the workhouse, is however to be given in food only, and 
 the commissioners may from time to time regulate its ap- 
 plication. 
 
A.D. 1847. SUMMARY OF THE EXTENSION ACT. 331 
 
 Sections 4, 5, 6. The commissioners may direct the guardians to 
 appoint relieving officers to assist in the administration of 
 relief; and also medical officers for affording medical relief 
 out of the workhouse, whenever they shall deem such appoint- 
 ments to be necessary or expedient. The commissioners may 
 likewise, on application of the board of guardians, wherever 
 an electoral division is distant six miles from the place of 
 meeting, form such division into a district, with a committee 
 to receive applications, and to report thereon to the guardians. 
 
 Section 7. Relieving officers are empowered to give provisional 
 relief in cases of urgent necessity, by an order of admission to 
 the workhouse or fever hospital of the union, or only affording 
 such relief as may be necessary in food, lodging, medicine or 
 medical attendance, until the next meeting of the board of 
 guardians, to whom the case is then to be reported, and their 
 directions taken thereon. The guardians are to furnish the 
 relieving officers with the necessary funds for the above pur- 
 poses, in such manner as the Poor Law Commissioners 
 direct. 
 
 Sections 8, 9, 10. Relief to a wife or child is to be considered as 
 given to the husband or parent, as the case may be ; and 
 children are liable for the relief afforded to their parents. 
 Relief at the cost of a union, is only to be given within the 
 union. Occupiers of more than a quarter of an acre of land 
 are not to be deemed destitute, nor to be relieved out of the 
 poor-rates. 
 
 Sections 11, 12. Regulate the mode of charging out-door relief; 
 and provide that no person shall be deemed resident in an 
 electoral division, unless three years before he applies for 
 relief, he shall have occupied some tenement within it for 
 three months, or usually slept within it for thirty months. 
 
 Sections 13, 14, 15. Prescribe the conditions on which assistance 
 may be given to emigration, and the proportion of the expense 
 that may be defrayed out of the rates. The provisions of 6^ 
 and 1th Viet. cap. 92, sec. 18, k for the emigration of persons 
 who have been three months in a workhouse, extended to poor 
 persons not in a workhouse, or who have been there less than 
 three months. The expense incurred in aid of emigration not 
 to be deemed relief. 
 
 Section 16. The limitation of ex-officio guardians to one-third 
 the number of elected guardians is repealed ; but it is at the 
 same time provided that the ex-officios shall in no case exceed 
 the number of the elected guardians. 
 
 k Ante, p. 293. 
 
332 SUMMARY OF THE EXTENSION ACT. CHAP. V. 
 
 Sections 17, 18. The commissioners empowered to dissolve or 
 alter unions without consent of the guardians, and to form 
 such other unions therefrom as they shall deem expedient, and 
 to adjust the claims and liabilities consequent thereon. The 
 commissioners also empowered to dissolve a board of guardians 
 on their failing duly to discharge their prescribed duties, and 
 to appoint paid officers to carry into execution the provisions 
 of the law, without any intermediate election of guardians. 
 
 Section 19. Enables the commissioners to provide a chapel, and 
 to make such regulations as they deem expedient, for securing 
 the religious worship of any denomination of Christians in the 
 workhouses. 
 
 Sections 20, 21, 22, 23, 24. Provide for the purchase of three 
 additional acres of land to be used for a cemetery, or for the 
 erection of fever wards. The commissioners are also em- 
 powered to hire or purchase, not exceeding 25 acres, for the 
 purpose of erecting a school for the joint reception maintenance 
 and education of the children of the North and South Dublin 
 unions, the management of such school to be conducted by a 
 board chosen from among the guardians of the two unions, in 
 such manner as the commissioners shall by order direct. Other 
 unions may also be formed into school districts in like manner, 
 and for a like purpose. 
 
 Sections 25, 26. The commissioners empowered to prescribe the 
 qualifications and the duties of all officers, and to determine 
 their continuance or removal, and to regulate their salaries, 
 &c. The administration of relief is also subject to the com- 
 missioners' direction and control. 
 
 Sections 27, 28, 29. Accounts are to be kept and audited as pre- 
 scribed by the commissioners. Any payment disallowed by 
 an auditor, is to be recovered from the party debited there- 
 with. And on or before the 1st of May in every year, an 
 account is to be laid before parliament of the expenditure on 
 relief of the poor, and of the total number relieved in each 
 union, during the year ended on the 29th of September 
 preceding. 
 
 The Wth and llth Viet. cap. 84, is entitled < An Act 
 to make Provision for the Punishment of Ya- 
 
 iith vict grants, and Persons offending against the Laws 
 in force for the Belief of the Destitute Poor in 
 
 Ireland' 2 2nd July 1847. 
 
 Sections 1, 2, 3. After declaring it to be expedient to make fur- 
 ther provision for the punishment of beggars and vagrants 
 
A.D. 1847. SUMMARY OF THE VAGRANT ACT. 333 
 
 <c., the b$th section of the Irish Poor Relief Act is repealed, 
 and it is enacted instead, that every person deserting or 
 wilfully neglecting to maintain his wife or child, so that they 
 become destitute and be relieved in or out of the workhouse 
 of any union, shall on conviction be committed to hard labour 
 for any time not exceeding three months. And persons 
 wandering abroad begging or gathering alms, or procuring 
 children to do so, and every person going from one union or 
 electoral division to another for the purpose of obtaining relief, 
 shall be liable on conviction to be committed to hard labour 
 for any time not exceeding one month. 
 
 Sections 4, 5. Offenders may be apprehended by any person 
 whatsoever, and taken before a justice to be dealt with as 
 is above provided. Or when apprehended, the offender may 
 be delivered over to a constable or other peace officer, to be 
 taken before a justice for like purpose. Justices may upon 
 proof of offence, issue their warrant for the apprehension of 
 any such offender, to be dealt with as the Act directs Pro- 
 ceedings by or before any justice are not to be quashed for 
 want of form, nor removable by writ of certiorari. 
 
 The Wth and llth Viet. cap. 90, is entitled 'An Act 
 to provide for the Execution of the Laws for 
 Relief of the Poor in Ireland.' After reciting 
 the several previous Acts under which the Julyl84Y - 
 administration of relief to the poor in Ireland is subject 
 to the direction and control of the Poor Law Commis- 
 sioners, whose commission will shortly expire, it declares 
 it to be " expedient that the control of the administration 
 of the laws for the relief of the poor in Ireland should 
 be wholly separated from the control of the administra- 
 tion of the laws for relief of the poor in England," and 
 enacts that her Majesty may from time to time by 
 warrant under the royal sign manual, appoint a fit 
 person who, with the chief and under secretaries of 
 the lord lieutenant shall have the control, and shall be 
 styled " Commissioners for administering the Laws for 
 Eelief of the Poor in Ireland," and the person so ap- 
 pointed shall be styled the Chief Commissioner 
 
 Ante, p. 227. 
 
334 SUMMARY OF THE ACT FOR CHAP. V. 
 
 Sections 2, 3, 4, 5. The appointment of every chief commissioner 
 is to be published in the ' Dublin Gazette/ The commis- 
 sioners are to have a seal, which shall have the same force and 
 effect as the seal of the Poor Law Commissioners ; and they 
 may appoint a secretary, inspectors, clerks &c., and may 
 assign to the inspectors such duties, and delegate to them 
 such powers as they may think necessary. 
 
 Sections 6, 7, 8. One of the inspectors is to be appointed an 
 assistant-commissioner, to assist in the business of the office 
 in such manner as the commissioners direct ; and to him may 
 be delegated the powers and functions of the chief commis- 
 sioner in the latter's absence. The inspectors are entitled to 
 attend boards of guardians, and all meetings held for the 
 relief of the poor, and may take part in the proceedings, but 
 are not to vote. All salaries are to be determined by the 
 Treasury. 
 
 Sections 9, 10. The powers and duties of the Poor Law Commis- 
 sioners are transferred to the new commissioners ; and if any 
 vacancy occur, the surviving or continuing commissioners or 
 commissioner may continue to act. The commissioners are 
 constituted a body corporate, and for all purposes connected 
 with the administration of the laws for the relief of the poor 
 throughout Ireland they are to be deemed successors of the 
 Poor Law Commissioners, all property held by whom becomes 
 vested in them accordingly. 
 
 Sections 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. The commissioners are empowered 
 to make rules orders and regulations, and to vary or rescind 
 the same. Also to make general rules with the approbation 
 of the lord lieutenant, who may at any time disallow the same 
 or any part thereof, without prejudice however to things law- 
 fully done under them before such disallowance. Every rule 
 order or regulation directed to, or affecting more than one 
 union, is to be deemed a general rule. 
 
 Sections lf>, 17, 18.- The rules orders and regulations of the Poor 
 Law Commissioners are to continue in force until varied or 
 rescinded by the commissioners appointed under this Act, 
 whose authority is in all cases to be substituted for the former, 
 and is to have like force and effect in Ireland. Acts under 
 seal not to be valid, unless signed by two of the commis- 
 sioners, or by the chief commissioner, or in his absence by the 
 assistant-commissioner. 
 
 Sections 19, 20. The commissioners empowered to summon wit- 
 nesses not exceeding twenty miles distant, and to make 
 inquiries and call for returns, and examine on oath. Persons 
 giving false evidence are subjected to the penalties of perjury ; 
 
A.D. 1847. APPOINTING A SEPARATE COMMISSION. 335 
 
 and on refusing to give evidence, or neglecting to obey the 
 commissioners' summons, or to produce books vouchers &c., 
 are to be deemed guilty of a misdemeanour. 
 
 Sections 21, 22. The commissioners are annually to report their 
 proceedings to the lord lieutenant. The Report is to be laid 
 before parliament, and is to contain a distinct statement of 
 every order and direction issued in respect to out-door relief. 
 All lawful proceedings of the Poor Law Commissioners, and 
 all things done under previous Acts, and not varied or repealed 
 by this Act, are declared valid. 
 
 Section 23. The cl^ief commissioner and other persons to be 
 appointed and employed under this Act, are not to hold office 
 or exercise any of the powers hereby given, " for a longer 
 period than five years next after the day of the passing of this 
 Act, and thenceforth until the end of the then next session of 
 parliament," after which the power of appointing commission- 
 ers is to cease to operate or have effect. 
 
 These three Acts have, it will be seen, made very 
 considerable changes in the law, and taken conjointly 
 with the original Relief Act of 1838, and the Amend- 
 ment Act of 1843, n may be considered as forming the 
 entire code of Irish Poor Laws, and such moreover as 
 they may be expected to continue, there being apparently 
 no room for further alteration, or at least not to any 
 material extent. 
 
 The sanction of out-door relief given by the first of 
 the three Acts is a most important departure 
 from the principle of the original statute, and port<rfa 
 
 Jt JT ' . new Acts. 
 
 was wrung from the legislature by the distress- 
 ing circumstances in which the country was placed 
 by the successive failures of the potato crop. With 
 starvation raging almost universally around, it was 
 felt that it would be impossible to maintain the restric- 
 tion of relief to the limits of the workhouse. The 
 concession made in the 1st and 2nd sections must how- 
 ever be regarded as exceptional, and as being intended 
 to meet an exceptional case ; for the necessity of work- 
 
 n That is The 1st and 2nd Viet. cap. 56, and TJie 6th and 7th' Viet. cap. 92. 
 Ante, pp. 222 et seq. and 291 et seq. 
 
336 GENERAL IMPORT CHAP. V. 
 
 house relief being the established rule, never perhaps 
 commanded more general assent, than at the time when 
 a departure from it was thus sanctioned. The author 
 was examined before a committee of the house of lords 
 on this question, and he gave it as his deliberate 
 opinion that under the circumstances existing in Ireland 
 the concession was necessary, the preservation of life 
 being paramount to all other considerations ; but at the 
 same time he considered, that the rule of in-door relief 
 should be departed from only so far, and in such a way, 
 as would secure its resumption with the least difficulty 
 and at the earliest possible period ; and the two first 
 sections of the Act are not at variance with this view. 
 In sanctioning out-door relief under the then emergency, 
 the legislature limited its application, imposing certain 
 conditions and restrictions, and at the same time in- 
 vesting the commissioners with large powers for check- 
 ing abuse. Nay more, as if distrusting the discretion 
 of the commissioners themselves, the 2lst section of cap. 
 90 provides that their Report, which is to be laid before 
 parliament, "shall contain a distinct statement of every 
 order and direction issued by them in respect to out- 
 door relief." The appointment of relieving and medical 
 officers and of district committees, was no doubt a con- 
 siderable extension of the union machinery, but it was 
 necessary for giving eifect to the law at the time, and 
 either or all might be discontinued when no longer 
 
 The necessity for adhering to the principle of indoor relief was fully re- 
 cognised by this committee, whose inquiries were for the most part limited to 
 that point, without going into the general question of the Poor Law. Any de- 
 tailed account of the committee's proceedings does not therefore appear to be 
 called for at this time, as no new light was thrown upon the subject by its 
 investigations. The same may be said of the commission for " inquiring into 
 the state of the law and practice in respect to the occupation of land in Ire- 
 land," (of which the Earl of Devon was chairman), and whose reports are ex- 
 ceedingly valuable ; but they do not directly bear upon our subject, and have 
 therefore not been noticed. I have indeed endeavoured to confine attention to 
 the Poor-law itself, and to those matters immediately connected with it, and 
 calculated to elucidate its working, these collectively presenting a field suffi- 
 ciently extensive. 
 
A.D. 1847. OF THE NEW ACTS. 337 
 
 required. The limitation of relief by the Wi section, 
 and the extension of assistance for the purpose of emi- 
 gration to persons not in a workhouse by the 14?A 
 section, are both likely to be of use, as may also be the 
 provision in the 16th section with regard to ex-officio 
 guardians. But the power given to the commissioners by 
 the \*lth and ISth sections, to alter unions, and to dissolve 
 boards of guardians and appoint paid officers to carry 
 the law into execution, is by far the most important of 
 the provisions of this Act, with the exception of those 
 sanctioning out-relief. 
 
 The second of the above Acts (cap. 84) is in fact a 
 resumption of the vagrancy clauses which were in- 
 tended to form part of the original Relief Act, p and 
 which have now been rendered more necessary by 
 the sanctioning of out-relief. The third of the above 
 Acts (cap. 90) providing for the appointment of a 
 separate commission for Ireland, may be regarded 
 as a consequence of the unfortunate condition of that 
 country, which was now said to require all the care 
 and undivided attention of distinct functionaries. I 
 have already stated that such was not my opinion, 
 and after all that has passed I still am satisfied that 
 the Poor Laws of England and Ireland might be 
 administered under the superintendence of the same 
 commission, as efficiently as under separate commis- 
 sions ; and that there would be a weight of authority 
 influence and other advantages arising from the com- 
 bination of the two, which would not be found in a 
 separate commission. The example of Scotland was 
 much relied upon as warranting the separation, but the 
 cases are not similar, the Scottish Poor Law differing 
 essentially from that of England, whereas the Irish 
 law is directly founded upon it, and in its working 
 must to a great degree be regulated by English ex- 
 
 p Ante, p. 211. 
 
338 THE NEW COMMISSION. CHAP. V. 
 
 periehce. But the separation having taken place, it 
 would be difficult to retrace the step, unless indeed 
 there should be, as has on high authority been proposed, 
 an entire amalgamation of the two governments by 
 abolishing the office of lord lieutenant, in which case 
 the Irish commission would naturally if not necessarily 
 become merged in the English. It is bootless however 
 to speculate upon these or other possible changes, and 
 we will therefore resume our task of tracing out the 
 progress of the law, and inquiring into the circum- 
 stances under which it has to be administered. 
 
 On the passing of the first of the above Acts (Wth 
 and llth Viet. cap. 31, commonly known as the Belief 
 Extension Act), copies of it were forwarded to all 
 the unions, and the attention of the several boards of 
 guardians was called to the necessity of making pro- 
 vision on a much larger scale than heretofore for the 
 relief of the poor, and pointing out the conditions on 
 which the relief was henceforward to be administered 
 to the classes of infirm and able-bodied. Five addi- 
 tional assistant- commissioners were also appointed q to 
 attend to the large increase of duties now devolved 
 change of the 11 P 011 tte commission. On the 27th of August 
 SSt^r *ke appointment of Mr. Twisleton as chief 
 commissioner, under the IQth and llth Viet, 
 cap. 90, was notified in the Dublin Gazette, and on the 
 following day the administration of the law became 
 vested in the new commission established by that Act, 
 the ten gentlemen then acting as assistant-commissioners 
 were appointed inspectors, and Mr. Power was appointed 
 the assistant-commissioner. 
 
 The extent of sickness and mortality in the work- 
 Decrease of houses towards the middle of April, has already 
 mortality, been noticed/ The returns continued to show 
 
 q These were Mr. Crawford, Mr. Bourke, Mr. Stanley, and Mr. Barren. 
 Mr. Phelan had been appointed some months previously to superintend the 
 sanitary state of the workhouses. Mr. Stanley afterwards became secretary, 
 and was succeeded as inspector by Mr. Flanagan. 
 
 r Ante, p. 326. 
 
A.D. 1847. DECREASE OF DISTRESS. 339 
 
 a gradual decrease of deaths from that time, although 
 there was no material decrease in the number of 
 inmates or of fever patients until the month of July, 
 when a decline rapidly took place in all three ; and in 
 the last week of August the number of inmates was 
 reduced to 76,319, of sick (including 5,782 fever pa- 
 tients) to 15,240, and of deaths to 646, or 8 in every 
 1,000 weekly. In the first week of October the inmates 
 had again increased to 83,719, but the deaths were 
 only 433, averaging 5 per 1,000 weekly. These num- 
 bers show the extent of the pressure on the work- 
 houses in the earlier part of 1847. But the extent of 
 assistance afforded under the Temporary Relief and the 
 Fever Hospital Acts (Wthand llth Viet. caps. 7 and 22) 
 must also be stated, in order to show the universality of 
 the distress. Under the former Act, on the 8th of May 
 rations were issued to 826,325 persons; on the Decrease 
 5th of June to 2,729,684 ; on the 3rd of July to NwST 
 3,020,712 ; on the 1st of August to 2,520,376-; on the 
 29th of August to 1,105,800 ; on the 12th of September 
 to 505,984 ; and at the end of September the issues alto- 
 gether ceased. Under the latter Act accommodation 
 was provided for the treatment of 26,378 fever patients, 
 and the average number in hospital was about 13,000. 
 The proceedings under these Acts, when viewed in con- 
 junction with those under the Poor Law, will sufficiently 
 explain the magnitude of the crisis through which the 
 country passed at this period, and the fearful suffering 
 and privations to which the people were unhappily and 
 it may be added unavoidably exposed. 
 
 The financial state of the unions became greatly de- 
 pressed during* this try ins: period. The fact of Financial 
 
 II 1.1* 1- if J L stateofthe 
 
 the treasurers balances having turned against unions. 
 the unions is noticed in the Report of the previous 
 year, 8 and this continued down to the end of September, 
 when owing to great exertions in the collection, the 
 
 Ante, p. 328. 
 
 z 2 
 
340 COMMISSIONERS' FIRST REPORT. CHAP. V 
 
 returns again showed a credit balance of upwards of 
 10,000/. in favour of the guardians. There was still 
 however a large arrear remaining for collection, and 
 this continued to be the case throughout the succeeding 
 half-year, notwithstanding that the large sum of 9 61,354/. 
 was collected and lodged with the treasurers, a proof 
 that the guardians were not backward in making pro- 
 vision for carrying out the law, although the impo- 
 verished state of many of the unions rendered the 
 collection difficult after the rates were made. 
 
 The harvest of 1847 proved to be a good one. Con- 
 Agood trary to expectation the potato crop was free 
 from disease, but the quantity grown was com- 
 paratively small, and the price continued so high that 
 the peasantry were unable to purchase. The failure of 
 the crop in the two previous years had discouraged them 
 from planting, and they were consequently in great 
 measure deprived of their usual means of living. The 
 large importations of Indian meal had however so far 
 reduced the price of that and other descriptions of food, 
 that the general cost of subsistence was not much greater 
 than in ordinary seasons, and in districts where the 
 people found employment at moderate wages, they gene- 
 rally fared better than in former years. But in districts 
 where there was no employment or money wages, and 
 where the peasantry had been accustomed to subsist on 
 potatoes raised by themselves, this resource being ne- 
 glected, they would necessarily be in want of food, and 
 would require assistance to preserve them from starva- 
 tion. It was certain therefore, notwithstanding the 
 non-appearance of the potato disease, that there would 
 be much distress in many parts of the country long 
 before the approach of harvest in the following year ; 
 and in order to be prepared for affording needful relief 
 in such a contingency, without at the same time weak- 
 ening the incentive to independent exertion in the 
 labouring classes, it was necessary that a large increase 
 of workhouse accommodation should Be provided. This 
 
A.D. 1847. DISSOLUTION OF BOARDS OF GUARDIANS. 341 
 
 point the commissioners continued earnestly to press 
 upon the attention of the several boards of guardians, 
 and for the most part with success. 
 
 The extent and population of the Irish unions and 
 the constitution of many of the boards of guardians, 
 rendered it probable that the new and more laborious 
 duties imposed upon them by the Extension Act (10th 
 and llth Viet. cap. 31) would not always be fulfilled, 
 and that in some instances there might either be a failure 
 of necessary relief, or a misapplication of the union 
 funds. The power of dissolving a board of guardians, 
 and at once appointing paid officers to discharge their, 
 duties, was given to the commissioners for the purpose 
 of enabling them to deal with cases of this kind ; and 
 being armed with such a power, they were responsible 
 for its exercise whenever the occasion called for it 
 " Although reluctant in the highest degree, (they say) 
 to interfere even temporarily with a system of self- 
 government involving the great principle of popular 
 representation in the raising and expenditure of a public 
 fund, it appeared to them that in the immediate circum- 
 stances of the country, a more imperative object de- 
 manded for a time the sacrifice of those considerations, 
 and that it was their paramount duty by every means 
 which the legislature had placed at their disposal, to 
 provide for the effectual relief of the destitute poor." 
 Acting under these views, and on the occurrence of 
 what they considered to be serious default on the part 
 of the guardians, the commissioners dissolved 32 boards of 
 thirty-two boards, 1 and appointed paid officers ^solved. 
 in their stead. The default in nearly every instance 
 was either a failure to provide sufficient funds, or to 
 apply them efficiently in relieving the destitute. Full 
 
 * These were Athlone, Ballina, Ballinrobe, Bantry, Cahirciveen, Carrick-on- 
 Shannon, Castlebar, Castlereagh, Cavan, Clifden, Cootehill, Enniskillen, En- 
 nistymon, Galway, Gort, Granard, Kanturk, Kenmare, Kilkenny, Kilrush, 
 Longford, Loughrea, Lowtherstown, Mohill, Newcastle, New Ross, Roscom- 
 mon, Scariff, Trim, Tuam, Tullamore, Waterford, and Westport. 
 
342 INCREASE OF CHAP. V. 
 
 details of each case were laid before parliament, and 
 the necessity of the proceeding was generally admitted, 
 although it was no doubt much to be lamented that such 
 a necessity should have arisen. 
 
 It is, however, satisfactory to find that in a great majority 
 of the unions relief was provided and administered by the 
 guardians in an orderly and efficient manner. There 
 were some exceptions in addition to the above, it is true, 
 and the commissioners had to exert all their influence 
 and authority in procuring the appointment of relieving 
 officers to receive and inquire into applications for relief, 
 as provided by the Extension Act and directed by their 
 own order. Another point on which the commissioners 
 out-door found much difficulty in winning the acquies- 
 empioyment. cence O f fa e g uar( }i ans wag with regard to the 
 
 mode of employing poor persons, for whose relief out of 
 the workhouse under the 2nd section of the Extension 
 Act, a necessity had arisen in some unions. The guard- 
 ians wished the employment to be of a productive or 
 profitable nature, and that it should be applied mainly 
 with that view. The commissioners were desirous that 
 the employment should serve as a test of destitution, and 
 recommended stone-breaking as open to least objection, 
 the food to be given not as the price of labour but in relief 
 of destitution, the labour being required simply as the 
 condition of the relief; and in the unions where out-door 
 relief in food was given to the able-bodied on this prin- 
 ciple, the numbers are said to have been for the most 
 part kept within moderate limits. 
 
 But although the labour-test might so far have suc- 
 ceeded, the operation of the workhouse system 
 * n the present difficult circumstances had been 
 found far less equivocal, and its efficiency was 
 more universally acknowledged by those engaged in the 
 administration of relief. A large extension of workhouse 
 room, partly permanent partly temporary had been pro- 
 vided. The whole accommodation including additional 
 
 tion. 
 
A.D. 1847. WORKHOUSE ACCOMMODATION. 343 
 
 workhouses and fever hospitals connected with the work- 
 houses would be sufficient for upwards of 150,000 per- 
 sons, " being an addition of more than one-third to the 
 accommodation originally provided." In consequence 
 of this great increase of workhouse accommodation, it 
 appears that in 25 of the unions no relief was given out 
 of the workhouse, " except perhaps in the occasional 
 exercise of the provisional powers of the relieving 
 officers," and yet the workhouses of none of these unions 
 were said to be full. In 35 other unions, out-door relief 
 was afforded only under the 1st section of the Extension 
 Act, that is to the infirm, widows with two or more 
 children, and persons disabled by sickness or. accident 
 In the remaining 71 unions, orders had been issued 
 under the 2nd section, authorizing out-door relief in food ; 
 but in only 23 of these was it authorized to be given 
 without distinction of class. 
 
 In proof of the efficiency of the workhouse in checking 
 applications for relief, when not caused by actual neces- 
 sity, the example of Dublin may be cited. In the first 
 week of July, rations were gratuitously issued T he Dublin 
 in the two Dublin unions to 57,509 persons, and u 
 the proportion of these classed as able-bodied amounted 
 with their families to 46,432. In the South union the 
 number on the relief lists was greatly reduced before the 
 15th of August, the day on which the issues under the 
 Temporary Belief Act were ordered to cease ; but in the 
 North union more than 20,000 persons continued to 
 receive rations, and the commissioners were entreated 
 to issue an order under the powers given to them by 
 the Extension Act sanctioning its further continuance, 
 the guardians being apprehensive that so large an 
 amount of relief could not with safety be suddenly dis- 
 continued. The commissioners deemed it to be their 
 duty to resist the appeal, and recommended the guardians 
 to convert a building then in their occupation and capable 
 of accommodating 400 persons, into a subsidiary work- 
 
344 EFFICIENCY OF THE WORKHOUSE. CHAP. V. 
 
 house. This was accordingly done, and admission was 
 offered to such of the able-bodied and their families as 
 applied for relief when the rations were discontinued ; 
 but the new subsidiary workhouse was not filled by 
 those who accepted the offer, and all the others found 
 the means of living by their own exertions. The class 
 receiving out-door relief under the 1st section of the Act 
 (i. e. the aged and infirm poor and widows with two or 
 more children) were at the same time, with some assist- 
 ance from the mendicity institution, reduced to about 
 4,000 persons; and no necessity afterwards arose for 
 issuing an order under the Ind section in either of the 
 Dublin unions. 
 
 To this example of the efficiency of the workhouse in 
 preventing undue applications for relief, may be added 
 the testimony of the relief commissioners appointed 
 under The 10th and llth Viet. cap. 7, u as to the extreme 
 difficulty or rather impossibility in the state of Ireland 
 at that time, of guarding against gross abuse in the 
 administration of relief without the corrective of the 
 workhouse test, even although in the shape of daily 
 Report of rations of cooked food. In their third Report 
 SST dated 17th June 1847, the commissioners make 
 inder the the following remarkable statement " In 
 
 IQthandllth 
 
 via. cap. i. several instances the government inspecting 
 officers found no difficulty in striking off hundreds of 
 names that ought not to have been placed on the lists, 
 including sometimes those of servants and men in the 
 constant employ of persons of considerable station and 
 property. These latter are frequently themselves mem- 
 bers of the committees, and in some cases the very 
 chairmen, being magistrates, have sanctioned the issue 
 of rations to tenants of their own of considerable hold- 
 ings, possessed of live stock, and who it was found had 
 paid up their last half-year's rent." ..." In 
 
 Ante, p. 317. 
 
A.D. 1848. EXPENDITURE ON RELIEF. 345 
 
 other districts, the measure is subject to deception and 
 petty frauds practised by many of the order imme- 
 diately above the class of actually destitute, and which 
 cannot be entirely checked by the best exertions of the 
 best committees. Even in the districts where the 
 service is most correctly performed, the numbers on the 
 lists will no doubt exceed those of the really destitute." 
 It was perhaps to be expected under the circumstances 
 then existing in Ireland, that something like what is 
 here described might occur; but it could hardly have 
 been expected that it would have been to such an extent, 
 or that persons in the positions named would have 
 descended to practices at once so disgraceful and so un- 
 patriotic. Against such frauds the workhouse seemed 
 to be the only safeguard. 
 
 The entire expenditure from the rates on relief of the 
 poor in the 130 unions during the twelve Expenditure 
 months ending 29th September 1847, was of the poor. 
 803, 684. The number of inmates on that day was 
 86,376, and the total number relieved in the work- 
 houses within the year was 417,139. There was some 
 expenditure in a few of the unions shortly before the 
 29th September, although the issues under the Tem- 
 porary Belief Act did not until then wholly cease. 
 The relief under the Extension Act (Wth and llth 
 Viet., cap. 31) which then commenced, continued to 
 increase as the distress arising from the exhaustion of 
 the small crops raised in many parts of the country 
 became more and more severe. On the 12th Numbers m 
 February 1848 the number in the several work- houS. r " 
 houses amounted to 135,467, and the mortality reached 
 11 per 1,000. This was perhaps to be expected from the 
 great pressure upon the workhouses, and the wretched 
 condition of very many of the poor persons at the time 
 they were admitted. Contagious disease again pre- 
 vailed, and the fatal effects again extended to the work- 
 house officers, ninety-four of whom died, chiefly of fever, 
 
346 NUMBERS RELIEVED. CHAP. V. 
 
 and also two of the Poor Law inspectors, and one vice- 
 guardian in course of the year. 
 
