mM m^ ■ mm # HI) «i!ill' ^wiif rivi.ii.,-jiiiLJi.:ttiLJ.L±tiiLi(i.n,iJiJi.Tiii.i,:.i!J ii wr t c H ) THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES W', SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY: PHYSICAL, SOCIAL, MOEAL, EELIGIOUS, AND INDUSTRIAL. BY JOHN GLYDE, JUN. LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO IPSWICH: J. M. BURTON AND CO. IPSWICH : PltlNTED BY J. M. BTRTOX ANT) CO. "DA TO ANDKEW ARCEDECKNK, ESQ., lllCiir SHERIH' OF SUri'OLK, AS CHIEF MAGISTRATE^ OF THE CUUXTY, AXD IN ADMIKATIOX OF HIS PKAISEWOliTHY ATTEill'T TO ABOLISH A llELIC OF FEUDAL TIMES IN CONNECTION -WITH THE HIGH OFFICE HE IS THIS YEAR CALLED LTON TO FILL, EXHIBITING THE MORAL, SOCIAL, AND EELIGIOUS CONDITION OF SUFFOLK, IS RESrECTl'ULI.Y INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR, szry Sir r.' ictt^ kj !> ♦..'x...-> s:? ENGLISH LOCAL PEEFACE. 1 HAVE endeavored in the following pages to make known the actual condition of Suffolk in 1851, as far as such condition could be ascertained by personal inquiries, and a careful examination of published and unpublished documents. I am conscious that my ability is very far short of my desire to do justice to so important a topic as the one I have undertaken to elucidate. Transferred at nine years of age from the school-room to the work- shop — self-helped and self-guided in my progress to manhood — launched into business before I arrived at maturity, I have had no opportunity to strive for the graces of composition. My connection with the press, slight as it has been, MU I'KEFACE. procured me friends in various parts oi" the county, who kindlv offered to aid me bv coUectino; materials for the work I projected. Doubtless, there are as many who imder-estimate as there are w4io over- estimate their powers, and omit to do good from mis- calculating their capacity for usefulness. Not desiring to belong to either of these classes, I have devoted five years to the production of this Volume, and now commit my collection of facts to the notice of the Public, and bespeak for them that calm consideration which their importance deserves. Hitherto the works on Suffolk have referred to the Past rather than to the Present; the authors tell us of what occurred in our towns and villages hundreds of years ago, rather than of what was going on in their own day ; and I have long felt the conviction that a work illustratins; the Moral and Social condition of the people of this district was much needed. To the moral and social reforuier the facts adduced generjilly will present rather a gloomy aspect, but almost every month brings some proofs that brighter prospects are dawning upon this district. The noble exertions of Sir Edward Kerrison, Part., M.P., and the munificent liberality of John JMtzgerald, I']s(|., have stimulated the gentry of the district fo aid in [\\v PHKFACi:. IX establishment of a Reformatory School, where kindness and persuasion will now, for the first timti in the history of the county, be apj)lied on a large scale to that portion of our laboring population who have never previously experienced anything but the frowns of society and the rigors of the law. I anticipate good results from this movement. Since the body of the work w^as penned, Robert Newton Shawe, Esq., the model country gentleman, has gone from among us full of years and honor. His sound judgment gave to the agricultural population of the district in which he resided the best legacy that could be devised for wT)rking men — a sound and useful education ; and we trust the success of his efforts may induce the landowners generally to follow so unostentatious and worthy an example. Encouraging signs of the times present themselves in this direction. Excellent School Buildings, and, what is better, an efficient Schoolmaster, have been provided by John ToUemache, Esq., M.P., for the parishes of Helming- ham and Eramsden, and as soon as Charles Austin, Esq., became a resident of the Rrandeston ]^]state, a School-house was erected, nnd the hitherto neglected children of the District were feathered tog-ether for mental and moral discipline. X PREFACE. In the Chapter on Crime the parish of Hehiiingham will be found in the list of those conspicuous for excess of criminals. Only five prisoners were committed for trial from this village in ten years, but, singularly enough, the whole of these commitments occurred in the very five years which I examined, viz., those ending 1853. In justice to the Rector I have deemed it my duty to point out the peculiarity of this case. My thanks are especially due to Sir John Walsham, David Power, Esq., and to Patrick ]\I'Intyre, Esq., the worthy Governor of Bury St. Edmund's Gaol, for the loan of scarce books and unpublished documents ; and, at the same time, I beg to express my obligations to many other gentlemen for their assistance in furnishing me with much valuable information, and in providing me with the sources of many iuiportant statistical facts. The Author begs to state that the delay that has occurred in the publication has been entirely caused by excess of business in the Printer's hands. CONTENTS. Page Dedication . . . • • v Preface .... vn CHAPTER I. BoiTNDAEY, Soil, Geologt, Climate . . .1 CHAPTER II. Civil and Political Goveenment . . 27 CHAPTER III. POPTTLATION, AgES, CiTIL CONDITION, BlETH PlACES, AN]> Occupations of the People . . .35 CHAPTER IV. Mareiages, Births, and Deaths . . 79 CHAPTER V. Natitbe, Extent, and Localities of Crime . . 116 CHAPTER VI. Pauperism, Past and Peesent . . 161 CHAPTER VII. State of Education .... 205 XII CONTENTS. CHAPTER X. Rates and Rating Page CHAPTER VIII. Eeligious Coxdition op the People . . 258 CHAPTER IX. Litebaky axd Scientific Institutions . . 287 308 CHAPTER XI. Land, Ageicttlture, and Farmers . . . 324 CHAPTER XII. Condition of the Laboeing Classes . . 347 Appendix, No. 1 373 Appendix, No. 2 . . 3-75 Addendum 3yg Index 307 SUFFOLK IN tht; NTNETEENTIT CENTURY. CHAPTEE I. THE COUNTY: ITS PHYSICAL FEATURES AND CLIMATE. Suffolk is a maritime and agricultural county situated in the eastern district of England. It is one of the largest English shires, and is bounded on the north by Norfolk, on the west by Cambridgeshire, on the south by Essex, and on the east by the German Ocean. Its form is irregular, though nearly approaching to the shape of a half moon. Its length, in a direct line from east to west, is 56 miles, and 32 from north to south. It has nearly 50 miles of sea coast on the eastern side. This extent of coast includes some good bays, creeks, and a fine range of clifis and headlands. It is in the Sees of Norwich and Ely. The area is 1,481 square miles. It contains 947,081 statute acres, and 499 parishes. In 1851 there were G9,282 inhabited houses, 71,451 separate occupiers, and 337,215 persons. It had 238 persons and 47 houses to a square mile ; 28 acres to every 10 persons; and about 28 per cent, of the 1 2 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. population were located in towns. The real property assessed to the property and income tax, at the same period, amounted in value to £1,834,252. The popula- tion at each of the decennial periods has been — 1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 214,404 233,963 271,541 296,317 315,073 337,215 Suffolk presents a gently undulating and pleasantly diversified Surface. No eminence worthy of particular mention can be found in Suffolk, and, excepting the fens at Mildenhall, it is not low. Little hills, gentle valleys, quiet and rapid streams abound. Along a con- siderable portion of the coast and the rivers, the land is flat, and only secured from overflow by embank- ments. The borders of several of the rivers are lined with marshes, but they do not reach to any great extent inland, although it is sandy for a considerable distance. The woods are of small extent, and are not generally of luxuriant quality ; and on the borders of Cambridge- shire there is a large tract of heath and waste land, in which rabbit warrens are numerous. In the angle formed by the Orwell and the Stour, there are some spots, which, if not deserving to be classed as romantic scenery, })ossess a happy combination of wood and water, with hill and dale and verdant lawns not fre- quently surpassed. The Coast extends in a line tolerably regular, and convex to the sea, from the estuaries of the Orwell and Stour, o})posite Harwich, northward to Yarmouth. In many places the shore is low, but from Southwold to the mouth of the river Yare, there are a range of cliffs ; and Lowestoft Ness, a fine headland, is the most easterly point in Great liritain. Landguard Fort, at the entrance of the river Orwell, is also })laced on a commaiuling spot of ground, the south-eastern point of Sufiblk. iVom RIVERS. O this point to Diinwich the coast is bleak and dreary, destitute of wood, and having httlc to interest the lover of the beautiful in coast scenery. There are low cliffs where the silver Debcn pours its waters into the main, and a little more fruitfulness than ordinary graces its banks ; but beyond this, for miles, no woods or green meadows beautify the water's edge ; all you see is lonely headlands and a barren line of shore, on which the ocean waves ceaselessly roll. The harbours are the estuaries of the Stour and Orwell, Deben, Yare, Aide, Blyth, and the artificial cut through Lake Lothing into the Waveney. The harbour formed by the junction of the Orwell and Stour is acknowledged to be one of the finest in the kingdom. The regularity of outline along the coast has caused the bays to be shallow. Hollesley and Southwold are the only ones worthy of notice. The latter is an open roadstead, but the former affords tolerable anchorage for merchant vessels, a long bank of sand called the " Whiting," being a protection from the south-east gales. There is better riding for shipping in the small bays to the north and south of Lowestoft Ness, as these roads are defended from the violence of the sea by sandbanks, which are dry at half ebb. The riding in the latter is so remarkably easy during gales from north to west, as to procure for it from seamen the name of " Abraham's bosom." There are a great number of fine Springs and Rivu- lets intersecting almost every part of the country. Water may be said to be abundant. The principal Rivers are the Gipping, Orwell, Deben, Yare, Aide, Blyth, and Lark. There are also the Waveney, Little Ouse, and Stour ; but these are border rivers, the two former separating the county from Norfolk, and the latter divides it from Essex. The Gipping rises from a small spring in the parish of Gipping, and gradually winds through rich grazing lands, until, with gentle i SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. descents, it reaches the willow covered meadows near Stowmarket. After passing through the town, it unites with another stream from Rattlesden, becomes much broader and deeper, and flows to Ipswich, by a winding course of 14 miles, through a loose, deep, boggy soil, and fertile country. In the 12th and 13th centuries it was unquestionably navigable, for vessels of burthen, from Ipswich to Rattlesden Bridge, and much of the stone used in the erection of the Abbey at Bury was conveyed up this river to Rattlesden. The navigation appears to have been neglected after serving the pur- pose of the monks at Bury, and, excepting the use of it for the conveyance by boats of some church bells from Ipswich, in the ITth century, there is no account of its having been used by the inhabitants of Stow- market; and when, in 1793, the river was made navigable for barges, the cost amounted to nearly £27,000. The rise of water by lockage is 93 feet, the ground rising gradually, and imperceptibly to the eye, as you proceed from Ipswich to Stow ; and the latter town is 120 feet above the level of the former. Prior to 1790, the river, unaided by the hand of art, was left to enjoy its own repose, in its natural and most nume- rous windings through its oozy bed. At that time it presented a scene of quiet beauty, partaking of the gentle features of the richly wooded park, or verdant farm, meandering along amid the quivering shades of its poplars and its willows, until it yielded its existence into the arms of the Orwell. It formerly ran through Bosmere, a large piece of water, 70 feet deep, belonging to Sir AVilliam Middleton, Bart. ; but, instead of going- through the mere, it is now a cut alongside. The deepest ])art of the river is a hole near Baylham, IS feet deep, Koach, p(!rch, carp, tench, bream, gudgeon, and pike abound between Bosmere mere and Ipswich, but not l)('tw('(>n there and Stowmarket. l»clow the wet dock, Ipswich, the river Cii})ping joins RIVERS. 5 tlic OriOL'll, which expands into a broad estuary, in vvhieh the tide rises about 14 feet. When viewed at full tide this may be pronounced one of the finest salt water rivers in England. " Orwell, delightful stream, whose waters flow, Fringed with luxuriant beauty, to the main ! " On each side, the border teems with all that give beauty and variety to a landscape. The banks are bold, and parks well stocked with deer extend to the water's edge. In the passage from Ipswich, the view at high water is really enchanting. When we reach the estuary about two miles below the town, the banks of the river are exceedingly pictures([ue ; the rising land is clothed with noble avenues of trees and a rich luxuriancy of wood, adorned with fine mansions, farm houses, and village churches peeping into view ; and the river itself, to all appearance land locked on every side, assumes the features of a large lake. The view is terminated in front by the main ocean, with a beauti- ful prospect of Harwich, and the Essex coast on the right. On the return to Ipswich, the scene closes with a view of the town, which appears in the form of a half moon. The Behen rises about a mile north of the town of Debenhara, to which place tradition asserts it was navigable in the Saxon era ; but it does not now become navigable until just before it reaches Wood- bridge by a winding course of nearly 20 miles. There it expands into a broad channel nearly half a mile in width, navigable for vessels of 120 tons burthen, and aftbrding the means for a considerable trade to the town of Woodbridge. The course of the river is thence direct to the sea, which it reaches in about ten miles southward, near Bawdscy. The Aide is a small stream which rises near Brun- dish, about live miles from Eramlinghani. It winds through a rich agricultural district, passing through 6 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. Alflringliain, Deiinington, and Rendham. At Siiape Bridge, after having received Langford Brook, it meets the tidal waters, and swells into a wide river, running east nearly to Aldborough, where, having ap- proached within two hundred yards of the ocean, it suddenly takes a southerly direction, and runs parallel with the coast for nine miles, being merely separated from the sea by a narrow peninsula of pebbles. In its passage from Aldborough to the sea it passes the town and castle of Orford, receives the tributary waters of the Butley, alongside which a body of Augustine Monks once dwelt, and falls into Ilollesley Bay. The poet Crabbe loved the soft flowing Aide; yet its banks, unlike most inland streams, display trifling culture, and but little loveliness on which the eye can rest with either satisfaction or pleasure. The Bhjtli has its source in two streams which rise near Laxfield and Rumburdi. The town of Halesworth is situated upon the stream which pro- ceeds from the last-mentioned source, whilst that which comes from Laxfield falls at Wenhaston into the branch fi'om Rumburgh. The Blyth has several tributary streams, and, though inconsiderable in itself at the present day, was yet, in ancient times, of sufficient importance to give its name to the parish of Blyford, as well as to Blythborough, then the principal town in the hundred, and also to the hundred itself — " Blything." By the aid of the ]^lyth, the " Haven of Dunwich " was, at the time of the Conquest, large and deep. In its course, which is not more than twenty miles, it passes the Danish village of Ubbes- ton, intersects Ilevcningham, flows by \Valpole, and ultimalely falls into the sea at Southwold. It is navigable to small craft from Southwold to llales- wortli. 'i'lic; T.nrl- rises about five miles south of Bury St. PJdniunds. It flows past tiiat ancient and cliarining HI VERS. 7 town on its way to Farnham, where it becomes navigable by barges, and goes onward to IMiklcnluill, and shortly afterwards into Cambridgeshire, and is lost in the Great Ouse. Its entire course is only 18 miles. It remains for us to notice the border rivers, as the Tare we consider to be a Norfolk river. The Little Ouse rises at Lopham, near the springs which give rise to the Waveney. It flows westward for about 14 miles, in a winding course, along the northern boundary of Suffolk, to Barnham, where it turns suddenly to the north in its course to Thctford and Brandon, and the fens of Lakenheath. From Thetford it becomes navi- gable, and through a bold and barren country it con- tinues the boundary line between the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk to Sedge Fen, where it is soon lost in the system of the " Great Ouse," which runs to the sea below Lynn. The most considerable river is the Stoiir, which rises from three sources — 1st, in Suffolk; 2nd, in Essex; 3rd, in Cambridgeshire. These streams unite about eight or nine miles from their respective springs, and the river hence, throughout its entire passage, divides the counties of Suffolk and Essex. Pursuing a winding course, it waters the western parts of the county, passing the towns of Sudbury, Clare, and Nayland. Below the latter place it receives the waters of a stream from Boxford, and a few miles lower those of the Brett, from Hadleigh, and flowing onwards through the charming valley of Dedham, it reaches Manningtree and Mistley, where, like its sister Orwell, it suddenly expands into a noble estuary, which at high water is a mile and half wide. Its course is then eastward in a direct line to Harwich, which it reaches in about 11 miles, where it mingles with the German Ocean, and forms, in conjunction with the Orioell, the splendid harbour belonging to the Port of Harwich. Its entire course is nearly 50 miles, being navigable for sea-borne vessels to 8 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. IManningtree, and thence, by the aid of locks, by barges to Sudbury. The Waveney, which forms more than half of the boundary line between Suffolk and Norfolk, rises from a copious stream near Lopham and Redgrave, and pur- suing a tortuous course to the east, flows by Diss, Scole, Harleston, and Bungay. liere, taking a remarkable sweep to the north, it returns in the shape of a horse shoe almost to the spot from which it diverged on reach- ing the town. From Bungay it becomes navigable to Yarmouth, a distance of 40 miles. From Beccles Bridge it transports sea-borne vessels, of a small class, to the ocean, by Oulton Dike and Lake Lothing, through an artificial cut near Lowestoft, The tides of the Waveney turn northward from Oulton Dike, and proceeding in a winding com'se, first n.w. and then n.e., they wash the liigh banks of the Garianonum, and then become lost in the Yare, about four miles before it reaches Yarmouth Bridge. Fritton Decoy, a beautiful lake, about two miles long, discharges its superfluous water into the Waveney just below St. Olave's Bridge. The scenery of this charming decoy is exquisite. Its shores present a variety of beauties of the milder kind, being fringed with groups of the graceful beech tree, mingled with oaks, which sweep the mai-gui of the water with their light and pendulous s[)rays. A small feeder of the Waveney rises near JMendiesham, and, passing the town of Eye, falls into its channel at Jloxne. The meadows throui>;h which the Waveney meanders are among the most fer- tile in the county. The