 Although the numbers in the workhouses went on 
 out-door increasing in the latter months of 1847, it was 
 not until February and March 1848 that the 
 houses became filled, and that out-door relief was 
 largely administered. In February the cost of out- 
 relief in money and food amounted to 72,03 9., in 
 March to 81,339. The numbers and cost were then 
 both at their maximum, and according to the best esti- 
 mate which could be formed, the average daily number 
 of out-door poor relieved was 703,762, and of in-door 
 140,536, making an aggregate of 844,298 persons. 
 The description of food supplied to the poor in lieu of 
 their habitual food the potato, consisted for the most 
 part of a pound of Indian meal, that being the quantity 
 of cereal food approved by the Central Board of Health 
 in Ireland as necessary for the daily sustenance of an 
 adult. The price of Indian meal was at that time 
 about Id. per lb., so that the cost of the food thus sup- 
 plied probably did not exceed the cost of that to which 
 the people had been accustomed. It appears therefore 
 that in the early part of 1848 no less than 800,000 
 persons were relieved daily at the charge of the poor- 
 rates, consisting chiefly of the most helpless part of the 
 most indigent classes in Ireland ; and the commissioners 
 say they " cannot doubt that of this number a large 
 proportion are by this means, and this means alone, 
 daily preserved from death through want of food." 
 The above 800,000 is irrespective of the children sup- 
 plied with food and clothing by " The British Associa- 
 tion," the number of whom in March 1848 amounted to 
 upwards of 2 00, 000. x So that the total number of persons 
 then receiving eleemosynary support must have exceeded 
 a million, or over one-eighth of the entire population. 
 
 x See Report of the association, p. 41. 
 
A.D. 1848. FINANCIAL STATE OF THE UNIONS. 347 
 
 The official returns of the collection and expenditure 
 of the poor-rates are made up to the 31st March 1848, 
 and comprise six months only of the parochial year 
 which will end on the 29th September following. They 
 show that in those six months 961,356/. had been col- 
 lected, and 78 1,1 9 8. expended, thus exhibiting an 
 excess of collection over expenditure of 180,158. The 
 state of the balances appears therefore to have greatly 
 improved/ and rates to the amount of 661,855/. still 
 remained on the books for collection. " Up to this 
 point therefore (the commissioners observe) the finan- 
 cial progress has been favourable " But they add, " if 
 we should have to sustain operations for five months 
 longer, at the rate of expenditure exhibited for March, 
 it is clear that great exertions have yet to be made in 
 the collection of rates, in order to escape a large accu- 
 mulation of debt at the close of the year." The above 
 statements apply to the unions in the aggregate. There 
 are however the commissioners say, certain Distress m 
 
 1/7 certain 
 
 unions which " cannot for some years be cleared nai 113 - 
 from present debt under the most favourable circum- 
 stances, and in unions which on the whole are well 
 provided with funds, many electoral divisions are in a 
 state of almost hopeless bankruptcy." 
 
 The proceedings of the " British Relief Association " 
 have already been noticed. 2 The committee British Relief 
 of the association had still a considerable sum * 
 at their disposal in the latter end of 1847, and this 
 it was determined to appropriate in aid of such of 
 the distressed unions above adverted to as the Poor 
 Law Commissioners should recommend for that purpose, 
 and also in " affording food and clothing to children 
 through the medium of schools." Accordingly grants 
 to the amount of 143,519Z. were successively made to 
 
 y Ante, p. 328. " Ante, p. 321. 
 
348 COMMISSIONERS* FIRST REPORT. CHAP. V. 
 
 the distressed unions 8 in aid of their general expendi- 
 ture ; and with regard to the school-children, it is said 
 " by the 1st of January 1848 the system was in full 
 operation in thirteen of the more distressed unions, 
 58,000 children were on the relief-roll of the associa- 
 tion, and this number gradually increased, until in the 
 month of March upwards of 200,000 children, attending 
 schools of all denominations in twenty-seven western 
 unions, were participating in this relief. The total ex- 
 penditure for feeding the children amounted to 80,885/., 
 in addition to which the sum of 12,083Z. was spent in 
 clothing, making a total expenditure during the second 
 period of the relief operations of the association of 
 236,487/." b Treasury grants to the extent of 114,968/. 
 had also been made in aid of the distressed unions, 
 during the present year. 
 
 It may not be irrelevant here to state, that the entire 
 
 of the rates made in all the unions from the first 
 of%teT 01 introduction of the Poor Law down to the date 
 
 of the present Eeport, have (exclusive of the 
 last rate) amounted to 2,49 6,41 2/., of which not more 
 than 48,804/., or 2 per cent., has been lost 143,046/., 
 or 6 per cent., of arrears having been carried into the 
 rates last made. The last-made rates amounted to 
 1,462,878/., which added to the above makes a total of 
 3, 9 5 9, 2 9 OZ. assessed upon the property of Ireland for 
 the relief of the poor, in course of the ten years since 
 the introduction of the Poor Law, the last three being 
 years of such intense distress as it was perhaps never 
 before the lot of an entire people to be subjected to. 
 
 * These were Ballina, Belmullet, Ballinrobe, Ballyshannon, Bantry, Boyle, 
 Cahirciveen, Carrick-on-Shannon, Castlebar, Castlereagh, Clifden, Donegal, 
 Galway, Glenties, Kenmare, Kilrush, Listowel, Manorhamilton, Milford, Mo- 
 hill, Roscommon, Scariff, Skibbereen, Sligo, Swineford, Tralee, Dingle, Tuam, 
 Westport, Athlone, Ennistymon, Gort, Nenagh, Loughrea and New Ross. 
 This list somewhat differs from the one given in the commissioners' Report, 
 but I quote from that furnished by the association, whose Report was made 
 subsequently, being dated 1st January 184U. 
 
 b See Report of the British Relief Association, pp. 41 and 46. 
 
'' 
 
 A.D. 1849. COMMISSIONERS' SECOND REPOrffrj J 34& JJ f y 
 
 The Eeport for 1848-9 is dated, not on the 1st May, .. . 
 as before, but on the 14th July. At the ena 
 
 r. .-i . -i -pv .-, . , Secondannual 
 
 oi tlieir last Keport, the commissioners ad- 
 
 verted to the great efforts which were made commis- 
 
 sioners for 
 
 to restore the potato to its former position of Ireland - 
 the staple crop of Ireland, as being a circumstance at 
 once hopeful and alarming. The policy of a people's 
 relying for subsistence on a crop so uncertain in its 
 produce, and which so soon decays, is no doubt a 
 question of momentous importance. But this was lost 
 sight of in the promise of an abundant harvest ; and 
 as the disease had done little mischief last year, it 
 was hoped the country would be equally free from its 
 ravages in the present. At the beginning of 
 August however, the appearance of blight was disease - 
 reported from many parts of the country, and although 
 not so general nor so destructive as in 1846, the disease 
 proved much worse than in 1847, and there can be no 
 doubt that a considerable proportion of the crop was 
 destroyed by it. In October sound potatoes were sold 
 at Sd. per stone, a price at which the ordinary rate of 
 wages would not allow a labourer to purchase them for 
 the support of his family. Another season of distress 
 was therefore evidently impending. The out-relief lists 
 had been reduced from 830,000 in July, to 200,000 on 
 the 1st of October, when the numbers again began to 
 increase, and on the last day of December they amounted 
 to nearly 400,000. The numbers in the workhouses 
 increased in the same period from 114,000 to 185,000, 
 with a weekly rate of mortality of 6i per 1,000. State- 
 ments of the numbers relieved, and the cost of the relief 
 afforded, were periodically submitted to parliament 
 throughout the whole of this trying period. 
 
 In the earlier months of 1849 there was greater pri- 
 vation and suffering among the population of Great distress 
 the western and south- v/estern districts, than a 
 at any time since the fatal season of 1846-7. " Ex- 
 
350 RECURRENCE OF DISTRESS. CHAP. V. 
 
 haustion of resources by the long continuance of adverse 
 circumstances, caused a large accession to the ranks of 
 the destitute. Clothing had been worn out or parted 
 with to provide food, or seed in seed-time ; and the loss 
 of cabins and small holdings of land, either by eviction 
 or voluntary abandonment, rendered many thousands of 
 families shelterless and destitute of fuel as well as food." 
 The distress hence arising, aggravated by the inclement 
 weather which then prevailed, was not we are told 
 effectually met by the system of out-door relief. Where 
 the workhouses were full, poor persons receiving out- 
 relief were often compelled to part with a portion of 
 their food to obtain a lodging. The cabins became 
 crowded with ill-fed, ill-clothed, sickly people, and 
 epidemic disease found victims prepared for its attacks. 
 A great proportion of those who died in the work- 
 houses at this period, had previously suffered from fever 
 and dysentery, and entered the workhouse weakened by 
 extreme privation, or in an advanced state of disease. 
 
 In the month of March a new enemy appeared, 
 cholera cholera having broken out in the western and 
 south-western unions, whence it afterwards ex- 
 tended to other parts of the country. The disease how- 
 ever assumed its most virulent form in the above 
 unions, and proved extensively fatal to the inmates of 
 the workhouses, as well as to the population generally. 
 Great exertions were made to check its ravages ; but 
 the commissioners express their regret that a want of 
 means had crippled their efforts, and in some urgent 
 cases they had been obliged to apply for permission to 
 appropriate a limited portion of the funds placed at 
 their disposal by government, to provide the means of 
 treatment for cholera patients, at a time when they were 
 anxious to apply every sum remitted to them to the 
 purchase of food for the in-door and out-door poor in 
 the distressed unions. After a time the cholera dis- 
 appeared from most of the unions in the west and south, 
 
A.D. 1849. FURTHER INCREASE OF ACCOMMODATION. 351 
 
 but at the date of the Report it still prevailed with much 
 virulence in other parts of Ireland. 
 
 The inmates of the several workhouses in the first 
 week of March 1849 amounted to 196,523, and gg^J 
 the weekly mortality to 9|- per 1,000. In the mortality. 
 first week of May the number of inmates was 220,401, 
 with a mortality of 12i per 1,000. At the end of June 
 the inmates were 214,867, and the mortality was re- 
 duced to 6i per 1,000. The numbers receiving out- 
 relief at the three periods respectively were 592,705 
 646,964 and 768,902. These numbers show the ex- 
 tent of distress to which the people had been reduced 
 by famine and disease in the last four disastrous years. 
 This is also evidenced by the inquests held in cases of 
 alleged death through actual want, the number of which 
 in the first five months of 1849 amounted to 431. The 
 suffering must necessarily indeed have been greater 
 in each successive year than in the one preceding, since 
 the general means were being continually reduced by 
 the failure of the crops, the weakest and poorest of the 
 people suffering first, then those a degree above them, 
 and so on, until the comparatively well-to-do occupier 
 of a few acres of land who had contributed to the relief 
 of others, is himself dragged down to the condition of 
 the lowest. 
 
 A conviction appears to have become very general, 
 that the abuses and shortcomings incidental to Extension of 
 
 P . workhouse ac- 
 
 out-door relief, especially when administered on commodation. 
 a large scale, cannot be altogether prevented ; and that 
 in-door relief is preferable, not only under ordinary 
 circumstances, but in seasons of severe distress like the 
 present. Hence the guardians had hired building after 
 building in aid of the workhouses at first provided ; 
 and the entire accommodation, which was originally 
 calculated for 100,000 inmates, and which during the 
 previous year had been increased to 150,000, had now 
 been so far extended as to be equal to the accommodation 
 
352 COMMISSIONERS' SECOND REPORT. CRAP. V. 
 
 of 250,000. On this circumstance and the convictions 
 out of which it arose, the commissioners chiefly founded 
 their hope of securing an effective and economical ad- 
 ministration of the law. It will be their duty, they 
 say, to give a right direction to these views, by en- 
 deavouring to make the auxiliary establishments effec- 
 tive in point of classification and discipline, and to 
 reduce where practicable the expenses of management ; 
 and if their efforts should be assisted by the gradual 
 return of agricultural prosperity in the western and 
 south-western parts of Ireland, they confidently expect 
 at no very distant period to be enabled to withhold the 
 exercise of the exceptional power confided to them in 
 the 2nd section of the Relief Extension Act, c or at least 
 to confine its operation within very narrow limits. 
 
 The fact that in 25 of the unions no relief was given 
 Restriction of except in the workhouse is mentioned in the 
 
 relief to the r 
 
 workhouse. Report ol the preceding year. Several unions 
 which then gave out-relief have since ceased to do so, and 
 the number in which relief is restricted to the workhouse 
 was now 35. In the great majority of these unions the 
 result of such restrictions had been in all respects satis- 
 factory. The applications of proper objects were not 
 refused, and yet there had been sufficient means for 
 relieving all the really destitute, whilst except in cases 
 where epidemic disease had prevailed in the neighbour- 
 hood, and been thence imparted to the inmates, the 
 workhouses of these unions had generally been healthy. 
 In some instances however w T here the destitution was 
 severe and wide-spreading, and where the auxiliary 
 houses had been insufficient or defective, the adherence 
 to in-door relief exclusively was less satisfactory. The 
 insufficiency of workhouse accommodation led to over- 
 crowding, and thence arose disease, fed and aggravated by 
 the continual influx of destitute persons in a state of utter 
 
 c Ante, p. 330. d Ante, p. 343. 
 
A.D. 1849. EMIGRATION. 353 
 
 exhaustion, or bearing about them the seeds of the 
 prevalent malady. In all such cases, and they were 
 not many, the guardians were urged to resort to those 
 provisions of the Act which empower them to afford 
 out-door relief, until they had provided the necessary 
 accommodation for enabling them to restrict it to the 
 workhouse without endangering life, or violating the 
 principle of the Poor Law. 
 
 In connection with workhouse relief, the mortality 
 which took place among the officers and other Mortality 
 poor-law officials ought to be noticed, as illus- admimstra- 
 
 r O . tors of the 
 
 trating the duties which the exigencies of the law - 
 service required from them. The subject has already 
 been adverted to as creating difficulty in obtaining 
 suitable persons to fill these offices. 6 Although not so 
 great in the present year as in 1846-7, the deaths of 
 workhouse officers by fever or cholera amounted to no 
 less than seventy, including nine chaplains and eight 
 medical officers. Seven of the vice-guardians likewise 
 fell victims to disease in the discharge of their arduous 
 duties, as well as eight of the temporary inspectors, 
 together with Mr. Hancock, who had acted under the 
 commission from the commencement, first as assistant- 
 commissioner and then as inspector/ 
 
 An increased disposition had latterly been evinced 
 by the boards of guardians for promoting emi- 
 
 J . i . . \ -.-, & . Emigration. 
 
 gration, under the provisions of the Extension 
 Act. 8 The steady progress of the measure for sending 
 orphan girls from the Irish workhouses out to the 
 Australian colonies, the commissioners considered highly 
 satisfactory. The number of these girls embarked for 
 Adelaide and Sydney since the spring of 1848 was 2,219, 
 at a cost to the unions of about 5. each for outfit and 
 
 e Ante, p. 326. 
 
 f The vacancy caused by the lamented death of Mr. Hancock, was filled by 
 the appointment of Mr. Lynch, the tern porarv inspector of the Westport union. 
 8 Ante, p. 331. 
 
 2 A 
 
354 COMMISSIONERS' SECOND REPORT. CHAP. V. 
 
 conveyance to Plymouth, the remainder of the charge 
 being defrayed from the colonial funds. Many other 
 unions were desirous that the orphan girls from their 
 workhouses should participate in this arrangement, but 
 the number at first was limited to 2,500. A hope is 
 however expressed that means will be found for con- 
 tinuing to remove from this country a class of emigrants 
 so eligible in every respect, and so much required in 
 the colonies. The entire amount expended on emigra- 
 tion during the year ending on the 29th September 1848, 
 was 2,776. a sum, it is observed, " less important in 
 its direct effects, than as showing a growth of opinion 
 in favour of this method of relief." Spontaneous emi- 
 gration, chiefly to the United States, and irrespective of 
 aid from the poor-rates, was exceedingly active from all 
 parts of Ireland at this time, the natural love of country 
 having been deadened by the pressure of want and 
 disease. 
 
 In the session of 1848 two short Acts were passed 
 ThenwM^ which it is necessary to notice. The llth and 
 25 and 47. 12th Victoria, cap. 25, extends the powers for 
 hiring or purchasing land for the use of workhouses to 
 25 acres, in addition to the 15 acres previously autho- 
 rized. It likewise empowers the commissioners to com- 
 bine unions for the maintenance and education of poor 
 children, and also enables boards of guardians to provide 
 for the burial of deceased poor persons. The llth and 
 12th Viet., cap. 47, provides " for the protection and 
 relief of the destitute poor evicted from their dwellings," 
 and directs relieving-officers forthwith to take order for 
 the relief of such persons, either in or out of the work- 
 house, and to report the circumstances to the guardians 
 at their next meeting. The power of purchasing an 
 additional 25 acres of land given by the first of these 
 Acts, was chiefly with a view to the establishment of 
 industrial schools, and was not intended to be used as a 
 means of employing the workhouse inmates. Few things 
 
A.D. 1849. THE KATE-IN-AID ACT. 355 
 
 would be more objectionable on principle, or more con- 
 ducive to lax management, than adding such a quantity 
 of land to a workhouse for the purpose of being culti- 
 vated by the inmates. 
 
 In the session of 1849 likewise two Acts were passed 
 requiring our attention. The first of these, 
 The l%th and 13th Viet., cap. 4, relates to the 
 appointment of vice-guardians. It provides that when a 
 board of guardians shall have been dissolved, and paid 
 officers appointed, before the 25th of March 1848, the 
 commissioners may direct the continuance of such paid 
 officers until the 1st of November 1849, and no election 
 of guardians is to take place in the interim. But it also 
 provides that the commissioners may if they think fit 
 discontinue the paid officers, and direct the election of a 
 board of guardians at any time. The second of these 
 Acts is known as ' The Rate-in- Aid Act,' and its pro- 
 visions require to be more fully explained. 
 
 The 'Bate-in- Aid Act,' 12th and 13th Viet. cap. 24, 
 makes provision for levying " a general rate in 
 aid of certain unions and electoral divisions in 
 Ireland," and it enacts as follows : 
 
 Section 1. The Poor Law Commissioners, with the approval of 
 the lord lieutenant, may during each of the years ending 
 the 31st of December 1849 and 1850, from time to time 
 declare the amount they deem necessary for the above pur- 
 poses, and may assess the same upon the several unions in 
 proportion to the annual value of the property in each rateable 
 to the relief of the poor ; but the sum levied in any union in 
 either of the two years is not to exceed Qd. in the pound on 
 such annual value. The commissioners are to transmit to the 
 guardians of each union an order under seal, stating the 
 amount so assessed, and the portion leviable in each electoral 
 division, according to the value of its rateable property. 
 
 Section 2. In the rate next made on each electoral division, the 
 guardians are to provide for the sum so leviable ; and the 
 treasurer of the union, out of all lodgments made with him of 
 such rate, or any subsequent rate, on account of any division, 
 is to place one moiety thereof to the credit of such division in 
 an account to be entitled " The Union Rate-in- Aid Account," 
 
 2 A 2 
 
356 THE KATE-IN-AID ACT. CHAP. V. 
 
 until the whole sum leviable on such division shall have been 
 so placed. And the treasurer is to pay over all sums so from 
 time to time received by him to a separate account at the 
 bank of Ireland, entitled "The General Rate-in-Aid Ac- 
 count." 
 
 Sections 3, 4, 5. The commissioners of the Treasury may order 
 the whole or any part of the money standing in such separate 
 accounts at the bank of Ireland, to be paid to such persons, 
 at such times, and under such conditions as they may think 
 fit, for affording relief to destitute poor persons in any union 
 or electoral division, or for assisting emigration, or for repay- 
 ing advances made for any of these purposes. And for the 
 more speedy affording of such relief, the commissioners of the 
 Treasury are empowered to advance out of the consolidated 
 fund, any sums not in the whole exceeding 100,0007., the 
 same to be repayable out of any rates levied in pursuance of 
 the Act. Accounts of all receipts and payments under the 
 Act are to be made up to the 31st December, in the present 
 and the following year respectively. 
 
 This Act was passed on the 24th May 1849, and its 
 duration is limited to the 31st December 1850. It must 
 therefore be regarded as a temporary measure directed 
 to a temporary object, and it was accompanied by a 
 vote authorizing an advance by the Treasury of 50,0 OO/. 
 for relief of the distressed unions in the west of Ireland. 
 The calls which had been made upon England during 
 the three preceding years, amounting altogether to 
 probably little short of 10,000,000^. in the shape of 
 loans advances or donations by the government, and 
 contributions and subscriptions of one kind and another 
 by individuals, for the relief of Irish distress, had evi- 
 dently excited alarm, and appear to have given rise to 
 a determination on the part of the legislature to revert 
 to the precedent of the Elizabethan law, and to make 
 the property of Ireland answerable for the relief of 
 Irish poverty. This was certainly open to no objection 
 in point of principle, although it may be questioned 
 whether the most suitable time was selected for its 
 application. We have seen the calamities to which 
 Ireland had been exposed by the successive failure of 
 
A.D. 1849. ANOTHER SUBSCRIPTION. 357 
 
 the potato crop. Such failures were unprecedented 
 and exceptional. The calamity had been emphatically 
 designated as imperial ; and if it were so, there would 
 be no violation of principle, but rather the fulfilment of 
 a duty, in one part of the empire coming to the assist- 
 ance of the other. It was in fact a common cause, and 
 was so regarded throughout England, until the repeated 
 failures caused apprehensions as to the perpetuity of 
 the burden, and seemed to point to the necessity of 
 compelling the Irish people to abandon the treacherous 
 potato, which it was thought they would hardly do, so 
 long as they could turn to England for help whenever 
 it failed them. The rate-in-aid was calculated to effect 
 this object, by casting the consequences of the failure 
 entirely upon Ireland itself, which in such case would 
 be unable to persist in its reliance upon a crop so trea- 
 cherous and uncertain as the potato. 
 
 Such it is believed were the impressions under which 
 the Bate-in- Aid Act was passed. Its duration was 
 limited to a little over a year and a half, and yet within 
 that period, indeed within less than a month after it 
 had passed, a subscription was set on foot by A sub _ 
 the government, each of its members subscrib- promoSdby 
 ing 100/. and her Majesty 500/., in the belief, * overnment - 
 it is declared, " that there are ways in which this money 
 may be expended most usefully, without interfering 
 with the relief administration through the Poor Law, 
 such as the supply of clothing, which has now become 
 a matter of paramount importance, especially to the 
 children." The prospects of the next harvest were said 
 to be favourable, but the promoters of the subscription 
 declare " that the short intervening period must be one 
 of such overwhelming misery, as to afford a strong claim 
 for the exercise of private charity." b The distribution 
 
 h This is quoted from the heading of the subscription list, as published in the 
 | Times ' of 16th June 1849. The money raised was confided for distribution 
 in Ireland to Count Strzelecki. 
 
358 DISTRESS IN THE WESTERN UNIONS. CHAP. V. 
 
 of the money subscribed on this occasion, which did not 
 quite amount to 10,000/., was intrusted to the same be- 
 nevolent gentleman who had superintended the applica- 
 tion of the funds of the " British Belief Association," and 
 who deservedly possessed the confidence of all parties, 
 as well in Ireland as in England. That the urgency 
 was great, as is above stated, there can be no doubt ; 
 and if it were susceptible of effectual relief by such 
 means, it may be lamented that the remedy was not 
 earlier resorted to, as it probably would have been but 
 for the alarms which gave rise to the Rate-in- Aid Act, 
 and prevented the intervention either of the govern- 
 ment or individuals in furnishing eleemosynary aid. 
 
 It must not however be supposed that the whole of 
 Ireland was in a state of " overwhelming misery." 
 Distress more or less severe was doubtless very preva- 
 lent, and everywhere arising from the same cause ; but 
 distress so intense and overwhelming as to require 
 immediate assistance from some extraneous source, only 
 prevailed in certain of the western unions, where the 
 people had depended entirely on the potato, and when 
 that crop failed became poverty-stricken and helpless 
 in the highest degree. The potato constituted the 
 chief, or it may almost be said the only source of 
 wealth in these unions, and its failure left them without 
 other resource. Rates could not be levied, for the land 
 yielded no available produce ; and the population, 
 accustomed to subsist in a semi-civilized state upon the 
 potatoes raised by themselves, would nearly all have 
 perished, as numbers of them did perish, but for the 
 assistance which was afforded to them from England. 
 
 It was chiefly with reference to these western unions 
 
 The western tnat ^e Rate-in- Aid Act was passed. There 
 
 were 22 of them, 1 comprising a population of 
 
 1 These were Ballina, Ballinrobe, Bantry, Cahirciveen, Carrick-on-Shannon, 
 Castlebar, Castlereagh, Clifden, Ennistymon, Galway, Glenties, Gort, Ken- 
 mare, Kilrush, Mohill, Roscommon, Scariff, Sligo, Swineford, Tuam, West- 
 
A.D. 1849. BATE-IN-AID LEVIED. 359 
 
 1,468,248, thus giving an average of nearly 67,000 to 
 each union ; and they stood in much the same relation to 
 the other unions in Ireland, as a pauper stands in towards 
 the independent labourer. The other unions were gene- 
 rally equal to the occasion, trying as the period undoubt- 
 edly was, and supported themselves through it, although 
 not without undergoing severe privations. But these 
 western unions were utterly destitute and without re- 
 source, and aid of some kind was necessary to prevent a 
 fearful sacrifice of life. The aid had hitherto been fur- 
 nished by England, and chiefly from the imperial trea- 
 sury. The legislature now determined that it should be 
 derived from Ireland itself, a determination that seems 
 only open to objection, on the ground of the distress being 
 so general and severe as to constitute an exceptional 
 case, warranting a recurrence to extraneous sources. 
 
 The power which had been given of levying a rate 
 in aid was forthwith acted upon, a general order being 
 issued on the 13th of June, declaring the sum to be 
 levied in each union and electoral division throughout 
 Ireland, according to the value of the rateable property 
 for the year 1849. The whole amount so assessed was 
 322, 552/. lls., being at the rate of 6d. in the A rate in aid 
 
 ' & . . .. of 6d. in the 
 
 pound. The commissioners say that the re- p und - 
 sources thus placed at their disposal, and the advances 
 by the Treasury on security of the rate in aid, " have 
 been most seasonable, and have enabled the guardians 
 of the unions assisted, to provide the necessaries of life 
 during the last two months for a large mass of recipients 
 of in-door and out-door relief, who must otherwise have 
 been without food, the money and credit of the unions 
 having been previously quite exhausted," and the conti- 
 nuance of such assistance until the period of harvest, is 
 declared to be necessary for the relief of pressing destitu- 
 tion in these impoverished and overburdened districts. 
 
 port, and Dingle. All the distressed unions had either paid guardians, or 
 temporary inspectors, appointed by the commissioners. 
 
360 COMMISSIONERS' SECOND REPORT. CHAP. V. 
 
 In the year preceding 32 boards of guardians had been 
 Boards of dissolved, and paid officers appointed to execute 
 
 guardians -i TI 
 
 the law. It became necessary likewise to dis- 
 solve some others in the present year ; m but two of the 
 preceding boards (Trim and Cavan) were revived under 
 the provisions of the original Belief A_ct, and another 
 (Mullingar) was revived under the Ylth and Y&ih Viet., 
 cap. 4. By the operation of the latter Act, the boards of 
 guardians will, on the 1st November next, be reinstated 
 in all the unions now under the management of paid 
 officers, except the five last dissolved, which will continue 
 under paid officers until the 25th March 1850, unless 
 previously re-established by order of the commissioners. 
 The orders issued authorizing out-relief under the 
 sanction of ^wd section of the Extension Act had, the com- 
 out-reiief. missioners say, been more numerous during the 
 present year than was intended at its commencement. 
 " But the rapid filling of the workhouses in certain 
 unions, and the pressure of the representations of dis- 
 tress, left them no alternative but to intrust once more 
 this extraordinary and exceptional power of afford- 
 ing relief to the able-bodied out of the workhouse, to 
 those charged with the administration of relief in the 
 western and south-western unions." The financial state 
 Distressed of many of these unions was a source of con- 
 tinual anxiety. In the last year 23 of them had 
 been furnished with assistance in aid of their rates, by 
 grants from government and from the funds of the 
 British Association, and they required like assistance in 
 the present. The sums remitted for this purpose from 
 time to time by the Treasury, were guarded by the con- 
 dition that they should not be used in payment of debts 
 already incurred, but be applied in purchasing the means 
 of preserving the lives of the people, when in danger of 
 perishing through want of the necessaries of life. There 
 
 k Ante, p. 341. 
 
 m These were Mullingar, Boyle, Cashel, Thurles, Listowel, and Tipperary. 
 
A.D. 1849. BOUNDAKY COMMISSION. 361 
 
 were other unions also whose finances were much em- 
 barrassed, although they had not yet received assist- 
 ance ; but all, whether assisted or not, are said to require 
 perpetual watchfulness on the part of the commissioners 
 and their inspectors. 
 
 The difficulties and distresses to which the country 
 had latterly been exposed through the failure The 
 
 * r -i Boundary 
 
 of the potato, together with the sanction given commission. 
 to out-door relief by the Extension Act, n had led many 
 persons to consider that the unions and electoral divi- 
 sions, as originally formed, were too large for the con- 
 venient and effectual administration of relief under 
 existing circumstances. Representations to this effect 
 were made to the government, and in March 1848 com- 
 missioners were appointed for the purpose of inquiring 
 and reporting " whether the size and other geographi- 
 cal circumstances of the unions, are such as to prevent 
 the guardians and relieving officers from attending the 
 boards without serious interruption to their other duties " 
 " whether the same circumstances prevent the appli- 
 cants for relief, who desire or who may be required to 
 attend the board, from doing so without serious incon- 
 venience " " whether the amount of population and 
 pauperism in each union is greater than would render 
 it possible for the guardians in ordinary times to transact 
 the business of the union conveniently in one day of the 
 week " and lastly, " what alterations it would be ad- 
 visable to make in the boundaries of existing unions, 
 and what new unions it would be desirable to form, in 
 order to meet the wants of the country on the points 
 adverted to, or any others which may present themselves 
 in the course of the inquiry : due regard being had to 
 the position of the existing workhouses, and the charge 
 to be incurred in the erection of new workhouses." 
 
 Ante, p. 330. 
 
 The commissioners were Captains Larcom and Broughton of the engi- 
 neers, and Mr. Crawford a poor-law inspector. 
 
362 SELECT COMMITTEE OF INQUIKY. CHAP. V. 
 
 Similar inquiries were likewise to be made with respect 
 to the electoral divisions. Early in 1849 the commis- 
 sioners reported the result of their inquiries, and recom- 
 Fiftynew mended the formation of 50 new unions, the 
 
 unions re- . ' 
 
 commended, details of which, together with maps explana- 
 tory of the system on which the recommendation was 
 made, were appended to the Eeport. 
 