VN'^aveney produces eels of a delicate flavour, pike, perch, and roach in abundance. Smelts are taken in the season, and occasionally a salmon strays up its waters. The perch of this river are unrivalled for the brilliancy of their colors, and lampreys of large size are not unfrecpicntly taken. The waters in the upj)er portion are singularly brilliant and transparent. Every weed in its bed may be seen, even SOILS. "J where the channel is deep, and the iishes may be dis- cerned sporting in shoals. The Soil of this connty is so exceedingly variable, the heavy, mixed, and light soils are so intermingled, that it is ditticult to define the localities of each. Not only on one farm, but often in the same field, will this variety of soil be discovered. Though an accurate definition of the extent of each class of soil is thus rendered impossible, yet the general boundaries can be easily pointed out, and a close approximation to the truth will thus be arrived at. It is common to speak of soils as of three classes — heavy, mixed, and light ; but there are five varieties that may be clearly defined — 1st, Strong Loam ; 2nd, Eastern Sand ; 3rd, Western Sand ; 4th, Rich Loam ; 5th, Fen. Strong Loam., or Heavy Land District. — This extends from Haverhill on the south-west to within a few miles of Beccles and Lowestoft on the north-east, and consti- tutes what is known as central Suffolk. It consists of a clayey loam, on a clayey or marly subsoil. Chalk pits are met with in some portions, and the soil in their immediate vicinity partakes more or less of the chalky character j and throughout, wherever a valley, with a rivulet is found, however small, the flat is generally deeper and richer soil, and the sloping land adjoining more tender and easily cultivated. About Weybread and Mendham the soil is in some places of a sandy nature, and the low hills that border the Waveney have frequently stift' clay on their sunnnits, and light sandy land in the bottoms. The parishes of Ringsfield, Kedisham, Weston, and part of Shadingfield, contain some very poor thin-skinned land upon an ordinary brick-earth substratuuL Eastern Sands, or Coast Lands. — The tract of land extending along the eastern side of the county, from the mouth of the Deben to Yarmouth, is more or less of a 10 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. sandy nature. A considerable^ portion is liiglily cul- tivated, but in some parts the soil is of a very inferior description and lying almost waste. Much of it is liable to blow from the root of the corn, and sometimes the men have been obliged to give up harrowing, from not being able to see where they had harrowed. Prom Yarmouth to Aldborough there are marshes, heaths, sandy loams, and barren spots ; and from HoUesley Bay to Landguard Fort the sea encroaches on the high land. On the whole line of sea coast there are tracts of salt marshes, varying in value from 5s. to 25s. per acre, as they are more or less subject to the influence of the tides. From Ipswich race ground a long strip of heaths runs through Nacton, Rushmere, and Brightwell to near the Deben. These heaths extend about 10 miles, and are estimated to cover nearly 3000 acres of land. Whins, ferns, and ling grow in patches along most of these heaths ; on others, nothing but ling. Belts of fir trees surround one of the heaths, which are mostly of stunted growth ; and, along the whole, pits of great depth have been sunk to procure crag to cover the land. The heath land from Wilford Bridge to Sutton appears to be of better quality ; but from Shottisham to llollesley there is a long tract of barren heath ; and a ride from AVickham jMarket to Orford, over Tunstall Heath, brings into view a large extent of heath and barren land. There is so great a difference in the quality of the land in the Eastern Sand district, that land may be found on nearly every farm, the value of which, to rent, varies from 5s. to 2Ss, per acre. In some parts of this district the sand lies to a considerable de])th ; in other parts the subsoil is chalk, marl, or crag, and here the grciit means of the improvement of the texture of the sandy soils is to be found. The admixture of the subsoil with the surface has contributed more than anything else to place the cultivation of the light lands of Sullblk in the first rank in the scale of farmine:. SOILS. 1 1 The Western Sand Bistriet. — Tliis district, extending from Beyton to Mildcnhall, and from Newmarket to Brandon, embraces some of the worst descriptions of soils, much of it being a blowing sand, on a subsoil of chalk, or chalky clay. At Brandon, Thctford, Barnham, and Eriswell the chalk appears on the surface, and is never at a great depth, and the land in many cases is so sterile as to defy almost all attempts to bring it into a productive state. The worst description of soil exists at Lakcnheath, Wangford, Icklingham, Cavendish, West Stow, and Thetford. The soil in the neighbourhood is better, being a gravelly loam, and in some places the character of heavy and light soils become intermingled. 'J'hroughout the eastern division of the county, chalk or marl is found to exist in such small quantities as to be unworthy of notice, and the most eastern place where clialk is found in quantities for building or agricultural ))urposes, is an angle that includes the villages of J^ramford, Clavdon, and Coddenham. Rich Loam District.' — This district, extending from I'elixstow to Hadleigh, comprises the greater part of Colneis and Samford Hundreds and is a fine tract of deep rich soil. It is not only the best land in the (•ounty, but, as Arthur Young observed, much of it would rank among the best in England. It consists of a putrid vegetable mould, more inclined to sand than to clay, and is of extraordinary fertility. A well was dug hi the parish of Walton, 30 feet in depth, Avithout ])assing through the alluvial soil. Fen District. — This district occupies the extreme north- west corner of the county, and is of very small extent. It is bounded by the Ouse on the north, the river Lark on the west, and the villages of Mildenhall, Lakcnheath, and Brandon on the south and east. The surface is generally peat or bog from five to eight feet in depth, overlying clay or marl, but on the borders the subsoil is often sand. So porous is the nature of the soil, that if 12 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. the dykes or water courses are deep, well opened, and but little water allowed to stand, surface draining is seldom required. Many thousand acres of land on the Een skirts are warren. Taking a bird's eye view of the county, the general arrangement of the soil is thus seen. Wherever a river or rivulet passes, the one, two, or three hundred yards of flat land adjoining its banks are deep alluvial soil, generally covered with grass, as marshes or meadows. Beyond this, as soon as the land rises, and for several miles in some instances, you find light and mixed soil, the one gradually merging into the other ; and still higher up, as in the centre of the county, it either increases in stiffness to strong heavy land, or, as in other parts, to a burning sand. The boundary line between Newmarket and Haverhill, which divides Suffolk from Cambridgeshire — not consisting of any great valley or river, but passing over high land — is a continuation of the strong land which runs throughout central Suffolk. The whole eastern side of England, from the con- fines of Devonshire on the south, to the north-west angle of Norfolk, may be regarded. Geologically, as a great sheet of chalk, covered more or less by tertiary strata of all ages, and broken through and denuded along an east and west line of disturbance. It forms the lowest stratum in every part of Suffolk, excepting the small space occujned by the fens. Throughout the luindred of Lackford the chalk either appears on the surface or is covered with a very moderate thickness of sand. The area colored as chalk, in most of our geological maps, forms the western sand district of Young's Agricultural Map. Inu'ther east, the chalk inclines rapidly, and is lost sight of beneath several lumdred feet of clay, sand, and gravel. In some places, however, the chalk appears on the surface. At Claydon GEOLOfJY. 13 tlic turnpike road is cut through it, and there arc pits at Bramford and Coddenham. In boring for an artesian well at Stowmarket, the chalk was found 80 feet below the surface. It varied in solidity, and was 250 feet in thickness. Chalk is also the substratum under a great part of the strong loam district, bounded on the east and south by Halesworth, Woodbridge, Sudbury, and Clare, and where the soil rests on boulder clay, which, with granite, oolitic, and other foreign detritus of various kinds, covers a large area along the valley of the Waveney, and throughout the centre of Suffolk. In the eastern part of the county the " Crag " dis- plays its most interesting features. To Mr. Edmund Charlesworth belongs the honor of being the first to point out scientifically, the characteristics of the Suffolk crag. He divides that deposit into three successive periods. The oldest, from its abundance of corals, he termed the Coralline Crag. The second, from its peculiar ochreous color (produced by the presence of hydro- oxide of iron), he termed the Red Crag. The third, from its containing many fossil mammalian remains, he termed the Mammaliferous Crag, considering it a more recent deposit than the two preceding. The mamma- lian crag rests on the red or Suffolk crag, which, in its turn, rests on the coralKne crag, and that again some- times on the London clay, and sometimes on chalk. The mammalian crag may be seen most advantageously in the immediate neighbourhood of Southwold, and at Thorp Common, near Sizewell. The coralline crag is very limited in extent, ranging only over an area of about 20 miles in length and 3 or 4 miles in breadth, between the rivers Aide and Stour. At Aldborough, and Orford this crag is beautiful in appearance, and in several places forms a complete coral reef, and in the neighbourhood of Aldborough there are three corallme crag pits, very rich in corals, shells, echini, etc. At 14 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. Easton, Wangford, and Biilcamp, also, the crag can be well examined. During the last few years extensive excavations have been made within the crag in several localities between the rivers Orwell and Deben, and on the north banks of the latter ; and by this means many interesting dis- coveries have been made, as to the organic remains of the deposit. It is found that above the London clay, and beneath the red crag, extending over certain spaces, there is a bed varying in thickness from three or four inches to about a foot and half, consistino; of fragments of bone, interspersed amongst numerous irregularly formed, more or less rounded, nodules, which appear to be indurated clay, the inner surfaces of many showing the presence of phosphates and carbonates of iron. In others the interstices of the clay are filled with car- bonate of lime, frequently discolored by phosphate of iron. These nodules not only abound in this stratum beneath the red crag, but are also dispersed in various directions throughout the general mass of the formation, showing that they have been deposited promiscuously during the whole of the red crag period, or whilst that deposit was being formed. Many of these nodules appear to owe their origin to causes similar to those in operation at the present day, where masses of cliff have fallen and broken into frag- ments of various sizes; these subsecjucntly having been rolled along the beach, and amongst each other, by the action of the waves, have been roimded into the forms they now assume. Clay nodules of similar forms, but in a soft state, are frc(jucntly seen upon the Suffolk, Essex, and Norfolk beaches, where the cliffs arc now disin- tegrating by the action of the waves. Within the red crag formation have been discovered an interesting collection of remains of various species of inannnaiiun and other animals, consisting of flat bones, iij)i)arontly ribs of large maiumalia, which, subsequently GEOLOGY. 15 to tlicir fracture, have been rounded by attrition at tlieir ends and edges. With these arc found various other bones, and teeth of mastodon (and probably elephant) and rhinoceros ; fragments of the extremities of small quadrupeds, teeth of bear, the antlers and teeth of several species of deer — some of large size nearly allied to, if not identical with, the giant elk of Ireland — the teeth and other parts of a species of whale. The above are in a highly mineralized condition. With these are also found teeth and vertebrfjc of several species of shark, and the spines and teeth of rays, some of which are completely mineralized, and others not. Specimens of fish from the London clay, and long and short tailed crabs, all highly mineralized. In various parts of the red crag deposit, claws of crabs are found in the usual ?^/^-mineralized condition of the crag fossils. In addi- tion to the above-mentioned organic remains, arc the interesting and beautiful species of testacea, which abound in the several divisions of the crag deposit. A portion of a jaw of a large cetacian, nearly equal in size to a Greenland whale, has been discovered in the coralline crag, and the dorsal vertebra of a cetacian, allied to the grampus, was discovered in the coralline crag at Orford, a few years ago. There are also the numerous and exquisitely preserved corals, wiiicli are objects of great interest to geologists and collectors. The base of the sea cliff at Felixtow consists of a dark clay, containing the characteristic fossils of the London clay. This extends inland as far as Hadleigh, but is buried beneath newer clays and gravel. Between Southwold and Yarmouth, the cliff consists of sand and gravel, with a bed of clay-till sometimes forming their base, and again rising up to the middle or to the surface. The "till" is seldom a clay impervious to water, but usually contains a great quantity of chalk, and in other parts it consists entirely of the wreck of the Kimmeridge clay, oolites, etc. The cliifs at Pakefield and Kessing- 16 SUFFOLK IX THE XIXETEEXTH CEXTUET. land are principally composed of loam, marl, and clay, resting upon a blue clay. From these cliffs many fine elephant's teeth, large fragments of tusks, remains of the rhinoceros, hippopotamus, stag, ox, horse, etc., and the fragment of the jaw of a bear, have been procured. The value of geological knowledge to the farmer has been repeatedly explained and demonstrated during the last quarter of a century ; yet how small is the amount of progress made during that period ! The favorite object of William Smith, the founder of our geological studies, was, above all things, the applica- tion of geology to the improvement of the soil. Prac- tical agriculturists have given no encouragement to geologists to pursue their investigations, and are, gene- rally speaking, sceptical as to the value of the science to them, though this has doubtless been to some extent caused by certain expounders of the laws which regulate the distribution of soils, many of whom have undertaken to explain a very complicated problem with but very little knowledge of either agriculture or geology. The Agricultural Maps issued by the Board of Agri- culture exhibit the surface only, and show us merely the variations in the soil of the surface. They offer us no information as to whether the surface soil is 30 or 40 feet in depth, or not more than so many inches. The neglect of the substrata prevents these maps from being so valuable as they otherwise would be ; whilst, on the other hand, the geological maps, which simply exhibit the rock nearest the sur- face, offer us no guide as to what is the character of the surface soil and subsoil. \\^hcre the superficial accumulations attain a depth of 30 or 40 feet or more, the agricultural infiucnce of the solid rocks is necessarily very trivial ; but where the depth of soil is only two or three feet, the influence is undoubtedly very great. The soil and the subsoil are then turned GEOLOGY. 17 over by the plough, and the soUd strata modifies very considerably, both chcinically and mechanically, the character of the surface soil and subsoil. The Suffolk crag has recently been largely employed as a fossil manure with o;reat benefit to the liu-ht soils of the county. Large tracts have been dug and laid open, the contents carefally examined, and the mammalian remains collected and preserved for agricul- tural purposes, after having been ground to powder and converted into superphosphates by digestion in sulphuric acid. Upon analysis, the selected remains have been found to contain about 50 per cent, of phosphate of lime and 20 per cent, of carbonate of lime, and high prices have been obtained for it as manure. Some of the nodules, when thus ground, are said to be used in large quantities in the adultera- tion of guano. Years ago. Professor Liebig's extensive knowledge of agricultural chemistry caused him to predict that Great Britain would eventually receive a great addition to her agricultural wealth from the remains of an extinct animal world. The great chemical philosopher has lived to see the phosphoric deposit in the Suffolk crag extensively applied to agriculture in what are called coprolites. Another point of great interest is the influence of geology on agriculture and manufactures. The county is, as we have stated, of the most recent geological formation, almost entirely composed of tertiary beds, with still later deposits of sand, gravel, and clays superimposed thereon, the only exceptions being, as we have shown, on the western boundary, where the underlying chalk rises to the surface, and forms the downs of Newmarket. The absence of any of the older formations renders Suffolk entirely devoid of mineral treasures ; and owing to the comparative flatness of the surface, and shortness of the river 2 18 SUFFOLK IX THE XINETEEXTH CENTURY. courses, the water power is unimportant. These cir- cumstances combined do not favor manufacturing operations, and fire estabHshments of magnitude are dependent for their suppUes of coals and other mate- rials on distant parts of the country. The popula- tion is, therefore, from the geological structure of the county, almost dependent upon agricultural pursuits for the means of subsistence, except in the districts bordering upon the sea. We have observed that the quality of the soils is determined in a great degree by the character of the substratum ; and, as the predominance of chalk, sand, and clay, differs greatly in the various districts, the fertility of the surface, and its adaptation to the growth of different classes of farming produce, are equally varied. These peculiarities have been traced, and their distinctive qualities pointed out. The strong land, which runs through the centre of the county, is celebrated for its wheat crop ; and the rich loam of the Colneis and Samford Hundreds affords, with other agricultural produce, wheat of the finest quality, and bearing the highest price in the London and Northern Markets. The land extending along the sea-coast consists generally of a poor sandy soil ; some land, however, of fair quality will be found amongst it, and this is particularly adapted to the culture of carrots and other roots, from the loose character of the soil. To tlie west of the strong land of the county is the chalk district, containing numerous warrens on the sandy waste and ])oor sliecpwalks ; but, as we ni)proach tlic chalk hills, this inferiority diminishes, and the culture of sanfoin is carried on to a ccreat extent, for which the chalky subsoils are well adapted. The Newmarket J)ovvns and the Fen District offer still (liHtrcnt C!q)abilities to the farmer; but both, being developed in but a small degree in Suffolk, belong rather to the geology of Camljridgesliire. CLIMATE. 19 Climate. — SiifFolk is situated so as to have a great extent of coast and a considerable portion in a wood- land district, while other parts border on the fens, or are flat and marshy. There must necessarily be peculiarities of climate amidst this diversity of situation ; but the variations are too slight to affect the main question, the Climate of Suffolk. With regard to temperature, the effects of soil and situation upon atmospheric heat cause a diversity to exist in the same day, of uniform clearness, owing to the variety of surface. A flat wood- land and clay will prevent that collecting and rebound- ing of the solar heat which is found to prevail on chalky and light soils, and on slopes to the south, or in places sheltered by hills to the east and north, as Ipswich is in part, whilst other places are exposed to currents which absorb, or in some way carry off, the heat, which would otherwise be as if enclosed by a reflector. This diversity of tem- perature is frecpiently illustrated in neighbouring places. Thus, in March, 1839, the thermometer was 17° at Thwaite, and a few miles distant, at Redgrave, it was 15-5^ in July, 1838, it was SV at Thwaite, and 83" at the same hour at Redo;rave. In each case the difference is owing to the latter village being more elevated and less enclosed. The Temperature of the county is higher than most others by many degrees, and only equalled by Mid- dlesex, Kent, and the western portion of Essex. The southern and eastern parts of England are exposed to the greatest summer heat, and the west and the north to the least. The Midland Counties have a less annual range of thermometer than the other counties, and the Eastern are liable to the greatest. When the thermo- meter is 85*^ in Suffolk, in a general day of lineness, it will rarely be more than 82° in Northamptonshire; and when, in severity, it will be lO^'in Suffolk, the Midland Districts have it about 15''. Temperature has an im- portant influence on health, as its variations are valuable 20 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. tests of the salubvity of a district. The mean annual temperature of Suffolk is 48*99" and the annual range, as shown by the accompanying table, is inconsiderable. MEAN TEMPERATURE. 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 49» 50-3' 51.118' 51-19° 49-99" 48-87' 53-19" 50 84' 54-13" 50-93' The monthly averages, deduced from observations made during nearly half a century, show that the warmest months differ from the coldest by 30", but the tempe- rature of the summer and autumn may be aptly represented by a gentle curve. The mean temperature of the different months is as follows : MONTHS. MEAN TKMP. MONTHS. MEAN TEMP January . 33 July . 63 I'^ebruary . 39 August . . 62 March 42 September . 68 April . . 46 October . 48 May 53 November . 42 June . 59 December . 39 The greatest range of the thermometer is found in the months of April and May ; a variation of from 30" to 40" has been frequently observed during the 24 hours, and within the week instances are on record of alternate heat and cold throwing up the thermometer to 7G" and depressing it to 32". In April, 1840, and in May, 1848, the range was 37*5" and 33" respec- tively, and out of those ranges of night and day, the range in the day time w\is about 24". Our greatest summer heat since 1833 has been from 85" to 90"; the years 1844 and 1846, when it reached 92" and 93", were great exceptions. It is somewhat remarkable that since 1841 almost every year has ])roduced a heat of from 87" to 89". The extreme heat of the year usually occurs in July, and examination of an extensive series ofobser- CLIMATK. 21 vations has shown that this month exceeds August in heat, as to the number of times, in the proportion of 12 to 9. Our winter frost is sharper than in the south-west coun- ties, but, on the whole, differs httle from the degree of cokl in Sussex, Surrey, Kent, or the Midlands. One great point should be understood, arising from the intensity of radiation, viz., that in winter the degree of cold entirely rests on the quantity of snow. In one place in the county it may be a foot deep, in another two inches, and in a third, barely covering the ground ; r.nd the greater the snow, the more the thermometer goes down, as soon as it clears up after snow. The difference at each of these places may be as 1", 15°, 24*^ — the one degree being with the deepest snow. As instances, we may mention February, 1847, a bare frost in Suffolk, thermometer 22" ; in Sussex, a deep drift of snow, thermometer 1"; February, 1853, Suffolk, a deep snow, thermometer 6-5" ; Sussex, a bare frost, and the thermo- meter but little under 20^ In severe winters, it often continues to freeze, more or less, for above a week, night and day. The variations of the Barometer are by no means so great as those of the thermometer. During the last 40 years, the mean of 12 highest states is 30" 79. The mean of 12 loiuest is 28-47, taken at a level of 200 feet above the sea. The lowest was 28-05 in December, 1821 ; the highest 30-92, in January, 1835. The greatest range is thus shown to be 2-87. The highest barometer frequently occurs in January, the lowest sometimes occurs in that month, but is more generally spread over the succeeding months. In 1830, the extreme range of the year occurred in one month, and, singularly enough, in January. The highest state of the barometer occurs during the prevalence of north- east winds ; the lowest in south-cast and south-west 22 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. winds. Ill January, 1834, after strong north-west wind, the barometer rose above 1 inch in 19 hours. The Evaporation which takes place, is, on the average, 30*50 inches per annum. In the hot and dry year of 1846, the evaporation gauge showed a total of 35 "58 inches. The amount of evaporation greatly depends upon the swiftness of the wind, which some- times au2:ments it five or six times. In the month of May, with a clear sun and a brisk east wind, as much as '35 of an inch has been evaporated in one day. The greatest known evaporation occurred in June, 1846, when it attained as much as 6^ inches in the month, equal to the mean evaporation of the whole of the autumn. The least known occurred in calm, misling, mild weather, December, 1839, about two-tenths for the month. During the months of April, INIay, June, and July, 1840, there was unusual drought, and the evapo- ration was near four times that of precipitation. The mean evaporation of each month, exhibited at the close of this article, shows that the smallest quantity of water is lifted into the air in the month of January, and the greatest in June. The evaporation of the different seasons is as under — Winter .... 2-00 | Summer .... 13-50 Spring .... 8"50 j Autumn .... 6-.50 Jlain. — What is termed the Eastern District — Sufiblk, Essex, and Norfolk — comprise, with Middlesex, the driest part of England, and the absence of eminences of any height in the surfjice of the county of which we are treating, causes the quantity of rain wliicli falls to vary but sli^j-htlv in its various districts. This is not the case ill liillv countries, for it is a wcll-knoAvn law of the fall of rain " that smaller quantities have been observed to be deposited in high than in low situations, even though the diiierence of altitiule sliould be considerable." The mean nniiiial fall of rain, ironi observations between CLIMATE. 23 1820 and 1853, is 22*50 inches, whereas Lancashire and Westmoreland yiekl annually nearly 70 inches. The cause of the dryness of Suffolk, compared with Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Cheshire, Lancashire, and Westmoreland, is that these counties are contiguous to the western seas, and receive the clouds originally, whereas the s.w. and w. are spent breezes, and have become unburdened clouds by the time we get them. We are also less hilly than those counties, and the harsh Russian blasts meet us at first here, but when we do get rain from the east we get it heavy, as then the clouds arise from the German Sea, and in immediate proximity with our coast. If we take the extremes of the last quarter of a century, we find that the years which gave the greatest amount of rain were 1848, when it was 34*25 inches, and in 1852 it was 34 inches. Those which gave the least were, 1834, total rain 17*5G inches, and 1840, when it was only 15*02 inches. Taking the observations made in the 10 years ending 1839, we find that the quantity of rain which descended monthly was as under : MONTHS. MliAN FALL MONTHS. MKAN FALL OF RAIN. OF liAIN. IN. IN. January . 1-80 July 2-50 February . 200 August . 1-50 March . 1-35 September 2-25 April . . 1-80 October . 2-09 May 1-80 November 2-50 June . . 1-80 December . . 2-47 More extended observations have shown that we have least rain in the months of IMay and June, and most in April, July, and November. The greatest quantity known to have fallen in a few hours, occurred on September 24th, 1848 — 2-12 inches in 5 hours; and August 24th, 1843 — 2 inches in eleven hours; equal to the mean of the whole month of February. In May, 1849, the total amount of rain was near 5 inches ; and in February, 1833, the depth was 5-70 inches. 24 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. A wet day usually yields from 3 to 7-lOths of an inch in the ten or twelve hours it generally lasts. In summer, most rain falls when the sun is above the horizon ; in winter, the greatest falls are after sunset. A winter's wet day yields the least. A short and heavy thunder storm, on a summer's day, gives "30 or more, Avhile a whole day in winter frequently produces less than this. Warm summers are mostly dry, but warm ^/ears are often those of most rain. The mean fall of rain in the different seasons is as follows : MEAN FALL. MEAN PALL "Winter IN. 5 25 Summer . IN. 6-00 Spring . . 3-25 Autumn . 800 The average number of fine dmjs in each of the months, are — January, 21; February, 19; March, 21; April, 20 ; May, 23 ; "june, 21 ; July, 24 ; August, 24 ; September, 20 ; October, 23 ; November, 21 ; Decem- ber, 20. Winds, — The westerly winds are the most pre- dominant in this county. The result of an examination of the direction of the wind for 1800 days, shows, that on the average, winds from w.n.w. and s.w. blow 107 days in the year. Winds from e., n.e., and s.E. blow 11 G days. The northerly winds average \^ days, the extremes being 18 and 12. The southerly winds average 24 days, the extremes being 33 and 14. The easterly winds average 36 days, the extremes being 42 and 29. The westerly winds average 49 days, the extremes being GO and 36. The variable winds average only 6 days, the extremes being 9 and 4. During the season the prevalent winds are — Winter, s.w. and n.w. ; Spring, N.E. and n. ; Summer, s.w., s.E. and e. ; Autunm, s e. and N.w. Between New Year's Day and Midsunnncr, there are, on an average, 42 days of wind from the easterly direction. If much come in January there will be less in April and May, and vice versa. During the hot days, a sea breeze from s.E. or e. is usual. ELECTRICAL rilENOMENA. 25 Electrical Phenomena. — Tliundcr has been heard during every month of the year, but not in any one year. It is most seklom in January, February, Novem- ber, and December, and most severe in July and August, especially about July 7 th, All the great storms come on at the s. or s.w., while a s.e. wind blows below preceding, and at the rise of the storms. The summer storms do not usually occur at the highest temperature, and are less violent than are experienced in other counties. They are also very seldom attended with hail storms. These facts are sufficient to enable any person to judge of the atmospherical condition of Suffolk. The conclusion is very favorable to the salubrity of the locality, and is doubtless the cause of the sea ports on our coast being so attractive in the autumn season. The greatest difference in the mean annual temperature is shown to be 4-32". At Dover, between 1826 and 1829 inclusive, the difference of temperature showed a range of 5 "01°. The mean temperature of the months of August, September, and October, tempered as they are along the coast by the sea breeze, indicates a great degree of equability. As this is a point of considerable importance to those in delicate health, who may want to judge of the fitness of the county as a residence in summer and autumn for invalids, we state that the difference between summer and autumn is 10 "8 7°, in Suffolk, while at Clifton we find it 12-38°, and at Newport 10"54''. On the average we have 69 fine days in summer, and 64 in autumn. A few notes on the Climate as indicated by the Flowering of Plants, the Leafing of Trees, and the Habits of Birds, in this county, may not be uninteresting in connection with the previous remarks. 26 SUFFOLK IN THE XIXETEENTII CENTURY. BIRDS. Cuckoo . . . Nightingale . Swallow . . . House Martiu Redstart . . Wryneck . . Soariug of Lark USCAI, TIME OF ARRIVAL. April 16 ., 25 „ 16 „ 20 „ 20 „ 10 March 22 EARLIEST DATK OF ARRIVAL KNOWN. LATEST D.\TE OFjlRRlVAL KNOWN. April 9, 1830& 1846 April 7, 1854 Not observed They seldom vary more J than a week yearly i Seldom varies March 26, 1830 Feb. 1, 1846 April 20, 1837 &1838 Remained until July 6 in 1829, and July 5, 1853. In 1854 was heard at Somer- leytou on the 13th of April. Remained until Sept. 28, 1829, and to Nov. 9, 1850. Usually quiet on Sept. 23. Becomes silent after June 24. Continues soaring: till Oct. Commenced in 1831, Feb. 10, and in 1854, Feb. 28. PLANTS, ETC. EARLIEST DATE LATEST DATE OF REMARKS. OP FLOWERING. FLOWERING. Primrose . . Jan. 11, 1846 May 1, 1837 Very few only found on April 26, 1837 Cowslip . . . March 13,1816 May 17, 1837 They were " full out " at the dates given. Violet .... Feb. 1822 and Not observed Sweet Violets till April 16; Dog 1846 Violets in May. Wheat ear . May 24, 1822 June 19, 1837 Usual time, June 12. Hawthorn . . AprU 29, 1840 June 5, 1837 Opens near Ipswich usually about May 15 ; but in the woodlands the usual time is May 13. Dog Rose . . May 23, 1848 June 23, 1837 Usual time, June 10. The Daisy opens in February; Lesser Celandine in March; Water Crowfoot in April ; Meadow Crowfoot in Jlay ; Speedwell about May 7. TREES— LEAFING AND DENUDATION. e Leafing of the Oak „ Ash liCsser Maple . . . Horse Chestnut . Willow Turin Poplar. . . Wych Elm ... . Ijirge Maple or Sycamore . . . r.ARLIEST DATE. April 26, 1844 „ 27.1844 ,. 7, 1846 March 26,1846 „ 28, 1846 April 1, 1841 „ 27,1844 March 30, 1846 LATEST DATE. June 1, 1837 „ 3, 1837 and 1847 May 21, 1837 May 2, 1837 May 21, 1837 „ 18. 1853. & May 25,1 837 June 5, 1837 May 4, 1837 USCAL TIME. May 22 „ 24 ,. 10 April 17 „ 24 May 4 „ 25 April 17 FALL OF LEAF. Nov. 30 Oct. 23 31 >» 1 »> 11 tt 27 Nov. 26 Oct. 7 REMAIiKS. iShcdthcir leaves suddenly. For the chief portion of the facts pivcn al)ove, and in the prccodiug article on Clirnafo, wo arc indcl)tcd to tlic Sulfolk Meteorologist, Orlando Wliistlecraft, wliosc industry and care, exercised for many years, have stored nj) valuable inffjrmation, for whioli lie has not received, cithcT fioni medical or ajjricultuial gcntlerarn, the reward that i,s due to his meritorious labours. CHArTER II. CIVIL AND POLITICAL GOVERNMENT. SuFi'OLK is included in the Norfolk Circuit. The Assizes are held, in the spring, at Bury St. Edmund's ; and, in the summer, at Ipswich. There are four Sessional Divisions in the county, named after their chief towns, Beccles, Woodbridge, Ipswich, and Bury ; and Quarter Sessions are held at each of these })laces for its respective division. The Beccles Division contains the hundreds of Blything, Mutford and Lothingland, and Wangford, including 10,223 in- habited houses, and 50,269 persons. The Bury Divi- sion contains the hundreds of Babergh, Blackbourn, Cosford, Lackford, Risbridge, Thedwestry, and Thingoe, including 21,165 inhabited houses, and 103,949 per- sons. The Ipsioich Division contains the borough of Ipswich, and the hundreds of Bosmere and Claydon, llartismere, Iloxne, Samford, and Stow, including 20,985 inhabited houses, and 94,148 persons. And the Woodbridge Division contains the hundreds of Colneis and Carlford, Loes, Plomesgate, Thredling, and Wilford, and embraces 10,113 inhabited houses, and 48,467 persons, each having High Constables and Petty Sessions ; but three of its boroughs, Ipswich, Bury St. Edmund's, and Sudbury, are district jurisdic- tions, and have separate Commissions of the Peace and Courts of Quarter Sessions. There are County Gaols at Bury St. Edmund's and Ipswich. A county 28 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. House of Correction at Beccles, and Borough Prisons at Ipswich and Sudbury, The county is divided into 21 Hundreds, besides the Liberty of the Borough of Ips\A'ich ; but Colneis and Carlford Hundreds are generally spoken of as one. The county is also subdivided into the geldable portion, in which the issues and forfeitures are paid to the Queen, and the Franchises or Liberties of St. Etheldred, St. Edmund, and Duke of Norfolk, in which the Lords have the issues and forfeitures. The Liberty of St Etheldred comprehends the hundreds of Carlford, Colneis, Loes, Plomesgate, Thredling, and Wilford, that of St. Edmund's includes the hundreds of Babergh, Blackbourn, Cosford, Lackford, the half-hun- dreds of Exming, Risbridge, Thedwestry, and Thingoe. The Liberty of the Duke of Norfolk embraces the scat- tered manors and parishes of Bungay, Kelsale, Carlton, Peasenhall, the three Stonhams, Dennington, Brundish, the four Ilketshalls, and Cratfield. The geldable por- tion includes the hundreds of Bosmere and Claydon, Blything, Hartismere, Hoxne, the two half hundreds of Lothingland and Mutford, Samford, Stow, and Wang- ford. The Liberty of St. Edmund's formerly returned a grand jury at the Assizes, distinct from that returned for the rest of the county. That privilege was abolished in 1839 on the removal of the Assizes once a year to Ipswich. Prior to the passing of the Reform Bill, Suffolk returned 16 Members to Parliament; but Orford, Aldborough, and Dunwich, were disfranchised by that Act, and Eye reduced to one member. Sudbury lias since been deprived of its privilege on the ground of corruption. The county is divided for electoral purposes, and now returns nine members ; two members for the Eastern and two for tlie Western Division, two each for the Boroughs of Ipswich aud Bury, and one for J'^ye. Exclusive of tlie represented CIVIL AND POLITICAL GOVERNMENT. 