 Early in the session of 1849, a select committee on 
 select the Irish Poor Laws was appointed in the com- 
 STeiSh mons, and empowered " to report their opinion 
 and the minutes of evidence taken before them 
 from time to time, to the house." Many intelligent 
 witnesses were examined, and much information was 
 elicited with regard to the immediate object of the 
 inquiry, and as to its bearing upon the state of the 
 country generally. The recommendations of the bound- 
 ary commissioners were also much canvassed, and there 
 appeared to be considerable diversity of opinion on the 
 subject, some preferring large areas both for unions and 
 electoral divisions, and others being favourable to small 
 ones. This is of course in some measure a question of 
 degree, and must likewise depend very much upon local 
 size of the circumstances. The size of a union or an elec- 
 toral division might be perfectly suitable at one 
 time, or under one class of circumstances, and yet may 
 be unsuitable at another. When the unions were formed, 
 we were aware that some of them were too large, and 
 we reckoned upon these being afterwards divided, and 
 the district readjusted. For instance, in the case of 
 Ballina, the materials for constituting two efficient 
 boards of guardians could not be found, and so an extent 
 of territory sufficient for two unions, was formed into 
 one, until adequate executives could be found for two, 
 when a division might readily be effected. It was so 
 likewise in other cases, that of Dingle, now taken from 
 Tralee union and constituted a separate union, being 
 one ; and for my own part I always reckoned upon five 
 
A.D. 1849. EXPENDITURE, AND NUMBERS RELIEVED. 363 
 
 or six additional unions being created after the law had 
 come into orderly working. I certainly never thought 
 it likely that 50 new unions, or anything like that 
 number, would be required ; but neither did I foresee 
 the fearful visitations to which Ireland has latterly been 
 subjected, or the sanctioning of out-door relief under 
 the Extension Act. 
 
 The expenditure from the rates on relief of the poor 
 in the 131 unions, (Dingle being now added to 
 the former number) during the twelve months 
 ending 29th September 1848, was 1,835,6342. reUeved ' 
 The number of inmates on that day was 124,003, and 
 the total number relieved in the workhouses within 
 the year was 610,463. The number receiving out-door 
 relief on that day was 207,683, and the total number 
 relieved out of the workhouse during the year was 
 1,433,042. There is here a large increase both of ex- 
 penditure and numbers relieved, over the amounts in 
 the preceding year ; but the excess is perhaps in neither 
 case greater than might be expected under the circum- 
 stances, the cause of the distress continuing, and its 
 pressure consequently becoming year by year more 
 severe. In proof of the great efforts which had been 
 made to meet this distress, it is only necessary to state 
 the amount of the poor-rates collected during the three 
 last years, each ending on the 29th September, viz. : 
 
 1846 371,846 
 
 1847 638,403 
 
 1848 1,627,700 
 
 Mr. Twisleton who had ably discharged the duties of 
 chief Poor Law Commissioner since the separate change in 
 establishment of the Irish board, resigned office ^^ 
 in the month of May in the present year, and was suc- 
 ceeded by Mr. Power, the assistant-commissioner, whose 
 vacated office was filled by the appointment of Mr. Ball, 
 one of the inspectors. 
 
364 VICTORIA. CHAP. VI. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Third Annual Report of Poor-Law Commissioners Further Amendment 
 Act Fourth Annual Report New unions and electoral divisions 
 Consolidated Debts Act Rates in aid Fifth Annual Report Annuities 
 under Consolidated Dehts Act Treasury minute Act to amend Acts 
 relating to payment of advances Medical charities Medical Charities 
 Act First Report of Medical Charity Commissioners Census of 1851 
 Retrospection Sixth Annual Report Rate of wages Expenditure, 
 and numbers relieved Changes in Poor-Law executive New order of 
 accounts Author's letter to Lord John Russell, 1853 Present state 
 and future prospects of Ireland. 
 
 THE period comprised in the last chapter was one of 
 great suffering and privation. Famine and pestilence 
 prevailed throughout Ireland, to an extent only equalled 
 by what is said to have occurred in some rare instances 
 among eastern nations, if indeed it has ever been 
 equalled in the world's history. It was altogether a 
 fearful visitation. I have endeavoured to compress the 
 chief incidents of the period, more especially those at 
 all connected with the administration of the Poor Law, 
 into one chapter, in order to place consecutively before 
 the reader such a condensed account of the great ca- 
 lamity, as will prevent the necessity of again recurring 
 to it. We will now turn to the brighter and more 
 hopeful period which followed when famine and disease 
 having disappeared, the energies of the country re- 
 vived, and all classes united in making strenuous efforts 
 to remedy the evils which had taken place, and as far 
 as possible to prevent their recurrence. 
 
 The third Annual Eeport of the commissioners is 
 i85o. dated 25th May 1850, and continues the narra- 
 
 Third annual * 
 
 p e o p oMaw the * lve * eveir ts and proceedings from the date of 
 preceding Eeport. 
 
A.D. 1850. COMMISSIONERS' THIRD REPORT. 365 
 
 The maximum number in the workhouses during the 
 year 1849-50, was 227,329 on the 16th June Decreaseof 
 of the first-named year, and the maximum on relief - 
 the out-relief lists was 784,367 on the 7th July. From 
 these dates the numbers went on rapidly decreasing 
 throughout the succeeding months, until on the 6th 
 October the inmates of the workhouses were reduced to 
 the minimum of 104,266, and the number on the out- 
 relief lists to 124,185, all orders for relief under the 
 2nd section of the Extension Act being likewise then 
 withdrawn. This sufficiently proves the change which 
 took place shortly after the date of the last Eeport. 
 
 The crops in the autumn of 1849 turned out generally 
 sound and abundant, and famine no longer cast The cropa 
 its blight upon the land. Yet while all other g^ n y d 
 parts of the country, including Mayo and Gal- a 
 way heretofore the most depressed and suffering, re- 
 joiced in the favourable change, we are told that the 
 unions in the county of Clare, especially those of 
 Kilrush and Scariff, continued to exhibit a lamentable 
 extent of destitution. There were still 30,000 persons 
 on the out-relief lists in the Clare unions, nearly twice 
 the number so relieved in the whole province of Con- 
 naught ; " and the rate of mortality in the workhouses, 
 and the number of inquests, although less than in 
 former seasons, attest the indigent and suffering state 
 of a great part of the population." A hope is never- 
 theless expressed " that the ground has been laid for a 
 further very considerable reduction of expendi- Reduction of 
 
 _ -, -, i 11 expenditure 
 
 ture after harvest, and that a material allevia- anticipated. 
 tion of the burden of poor-rates throughout Ireland, will 
 be experienced during the year which will end on the 
 29th September 1851." 
 
 The large increase of workhouse accommodation which 
 the last Report states to have been provided,* and the 
 
 a Ante, p. 351. 
 
366 COMMISSIONERS' THIRD REPORT. CHAP. VI. 
 
 opinion which generally prevailed as to the importance 
 increase of ^ limiting relief as much as possible to the work- 
 
 house, appear to have realized the hope then 
 expressed of successfully contending with the dif- 
 ficulties of the period. The large expenditure, amounting 
 to 1,498,047Z., connected with in-door relief in 1848-9, 
 shows the determined character of the struggle, and 
 although only partial success in establishing the system 
 was obtained, events have shown the prudence of the 
 course then pursued. When the boards of guardians 
 which had been dissolved, resumed the charge of their 
 unions in November, as provided by the Vlth and 13th 
 Viet. cap. 4, b they not only evinced a desire to limit 
 relief to the workhouse, but were also with few excep- 
 tions prepared to make a further increase of their 
 workhouse accommodation wherever it appeared to be 
 necessary. So that " the change from out-door relief 
 to the safer system of relief in the workhouse, has (it is 
 said) been found practicable throughout a large part 
 of Ireland, not excepting some districts which suffered 
 most severely during the famine." The conclusion of 
 the harvest was as usual followed by an increase of 
 applicants for relief, but the extent of workhouse ac- 
 commodation being now greater by 70,000 than in the 
 previous year, out-door relief instead of increasing 
 Decrease of actually continued to decrease until the end 
 relief. of December, when the numbers so relieved 
 amounted to 95,468, the number in the workhouses 
 being then 194,547. At the end of March 1850, the 
 number on the out-relief lists was 131,702, and in the 
 workhouses 224,381, the sanitary state of the houses 
 being at the same time satisfactory. No out-door relief 
 -whatever was then administered in 51 of the unions, and 
 at the date of the Report the number of unions thus 
 exempt was increased to 58. 
 
 b Ante, p. 355. 
 
A.D. 1850. FURTHER AMENDMENT ACT. 367 
 
 The recommendations of the Boundary Commissioners 
 have been already noticed. In carrying out these re- 
 commendations, the proposed arrangement of the elec- 
 toral divisions was generally adhered to ; but with 
 regard to the new unions, it was not thought advisable 
 to make the entire of the changes recommended. The 
 commissioners have, they say, " refrained from forming 
 such new unions in districts where it appeared that 
 there was a preponderance of opinion against it, on the 
 part of those who would be locally affected by the 
 change, unless where the necessity for new union 
 centres appeared, in a territorial point of view, to be 
 placed beyond doubt." Orders were however issued for 
 the formation of 24 new unions, d and forms 
 of procedure were prepared for adjusting the 
 liabilities of townlands in unions and electoral divi- 
 sions of which the boundaries were altered, in accord- 
 ance with the provisions of the Ylth and 13th Viet. cap. 
 104. This Act now requires our attention, some of 
 its provisions being of considerable importance. 
 
 The l%th and 13th Viet. cap. 104, was passed on the 
 1st August 1849, 'to further Amend the Acts The 12* and 
 for the Eelief of the Destitute Poor in Ireland ;' cap. 104.' 
 and the following is a summary of its provisions : 
 
 Section 1. Provides that every person applying for relief, is to be 
 deemed chargeable to the electoral division in which during 
 the last three years he has been longest usually resident, 
 whether by occupying a tenement or usually sleeping therein ; 
 provided that if he have not been so usually resident for at 
 least one of the said three years, the expense of his relief is 
 to be borne by the union at large. 
 
 Section 2. Requires the Poor Law Commissioners in all cases 
 where a change is made in the boundaries of any union or 
 electoral division, to make such order under seal as appears 
 
 c Ante, p. 361. 
 
 d These were Belmullet, Killala, Dromore West, Newport, Oughterard, 
 Skull, Castletown, Clonakilty, Tulla, Killadysert, Corrofin, Ballyvaghan, 
 Portunma, Mount Bellew, Glennamaddy, Strokestown, Claremorris, Tober- 
 curry, Glin, Groom, Millstreet, Mitchelstown, Bawnboy, and Ballymahon. 
 
368 SUMMARY OF THE CHAP. VI. 
 
 to them to be necessary for the adjustment of the liabilities 
 existing at the time of such change, and the proportionate 
 share thereof to be borne by any townland affected thereby, 
 and likewise for indemnifying any union electoral division or 
 townland for any loss on exchange of property occasioned by 
 such alteration of boundaries. 
 
 Sections 3, 4, 5. On the formation of new unions, the commis- 
 sioners are empowered to prescribe the arrangements for the 
 joint use of the existing workhouses, until the new unions are 
 provided with workhouses of their own, and from time to 
 time to alter or rescind the same, and to enforce payment 
 of the expenses consequent thereon ; and for the purpose of 
 providing workhouses, ' the Lands Clauses Consolidation 
 Act ' (Sfh and $th Viet. cap. 18) is declared to be incorporated 
 with the Poor Relief Acts. 
 
 Sections 6, 7, 8, 9. In fixing the qualification of elected guardians, 
 the commissioners are empowered to fix a different amount 
 for different electoral divisions of the same union. The full 
 number of ex-officio guardians may be made up from non- 
 resident justices, if the number resident be not sufficient. 
 Two or more electoral divisions may be combined for the 
 purpose of electing a guardian ; and upon the request of a 
 board of guardians the commissioners may appoint an assistant- 
 guardian for such union, whom they are also empowered to 
 remove or discontinue. 
 
 Sections 10, 11, 12. Rents arising from exempted property, are to 
 be rated to the extent of half the poundage. Occupiers are 
 not to deduct from their rent more than one-half the amount 
 of the rate paid by them ; and the provisions making void all 
 agreements to forego deductions from rent are repealed. 
 
 Sections 13, 14. The valuations are not required to be signed and 
 sealed by the commissioners. " To encourage the employ- 
 ment of labour in improving the value of land," the valuation 
 is not to be increased in consequence of improvements made 
 under the Land Improvement Act, within seven years after 
 such improvements. 
 
 Sections 15, 16, 17, 18, 19. A short form of declaration is pre- 
 scribed, and costs are limited in actions for recovery of rates. 
 Judges may make rules and orders regulating proceedings 
 in actions for poor-rates. Civil bill decrees for poor-rates 
 may be filed, and have force as judgments of superior court. 
 Judgments for poor-rates are to be registered, and take 
 priority as charges on the land, with the exception of crown 
 
A.D. 1850. FURTHER AMENDMENT ACT. 369 
 
 and quit-rents and rent-charges in lieu of tithes. The 
 recovery of arrears of rate limited to two years. 
 
 Sections 20, 22, 23. Date of audit to be stated on the accounts, 
 and all disallowances thereof to be inserted by the auditor. 
 The rate-books are to be open for inspection, and due notice 
 is to be given to the ratepayers. In cases of appeal, the 
 known agent of the appellant may sign the notices and enter 
 into the recognizances required by law. 
 
 Sections 24, 25. The names of persons relieved to be entered 
 in books kept for that purpose, which are to be open for 
 inspection ; and weekly statements of the numbers relieved 
 and chargeable to the union, and to the electoral divisions 
 respectively, are to be posted on the workhouse door. 
 
 Sections 26, 27, 28. With consent of the commissioners the rates 
 may be applied, or loans may be raised on security of the 
 rates, for defraying the expenses of emigration ; but vice- 
 guardians are not so to apply or borrow without the consent 
 of the ratepayers, and the amount borrowed is in no case to 
 exceed Us. Sd. in the pound, of the yearly value of the rate- 
 able property chargeable with the same. The money borrowed 
 is to be applied under direction of the commissioners, in 
 defraying the expenses connected with the emigration to 
 British colonies, of poor persons resident within the union 
 or electoral division, on the rates whereof the same shall have 
 been respectively charged. 
 
 Sections 29, 30, 31. For the purpose of facilitating proceedings 
 for the recovery of rates, assistant barristers &c. may " correct 
 or amend any variance, clerical error, or irregularity not 
 affecting the substantial merits of the question," in the notices 
 &c. brought before them. Fourteen days' notice is to be 
 given of proceeding by civil bill against immediate lessors for 
 recovery of rates. The present and preceding Acts are to 
 be construed as one Act. 
 
 The facilities afforded by the above Act for promot- 
 ing emigration, were productive of less effect 
 than would otherwise probably have been the 
 case, owing to the financial embarrassments existing 
 in many of the unions. The guardians were naturally 
 indisposed to apply the poor-rate or to borrow money 
 for purposes of emigration, whilst there was an urgent 
 pressure upon them for relief, and great difficulty in 
 
 2 B 
 
370 EMPLOYMENT. CHAP. VI. 
 
 obtaining the means of affording it. The amount ex- 
 pended by the unions on emigration during the year 
 ending 29th September 1849, was 16,260/., being an 
 increase of 13,484/. over that of the previous year. 6 
 The number of orphan girls selected from the several 
 workhouses, and sent out as emigrants to Australia, 
 had been 1,956, which added to the 2,219 so sent out in 
 the preceding year, makes a total of 4,175 from the com- 
 mencement, under regulations jointly established by the 
 Poor Law and Emigration Commissioners in 1848. f 
 
 Notwithstanding that past experience and the de- 
 ductions of sound principle were alike opposed 
 to the notion that pauper labour could be made 
 a source of profit, many boards of guardians and other 
 persons of undoubtedly excellent intentions, are said to 
 have advocated plans for employing the able-bodied 
 inmates of the workhouses in ordinary agricultural 
 labour, or in the draining and subsoiling of lands 
 belonging to private individuals, or in carrying on 
 manufactures within the workhouse, the produce to be 
 disposed of to other unions, or else sold to the public 
 under the current market-price. But none of these nor 
 any similar propositions were sanctioned by the com- 
 missioners, who nevertheless failed not to urge upon 
 boards of guardians the importance of enforcing work 
 of some kind amongst the inmates, not only as tending 
 to promote health and keep up habits of industry, but 
 also as a means of securing the discipline of the esta- 
 blishment, and maintaining the efficiency of the work- 
 house as a test of destitution. 
 
 The case of the workhouse children differs essentially 
 from that of the adults. The house is no longer a test, 
 
 e Ante, p. 354. 
 
 f Twenty ships had been despatched in the two years, from May 1848, to 
 April 1850, with orphan girls selected from the workhouses in Ireland, as 
 emigrants to the Australian colonies. Of these emigrants, 2,253 were taken to 
 Sydney, 1,255 to Port-Philip, and 606 to Adelaide. The remaining 61 were 
 sent to the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
A.D. 1851. COMMISSIONERS' FOURTH REPORT. 371 
 
 as applied to them ; but a place of refuge, supplying in a 
 great degree the wants of home, and responsible also for 
 the fulfilment of home duties. Every considera- The work- 
 tion of humanity and policy therefore establishes dren - 
 the propriety, not only of providing for the education of 
 these children, but also for their instruction in useful 
 occupations by which they may earn their subsistence 
 in after life ; and much appears to have been done in 
 these respects with the children of both sexes in the 
 several workhouses. The power conferred of forming 
 district industrial schools had not yet been acted upon, 
 neither under the depressing circumstances which have 
 existed in most parts of the country, could it be ex- 
 pected that the guardians would attempt to found such 
 institutions, which must, especially at the outset, entail 
 a very considerable expenditure. 
 
 The expenditure from the rates on the relief of the 
 poor in the 131 unions during the twelve Amountof 
 months ending 29th September 1849, as stated SfSS; 
 in Table No. 1, Appendix B, was 2,177,651^ relieved - 
 The number of inmates on that day was 141,030 and 
 the total number relieved in the workhouses during 
 the year was 932,284. The number then receiving 
 out-door relief was 135,019 ; and the total number who 
 received out-door relief during the year was 1,210,482. 
 
 The commissioners' Eeport for 1850-51 is dated on 
 the 5th May. After giving the usual statis- 
 tics, and adverting to the fact that the maxi- 
 mum number on the out-relief lists in the 
 previous year terminating on the 29th Sep- 
 tember 1850, was 148,909, whilst in the fol- ' 
 lowing seven months the number had in no instance 
 
 1851 
 
 g As was the case in the preceding year, the half-yearly statements made up 
 and audited on the 25th March and 29th September (Appendix 2 and 3) ex- 
 hihit different amounts, and make the total expenditure in the present year 
 2,141,2282. 
 
 2 B 2 
 
372 EVIDENCES OF IMPROVEMENT. CHAP. VI. 
 
 exceeded 10,935; the commissioners "notice the still 
 more satisfactory circumstance, that during the year 
 ended 29th September 1850, and the seven months 
 which had since elapsed, the worst evils of the famine, 
 such as the occurrence of deaths by the wayside, a high 
 rate of mortality in the workhouses, and the prevalence 
 of dangerous and contagious diseases, had undergone a 
 very material abatement." This change was, they 
 consider, owing to a combination of favourable circum- 
 stances ; but they " do not hesitate to affirm that the 
 extension of workhouse room had afforded the means of 
 relieving actual destitution, far more efficiently than 
 could have been done by a corresponding expenditure 
 in out-door relief ; and that life has been preserved with 
 more certainty, and the general condition of the popu- 
 lation been improved, wherever a sufficient extent of 
 workhouse room has enabled the guardians to meet all 
 applications for relief, and thus to remove from the 
 minds of the labouring population every expectation of 
 the recurrence of an extensive system of out-door 
 relief." 
 
 With regard to the mortality which had occurred in 
 state of the * ne workhouses, it is remarked " that an accu- 
 workhouses. mu l a tion of cases of chronic sickness among 
 persons who survived the famine, but whose enfeebled 
 constitutions afford little hope of any other result than 
 a permanent residence in the workhouse, had filled the 
 workhouse hospitals and infirmaries with a great num- 
 ber of sick." Many of these poor people die in the 
 more inclement seasons of winter and spring, and thus 
 the average mortality of the workhouses is stated in 
 the returns to be increased. Yet if not admitted into 
 the workhouse, larger numbers would have perished, as 
 is shown by the great mortality which took place in 
 the county of Clare, where the unions were too much 
 impoverished to provide sufficient workhouse accom- 
 modation for the extent of destitution that prevailed, 
 
A.D, 1851. NEW UNIONS AND ELECTOKAL DIVISIONS. 373 
 
 the condition of Clare being at this time much worse than 
 any other part of Ireland. The people had there suffered 
 more, and the revival of the potato crop had brought 
 them less relief. They exhibited in fact an ex- stateof 
 ception to the improvement elsewhere happily Clare> 
 apparent, and nowhere more so than in Connaught, the 
 unions in which province were among the most forward 
 in recovering from the effects of the famine. 
 
 A portion of the fund raised by the rate-in-aid, h was 
 applied to assist the emigration of poor persons 
 
 P FJ T , ? r i-, -, Emigration. 
 
 from the workhouses of some of the overbur- 
 dened unions. But in order to prevent such assistance 
 from operating injuriously, and serving as an induce- 
 ment to persons to claim admission to the workhouse, 
 the commissioners directed that it should be afforded 
 only to those who had been inmates for one year at 
 least. Certain of the unions were thus relieved from 
 the charge of maintaining persons able to work, but 
 unable to find employment ; and by the removal of 
 such persons additional workhouse room was obtained, 
 without incurring the charge of providing additional 
 buildings. The number thus assisted to emigrate 
 during the present year, was 360 adult males, 844 
 females, and 517 children, at an expense of 21,075. 
 
 Since the last Report eight more new unions ! had been 
 formed, which with the 24 formed last year, and New unious 
 the 131 previously existing make 163 in all. toraS- 
 The old unions in which the boundaries either 81ons ' 1 
 of the Union or its electoral divisions had been altered, 
 were 86 ; and the number of electoral divisions had 
 been increased to 3,404, instead of 2,049 as originally 
 constituted. Some of the recommendations contained 
 in the boundary commissioners' Reports, were disap- 
 
 h Ante, p. 355. 
 
 1 These were Borrisokane, Castlecomer, Donaghmore, Kilmacthomas, Tor- 
 nastown, Urlingford, Youghal, and Castletowndelvin. 
 
374 COMMISSIONERS' FOURTH REPORT. CHAP. VI. 
 
 proved by the guardians of the unions to which they 
 applied. This was particularly the case in the north of 
 Ireland, and in several instances the Poor Law Commis- 
 sioners deemed it expedient to yield to the objections 
 which were made to any change ; so that instead of 50 
 new unions as recommended in the boundary Reports, 
 no more than 32 had been created ; and to these, 
 advances to the extent of 200,000/. were made by the 
 exchequer loan board, for enabling them to provide 
 the necessary workhouses. 
 
 It was likewise considered inexpedient to proceed 
 further in making alterations in the unions or electoral 
 divisions, " until the task of consolidating the debts due 
 for workhouse loans, relief advances, labour-rate, and the 
 advance of 300,OOOZ. authorized by the 13th and Uth 
 Viet., cap. 14, had been completed." The proceedings 
 under this Act are said to be far advanced. They are 
 of considerable importance, as is the Act itself, of 
 which the following is an abstract 
 
 The 13th and lth Viet., cap. 14, was passed on the 
 The is and 17th May 1850, and after reciting the several 
 14. u ' Acts under which advances had been made, 
 and declaring that considerable sums in respect of such 
 advances remained unpaid, but that it was nevertheless 
 expedient to authorize a further advance of public money 
 to assist certain distressed unions and electoral divisions 
 in Ireland &c., it empowers 
 
 Section 1. The commissioners of the Treasury to make advances 
 from time to time not exceeding in the whole 300,000/., to 
 such unions as they shall think fit, such advances to be paid 
 to the Poor Law Commissioners, and by them applied towards 
 the discharge of the debts or liabilities of the union or divi- 
 sion &c., as the Treasury shall direct. All sums so advanced 
 are to bear 3 per cent, interest, and be repaid out of the poor- 
 rates at such times as the Treasury prescribe. 
 
 Sections 2, 3, 4. The commissioners of the Treasury may cause 
 the debts and liabilities of the several unions and electoral 
 divisions &c. to be ascertained, and may cause the same to 
 
A.D. 1851. SUMMARY OF CONSOLIDATED DEBTS ACT. 375 
 
 be consolidated and proportionably charged upon such unions 
 or electoral divisions, and may charge such an annuity upon 
 the same as shall be equivalent to such proportionate amount. 
 A statement of the annuities so charged is to be transmitted 
 to the Poor Law Commissioners, who are to issue orders to 
 the guardians directing the punctual payment thereof. 
 
 Sections 5, 6. If payment be not so punctually made, the treasurer 
 of the union is to reserve a third part of the moneys collected 
 and lodged with him on account of the electoral division, and 
 place the same to a separate account, to be entitled the 
 " Loans Repayment Account," until all arrears have thereby 
 been discharged. But the rate in aid under the 12th and 
 13th Viet. cap. 24, is to be paid, before the annuities charged 
 under this Act. 
 
 Sections 7, 8. The Treasury are further empowered to make addi- 
 tions to the annuities chargeable under this Act, in respect of 
 loans for building or enlarging workhouses ; and may likewise 
 suspend the recovery of workhouse loans, and moneys directed 
 to be levied by grand-jury presentments. 
 
 The consolidation of the various claims upon the 
 unions and electoral divisions, and converting them 
 into annuities on terms which, whilst they secured the 
 government from loss, would make the repayment as 
 little burdensome as possible, must no doubt have been, 
 as was intended, an easement and an advantage to the 
 borrowers. The financial difficulties of many of the 
 western unions were however, it was apprehended, such 
 as would not only disable them from making any pay- 
 ment for some years, but such as would render further 
 aid necessary, in order to keep them in operation as 
 dispensors of relief to the destitute poor. 
 
 A statement is given in the appendix to the Eeport, 
 of the appropriation of the loan of 300,OOOZ. advanced 
 under the above statute, which was, the commissioners 
 say, " a most seasonable relief to many unions and elec- 
 toral divisions that were deeply embarrassed by debt in 
 the early part of 1850." But in addition to second rate 
 this loan of 300,000., a second rate in aid of 3* pound. 
 2d. in the pound, amounting to 99,362. 3s. 3c/., was 
 
376 SECOND KATE-IN-AID. CHAP. VI. 
 
 levied under an order issued on the 23rd December 
 1850, " for the further assistance of distressed unions 
 and electoral divisions." The Rate-in- Aid Act would 
 expire on the 31st of December, arid it had been hoped 
 that the raising a second rate under it might have been 
 avoided. " But after the conclusion of the harvest of 
 last year (the commissioners say) they perceived indica- 
 tions of the continuance of distress in so serious a degree 
 in the counties of Clare and Kerry, that they could not, 
 with the small balance at their disposal, feel justified in 
 omitting to avail themselves of the power of declaring a 
 further rate ;" and subsequent experience, they observe, 
 confirmed the propriety of the step thus taken. The 
 two rates in aid amounted together to 421, 9 90/. The 
 distribution of this large sum among the distressed 
 unions was, under direction of the government, intrusted 
 to the Poor Law Commissioners, by whom an account 
 of its application was furnished in detail. 
 
 An expectation had been held out in the last Report 
 of a very considerable reduction of expenditure taking 
 place in the following year, k and this expectation was 
 Amount of MfiUed. In the 163 unions the total expendi- 
 SSS ture fr m tne rates for tne relief of the poor 
 during the year ending on the 29th September 
 1850, was 1,430,108/. The number of inmates on that 
 day was 155,173, and the total number relieved in the 
 workhouses during the year was 805,702. The number 
 then receiving out-door relief was 2,938, and the 
 number who received out-door relief during the year was 
 368,565. It is seen therefore that, as was expected, a 
 very considerable decrease had taken place ; but to show 
 this clearer, I will recapitulate the several amounts for 
 the three preceding years. In the year ending 29th Sep- 
 tember 1848, the total expenditure for relief of the poor 
 was 1,835,634/. in 1849 it was 2,177,65U and in 
 
 k Ante, p. 365. 
 
A.D. 1851. 
 
 WORKHOUSE ACCOMMODATION. 
 
 377 
 
 1850 it was 1,430,108Z. The total number relieved in 
 the workhouses in these years respectively, was 610,463 
 -932,284 and 805,702 ; and the total number who 
 so respectively received out-door relief, was 1,433,042 
 1,210,482 and 368,565. The decrease in the numbers 
 who received in-door relief, may perhaps seem dispro- 
 portionately small ; but this is accounted for by the fact of 
 the workhouse being more extensively used for the pur- 
 poses of relief, than had been the case in former years. 
 The generally improved circumstances of the country 
 must doubtless be regarded as the chief cause of the 
 present decrease of pauperism ; but the commissioners 
 consider that it is likewise in no small degree attributable 
 to the extension of workhouse accommodation. Extensionof 
 This extension has, it is said, "enabled the SSSSSi. 
 administrators of relief throughout Ireland, with t] 
 very few exceptions, to meet the actual destitution 
 existing, without having recourse to out-door relief." 
 The progress of the extension may thus be tabulated : 
 
 Extent of Workhouse Accommodation. 
 
 
 Year. 
 
 On March 25. 
 
 On Sept. 29. 
 
 
 
 1847 
 
 114,129 
 
 114,865 
 
 
 
 1848 
 
 154,429 
 
 169,142 
 
 
 
 1849 
 
 228,458 
 
 244,942 
 
 
 
 1850 
 
 276,073 
 
 289,931 
 
 
 
 1851 
 
 308,885 
 
 
 
 
 And at the date of the Eeport (5th May 1851), the 
 aggregate of the workhouse accommodation available, 
 beyond the numbers then receiving in-door relief, was 
 60,491. Improvement in the sanitary state of the 
 workhouses, and of the labouring population generally, 
 is said always to follow the increase of workhouse 
 accommodation, and the substitution of in-door for 
 out-door relief; so that although a great reduction of 
 expenditure took place in the last year, a still further 
 reduction may be expected in the present. 
 
378 COMMISSIONERS' FIFTH EEPORT. CHAP. VI. 
 
 The Eeport of the commissioners for 1851-52 is 
 
 i 8 52. dated on the 1st of May, as had been there to- 
 
 wportSrae fore generally the practice, although this date 
 
 connate- was not adhered to in the three preceding 
 
 sioners for * 
 
 Ireland. Reports. 
 
 The transition from out-door to in-door relief was said 
 to be now complete throughout Ireland, accompanied 
 by a reduction in the number of applicants, as well as 
 a most satisfactory decrease in workhouse mortality, 
 improved ^ ne cr P s generally had everywhere regained 
 stench" of their usual state of productiveness. Famine or 
 Jltry ' the fear of famine no longer prevailed, and its 
 effects were only perceptible in the decrease of the po- 
 pulation, and the consequent increased demand for 
 labour. All in short was prosperous and promising 
 compared with the state of things fiye years ago. 
 There was however one exception, several of the western 
 unions being still much embarrassed in their finances, 
 and continuing to require assistance. This was especi- 
 The Munster ally the case in Munster ; for the Connaught 
 exception, unions had passed successfully through the 
 ordeal, and were comparatively prosperous. " Thus on 
 the 23rd February 1850, while the whole number re- 
 ceiving out-door relief in Ireland was 148,909, the 
 unions in the province of Munster contained 101,803 of 
 that number, and those in Connaught only 19,261 ; 
 and again, on the 26th April 1851, when the number 
 on out-relief was reduced to 10,935, the eight unions in 
 the county of Clare comprised 6,846, and the 29 unions 
 in the province of Connaught only 232." 
 