29 boronglis there are 148,480 persons, and 30,677 inhabited houses in the Eastern Division, and 130,391 persons, and 20,620 inhabited houses in the Western Division. In Bury St. Edmund's they have one member to every 6,900 persons, and 1,376 inhabited houses ; but in the J^astern Division of the county, there is one member only to every 74,240 persons, and 15,338 inhabited houses. The PolUng Places for the Eastern Division of the county are Ipswich, Needham, Wood- bridge, Framlingham, Saxmundham, Halesworth, Beccles, and Lowestoft. Eor the Western Division, the places of polling are Bury, Lavenham, Stowmarket, Wickham- brook, Botesdale, Mildenhall, and Hadleigh, The Civil Government of the county is in the High Sheriff, who is annually appointed by the Crown, and he presides at Assizes and important county meetings. The Military and Marine Government of the county is entrusted to the care of the Lord Lieutenant, who is also Vice-Admiral and Custos Rotuloruni. As Lord Lieutenant, he is Viceroy of the Crown, has the power of appointing all officers in the Militia and the Deputy Lieutenants ; as Custos Rotulorum, he puts such gentle- men as are properly qualified into the Commission of the Peace, and has the custody of the Rolls or Records of the Peace. There are some things in the Civil Government peculiar to this county which we must here mention. There are four divisions in the county, and from time out of mind each division has been considered a county by itself. This arrangement originated thus : Two of the divisions, the Liberties of St. Edmund and St. Etheldred, were formerly ecclesiastical franchises, the former belonging to the Abbot of Bury, and the latter to the Prior and convent of Ely ; the other two were guildable franchises under the Crown. For certain general purposes relating to the king, the whole county was considered as one, but for all other purposes, the 30 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTUEY. Liberty of St. Edmund's Bury had a complete jurisdiction of its own, and the same was the case with the Liberty of St. Etheldred and the Ipswich and Beccles Divisions, This mode of administration continued up to the Refor- mation ; and when monastic rights were confiscated to the Crown, the only change that took place in these customs was the transfer of the ecclesiastical franchises to a new set of proprietors. Old records show that the mode of assessing the county rate, as apportioned among the separate divisions, has been in existence from time immemorial ; and Charles Austin, Esq., has upon this observed, that this prescriptive right, extending through- out so long a period, gave a title, better than any landlord in the county had to his estates. Li Essex and many other counties, the entire expenditure of the county is paid out of an entire rate ; in Suffolk it is arranged very differently — each division has its own treasurer. Beccles levies its own rate, repairs its own bridges, and pays the whole of its own charges ; and Bmy, Ipswich, and Woodbridge Divisions do the same ; but the common expenses which affect the whole county, such as registration of voters, the salary of the Clerk of the Peace, and the maintenance of the Lunatic Asylum, are borne by each division, according to its assessment. The average expenditure for each division during the years 1848, 1849, and 1S50, was as follows : BVRY. IPSWICH. -WOODBiaDOE. BECCLES. £10,994 £6,409 £3,4G4 £5,217 Beccles has a House of Correction, and a debt of more than £3,000, to which Ij)swich, AVoodbridge, and Bury do not contribute, as, in Divisional matters, each is a county by itself : and, by the same rule, tlie expenses of the Connty Hall, I|)s\vich, were borne by the Ipswich, Woodbridge, and Beccles Divisions, Bury not contriljutiiig, as it liad n County Hall of its own. CIVIL AND POLITIC AL GOVERNMENT. 31 In the Eastern Division, the salaries, tradesmen's bills, clothing, bedding, and miscellaneous expenses, are paid by the several divisions of Ipswich, Woodbridge, and Beccles, in the following proportions ; viz., 45 per cent. by Ipswich, 25 by Woodbridge, and 30 by Beccles. The dietary charges of each prisoner are defrayed exclusively by the division to which he belongs. There are six Municipal Boroughs in Suftblk, regu- lated by the Municipal Corporation Act ; viz., Beccles, Eye, Bury St. Edmund's, Ipswich, Southwold, and Sudbury. Three only are Parliamentary Boroughs. The Municipal Boroughs of Eye, Beccles, and South- wold are co-extensive with the respective parishes ; but the Municipal Borough of Sudbury consists of the parishes of St. Peter, St. Gregory, All Saints, and Ballingdon-cum-Brundon, with St. Bartholomew extra parochial. The Municipal limits of the Boroughs of Ipswich and Bury St. Edmund's are identical with those of their respective Parliamentary Boroughs; but the Municipal limits of the Borough of Eye differ considerably from its Parliamentary limits. The Muni- cipal Borough contained, in 1851, 480 inhabited houses, and a population of 2,587 persons, whilst the Parliamentary Borough contained 1,374 inhabited houses, and a population of 7,531. There are three Municipal Bodies Corporate within the county, which are not governed by the Municipal Corporation Act ; viz., Aldborough, which possesses a corporation, without municipal functions — two Bailiffs are annually elected, who are Coroners and Justices of the Peace ex-officio ; Dunwich, which is still a borough, with certain func- tions ; and Orford, which possesses a corporation with exclusive criminal jurisdiction within the borough. The towns of Bungay, Ilalesworth, Iladleigh, Lowestoft, Stowmarket, and Woodbridge, are towns containing 2,000 inhabitants and upwards (Lowestoft contains nearly 7,000), but are not included w^ithin the limits of 32 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. any Parliamentary Borough, nor under the regulations of the Municipal Corporation Act. For the recovery of debts and damages to the amount of £50, Suffolk is divided into the followhig County Court Districts, viz., Beccles, Bury St. Edmund's, Eye, Eramlingham, Halesworth, Ipswich, Lowestoft, Milden- hall, Stowmarket, Woodbridge, Harleston, and Thetford. These 12 districts form circuit 33, and embrace three- fourths of Suffolk. The Judge is F. K. Eagle, Esq., of Bury St, Edmund's. Hadleigh and Sudbury are in circuit 39 ; Judge, William Gurdon, Esq. Haverhill is in circuit 35 ; and about seven parishes in Suffolk form part of Great Yarmouth district, and are in circuit 32. The Constabulary Force for the Eastern Divisioii consist of a Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable, 2 Superintendents, 4 Inspectors, 8 Sub-inspectors, and 72 Constables, located in 52 districts. It was estab- lished in 1840, and its head-quarters is Saxmundham. The West Suffolk Constabulary, established in 1845, is less numerous, and has no Deputy Chief Constable. It consists of a Chief Constable, 4 Superintendents, 1 Insi)ector and Clerk, 8 Serjeants, and GO Constables, divided into 4 classes. Its head-quarters is Bury St. Edmund's. The advantages arising from the appoint- ment of the Rural Police have in a great measure caused the clamor with which it was originally assailed to die away. The organized body has been successful in repressing depredations and mendicancy. In the half- year ending Michaelmas, 1848, no less than 5,504 vagrants were relieved in this county. In the following year the aid of the j)olice was obtained, and all suspected cases of simidated destitution referred to the Inspector of the district, and the result was a decrease of 04 per cent, of the number relieved in the corresponding half-year of 1849. As soon as the order bccamr known, \\\v great majority of flic CIVIL AND POLITICAL GOVKIIXMEXT. 33 mendicants inquired their way to the nearest lodging-- hoiise, not desiring to give the Inspector the ti'ouble of inquiring mto his case, or of ascertaining the con- tents of his pockets. They have also been useful in ])ointing out nuisances, and in keeping a vigilant eye on t lie haunts of profligacy and crime. The organised rural police contrast very favorably with the constabulary employed in some of our boroughs, where it is notorious that the force is of very little use in the suppression of nuisances and crime. In Ipswich and 15ury St. Ednuuid's, an efficient police force has been organised ; but in the borough of Sudbury and I)allingdon, with a population, in 1851, of G,043 persons, and a criminal tendency above the average of Suffolk towns, only one was employed. In the Eastern Division of Suffolk there is one rural policeman to every 1,9G5 persons ; but in the town of Sudbury one policeman to G,043 persons. This solitary Sudbury policeman, with a salary of 18s. a week, received notice of dismissal in 1854, it being intended that the Gaoler, who received £30 a year salary, should be paid £55 upon under- taking the additional duties of Police Officer. But, as the said Gaoler also held the offices of Town Sur- veyor, as well as Collector of Poor Rate, Paving and Lighthig Rate, and Borough Rate, it may be readily judged in what degree he is capable of becoming an efficient policeman. The cry of " Economy " is raised as a cover for such imperfect services ; but the fact appears to be that the proprietors and occupiers of public houses in Sudbury are an injlucntial class. Many of them amassed considerable fortunes from the corrupt practices at elections, and a well-regulated police force would be especially distasteful to them. Such a bill as Lord Palmerston introduced in 1854 is essential to the good organisation of a Constabulary Force in such towns as Sudbury, for even the common Lodging House Act, although much needed, had not, 3 34 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. up to 1854, been put into force by the Municipal authorities. The Eastern and Western Divisions of the county have different boundaries for ParHamentary and for Militia purposes ; and the Ecclesiastical Divisions differ entirely from the Civil, Political, and Military Divisions of the county, about two-thirds of the population being in the Diocese of Norwich, and the rest in the Diocese of Ely. CHAPTER III. POPULATION, AGES, CIVIL CONDITION, BIRTH PLACES, AND OCCUPATIONS OF THE PEOPLE. During the present century a census, or an official numbering of the people, has been made every tentli year. The last, in March, 1851, was the most important and complete we have ever had. All the inhabitants, visitors, and travellers in Suffolk, were numbered, from the lonely trio in the parish of Eastern Bavants, or the eight inhabitants of Havergate Island, to the 32,914 in the town of Ipswich. In March, 1851, the population of our county, variously occupied and distributed over the surface, amounted to 337,215. It is difficult to form a just conception of this number, as few persons have had the opportunity of surveying such a large mass of human beings. If vpe imagine 1000 persons walking four abreast to form a line of 250 yards, a line formed by the whole population of the county Avould extend from the Cornhill, Ipswich, to the Castle Hill, at Norwich. But if we group the numbers, and allow a square yard to each individual for standing ground, the space they would occupy appears very small, an area of about 29 statute acres only being required to accommodate the population ; and thus hundreds of our farmers have fields, or meadows, that would contain, without crowding, the whole population of SuflPolk. 3G SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTUKY, The number of tlie male population was 1G6,308, and of the female 170,907, the women and girls thus exceeding the men and boys by 4,599 ; but as a number of the men were at sea, the real disparity was some- thing less than this number, and was probably about equal to the whole population of the town of Beccles. The excess of females was greatest in Bury St. Edmund's, Ipswich, and the Mutford district. Bury is a fine spot for a would-be " Benedict," as there are 125 females to 100 males. On the contrary, in the Risbridge, Cosford, Hoxne, Thingoe, Mildenhall, Bos- mere, Sainforcl, and Plomesgate districts, the males exceeded the females in number, the proportion being greatest in the Samford district, 105 males to 100 females. The annexed tables exhibit the population of Suffolk at each census from 1801 to 1851 inclusive. INHABITANTS. INCnEASE OF INCREASE YKAUS. PEItSOXS. MALES. FKMAI.F.S. YKAUS. POPULATION PEtt CENT. ISOl 214.404 103,043 111,301 1811 2.33,903 111,834 122,079 1801 to 1811 19,5.59 9 1821 271,541 133,409 138,132 1811 „ 1821 37,578 10 1831 296,317 145,709 1.50,548 1821 „ 1831 24,770 9 1841 31,5,073 154,095 100,978 1831 „ 1841 18,542 6 1851 337,215 100,308 170,907 1841 „ 1851 21,855 7 IIGTJSES. YEARS. INUAIIITED. VNINIIADITED. UVILIIINO. 1801 32,253 5S2 1.55 1811 37,227 624 270 1821 42,773 650 No Kelurii. 1831 50,139 1,141 259 1841 64,041 2,352 574 1851 C9,282 3,107 449 We sec here that a great difference in the pro])orti()n of the sexes has taken })hice during the present century, roruLATiox. 37 tlic excess of females at each decennial period being respectively, 8,318, 10,195, 4,723, 4,779, 6,883, 4,599. In 1811 there was an excess of females in every Hundred of the county, bnt in 1821 the proportionate excess was not merely greatly reduced in each district, but in three instances the males preponderated in numbers, and in 1851 the excess of females was less than at any of the previous decennial periods. In 1811 there were 109 females to 100 males; in 1851, not quite 103 females to 100 males. Comparing the numbers in 1801 and 1851, we find, that after the lapse of 50 years, the county is numerically stronger in the ])roportion of three to two, by far the largest increase occurring between 1811 and 1821. According to the English life table, half a generation of men of all ages passes away in 30 years, and more than three out of four of their nnmber die in half a century; from this we infer that out of the 337,215 now in the county, not more than 50,000 were in Suffolk at the commence- ment of this century. Passing from individuals, we come to families, the social units that comprise hamlets, villages, and towns. In 1801, the number of families was 43,481 ; and in 1851, the number of separate occupiers or families Avas 71,451. Comparing this return with the one at the commencement of the century, the result is that, since that period, upwards of 27,970 families or sepa- rate occupiers have been established in the county. At the commencement of this century the number of houses was 32,805, and 155 were building ; in 1851 they numbered 72,389, and 449 were building, setting aside those untenanted. The inhabited houses more than doubled their number in the half-century. The in- crease of the population was 47 per cent ; the increase of inhabited houses was 120 per cent, in the same period. At the commencement of the century there were 66 persons to every 10 houses. In 1851 the house 38 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. accommodation had so far increased that the occupied houses were inhabited in the proportion of 48 persons only to every 10 inhabited dwelUngs. Subjoined is a table, showing, for every district in the county, the popu- lation and the number of houses in 1841 and 1851, inhabited, uninhabited, and building. DISTRICTS. Risbridge , . . Sudbury , . . . Cosford .... Thingoe .... Bury St. Edmund's Mildenhall . . . Stow Hartismere , . Hoxne .... Bosraere .... Sainford . . . Ipswich Wooilbridge Pl()mes<5ate . . Blytliing .... Wansjford . . Mutford . . . . POPULA- TION. 1841. 17,440 30,019 18,238 18,035 12,538 9,184 19,678 18,530 15,796 16,521 11,813 25,264 23,001 21,051 27,321 13,860 16,392 HOUSES. 1841. INHABI- TED. 3,507 6,228 3,788 3,591 2,519 1,821 3,929 3,607 3,141 3,350 2,363 5,219 4,803 4,404 .5,587 2,805 3,448 UNIN- HABI- TED. BUILD ING. 86 259 141 100 176 60 121 111 92 87 58 327 142 153 195 106 152 37 32 17 25 19 21 29 19 12 7 8 241 26 25 29 9 18 1851. INHABI- TED. 3,724 6,553 3,790 3,827 2,752 2,093 4,320 3,670 3,231 3,581 2,560 6,949 5,044 4,377 5,870 2,922 4,061 UNIN- HABI- TED. 139 299 197 97 259 50 160 105 104 118 59 529 243 150 304 145 348 BUILD- ING. 6 10 31 16 37 4 12 11 4 10 5 166 23 9 12 3 76 POPULA- TION. 1851. 18,125 30,814 18,107 19,014 13,900 10,354 21,110 19,028 15,900 17,219 12,493 32,759 23,776 21,477 27,883 14,014 20,163 III Cosford district the population decreased 231 in 10 years. lu Plomesgate the inhabited houses decreased 27 in 10 years. The above table shows that between 1841 and 1851, the increase per cent, of inhabited houses was greater than the increase of population. Tliis is in many respects a good test of the degree of improvement in the county. In 13 of the 17 districts there has been an increase per cent, of the number of inhabited houses as com])are(l with the increase per cent on the jiopula- tion. Jn the Cosford district, there was a decrease in the number of ])ersons, but a slight increase in the number of inhabited houses ; and, on the contrary, in the Ihn-y, Hartismere, and IMutford districts tliere was a trifling, and in the Plomesgate district a considerable, rOPULATIOX. 39 decrease of inhabited houses compared with the increase of population. As a general rule, if the number of inhabited houses does not keep pace with the increase of popula- tion, it may be fairly inferred that the district in which such fact is discovered is deteriorating. Such an in- stance will be found in the Plomesgate district where there was an increase of 420 persons, and a decrease of 27 in the number of inhabited houses. The number of houses building affords also a good criterion of the progress of the county, and districts of the county, in wealth and industry. The number at five periods of the census hasbecn/l801, 155 ; 1811, 270 ; 1831, 259 ; 1841,574; 1851, 449. These facts, combined with the table previously given, seem to prove that the county was in the most prosperous condition in 1841, as it will be seen that, at the period the census was taken, there were 125 more houses building in 1841 than in 1851. The decrease in 1851 is more striking when examined in each district, as Cosford, Bury St. Edmund's, and Mutford were the only districts in which there was an increase in the number building. The decrease in the prosperity of the county is further borne out by examining the returns of uninhabited houses. The number was greater in 1851 than in 1841 by 755. This increase was spread over the county, although many of these tenements are doubtless in so dilapidated condition as to render them unfit for occupation ; and the greater conveniences of many of the modern houses induce numbers of the people to desert the old tenements in which their forefathers long resided: still this is not sufficient to account for the large increase just mentioned. We have numerous instances of overcrowding both in towns and villages, yet the rule is pretty general for each family to have a separate tenement secure from vulgar curiosity or mischievous intermeddling. This is a social condition as favorable to personal comfort 40 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. as it is to dignity of character, giving onr countrymen a proud feeling of independence indicated in the every- day expression that an " EngUshnian's house is his castle." Most of the towns in Suffolk average about five persons to a house ; and, in the whole county, the proportion, as we have just stated, is somewhat less. There is no district and only three sub-districts in which the number of families returned exceeds the houses by 10 per cent. These are, respectively, Eye, Earl Soham, and St. Matthew's, Ipswich. In the Earl Soham sub-district there are 575 families, or occupiers, to 384 houses, and more than seven persons to each house. In St. Matthew's sub-district there arc 3,118 families to 2,835 houses, and in the Eye sub-district there are 1,393 families to 1,232 houses. After the number of families and houses, we nuist consider their distribution over the surface of the county. The habitations of the people are found either isolated or arranged in immediate contiguity. Amongst the isolated dwellings we have huts, cottages, farm- houses, villas, halls, baronial castles, and public institu- tions, endlessly diversified in their appearance and sites. Sufiblk cannot boast of a " Chatsvvorth " or a " Castle Howard," but it has a " Shrubland," with its flag unfurled to announce that its owner is " at home." The country seats of the " Merchant Princes " are few and far between ; but the mansions of the " Landed Gentry," surrounded by splendid parks, are numerous ; and the homesteads of the wealthy yeomen, with beautiful lawns, fine avenues of trees, and occasionally a colony of rooks, are still more so. The associated liabitations constitute hamlets, villages, and towns. The number of ])laces for which there are se})arate returns is 537. There arc 16 towns of various mag- nihidcs and social activity. They are all borouglis or market towns. Some of tliem are sea jjorts, and the seats of dilhiciil liadiii:^ ))iirsnils. 'Hie Kegistrar POPULATION. 41 General has selected these towns for coni[)arison with the rural districts, viz., Chire, Sudbury, lladleigh, l^ury St. Echnund's, Mildcnhall, Stowniarket, Eye, Ipswich, AVoodbridge, EramUnghani, Saxniundham, Ilalcsworth, Southwold, Bungay, Beccles, and Lowestoft. Their united population is 96,334, and they occupy an area of 30,917 statute acres. Thus, even in this agri- cultural district, nearly 28 per cent, of the population are concentrated in towns, and the difference in point of number between the town and country population is thus shown to be much less than is generally sup- })osed. In Norfolk the town population is 35 per cent., and in Essex it is only 21. The county town, Ipswich, exhibits the representation of a Village in its chm'ches and chapels ; of the Town, in its markets ; of the County Town, in its prisons and courts of justice ; of the Sea Port, in its tidal river and dock ; of the Sites of Artizanship, in its varied manu- factures ; and its philanthropic character is reflected by its public buildings and charitable associations. It extends over an area of 8,395 acres, and contained within its limits, on the day the last census was taken, a population of 32,914. This shows an increase since 18U1 of 21,578 persons, or nearly three to one; and the population is still progressing. The increase of the ])opulation during the half-century, in 10 towns, ex- clusive of Ipswich, may be thus exhibited : — • 1801, 1851. Lowestoft, Eye, Beccles, Bungay, "Woodbridgc, \ Hadlcigb, Sudbury, Stowmarkct, Bury St. [ 28,407 51,9G3 Edmund's, and Southwold ) Individually, some of these towns would show a nuich larger proportionate increase ; and many of the villages have nearly doubled their population, and from certain local advantages have risen to a degree of importance not dreamed of at the beginning of the century ; while, on the contrary, the population of a large number of 42 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. parishes have decreased during the last 20 years, and some contain a less number of persons than at the commencement of the century. Comparing the census of 1S31 with that of 1851, we find a decrease in 144 parishes in 16 out of the 17 districts — Sudbury 3 parishes, Risbridge 4, Cosford 14, Thingoe 9, Stow 8, Hoxne 11, Hartismere 9, Samford G, Bosmere 11, Woodbridge 17, Plomesgate 17, Ely thing 17, Wang- ford 11, Mutford 3. The towns and villages of Suffolk are included in Hundreds — minor divisions of the soil corresponding to the " Wapentakes " of Yorkshire, the " Wards " of Cumberland, and the " Rapes " of Sussex. They vary greatly in extent, from an area of 9,943 acres in Thredling, to 87,941 acres in Blything. Adopting the Registrar's divisions of Unions, and referring to the Census Report of 1851, we find the following account of the number of persons to a square mile in the various districts of this county : — Mutford 364, Bury St. Edmund's 303, Wangford 266, Sudbury 252, Ipswich 250, Stow 244, Hartismere 225, Cosford 220, Risbridge 215, Blything 194, Hoxne 192, Bosmere 190, Woodbridge 185, Plomesgate 183, Samford 159, Thingoe 148, and Mildcnhall 108. The ])opulation is freely distributed over the surface of the county, and at present there are 28 acres to every 10 persons, and 137 acres to every 10 houses. In none of our towns cither is the po])ulation so dense as in some of those in the neighbouring counties. Bury St. Ednunid's had 303, Sudbury 252, and Ipswich 250 persons to a square mile, but the proportion was, in Colchester 1,111, Lynn 2,389, Cambridge 5,130, Norwich 10,091, and in Yarmouth 11,393 persons on the same area. AGES OF THE INHABITANTS. An cmmioration of the people without regard to age is necessarily incomplete. Infancy, manhood, old age arc AGES. 43 ])liases of man's life so different that the importance of a distinction of age in a popnlation becomes self-evident. Among uncivilised tribes the enumerations are generally confined to the " fighting men," and the ]\Iosaic census numbered " all that were able to go forth to war." Suffolk in 1.S51 contained 41,150 infants (under 5 years); 40,803 children (5 to 10 years); 18., 8 24 boys (10 to 15 years) ; 18,279 gu'ls (10 to 15 years) ; 10,550 youths (15 to 20 years); 16,109 maidens (15 to 20 years) ; 25,000 young men (20 to 30 years) ; 28,033 young women (20 to 30 years) ; 35,570 men of middle age (30 to 50 years) ; 30,982 women of middle age (30 to 50 years) ; 25,470 men, and 28,106 women 50 years of age and above. Of these, 2,144 males, and 3,842 females, had passed the barrier of " threescore years and ten." More than 1,000 of our inhabitants had passed the Psalmist's limits " of four-score years " ; 38 aged pilgrims had been wandering ninetij-jivc years, or more, on the unended journey ; and four (three females and one male) said that they had wit- nessed 100 revolutions of the seasons. A centenarian female was found in each of the Unions of Risbridge, Woodbridgc, and Plomesgate ; and the male centenarian resided in the district of Thingoe. The Males in Suffolk of 20 years of age and upwards (87,250), exceed the males under 20 years (78,451) by 8,799. Between 20 and 40 years of age there were 44,743 ; between 40 and 60 years, 27,923 ; between 60 and 80 years, 13,204 ; and of 80 years of age and upwards there were numbered 1,772. Of every 100,000 Males in Suffolk, 47,345 were under 20 years of age ; 27,002 were of the age of 20 and under 40 ; 16,882 were of the age of 40 and under 60 ; 7,970 were 60 and under 80 ; and 801 of the age of 80 and upwards. The Females in Suffolk, 20 years of age and upwards. 44 SUFFOLK IJs" THE NINETEENTH CENTUKY. iiiiiubered 93,121, exceeding the females under W years (77,314) by 15,807. Between 20 and 40 years of age there were 49,040 ; between 40 and 60 years, 28,188 ; between 60 and 80 years, 14,121 ; and of 80 years of age and upwards there were 1,772. Of every 100,000 Females, 45,363 were under 20 years of age ; 28,773 w^ere of the age of 20 and under 40; 18,539 of the age of 40 and under 60; 8,285 were 00 and under 80 ; and 1,040 were 80 years of age and upwards. In the tables that are given on pages 45 and 46, the number of each sex of a particular age in the whole county, and in each district of the county, are exhibited at one view. The preponderance of males at the earlier, and of females at the laler, periods of life here shown, are both in accordance with a well-known law in relation to the ages of the sexes. But the proportional number of females to 100 males, may be more clearly seen in this manner. To every 100 males under 20 years of age there were 98-55 females; at age 20 and under 40, there were 109-60; at age 40 and under 00,100-77; at age 60 and under 80, 106-93 ; at age 80 and upwards, 13343. CIVIL CONDITION. Another interesting inquiry made at the Census of 1851, illustrates the civil or conjugal condition of the people, and display some curious results. In Suflblk there were, of the age of 20 and upwards, 87,250 ]\Iales, of whom 22,532 were bachelors, 57,395 husbands, and 7,323 widowers; and 93,121 Females, of whom 23,518 were spinsters, 57,876 were wives, and 11,727 widows ; or, in proportions : J\lales — 25-8 ])er cent, bachelors, 65*8 husbands, and 8-4 widowers : Females — 25-3 spinsters, 62 1 wives, and 12 widows. 5" <=^ ■s! b3 s 1^ "l — fB Oq 3. S. w o to B m o M s (B a J? S a W s •3 CO W g B S W t3 Oq O rti o c 5> g- §; ■^ •'I (W CD 05 CI o JO CO o -J CO •-) to >-• CO CO CO CO --1 CO 00 o 03 to CO -~i NO CO CO CO H- o o o en CO 00 c > J» en 00 CO o O CO 05 en CO CO CO CO o< CO en 00 05 en >o CO •J\ CO >t>. 00 o CO en CO CO CO io CO o )0 CO 05 o =■2 00 To en JO o O o 00 en N3 O 05 »o CO j» o CO 05 CO CO !-• 1-. 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CO *.. >t- CO CO -^ Oi CO en oo 00 o Oi Ci »— ' CO CO CO Oi )— ' o CO IO CO oo OS o CO ^1 oo Oi oo Ci CO CO oo en IO en CO CO 4^ CO CO Ci ^I CO en Ci CO CO IO >-^ CO CO oo lO CO IO en CO IO CO 00 en o en en CO >tx 00 CO CO 00 OS en lo Ci CO en CO CO OS to en en CO en IO CO CO CO IO JO o 00 CO ^s CO en 00 CO en oo ^1 00 en to t;^ en 00 ^ !«>■ i;^ IO OS en en Oi CO *- CO >^ J^ IO IO tJ^ tb. ^ CO O t— ' CO o t— » IO CO o o ^l ►— ' CO *• CO ^l Ci IO ^l CO Ci ■^i CO CO CO o CO Ci ^ en cc l*^ en CO CO 4i ^l Oi CO 00 »— » en IO Cn 00 C7S CO ^1 O -I en to eji C3i IO IO CO CO CO 1*.. •^ CO Ci 4^ to to to en to ^i CO CO to Ci IO IO CO CO CO JDi ~co to to i4^ CO 1^ >b. to to to to CO I-" to CO to CI to eji CO oo M ^l OS to to CO ^ en CO OT ■ OS >— 1 o CO I— » oo i 00 en o> Oi CO o OS OS h- ' >^ to ^i o H-» 00 IO OS CO jai CO to t;^ CO lt>. »;^ t-j to to to CO ^^ »-* to IO >;^ to Ci o 00 o rf^ en IO IO ►— • CO CO CO Oi I—" CO CO ^l Ci ^ Oi t— ' 4^ CO iC' CO en ^I t(^ to CO en H^ •4^ o -^ CO CO 1— ' H- » CO IO to to t— • h-i IO H-* to h— 1 1— < to CO to Oi en >(^ >«^ IO CO CO CO ^l o CO o 00 t— • CO o o o 1 Oi IO CO 00 CO OS rf^ 00 o to ►— * ^j CO o IO Ci CO l-" to CO Oi to to !-■ O 00 oo to I-" o o o >— o to to 00 CO o CO t— ' Oi CO I— to ex> i(^ O ~4 to 00 I— ' Oi o CO o IO en OS 00 CO Ol to H- en to 1^ en OS to o o CO c:i CO IO to Oi to CO CO CO CO en to CO IO CO CO I*' 00 en o ~1 to CO ►— • CO to IO 1-" to OS |4^ CO en to Oi to t— » I— * *-J to Oi Ci IO o _e.'i_ CO 100 AND I TWARUS, •saav^j.i • . . . . . axv 001 1—* • • • '^ — - CO « 1 • f-H I-H -^ I-H • I-H • CM CO I-H ■ . CO . . ^ o> ' * • ' • • ■ • • r-H <=> 1 •* OD 00 l^ •* t~\ CO r^ in to CM eo CM O 00 ,—1 OS r- § 1 i—t r-( I-H I-H f-H r-4 co r—i 1 Tf »— * o CO r-H >o CO T^ o o CO OS o o CO m o O) oo CO ■^ M CM 0^ OJ Ol eo CM I-H CM eo ■q< eo Oi eo 1 o 1.-5 CO rH CO CO 05 "* o t- o ■* TJi to 00 , O Ci o o «o m OJ l:^ to to m CO t^ o CO o t^ t^ in r-H I-H 1— r-H lO C5 CS I^ uo 05 o o O! CO I^ CO o CO O I-H o «>• ■«< n CM Oi I-H to in to o o CM r^ »>. I-H '"' r—* I-H r-H I-H CM f— « I-H c-T OS »o CO 00 l^ 00 O CO to CM I^ ■* in OS o ■*:»< r^ r^ cJ 00 «D to OJ I-- Jr^ o to to o to CM CM 00 Oi "* ■S" r^ ■""* ■ ' r-^ I-H CM I-H I-H r-H CM Ol CM CM 1— t 1-^ o co" I^ o I-H o CO Cf r^ to CO o CO r- I-H OJ 00 o I-H to 3 I-H ot 1^ I-H O o 00 1^ ^ T—* o CO eo ?^ o 00 (M r-t I-H CM CM I-H I-H « CO CM oo 1— 1 CM eo" U5 CO 00 ,-H to I-H ■* ,_, I-H to •*< oo l^ o m r-^ t--. 00 § o CO -* O OO CO 00 CJS eo 00 'n oo Oi r— t I-H (N »< LO CO -a< 00 oo 00 ■* 00 CO Ol e>t eo Ol l-H eo CO CM ot 1—* ■>j< •* eo •* Oi CO >o" n o> OS l-H 00 Tj< o> t^ I-H OI I-H r~< Tt4 Ol CM o> O S 00 1^ C35 00 oo o 'J' to CM I-H CO CM Oi ^ 00 CO w I-H eo eo eo eo CM t^ in tf «S CO ■* to" 1 o c:3 i^ 00 I^ -* I-H CM GO CO CM o CO ,_, o on rfi o I^ CO >o to 00 Tt< m o o o -* CO CO CI ■tf •<* CO CO CM t^ in m to CO ■* "^ r-T to Tfi 'S' o r^ CO in l- CO in in 00 CS •— • L-5 t- to CO o to 00 o ■o CM CO m -^ Cs o 00 I- to t^ in o crs o o CO Ci '"' •-' I-H -V CI CO •^ c< ir> CO 05 00 r-H •* ■* l-A CO CO o OS CO 1—4 CO CJ oo o oo r~* to CM to in o» lO o> >o CO lO CO CO CO >o o Oi l^ i^ in J^ o a> OJ l^ i-H I-H r-H f-H to* ov Tj< •o (N to cn CM o CM o CM o o o OJ OJ_^ oo" o f-H r— I to o o 05 m J^ cs in r- CO o o r— 4 I-H U5 r-H r-H CO 00 to m c^ r-T CM_ in r-T t-. i-h" r-H '*< o CM OS CO to CM CO X M '-' ?=> ■ f-H o CM to in r-H CO in So < CO 00 l^ in CO I-H I-H 00 I-H in ■0< OS 00 Ol ■A W f^ OJ I-H I-H i—t I-H I-H I-H CM I-H I-H r—* o CM CM t- t^ o ■* o ■V i^ CO OS OI Ol •* 2 a 1 G j< c-< ^H o lO o to i^ 00 Ol -!• OS OS f^ ■^ CO eo" o eo' OS eo" CM l-^ r-H os_ T(J" r-H eo" to eo eo in J^ OS I-H c>< o eo CO Ol in OS in OS 00 to , in 00 o I-H o CM I-H •ra >o o to >J u o» lO o -V to •-^ to «o 00 in I-H CO OS o f—i CM Tf i< •< a 00 U3 Oi o> i^ m o Oi t^ 00 to «^ I-H I-H •^ t^ o" o f-H I-H r-H " »— < I-H r-H ■ 03 . ' • * , • , e 3 a • ■ ■ . • a ft 5 •a ■c 2 3 •a 9 -a 8 VJ *« ^ b 2 ii i S «n M O X e o •H e a u I 1 it s, m Ol a o to 5 -a tlO c CIVIL CONDITIOX. 47 There were Unmarried, 100,030 Males, of whom (51,901 were under 15 years of age, 10,500 aged 15 and under 20 years, 10,756 aged 20 and under 25, and 175 aged 70 years and above; and 100,500 Females, of whom 61,145 were under 15 years of age, 15,837 aged 15 and under 20 years, 10,296 aged 20 and under 25 years, and 294 aged 70 and above. If we take the age of 20 as the age from which to designate the unmarried as Bachelors and Spinsters, and term those under the age of 40 "young," and those of 40 years and upwards " old," we shall find that there are in Suffolk about 19,223 "young," and 3,209 "old," bachelors; 19,157 "young," and 4,561 " old " maids. Between the ages of 20 and 40 we have 28,591 wives, and in addition 19,157 spinsters, who are not and never have been married. The Bachelors form 25 per cent, of the male population above 20 years of age ; and the Spinsters form a similar proportion at the same ages. At the " young " period, the bachelors slightly outnumber the spinsters ; but at the " old " period, the maids have a considerable majority on their side. Of every 100 women aged 20 and under 40, in Suffolk 38, and in England 41, are spinsters ; and although the spinsters are thus below the average of the kingdom, the existence of 5,860 unmarried females, 30 and under 50 years of age, may be considered as so many "fair fields lying fallow." Doubtless, necessity rather than inclination keep many males unmarried until late periods of life. Others may covet " domestic happi- ness " and long for " domestic enjoyments," but are compelled to remain unloving and unloved. The Suffolk husbands may look with compassion on the 3,209 old bachelors who are left, in sickness and old age, to the tender mercies of artful housekeepers or merce- nary landladies. There were, of Married persons, 57,445 Husbands — 50 under 20 years of age, 2,645 aged 20 and under 25 years, 7,955 aged 30 and under 35 years, and 3,129 48 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. aged 70 and above; 58,203 Wives— 327 under 20 years of age, 4,629 aged 20 and under 25 years, 8,553 are 30 and under 35 years, and 2,187 are 70 years of age and above. It is evident from these returns that many of the married persons in Suffolk might with pro- priety have considered the words of the song, " Wait a little longer." There were six wives only 16 years of age, 18 at the age of 17 only, and 68 had only attained to the age of 18. Of husbands, there was one at the age of 17, five at 18 years, and 27 at 19 years of age. The fact of there being 758 more wives than husbands may cause some persons to imagine that the followers of Mahomet are sprinkled over the county, and that, in consequence, not a few husbands have more than one wife. To dispel this illusion we need only to remember that many husbands were sailing on the " briny-deep," or engaged in commercial transactions in other counties, and others in Her Majesty's service were engaged in serving their country. Of Females aged 20 and upwards, 62 per cent, arc wives. Of every 100 women in the prime of life, or in the middle of the child-bearing age (20 years and under 40), 59 are wives. It seems that wives are more numerous in this county than in England generally. Thus, at age 40 and under 45, of 100 women, 79 are married; in England, only 74 in 100 at that age arc married. At the age of SO and upwards, 16 in 100 women are in the married state, whilst in England 13 in 100, and in Scotland only 9 in 100 arc wives. With the male population at an advanced age the facts are of the reverse kind. Of 100 men of the age of 80 and upwards, 30 are husbands in Suffolk, 36 in England, and 42 in Scotland. Of the male population, age 20 and upwards, 65 per cent, are husbands, and there are eight husbands to one widower. Of 100 men aged 20 and under 25, more than 19 per cent, arc married. The j)roportion of tlie married increase rapidly as age advances ; at 30 to 35 it is 75 CIVIL CONDITION. 49 per cent., and at 40 to 45 it rises to 85 i)er cent., but declines at 50 to 55 to 82 per cent., and alter that age gradually decreases. Some curious facts were elicited respecting the ages of husband and wife. Generally speaking, there is great accordance in the ages of married persons ; but singular disparities exist, and these are elaborately exhibited by the skill of the Registrar General. We have appended his valuable table to these remarks. The disparity of age has a wide range, and the returns show one instance of a man of 20 to 25 married to a woman 60 to 65, one of a man 25 to 30 married to a woman 70 to 75, and another of a man 30 to 35 married to a woman 65 to 70 ; while, on the female side there was an instance of a girl of 18 married to a man 45 to 50, a girl of 19 with a husband 50 to 55, three women of 20 to 25 married to men GO to 65, two women of 25 to 30 married to men 75 to 80, two women of 30 to 35 married to men 80 to 85, and one woman of 45 to 50 married to a man 85 to 90. Still, equality of age is the characteristic of the inhabitants. Women of the age of 20 to 40 give birth, probably, to seven in every eight children ; and it will be seen, on examining the table, that of the 27,328 wives of the age of 20 to 40, and resident with their husbands, there are 20,455 married to men who are also between 20 and 40 years of age, while only 18 of these wives are united to husbands under 20 years of age, and 105 to husbands 60 years of age and upwards. Suffolk contains 19,055 widowed persons. Of these 7,323 were Widowers. None under 20 years of age, but 31 aged 20 and under 25 years, 248 aged 30 and under 35, and 2,536 aged 70 ancl above. Of the age of 20 and upwards, eight per cent, of the male population are widowers. Of Widows there were 11,732, exhibiting 4,409 more of the female than of the male population in a state of widowhood. This is owing to the fact of 50 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTUHY. widows remarrying much less frequently than widowers. There are five wives to one widow, whilst there are eight husbands to one widower. Of the female population 20 years of age and upwards 12 per cent, are widows, and in Bury St. Edmund's 15 per cent. ; but of those 20 and under 40 only two per cent, are widows. There were five widows under 20 years of age, 64 aged 20 and under 25 years, 211 aged 25 and under 30 years, and 4,089 aged 70 years and upwards ; 16 of these were 95 years of age. The proportionate numbers of widows increase with every advance of age. Thus, at age 30 and under 35, three per cent, ofrthe women are widows ; at age 35 to 40, five per cent. ; at 40 to 45, eight per cent.; at 50 to 55, 14 per cent.; and the proportionate numbers in 100 continue to increase, until, at the age of 70 to 75, the number of widows exceeds by 245 the number of wives. Of 100 women aged SO and upwards 74 are widows, 10 unmarried women, and 16 are Avives. These facts on our civil condition are valuable and interesting in a social point of view, but the existence of 69 widows of tender age, and 19,055 families in a state of dissolution by the premature death of the father or the mother, forms one of the saddest pictures ex- hibited by the statistics of Suffolk. The table on page 51 embodies all the facts collected respecting the ages of husband and wife, and the conjugal condition of the inhabitants of Suffolk. BIRTH PLACES. From the " Civil Condition " we turn to the " Birth Places " of our inhabitants, exhibiting the blending of the people of other counties with those of our own, as well as showing liovv many of the residents of Suffolk were actually born in the county. Suffolk contained natives of Ireland, of Scotland, and of every county in I'iUgland and in Wales, and of many of the principal countries in the world. 2 1' persons [to page 53. CIVIL CONDITION. 51 ^ '> CJ B en E? o 3 p u : T Ul : T en : '1 t— • ,.j ►-- en Crt es o •"^ ^ i" ^-~» _o J3 ct — * "co "to M^ "en lo fr ;_ CO K> o 1^ o CO X • to CO CO en C3 CO Oi Oi ^ '^ 1— » ►— * • • • • I-" "co , t*^ o ?^ s en (— ' . ?s t— ■ 1— • _Cn _Oi fc-j CO "bo "en t;» to en CO o ' o> ^J o - "to ^ o 05 CO Oi ><>- CO o> 1^ »— ' CO en o Oi J50 _pi ^ J*^ l>3 1— ' V- » "oo "^ "bi fro ^^ tf>- o CO to 1*^ 1 *— CO ^J CO Oi ^j i" ^ J-vS _to M (O "en "cO "►(^ "lo CO Zn >4^ Ct en C3i 00 ? 4^ 00 CO en (f>- Oi J-J ^1 1— ' f.^ ►f». CO "bs "en rf>- CO CO 1 O to Oi o ^J Oi CO CO to -J CO 4^ Ci _;-» »-« a> ►)>■ --T "o o CD »(^ «3 Ol rf> I— • CO Cli o 1 to tn t— * Oi ►—I CO _cn _Gi CO to "^I "to oo ■ It' Oi _Oi o> «D o» "to "en Oi «i- g 1 OJ CO 1— » CO o ^I >»^ o >»^ eji oo ^J ..^ M tf^ o OS "co CO Cn >;>■ c» K-* !*»■ 00 CO CO o "j^ ■— ' rf». o CO Oi Cn ^^ _co 03 Ol «o 1— » "^ en >;< g i;^ to en t- to H-* 1 CO CO CO 00 to o ^. f_u JO l4^ 00 CO "►^ CO to 05 1 •-~l t~^ en en en H^ CO —1 Oi CO ^j Oi ,_^ »— * t— • *. «o to Oi to (.