 During the progress of the important change which 
 increase of was now taking place in the circumstances of 
 Set 011 the country, the number of persons relieved 
 in the workhouses had always considerably increased 
 in the spring and early part of the summer. These 
 persons were generally in a state of great exhaus- 
 tion, and the aid and shelter they received enabled them 
 
A.D. 1852. AUXILIAEY WOKKHOUSES. 379 
 
 afterwards in most cases to leave the house with their 
 health and strength restored. Some however remained, 
 especially females and the children of both sexes, by 
 whom it appears the workhouses continued to be unduly 
 burdened. So long as there was an expectation of out- 
 door relief being administered, a considerable amount of 
 disease and mortality often prevailed, owing to the way 
 in which persons really destitute persisted in hanging 
 upon that expectation, instead of earlier seeking for ad- 
 mission to the workhouse ; but when all hope for relief 
 otherwise than in the workhouse was removed, " the 
 sequel has invariably been a reduced number of appli- 
 cants, a decreased rate of workhouse mortality, and 
 an improved sanitary state of the population." 
 
 The increased extent of workhouse accommodation 
 which has been noticed, had been obtained, either by 
 means of permanent additions to the original work- 
 houses, or by building new ones in the newly-formed 
 unions, or by the erection of a cheap kind of temporary 
 structure to meet the emergency; or else by hiring 
 premises for the purpose. The latter of these expedients 
 had been resorted to more extensively than was consist- 
 ent either with economy or with efficient management, 
 and most of these premises were now given up, or shortly 
 would be so. Anxiety is expressed that the succeeding 
 year should be commenced with the workhouse establish- 
 ments concentrated as far as practicable in each union, 
 "so as to avoid the disadvantage of using auxiliary 
 buildings." Such a concentration was no doubt essential 
 to efficient management, and it was only by such ma- 
 nagement, the commissioners observe, and by a further 
 reduction of expenditure, " that some of the distressed 
 unions in the west can be expected to become so far sol- 
 vent as to support their own pauperism without further 
 external aid." 
 
 It is certainly important on many accounts that there 
 should be only one workhouse in a union, and that it 
 
380 CONSOLIDATED DEBTS ACT. CHAP. VI. 
 
 should have been expressly constructed for the accom- 
 modation of the classes to be relieved therein, with all 
 suitable means for their separation and employment. 
 Without these essentials, a workhouse can hardly be 
 effective either as a test of destitution or a medium 
 of relief; and there is always danger of an inefficient 
 workhouse becoming a stimulant, instead of being a 
 check to pauperism. 
 
 Most of the unions made provision for the payment of 
 Annuities * ne ^ rs * annua l instalment under the Consoli- 
 SSdated dated Debts Act (13th and 14th Viet. cap. 14), m 
 ict ' the arrangements under which, including the 
 advance of 300,000., n appear to have been all completed 
 by the end of September. But in the following month a 
 Treasury minute was issued, delaring that although " my 
 lords " are of opinion that the present state of the 
 greater part of Ireland does not call for any relief from 
 the operation of the Act, yet they cannot doubt that 
 there are districts in which relief must be given " in 
 the case of those districts, for instance, where the local 
 resources are insufficient to meet the ordinary expendi- 
 ture for relief of the poor, and where it is necessary to 
 have recourse to assistance from the relief-in-aid fund 
 for this purpose, it cannot be expected that further sums 
 for payment of the consolidated annuities can be 
 raised." With regard to postponement, their lordships 
 are of opinion that it would only tend to prolong a feel- 
 ing of uncertainty as to future payments, whilst it is 
 deemed of great importance to restore confidence in the 
 owners and occupiers of land in the distressed districts, 
 to which end the demands should be definite both in 
 amount and in time. It is thought therefore that a re- 
 mission of payment, either altogether or in part accord- 
 ing to circumstances, is preferable to postponement, and 
 
 n Ante, p. 374. 
 
 n A statement of the appropriation of this loan is given in the Appendix to 
 the commissioners' fourth Report. 
 
A.D. 1851. TREASURY MINUTE. 381 
 
 an intimation is given of its being intended to apply to 
 parliament with this view. Meantime however, the 
 Poor Law Commissioners were authorized to direct the 
 treasurers of the unions to retain the whole'annuity pay- 
 able by electoral divisions of which the expenditure in 
 relief was ascertained to be 4s. in the pound, or more ; 
 and also to direct " so much only of the annuity to be 
 paid in other divisions as might, together with the relief 
 expenditure, amount to 4s. in the pound." 
 
 This was doubtless a considerate, but it was at the 
 same time a necessary proceeding; on the part The 
 
 ,1 >m r . -IT Treasury 
 
 01 the government. Ihe impoverished unions, minute, 
 
 . ' October 21, 
 
 whose utmost exertions could not raise within 1851 - 
 themselves sufficient for relieving their own urgent ne- 
 cessities, would of course find it impossible to pay the 
 consolidated annuity for which they were made liable ; 
 whilst the continual accumulation of this charge hang- 
 ing over them would paralyze local effort, and tend to 
 prevent the introduction of capital from other quarters. 
 The accumulation would for the present be put a stop to 
 by this Treasury minute ; and if, in consideration of their 
 late sufferings and present difficulties, parliament should 
 confirm the boon, it will it is thought inspire confidence, 
 as well as afford present relief; and it may then be 
 hoped, that at no very distant day the impoverished 
 unions would be able to emerge from their state of de- 
 pression, and join in the general race of improvement. 
 The requisite confirmation was given in the following 
 year by the 15/A and IGth Viet. cap. 16, entitled The is and 
 ' An Act to amend the Acts relating to the <M. 
 Payment of Advances made to Districts in Ireland/ 
 After reciting the 1 3th and I4:th Viet. cap. 14, and the 
 Treasury minute of the 21st October 1851, made "upon 
 representations contained in memorials from many 
 unions in Ireland, of the pressure upon the local re- 
 sources of several electoral divisions on account of the 
 necessary expenditure for the relief of the poor, and in 
 
382 MEDICAL CHARITIES. CHAP. VI. 
 
 anticipation of a measure to be submitted to parliament " 
 it is declared to be expedient that the directions con- 
 tained in the said minute should be confirmed, and it is 
 accordingly enacted that " the sums payable in the year 
 1851 in respect of the annuities mentioned in such 
 minute and directions, shall be remitted and deemed to 
 be discharged without further payment." The remissions 
 thus sanctioned amounted altogether to about 75,000. 
 that is 48,000/. to Munster, 24,000/. to Connaught, and 
 3,000. to Leinster. The remission, it will be observed, 
 only applied to the annuities due in 1851, and no expec- 
 tation was held out of similar indulgence in future. 
 
 Some account has already been given of the inquiry 
 The medical ^ an( ^ ^ e P or ^ upon the medical charities in 
 chanties. -^g^, and of the bill then prepared but not pro- 
 ceeded with, in consequence of the opposition made to 
 it by the medical profession. In August 1851 how- 
 ever a bill, founded on that Eeport, and similar in prin- 
 ciple and in its main provisions to the bill of 1842, was 
 introduced and readily passed, the necessity for such a 
 measure, and for bringing the rating powers and ma- 
 chinery of the Poor Law in aid of the medical charities, 
 being then admitted by all parties ; and this was the 
 object of the Act of 1851, as it had been of the bill pre- 
 pared under the author's direction in 1842. 
 
 On the passing of the lth and 16th Viet. cap. 68, the 
 Medical working of the medical charities became so 
 A^r^an* closely connected with the operations of the 
 m^S" Poor Law, that a description of the chief pro- 
 visions of the Act is here necessary 
 
 Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Provide for the appointment of a medical 
 commissioner, being a physician or surgeon of not less than 
 thirteen years' standing, to be united with the Poor Law Com- 
 missioners in the execution of the Act. The commissioners 
 may appoint fit persons, being physicians or surgeons of not 
 less than seven years' standing, to be inspectors, but the 
 
 Ante, pp. 267 and 279. 
 
A.D. 1852. SUMMARY OF MEDICAL CHARITIES ACT. 383 
 
 medical commissioner and the inspectors are restricted from 
 practising professionally. 
 
 Sections 6, 7, 8, 9. The guardians are, whenever required by 
 the commissioners, to divide unions into dispensary dis- 
 tricts, having regard to extent and population; and are 
 to appoint a dispensary committee, and provide necessary 
 buildings, and such medicines and appliances as may be 
 required, for the medical relief of the poor. A committee 
 of management consisting of the dispensary committee, the 
 ex-officio guardians, and ratepayers of 30/. annual value, 
 are to appoint one or more medical officers, to afford advice 
 and medical aid to such poor persons as may be sent by any 
 member of the dispensary committee, or by the relieving 
 officer or warden. 
 
 Sections 10, 11, 12, 13. On the declaration of a dispensary 
 district, all provisions for affording dispensary relief from the 
 poor-rate or county cess are to cease. Guardians or members 
 of the committee of management, are not to be concerned in 
 furnishing medicines or goods for the use of the dispensary, 
 under penalty of 50/. The commissioners are to frame regu- 
 lations for the government of each dispensary district, and 
 the medical officer is required to vaccinate all persons who 
 may come to him for that purpose. 
 
 Sections 14, 15. Existing medical officers are in the first instance 
 to be the medical officers of the dispensaries. The medical 
 officers of a dispensary district are to attend at the examina- 
 tion of dangerous lunatics, and are also to attend the bride- 
 wells within their districts. 
 
 Sections 16, 17, 18. The commissioners and inspectors are em- 
 powered to examine on oath, and to summon witnesses. The 
 giving false evidence is declared a misdemeanour, and the 
 refusing to obey summons &c. is subjected to a penalty of 61. 
 Inspectors may visit dispensaries, and attend meetings of 
 guardians. The commissioners are to report upon hospitals 
 and infirmaries. They are also to execute the powers and 
 purposes of the Nuisances Removal and Diseases Prevention 
 Acts, and to report their proceedings annually to the lord- 
 lieutenant. 
 
 Such were the chief provisions of this Act, and the 
 powers conferred by it appear sufficient for procuring the 
 establishment of dispensaries in districts where they were 
 much needed, and also for securing better management 
 
384 COMMISSIONEKS' FIFTH REPORT. CHAP. VI. 
 
 with regard to medical relief. In their first Report 
 First report dated 15th February 1853, the commissioners 
 charity ic com- remark , that by the Medical Charities Act, a 
 iers ' partial arid imperfect system of medical relief, 
 unattended with responsibility in its agents, and resting 
 on a financial basis at once uncertain in duration, and 
 unequal in its pressure as a tax, has been exchanged 
 for a system uniform and universal, supported out of 
 the poor-rates, and " influenced in its administration by 
 well-defined responsibilities, under the direction and con- 
 trol of a central authority." The expenditure is estimated 
 at 102,700Z. per annum. But " having regard to the dimi- 
 nation of pauperism, and the improving circum- 
 gt ances of the country," it is thought probable that 
 the cost of dispensary relief under the Medical Charities 
 Act, will not exceed 100,000. in future years. 
 
 A few more of the electoral divisions were divided, in 
 New addition to the subdivisions which had been made 
 
 divisions. the preceding year, p and the total number of elec- 
 toral divisions was now increased to 3,439, that is 1,390 
 more than what were originally constituted, although still 
 short of the number recommended by the Boundary Com- 
 missioners. The permission of out-door relief, and the in- 
 crease in the number of unions, especially the latter, would 
 no doubt render some increase of electoral divisions ne- 
 cessary ; but after the distress out of which these changes 
 had arisen shall have passed away, and when the country 
 has regained its normal state, it is not unlikely that these 
 changes may be found burthensome, and the machinery 
 they have created be beyond what is really necessary 
 for affording relief to the destitute poor. The various 
 changes which had been made in the law, also rendered 
 a new order for regulating the proceedings of boards 
 New order of of guardians necessary ; and accordingly on the 
 fa January 1852, the old order was rescinded, 
 
 p Ante, p. 373. 
 
A.D. 1852. APPRENTICING BOYS TO SEA-SERVICE. 385 
 
 and a new one adapted to the altered circumstances of 
 the unions and the state of the law was issued. 
 
 In July 1851, the Ikth and 15th Viet. cap. 35 was 
 passed, to extend the benefits of the General Apprenticing 
 Merchant Seamen's Act relating to apprentices sea-service. 
 
 . r r 14 and 15 
 
 bound to the sea-service by guardians of the %*.* 
 poor in Ireland. By this Act, the board of guardians 
 of a union is empowered to apprentice any boy of the 
 age of twelve and upwards being of sufficient health 
 and strength, and who is or whose parents are receiving 
 relief in such union, and who consents to be so bound, 
 into the sea-service for not less than four years, or 
 until he attains the age of twenty-one, or has served 
 seven years, as the case may be. The apprentice is to 
 be furnished with a suitable outfit at the expense of 
 the union, and sent to the seaport where the master 
 or owner of the ship resides ; and it is further provided 
 that any such boys may, if they desire it, be placed out 
 in the naval service. This is a well-devised Act, 
 although it may not be very operative, at least for a 
 time, the Irish generally having little predilection for 
 the sea. The Act however supplies what was certainly 
 an omission in the Act of 1836, and which became more 
 apparent as the number of boys accumulated in the 
 workhouses, without any means for apprenticing or get- 
 ting them out into service. But the abuses which had 
 resulted from the apprenticeship law in England, pre- 
 vented its introduction in any shape into the original 
 Irish Poor Belief Act. 
 
 Emigration under the provisions of the Poor Law was 
 more active during the year 1850-51 than in any 
 
 -,. l.i 1 Emigration. 
 
 preceding year, although many unions were pre- 
 vented by their poverty from resorting to it. q The com- 
 missioners had, as is before stated, applied a portion of 
 the rate-in-aid fund in relieving the overcrowded work- 
 
 Ante, p. 373. 
 
 2 c 
 
386 EMIGRATION. CHAP. VI. 
 
 houses in the counties of Clare and Kerry, but the nearly 
 exhausted state of that fund disabled them from meeting 
 other urgent applications for similar aid. Indeed the 
 decrease of the population in the impoverished districts, 
 as shown in the census returns, together with the smaller 
 number of applicants for relief, and a greater demand 
 for labour, would seem to render further aid or stimulus 
 to emigration both unnecessary and inexpedient. Where 
 the guardians and ratepayers of a district however were 
 desirous of raising funds for the purpose, the commis- 
 sioners did not refuse to give effect to the proposition. 
 It appears from the Reports of the colonial land and 
 emigration commissioners, that the total Irish emigra- 
 Extentof tion from 1847 to 1850 inclusive, was 833,692, 
 nearly all of which was for North America 
 the Canada and New Brunswick immigration from all 
 countries in the same period amounting to 210,904. In 
 1851, the emigration from Great Britain to the United 
 States was 267,357, and it was 244,261 in 1852, in 
 which year the number of Irish emigrants to New York 
 alone was 118,134. This continuous emigration was 
 chiefly effected by the aid of remittances from persons 
 who had previously emigrated, to their friends and rela- 
 tives at home, to enable them to follow. 
 
 The above figures show the extent of the drain upon 
 population the population of Ireland which had been in 
 mi? 8 progress during the last six years, and will go 
 far to account for the startling results of the census 
 returns of 1851, which exhibit an actual decrease of 
 considerably over a million and a half in the previous 
 decennial period, and make the population less than it 
 was in 1821. The census commissioners, 1 " after stating 
 that the numerical decrease of the inhabitants between 
 1841 and 1851 amounted to 1,622,739, go onto remark 
 "But this being merely the difference between the 
 
 r See 6th part of the Report on the census of Ireland for 1851, published in 
 1855. 
 
A.D. 1852. CENSUS OF 1851. 387 
 
 number of people in 1841 and 1851, without making any 
 allowance for a natural and ordinary increase of popu- 
 lation, conveys but very inadequately the effect of the 
 visitation of famine and pestilence" " We find that the 
 population of 30th March 1851, would probably have 
 numbered 9,018,799, instead of 6,522,385 ; and that con- 
 sequently the loss of population between 1841 and 1851 
 may be computed at the enormous amount of 2,496,414 
 persons." That is to say, the population in 1851 
 amounted to 6,522,385, whereas under ordinary circum- 
 stances, and with the average rate of increase, it would 
 have amounted to 9,018,799. 
 
 It may be convenient in the way of elucidation, to 
 place the numbers of the four census periods in juxta- 
 position, thus 
 
 The population of Ireland in 1821 was 6,801,827 
 
 in 1831 7,767,401 
 
 in 1841 8,175,124 
 
 in 1851 6,522,385 
 
 How much of the present decrease was owing to emi- 
 gration, and how much was occasioned by want and 
 disease, it is impossible to predicate with any degree of 
 certainty. Both causes were in operation at the same 
 time, and both were consequent upon the potato failure. 
 The universal and almost exclusive use of the potato as 
 an article of subsistence, led to a rapid increase of the 
 population its failure led to a still more rapid decrease, 
 accompanied by an amount of suffering and privation 
 for which it would be difficult to find a parallel in the 
 history of any people. 
 
 The expenditure from the rates for relief of the poor 
 in all the 163 unions now established, during Amountof 
 the year ending on the 29th September 1851, 
 was as had been expected, considerably less than 
 in the preceding year, and amounted to 1,141,647/. The 
 number relieved in the workhouses on that day was 
 140,031, and the total number so relieved during the 
 
 2 c 2 
 
 
388 RETROSPECTION. CHAP. VI. 
 
 year was 707,443. The number then receiving out- 
 door relief was 3,160, and the total number who received 
 out-door relief during the year was 47,914. It seems 
 almost superfluous to add, that none of these were 
 relieved under the 2nd section of the Extension Act. 
 The results of the year as regards relief, both numeri- 
 cally and financially, was deemed highly satisfactory, 
 and it was expected that a still further reduction would 
 be effected in the year following. 
 
 Before entering on the proceedings of another year 
 (which will moreover be the limit of our inquiry), it 
 may be well to look back for a moment to the dis- 
 astrous period through which we have latterly passed. 
 Famine and pestilence now happily no longer prevail, 
 and the country has in great measure recovered from the 
 effects of the severe ordeal to which it was subjected. 
 The Poor Law has likewise nearly regained its ordinary 
 state, after passing through the dangers and difficulties 
 of a most calamitous visitation ; and has risen from its 
 trials with an increase of reputation, and also it may be 
 added, with a greatly increased capacity for effecting its 
 objects, through the large additional workhouse accom- 
 modation that has been provided. The failure of the 
 potato in 1845 and 1846, the partial failure in 1847, 
 and the more general destruction of the crop in 1848, 
 were followed in each year by the vast efforts made to 
 palliate, and as far as possible to relieve the consequent 
 distress first by importations of food, and employing 
 the people on public works next by a partial adoption 
 of the Poor-law principle of relief, as it was administered 
 under the Temporary Relief Act and lastly by ex- 
 tending the provisions of the Poor Law to meet the 
 emergency, and permitting relief to be afforded out of 
 the workhouse. These circumstances have each occupied 
 our attention in the foregoing pages. They are all 
 exceptional in their nature, but are at the same time 
 most instructive in their results, whether viewed locally 
 
Tableg of 
 
 A.D. 1853. COMMISSIONERS' SIXTH REPORT. 389 
 
 or generally as affecting the empire at large, or Ireland 
 in particular. 
 
 The character of the period the waxings and wanings 
 of distress the variations in its extent, and the phases 
 of its intensity, are all unmistakeably indicated in the 
 weekly returns from the several unions, of the numbers 
 and mortality in the respective workhouses from the 
 commencement of 1846, and the numbers on the out- 
 relief lists from the passing of the Extension Act in 
 1847. These weekly returns are given at length 
 in the commissioners' Eeports, and from them I 
 have compiled two tables, which will be found at 
 the end, 8 showing the dates in each year when 
 the most marked changes occurred in the numbers 
 relieved both in and out of the workhouses, and the 
 extent of mortality which took place ; but always giving 
 the maximum and minimum numbers in each case. 
 The cost of out-door relief in the respective weeks is 
 also inserted, so that the state of the country at the 
 several periods is as it were mapped out before the 
 reader, and can be taken in at a glance, requiring 
 nothing further in the way of explanation ; and to this 
 table the reader's attention is requested. 
 
 The commissioners' sixth Eeport is dated 2nd May 
 1853. After the usual weekly summary of the 
 in-door and out-door recipients of relief, it is 
 remarked that the number of out-door poor is 
 so inconsiderable, and liable to so little fluctua- 
 tion, that " the comparative extent of pauperism 
 in successive years is now almost wholly dependent on 
 the number receiving relief in the workhouses." This 
 number, it is added, " continues to fluctuate almost in 
 the same degree as formerly, notwithstanding the abso- 
 lute decrease which has taken place ; the number in 
 autumn not usually much exceeding one-half the number 
 at another period of the year." 
 
 15 Sec p. 404. 
 
 1853. 
 
390 EDUCATION AND TKAINING- CHAP. VI. 
 
 The satisfactory progress made by the province of 
 Connaught in surmounting the effects of the famine 
 state of years has already been noticed.* Although 
 connaught gome o f ^ Connaught unions were still in a 
 Munster. gt a te of financial embarrassment, and subject to 
 payment of heavy rates, the reduction of relief in the 
 last three years had been remarkable, the number in the 
 workhouses having decreased from 42,286 in April 1851, 
 to 17,389 in April 1853. In Munster on the contrary 
 improvement continued to be comparatively backward, 
 that province still containing more than half the pauper- 
 ism of Ireland. 
 
 A large number of the children and young persons 
 The who had been admitted during the prevalence 
 
 dSidreT 6 of the famine, were discharged from the work- 
 houses in the course of the last two years. These must 
 be regarded with satisfaction as the fruits of the Poor 
 Law, but for which, they would in all probability have 
 fallen victims to want and disease. The children still 
 remaining in the workhouses, a great proportion of 
 whom were likewise rescued at the time of the famine, 
 were chiefly orphans, or illegitimate or deserted, and 
 without friends able or willing to take charge of them. 
 The number of these children in the workhouses on the 
 2nd April 1853 under the age of fifteen, was 82,434, 
 of whom 5,710 were illegitimate ; and looking at the 
 large proportion who were returned as being orphans 
 or deserted, the commissioners say they " cannot but 
 feel that the prospect of enabling a large number of 
 them to leave the workhouses and obtain a permanent 
 position in society, must depend in a great degree upon 
 the exertion made to educate and train them in such a 
 manner as to enable them to do this at an early age." 
 A child of twelve or thirteen is, it is observed, " more 
 easily grafted into society, than if he resides in a public 
 establishment till eighteen or nineteen, when he becomes 
 
 ' Ante, pp. 373 and 378. 
 
A.D. 1853. OF WORKHOUSE CHILDREN. 391 
 
 too much accustomed to its routine to exert himself in a 
 new position, where more labour and individual efforts 
 have to be exacted, and greater hardships and privations 
 endured." 
 
 The literary education in the workhouse schools was 
 considered to be on the whole satisfactory. But Their 
 letters alone, without industrial training, will 
 not, it is truly said, help a boy or girl of fifteen 
 to get into employment ; and the commissioners there- 
 fore encouraged the formation of agricultural schools, in 
 connexion with the national education board. The boys 
 were moreover in most of the workhouses taught some 
 kind of trade, such as tailoring, shoemaking, carpenter- 
 ing &c. The girls were taught to wash, and make and 
 mend their own clothes, and clean their own dormitories 
 and day-rooms ; but there is obviously more difficulty 
 with them than with the boys, in regard to employment. 
 As the country improves however, " and when the drain 
 caused by the continued emigration is more felt," there 
 can be little doubt, the commissioners say, that in all the 
 unions where proper attention has been paid to the 
 education and training of the children, there will be a 
 demand for those educated in the workhouses as soon as 
 they are of an age fitted for being useful ; and in the 
 mean time it is satisfactory to learn, that during the year 
 1852, no less than 5,371 of these children under fifteen 
 years of age, found employment out of the workhouse. 
 
 The drain of emigration just adverted to, must have 
 given rise to an increased amount of employment for 
 those who remained, but this was attended with a less 
 apparent effect upon the rate of wages than Rateof 
 might have been expected. Another circum- SfoY"* 1 
 stance had however occurred closely bearing s 
 upon wages which it is necessary to notice, for we find 
 that the weekly cost of maintenance in the workhouses, 
 the average of which in 1847, exclusive of clothing, was 
 as high as 2s. \\d. per head, had fallen to little more than 
 
392 COMMISSIONERS' SIXTH REPORT. CHAP. VI. 
 
 Is. per head in the years 1850, 1851, and 1852. u Com- 
 paring the cost of subsistence with the rate of wages, it 
 will therefore appear that there has been relatively a 
 very considerable rise in the latter, although the money- 
 rate in 1852 and 1853 .may not appear to differ very 
 materially from what it was in 1845. Employment had 
 likewise become more certain and more steady, so that 
 the labourer's actual earnings during the year were 
 probably greater than before, which coupled with the 
 general reduction in the price of provisions, would 
 enlarge his command of the necessaries and conveniences 
 of life, and tend to improve his condition. 
 
 Returns had been obtained from the several unions 
 Remittances showing the extent of remittances from abroad, 
 emigrants, for enabling certain of the workhouse inmates 
 to emigrate. From these returns it appeared, that 
 in the last year 2,1 58Z. was so remitted to enable 
 877 of such inmates to join their friends in America ; 
 136/. to assist 489 to go to England and Scotland ; 
 and 22H. to enable 31 to proceed to Australia. When 
 the sums remitted were insufficient, assistance was often 
 afforded by the guardians under the provisions of the 
 Poor Law, and 14,0417. was so expended for this pur- 
 pose in the year ending 29th September 1852. In the 
 following year (ending September 1853), 12,865. was 
 so expended by the unions for the emigration of 403 
 men, 1,202 women, and 996 children, making together 
 2,601 persons; and including the cost of free passages, 
 about 3,500Z. is known to have been remitted to enable 
 more than 1,100 inmates of the workhouses to join their 
 friends who had emigrated, or had settled in Great 
 Britain. Others are likewise supposed to have left the 
 workhouses in consequence of similar remittances, which 
 were not made through or known to the boards of 
 guardians. 
 
 The valuations of rateable property in the several 
 
 u See table at p. 397. 
 
A.D. 1853. THE VALUATIONS. 393 
 
 unions had, as was to be expected, varied more or less 
 with the changes which took place from time to The valua . 
 time in the circumstances of the country. In 1845 tions - 
 they appear to have amounted to 13,404,403/., and to 
 13,187,421?. in 1847; but in 1851 the entire valua- 
 tion of Ireland for the purposes of the poor-rate was 
 only 11,500,000^., so great had been the change caused 
 by the severe ordeal through which the country had 
 passed. Although the principle on which the valua- 
 tion of property in the several unions was originally 
 founded, namely, what it would let for, was undoubtedly 
 correct, there were counteracting influences at work, 
 and the valuations made under it were rarely altogether 
 satisfactory. Some persons denounced them as being 
 too high, some as being too low, and others as being 
 unequal or partial. 
 
 In order to remedy these asserted defects, and place 
 the valuations on what was expected to be a better 
 footing, the 15th and 16th Viet. cap. 63 was passed in 
 1852, 'to amend the Laws relating to the Valuation of 
 Rateable Property in Ireland.' The Act declares it to 
 be expedient to make one uniform valuation of lands 
 and tenements, which may be used for all public and 
 local assessments and other rating. The lord- commis- 
 
 . . sionerof 
 
 lieutenant is empowered to appoint a commis- valuations. 
 sioner of valuation " who shall make or cause to be made 
 a valuation of the tenements and hereditaments within 
 every barony, parish, or other division when directed 
 so to do." But further legislation was still necessary, 
 and in the following year the 16th and Ylth Viet. cap. 
 7, was passed to amend the above, and directing the 
 clerks of unions to prepare lists of tenements proposed 
 for revision by the collectors, and to transmit the same 
 to the commissioner of valuation, together with the 
 opinion of the guardians whether a revision is ne- 
 cessary, and the name of a person whom the guardians 
 recommend as fit to revise the same. The combined 
 
394 AMOUNT OF EXPENDITUKE, CHAP. VI. 
 
 provisions of these Acts are no doubt calculated to 
 effect improvement in the valuations ; but the principle 
 of fair letting value as originally prescribed, must still 
 be adhered to in whatever changes are made. 
 
 The expenditure for relief of the poor during the 
 
 1852. year ending on the 29th September 1852, was 
 
 expenditure 883,267/., being 2 5 8,3 8 0. less than in the pre- 
 
 and numbers ,/ i P n v - i i 
 
 relieved. ceding year, x and rally realizing the expectations 
 then held out. The number relieved in the workhouses 
 at the above date was 111,515 and the total number so 
 relieved during the year was 504,864. The number 
 then receiving out-door relief was 2,528, and the total 
 number who received out-door relief during the year 
 was 14,911. A further reduction was likewise still 
 expected. " But the reduction must not, it is said, be 
 expected to go so far as it would have gone if 32 new 
 unions had not been formed, inasmuch as a certain 
 amount of establishment charges must be incurred to 
 maintain the new workhouses, and the necessary staff of 
 officers, in whatever degree the pauperism of the dis- 
 tricts in which they are built may hereafter be found 
 diminished." 
 
 The expected further reduction was again confirmed, 
 the expenditure on relief of the poor during the 
 y ear enc ^ n g on ^ ne 29th September 1853, being 
 785,718J., or nearly 100,000/. less than in the 
 previous year. The number relieved in the 163 work- 
 houses was 79,600, and the total number so relieved 
 during the year was 396,436. The number receiving 
 outdoor relief was 2,245, and the total number who 
 received out-door relief during the year was 13,232 
 and now also, important as the reductions which have 
 latterly taken place assuredly are, we are again told that 
 still further reductions may be looked for/ 
 
 * Ante, p. 387. 
 
 7 Such in fact took place, the expenditure on relief of the poor for the 
 year 1854 being 760,1522., and for 1855 being still further reduced to 685,259/. 
 
A.D. 1853. 
 
 AND NUMBERS RELIEVED. 
 
 395 
 
 A tabular statement z has been given of the annual 
 expenditure and the numbers relieved, down to the end 
 of 1846, after which time the date of the returns was 
 altered to correspond with the half-yearly audits in 
 April and September. The following is a continuation 
 of the statement before given, but also including the 
 number of persons who were relieved out of the work- 
 house in the successive years under the provisions of 
 the Extension Act 
 
 The year 
 ending 
 Sept. 29. 
 
 No. of 
 unions in 
 operation. 
 
 Expenditure 
 during the year. 
 
 No. in the 
 workhouses 
 on the 29th 
 Sept. 
 
 Total no. 
 relieved in 
 the work- 
 houses during 
 the year. 
 