^ CO o> en O) CD -^ o tf>- >*^ >f^ >*>■ en ^- "m ^* Oi CO H- i *a o< — ^ Oi t*:" en CO o< "— • to If- CO en n>- CO Oi to CO I—* >f>- 00 o --» 1— • H- OO o If-- t— " CO ^* to >f>- CO to 1—* Oi o en o >i^ l-l 00 1 ►f' o en IK o en »— ' ^.^ >t^ t— • 1— • *-- CO en CO o en to to ? »-- »— 1 CO CO to i-« Oi t« 1 v^ CO ►— • • ' • 100 AND UrWAUDS. I— I » to Q CO O a Si ►— ( w p o a o S-J 1 1 1 w ' _.J pZ2 ^H^CO^^i'TOOlCt^'OL'^mOlCOCO'^rOI^'^^CtO l.'^ 3 (U § a 5| IK ■-ieO'^COlOO^CO'Mr3"* t^o~irr'35"co"ori-^ t-^ '^1 - = m o 0) ja o C3 o c; 1 SI !^ i-i >n lij ® C35 o 00 r^o o o >n «o iCviC>liNr-( -"^ ^ S 1 of ^J Eh 1 •* rf o CO *■?-- = (?J^l^30C3-fr^l.OO^— '-CK--OOr-l CO CO rH o = ^4;^^ • >r^o^--o^o^t~. ci^oi^^in^co^to^oc CO Oi Oi OJ OJ U C C r"^ c>r«rj>ri>co lifirTrf CO oTr-i" s eo' co" lO / i 1 ::::-::::: 1 I-H : 1 t-^ ci . . . . rH OJ CO rH rH rH o '^ 1 o o 1 . rH rH rH 1^ rH OJ t^ T)< OJ 1 CO Ol 1 m . f—ir—^fM in in 1 OJOJ-^-^iracocoCarH . CO in CO o rH CO -* t~. rH Ci o cc OJ rHOJinOIf-CO'-COOTtlOJ to 00 Tjl ^ OJ CO O ^ O OJ CO OJ CO 1— .-1 O) I-H ■ CO CO . . . . .rt . .rH»ft(Mr^io-*C5-*:ooOrt CO r~{ •* rHCJCOOOOt^l^i-l C3 CO 'C o CI ■* w r~* OJ^ l->- • • • ■ ■ * • rH- f~^ . . . . . .r-ii-H-5jJl— lMC0L';r^^C0'9o o i-i-^WCOlM cr>_ frH l-t o * • ' ■ * * i-h' of CO , . . . . 1-1.— r-O00m05C51/5C0OCvi r-i Tl< CO o W3 1 . . . . • • i-ico-^-*o>r-iiraocoi-i CO rH 00 « . ...••_ ■-Hlf5'3<_O>C0i-l CO_^ OJ CO > 1— ( co"" co~ . . . -r^COOCOO^Hf— (rt4'-rO'J05^O«ClC»»r-(. •. O C5 03 .... i- in 05 CO . • • in CD f—t -5j 1 . ... cooot~.tDeitocoojc>i^ ... t^ CO -* o .... rl t^ «n t^ O i-l • . . co__ CO r- ■^ ■ • ■ * C0-*?OI^C0'-< • . • CO »o . . ..— .02Cn':j. I^ . • . . CO 1^ ITS 00 rH OJ >n ao 00 «o c>» 1-1 N • • • 00 in CO o . . . . t- rH OS "Ttl ^ lO 00 CO I-H • . . t~ r- in • ..•OS'i^COOOCvJ ... C3^ ■>*< in CO ■ ' ■ ■ eo'w'" ■ • • CD .00 • • w CO i^o o i^co CO OS I-H t~ eo -w .... t^ o t^ * . . (M I-H CO ev» Oi c« OJ I-H OJ 00 o *o .. >Or> I-H rH f— 1 l-H ' OJ _=^ ^, 1 • • l-l CO CO l~ I-H • <-H I-H • o ot~ 1 "M 00 ^-1 1 . • • ■>»"- »- I-H OO 1 <^ 1 1 ...coojeo 00 •n o >ra o lo o >c -, 03 ^ A> rHrHi-HrHOjojcoco-^TtiinintocDi^j^oocoosm y "ja a> M •e ^ ^ . P 3 4. ^^ BIKTH PLACES. 53 were enumerated in Suffolk who were born at sea, 307 born in foreign parts, 2b 1 in the British Colonies and East Indies, 704 in Ireland, 392 in Scotland, 136 in Wales, and 44 in the islands of the British seas, 290,424 were born in the county itself, 17,101 in Essex, 13,789 in Norfolk, and 4,590 in London. All the other counties contributed much smaller numbers to the population of Suffolk. Thus, Surrey 307, Kent 743, Sussex 284, Hants 430, Berks 188, Middlesex 133, Herts 334, Bucks 153, Oxford 119, Northampton 1G3, Huntingdon 109, Bedford 120, Cambridge 1,823, Wilts 165, Dorset 114, Devon 308, Cornwall 136, Somerset 208, Gloucester 167, Hereford 79, Shrop- shire 59, Stafford 104, Worcester 79, Warwick 136, Leicester 113, Rutland 20, Lincoln 315, Nottingham 20, Derby 76, Cheshire 76, Lancashire 263, Yorkshire 529, Durham 74, Northumberland 138, Cumberland 43, Westmoreland 26. If we descend to minutia3, we shall find that of every 10,000 persons enumerated in the Hegistration County of Suffolk, 137 were born in London, 9 in Surrey, 22 in Kent, 8,639 in the county itself, 54 in Cambridge- shire, 410 in Norfolk, 511 in Essex, 12 in Scotland, 21 in Ireland, 7 in Wales, 9 in foreign parts, 1 at sea, 1 in the islands of the British seas, 8 in the British Colonies and East Indies, 16 in Yorkshire, 8 in Lancashire, and 2 in Cheshire. Eor full details see the table on page 56. A few of our people are born, and live, and die in the same dwelhng, many in the same parish, and the majority in the same county ; still the migration con- stantly going on from parish to parish, town to town, and from one district to another in the same county, is as strikingly shown by these returns as that which we have exhibited from county to county. This blending of the people is most conspicuously seen in the towns. In Ipswich, only 49 per cent, of its inhabitants, and in Bury St. Edmund's 60 per cent., were born within their 54 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. respective towns ; whilst, taking the county as a whole, 86 per cent, of its inhabitants were enumerated as belonging to Suffolk by birth. The returns for Ipswich show that of the 18,680 inhabitants of 20 years of age and upwards, only 6,344 were born within the town, 7,974 were born out of the town but in the county of Suffolk, and 4,362 were born out of the county. Of the 4,362 of 20 years of age and above, born out of the county, 104 were born in Scotland, and 146 in Ireland. In Bury St. Edmund's there Avere 7,562 persons 20 years of age and upwards, and of these only 2,925 were born within the town itself, 3,003 were born out of the town but in the county of Suffolk, and 1,634 were born out of the county. This number included 31 natives of Scotland and 46 natives of Ireland. Comparison of the number of inhabitants in Suffolk, and the number born in the county, and residing in other parts of England and Wales, shows how large a number of the " natives " have been absorbed in the active operations of other counties : 337,215 persons were enumerated in the county, but 384,446 persons in England and Wales were returned as " born in Suffolk," so that the number of persons in England and Wales belonging to Suffolk, hy birth, exceeds by 47,231 the actual number of inhabitants in the county. To every 100 residents there are 115 who belong to Suffolk by birth. But even this does not fully exhibit the number of Suffolk people distributed over England and Wales. The residents born in the county numbered only 290,424, leaving 94,022 persons born in Suffolk as resident of other parts of England and Wales. It is thus evident that Suffolk has sent out swarms of her population, and the large nund)er that has migrated to people other covinti<;s in(Ucate that a want of employment has coni- {)clled many of our youtliful men and women to leave annually tlioir native county, to reap elsewhere the fruits of that skill and vigor which they possess, and for • OCCUPATIONS OF THE PEOPLE. 00 the development of which there was no field of operation at home. The disposition " to go to Loudon " is evidenced by the large number of 32,2.'29 persons born in Suffolk being enumerated among the residents of the great Metropolis. With one exception, Suffolk has sent to every county in England more recruits than it has received in return ; in many instances three or four to one. Thus, Cambridge has scut 1,823 to Suffolk, and received OjOSA from Suffolk. Sussex 284 1,009 Yorksliire 529 1,481 Lancashire 263 l,oG0 Surrey 307 1,309 Kent 743 2,032 Norfolk 13,789 21,369 London 4,590 32,229 (See Table on puf/e -3(5 ■J OCCUPATIONS OF THE PEOPLE. An account of the Occupations of the Inhabitants of Suffolk in 1851, from the personal communication of each individual, or head of the family, cannot fail to be interesting ; and to know the occupations of male adults, 20 years of age and upwards, is in many respects im- portant, as men are usually settled in their vocation at that age. With respect to trades it may be mentioned, that the numbers opposite such trades as bakers and butchers do not represent, as is the case in Directories, only the total number of shops in these respective denominations, but also include all persons who are employed in these par- ticular trades. Such a mode of return furnishes an exact idea of the relative importance, in a social point of view, of each trade, as the number of hands employed is a better test than could be furnished by a mere state- ment of the number of shops open. The persons engaged in definite occupations are arranged in 17 distinct classes, and their respective numbers in Suffolk were — The First Class (which embraces the royal family, BIRTH PLACES AXD DISTRIBUTION OF THOSE BORN OR RESIDING IX SUFFOLK. The Tnhabitaxts of Suffolk in 1851, -bowing the Counties rhe NuMBKR of Per- sons BoBN in Suffolk, and RESIDENT in 23 ! 1. - =" . t. 3 c.a = 3|| 3 = 3 5S i 3 £ .a* in which they were each Couii ty at the 3 3 « •> .2 '^3 3 S = 3 g go 3 § 3 "O PLACES. Boi IN. Census. 3 O S 3 3 5^ = 3 i? o o 3 r ^ cj =.ill O ♦.» ♦J *- Total n Persons b counties 1 in S Total n Persons 1 folk and other To every Rcgistrat Suffolk t born in c Z~ Sa UNDER iO Yi;.\RS. 20 YEARS AXD UPWARDS. UNDER 20 YEARS. 20 YEARS AND UPWARDS o-3-:j t^ ^.S s London 1,967 2,623 4,226 28,003 4,590 32,229 137 27 Surrey (Extra Me- 92 213 235 1,164 307 1,399 9 15 tropolitan) Kent (Extra Me 195 548 317 1,715 743 2,032 22 15 tropoUlan) Sussex .... 64 220 1.56 853 284 1,009 9 8 Hampshire . . 113 317 166 833 430 999 13 11 Berkshire . . 46 142 73 449 188 524 6 10 Middlesex (Extra 36 97 237 1,242 133 1,479 4 11 Metropolitan) Hertfordshire . 104 2:^0 171 816 334 987 10 18 Buckinghamshire 38 Ho 53 285 153 340 5 8 Oxfordshire . . 25 94 26 214 119 240 4 6 iSorthamptonshire 33 130 51 292 163 343 5 7 Iluutingdonsliire . 52 117 46 208 169 254 5 24 Bedfordshire . . 32 88 52 211 120 263 4 g Cambridgeshire 497 1,326 3,743 6,191 1,823 9,934 54 98 Essex .... 7,158 10,003 2.131 9,538 17,161 11,669 511 421 Suffolk . . . 140,876 149,548 140,876 149,548 289,824 289,824 8,639 7,550 Norfolk . . . 3,2:58 10,551 6,583 14,786 13,789 21,369 410 286 Wiltshire . . . 30 135 61 137 165 198 5 5 Dorsetshire . . 20 94 43 174 114 217 3 6 Devonshire . . . 59 249 84 285 308 369 9 5 Cornwall . . . 32 104 13 82 136 97 4 4 Somersetshire . . 50 158 46 2T8 208 324 6 4 Gloucestershire . 44 123 59 358 167 417 5 4 Herefordshire . 11 68 5 64 79 69 2 6 Shropshire 6 53 20 115 59 133 2 2 Siafiurdshire . . 13 86 7i 297 104 368 3 2 AVorcestershire . 19 00 39 195 79 234 2 3 AVarwickshirc . . 41 95 70 4.38 r^6 508 4 3 lA-icestershire . . 24 89 44 206 113 250 3 5 Kutlaiidshirc . . 14 5 20 20 25 1 8 Lincolnshire . 88 227 140 575 315 715 9 8 Nottinghamshire . 18 72 29 193 90 222 3 3 Dfrl)y3hire 10 66 47 214 76 261 2 2 Cheshire . . . . 18 58 61 327 76 383 2 2 Lancashire 8fi 177 227 1,333 263 1,560 8 2 Yorkshire . 117 412 311 1,170 529 1,481 16 3 Durham . . 15 59 61 315 74 376 2 2 Cunibcrlaiid 1> 31 4 44 43 48 1 2 Nortluiniherlaiid . 31 104 48 218 138 266 4 5 Westmoreland . . 7 111 3 16 10 19 1 4 Wai.es . . . 30 100 57 348 136 405 7 2 ScOTLANn . . . 53 339 .... .... .... .... 12 30 Ireland . . . 120 534 .... .... .... .... 21 14 lalnndii In the Brit- JMh Seas . . 9 35 .... .... .... 1 32 Briii'rsoiis to make the com[)arison for themselves. * Sec lablr page 71. OCCUPATIONS OF TIIK J'KOPI.K. Go OCCUPATIONS OF PERSONS ENUMEIIATED IN SUFFOLK IN 18j1, I)IVII)!U INTO 17 CI.A.SSKS, AXU KXllI lUTlNC THK SKX AND AGE. MALES. TEMAIES. OCCUPATION.'. 20 YEARS UNDER 20 YEARS UNDER AND 20 YEARS AND 20 YEARS UPWARDS. OF AGE. UPWARDS OF AGE. Cl.ASS I. Post-office Servant 135 13 38 4 Tnlaud Revenue OfUccr 114 .... Officer of Customs 166 ... Other Goi'crnntcut Officers . 18 ■ . • • Police Officer .... 197 1 Union Relievinn- Officer 31 • • a • .... Officer of Local Board . 24 .... Other Local Officers 139 25 • • . • East India Service 24 . • . Class IT, Array Officer 33 Army Half-pay Officer . 20 Soldier .... 233 "23 .... Chelsea Pensioner 487 .... Navy Officer 2o . ..^ Navy Half-pay Officer . 27 Seaman, R.N. 66 "kl Greenwich Pensioner . 55 Marine .... 4 Others engaged in Defence 12 .... .... Class III. Clergyman .... 542 .... Protestant Minister . 130 .... .... Priest and other Religious Teachers 14 "i .... Barrister .... 16 .... . . . • Solicitor .... 157 Lawyer, not Barrister nor Solicitor 9 '"s .... Physician .... 16 • • . • .... Surgeon .... 216 .... Other Medical Men 16 '31 Parish Clerk .... 89 Other Church Officers 14 "1 Law Clerk .... 95 51 Law Court Officer and Law Stationer 20 . . . • Druggist .... 120 40 5 1 Class IV. Author .... 2 • • • • .... Editor or AYritcr 11 • . • • Others engaged in Literature 11 .... .... Artist ..... 23 5 .... . . Architect .... 27 6 .... Others engaged in the Fine Arts 1 1 3 Scientific Person 4 > > < • • • • • Music ]\Iaster 23 . . • • ...» Music Mistress « • • • '21 2 Schoolmaster .... 304 32 • • • • Schoolmistress • • • • .... '874 80 (iovcruess .... .... . ■ > * 324 50 Other Teachers r 39 • t • • 87 00 66 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURT. OCCUPATIONS OF PERSONS ENUMERATED IN SUFFOLK- continued. MALES, FEMALES. OfCrPATIOXS. 20 YEAHS !.'> DER 20 TEARS VXDER AXl> 20 ^ I'EAUS AND 20 YEARS VrWARDS. OF A«E IPWAF.DS. OF AGE. Class V. Wife (of no specified occupation) 45,448 237 Widow (of no specified occupation) . 5,518 1 Son, Grandson, Brother, Nephew (not otherwise returned) 386 37, 138 .... Daughter, Granddaughter, Sister, Niece (not otherwise return(>d) 5,361 43,934 Scholar (under tuition at School) 18 \9, 302 11 19,417 Scholar (under tuition at home) . . • • 380 1 787 Class YI. Innkeeper .... 655 1 95 Innkeeper's Wife . .... 552 Lodging House Keeper "is 55 Officer of Charitible Institution 2 5 Others Boarding and Lodging . u 24 Domestic Servant, General . 706 355 4,048 3" 3 16 „ Coachman . 98 „ Groom . 295 i42 „ Gardener 67 9 .... • • ■ • „ Man Servant 283 116 278 265 „ Housekeeper 1,275 19 „ Cook 779 36 ,. Housemaid . 655 345 „ Nursemaid 259 437 Nurse (not domestic servant) . 746 iMidwife .... 48 Charwoman .... 927 "li Hairdresser .... '172 18 Hatter ..... 39 2 "h Straw Hat and Bonnet ]\Iaker 288 "54 Furrier .... ... 14 4 Tailor .... 1,389 268 260 57 Staymakcr .... 355 198 Hosier, Haberdasher 8 i 7 2 Bonnet Maker .... 26 13 Cap Maker .... 4 4 IVIilliner .... 2,951 1,078 Seamstress .... 518 114 Shoemaker .... 3'.337 642 294 121 Shoemaker's Wife . 1,621 13 Hose, Stocking Manufacturer i '. 4 Umbrella, Parasol, and Stick Maker 20 3 3 Glover .... 69 4 110 12 "\Va»hcrwoni;ui, Maniilcr, and Laundry Kccpf r 11 1,636 102 Patten and Clog Maker 13 Others providing X'*(.v.* . -10 9 "54 "24 ClASS VII. House Proprietor 208 307 IMorcliant .... 59 4 1 Banker .... 23 Ship Agent ... BroKcr .... n 1 2fi 2 Agent Factor .... 7 1 ::;: OCCUPATIONS OF THE PEOPLE. 67 OCCUPATIONS OF PERSONS ENUMERATED IN SUFFOLK— continued. MALKS. FEMALES, OCCITATIONS. 20 YEAIIS I'NDER 20 YEARS UNDER AND 20 VKARS AND 20 YEARS UPWARDS . OF AGE. UPWARDS. OF AGE. Salesman .... 1 Auctioneer .... 55 '"3 .... Accountant .... 42 7 .... .... Commercial Clerk 126 43 Commercial Traveller 71 3 Pawnbroker 17 12 .... Shopkeeper .... 314 24 '266 4 Shopkeeper's Wife . .... • • • 153 2 Hawker, Pedlar 212 49 3 Others— Geueral Merchant, Dealers andAgents 191 "12 14 2 Class VIII. Railway Engine Driver and Stoker 42 10 Others engaged in Railway Traffic . 180 19 Toll CoUector .... 24 1 "7 Coach and Cab owner 14 . . ■ . ... - Livery Stable Keeper . 12 1 Coachman, Guard, Postboy . 126 3 Carman, Carrier, Carter, Drayman 523 54 "k Omnibus Owner, Conductor, and Driver 28 5 .... Others engaged in Hoad Conveijance 1 Canal Service 8 "i Boatman and Bargeman . 195 34 In and connected with barges . . . . • ' li "3 ShipowTier .... "22 .... .... Seaman .... 981 136 Pilot .... 139 2 Others connected with Sea Nari[iafw)i . 60 . . » . .... Owners and others connected with *S7»}^.s , 1 5 "2 Engaged in Warehouses 30 11 2 .... Others connected with Storage . 2 .... . . • Messenger, Porter (not Government) 176 1,017 Others employed about ilessar/es .... 2 G "66 Land Proprietor 234 2 187 Farmer .... 5,176 16 444 i Grazier .... 4 • * • • .... Farmer and Grazier's Wife . • • • • • * * • 3,852 '"7 Farmer and Grazier's " Son," " Grand- son," " Brother " " Nephew " 1,278 818 Farmer and Graziers' "Daughter," " Grand-daughter," "Sister," "Niece" . . • • • • ■ ■ 1,468 901 Farm Bailiff 580 1 Agricultural Laborer (out-door) 32,892 9,508 259 124 Farm Servant (in-door) 1,365 1,480 1,746 1,894 Shepherd .... 413 170 Others connected with Agriculture . 55 6 .... Woodman .... 187 19 Others connected with ArhoricuHure 3 • ■ • • .... Gardener .... 1,377 144 12 Nurseryman .... 32 1 .... Class X. Horse Dealer 48 • • . ■ Groom, Ilorsckccpcr, Jockey . 519 iio . . . « 68 SUFFOLK IX THE XINETEEXTH CENTURY. OCCUPATIOXS OF PERSONS ENUMERATED IX SUFFOLK— confumed. MALES. FEMALES. OCCUPATIONS. 20 YEARS VXDER 20 YEARS UNDER AND 20 YEARS AND 20 YEAR.S UPWARDS. OF AGE UPWARDS. OF AGE. Farrier, Veterinary Surgeon 170 9 Cattle Dealer, Salesman 187 7 Drover .... 70 16 Gamekeeper .... 283 32 .... Vermin Destroyer . 131 15 Fisherman .... 602 96 Engaged about Animals 3 .... Others engaged about Animah . 130 12 Class XI. Bookseller, Publisher 45 5 14 1 Bookbinder .... 29 8 Printer .... 198 72 Others engaged about Publications 1 "s 12 Actor and others engaged about Theatres 1 .... 1 1 Musician (not teacher) 45 ^Musical Instrument Maker 5 Others connected with Music .... "2 8 Engravers .... 6 2 . . * • Others employed about Pictures & Engravings 1 2 .... Employed about Carving and Figures . 2 3 Persons engaged about Shows, Games, Sports 18 8 .... Toy ^laker and ]\\iler 10 Civil Engineer "'l2 "1 .... Pattern Designer 1 Other Designers and Draughtsmen . 1 "Watchmaker .... 155 39 Philosophical Instrument Maker & Dealer 7 .... Gunsmith .... 32 10 Engaged in the Manufacture of Arms 1 Entwine and Machine Maker 232 • • • . Tool Maker . . . . 2 • • • • Others Dealing in Tools and Machines 1 Coachmakcr 211 '71 Carriage Maker and Dealer .... 2 2 Saddler .... 313 68 AVhipilakcr 2 .... Other Jlrii-iirs.s ^Makers . 8 2 Harness M^.kor and Dealer . .... * 12 Shipwriglit, Sliipbuildcr 183 "'38 Boat and Barge Builder 40 6 1 Others engaged in fitting Shijx: 27 5 .... Surveyor .... 23 2 .... Builder ..... 195 17 .... Carpenter, Joiner 2,680 475 . • • . Bricklayer .... 1,790 404 • • • • Mason, Paviour 137 37 • ■ ■ . Slater ..... 12 1 PliLstcrcr .... 38 9 ■ . . • i'ainter. Plumber, (il:izier r>23 in . . ■ ■ Builder, House Decorator .... 21 Others (•npagcd in House ronsti-itrfion . 3 1 Wlicelwriglit 80.3 124 .... Millwright .... 85 13 .... OCCLTATIOXS OF THE PEOPLE. (59 occur ATIOXS OF PERSONS EXUAIKRATED IX SUFFOLK— continued. MALES. FEMALES. OCCITATIOXS. 20 YEARS f.NDER 20 YEAUS LNDEK AND 20 YEARS A.ND 20 YEA Its ri'WAUDS. OF AGE. VP-\VAKDS. OF AGE. Other Implement IMukcrs 42 4 .... .... Jmpkmoil Maker, Dealer • • • • .... 8 .... Dyer, Scourer 24 2 2 Engaged in JManufacture of Chemieoh . 20 3 1 Class XII. Cowkecpcr, TMilksellcr 83 22 31 3 (.'heeseuioiiger .... 8 1 Butcher .... 740 156 22 "1 Butcher's Wife . . • . 412 1 Poulterer .... "51 '"& Fishmonger .... 116 9 9 Others dealing in Animal Food 107 5 28 Soap Boiler .... 9 Tallow Chandler 60 "10 Comb Maker .... 1 Others dealing in Grease and Bones 12 i 2 1 Fellmonger .... 30 3 .... Skinner .... 2 Currier ..... 129 "io Tanner .... 87 8 .... Other Workers in liCather 9 1 .... Dealer, Worker in Leather ♦ • . • • • • • 8 Dealer in Feathers, Quills 1 • ■ • • . . • • Hair Manufacturer . 61 101 • • • • Brush and Broom Maker 52 17 1 Other Workers, Dealers in Hair . . • • 100 "174 Woolstapler .... '37 • • . . .... . . • • Woollen Cloth Manufacturer 9 1 12 3 AVorsted Manufacturer . 10 1 124 8 Clothier .... 26 2 2 Woollen Draper 18 4 * ■ . . . . • • Knitter .... ...» 7 6 Other Workers, Dealers in Wool "7 J • . . 84 32 Silk Manufactiu'er . 424 226 729 583 Silk Mercer .... 14 2 .... .... Fancy Goods Manufacturer . • • • • • • • • 1 .... Embroiderer .... . . • • .... 5 4 Other Workers, Dealers in Silk 10 5 18 4 Class XIII. Greengrocer 46 4 54 Corn Merchant 162 7 * . • • Miller .... 1,064 246 17 1 Flour Dealer .... 16 2 .... .... Baker .... 571 199 "'85 "s Confectioner .... 73 20 41 3 Others dealing in Vegetable Food 62 . • • 21 .... IVIaltster .... 540 .... .... • • • • Brewer .... 241 Licensed Victualler, Beershop Keeper 315 . . . "'62 • • • . Licen.sed Victualler, Beershop Keeper's Wife • . . .... 296 • • . . Wine and Spirit Merchant . 86 2 .... Sugar Refiner .... 2 .... .... .... Grocer .... 851 253 70 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. OCCUPATIONS OF PERSONS ENUMERATED IN SUFFOLK— continued. MALES. FEMALES. OCCUPATIONS. 20 YEARS UNDER 20 YEARS I NDER AND 20 TEARS AND 20 YEARS rrWARDS. OF AGE. UPWARDS. F AGE. Tobacconist .... 40 11 6 Others dealing in Stimulative Drinks 16 2 9 . a . . Oil and Colorman . 2 . I • . • • • • . • . a French Polisher 16 1 .... . . . . Other Workers, Dealers in Oils, Gums, etc. 23 ■ • • • " 6 Timber Merchant , 35 1 • • * • . . . . Other Dealers, "Workers in Timber 49 J2 • • ■ • * ■ • • Cork Cutter 15 3 ... • • > • Dealer in Bark 1 "i . . . . Sawj-er .... '46i .... . ■ . ■ Lathmaker .... 32 .... .... . ■ • • Cabinet Maker and Upholsterer 356 85 42 10 Turner ..... 43 8 • . • • • • • a Chairmaker .... 17 4 . . . • Box Maker .... 2 . . . . Others dealing in Wood Furniture . 16 ""2 "io . . • . Coopers .... 229 29 . • • • • . . . Other Makers of Wood Utensils 6 2 • . * • . . . Dealer in Wood Utensils 2 Wood Tool Maker . "3 '2 * 4 . . , . . Basket Maker .... 131 27 • « • • Straw Plait Manufacturer . .... l",i26 ] ,061 Thatcher .... 450 ' 76 . • • . . . . . Other Workers of Cane^ Rush Straw 35 • . • • 4 . . . . Eopemaker . . . . 147 .... .... .... a • . . Sail Cloth Manufacturer 3 .... . . . . Rope, Cardmakcr 38 2 '3 Hemp I^Ianufacturer • • • • ■ • . . 5 2 Other Workers, Dealers in Ilcnip 79 22 77 27 Flax Linen Manufactui-cr . 34 4 20 3 Draper ..... 35S 138 59 Lace Manufacturer . • • • .... 119 "77 Weaver .... .... 5 > . . • Cotton Manufacturer 93 '■'7 .... . . . . Calico Cotton Printer . 1 .... 1 • • . Other Workers, Dcakrs in Flax or Cotton 3 2 9 8 Paper Manufacturer 51 14 43 £1 Stationer .... 16 2 6 ... Paper Hanger .... 4 • • • ■ .... . . • Other Paper Workers, Dealers 6 .... .... Class XIV. Coal Miner .... 2 , , * • * • • • . ■ Coal Merchant or Dealer 83 3 > • > . . * . Coal Heaver, Coal Labourer 266 17 • • • « ■ . ■ Chimney Sweeper . 87 27 .... . . . (Jas Works Service 30 5 • ■ . ■ ■ . . Other Workers in Coal 51 1 3 . * • Stone Quarrier .... I 1 . . . . . ■ Jjimcstone Burner . 41 9 • * • t • . . . Marble Mason 3 • . . ■ * ... IJrickniaker .... 573 151 . • * • • • . . Hoad Laborer 59 2 * ( • . « ■ ■ • Railway J^aborci 139 23 .... OCCUPATIONS OF THE PEOPLE. 71 occur ATIOXS OF PERSONS ENUMERATED IN SUFFOLK— co»fi>,m'd. OCCUPATIONS. Other AVorkcrs in Sfoiie and Clay . Earthenware jManuf'acturer Earthemvarc and (Uass Dealer Tolxuxo-pipc Maker and others . Salt Dealer .... Water Provider, Dealer Worker, Dealer in Precious Stones Goldsmith and Silversmith . Carver and Gilder Worker, Dealer in Gold and Silver Coppersmith Tinman Other Workers and Dealers in Tin . Dealer in Lead Brassfoundcr liocksniith, Bellhanger Brazier .... Wire Worker, Weaver White Metal Manufactiu-er Other Workers, Dealers in Mixed Metal Iron Manufacturer Whitesmith Blacksmith Nail Manufacturer . Anchor Smith . Boiler IMaker Ironmonger File Maker Cutler .... Needle Manufacturer Grinder Other AVorkers, Dealers in Iron and Steel Class XV. Laborer (branch undefined) Mechanic aud Manufacturer, Shopman (branch undefined) Shopwoman (branch undefined) Others of Indefinite Occupations Class XVI. Gentleman, Gentlewoman — Independent Annuitant .... Class XVII. Dependant on Relatives No stated occupation, Living on Alms Pauper of no stated occupation Lunatic .... Others Supported by the Community Prisoner of no stated occupation Others . . . Vagrants and others in barns, etc. . Persons of no stated occupation or condition .... MALES. 20 YEARS AND UPWAllDS. 113 23 26 29 3 7 2 29 24 "'5* 49 13 5 4 9 91 10 "li 404 149 1,649 3 1 18 92 4 16 I 12 25 2,861 28 5 119 34G 49 00 701 34 42 io2 766 UNDER 20 YEAk.S OF A(iK. 16 3 1 11 2 4 3 14 1 1 22 4 1 3 111 37 350 3 26 2 1 3 826 40 IS 4 3 (572 1 "i2 46 192 FEMALES. 20 YEARS ANI> UPWARDS 5 2 9 2 25 10 20 22 174 1,693 327' 129 861 109 9 5 10 54 987 UNDF.n 20 YEARS 01' A(iE. 6 18 6 2 18 1 1 735 2 2 I "'27 534 SUFFOLK IX THE XINETEEXTII OEXTUKY. CLASSIFICATION OF PERSONS ENUMERATED IN SUFFOLK AT THE CENSUS OF 1841, MALES. FEMALES. OCCVPATIOXS. 20 YEARS UNDER 20 YEARS UNDER TOTAL. AND 20 YEARS AND 20 YEARS rPWAUDS. OF AGE. UPWARDS. OF AGE. Pei'sons engaged in Agri- culture : — Farmers and Graziers . 4,957 44 381 .... o,3S2 Agricultural Laborers 31,700 4,952 567 132 37,351 Gardeners, Nurserj'men, and Florists . . . . 1,059 57 9 1,125 Total of Persons engaged in Agriculture 37,716 c,053 957 132 43,858 Persons engaged in Trade, Commerce and Manufactures 23,940 3,388 3,225 1,019 31,572 Army and Navy : — Army, Ilalf-pay, and East India Company's Service 301 23 • ■ < * < • • • 324 Navy, Half-pay, Marines, Fishermen, AVatermen, etc. 1,478 125 1,603 Professional Persons : — Clerical (males) 683 , . . . , , . , . . 683 J-cgal (males) 175 .... • • . . 175 Medical (both sexes) 301 , , • • . . .... 301 Other Educated Persons follow- ing Miscellaneous Pursuits 652 81 656 47 1,436 Persons engaged in the Govern- ment and Civil Service 249 4 12 , . . . 265 Parochial, Town and Church Officers, including Police and Law Officers . 257 4 35 296 Laborers undefined. Porters, Messengers, and others 3,235 • 488 1,445 44 5,212 Domestic Servants 2,330 1,225 8,350 5,912 17,817 Independent Persons 2,007 76 5,157 259 7,499 Almspeople, Pensioners, Pau- pers, Lunatics, and Prisoners 1,332 636 1,331 602 3,901 Total of Persons returned in the above 74,656 11,103 21,108 8,015 114,942 Residue of Population . 4,902 63,434 05,565 06,230 200,131 Total of Population 79,558 74,537 86,733 74,245 315,073 Chelsea Pensioner . Solicitor Surgeon Innkeeper . General Servant Cook . Housemaid . Tailor Shoemaker Milliner Stayraaker Seamstress Washerwoman Farmer Agricultural Laborer Farm Servant Shepherd . Carpenter Bricklayer Butcher Silk Manufacturer Miller . Straw Plait Manufac. Blacksmith Brickmaker Anmiitant Persons of no stated i occupat. or condit. ' r; "a > c JO CO i_i >_j _ tS'oi (o i-< !-• >-i ^J *. " 00 OD (C M CO -^l O h^ (O C- Ol C-. 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Ci — to 4- — JIVTFORD t25 d ►i"' 1-^ w H ?=l ^ ^ >► f-i W M 5 ^Tj w ^> 1—1 s^ 1^ M M f^ m i-d >■ H ^^ 1— 1 H '^ Uj. W 1— 1 t^ bd t=J ^ h— i to> ) — 1 OJ ^-1 •^ M ?d t^ H CO 1—1 t^ t2^ A rn c r^ < M >■ w ixl a M *^ !?! O H ►—1 O w 74 SUFFOLK IX THE XIXETEENTII CENTURY. THE BLTXD AND THE DEAF AXD DUMB. The census of 1851 was the first that made us acquainted with the numbers of the BUnd, and the Deaf and Dumb, in Suffolk. It also gave us the number and as-es of the inmates in Asylums and patients in Hospitals, . We shall here embody the result of the Returns. Statistics relating to the unfortunate Blind and the helpless Deaf-mutes of this county are of considerable interest, and the details we shall give, will, it is hoped, assist in moving the sympathy of the benevolent, towards alleviating the lot of these unfortunate beings. There were 374 of the residents of Suffolk (183 males and 191 females) returned as totally Blind. These numbers furnish a proportion of one blind person to every 899 of the population. The pro- portion in England and Wales is one in every 979 ; in Essex, one in every 1,033 ; and in Norfolk one in every 791. Whatever may be the influence which induce diseases in the organs of sight, it does appear that there is a larger proportion of blind persons in the agricultural, than in manufacturing and mining districts, or in the large towns of England. Thus — Suffolk . hlind to every 809 in hahil Yorkshire, West R. 1,231 yy Cheshire aud Lancashire 1,167 1) Durham 1,163 t1 London 1,025 )> Manchester 1,107 >? Leeds 1,203 >) Birmingham 1,181 M As blindness is a common infirmity of age, and there is a large proportion of persons upwards of 60 years of age in this county, the comparison may not really be so iinfavorablc to Suffolk as it aj)pcars. About 5*2 ])er cent, of the blind in Durham were GO years of age and nj)\var(ls. 'J'lic ])n)i)()rtion at tlie same ages in THE BLIND AM) JllK \>K\F AND DUMB. 75 SufTolk was only 50 per cent, but while six per cent, of the total population were in the county of Durham CO years of age and upwards, nearly nine per cent, of the population of Suiiblk had attained that age. It is evident that blindness at birth is not common in Suffolk, as only 12 out of the 874 persons were under five years of age, and even in the early years of life the numbers are small, 31 only being inuler 20 years. From 20 to 60 years of age, there were 135 persons laboring under this malady, while 188 persons were 60 years of age and above. At 70 years of age and above, blind women are more numerous than men, and the longevity of the blind is shown by the fact of 20 of the males and 43 of the females being 80 years of age and above. The Deaf and Dumb are much less numerous than the Blind, there being six per cent, of the former and 11 per cent, of the latter in the general population of Suffolk. There were 195 persons, (111 males, and 84 females) returned as deaf and dumb in this county. The proportion of living persons to one deaf and dumb person is 1,721. In England and AVales there was one deaf and dumb person to every 1,738 other persons; in Norfolk one to every 1,785; in Essex one to every 1,490. The relative numbers of the sexes exhibit great disproportion. There are 11 male deaf mutes to 8 female deaf mutes. The contrast of age between the blhid and deaf and dumb are conspicuous. The numbers of the blind increase as age advances ; the numbers of the deaf and dumb are highest at the period of age ranging between 5 and 30 years of age. JMore than half of the blind were 60 years of age and above. More than half of the deaf and dumb were under 30 years of age. Only 16 of the entire nundjer had attained the age of 00, whilst 79 were under 20 years of age. 76 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTUliY. PATIENTS IN HOSPITALS. The strong inclination of the working cUisses of this county to keep their sick relatives under their own roof for family attention and care, is evidenced by there being only 95 persons of both sexes in General Hospitals in Suffolk, on the night of the 30th of March, 1S51. In Great Britain, of every 100,000 persons living, 54 were inmates of Public Hospitals ; in Suffolk, of every 100,000 persons living, 26 only were inmates of Hospitals. On referring to their ages, we found 1 only under 5 years of age, 10 under 15 years of age, and 12 were 50 years of age and above. LU.TATICS. There were 266 insane persons (121 males and 145 females) in the various asylums in Suftblk at the census of 1851. This is exclusive of lunatic paupers in the Mards of workhouses ; and, as a great many patients are in the care of their relatives, of whom no public returns are made, this number is doubtless very much under the real number. The proportion which the lunatics bear to the general population is 73 in every 100,000. Of 627 males admitted into the County Lunatic x\sylum, at Melton, 245 were discharged cured, 82 were removed, 188 died, and 112 remained. Of 620 females, 278 were discharged cured, 67 removed, 159 died, and 1 1 6 remained, exhibiting a greater number of cures, and a smaller number of deaths among female patients. From the above it appears that in every 10,000 of the population of this county tliere were on the 31st of March, 1851, eJoven persons blind, sLv deaf and dumb, seven lunatics in asylums, and ttco patients in iiospitals ; and the following statistics of the sex and ages of each class cannot fail to interest and instruct. THE BLl^D AND THE DEAF AND DUMB. 1— ft CO ^ s BOTH SEXES > f tr % M '71 00 »«^ CI 5"i 05 OS 1 1— I o 1— » t— • 1 1— > >-• to rf^ 05 to 05 o ■ — T rfi^ CO CO <35 o I o> CT> 1 to Ci o 1 »^ tf^ CO h-» § CO »4^ C5 1 to o 1 to h- * 1 GO O 1 00 1 to o 1 CD 1 lOfl AND VAims pi > o w o 5 ^-^ >■ H to bd O a GO o CO ^1 ? B rf^ 'C^ rji rm >- o »Tj 1 a »—* l_ft >- '•" o cc ^t CO 3| *< D -1 o< 'i"'^ •y. S 1 c< O 1 ^ Ol 4^ o 1 ^^ 00 ^T 1 I— ft lo —I o 1 to 05 o< 1 ^— ft CO to 35 o 1 h-ft M »;^ to o» ^ —J C5 ? »(^ 00 o< 1 K-» Cn o C5 1— ft tn 00 M^ 1 1— ft 1— ft crs to 05 ? t— » to Ci kf^ft- o 1 lO to •'t o )— ft 1 1— ft -'I CT -1 1 to 1— ft GO o to f> t-ft oo h- 05 1 h-ft o o 1— ft 1 c? t— ft »_ft o* . 100 AM) I— ft • vrv ■AUllS a W to tl O w O C/3 >- f tn CO to W H to W Ui t:) I— ( *^ o 78 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. O t/1 xn o yA vA < p !^ -^ t-5 O O < P pq « san'v 001 ; • 95- 1 O C5 1 CO ; ; ■ o GO r-l e . 1'. ": ?! ■>: CO (N 2 ^ ii ^ 05 CHAPTER lY. MARRIAGES, BIRTHS, AND DEATHS. Since 1837 a return of the Births, Deaths, and Marriages in each of the Poor Law Unions, has been quarterly remitted to the Registrar General in London, and the following table embodies particulars, compiled from these returns, of the events most interesting to families, which occurred in Suffolk during the 7 years, 1845— 5L 1845. 1846. 1847. 1848. 1849. 1850. 1851. Marriages 2,446 2,477 2,453 2,539 2,398 2,352 2,294 Births . 10,486 10,848 10,101 10,620 10,955 11,083 11,369 Deaths . 6,572 6,606 6,879 6,501 7,078 6,627 6,839 The year 1848 is the only year in this series in which such an increase of marriages is conspicuous, as has ahuost invariably been observed whenever the earnings of the people enable them to procure an extra quantity of the necessaries of life. The births, also, being more numerous, and the mortality below the average, is confirmatory of the improved condition of the people, arising from increased activity in the sources of employment. We might point to the gradual decrease in the number of marriages in the years 1849, 1850, and 1851, as indicating derangements in the 80 SUFFOLK IN THE XIXETEEXTII CENTUItY. labor market. But we leave this, as the question of Marriages, as well as those of Births and Deaths, have to be separately treated, and we sliall then show that the Marriage Returns for Suffolk serve as a sort of baro- meter of the prosperity of the county. MARRIAGES. The Registrar General has shown in a very able manner that " the fluctuations in the marriages of a country expresses the views which the great body of the people take of their prospects in the world." Such a view of the most important event in the lives of human beings invests it with an extra degree of interest, socially and commercially. Individual observations may show that there is but little calculation of ways and means, before entering into matrimonial engagements ; but the returns for the whole countv, observed for a scries of years, forcibly illustrates the theory, that periods of prosperity are the eras of excess of marriages. The followina; table exhibits the number of marriages in each of the years 1840 — 53, and the quarters of these vears : 1810. 1811. 1812. 1813. 18U. ISio. 1816. 1817. 436 1818. 51G 1819. 470 1830. ■178 1851. 4G7 1852. 450 1853. March 479 4G5 413 440 438 411 465 449 June 451 519 141 443 469 480 488 496 537 470 469 456 480 459 Sept. 415 45G 423 402 431 490 504 498 464 436 431 454 482 516 Dec. 063 938 860 984 1,013 1,032 1,020 1,033 1.022 1,011 2,398 954 2,332 917 2,294 914 2,326 1,052 Total 2,311 2,.378 2,167 2,268 2,351 2,446 2,477 2.453 2,539 2,476 The marriages are unequally distributed throughout the year. They are not numerous in the mouths of January, February, and March, but increase slightly in the sj)ring quarter, and decrease in the summer quarter ; the months of October, November, and J)eccmber being most commonly chosen for the commencement of MARRIAGES. 8 1 matrimonial life. Tlic close of harvest, the termination of the yearly service at Michaelmas, and the approach of the festive Christmas season, doubtless combine to swell the marriage roll at the end of the year. Generally speaking, the marriages in the autumn quarter are double the number of those of either of the other quarters. In 1841, the number of Females at the age of 15 and under 45, was 70,524 ; and the marriages in the 7 years 1839 — 45, showed 3'2G3 women married annually to every 100 women at these ages. Taking the whole population, in the six years 1839 — 44, there was 1 marriage annually to every 138 persons living. In Essex, the marriages were 1 in 154; in England 1 in 129. The proportion varies greatly in the different Unions, and is largest in the towns. The increased proportion of marriages in the towns of Ipswich and Bury St. Edmund's is easily explained by the fact of there being a greater number of residents between the ages of 18 and 40, the marriageable age, and from many persons resorting to these towns for the celebra- tion of the marriage ceremony. The Registrar General, having distinguished the Bachelors from the Widowers, and the Spinsters from the Widows, we are enabled to show the number of re-marriages. In 1851, there were in Suffolk 8 hus- bands to 1 widower, but only 5 wives to 1 widow, j)roving that widowers more frequently re-marry than widows. Where the mortality is greatest, there, as a general rule, the re-marriages are found to bear the largest proportion. In the three years, 1847 — 9, about IG per cent, of the bridegrooms in Ipswich were widow- ers, whilst in Bosmcre, the widowers were 8 per cent. After the mortality of the December quarter of 1846, and the March quarter of 1847, the re-marriages rose from 455 to 524, and 519 in 1847—8. In the five years, 1845 — 9, there were 891 widows, and 1,G03 82 SLFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. widowers entered as brides and bridegrooms, showing more than 10 widowers to every 6 widows. Of the widowers 1,100 were married to spinsters, and 503 to widows : the remaining 298 widows being united to bachelors. More than two-thu'ds of the widowers were united to women never previously married, whilst considerably more than half of the widows have taken " widowers " as their " future partners in life." About 10 per cent, of the persons married had been married before, and, of consequence, enumerated in the returns of previous years. Of the marriages contracted in the 10 years, 1840 — 9, there were 20,970 celebrated according to the rites of the Established Church — 2,392 by license, 11,780 by banns, 207 by Registrar's certificate, and in 6,561 cases the form is not stated. There were 2,868 other marriages not celebrated according to the rites of the Establishment. Of these a very small number were celebrated at Roman Catholic chapels, 14 only at "Eriends" meeting houses, 1,810 at registered places of worship belonging to other Chris- tian denominations, and 987 at the offices of Super- intendent Registrars. The number of persons who avail themselves of the Registrar's oflice for the ])crformance of the contract of marriage increased from 102 in 1840, to 290 in 1849. The increase has been slow and fluctuating ; but between Suffolk and Essex there is a striking difference in this particular. In the three years, 1847 — 9, there were 491 marriages cele- brated at the Registrars' offices in Suffolk, whilst in Essex, there were only 191 so performed. There was only one marriage between Jews during the years named, and none by special license. l\Iarringes among Dissen- ters rose from 179 in 1842, to 399 in 1848. Still the influence of Church principles in connexion with the solinmization of matrimony is strongly evidenced — b() per cent of the marriages were celebrated according MARRIAGES. 83 to the rites of the Church of England, althougli less than 40 per cent, of the population are attendant upon her services. In some districts 95 per cent, of the marriages were performed by ministers of the Establish- ment, In 1849, in Bosnicre, 106 were so celebrated out of 111, and in Mutford, 146 out of 152. The Census Returns made known to us the existence of a number (1,382) of husbands, wives, and widows under 20 years of age, and the Registrar General's returns exhibit annually the number of persons who make a contract of marriage before they are of " full age." Thus, in the ten years, 1840 — 9, of the persons married, 1,279 men, and 3,986 women, were not of "full age" — 5 per cent, of the males, and 17 of the females were under 21 years of age. These early and improvident marriages abound most in Cosford, Sudbury, Ilartismere, and Stow districts, where about 22 per cent, of the brides are under age. The low state of education in Suffolk is also evi- denced by the Marriage Registers. In the seven years, 1839 — 45, the men who signed the registers with marks numbered 46 per cent., the women 52 per cent. In all England, during the same period, the proportion was — men 33, women 49, per cent. Comparison with a mining, an agricultural, and two manufacturing counties at a later period, 1847 — 9, will most plainly exhibit the defective state of education among our adult males. Number of Mar- Number of Men Per Centage of PLACES. riages in the ■who signed Men unable to Years 1847-49. with marks. write names. York, East Ridiug . 