 No. receiving 
 out-relief on 
 the 29th 
 Sept. 
 
 Total no. who 
 received out- 
 relief during 
 the year. 
 
 1847 
 
 130 
 
 803,684 
 
 86,376 
 
 417,139 
 
 
 
 __ 
 
 1848 
 
 131 
 
 1,732,597 
 
 124,003 
 
 610,463 
 
 207,683 
 
 1,433,042 
 
 1849 
 
 t . 
 
 2,177,651 
 
 141,030 
 
 932,284 
 
 135,019 
 
 1,210,482 
 
 1850 
 
 163 
 
 1,430,108 
 
 155,173 
 
 805,702 
 
 2,938 
 
 368,565 
 
 1851 
 
 
 1,141,647 
 
 140,031 
 
 707,443 
 
 3,160 
 
 47,914 
 
 1852 
 
 
 883,267 
 
 111,515 
 
 504,864 
 
 2,528 
 
 14,911 
 
 1853 
 
 
 
 785,718 
 
 79,600 a 
 
 396,436 
 
 2,245 a 
 
 13,232 
 
 This table speaks at once to the eye, and by its 
 ascending and its descending numbers indicates the cir- 
 cumstances of the period to which they severally refer. 
 But in addition to the expenditure in the third column, 
 it must not be overlooked that since the passing of 
 the Consolidated Debts Act b in 1850, a considerably 
 larger amount of rates has been collected than was re- 
 quired for the immediate relief of the poor. Thus the 
 amount collected in the year ending in September 1853 
 was 1,000,312/., whereas the expenditure on relief was 
 only 781,523/., the remainder being applied in payment 
 of the consolidated annuities, and in defraying expenses 
 incurred under the Medical Charities Act. At present, 
 it is said, out of 3 5 7,85 8?. the entire amount of the two 
 
 * Ante, p. 323. 
 
 1 The number in the workhouses on the 29th September 1854 was 66,506, 
 and at the same date in 1855 it was 56,546. The number receiving out-door 
 relief on these days respectively was 926 and 655. 
 
 b Ante, p. 374". 
 
396 COMMISSIONERS' SIXTH REPORT. CHAP. VI. 
 
 annuities payable in 1852 and 1853, only 28,768Z. re- 
 mains unpaid ; and the advances made on security of 
 the Kate-in-aid have been wholly repaid, with the excep- 
 tion of a trifling sum due on certain newly arranged 
 townlands. But it is expected that in a short time 
 " all the exceptional charges on the poor-rates will cease, 
 and that thenceforward the rates will be exclusively 
 applied to the relief of the poor, and the support of the 
 medical charities." 
 
 Notwithstanding the general improvement, and the 
 Further reduction of expenditure which has been shown 
 theim- to have taken place, assistance was still re- 
 
 poverished . PI 
 
 unions. quired by some 01 the western unions, and the 
 government consented to an advance of 30,OOOZ. being 
 made to eleven of them, to pay their debts and relieve 
 them from financial embarrassments ; but this was done 
 however, on the express condition that they " should 
 not expect further assistance, and should make rates 
 to the satisfaction of the Poor Law Commissioners, to 
 meet their immediate and future wants." The condi- 
 tion and the assistance were alike well timed and judi- 
 cious, and secured the objects for which they were 
 intended. 
 
 The cost of subsistence in the workhouse, may be 
 Average considered to afford a fair criterion for judging 
 maintenance. O f what is required for the subsistence of the 
 labouring classes generally, there being in fact little 
 difference between the food usually consumed by the 
 peasantry, and that supplied to the inmates of the work- 
 houses. The average weekly cost per head is ascer- 
 tained half-yearly, when the union accounts are audited 
 in March and September, and the following table shows 
 the results on these occasions from 1847 downwards d 
 
 c These were Cahirciveen, Dingle, Kenmare, Kilrush, Killadysert, ^Ennisty- 
 mon, Scariff, Tulla, Clifden, Newport, and Oughterard. 
 
 d The returns for 1850 were not completed, in consequence of the altera- 
 tions which were then being made in the number and the boundaries of the 
 unions. 
 
A.D. 1854. 
 
 COST OF SUBSISTENCE WAGES. 
 
 397 
 
 Half-year ending 
 
 Average weekly 
 cost of provisions 
 and necessaries. 
 
 Average 
 weekly cost 
 of clothing. 
 
 Total. 
 
 
 s. d. 
 
 d. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 1847. 25th March .. 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 1 
 
 3 
 
 2 4i 
 
 29th September 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 U 
 
 a 
 
 2 4i 
 
 1848. 25th March .. 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 7 
 
 3i 
 
 1 10i 
 
 29th September 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 5 
 
 3* 
 
 1 8* 
 
 1849. 25th March .. 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 4i 
 
 3i 
 
 1 7 
 
 29th September 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 2f 
 
 3 
 
 1 5| 
 
 1851. 25th March .. 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 Oi 
 
 2| 
 
 1 3 
 
 29th September 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 2i 
 
 1 2 
 
 1852. 25th March .. 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1 2 
 
 29th September 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 oi 
 
 li 
 
 1 2 
 
 1853. 25th March .. 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 11- 
 
 If 
 
 1 3 
 
 29th September 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 2J 
 
 H 
 
 1 4 
 
 1854. Week ended 22nd April 6 
 
 
 
 1 9 
 
 
 
 
 wages ' 
 
 In April 1854, we see there was a large increase 
 in the cost of workhouse maintenance, arising Cogt of 
 no doubt from the increase which had taken 
 place in the prices of provisions. This increase 
 would bear hard upon the labouring classes, unless 
 there were a somewhat proportionate increase in wages. 
 To obtain information on this point, the Poor Law Com- 
 missioners caused inquiry to be made by the inspectors 
 in their several districts ; and we find it stated as the 
 combined result of their Eeports " that there is now f 
 observable a material increase in the money value of 
 agricultural labour, to the extent of about Is. per week 
 on the average throughout Ireland." It appears also, 
 that agricultural employment was more continuous than 
 formerly, and that in most parts of the country the 
 wages of artizans had improved in a still greater ratio 
 than those of common labourers. Unless there were 
 some advance in the price of labour, it is probable that 
 the great increase in the price of provisions would cause 
 an increase in the numbers applying for relief, which 
 
 e The average for the half-year ending 25th March 1854, was Is. 7d., and 
 for the half-year ending 29th September it was Is. 8cZ. per head. For each of 
 the corresponding periods in 1855, the average was Is. 
 
 f That is on the 1st May 1854. 
 

 398 COMMISSIONERS' SIXTH EEPORT. CHAP. VI, 
 
 does not appear to have occurred ; and this may be re- 
 garded as a further proof, that on the whole the rate of 
 wages had about kept pace with the increased cost of 
 subsistence. 
 
 Certain changes took place in the Poor Law execu- 
 ^ ve m 1852, which it is necessary to notice. 
 Mr. Ball resigned the office of Poor Law Com- 
 missioner, and was succeeded by Mr. Senior. 
 The temporary inspectors were all discontinued. The 
 number of these officers in 1847, on the passing of 
 the Extension Act, was 48 ; but they had been sub- 
 sequently reduced to 11, and of these 4 were now 
 discontinued, and the remaining 7 were placed on the 
 permanent staff, making the number of inspectors 16, 
 each having the charge of a larger or smaller number of 
 unions according to the circumstances of the district. 
 
 A new order of accounts adapted to the alterations 
 New order ma de in the law had been completed, and was 
 of accounts. i ssue( j j n April of the present year ; and the 
 commissioners remark in their Eeport that " the admi- 
 nistration of relief to the destitute poor in Ireland, may 
 be now looked upon as nearly identical with its normal 
 state, as originally contemplated on the passing of the 
 Act 1st and 2nd Viet. cap. 56. Such a result could 
 hardly have been expected after the severe trials to 
 which the country had so recently been exposed, but it 
 was most satisfactory, and must be regarded as a proof 
 of the enduring soundness of the principle on which 
 that measure was founded. 
 
 I have now brought the narrative of the Irish Poor 
 Law, down to a period coincident with my histories of 
 the English and the Scottish Poor Laws ; and here, as 
 originally intended, I should conclude. But in the 
 autumn of 1853 I again visited Ireland, and examined 
 many of the unions, chiefly in the south and the west, 
 in order to see and form my own judgment as to the 
 working of the law, and the condition of the people. 
 The results of what came under my own observation, 
 
l 
 
 A.D. 1853. PKESENT STATE OF IEELAND. 399 
 
 and of the inquiries which I was enabled to make, were 
 embodied at the time in a letter to Lord John Russell, 
 by whom the measure of Irish Poor Law had been 
 originally introduced and carried through parliament, 
 and who always took a lively interest in everything 
 connected with it ; and it now appears to me that I 
 cannot do better than give the substance of that letter, 
 written with all the facts and incidents fresh before me, 
 as a fitting close to the statements contained in the 
 present work. The letter is dated Dublin 16th Sep- 
 tember 1853, and omitting a short introduction is sub- 
 stantially as follows 
 
 " Eleven years have passed since I quitted Ireland. 
 In the interim the country has suffered from 
 
 -/ T The author's 
 
 famine and pestilence, and the Poor Law has 
 been subjected to a most severe trial. An exa- l 
 mination of the present condition of the coun- 
 try and state of the law cannot therefore fail of being 
 deeply interesting, and I should have been glad to have 
 given more time to it, if other claims had permitted. 
 
 " The circumstance that now first arrests attention in 
 passing through the country, is the comparatively small 
 number of beggars. Formerly the roads were lined with 
 them, and the traveller wherever he stopped was sur- 
 rounded by clamorous miserable-looking solicitors of 
 charity. This is now changed. Beggars are rarely 
 seen on the roads, less frequently in, the towns ; and are 
 not I think on the whole, more numerous than in Eng- 
 land. The famine may have been partly the cause of 
 this change, but another if not the chief cause is the 
 workhouses, where the old the feeble the sick and infirm 
 poor are now supported, as the law designed, and as 
 sound policy required that they should be. The work- 
 houses are entirely occupied by this description of 
 paupers, and the very young there are no able-bodied. 
 The total number of inmates of all classes is now 84,000, 
 which is about the number I estimated at the outset as 
 requiring to be provided for. The cost of relief is 
 
400 PRESENT STATE OF IRELAND, CHAP. VI. 
 
 moreover about the same as I then estimated that it 
 would probably amount to ; and it is not a little gratify- 
 ing to find that our calculations in these respects are so 
 far verified. 
 
 " The Poor Law appears to be now thoroughly natu- 
 ralized in Ireland. Your lordship would have been 
 delighted to have heard it spoken of as I have done, and 
 that by persons who did not know me, and who praised 
 it as having been the salvation of the country, exclaim- 
 ing " what should we have done without it !" Com- 
 plaints of the expense are it is true sometimes heard, but 
 these are directed rather against the inequality of the 
 charge than against the general amount, some electoral 
 divisions paying heavily, whilst others pay little or 
 nothing, as is sometimes the case with English parishes. 
 
 " The changes which have been made, are not I think 
 all of them improvements. Although the subdivision of 
 a few of the unions might have been necessary, this as 
 well as the subdivision of the districts of chargeability, 
 has I fear been carried too far it has added to the 
 working friction, and swelled the aggregate charge. 
 
 " When settlement shall be abolished in England, and 
 union rating established instead of parochial, as I trust 
 will ere long be the case, we may hope to see a similar 
 reform extended to Ireland, which would bring the law 
 back nearly to what your lordship first proposed and car- 
 ried through the house of commons ; and most of the 
 changes which were subsequently made, as well as some 
 of those since added, have in my judgment served to 
 detract from its simplicity, and tended to impede its 
 effective operation. 
 
 " All the workhouses which I have seen are in good 
 order and the buildings in perfect condition, and such also 
 I am informed is the case with the others. It is not a little 
 satisfactory to find this the case, after the complaints 
 that were made of these buildings, which are now as 
 much praised as they were at one time decried. 
 
A.D, 1853. IN CONNEXION WITH THE POOR LAW. 401 
 
 " The most pleasing circumstance connected with the 
 workhouse is the state of the pauper children, who are 
 there educated and trained up in habits of order cleanli- 
 ness and industry, instead of being left as outcasts, with 
 every likelihood of their becoming a burthen, and possibly 
 a bane to the community. I wish you could have seen with 
 me some of these workhouse schools, and witnessed the 
 benefits they are conferring upon the country. In the 
 rural districts there is little difficulty in getting the boys 
 out to service as soon as they are of an age fit for it, 
 and the girls likewise now generally obtain places, 
 although not so readily ; but in the large towns there 
 is still a difficulty with these last, there being propor- 
 tionally less employment for females in Ireland than in 
 England. A considerable number of girls and young 
 women have been assisted to emigrate within the last 
 three years, and it is very desirable that others should 
 be so assisted and sent out from such of the workhouses 
 as are overstocked with this class of inmates. 
 
 " With respect to emigration, I think that it has been 
 already carried farther than was desirable. There ap- 
 pears to be no excess of labourers anywhere, and now 
 in the harvest season there is evidently a want of hands 
 to do the work, arid high wages are paid, as much in 
 some instances as 2s. and 2<s. 6d. a day; but this is 
 only during the period of urgency. There is still a 
 want of certain and continuous employment in Ireland, 
 and the people do not rely upon regular daily labour as 
 a means of support, although they are I think approxi- 
 mating to it ; and the extensive emigration which has 
 taken place, will no doubt help forward the change. 
 The rage for emigrating however continues, although 
 the occasion for it has ceased. It pervades every class, 
 and is strongest with the best educated and most^intelli- 
 gent. I found this to be the case among the boys in the 
 workhouse schools. The sharp active intelligent lads 
 were all eager to emigrate. It was only the more dull 
 
 2 D 
 
402 PRESENT STATE. CHAP. VI. 
 
 feeble and inert who appeared content to remain at home. 
 Yet I know of no country where labour can be applied 
 with the certainty of a better return. Labour is here in 
 fact the thing chiefly needed. It is impossible to pass 
 through Ireland without seeing this, and lamenting the 
 omission. 
 
 " It is encouraging to reflect however, that were there 
 less room for improvement in this and other respects, 
 there would be less incentive to exertion ; and when the 
 rage for emigration which still prevails shall have sub- 
 sided, as subside it will, we may with greater confidence 
 expect that the energies and increased intelligence of 
 the people will be turned to the improvement of their 
 own country, in which they will assuredly find a rich 
 reward, and in furtherance of which they will, in the 
 Poor Law, have a valuable auxiliary." 
 
 Such were the impressions derived from what came 
 within the limit of my own observation and inquiry, on 
 again visiting Ireland in the autumn of 1853. That 
 these impressions were not more favourable than the 
 circumstances warranted, is proved by the progressive 
 ameliorations which have since taken place, of the extent 
 of which generally, the proceedings under the Poor Law 
 may be regarded as an index ; and these have shown a 
 continual reduction, both in expenditure and in the 
 numbers relieved. The total cost of relief in the year 
 ending 29th September 1855, including every item of 
 charge, was no more than 68 5,2 5 9 /. ; and the total 
 number of persons relieved on that day was 57,201, of 
 whom 655 (being exceptional cases) were relieved out 
 of the workhouse. 8 This reduction in expenditure has 
 moreover taken place, notwithstanding the greatly in- 
 creased cost of maintenance in the workhouses as com- 
 pared with what it was in 1850 and 1851, h making a dif- 
 
 g The weekly cost of the out-relief so given was 40Z. 4s. 4df. 
 11 Ante, p. 397. 
 
A.D. 1855. FUTURE PROSPECTS. 403 _ 
 
 ference on the whole of probably not less than 150,000. ; 
 so that but for this increase, the entire cost of relieving 
 the poor in 1855 might perhaps not have exceeded half 
 a million, and in the event of prices falling to their 
 former level, and other circumstances proving favour- 
 able, it may hereafter possibly range at about that 
 amount. 
 
 At present however the expenditure under the Irish 
 Poor Law contrasts favourably with what is taking place 
 under the English and Scottish laws in Ireland it 
 averages 2s. per head on the population, whilst in Scot- 
 land the average amounts to 4s., 1 and in England to 
 5. 6c?. per head or if we take the valuations in the 
 three countries as a standard of comparison, it will appear 
 that the expenditure on relief of the poor in Ireland 
 amounts to Is. 2Jc?., in Scotland to Is. 4cZ., and in Eng- 
 land to Is. 5|c/. in the pound. These comparisons are I 
 think satisfactory, and it is encouraging also to find the 
 commissioners declaring in their last Report, k that 
 " a material diminution of pauperism in Ireland is still 
 going on " and that " the improvement in the rate of 
 wages and the increased constancy of employment have 
 not only been sustained, but have further advanced and 
 acquired a still more permanent and healthy aspect." 
 Emigration likewise, both spontaneous and that con- 
 ducted at the expense of the poor-rates, is considerably 
 lessened, and seems likely ere long to be reduced within 
 its natural limits. The future therefore appears in every 
 way hopeful for Ireland may the Irish people on their 
 part, not be wanting in due effort for securing the 
 benefits of which there is at present so fair a promise ! 
 
 ' See the tenth Report of the board of supervision. 
 
 k The ninth, dated May 1st 1856. 
 
 n The amount expended from the poor-rates in 1855, to assist in the emi- 
 gration of 830 poor persons from different unions, was 6,859?. In the pre- 
 vious year the amount had been 22,651Z., including 10,OOOZ. from the rate in 
 aid, to assist in the emigration of 1,500 young females from the workhouses 
 in the south and west of Ireland. 
 
 2 D 2 
 
( 404 ) 
 
 TABLES OF THE NUMBERS RELIEVED IN AND OUT OF THE WORKHOUSE, WITH 
 
 THE EXTENT OF MORTALITY, ETC., REFERRED TO AT PAGE 389. 
 
 Numbers relieved in the work- 
 houses in each of the weeks 
 ending on the dates in the first 
 column respectively ; toge- 
 ther with the number and the 
 rate per 1,000 of the deaths. 
 
 Weeks 
 ending 
 
 Total 
 number 
 in the 
 work- 
 houses. 
 
 Deaths 
 in 
 the 
 week. 
 
 Rate 
 per 
 1,000. 
 
 1846. 
 4 April 
 
 50,861 
 
 159 
 
 3'o 
 
 4 July 
 
 50,693 
 
 1$ 
 
 2-9 
 
 7 Nov. 
 
 74,175 
 
 312 
 
 4-2 
 
 1847. 
 
 
 
 
 2 Jan. 
 
 98,762 
 
 1, 206 
 
 I2'2 
 
 6 Mar. 
 
 115,645 
 
 2,590 
 
 22'O 
 
 3 July 
 4 Sept. 
 
 IOI,4JO 
 
 75,376 
 
 1,239 
 58 9 
 
 I2'2 
 
 7-8 
 
 13 Nov. 
 
 102,776 
 
 523 
 
 5'i 
 
 1848. 
 
 
 
 
 i Jan. 
 
 117,568 
 
 1,362 
 
 n-6 
 
 12 Feb. 
 
 135,467 
 
 I,3l6 
 
 9'7 
 
 i July 
 
 139,397 
 
 620 
 
 4'5 
 
 9 Sept. 
 
 107,320 
 
 350 
 
 3'3 
 
 2 Dec. 
 
 172,980 
 
 787 
 
 4'5 
 
 1849. 
 
 
 
 
 13 Jan. 
 3 Mar. 
 
 191.445 
 196,523 
 
 1,477 
 1,846 
 
 7'7 
 9'4 
 
 5 May 
 1 6 June 
 6 Oct. 
 
 220,401 
 
 227,? 20 
 140, 266 
 
 2,730 
 2,009 
 488 
 
 12-4 
 8-8 
 3'5 
 
 i Dec. 
 
 180,641 
 
 471 
 
 2-7 
 
 1850. 
 
 
 
 
 5 Jan. 
 
 2O3,32O 
 
 792 
 
 3'9 
 
 2 Feb. 
 
 230,348 
 
 994 
 
 4'3 
 
 2 Mar. 
 
 237,939 
 
 1,150 
 
 4-8 
 
 4 May 
 22 June 
 
 243,224 
 264,048 
 
 1,247 
 1,126 
 
 4'3 
 
 3 Aug. 
 
 219, 2JI 
 
 808 
 
 3'7 
 
 28 Sept 
 
 155,173 
 
 526 
 
 
 7 Dec. 
 
 I9L34I 
 
 5oi 
 
 2-6 
 
 1851. 
 
 
 
 
 4 Jan. 
 
 206,468 
 
 654 
 
 3'2 
 
 22 Feb. 
 
 251,836 
 
 1,201 
 
 4-8 
 
 22 Mar. 
 
 248,501 
 
 1,512 
 
 6-1 
 
 7 June 
 2 Aug. 
 
 263,397 
 222,038 
 
 1,264 
 78Q 
 
 4-8 
 3'6 
 
 27 Sept. 
 
 140,458 
 
 386 
 
 2'8 
 
 1852. 
 
 
 
 
 3 Jan. 
 21 Feb. 
 
 168,248 
 196,966 
 
 407 
 594 
 
 2-4 
 
 3'o 
 
 5 June 
 
 187,003 
 
 
 2-9 
 
 18 Sept. 
 25 Dec. 
 
 III.IIT 
 134,476 
 
 281 
 
 2'3 
 
 1853. 
 19 Feb. 
 
 160.774 
 
 627 
 
 3'9 
 
 30 July 
 
 113,099 
 
 272 
 
 2-4 
 
 i Oct. 
 
 79-410 
 
 202 
 
 2-5 
 
 Number of destitute persons relieved out of the 
 workhouses under the 1st and 2nd sections of 
 the Extension Act (10th and llth Viet., cap. 31) 
 respectively, in each of the weeks ending on 
 the dates in the first column ; together with 
 the weekly cost of such relief. 
 
 Weeks 
 ending 
 
 Numbers 
 relieved 
 tinder 
 Section 1 
 of Ex- 
 tension 
 Act. 
 
 Numbers 
 relieved 
 under 
 Section 2 
 of Ex- 
 tension 
 Act. 
 
 Total. 
 
 Weekly cost 
 of 
 relief. 
 
 1848. 
 
 
 
 
 . s. d. 
 
 5 Feb. 
 4 Mar. 
 i April 
 
 337,665 
 
 425,949 
 408,923 
 
 107,811 
 228,763 
 235,076 
 
 445,476 
 654,712 
 643,999 
 
 12,788 9 o 
 17,564 18 2 
 17,092 6 6 
 
 6 May 
 
 485,364 
 
 266, 4 jo 
 
 75L794 
 
 18,786 18 5 
 
 I July 
 
 490,902 
 
 342,987 
 
 833,889 
 
 21,800 14 10 
 
 2 Sept. 
 
 279,567 
 
 96,523 
 
 376,090 
 
 io,335 H 5 
 
 7 Oct. 
 
 192,401 
 
 7,202 
 
 199,603 
 
 5,925 4 2 
 
 2 Dec. 
 
 246,125 
 
 31,859 
 
 277,984 
 
 7,845 12 10 
 
 1849. 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 Jan. 
 
 327,733 
 
 75,622 
 
 423,355 
 
 11,170 7 -5 
 
 3 Mar. 
 
 422,693 
 
 170,012 
 
 592,705 
 
 15,051 14 3 
 
 2 June 
 
 402,184 
 
 239,229 
 
 642,413 
 
 19,263 7 i 
 
 7 July 
 
 492,503 
 
 291,864 
 
 784,367 
 
 2i,757 8 3 
 
 i Sept. 
 
 425,197 
 
 50,796 
 
 276,79? 
 
 6,493 13 ii 
 
 13 Oct. 
 
 114,316 
 
 . 1,647 
 
 "5,963 
 
 2,65? 7 2 
 
 3 Nov 
 
 102,247 
 
 13 
 
 102,260 
 
 2,336 II II 
 
 1850. 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 Jan. 
 
 104,305 
 
 345 
 
 104,650 
 
 2,159 3 
 
 23 Feb. 
 
 148,909 
 
 
 148,909 
 
 3,216 8 8 
 
 i June 
 
 127,727 
 
 '128 
 
 127,855 
 
 2,805 9 2 
 
 3 Aug 
 
 74,129 
 
 40 
 
 73,169 
 
 1,617 7 5 
 
 14 Sept. 
 
 3,794 
 
 
 3,794 
 
 96 14 2 
 
 19 Oct. 
 
 2,249 
 
 
 
 2,249 
 
 63 13 6 
 
 1851. 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 Jan. 
 
 2,713 
 
 6 
 
 2,719 
 
 76 14 o 
 
 22 Feb. 
 
 9,103 
 
 20 
 
 9,123 
 
 229 4 6 
 
 3 May 
 5 July 
 
 ",I45 
 19,454 
 
 7 
 28 
 
 ii,i53 
 19,482 
 
 268 17 4 
 486 4 n 
 
 4 Oct. 
 
 3,084 
 
 
 
 3,084 
 
 75 10 4 
 
 1852. 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 Jan. 
 
 3,170 
 
 
 3,170 
 
 88 6 3 
 
 6 Mar. 
 
 J,396 
 
 .. 
 
 3,396 
 
 100 IO 
 
 3 July 
 
 3,579 
 
 .. 
 
 3,579 
 
 102 19 
 
 9 Oct. 
 
 2,491 
 
 i 
 
 2,492 
 
 74 i 3 
 
 25 Dec. 
 
 2,998 
 
 M 
 
 2,998 
 
 87 12 10 
 
 1853. 
 
 
 
 
 26 Feb. 
 
 4,152 
 
 . . 
 
 4.152 116 16 10 
 
 30 July 
 
 3,092 
 
 
 3,092 
 
 06 5 2 
 
 8 Oct. 
 
 i,977 
 
 " 
 
 i,977 
 
 oi 16 10 
 
( 405 ) 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 AsLE-bodied disorderly persons and va- 
 grants to be compelled to provide 
 their own subsistence by strict work- I 
 house discipline, 182. 
 
 Absconding from a workhouse, punish- 
 ment for, 227. 
 
 Abuses of out-door relief, impossibilities 
 of avoiding, 204. 
 
 Accounts, new order of issued in 1853, 
 398. 
 
 Acre, amount per, paid by farmer in 
 relieving mendicancy, 192. 
 
 Act of 1 and 2 Viet., cap. 56, 222 et seq. 
 
 to make further provision for the 
 
 relief of the destitute poor in Ireland, 
 330. 
 
 to make provision for the punish- 
 ment of vagrants, &c., 332. 
 
 to provide for the execution of the 
 laws for relief of the poor in Ireland, 
 333. 
 
 - for a rate-in-aid, summary of, 355, 
 356. 
 
 to amend the previous acts for the 
 
 relief of the poor in Ireland, summary 
 of, 367-9. 
 
 for a further advance of public 
 money for distressed unions, sum- 
 mary of, 374, 375. 
 
 for the regulation of medical cha- 
 rities, summary of, 382, 383. 
 
 Actions under the Irish Poor-Law Act, 
 preliminary notice of to be given, 
 231 ; to recover poor-rates, regula- 
 tions as to, 368. 
 
 Adoption by government of the author's 
 first Report in December 1836, 188. 
 
 Agents empowered to sign notices of 
 appeal, 369. 
 
 Agricultural labourers in Great Britain 
 and Ireland, comparative proportions 
 of, 131. 
 
 Agriculture, recommendation to encou- 
 rage by legislative grants, 88 ; efforts 
 of the Poor-Law Board to improve, 
 269. 
 
 Almsgiving, desirableness of bringing 
 under a system, 149 ; prevalence of 
 in Ireland, 182 ; discontinuance of 
 anticipated, 183. 
 
 Alms, spontaneous, amounts bestowed 
 by small farmers and cottars, 149. 
 
 Amended orders for the election of 
 guardians, 302. 
 
 Amendment of the new poor-law, act 
 for, 291. 
 
 Amount, total, contributed by England 
 in 1847-8-9, for the relief of Ireland, 
 356. 
 
 Amsterdam, account of the workhouse 
 in, 212. 
 
 Amusements, love of, and reckless pur- 
 suit of by the Irish peasantry, 163. 
 
 Anglo-Saxons taught by Irish mission- 
 aries, 2. 
 
 Annuities under the Consolidated Debts 
 Act, arrangements for paying, 380; 
 partial remission of, 381. 
 
 Apathy of the Irish peasantry, 162 ; 
 poverty not a real excuse for, ibid. 
 
 Appeals, how and before whom to be 
 brought, 231, 233. 
 
 Apprenticeship of poor children recom- 
 mended for Ireland, 183, 184. 
 
 Architect engaged to erect workhouses, 
 243. 
 
 Ardent spirits, recommendations of the 
 Commissioners of Inquiry for lessen- 
 ing the inordinate use of, 146. 
 
 Assessment, instructions to the assistant 
 commissioners relating to, 240. 
 
 Assistant barristers allowed to correct 
 clerical errors in actions for the reco- 
 very of poor-rates, 369. 
 
 Assistant commissioners, in 1833, ap- 
 pointment of and instructions for, 
 121 ; enactment for the appointment 
 of, 223 ; duties of, ibid. ; exertions 
 of, 241 ; additional provided, 246 ; 
 reports of, 247 ; appointment of addi- 
 tional, 338. 
 
 Assistant guardians may be appointed 
 by the commissioners at the request 
 of the guardians, 368. 
 
 Asylums for lunatics and idiots, the 
 erection of in each of the four pro- 
 vinces recommended, 83. 
 
 Audit of accounts, and half-yearly re- 
 ports of, infirmaries and hospitals 
 recommended, 101 ; report as to, 276. 
 
 Auditing of poor-law accounts, 222. 
 
 Auditors, enactment for the appoint- 
 ment of, 23U ; appointment of four, 
 298 ; regulations as to, 332. 
 
406 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Author's first Report, Nov. 1836, 159 ; 
 second Report, Nov. 1837, 196 ; third 
 Report, 212 ; second visit to Ireland 
 in 1837, 195 ; departure for Ireland 
 as chief commissioner, 234 ; departure 
 from Ireland in 1842, 284; visit to 
 Ireland in 1853, 398. 
 
 Auxiliary workhouses, hired buildings 
 ill adapted for, 379. 
 
 Average cost per head of paupers in 
 the workhouses, 301 ; of maintenance 
 of the poor in workhouses, 396 ; rate 
 per head paid for the relief of the 
 poor by the population of England, 
 Scotland, and Ireland, 403. 
 
 Badging the poor, act for, 51. 
 
 Balliuasloe union agricultural society, 
 notice of, 269. 
 
 Barracks to be converted into work- 
 houses, if suitable, 237, 239. 
 
 Bastardy, recommendation that no law 
 should be enacted for Ireland, 183. 
 
 Bay and coast fisheries in Ireland, fa- 
 cilities for, 89. 
 
 Beadles and constables authorized to 
 seize beggars and vagabonds in Cork, 
 and commit them to the workhouse,43. 
 
 Becket's murder, notice of, 4. 
 
 Bedford Level Corporation, a board on 
 the principle of recommended, to 
 carry into effect a system of national 
 improvement in Ireland, 137. 
 
 Beggars, act for the punishment of, 22. 
 
 Beggar's curse, superstitious dread of 
 the Irish peasantry of, 206. 
 
 Begging, not to be prohibited, where 
 persons have asked for, and failed in 
 procuring, relief, 193. 
 
 Belfast, assistant-commissioners sent to, 
 234, 236. 
 
 Belgium, visit of the author to, 211 et 
 seq.; report of the management of 
 the poor in, 213. 
 
 Bicheno, Mr., remarks of upon the evi- 
 dence submitted by the Inquiry Com- 
 missioners, 151. 
 
 Bill, directions for the preparation of, 
 embodying the measures proposed in 
 the author's first Report, 188 ; intro- 
 duced to parliament in Feb. 1837, 
 189 ; discussion on the first reading 
 of, 194; second reading of, and pro- 
 ceedings in committee on, 194, 195 ; 
 dropped in consequence of the death 
 of William IV. 195 ; of the Irish Poor 
 Law of 1837-8 introduced to the 
 house of commons by Lord John Rus- 
 sell, 210 ; passing of, 211 ; introduced 
 into the house of lords, 211 ; for the 
 relief of the Irish poor read a first 
 time in the house of lords, 217; a 
 
 second time, 218 ; division upon in 
 committee, 220 ; read a third time and 
 passed, 221. 
 
 Board of Charitable Bequests, recom- 
 mendation to transfer the functions of 
 to the Poor Law Commissioners, 146. 
 
 of Education, recommendation 
 
 for the appointment of, 111. 
 
 of Improvement, proposed duties 
 
 of, 138. 
 
 of Works, proposed duties of, 
 
 138, 139. 
 
 of Works, efforts of to supply 
 
 employment to the poor during the 
 distress in 1846, 314; numbers em- 
 ployed under, 315, 316. 
 
 Boards of guardians, enactment for the 
 appointment of, 223 ; enactment con- 
 stituting them corporations, 224 ; 
 enactment giving the commissioners 
 power to dissolve, 332 ; thirty-two 
 dissolved in 1 84 7,341 ; five in 1 849, 360. 
 
 Bogs, Irish, act for reclaiming, 75. 
 
 Boundaries of unions, where changed, 
 the commissioners to adjust the 
 liabilities, 368. 
 
 Boundary commission, appointment of 
 to regulate the size of unions, 361 ; 
 recommendation of, to form fifty new 
 unions, 362. 
 
 Boyne, the battle of, 10. 
 
 Bread and cheese, contrast of the Eng- 
 lish labourer's meal of, with the Irish 
 labourer's potato-bowl, 62. 
 
 Britain, -strangers from, resort to the 
 Irish schools, 2. 
 
 British Association, amount collected 
 by to relieve the distress in Ireland 
 occasioned by the potato disease, 321 ; 
 number of persons relieved by in 
 1848, 346. 
 
 : capitalists, inquiry into the cir- 
 cumstances which have prevented 
 their investing in Irish agriculture, 
 123. 
 
 Building of workhouses, means taken to 
 secure a fair payment for, 254 ; in- 
 spection of by the chief commissioner, 
 260. 
 
 Buildings and repairs of tenements, 
 consequences of throwing the ex- 
 pense on the tenants, 89. 
 
 Bureau de Bienfaisance, notice of, 216. 
 
 Burgesses, recommendation of Spenser 
 that they should be nominated, 9. 
 
 Burke, quotation from, 139. 
 
 ' Burning corn in the straw,' act against, 
 32 ; punishment for, 33. 
 
 Cabinet, the author's report on the state 
 of the north of Ireland in 1837, con- 
 sidered by, 2U9. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Cabins, wretched construction of, in 
 Ireland, 62, 64. 
 
 Caledonian Canal, beneficial effects of 
 employing Highland labourers on, 
 cited, 107. 
 
 Capital, amount of, sunk upon the 
 land in England, 60 ; causes of the 
 scarcity of, in Ireland, 88 ; induce- 
 ments required for the investment 
 of, 208. 
 
 Carrick-on-Shannon, death of a poor 
 man in the union of, from having 
 been refused relief, 296, 297. 
 
 Castlereagh union, board of guardians 
 dissolved by the commissioners, 305. 
 
 Cattle, improvident care of, 32 ; reared 
 in Donegal to pay the rent, 201. 
 
 Cemeteries, guardians empowered to 
 provide, 332. 
 
 Census of Ireland in 1851, decrease of 
 population shown by, 386, 387. 
 
 Central authority, necessity for, in ad- 
 ministering the poor-laws, 176. 
 
 Certificates to be given servants on 
 leaving their employment, 41. 
 
 Certiorari, actions under the Irish Poor 
 Law Act not removable by, except 
 into the Court of Queen's Bench, 
 Dublin, 231, 233. 
 
 Chapels for workhouses, guardians em- 
 powered to provide, 332. 
 
 Character and habits of Irish poor in 
 English poorhouses, 158. 
 
 Charitable institutions, establishment of, 
 13 ; recommendation to allow them 
 to subsist as they are, 185. 
 
 Charity, private, tendency of, to encou- 
 rage mendicancy, 140. 
 
 Charles the First, the Roman catholics 
 of Ireland adhere to his cause, 10. 
 
 Chief commissioner of the Irish Poor 
 Law Board, enactment for the ap- 
 pointment of, in 1847, 333. 
 
 Children, punishment for the desertion 
 of, 30 ; required age of, for admission 
 into the Dublin Foundling Hospital, 
 85, 86 ; indiscriminate admission of, 
 85 note ; enactment making them 
 chargeable, if able, for the support of 
 their parents, 227 ; number of, in the 
 Dublin Foundling Hospital, 249 ; 
 amount expended in feeding, 388 ; 
 number of, in the workhouses in 
 1851, 390. 
 
 Cholera, appearance of, in 1849, 350. 
 
 Cholesbury, the case of, cited, 136. 
 
 Christian monasteries, state of, in Ire- 
 land at an early period, 2. 
 
 Church collections for the relief of dis- 
 tress, 106. 
 
 holidays, meat eaten by the poor 
 
 only on, 132. 
 
 Churchwardens to remove from their 
 
 parish, or to confine in bridewell, 
 wandering beggars and vagabonds, 86. 
 
 Cities, towns, &c., of 10,000 inhabitants 
 may be divided into wards for the 
 purpose of electing guardians, 233. 
 
 Clare, distressed state of, 365 ; mor- 
 tality in, 372. 
 
 Clergy of various persuasions to furnish 
 religious instruction to the children 
 of their own faith, 112; favourable 
 to a system of poor-laws, 167. 
 
 Clergymen to preach sermons for the 
 support of houses of industry, 55 ; of 
 whatever denomination not to be poor- 
 law guardians, 175. 
 
 Clerks of workhouses to keep register 
 books, 226. 
 
 Clothes of vagabond beggars to be 
 washed and cleansed, 86. 
 
 Clothing of the labourers in Ireland, in- 
 feriority of, in Ireland, 63. 
 
 Coals imported into Cork, a duty im- 
 posed on, in 1735, for the support of 
 the workhouse, 43. 
 
 Cod-fishery, facilities for, on the coasts 
 of Ireland, 89 ; success of the en- 
 couragement of in Scotland, ibid. 90. 
 
 Corn, clamourings for a prohibition of 
 the export of, in 1855, 17. 
 
 Collection of rates, no difficulty found 
 in the, 277. 
 
 Colonization by Irish labourers, recom- 
 mended to be undertaken by govern- 
 ment in 1830, 107. 
 
 Comforts and conveniences, the pro- 
 viding of, not the proper object of a 
 poor-law, 203. 
 
 Commission appointed in 1833 to in- 
 quire into the condition of the poorer 
 classes in Ireland, 118; first Report of, 
 in 1835, ibid, et seq. ; heads of inquiry 
 adopted, 119 ; second Report of, in 
 1836, 125 et scq. ; third Report of, in 
 1836, 131 et seq. 
 
 Commissioners to inquire into the nature 
 and extent of Irish bogs, appointment 
 of, 75 ; utility of, 76 ; Reports of, ibid. 
 
 of 1833, names of, 118. 
 
 of Inquiry, differences 
 
 of opinion among, as to the nature of 
 their Report, 129. 
 
 to appoint guardians if 
 
 not duly elected, 224. 
 
 empowered to levy a 
 
 rate-in-aid for the relief of distressed 
 unions, 356. 
 
 of valuation, commis- 
 sioners empowered to appoint one, 
 393. 
 
 Commissions for the Poor Laws, diffi- 
 culty of union of purpose if separate 
 are appointed for England and Ire- 
 land, 188. 
 
408 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Committee of the house of commons 
 on the poor in Ireland, Eeport of, 82 
 et seq. 
 
 Compulsory and voluntary relief, agita- 
 tion of the question as to the advan- 
 tages and disadvantages of, 129. 
 
 rates, enormous amount 
 
 asserted to be necessary for relieving 
 all cases of distress, 149. 
 
 Con-acre, use to be derived from, in 
 diminishing the number of small 
 holdings, 166. 
 
 Condition of the poor, variations of in 
 different parts of Ireland, 97. 
 
 Confinement more irksome to an Irish- 
 man than an Englishman, 171. 
 
 Connaught, the province of, probably 
 an ecclesiastical formation, 3 ; unions, 
 satisfactory state of, in 1851, 378 ; 
 and Munster, state of, in 1851, 390. 
 
 Consolidation of farms, good and evil 
 effects of, 97 ; of small holdings in 
 Donegal, desirableness of, 202 ; new 
 Poor Law likely to assist in effecting, 
 ibid. 
 
 Constables to be appointed presidents of 
 every town within the English pale, 
 by an Act in 1465, 16 ; to make privy 
 search for rogues, vagabonds, and 
 idle persons, 29. 
 
 Contracts made by guardians not valid 
 unless conformable to the rules, 230. 
 
 Contributions called voluntary frequent- 
 ly a real and unequal tax, 147. 
 
 Convicted persons, of felony fraud or 
 perjury, ineligible for guardians, 293. 
 
 Cooked-food system of relief, adoption 
 of, 318 ; number of persons fed under, 
 ibid.; expense incurred under, 319. 
 
 Cork, surrendered to Cromwell, 10; 
 act for erecting a workhouse in, 42 ; 
 regulations for the government of, 43 ; 
 exempted from the provisions of the 
 act for providing for deserted chil- 
 dren, 81; assistant - commissioners 
 sent to, 234, 236 ; union, establish- 
 ment of, 251 ; progress of, 262 ; work- 
 house, inconvenient state of, in 1841, 
 262. 
 
 Corn-laws, alteration of, 311. 
 
 Corporate bodies, boards of guardians 
 constituted, 224. 
 
 to vote for guardians 
 
 by their officers, 230. 
 
 Corporations in Ireland, act for the es- 
 tablishment of, 52; regulations for, 
 ibid. 
 
 Correspondence of assistant -commis- 
 sioners with the Dublin board, 241. 
 
 Cosherers, act against, 34. 
 
 Cost of relief, increase of in 1847, 329 ; 
 of subsistence in 1851, 391 ; in 1853, 
 397. 
 
 Cottages in Donegal, miserable appear- 
 ance of, 201. 
 
 Cottier-tenants, deterioration of the soil 
 by, 160. 
 
 Cottiers, Irish, extreme charity towards 
 mendicants, 206 ; reasons of, ibid. t 
 207. 
 
 Counties made answerable for robberies, 
 39. 
 
 County-cess collectors maybe appointed 
 to collect the poor-rates, 228. 
 
 County hospitals, act for the establish- 
 ment of, 74. 
 
 infirmaries, number of, number 
 
 of patients in, and incomes of, in 1830, 
 101. 
 
 magistrates to be ex-officio guar- 
 dians, but not to exceed in number 
 one-third of the number of elected 
 guardians, 174. 
 
 Coynie and liveries, grievances occa- 
 sioned by, 23. 
 
 Cromwell, conquest of Ireland by, 10. 
 
 Crops, deficiency of, in Ireland, in 1839, 
 257. 
 
 Cultivated land in Great Britain and 
 Ireland, comparative quantities and 
 produce of, 131. 
 
 Cultivation of land, extension of needed 
 in Donegal, 201. 
 
 Cumulative voting, answer to the ob- 
 jections against, 207. 
 
 Customs, barbarous, existing in Ireland 
 in 1634-5, 33. 
 
 Dancing, universality of among the la- 
 bouring poor in Ireland, 64. 
 
 Danes, irruptions of, into Ireland, 3. 
 
 Day-labourers, no employment for, in 
 Ireland, 161. 
 
 Deaf dumb and blind poor, recommen- 
 dation of a provision for, 128; to be 
 sent to institutions, and their main- 
 tenance to be paid for by guardians, 
 292. 
 
 Deceased poor, boards of guardians en- 
 abled to provide for the burial of, 
 354. 
 
 Demoralization of the poor, fallacious 
 objection that a system of poor-laws 
 would occasion, 163. 
 
 Depots for emigrants, the establishment 
 of recommended, 137. 
 
 de mendicite, in Holland and 
 
 Belgium, defects of, 213. 
 
 for meal, determination not to 
 
 establish government, in 1846, 313. 
 Dermod, king of Leinster, expelled by 
 
 O'Connor, king of Connaught, seeks 
 
 the assistance of Henry the Second of 
 
 England, 3. 
 Deserted children, provision for, 49 ; 
 
 act for providing for, 81. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 409 
 
 Deserving poor allowed to beg, 56. 
 
 Destitute persons, means of emigration 
 to be provided for, 143; a legal pro- 
 vision for, an indispensable prelimi- 
 nary to the suppression of mendicancy, 
 167 ; danger of their flocking to one 
 union in case of there being no law of 
 settlement, how to be obviated, 181 ; 
 Irish in England, strong disinclina- 
 tion of to the restrictions of a work- 
 house, 196, 197 ; poor, work to be pro- 
 vided for in workhouses, 225. 
 
 Destitution, inquiry as to why the Irish 
 labouring poor do not provide against, 
 122 ; the workhouse the all-sufficient 
 test of, 152. 
 
 Deterioration and misery of a too-ra- 
 pidly increasing population, 90. 
 
 Dietaries, workhouse, order for, 252. 
 
 Difficulties in deciding upon objects for 
 out-door relief, 204. 
 
 Distress, unexampled, of the Irish la- 
 bouring poor in 1822, 91 ; parliamen- 
 tary grants in aid of, ibid. ; amount of 
 subscriptions to alleviate, 92 ; govern- 
 ment advances to be made to relieve 
 in 1822, 80; again occurs in Ireland 
 owing.to a failure of crops in 1839 and 
 1842, 2:">6, 285; amount of govern- 
 ment relief afforded, ibid., note; and 
 again most severely in 1846 to 1849, 
 307 to 360. 
 
 Distressed unions, number of assisted, 
 360 ; further advance to in 1853, 
 396. 
 
 Divisions on the Irish Poor Law bill in 
 the house of commons, 210 ; in the 
 house of lords, 220. 
 
 Divisional chargeal>ility, dissatisfaction 
 with, 297. 
 
 Diocesses of Ireland, a free school to be 
 established in each of the, 25. 
 
 Discussion on the first reading of the 
 Irish Poor Law bill in 1837, 194. 
 
 Dispensaries, local, act for the establish- 
 ment of, 74; number of in 1830, and 
 number of patients relieved by, 103 ; 
 number of in 183H, 126. 
 
 Dispensary districts, enactment for di- 
 viding unions into, 383. 
 
 Donegal, peculiar condition of the 
 county of, 200. 
 
 Doyle, Dr., evidence of on the condition 
 of the poor in Ireland, 98, 100, 106. 
 
 Draining of bogs and marshes recom- 
 mended as a means of providing em- 
 ployment for the labouring poor, 88, 
 89. 
 
 Drogheda stormed by Cromwell, 10. 
 Drunkenness or disobedience in a work- 
 house, punishment for, 227. 
 Dublin, assistant-commissioner station- 
 ed at, 234. 
 
 Dublin Foundling Hospital, account of, 
 85 ; objects of, ib-id. ; means of sup- 
 port of, ibid. ; parliamentary grants to, 
 86 ; number of admissions of children 
 to, ibid.; state of in 1839, 248; formed 
 into a workhouse, 250. 
 
 House of Industry, account of, 
 83 ; means of support of, 84 ; sums 
 raised for, ibid. ; management of, ibid.; 
 number of admissions to, 85 ; state of 
 in 1839, 247, 248; formed into a 
 workhouse, 250. 
 
 Mendicity Society, difficulty of 
 
 supporting, 165 ; application of the 
 officers of, for compensation, 253 ; 
 closing of, 261. 
 
 Society, grant of money to, 73. 
 
 workhouse, act for erecting in 
 
 1 703, 35 ; regulations for the govern- 
 ment of, 36; rate to be levied for 
 the support of, 37 ; merged in the 
 Foundling Hospital, 38 ; workhouses, 
 establishment of, 250 ; progress of, 
 261. 
 
 unions, examples afforded by, 
 
 of the efficacy of the workhouse test, 
 
 343 ; numbers relieved in, ibid. 
 Dunmanway union, separate rating of 
 
 electoral divisions abolished in, 305. 
 Dwellings, overcrowding of, productive 
 
 of fevers, 78. 
 
 Earth-tillers, act of Henry VIII. for the 
 protection of, 20. 
 
 Ebrington, Lord (now Earl Fortescue), 
 exertions of, in favour of the esta- 
 blishment of the new Poor Law, 250. 
 
 Ecclesiastical promotion, directions for 
 regulating, 21. 
 
 Education adopted as a means of ex- 
 tending the Reformation, 25 ; effects 
 of, 26 ; of the poor in Ireland, gene- 
 rality of, 63 ; the necessity of not 
 interfering with religious belief in, 
 pointed out, 110; of workhouse 
 children, arrangements for, 264; na- 
 ture of, 391. 
 
 Egyptians, or feigned Egyptians, to be 
 punished as vagabonds, 30. 
 
 Eighth Report of proceedings in 1846 
 under the New Poor Law Act in Ire- 
 land, 303. 
 
 Election districts for guardians, power 
 of the Poor Law Commissioners to 
 form, 175. 
 
 Election of guardians, the first pro- 
 ceedings under the new Poor Law 
 Act, 242 ; amended order for, 302. 
 
 Electoral divisions, difficulties arising 
 from having adopted, 288 ; number 
 of in 1846, 304; two or more may be 
 combined for the election of a guar- 
 
410 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 dian, 368 ; increase in the number of, 
 373, 384. 
 
 Electors of guardians, who ought to be, 
 173. 
 
 Elizabeth, assimilation by of the eccle- 
 siastical establishments in Ireland to 
 those of England, 4. 
 
 Emigration, notice of, 65; recommended 
 as a means of alleviating the state of 
 the poor in Ireland, 100 ; recom- 
 mendation of as a government mea- 
 sure in 1830, 106 ; recommended by 
 the Commissioners of Inquiry as a 
 means of relieving the distress in Ire- 
 land, 136 ; direct interposition in 
 favour of, not recommended, 185; 
 probability of its weakening the 
 parent stock, 186 ; if necessary, to be 
 promoted by the equal contributions 
 of government and the district re- 
 lieved, 186 ; rates for, how to be 
 raised, 226 ; view of the Irish Poor 
 Law Commission as to, 255 ; defects 
 in the Irish Poor Relief Act for pro- 
 viding means for, 275 ; want of funds 
 for promoting, 287 ; amount of, in 
 1846-7, 327, 328 ; enactment giving 
 guardians the power to assist, 331 ; 
 amount expended by unions in 1849 
 for promoting, 370 ; numbers assisted 
 in 1850, 373 ; total amount of from 
 1847 to 1850, 386 ; in 1851 and 1852, 
 ibid. ; amount expended on in 1855, 
 403; note. 
 
 Emigrants from Ireland to Canada in 
 1846-7, sickness and expense caused 
 by, 327, note ; mortality amongst, 328. 
 
 Employment, want of by the labouring 
 poor, a cause of disease, 87 ; act for 
 providing, 80 ; of pauper idiots in a 
 workhouse recommended, 184 ; in- 
 crease of, beyond the duties of a poor- 
 law, 185 ; in workhouses, the nature 
 of, 274. 
 
 England and Ireland, difference between 
 as to provision for the poor, 13. 
 
 English adventurers in Ireland, conduct 
 of, 4. 
 
 Poor Law Commission recom- 
 mended to carry into effect a new 
 Poor Law for Ireland, 187, 188. 
 
 and Scottish provisions against 
 
 vagrancy, similarity of the Irish le- 
 gislation to, 56. 
 
 Poor Law, asserted unfituess of 
 
 for Ireland, 133. 
 
 Escapes from houses of correction, to 
 be followed by a fine on the governor, 
 29. 
 
 Evidence presented with the second 
 Report of the Commissioners of In- 
 quiry, value of, 124. 
 
 Excess of population in Donegal, 201. 
 
 Expenditure, probable amount of under 
 a poor-law, would not exceed what is 
 now given in mischievous alms, 164; 
 for relief in 1841, 276 ; in 1842, 283; 
 total, for the relief of the distress oc- 
 casioned by the potato disease in Ire- 
 land, 320. 
 
 Ex-officio guardians, reasons for having, 
 208 ; to be elected in cases of va- 
 cancies, 293 ; extension of, but not to 
 exceed the number of elected guar- 
 dians, 331 ; guardians, non-resident 
 justices may be appointed where a 
 sufficient number are not resident, 368. 
 
 Expense, probable, of maintaining the 
 Irish poor on the English poor-law 
 system, 134. 
 
 of emigration, where necessary 
 
 to be borne equally by the government 
 and the district relieved, 186. 
 
 Expenses of the Cork and Dublin work- 
 houses in 1840, 263. 
 
 Falsehood and fraud, parts of the pro- 
 fession of mendicancy, 161. 
 
 Families, punishment for the desertion 
 of, 30 ; to be relieved as a whole, and 
 not separately, 177. 
 
 Famine, annual occurrence of between 
 the exhaustion of the old crop of 
 potatoes and the ripening of the new, 
 166; cessation of in Ireland in 1847, 
 318. 
 
 Farming societies of Ireland, grant of 
 money to, 73. 
 
 Farms, large, small number of, 160. 
 
 Fathers made answerable penally for 
 the offences of their sons by an act 
 in 1457, 15. 
 
 Fatherless poor children under eight 
 years old, to be sent to the charter 
 school nursery and to be apprenticed, 
 54. 
 
 Female foundlings, instructions for, 45. 
 
 Fermoy barrack, taken for a workhouse, 
 244, note. 
 
 Fertility of Ireland and England, causes 
 of difference in, 60. 
 
 Fetters gyves and whipping, punish- 
 ments for rogues and vagabonds, 28. 
 
 Fever, dangerous prevalence of in Ire- 
 land, 86 ; number of patients passing 
 through the Dublin Fever Hospital in 
 one year, 102 ; numbers suffering from 
 and dying of in 1817, 102; act for 
 making provision for persons afflicted 
 with, 319. 
 
 hospitals, act for providing and 
 
 for the support of, 77 ; number of in 
 1836, 126 ; dispensaries, &c., com- 
 missioners to report on the manage- 
 ment of, 226. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 411 
 
 Fever patients, numbers of, in 1 817, 339. 
 
 wards in workhouses, number of 
 
 provided in 1846, 306. 
 
 Fevers in Ireland, increase of, 77. 
 
 Fifth Report of Proceedings in Ireland 
 under the new Poor Law Act, 282. 
 
 Fifth Annual Report of the Poor Law 
 Commissioners for Ireland, 378 et seq. 
 
 Finances of unions, depressed state of 
 in 1847, 339, 340; state of in 1848, 
 347. 
 
 First Report of Proceedings in Ireland 
 under the New Poor Law Act, 242. 
 
 First Report of Medical Charity Com- 
 missioners, 384. 
 
 First Report of the Irish Poor Commis- 
 sioners, 1848, 330 et scq. 
 
 Fiscal boards, proposed establishment of 
 in each county, 139. 
 
 Fisheries, recommendation to encourage 
 by legislative grants, 88 ; utility of 
 as a nursery for seamen, 89. 
 
 Flax, grown, prepared, and spun by the 
 small farmers in the north of Ireland, 
 63. 
 
 Flax and hemp, bogs to be reclaimed 
 for the purpose of growing, for the 
 use of the navy, and for the support 
 of the linen manufacture, 75. 
 
 Flitting, practice of, to defraud the 
 revenue and the landlords, 33. 
 
 Food of Belgian peasantry, 215. 
 
 Forfeitures, costs, &c., to be levied by 
 distress if not paid, 231. 
 
 Form of valuation, difficulties arising 
 from, 289. 
 
 Fortune-tellers to be punished as vaga- 
 bonds, 30. 
 
 Foundling hospital and workhouse in 
 Dublin, act for the establishment of 
 in 1771-2, 46 ; endowment of and re- 
 gulations for the government of, ibid. ; 
 regulations for the admission of chil- 
 dren into, 47 ; increased rate for, 49 ; 
 to receive deserted children, 81; 
 charge for in 1833, 128. 
 
 Foundling hospitals on the continent, 
 notice of, 45. 
 
 , enactment for ap- 
 propriating as workhouses, 225. 
 
 of Cork and Gal- 
 
 way, expenses of in 1833, 128 ; num- 
 ber of children in, ibid. 
 
 Foundlings, provision for the care of, 
 44 ; male, to be apprenticed, and to 
 have the freedom of the city on the 
 expiration of their apprenticeship, 
 ibid. 
 
 Fourth Report in 1842 of Proceedings 
 under the new Poor Law in Ireland, 
 270. 
 
 Fourth Annual Report of the Poor Law 
 Commissioners for Ireland, 371. 
 
 France, the workhouse test principle 
 not adopted in, 197. 
 
 Free distribution of labour, impedi- 
 ments offered by a law of settlement 
 to, 202. 
 
 Free-schools, act for the erection of, 24 ; 
 expenses of, how to be defrayed, 25. 
 
 French wars prevent the attention of 
 the English to Ireland, 4 ; agents lead 
 to the rebellion in 1798, 11 ; troops 
 landed in Ireland in 1798, surrender 
 of, 67. 
 
 Funds, founded on voluntary contribu- 
 tion, advantages of for the relief of 
 distress, 149; difficulty of supplying 
 to afford means of emigrating, 287. 
 
 Gal way, effective fever hospital esta- 
 blished in, 300. 
 
 Gauls or Celtes, from Spain supposed to 
 have peopled Ireland, 1. 
 
 Geese, plucking the feathers from live, 
 32, note. 
 
 General rules for management of work- 
 houses, &c., to be issued by commis- 
 sioners, 222. 
 
 General Merchant Seamen's Act, ex- 
 tended to workhouse boys in Ireland, 
 385. 
 
 Gentlemen, idle, mode of living, op- 
 pressions occasioned thereby, and 
 transportation made a punishment 
 for, on the presentment of a grand 
 jury, 34, 35. 
 
 Germany, strangers from, resort to the 
 Irish schools, 2. 
 
 Ghent, manner of living of a small oc- 
 cupier near, 216. 
 
 Goods and chattels to be liable to dis- 
 tress for poor-rate to whomsoever 
 belonging, if found on the premises, 
 291. 
 
 Governors to be appointed by the jus- 
 tices for houses of correction, 28. 
 
 and guardians of Dublin 
 
 workhouse, donors of 50Z. to become, 
 37. 
 
 of Cork and Dublin work- 
 houses empowered to exchange chil- 
 dren in order to prevent parents inter- 
 fering with the protestant education 
 of their children, 45. 
 
 Government loans to be made to relieve 
 the distress in Ireland in 1822, 80 ; for 
 the erection of workhouses, mode of 
 managing, 272 ; amount of, 273. 
 
 interference with labour, 
 
 though not generally advisable, re- 
 commended for Ireland, 95. 
 
 supervision of schools sup- 
 ported wholly or partly at the public 
 expense, necessity for, 111. 
 
412 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Government relief afforded to the west 
 of Ireland, during the distress in 
 1839, 256 ; afforded to alleviate the 
 distress in 1842, 285, note. 
 
 measures to alleviate the 
 
 distress occasioned by the potato- 
 disease, 307. 
 
 Grain, act aeainst the exportation of, 
 1472, 16 ; erroneous policy of, 16, 17 ; 
 exportation of from Ireland during 
 the distress of 1823, 92. 
 
 crops, deficiency of in 1841, 281. 
 
 Grand juries empowered to assess rates 
 for erecting and supporting county 
 hospitals and dispensaries, 74 ; to pre- 
 sent sums for the support of fever hos- 
 pitals, 78 ; and for lunatic asylums, 79. 
 
 Grants to distressed unions, amount of 
 in 1848, 347, 348. 
 
 Gratuitous relief, an encouragement to 
 pauperism and indolence, 93. 
 
 Greek church, probability of the Irish 
 church being derived from, 2. 
 
 Guardians, boards of, recommended by 
 the Commissioners of Inquiry, 141 ; 
 who should be electors of, 173; clergy- 
 men of whatever description not to 
 be chosen, 175; and paid officers of 
 unions not to furnish supplies for the 
 union under a penalty, 230 ; direc- 
 tions as to the number of and qualifi- 
 cations for, 238 ; number of elections 
 contested and not contested, 267 ; 
 may employ rates in apprehending or 
 prosecuting offenders against the 
 Poor Law Act, 292 ; or may employ 
 the rates in assisting emigration, 293 ; 
 warning of the commissioners to, 
 against overcrowding the workhouses, 
 325; commissioners empowered to fix 
 different amounts of qualification in 
 different electoral divisions, 368. 
 
 Habitations of the poor, wretched con- 
 dition of, 132. 
 
 Hackney coaches licensed for the sup- 
 port of Dublin workhouse, 37 ; li- 
 censed for the support of the Dublin 
 Foundling Hospital, 48 ; number in- 
 creased for, 49. 
 
 Hair, act against the Irish fashion of 
 wearing, 20. 
 
 Hamburgh, the workhouse-test principle 
 not adopted in, 197. 
 
 ' Handbook of Architecture/ notices of, 
 2, note. 
 
 Harbours, the formation of recom- 
 mended, 95. 
 
 Harrowing by tKe tail, practice of, 60. 
 
 Harvest in Great Britain, Irish labourers 
 seek employment at, 132 ; beneficial 
 effects of a good, in 1847, 340. 
 
 Hedge-schools, notice of, 63. 
 
 Helpless children, act for the appren- 
 ticing of, 41 ; remedy for in cases of 
 ill usage, 42. 
 
 poor to be maintained, 56. 
 
 Henry the Second, submission of Ire- 
 land to, in 1172, 1, 3. 
 
 Henry the Seventh, exertions of to re- 
 store order in Ireland, 4. 
 
 Henry the Eighth assumes the title of 
 king of Ireland, 4. 
 
 ' History of the English Poor Laws,' 
 cited, 5, 21, 23,31, 38, 42, 118, 241, 
 306, 327, 328. 
 
 Holland, visit of the author to, 211 et 
 seq. ; report of the management of the 
 poor in, 212. 
 
 Holy Scriptures, objections of the Ro- 
 man catholics to the indiscriminate 
 reading by their children, 114. 
 
 Hood, act against wearing the Irish, 
 20. 
 
 Hospitals for the poor to be provided, 
 53 ; how to be divided, ibid. 
 
 House of lords, bill for the relief of the 
 Irish poor read a first time in, in 
 1838, 217 ; read a second time, 218 ; 
 division in committee upon, 220 ; 
 read a third time and passed, 221. 
 
 Houses to be cleansed and purified, 78. 
 
 of the peasant farmer in Belgium, 
 
 contrast of with those of Ireland, 215. 
 
 of correction to be built or pro- 
 vided in every county, 1634-5, 28. 
 of industry to be provided, 53 ; 
 
 imperfect provision of, 82 ; number 
 of in 1830, 105 ; ineffectiveness of 
 while combining the functions of hos- 
 pitals and prisons, ibid.; number of 
 and total income of, in 1833, 127; 
 number of inmates in, ibid. ; to be 
 made available as workhouses, recom- 
 mended, 186 ; enactment for using as 
 workhouses, 225. 
 
 Husbandmen and labourers, act in 1447 
 for preventing the sons of, from 
 changing their profession, 15. 
 
 Husbands, enactment for making them 
 chargeable for the support of their 
 wives and children, 227 ; deserting 
 their wives and families, enactment 
 for the punishment of with imprison- 
 ment, 333. 
 
 Idiots and insane persons, wards not 
 provided for, 83. 
 
 Idle persons, to be brought to be justi- 
 fied in law, '23. 
 
 Illegitimate children to be dependent 
 on their mother, recommendation of, 
 183. 
 
 Immigration of Irish poor into England, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 413 
 
 
 necessity occasioned by of improving 
 their state in their own country, 153. 
 
 Immigrants to England during 1846-7, 
 expense and sickness caused by, 326, 
 327. 
 
 Impatience of the public for the Report 
 of the Commissioners of Inquiry, 124. 
 
 Impediments to emigration, propriety 
 of removing, 185. 
 
 Implements, agricultural, rude nature 
 of, 95. 
 
 Impositions practised under the Tem- 
 porary Relief Act, 345. 
 
 Imprisonment a punishment for begging 
 without a licence, 53. 
 
 Improved circumstances of the country 
 in 1851, 378. 
 
 Incapacitated persons empowered to 
 convey land, &c. for workhouses, 225. 
 
 Incorporations, formation of to provide 
 and maintain fever hospitals, 77. 
 
 Incumbrances on estates of proprietors 
 a cause of distress and want of em- 
 ployment, 94 ; on Irish landed pro- 
 perty, great extent of, 145. 
 
 Incumbrancers on Irish estates, recom- 
 mendation that they should be rated 
 for the support of the poor, 140. 
 
 Indian corn, importation of to mitigate 
 the distress occasioned by the potato 
 disease, 307 , reduction of the duty 
 on, 308 ; prices of in 1847, 318, note. 
 
 meal, daily amount supplied to 
 
 each person, 346. 
 
 Indirect means adopted for charging 
 property for the relief of destitution, 
 51. 
 
 Indoleuce of Irish peasantry, 162. 
 
 Industrial schools, enactment enabling 
 additional land to be provided for, 
 354. 
 
 training of children in work- 
 houses, nature of, 391. 
 
 Industry, what branches of may be 
 safely encouraged by legislative 
 means, 88. 
 
 Infants, poor, deserted by their parents, 
 provision for, 49. 
 
 Infectious fevers in Ireland, increase of, 
 77. 
 
 Infirmaries and hospitals, act for the 
 management of, 74 ; required to make 
 annual returns, 75. 
 
 number of, in 1836, govern- 
 ment grants to, and constitution of, 
 125. 
 
 Inmates of workhouses, not to be com- 
 pelled to attend religious services not 
 of their own creed, 226 ; number of, 
 in the Cork and Dublin workhouses 
 in 1841, 263 ; number of in, on Janu- 
 ary 1, 1841, 1842, and 1843, 283; in 
 1844,299; in 1845-6,303; in 1848, 
 
 322; in 1847, 345; in March 1848, 
 346 ; in September 1848, 363 ; in 
 March 1849, 351 ; in June 1849, 365 ; 
 in 1848-9, 366 ; in September 1849, 
 371; in March 1850, 366; in Sep- 
 tember 1850, 371 ; in September 1850, 
 376 ; in September 1851, 387 ; in Sep- 
 tember 1852, 394; in 1853, ibid.; in 
 1854, 402. 
 
 Inspection of workhouses by the author, 
 284. 
 
 of rate-book, how and to 
 
 whom allowed, 292. 
 
 Inspectors, medical, commissioners em- 
 powered to appoint, 362 ; enactment 
 empowering them to visit and exa- 
 mine dispensaries, to examine wit- 
 nesses upon oath, and to execute the 
 powers of the Nuisances Removal and 
 Diseases Prevention Acts, 383. 
 
 Institutions supported by voluntary 
 charity, notice of, 105 ; established 
 for the relief of the poor, Report of 
 the inquiry commissioner on, in 1836, 
 125 ; total amount of charge for in 
 1833, 128. 
 
 Instructions, letter of, from Lord John 
 Russell to the author, relative to his in- 
 vestigation of the state of Ireland, 1 57. 
 
 Investigation, unsuccessful, as to the 
 cause of the potato disease, 308. 
 
 Ireland, supposed to have been peopled 
 from Spain, 1 ; not attacked by the 
 barbarians who dismembered the Ro- 
 man empire, 2; ancient division of, 
 into four provinces, 3 ; how differing 
 from England and Scotland in mak- 
 ing no provision for the poor, 13; 
 state of, in 1776-78, 59 et seq. ; various 
 opinions as to, 61 ; the real improve- 
 ment of, must spring from herself, 
 151 ; distress of, iu 1839, through an 
 unfavourable season and deficiency of 
 crops, 257; extreme distress of, 1846 
 to 1849, 307 to 360 ; population of, 
 in 1821, 1831, 1841, and 1851, 387. 
 
 Ireton, completion of the conquest of 
 Ireland by, 10. 
 
 Irish, supposed to have occupied great 
 part of Britain, 1 ; known by the 
 name of Scots, 2 : description of by 
 Spenser, 6 et seq. ; character, sum- 
 mary of, by Arthur Young, 64 ; par- 
 liament, acts of, 13 et seq.; bogs, act 
 for the reclaiming of, 75 ; peers, 
 alarm of at the supposed extent of 
 the poor-rate, 217; government, ap- 
 plications to, for relief, and schemes 
 and suggestions for relieving the dis- 
 tress in 1839, 257. 
 
 ' Irish Crisis,' by Sir Charles Trevelyan, 
 notice of, 256, note; 285, note; 307, 
 311, 314, 319, 320, 328. 
 
414 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Irish Poor-Law Commission, re-forma- 
 tion of, 338. 
 
 Poor-Law board delegated to as- 
 sistant-commissioners, 284; establish- 
 ment of, 330, 333 ; powers of the pre- 
 vious commissioners transferred to, 
 334. 
 
 Irishrie, five of the best, to bring all 
 idle persons of their surname to be 
 justified by law, 23. 
 
 Irishry, feuds and disorders of the, 14. 
 
 Island Bridge barrack adapted for the 
 reception of lunatics, 249. 
 
 James the First, insurrection of Ireland 
 during the reign of, 9. 
 
 James the Second, the Roman catholics 
 of Ireland adhere to the cause of, 10, 
 
 Joint-stock companies to vote for guar- 
 dians by their officers, 230. 
 
 Judges of assize to impose rates on pa- 
 rishes refusing to provide for poor 
 deserted infants, 50. 
 
 Justices of the peace to regulate wages, 
 21 ; empowered to decide disputes 
 between masters and employers, and 
 servants, artificers, and labourers, 40 ; 
 enactment for their being ex-officio 
 members of the boards of guardians, 
 223 ; time and mode of electing, 224 ; 
 empowered to proceed on summons 
 for recovery of penalties, 230. 
 
 Kay, Dr., visit of to Holland and Bel- 
 gium, 211 ; report of on education, 
 ibid. 
 
 Kearns and idle people, act relating to 
 in 1310, 13. 
 
 Kildare Street Society, notice of, 113, 
 note; Mr. Stanley's (Earl of Derby) 
 remarks on, 114 et seq. 
 
 King's speech, in relation to Ireland, on 
 opening parliament in 1836, 154. 
 
 Kinsale surrendered to Cromwell, 10. 
 
 Labour, act for the regulation of the 
 wages of, 21; impolicy of, 22 ; me- 
 thod of paying for in Ireland, 61. 
 
 Rate Act, passing of, 313. 
 
 Labouring poor in Ireland, description 
 of the state of in 1823, 94 ; legislative 
 interference with to be avoided if 
 possible, 88 ; proportion of out of 
 employment, 96 ; in Ireland, condition 
 of, 132. 
 
 La Cambre, account of the workhouse 
 of, 213. 
 
 Land, enactment that not more than 
 twelve acres be annexed to work- 
 houses, 225. 
 
 Land, rise in the value of, 98. 
 
 Landlord and tenant, relations between, 
 97. 
 
 Landlords, ill effects apprehended from 
 imposing a poor-rate on, 136. 
 
 Landowners, advantages of making them 
 contribute to the support of the desti- 
 tute, 190. 
 
 Lands, limitation of the quantity of, to 
 be held by corporations for the use of 
 the poor, 52. 
 
 Lascelles, Rowley, notice of, 2, note. 
 
 Legal claims to relief, advantage of not 
 giving the poor, 149. 
 
 provision recommended by the 
 
 Commissioners of Inquiry for sick 
 and infirm poor, for emigration, and 
 for casual destitution, 140, 141. 
 
 proceedings taken against unions 
 
 for neglecting to collect rates, 296. 
 
 Legislation, Irish, for the relief of the 
 poor, summary view of, 57, 58. 
 
 Leinster, Duke of, Mr. Stanley's (now 
 Earl of Derby) letter to, announcing 
 the formation of a national system 
 of education, 113, 
 
 - the province of, probably an 
 ecclesiastical formation, 3. 
 
 Lessor made liable for the poor-rate in 
 certain cases, 291. 
 
 Letter of author to Lord John Russell 
 in 1853, 399 et seq. 
 
 Lewis, G. C. * Remarks on the Third 
 Report of the Irish Poor Inquiry 
 Commissioners,' 151. 
 
 Lezers (gleaners) of corn, act against, 
 temp Hen. VIII., 19. 
 
 Liability of persons to support their 
 destitute relatives, 278. 
 
 ' Liber Munerum Publicorum Hibernie,' 
 notice of, 2, note. 
 
 Licences to beg, how and to "whom to 
 be granted, 52. 
 
 Limerick, the surrender of, 10; assistant- 
 commissioners sent to, 234, 236. 
 
 Limited relief for the poor, adoption of, 
 51. 
 
 Linen manufacture in Ireland, ill con- 
 sequences of a mixture of with agri- 
 cultural pursuits, 89. 
 
 Lingard, Dr., statement as. to the early 
 learning of Ireland, 2. 
 
 Lismore, council at, submits to Henry 
 the Second in 1172, and receives the 
 English laws, 3. 
 
 Livery, act of 1495 against retainers, 
 18 ; penalty for transgressing, ibid. 
 
 Living in Ireland, cheapness of, as com- 
 pared with England, 65. 
 
 Loan funds, recommended for the as- 
 sistance of the poor, 142. 
 
 Loans to families, by way of relief, re- 
 commended in certain cases, 178 ; for 
 
INDEX. 
 
 415 
 
 erecting workhouses, mode of manag- 
 ing, 272 ; amount of, 273 ; amount 
 of from government in 1845, for the 
 erection of workhouses, 302 : may be 
 raised on the security of the rates, to 
 defray the expenses of emigration, 
 369. 
 
 Local machinery for the administration 
 of relief, proposed to be the same as 
 in England, 178. 
 
 acts to cease on the establishment 
 
 of workhouses under the New Poor 
 Law Act, 226. 
 
 London subscription to alleviate the 
 distress in Ireland in 1823, amount of, 
 92. 
 
 Londonderry, Marquis of, opposition to 
 the Irish Poor Law bill, 219. 
 
 , assistant-commissioners 
 
 sent to, 236. 
 
 Lunacy more prevalent in Ireland than 
 in England, 79. 
 
 Lunatic asylums, act for providing, 79 ; 
 increase of in 1830, and effectiveness 
 of, 103, 104 ; number of in 1836, and 
 expenditure of in 1833, 126. 
 
 Magistrates, why some should be ex- 
 ojficio members of boards of guar- 
 dians, 208. 
 
 Mann, Capt , account of the appearance 
 of the potato during the disease, 310. 
 
 Mantle, act against wearing the Irish, 
 20. 
 
 Manufacturing and farming, prejudicial 
 effects of the union of, 63. 
 
 Market-towns to be fixed on for centres 
 of unions, 237. 
 
 Marriages, early, facilities for and en- 
 couragement of in Ireland, 55 ; pre- 
 valence of in Ireland, 99. 
 
 Marshes and bogs, increased advantages 
 of draining on a large scale, 168. 
 
 Mary, accession of in 1553, 4 ; retards the 
 Reformation, ibid. 
 
 Mathew, Father, his account of the ap- 
 pearance of the potato during the dis- 
 ease, 310. 
 
 Meal, amount of distributed in 1846, 
 312. 
 
 and medical aid, government sup- 
 ply of to relieve the poor in Donegal, 
 200. 
 
 Measures for the relief of the poor, ne- 
 cessity of considering the good of 
 society in general in the construction 
 of, 133. 
 
 Meat seldom eaten by the Irish labour- 
 ing poor, except at seasons prescribed 
 by the Roman catholic church, 132. 
 
 Medical and surgical aid, provision for 
 the supply of to the poor, 74. 
 
 Medical charities, Report of the Inquiry 
 Commissioners on, 125 ; total expense 
 of supporting in 1833, and number of 
 cases relieved, 126 ; inquiry into, 
 268 ; report on in 1842, 279 ; act, 
 summary of, 382, 383. 
 
 commissioner, enactment for 
 
 the appointment of, 383. 
 
 practitioners, remuneration of for 
 
 vaccination cases, 268. 
 
 relief for the poor, inequality in 
 
 the distribution of, 127. 
 
 Melbourne, Lord, speech of on intro- 
 ducing the new Irish Poor Law bill 
 to the house of lords in 1838, 218. 
 
 Mendicancy, measures for the repression 
 of, 44 ; prevalence of, in Ireland, 161 ; 
 filth and squalor the accompaniments 
 of, 162 ; means taken for the repres- 
 sion of under the new Poor Law, 
 254 ; bill introduced to the house of 
 commons for the suppression of in 
 Ireland, 265; not proceeded with, 
 ibid. ; continued existence of, 280, 
 281. 
 
 Mendicants, poor-law relief necessary 
 for the suppression of, 181 ; preva- 
 lence of and encouragement of in Ire- 
 land, 182 ; to be removed as soon as 
 possible into workhouses, ibid. 
 
 Mendicity Society of Dublin, income of, 
 106. 
 
 the sole resource of the aged 
 
 and impotent poor, 132. 
 
 institutions, examples of the 
 
 inefficiency of, 148. 
 
 Middle classes, almost entirely the sup- 
 porters of the poor in 1830, 106, note. 
 
 Middlemen, practice of employing, 60 ; 
 injurious consequences of, 61. 
 
 Migration of mendicant poor, tends to 
 diffuse contagious fevers, 86. 
 
 Migratory habits of the Irish opposed 
 to a law of settlement, 181. 
 
 Milk, use of by the labouring poor in 
 Ireland, 61. 
 
 Ministers and churchwardens of every 
 parish to bind helpless children as 
 apprentices, 41 , 42. 
 
 Minute of the Poor Law Board of Ire- 
 land, of Dec. 5, 1849, 257. 
 
 Missionaries, Irish, teachersof the Anglo- 
 Saxons, 2. 
 
 Model schools, agricultural, proposed 
 establishment of, 138. 
 
 Monasteries in Ireland, oasis of civiliza- 
 tion, 2. 
 
 Money to be raised for building and 
 supporting houses of correction, 28 ; 
 provision for borrowing by boards of 
 guardians, 230. 
 
 wages, the disadvantages of not 
 paying, 35. 
 
416 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Morpeth, Lord, announcement by of the 
 intentions of government, 155; in- 
 troduces a bill to the house of com- 
 mons for the suppression of mendi- 
 cancy in Ireland, but it is not pro- 
 ceeded with, 265. 
 
 Mortality, greatly increased ratio of in 
 workhouses during the distress oc- 
 casioned by the potato disease, 326 ; 
 decrease of in 1847, 338 ; in work- 
 houses, increased ratio of in Feb. 
 1848. 345; in 1849, 351. 
 
 Munich, the workhouse test principle 
 not adopted in, 197. 
 
 Munster, the province of, probably an 
 ecclesiastical formation, 3; unions, 
 embarrassed state of in 1851, 378; 
 and Connaught, state of in 1851, 390. 
 
 Musgrave, Sir Kichard, introduction of 
 a bill by for the relief of the poor in 
 Ireland, 1 54 ; consideration of post- 
 poned, 155. 
 
 National Board of Education, formation 
 of in 1831, 113; powers of, 116, 
 117; incorporated in 1844, 118. 
 
 distinctions between Irish and 
 
 English, act for abolishing, 26. 
 
 establishments, recommenda- 
 tion of providing, for lunatics, deaf 
 dumb and blind poor, vagrants, and 
 persons willing to emigrate, 142 ; the 
 whole of Ireland to be rated for, ibid. 
 
 improvement of Ireland, a 
 
 board recommended for carrying into 
 effect, 137. 
 
 schools, regulations for appli- 
 
 cations for aid, 116; debate iu the 
 house of commons in 1832 on the 
 government plan for, 117 ; parlia- 
 mentary grant in favour of, 118. 
 
 Navigation laws, alteration of, 311. 
 
 Needy but not destitute persons, not 
 objects of poor-law relief, 203. 
 
 Newport, Sir John, chairman of the 
 select committee to inquire into the 
 state of disease and the condition of 
 the labouring poor in 1819, 86 ; chair- 
 man of the select committee of the 
 house of commons in 1827, on edu- 
 cation in Ireland, 108. 
 
 Nicholls, Mr. G. ' Suggestions ' of, in 
 1836, 130; recommendation of Lord 
 John Russell to the house of com- 
 mons to adopt the means proposed by, 
 in order to relieve the distress in Ire- 
 land, 191; Second Report of, 196 
 et seq. 
 
 Ninth Report of the procedings in 1847 
 under the new Poor Law Act in Ire- 
 land, 309 et seq. 
 
 Nobility and gentry of Ireland, mea- 
 
 sures of Henry VII. for reducing the 
 power of, 19. 
 
 Non-residence of proprietors in Ireland 
 a cause of distress, 90. 
 
 North of Ireland, difference between and 
 the south and west, 63 ; the author's 
 examination of the state of, 199; al- 
 leged inapplicability of the new 
 Poor Law to, refuted, ibid. 
 
 Northmen, irruptions of into Ireland, 3. 
 
 Notice of claims to vote for guardians, 
 term for making extended, 293. 
 
 Nottinghamshire, continued efficiency 
 of the workhouse test in two parishes 
 of, 164. 
 
 Oatmeal, moderate price of during the 
 famine in Ireland in 1823, 92. 
 
 Oats, cultivation of in Donegal, to pro- 
 cure whiskey, 201. 
 
 Objections to the establishment of the 
 English workhouse system in Ireland, 
 combated by Lord John Russell, 192, 
 193; to the new Irish Poor Law bill 
 answered by the author, 197 et seq. 
 
 O'Brien, Smith, bill introduced by for 
 a system of poor-laws, 1 54. 
 
 Occupiers, to pay one-half of the poor- 
 rate, 180 ; rated under 5/., reasons 
 for exempting from payment of poor- 
 rates, 205 ; to pay the poor-rate, 228 ; 
 and to deduct half from the owner, 
 ibid. ; under 51. annual rent, regu- 
 lation as to, 290 ; of more than a 
 quarter of an acre not to be deemed 
 destitute, 331. 
 
 O'Connell, Mr. D., opposition of to the 
 Irish Poor Law bill of 1837-8, 210; 
 difficulties arising in the execution of 
 the poor-laws from his agitation for a 
 repeal of the Union, 294. 
 
 Officers of health, appointment of, 78; 
 recommendation that they be elected 
 in all towns having 1000 or more in- 
 habitants, with power to direct the 
 cleaning of streets, removing of nui- 
 sances, &c. 87; to cause foundlings 
 and orphan children to be taken care 
 of, and when of suitable age to be 
 sent to some British colony, 144. 
 
 of unions, commissioners em- 
 powered to fix salaries, prescribe 
 duties, &c. 332. 
 
 Opinions, various, respecting the causes 
 of distress in Ireland, and the means 
 of relieving, 120. 
 
 Order of proceedings of boards of guar- 
 dians, a new, issued, 384. 
 
 Orders and regulations of the commis- 
 sioner acting in Ireland forwarded to 
 the London board, 241. 
 
 issued in 1850 for forming twen- 
 ty-four new unions, 367. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 417 
 
 Orphan-girls, number of enabled to emi- 
 grate, 353, 370. 
 
 Out-door compulsory employment, not 
 adapted for Ireland in the opinion of 
 the commissioners of inquiry, 135 ; 
 employment, difficulty in providing 
 for the poor, 342. 
 
 relief not to be given, 1 76 ; 
 objections to affording in any case, 
 204 ; decision of the board against 
 affording during the distress of 1839, 
 258 ; limited power given to the 
 guardians for distributing, 330, 331 ; 
 necessity for allowing, 336 ; amount 
 expended on, in 1848, 346; number 
 of persons receiving, ibid, in 1849, 
 365 ; in 1850, 376 ; in 1851, 387, 388 ; 
 in 1852, 394 ; in 1853, ibid. ; in 1854, 
 462. 
 
 Outlaws, maintained by the lords to 
 annoy each other's rule, 23. 
 
 Out-relief lists, number of persons on in 
 1848, 349 ; in 1849, 349 ; in March 
 1850, 366; in 1850, 376; in 1851, 
 387, 388 ; in 1852, 394 ; in 1853, ibid. ; 
 in 1854, 402. 
 
 Overcrowding of workhouses, dangerous 
 results from, 325. 
 
 Overseers to collect assessed rates to 
 provide for poor deserted infants, 
 50. 
 
 Owners of property to pay one-half of 
 the poor-rate, 1 80, 229 ; objections to 
 charging the whole of the poor-rate 
 on, 204. 
 
 Paid officers, recommendation of em- 
 ploying in administering relief, 178; 
 Commissioners to direct the appoint- 
 ment of, to carry the poor-law into 
 effect, 224 ; of unions, the importance 
 of the provision enabling the Com- 
 missioners to appoint, 337. 
 
 Pale, English, notice of, 11. 
 
 Pamphlets, on the relative value of com- 
 pulsory and voluntary relief, 129. 
 
 Parish rates, recommendation that they 
 should be levied for sanitary purposes, 
 87. 
 
 Parishes refusing to provide for poor 
 deserted infants, how to be proceeded 
 against, 50. 
 
 Parliament, prorogation of, 156; pro- 
 rogation of on the death of William 
 IV., 195. 
 
 Parliamentary franchise, proposition to 
 found upon the poor-law valuations, 
 266. 
 
 grants for educational 
 
 purposes in Ireland, total amount of 
 in 1827, 109. 
 
 Parochial machinery for union manage- 
 
 ment, necessity for varying in Irish 
 parishes, 172. 
 
 Pasturage, favourable climate of Ireland 
 for, 60. 
 
 Pauper idiots and lunatics, permission 
 to be retained in workhouses under 
 certain regulations, 184. 
 
 labour, impolicy of endeavour^ 
 
 ing to make it a source of profit, 
 370. 
 
 lunatics, wards in workhouses 
 
 appropriated to, 266. 
 
 Paupers affected with fever or conta- 
 gious diseases may be maintained by 
 the guardians in an asylum, or houses 
 may be hired for them, 292. 
 
 Pay-schools, number of scholars taught 
 at in 1827, 109. 
 
 Peace not to be made with Irish enemies 
 without consent of the governor, 18. 
 
 Peasantry, the desirableness of exciting 
 to depend on their own exertions, 93 ; 
 the necessity o< their obtaining plots 
 of land, the occasion of crime, 161 ; 
 indolence and apathy of, 162; desul- 
 tory habits and love of amusement of, 
 163. 
 
 Penal colonies in Holland, account of, 
 214, et seq. 
 
 Penalties, justices empowered to pro- 
 ceed on summons for the recovery of, 
 230. 
 
 Perjury, witnesses giving false evidence 
 to the poor-law commissioners, sub- 
 jected to the penalties for, 334. 
 
 Personal property, difficulties of sub- 
 jecting to a rate, 145. 
 
 Persons relieved in 1847, number of, 
 339. 
 
 Peter' s-pence, not paid by the Irish at 
 an early period of their history, 2. 
 
 Petitions of the Roman catholic hier- 
 archy for means of education, 108. 
 
 Phelan, Mr., investigation by into me- 
 dical charities, 268. 
 
 Phoenician colonies, probable existence 
 of in Ireland, 1. 
 
 Pitt, Mr., speech of on proposing the 
 Union, 68 ; speech of on submitting 
 resolutions for, 09, 70. 
 
 Players of interludes and minstrels, 
 found wandering, to be punished as 
 vagabonds, 30. 
 
 Plots of land, strong desire of the Irish 
 peasantry for, 161. 
 
 Ploughing by the tail, act against, 32. 
 
 Political influence, the desire for, lead- 
 ing to the subdivision of lands, 161. 
 
 Poor in Ireland, no provision for, until 
 a recent period, 13. 
 
 children in Dublin above five years 
 old, to be apprenticed to protestants, 
 36. 
 
 2 E 
 
418 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Poor-laws, a modified system recom- 
 mended for Ireland, 100; English 
 commissioners recommended for car- 
 rying into execution, 187, 188. 
 
 Law Commissioners of England to 
 
 be Commissioners of Ireland, 231 ; 
 changes in 1852, 398. 
 
 rate to be recovered from the oc- 
 cupier, who may deduct it from the 
 rent in certain cases, 291. 
 
 Poor-rates, amount of charged and col- 
 lected in 1844, 298. 
 
 Poor relief, amount expended on in the 
 year ending Sept. 1847, 345 ; to 
 March 1848, 347 ; to Sept. 1848, 363 ; 
 to March 1849, 351 ; to Sept. 1849, 
 371; to Sept. 1850, 376; to Sept. 
 1851, 387; to Sept. 1852, 394; in 
 1853, ibid, ; in 1854, 402. 
 
 Population of Ireland, amount of at 
 various periods, 11, 12; decrease of 
 between 1841 and 1851, 12 ; in 1821, 
 1831, 1841 and 1851, 357. 
 
 , too rapid increase of, a cause 
 of distress, 94. 
 
 Porters and messengers to be licensed 
 for the support of the Dublin Found- 
 ling Hospital, 48. 
 
 Potato, the facility of procuring, leads 
 to a boundless multiplication of hu- 
 man beings, 90. 
 
 crop, distress occasioned by the 
 
 failure of in 1823, 92 ; evils of a total 
 dependence on, 93 ; in 1839, estimate 
 of the state of, 259 ; deficiency of in 
 1841,281. 
 
 disease, occurrence of in 1845-6, 
 
 306 ; distress occasioned by, 307 ; re- 
 appearance of in the autumn of 1846, 
 323; recurrence of in 1848, 349. 
 
 Potatoes, the food of the labouring poor 
 in Ireland, 61. 
 
 Poverty, conclusive evidence as to the 
 state of in Ireland, 1 58 ; not the sole 
 cause of the condition of the Irish 
 peasantry, 162. 
 
 Poyning's Act, 1495, effect of, 17. 
 
 Presidents and assistants for the relief 
 of the poor, institution of, 52. 
 
 Price of labour in Ireland in 1830, 96. 
 
 Private trade in corn, determination not 
 to interfere with, 313. 
 
 subscriptions, amount of for the 
 
 relief of the poor in Ireland during 
 the prevalence of the potato disease, 
 320, 321. 
 
 Progress of population in Ireland, 11,12. 
 
 Promotion, spiritual, to be given to such 
 only as speak English, 21. 
 
 Property, feeling prevalent in Ireland 
 in favour of taxing for the relief of 
 the poor, 1 65 ; what is to be assessed 
 for poor-rates, 228 ; amount of, rated 
 
 to the poor in Ireland and England, 
 269, note. 
 
 Prostitutes, strolling, to be sent to houses 
 of industry and kept to hard labour, 
 *oo. 
 
 Protestant settlers in Ireland, massacre 
 of in 1641, 10. 
 
 Charter Schools Society to 
 
 receive poor children, 54. 
 
 clergy, favourable to the in- 
 troduction of a system of poor-laws, 
 167; salaries to be appointed for in 
 workhouses. 226. 
 
 and Romanist classes, division 
 
 of the kingdom into, 26. 
 
 and Roman catholic children, 
 
 separate religious instruction recom- 
 mended for, 111. 
 
 Protestantism, church establishment of 
 in Ireland, 25. 
 
 Provisions, high price of, in 1840, 269. 
 
 Proxy, reasons for allowing owners to 
 vote for guardians by, 207. 
 
 Public works, the extension of recom- 
 mended in 1830, as a means of em- 
 ploying the Irish poor, 107. 
 
 act, passing of, 312; 
 
 amount expended under in 1846, ibid. 
 
 " Queen'* pay," ill effects of under the 
 relief works, in withdrawing labourers 
 from their proper employment, 315. 
 
 Rapparees, act for suppressing, 38. 
 
 Rate to be levied in Dublin for the 
 support of the workhouse, 37 ; for 
 the support of the Foundling Hospital, 
 48 ; increase of for that purpose, 49. 
 
 in aid, amount of the levy of, 359 ; 
 
 amount of the second, 375. 
 
 of wages in 1851, 391; in 1853, 
 
 397. 
 
 payers, joint, empowered to vote 
 
 according to the proportions borne 
 by each, 229. 
 
 Rateable property, amount of in 1845, 
 1847, and 1851, 393. 
 
 Rates to be assessed in every county 
 and town for the support of houses of 
 industry, 55 ; for emigration, how to 
 be raised, 226 ; for the support of 
 the poor, guardians empowered to 
 levy, 227; to be a poundage rate, 
 228 ; to be recovered by distress if not 
 duly paid, 229 ; collection of, appre- 
 hended difficulties proved groundless, 
 277 ; amount of, collected for the 
 poor in 1845-6, 304 ; total amount 
 raised for the poor, up to 1848, 346 ; 
 in 1846, 1847, and 1848, 363 ; may 
 be raised for defraying the expenses 
 of emigration, 369. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 419 
 
 Rating, power of vested in the board 
 of guardians, 179 ; valuation for the 
 purposes of, 180 ; under the new 
 Poor-Law bill of 1837, objections to 
 the plan answered, 204. 
 
 Reasons against the voluntary system, 
 by a portion of the Commissioners of 
 Inquiry, 147. 
 
 Rebellion of 1798, notice of, 11, 67. 
 
 Reclamation of waste land, need of on 
 a large scale in Donegal, 201. 
 
 Reformation not so successful in Ireland 
 as in England, 4 ; education adopted 
 as a means for extending, 25. 
 
 Register-book, enactment for the keep- 
 ing of in workbouses, 226. 
 
 Relatives, liabilities of, to support their 
 destitute parents, &c., 278. 
 
 Relief, imperfect recognition of the 
 right of to the poor, 31 ; to be effectual 
 must be uniform and prompt, 147 ; 
 destitution to form the only grounds 
 for, 176 ; rules for to be issued by 
 the central authority, 177 ; amount 
 expended in during 1841, 276, 277 ; 
 in 1842, 283 ; in 1843 and 1844, 
 299 ; in 1845, 301 ; amount of afforded 
 from various sources under the Public 
 Works Act in 1846, 312. 
 
 committees, formation of in 
 
 1846, 311. 
 
 - Extension Act, copies of sent 
 to all the unions, 338. 
 
 . works, failure of, 316 ; amount 
 
 expended on, ibid. note. 
 
 Relieving-officers, enactment for the 
 appointment of, 331. 
 
 Religious persuasions, importance of 
 bringing together children of dif- 
 ferent, for purposes of education, 110 ; 
 zeal, difficulties offered by in raising 
 voluntary funds and in affording im- 
 partial relief, 148 ; service, to be 
 performed in workhouses by clergy- 
 men of different denominations, 220. 
 
 Remark on the evidence of the Inquiry 
 Commissioners, by Mr. Bicheno, 151. 
 
 ' Remarks ' by Mr. G. C. Lewis on the 
 Third Report of the Inquiry Com- 
 missioners, 151. 
 
 Remittances from emigrants, amounts 
 of, 392. 
 
 Rental of Ireland in 1776-78, 65. 
 
 Rents, comparative, in England and 
 Ireland, 60 ; arising from exempted 
 property, to be rated to the extent of 
 half the poundage, 368. 
 
 Report of the Committee of the House 
 of Commons on the state of the poor 
 in Ireland, 82 et seq. 
 
 of the Select Committee of the 
 
 House of Commons in 1823 for pro- 
 viding funds for the useful employ- 
 
 ing of the labouring poor in Ireland, 
 91. 
 
 Report of the Select Committee of the 
 House of Commons on education in 
 Ireland, 108 et seq. 
 
 , the first, in 1835, of the Com- 
 missioners appointed in 1833 to in- 
 quire into the condition of the poorer 
 classes in Ireland, 118 et seq.; the 
 second, in 1836, 125 et seq.; the third, 
 in 1836, 131 et seq. 
 
 of the Poor Inquiry Commis- 
 sioners, rejection of the means pro- 
 posed by them for alleviating distress 
 in Ireland, 190, 191. 
 
 the first, of Mr. G. Nicholls on 
 
 the state of Ireland in 1836, 159 ; the 
 second, 196 ; the third, 212. 
 
 of Commissioners for Ireland to 
 
 be annually laid before parliament, 
 232. 
 
 of Commissioners under the 
 
 Temporary Relief Act, 344. 
 
 Residence required to give a claim to 
 relief, 292. 
 
 Residents for less than three years, if 
 receiving relief, to be charged to the 
 union, 367. 
 
 Resistance to the law, instances of 
 unions offering, 295. 
 
 Resolutions submitted by Mr. Pitt for 
 effecting an Union with Ireland, 69 ; 
 agreed to, 71. 
 
 Returning-officers, instructions to, under 
 the new Poor-Law Act for the first 
 elections, 242. 
 
 Revenue, comparative proportions raised 
 by Ireland with that of Great Britain, 
 147. 
 
 Revolution of 1688, the Roman Ca- 
 tholics of Ireland support James II., 
 10. 
 
 Rice, Mr. Spring (now Lord Mont- 
 eagle), chairman of the select com- 
 mittee of the house of commons in 
 1823, 91. 
 
 Richmond Lunatic Asylum, notice of, 8 4. 
 
 Rick -burning, Act against, temp. Hen. 
 VIII., 19. 
 
 Road-making to be undertaken in order 
 to employ the distressed poor in 1822, 
 80. 
 
 Roads in mountainous districts, the 
 formation of recommended as pro- 
 viding employment for the labouring 
 poor, 88. 
 
 " Robbery-money," frauds exercised in 
 order to obtain, 39. 
 
 Rogues vagabonds and beggars, act 
 for the* punishment of, 28 ; who are 
 to be deemed, 29. 
 
 Roman Catholic clergy, notice of their 
 opposition to the Kildare Street So- 
 
 2 E 2 
 
420 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 ciety schools, 115 ; favourable to the 
 introduction of a system of poor laws, 
 167 ; clergymen in workhouses, sa- 
 laries to be appointed for, 226. 
 
 Koman Catholics of Ireland adhere to 
 the cause of Charles I., 10. 
 
 Romans, never extended their conquests 
 to Ireland, 2. 
 
 Home, the supremacy of the see of, not 
 acknowledged by the early Irish, 2. 
 
 Royal message to the parliament recom- 
 mending an Union, 6 7 ; congratulating 
 them on the measure being effected, 
 71 ; assent given to the Irish Poor- 
 Lawbillin 1838,221. 
 
 Kumford, Count, attempts of to make 
 pauper establishments self-supporting, 
 failure of, 198. 
 
 Russell, Lord John, announcement of 
 the necessity of some government 
 measure respecting the poor of Ire- 
 land, 155; letter of instructions to 
 the author, 157 ; speech of on intro- 
 ducing the new Irish Poor-Law bill 
 in 1837, 189; introduction by of the 
 Irish Poor-Law bill in 1837-8 to the 
 house of commons, 210; interview of 
 the author with, urging the carrying 
 of the new law into immediate ope- 
 ration, 234 ; letter of the author to in 
 1853, 399 et seq. 
 
 Salaries, estimated scale of, for union 
 officers, 209. 
 
 to be paid to persons employed 
 to seize persons begging without a 
 licence, 54. 
 
 Sanitary state of workhouses, 275. 
 
 Scale of voting for guardians, 229. 
 
 Scholars, found begging, to be punished 
 as vagabonds, 29 ; number taught in 
 the various public schools in Ireland 
 in 1827, 109. 
 
 School-houses to be built in each of the 
 shire-towns, 25. 
 
 Schoolmasters and schoolmistresses, ap- 
 pointed for workhouses, 264. 
 
 Schools, supported by Roman Catholics, 
 number of scholars taught at in 1827, 
 109 ; for union children, permission 
 given to provide with land, 332 ; 
 number of children attending in 1848, 
 348. 
 
 Scotland and Ireland, difference between 
 as to provision for the poor, 13. 
 
 , alleged success of the system 
 
 of voluntary contributions for the poor 
 in, 150 ; number of parishes assessed 
 and unassessed in in 1855, ibid. note. 
 
 Scots, ancient name for the Irish, 2. 
 
 Scottish rebellions of 1715 and 1745, 
 the Irish take no part in, 10. 
 
 Scrope, G. P., introduction of a bill by 
 for the relief and employment of the 
 poor in Ireland, 154; resolutions pro- 
 posed by as to the necessity of pro- 
 viding relief for the Irish poor, 155. 
 
 Sea-sand and sea-weed, use of as manure 
 in Donegal, -200. 
 
 Sea-service, male foundlings in certain 
 cases to be apprenticed to, 44. 
 
 , guardians in Ireland em- 
 
 powered to apprentice poor boys to, 
 385. 
 
 Seaweed and sand, carried on the backs 
 of the poor for manure, 94. 
 
 Second Report of Proceedings in Ire- 
 land under the New Poor-Law Act, 
 245. 
 
 Second Annual Report of the Poor Law 
 Commissioners for Ireland in 1849, 
 349. 
 
 Secretaries, enactment for the appoint- 
 ment of, 223. 
 
 Security of property, necessary to in- 
 duce the investment of capital, 208. 
 
 Sedan-chairs licensed for the support of 
 Dublin workhouse, 37. 
 
 Select Committee of the house of com- 
 mons in 1819, to inquire into the 
 state of disease, and the condition of 
 the labouring poor in Ireland, report 
 of, 86 ; in 1823, to facilitate the ap- 
 plication of the funds of private indi- 
 viduals and associations for the em- 
 ployment of the labouring poor in 
 useful and productive labour, report 
 of, 91 ; in 1830, to consider the state 
 of the poorer classes in Ireland, and 
 the best means of improving their 
 condition, report of, 93 ; heads of the 
 report, 96 ; in 1828, on education in 
 Ireland, report of, 108 et seq.; reso- 
 lutions adopted by, 112. 
 
 Separate instruction in their religious 
 duties for protestant and Roman Ca- 
 tholic children recommended, 111. 
 
 Poor Law Commissioners, not 
 
 necessary, 338. 
 
 Servants, drunken, idle, or quitting 
 their employment improperly, to be 
 punished with the stocks or impri- 
 sonment, 40 ; agricultural, not hired 
 in Ireland, 161. 
 
 Settlement, law of, to be dispensed with 
 altogether, 181 ; litigation caused by 
 the law of, 1 93 ; not intended to be 
 introduced into the new Irish Poor- 
 Law bill, ibid. ; provision for decided 
 against in the house of commons, 210. 
 
 Seventh Report of proceedings in 1845 
 under the new Poor-Law Act in Ire- 
 land, 299 et seq. 
 
 Sexes, the separation of, practised in 
 houses of industry, 192. 
 
INDEX, 
 
 421 
 
 Sheep, reared iu Donegal to pay the 
 .rent, 201. 
 
 Sickness, inquiry as to why the Irish 
 labouring poor do not make provision 
 for, 122 ; prevalence of iu 1849, .349. 
 
 Single women, enactment making them 
 chargeable with the support of their 
 children, 227. 
 
 Sixth Report of proceedings under the 
 new Poor-Law, 291. 
 
 Sixth Annual Report of the Poor-Law 
 Commissioners of Ireland, 389. 
 
 Skibbereeu, resistance to the payment 
 of rates in, 295. 
 
 Small holdings, the work required easily 
 performed and therefore constantly 
 neglected, 163 ; prevalence of in 
 Donegal, 200. 
 
 Social importance of the Irish Poor- 
 Law, 156. 
 
 Society, the disordered state of in Ire- 
 land a consequence of the want of a 
 well-regulated poor-law, 168. 
 
 of Friends, amount contributed 
 
 by to relieve the distress in Ireland 
 occasioned by the potato disease, 321. 
 
 Soil of Ireland, peculiarities of, 59. 
 
 Southwell and Bingham, encourage- 
 ment of the workhouse test principle 
 afforded by the example of, 198. 
 
 Spain, Gauls or Celtes from, supposed 
 to have peopled Ireland, 1. 
 
 Spanish emissaries and troops, disquiet- 
 ing effects of, temp. Eliz., 5. 
 
 Speeches of Mr. Pitt on proposing the 
 Union, 68 ; on submitting resolutions 
 for, 69, 70. 
 
 Speech of Lord John Russell on intro- 
 ducing the new Irish Poor-Law bill 
 in 1837, 189 et seq. 
 
 Spenser, the poet, grant of lauds to, 5 ; 
 his description of Ireland, 5, et seq.; 
 
 Proposals of for securing the quiet of 
 reland, 8. 
 
 Stage-coaches licensed for the support 
 of the Dublin Foundling Hospital, 
 48 .; number increased for, 49. 
 
 Stamp-duty, exemptions from in poor- 
 law proceedings, 230. 
 
 Stanley, Mr. (now Earl of Derby), 
 letter of to the Duke of Leinster, an- 
 nouncing the formation of a system 
 of national education, 113. 
 
 Stanley, Mr., communication from re- 
 specting the state of the poor in 
 Ireland, 196 note. 
 
 Starvation, near approach to of the 
 population of Donegal, 200. 
 
 State of Ireland in 1776-78, 59 et seq. ; 
 various opinions as to, 61. 
 
 Statements of numbers relieved and 
 chargeable to be posted weekly on 
 workhouse doors, 369. 
 
 Statistical returns, instructions for to the 
 assistant-commissioners, 240. 
 
 Statutes at Large, notice of, 13, note. 
 
 Statutes cited. Edw. II. 1310, 13 ; Hen. 
 VI. 1440, 13; Hen. VI. 1447, 15; 
 Hen. VI. 1450, 14 ; Hen. VI. 1457, 
 15; Edw. IV. 1465, 16; Edw. IV. 
 1472, 16 ; 10 Hen. VII. cap. 4, Poyn- 
 ings' Act, 17 ; 10 Hen. VII. cap. 6, 
 18; 10 Hen. VII. cap. 17, 18; 13 
 Hen. VIII. cap. 1, 19; 22 Hen. VIII. 
 cap. 12, 22, 31 ; 25 Hen. VIII. cap. 
 
 I, 19 ; 28 Hen. VIII. cap. 15, 20 ; 33 
 Hen. VIII. cap. 9, 21, 52; 33 Hen. 
 VIII. cap. 15, 22,30; 11 Eliz. cap. 
 
 4, 23; 12 Eliz. cap. 1,24; 18 Eliz. 
 cap. 3, 31 ; 43 Eliz., 31 ; 7 Jas. I. 
 cap. 4, 31; 11 and 12 Jas. I. cap. 
 
 5, 26; 10 and 11 Chas. I. cap. 4, 
 27, 52 ; 10 and 11 Chas. I. cap. 15, 
 32; 10 and 11 Chas. Leap. 16,34; 
 10 and 11 Chas. Leap. 17, 32; 2 
 Anne, cap. 19, 35, 248; 6 Anne, cap. 
 
 II, 38, 101 ; 2 Geo. I. cap. 17, 40 ; 9 
 Geo. II. cap. 25, 42 ; 11 and 12 Geo. 
 
 III, cap. 11, 45, 83, 248; 11 and 12 
 Geo. III. cap. 15, 49 ; 11 and 12 Geo. 
 III. cap. 30, 23, 51, 101, 104 ; 13 and 
 14 Geo. III. cap. 24, 49; 25 Geo. 
 III. cap. 48, 48 note; 45 Geo. III. 
 cap. Ill, 73; 46 Geo. III. cap. 95, 
 74, 104; 49 Geo. III. cap. 101, 75; 
 51 Geo. III. cap. 101, 76 ; 54 Geo. 
 
 III. cap. 112, 76 ; 57 Geo. III. cap. 
 106, 78, 103 ; 58 Geo. III. cap. 47, 76, 
 102, 104, 144 ; 59 Geo. III. cap. 44, 
 78, 144 ; 3 Geo. IV. caps. 3 and 84, 
 80 ; 6 Geo. IV. cap. 102, 81 ; 7 Geo. 
 
 IV. cap. 74, 225 ; 1 and 2 Viet. cap. 
 56, 222, 398 ; 2 Viet. cap. 1, 233, 244, 
 3 and 4 Viet. cap. 29, 268 ; 6 and 7 
 Viet. cap. 92, 291 ; 9 and 10 Viet. 
 cap. 1, 312 ; 9 and 10 Viet. cap. 22, 
 311; 9 and 10 Viet. cap. 1,312; 10 
 and 11 Viet. cap. 7, 320, 339, 344; 
 10 and 11 Viet. cap. 22, 319, 339 ; 10 
 and 11 Viet. cap. 31, 330, 338, 341, 
 345; 10 and 11 Viet. cap. 84, 332; 
 10 and 11 Viet. cap. 90, 333 ; 11 and 
 12 Viet. caps. 1 and 2, 311 note ; 11 
 and 12 Viet. cap. 25, 354 ; 11 and 12 
 Viet. cap. 47,354 ; 12 and 13 Viet. cap. 
 4, 355, 360 ; 12 and 13 Viet. cap. 104, 
 367; 13 and 14 Viet. cap. 14, 374, 
 380 ; 14 and 15 Viet. cap. 35, 385 ; 
 14 and 15 Viet. cap. 68, 382; 15 and 
 16 Viet. cap. 16, 381 ; 15 and 16 
 Viet. cap. 63, 393 ; 16 and 17 Viet, 
 cap. 7, 393. 
 
 Stirabout, found to be the best form of 
 food for distribution, 318. 
 
 Stirpes or septs, heads of, to be answer- 
 able for the rest, 24. 
 
422 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Stocks, a punishment for idle, drunken, 
 or dishonest servants, 40 ; for begging 
 without a licence, 53. 
 
 Stone-breaking, recommended as a test 
 for relief to the able-bodied poor, 342. 
 
 Streets, recommendation for the clean- 
 ing of, 87. 
 
 Strigul or Strongbow, expedition of 
 against Ireland, 3. 
 
 Strolling beggars, Act for lodging, 51. 
 
 Strongbow, expedition of to Ireland, 1. 
 
 Stuarts, the Irish take no part in the 
 movement in their favour in 1715 and 
 1745, 10. 
 
 Subdivision of land, excessive preva- 
 lence of in Donegal, 201. 
 
 Subdivisions of lands, by lowering the 
 standard of living, productive of 
 fevers, 78. 
 
 Sub-letting of land, evils consequent on, 
 98. 
 
 Subscriptions to alleviate the distress in 
 Ireland, 1823, amount of the London, 
 92 ; promoted by government for the 
 relief of Ireland, 357. 
 
 Sufferings of the population of Ireland 
 between 1841 and 1851, 12. 
 
 'Suggestions' by the author in 1836, 
 129, 130. 
 
 Summary of act of 1 and 2 Viet. cap. 56, 
 222 et seq. ; of the 2 Viet. cap. 1, 233 ; 
 of the 6 and 7 Viet. cap. 91, 291 ; of 
 the act to make further provision for 
 the destitute poor in Ireland, 330 ; of 
 the act to make provision for the 
 punishment of vagrants, &c., 332 ; of 
 the act for the execution of the laws 
 for the relief of the poor in Ireland, 
 334, 335 ; of the Eate-in-Aid Act, 355, 
 356 ; of act to amend the previous 
 acts for the relief of the Irish poor, 
 367 ; of an act for the further ad- 
 vance of public money to distressed 
 unions, 374, 375; of the Medical 
 Charities Act, 382, 383. 
 
 Supervisor of rates, appointed in large 
 towns, 279. 
 
 Suppression of mendicancy, answer to 
 the objections against the measures 
 for, 206. 
 
 Surgeons and physicians for infirmaries 
 and county hospitals, generally pro- 
 vided, 83. 
 
 Surveys, new ones to be made where 
 necessary, 228. 
 
 Table of the numbers of persons in work- 
 houses, of the number and rate of 
 deaths per week, of the numbers re- 
 lieved, and of the weekly cost of relief, 
 from 1846 to 1853, both inclusive, 404. 
 
 Tabular view of number of unions, of 
 the expenditure, of the number of 
 
 workhouses, the number of inmates, 
 and the number relieved, in the years 
 from 1840 to 1846, both inclusive, 323. 
 
 Tabular statement of number of unions, 
 expenditure, number of inmates, 
 number receiving out-door relief, and 
 total cost from 1847 to 1853, both in- 
 clusive, 395. 
 
 statement of average cost of 
 
 maintenance from 1847 to 1854 both 
 inclusive, 397. 
 
 Tally, the use of by the labouring poor 
 in Ireland, 62. 
 
 Task-work, adoption of as a test, 313; 
 inefficiency of, 315. 
 
 Tax, levied under the new Poor Law 
 not likely to exceed greatly that now 
 levied by mendicants in Ireland, 192. 
 
 Taxes in Ireland, lightness of previous 
 to the Union, 66. 
 
 Teachers of schools, recommendation 
 that they be selected without regard 
 to religious distinctions, 111. 
 
 Temporary Relief Act, passing of, 316; 
 provisions of, 317. 
 
 Tenants, ejected, deplorable , condition 
 of, 99; disease generated' thereby, 
 100; for life, proposed emposvering 
 of to grant leases for certain terms, 
 and to charge the property for per- 
 manent improvements, 138, 139. 
 
 Tenantry, not able to bear the burden 
 of a rate for the support of the poor, 
 136. 
 
 Thieves, reward for killing or capturing 
 in 1450, 14 ; robbers and rebels, act 
 against in 1440, 14. 
 
 Third Report of proceedings in Ireland 
 under the new Poor Law act, 259. 
 
 Third Annual Report of the Irish Poor 
 Law Commissioners, 364. 
 
 Threshing, custom of burning the corn 
 in the straw instead of, 33. 
 
 Tillage, inferiority of in Ireland, 60. 
 
 Time of election for boards of guardians, 
 enactment for fixing, 223. 
 
 Tipperary, peculiar state of as a county 
 palatine, 7 ; resistance to the pay- 
 ment of rates in, 235. 
 
 Tithe-owners, influence of in passing 
 the act in favour of earth-tillers, 20. 
 
 composition, plan for purchasing 
 
 and making the surplus available to 
 the relief of the poor, 146. 
 
 Tithes to pay poor-rate, 229. 
 
 Townlands, enactment for the union of, 
 223; regulation with regard to the 
 boundaries of, 233. 
 
 Towns, recommendation of Spenser that 
 they should be built, 9 ; increase of 
 and wealth in, 160; a voluntary poor- 
 law established in the principal of 
 the north of Ireland, 200. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 423 
 
 Transition-period, difficulties to be over- 
 come during, 166. 
 
 Transportation, act for the punishment 
 of rogues and rapparees by, 89. 
 
 Treasurers, guardians, &c. to furnish 
 accounts, 230. 
 
 Trevelyan's (Sir Charles) ' Irish Crisis/ 
 notice of, 256, note; 285, note; 307, 
 311, 314, 319,320, 328. 
 
 Twisleton, Mr., appointed as fourth Com- 
 missioner of the Poor Law Board, and 
 sent to Ireland, 309 ; appointed chief 
 of the Irish Commission, 338. 
 
 Tuam union, neglect of to collect poor- 
 rates, 295 ; legal proceedings com- 
 menced against, 300 ; board of guar- 
 dians dissolved by the commissioners, 
 305. 
 
 Tyrone, rebellion of, 5. 
 
 Ulster, the province of, probably an 
 ecclesiastical formation, 3 ; planta- 
 tion of by James I., 9. 
 
 Uncultivated land, the existence of a 
 favourable circumstance for the in- 
 troduction of a poor-law, 168. 
 
 Unemployed labourers in Ireland, num- 
 ber of, 133; numbers dependent on, 134. 
 
 Union agricultural societies, plan for 
 the formation of, 269. 
 
 of Ireland with England, in 1800, 
 
 11, 71. 
 
 officers, mortality among during 
 
 the distress in Ireland occasioned by 
 the potato disease, 326 ; in Feb. 
 1848, 345; in 1849, 353. 
 
 Unions, suggested size of in Ireland, 
 172; principles to be observed in 
 forming, 178; answers to the objec- 
 tions to proposed size of in the Report 
 of 1836, 205; estimated expenses of, 
 209 ; enactment for the formation of 
 by Commissioners, 223 ; directions to 
 the assistant commissioners for the 
 formation of, 236, 237 ; number of, in 
 1839,245; in 1840,245; difficulties 
 in forming, 246 ; number of in 1841, 
 259; number of declared in 1842, 
 271 ; number of, in which resistance 
 to the payment of rates were made, 
 295 ; unsatisfactory state of the fi- 
 nances of in 1847, 328, 329; number 
 of, in which no out-relief was given, 
 343, 352 ; numbers of, not giving out- 
 relief in 1850, 366; where new ones 
 are formed, the commissioners to make 
 arrangements for the joint use of the 
 workhouse till a new one is built, 
 368; eight new formed in 1850, 373. 
 
 United Kingdom of England and Ire- 
 land, the assembly of the first parlia- 
 ment of in 1701, 72. 
 
 Vaccination, act for extending, 268 ; 
 number of unions in which it had been 
 introduced, 280 ; extension of in 
 1845, 300 ; amount expended on, 
 ibid. 
 
 Vagabonds, act for the punishment of, 
 22 ; and beggars to be kept separate 
 in bridewells from the children, 46. 
 
 Vagrancy, recommendation for an 
 amendment of the laws relating to, 
 100 ; clauses in the Poor Law Bill of 
 1837, postponement of, 195. 
 
 Vagrants and vagabonds, to be sent to 
 houses of industry and kept to hard 
 labour, 55 ; recommendation of their 
 being sent as free labourers to some 
 British colony, and no longer to be 
 punishable by transportation, 143. 
 
 Valuation of lands and houses recom- 
 mended by the Commissioners of In- 
 quiry, 141. 
 
 Valuations, new, to be made where ne- 
 cessary, 228 ; and ratings, instructions 
 for, 244 ; progress made with, 265 ; 
 difficulties arising from the form 
 adopted, 289 ; not to be increased in 
 consequence of improvements, for 
 seven years, 368 ; number of unions 
 in which they had been completed, 
 278 ; objection to the correctness of, 
 
 ibid. 
 
 Valuators, enactment appointing, 291. 
 
 Victoria, Queen, subscription of for the 
 relief of the poor in Ireland, 357. 
 
 Visiting committee of Dublin work- 
 houses directed to report on their 
 state, 261. 
 
 Voght, Baron de, attempt of to make 
 pauper establishments self-supporting, 
 198. 
 
 Voluntary charity, institutions sup- 
 ported by, 105. 
 
 associations for the relief of 
 
 the poor, recommended by the Com- 
 missioners of Inquiry, 145 ; rules to 
 be framed for, 146. 
 
 system of relief, reasons 
 
 against recommending by some of the 
 Commissioners of Inquiry, 147 ; rea- 
 sons for, 149. 
 
 Votes, scale of according to property, 
 in the election for guardians, 1 79, 229. 
 
 doubtful, for guardians, may be 
 
 refused by the returning officer, 293. 
 
 Voting papers for guardians, improper 
 interference with, 266 ; penalty for 
 destroying or defacing, 293. 
 
 Wages, act for the regulation of, 21 ; 
 impolicy of, 22 ; of agricultural la- 
 bourers in Ireland, rate-of, 62 ; aver- 
 age rates of in 1836, 131. 
 
424 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Wanderers, idle, act against, 34. 
 Wardens, enactment for the appoint- 
 ment of in townlands and parishes, 
 
 226. 
 Wards in workhouses appropriated to 
 
 pauper lunatics, 286. 
 , towns with 10,000 inhabitants 
 
 may be divided into, for the purpose 
 
 of electing guardians, 233. 
 Wars, private, not to be made without 
 
 consent of the governor, 18. 
 Waste lands in Ireland, quantities of, 
 ' 89. 
 Waterford, resistance to the payment 
 
 of rates in, 235. 
 Wealth and distress may be concurrent 
 
 in a country, 97. 
 Wellington, duke of, support given by 
 
 to Irish Poor Law bill, 219, 220. 
 West of Ireland, portion taken by the 
 
 author in his First Report, 159; severe 
 
 distress in during 1839, 256 ; amount 
 
 of government relief to, ibid. note. 
 Western unions, total destitution of in 
 
 1849, 358. 
 
 Wexford, stormed by Cromwell, 10. 
 Wheat, average price of in Mark Lane 
 
 inNovember 1853, 1854, and 1855,17, 
 
 note. 
 Whipping, a punishment for begging 
 
 without a licence, 53. 
 Widows, helpless, mendicity -houses and 
 
 almshouses recommended for, 145 ; 
 
 enactment making them chargeable 
 
 with the support of their children, 
 
 227. 
 Wild herbs, used as sustenance by the 
 
 distressed poor, 132. 
 Wilkinson, Mr., engaged as architect 
 
 for the Irish workhouses, 243 note. 
 William the Conqueror, design of for 
 
 bringing Ireland under subjection, 3. 
 William the Third opposed by the 
 
 Roman Catholics of Ireland, 10. 
 William IV., death of, 195. 
 Witnesses, Commissioners empowered 
 
 to summon, 334. 
 Wool, act against the pulling from 
 
 living sheep, 32. 
 Work to be provided for the destitute 
 
 poor in workhouses, 225. 
 Workhouse, act for erecting one in 
 
 Dublin in 1703, 35 ; regulations for 
 
 the government of, 36 ; rate to be 
 
 levied for the support of, 37. 
 relief, advantaes and dis- 
 
 advantages, as regards 
 
 *& 
 
 ' 0P THK 
 
 not recommended by the Commis- 
 sioners of Inquiry, 135. 
 
 Workhouse system recommended for 
 Ireland by G. C. Lewis, 152. 
 
 masters in London, testi- 
 mony of as to the characters and 
 habits of Irish poor, 158. 
 
 system of England, doubts 
 
 whether practicable in Ireland, 169 ; 
 assurance arrived at that it is, 170; 
 doubts whether fitted for a test of 
 destitution, ibid. ; assurance arrived 
 at that it would be more so in Ireland 
 than in England, 171 ; expense occa- 
 sioned by adopting not likely to be 
 inordinately large, 172. 
 
 officers, estimated expenses 
 
 of salaries for, 209 ; dietaries, order 
 for, 252 ; employment, nature of, 274. 
 
 expenditure in the years 
 
 1842 to 1846, 323 ; in 1847, 329, 345 ; 
 in 1848, 363; in 1849, 366, 371; in 
 1850, 376; in 1851, 387; in 1852, 
 394; in 1853, ib. 
 
 accommodation, extreme 
 
 pressure upon, occasioned by the 
 potato disease, 324 ; necessity for an 
 increase of in 1847, 342, 343 ; aux- 
 iliary establishments provided in 
 1849, 352 ; amount expended in pro- 
 curing increased, 366 ; extent of, from 
 1847 to 1851, 377. 
 
 hospitals, insufficiency of 
 
 during the prevalence of the potato 
 disease, 325. 
 
 mortality, greatly increased 
 
 ratio of during the distress of 1846-7, 
 326. 
 
 Workhouses to be provided in each 
 county, 53 ; recommendation that 
 -houses of industry should be made 
 available for, 186 ; estimated expenses 
 of constructing, 209 ; architect en- 
 gaged to erect, 243 ; number of pro- 
 vided in 1840, 245; in 1841, 260; 
 number of in operation in 1842, 271 ; 
 cost of up to 1842, 273 ; sanitary 
 state of, 275 ; number in operation in 
 1843, 282 ; inspection of by the author 
 in 1842, 284; amount of government 
 loans for the erection of in 1845, 302. 
 
 Works, useful, recommended as a means 
 of employing the distressed poor in 
 Ireland, 100. 
 
 Young, Arthur, his account of the state 
 of Ireland in 1776-78, 59 et seq. 
 
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