7,395 1,573 20 Sussex .... 6,653 1,972 30 Cheshire .... 8,334 2,682 32 Cornwall .... 7,:^ 69 2,529 34 Siifiolk 7,390 3,382 46 This average of 46 per cent, in Suffolk covers a great range. In 1847 — 8, 62 per cent, of the males, and 84 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 61 per cent, of the females, married in the Hartismere Union, signed \vith marks, exhiljiting an excess of 16 per cent, above the average of the count}^ a prepon- derance of males over females, and a proportion of males nearly double the average of all England. There is one more point to consider in con- nexion with the question of Marriages ; viz., whether the annual number of marriages is, or is not, a safe indication of the prosperous condition of the people. To enable our readers to prove this point, we offer for examination the following table, which exhibits the annual number of marriages contracted in Suffolk in each year from 1754 to 1854, derived from the Parish Register Abstracts, compiled by Mr. Rickman, and the Abstracts of the Reoistrar General. NO OF 1 NO. OF 1 NO. OF 1 NO. OF NO. OF YEARS. .MAR- YEARS. MAR- YEARS. MAR- YEARS. MAR- YEARS. MAR- RIAGES. RIAGES. RI.\Gj;S, RIAGES. RIAGES. 1754 964 1774 1,386 1 1794 1,557 1814 2,079 ! 1834 2,389 1755 1,214 1775 1,365 1 1795 1,474 1815 2,081 j 1835 2,093 1756 1,290 1776 1,525 1796 1,569 1816 1,863 1836 1,903 1757 1,168 1777 1,527 1 1797 1,731 1817 1,985 1837 1,993 1738 1,152 1778 1,592 1798 1,725 1818 2,083 1838 * > > • 1759 1,354 1779 1,657 1799 1,614 1819 2,105 1839 2,302 17C0 1,353 1780 1,484 1800 1,538 1820 2,041 1840 2;311 1761 1,427 1781 1,384 1801 1,435 1821 2,130 1841 2,378 17C2 1,294 1782 1,383 1802 1,940 1822 2,066 1842 2,167 1763 1,36'J 1783 1,4U7 1803 2,093 1823 2,107 1843 2,208 1764 1,409 1784 1,483 1804 2,016 i 1824 2,120 1844 2,351 1765 1,4.30 1785 1,544 1805 1,769 j 1825 2,045 1845 2,446 1766 1,380 1780 1,579 1806 1,852 1826 2,154 184'i 2,477 1767 1,326 1787 1,591 1807 1,816 1827 2,194 1847 2,453 1768 1,380 1788 1,423 1808 1,797 1828 2,197 1848 2,539 1769 1,509 1789 1,507 1809 1,679 1829 2,093 1849 2,398 1770 1,398 1790 1,416 1 1810 1,738 1830 2,195 1850 2,332 1771 1,381 1791 1,513 1811 1,967 1831 2.369 1851 2.294 1772 1,378 1792 1,548 1812 1,759 1832 2,337 1852 2,320 1773 1,434 1793 1,648 1813 1,922 1833 2,355 1853 2,476 In Deccm])er, 1851, there were (51 buildings regis- tered ill the county for the Solemnization of Marriages — 3 belonged to Unitarians, .'11 to Independents, Is to iia|)tists, '|. to Roman Catholics, and 2 to I'liiiiitive Methodists. lilllTlIS. 85 BIRTHS. During the first three or four years of its operation, neghgence, opposition, and erroneous notions unitedly caused great imperfection in the llegistration of IJirths. Much of this inii)erfection has happily been removed, still it is believed that many children born alive are not registered, as there is no penalty to render the registration compulsory. Notwithstanding this defect, the civil registers of Birth are nnich more complete than the church registers of Baptism, and many im- })ortant facts- have, in consequence, been made public. There were 104,713 Births and 64,853 Deaths regis- tered in the ten years ending December 31st, 1850, so that the known excess of births amounted to 39,878. The 104,713 llegistered Births do not, however, represent the number that actually occurred in Suffolk, as the births of still-born children are not registered. In some years such births are numerous. Thus, in J\Iarch, 1851, the Registrar of Rattlesden, in Stow Union, declared that there were at least 20 still and premature births (nearly a third of the registered births) in his district during the quarter. The term " still-born," implies children born who never breathe in the world. If a premature infant of six months breathe, it is said to be born alive, is registered among the Births, and if it die, among the Deaths. The Births returned in the years 1841 — 53, and the quarters of these years, arc as follows : QUAItTEKS ENDING l&ll. 1842. 13J3. 1814. 1S45. 1846. 1817. 1848. 1819. 2,962 1850. 1851. 1852. 1853. March . 2,736 2,580 2,633 2,824 2,817 2,632 2,765 2,693 2,794 3,068 2,914 2,841 June . 2,591 2,625 2,576 2,802 2,769 2,941 2,770 2,853 2,898 3.025 3,055 3,004 2,851 Sept. . 2,415 2,372 2,531 2,280 2,487 2,608 2,283 2,679 2,483 2,G59 2,638 2,491 2,366 Dec. . . a,368 2,383 2,537 10,277 2,352 2,383 2,664 2.283 2,395 10.620 2,G12 10,955 2,605 2,608 2,566 2,308 Total . 10,143 9,960 10,?58 10,486 10,848 10,101 11,083 11.366 10,974 10,366 86 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. In the year 1851 there was the largest number of births (11,366) that was ever registered in Suffolk during one year. Generally speaking, the number of boys born is much larger than the number of girls. In the six years 1839 — 44, there were 60,066 children born alive, and registered, the numbers exhibiting about 105 males to 100 females. It has been observed, that the excess of males is greatest amongst legitimate children. In some years Suffolk has exhibited this fact very strongly. In 1849, among legitimate births there w^re 368 more boys than girls ; but among illegitimate births, 20 more girls than boys. In 1850, however, there were 112 males horn out of %vecUock, to every 100 females so born. The rate of births is influenced by the seasons. It is higher in the first than in the second half of the year, nearly in the proportion of five to four. In Eng- land, the excess of Births is shown in the March quarter ; in Suffolk, it is generally in the June quarter. In the six years 1839 — 44, there was one birth in every 32 of the population. In 1851, to every 100,000 of the popu- lation, 3,371 children were born. In England, the rate was 3,428 births to every 100,000 of the popula- tion. In 1841, the women of the child-bearing age (15 — 45) numbered 70,534, nearly equal to the number of children (70,552), born in the seven years 1839 — 45; exhibiting one birth annually to every seven women of the age of 16 — 45. In 1851, the number of married women between the ages of 15 and 45, was 36,659, and the births showed that a child was brought forth in that year by nearly every third married woman in the county. Twins and triplets occur both in and out of wedlock. In 1845 there were 62 married and 5 unmarried — and in 1852, 83 married and 3 unmarried women dcHvered of twins. Of the cliihlren born in wedlock, in 43 cases they were both males; in 51 cases, male BIKTllS. K7 and female ; and in the remaining 48 cases, both females. Of those born out of wedlock, there were four cases of male twins, in three others male and female, and one case of female twins. In 1854, two women in ]|)swich bore triplets, one of them a married woman. The triplet born in wedlock were all males, whilst the unmarried woman gave birth to one male and two females. Another interesting point is, the number of illegiti- mate children, which are foiuul to be numerous in this county — in many years, 8 illegitimate to every 100 legitimate births ; and, although the proportion of illegitimate children cannot without various other par- ticulars serve as a standard of morality, nevertheless, a remarkable frequency of such cases is, without doubt, in many respects a serious evil. The actual number registered annually, since 184.2, has been — 1842. 1843. 1841. 1845. 1846. 1847. 1848. 1849. 1850. 1851. 1 185-i. 804 Not gui liistiu- shed. 937 950 849 846 924 934 1 1 1,002 886 i It is not stated distinctly in the Register of Births " whether children registered are, or are not, born in wedlock," and the fact is inferred from various circum- stances on the face of the register; but, as in every doubtful case the child is classed as legitimate, the numbers mentioned are rather below than above the truth. In 1842, the illegitimates were — in Suffolk, 8'1 per cent. ; in Essex, only 5 3 ; and in all England, 6' 7. In 1845, they were — in Suffolk, 8*9 ; in Essex, 5-7 ; and in all England, 7*0 per cent, of the total births. In 1851, we find that of every 10,000 women unmarried, and of the age of 20 — 40, there were 437 children born ; and of every 1 ,000 children born in that year 88 were born out of wedlock. 88 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. The proportion of illegitimates varies greatly in the different districts of the county. Thus, taking the average of 1847 and 184S, the proportion of illegiti- mate to legitimate births was 1 in 8 in Hartismere, 1 in 10 in Cosford, 1 in 10 in Wangford, 1 in 18 in Mutford, and 1 in 23 in Samford. Givins: an averagje of 1 in 12 for the whole county ; the proportion in all England during the same period being 1 in 16. Bastards in Hartismere Union were thus in number double the average of all England. If the number of unmarrried women between 15 and 45 were greater in the Hartis- mere, Cosford, and Wangford Unions than in other portions of the county, a proportionate increase in the number of illegitimates would not prove any inferiority in the manners and morals of these districts. But the census has shown this not to be the case, and the great number of illegitimates, coupled, as it is, with an excess of crime and a burden of pauperism in these unions, is indicative of the laboring population therein being in a very low moral condition. Socially and politically this question of illegitimates is of great importance to the community. Who can doubt that the existence of a class of men bound to society by few or no family ties is a matter of indifference to the community ? Without any crime whatever of his own, the illegitimate child is exposed to hardships, dangers, and ignominy from his infancy, and get through the world with more trouble than children born in wedlock. ]\Iore of them are poor, more of them become juvenile criminals, more of them are paupers, more of them are still born, and the mortality among them is much greater than among the legitimate. The latter fact is patent to everybody ; for if the mortality among them was not greater than among those born in wedlock, every twelflh person in Suffolk would be of illegitimate extraction. Their cost to the community is much greater than might be anticipated. In IS;35 no less DEATHS. 89 than 1,652 illegitimates were chargeable to the parishes of Suffolk; in 1836 they numbered 1,463; and even in 1853, no less than 348 children in the workhouses of this county were the illegitimate children of the inmates ; and 79 illegitimate children, and 50 of their mothers, were among the able-bodied out-door poor. DEATnS. We now approach the solemn subject of Deaths. During the seven years ending December 31st, 1854, there were 47,250 deaths, a mortality more than equal- ling in number the population of liury St. Edmund's, Lowestoft, Bccclcs, Bungay, Woodbridge, Iladleigh, Stowmarket, and Sudbury, in 1851. We annex a return of the number for each of the years, and the quarters of these years. 1838. 1839. 1840. 1811. 1842. 1843. 1 i 1844. 1845. ' 1846. ! 1847. 1848. 1849. 1850. 1851. 1852. 1853. 18-i4. First Quailcr 1,802 1,645 1,646 1,663 1,661 1,581 1,919 1,898 1,498 2,194 1,803 1,933 I,'J36 1,796 1,K0 1,939 1,708 Second Quarter 1,786 1,726 1,566 1,646 1 1,686 1,.509 2,510 1,846 i 1,576 1,862 1,671 1,775 1,774 1,824 1,856 1,930 1,552 Thira Quarter 1,369 1,337 1,475 1,334 1,443 1,379 1,434 1,403 1,703 1,450 1,463 1,622 1,496 1,537 1,612 1,.M5 1,526 TuurtiiQuaiter 1,161 1,411 1.498 1,464 1,336 1,350 1,520 1,419 1,829 1,373 1,504 1,752 1,421 1,682 1,572 1,493 6,907 1,688 Totiil . . . 6,418 6,120 ' 6,186 \ 6,307 6,126 5,819 1 6,383 ^ 6,572 6,606 6,879 1 6,501 7,078 6,582 6,839 6,870 6,474 Suffolk, as a whole, occupies a healthy position in the lists of the Registrar General, whether the deaths arc compared with those of all England, or with those of the neighbouring counties. In the seven years, 1838 — 44, to 100,000 persons, of equal proportions of males and females, there were 1,968 deaths, or 1 death in 51 of the population ; in England, the proportion was 1 in 46 ; in Norfolk, 1 in 48, From the number of deaths, the years 1838, 1845, 1846, 1847, and 1849, must be considered unhealthy, and those of 1839, 1840, and 1843, healthy seasons. The number of deaths in 1849 exceeded in number those of any previous or subsequent year, whilst the 90 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. number in 1843 was considerably below the average of the whole period. Descending to particulars, we will glance at the deaths in each of the quarterly periods, bearing in mind that these quarters end in the last days of March, June, September, and December. Upon examining the returns, we find that the first quarter is usually the most fatal, the third quarter the least. During the six years, 1846 — 51, the deaths in the six quarterly periods were — FIRST. SECOND. THIRD. FOURTH. 11,160 10,482 9,271 9,621 First Quarter (January, February, March). — In the above mentioned six years, the deaths in this quarter averaged 1,860, an average that was only equalled once in the six years by the actual number of deaths in the other quarterly periods. It is not, however, invariably the most destructive of health and life. In 1840, the deaths were lower in this than in either of the succeeding quarters, but in 1847, the increase was 40 per cent. — the deaths rose from 1,498 to 2,194, the highest number ever recorded in one quarter of the year in Suffolk. In some districts of the county the difference in the number of deaths in these two winter quarters is remarkable. Thus, Risbridge, 74 and 131 ; Woodbridge, 110 and 202; Blything, 99 and 101; Samford, 29 and 84; but in Mutford and Thingoe the difference was slight, the numbers being respectively 89 and 94, and 82 and 94. In 1819 there was an increase in the mortality in Suffolk, and a decrease in both Essex and Norfolk. Second Quarter (April, May, June). — The table exhibits the mortality to be above the average in this (juarter, in the years 1839, 1844, 1845, 1847, and 1851; and below the average in the corresponding months of 1810, 1643, and 1846. The excess of deaths in 1817 was most conspicuous in Hisbridge, DEATHS. 9 1 Samford, Woodbridge, and Plomcsgatc. The deaths in Samford numbered 09, the number in the spring (juarter of 184G having been only 39, and the average of two previous and two subsequent years being 47. In Bury St. Edmund's the excess was in 1845, the deaths numbering 113 ; the average of the four sub- sequent years was 79. In Sudbury district, also, tlie excess was in 1845 ; the deaths Avere 213, the average of four years being ICG. In Ipswich, the deaths in the five spring quarters of 1845—9, were 178, 172, 152, 138, 170. In Hoxne, llartismere, and Cosford, the excess was greatest in 1845; whilst in Stow and Mildcnhalj, the mortality was nearly uniform during the five quar- ters named. In the years 184G — 51, the deaths in this quarter averaged annually 1,743. Third Quarter (July, August, September). — The comparative healthiness of the summer quarter will be easily seen by the Table of Deaths. The rate of mortality is usually lowest in these months. The annual average in the 6 years ending 1851 was 1,543, in the 6 years ending 1845 it was only 1,412. The deaths were above the average in the summer months of 1840, 1846, and 1849, and below the average in 1839, 1841, 1843, 1847, and 1850. The increase in 184G is conspicuous on the face of the returns. In the entire county the increase in the corresponding quarter of the previous year was 21 per cent. The towns, however, suffered most severely. In Ipswich the increase was 100 per cent.; in Bury St. Edmund's it was 76 per cent. In the spring quarter, the deaths in Ipswich were 9 weekly ; in the summer quarter of the same year, they rose to an average of 18 weekly. In Mutford and Woodbridge districts there was also a considerable increase, but in the districts of Sudbury, Cosford, Stow, and Plomes- gate there was a decrease when compared with the corresponding quarter of the previous year. In the summer quarter of 1849, Ipswich, which is generally 92 SUIFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTUUY. unhealthy, had 241 deaths. In Stow and Cosford the mortahty was also above the average. Fourth Quarter (October, November, December.) — The salubrity of the autumnal quarters will be seen by a glance at the Table of Deaths. It will be observed that after the extraordinary hot summer of 1846, the deaths in this quarter were very numerous, 29 per cent, above the mortality of the corresponding quarter of 1845. October was wet; November mild until the 17th. Epidemics of tj^phus and influenza set in, bronchitis prevailed, and the potato disease re-appeared. The excess of deaths was most conspicuous in the districts of Bury, Mildenhall, Stow, and Ipswich. The deaths in i\lildenhall District in the years 1845 — 7 Mere, respec- tively, 28, 02, 39; in Stow, 72, 129, 77; in Ipswich, 145, 212, 107 ; but in Wangford they were, 59, 59, 47 ; and in Mutford, 100, 103, 77. The deaths in the six years 1846—51, averaged annually 1,599 in this quarter. CAUSES OF DEATH. The Registration of Births and Deaths is important in many respects, but in no respect is it more valuable than in recording the causes of death. " Science has nothing to offer more inviting in speculation than the laws of vitality, the variation of these laws in the two sexes, at different ages, and the influence of occupation, locality, seasons, and other physical agencies, either in generating diseases, and inducing death, or in improving the public health." The registration of the causes of death indicates the character of diseases in every district, shows that the diseases and constitutions of our population present striking discrepancies, and enables us to observe the extent to which epidemics vary in different localties, seasons, and classes of society, and is thus of great importance to the promotion of practical medicine. The CAUSES OF DEATH. 93 prevalence of a disease is expressed by the deaths in a given time, out of a given number living, with as much accuracy as the temperature is indicated by a thermometer, so that, when the mean population of a district is known, the rise and decline of epidemics may be traced exactly, and greater precision to the principles of physic are thereby given. The fact is now well established that the mean duration of life in females is longer than in males, and that certain causes of death affect the sexes to a very different extent. The table which we shall subjoin exhibits the principal diseases which lead to this result, and show that while the two sexes are concurrently exposed to the ravages of nearly all the causes of death, their degree of liability to death from particular maladies is very various. Much of this discrepancy is owing to the difference of oro;anization and dissimi- larity of habits and occupations, as intemperance and fatigue are insufficient to account for the higher mortality among males, the differential mortality being greater in early childhood, and before birth, than in the more advanced ages. But allowing that modifications in the organs and functions of the two sexes will account for some of the increased mortality among males, what anatomical or physiological reason will explain the singular facts, that in five years 100 males and 308 females died of cancer, 2,608 males and 3,570 females died of consumption, 857 males and 621 females of pneumonia, 37 males and 16 females of diabetis? These are problems for investigation and solution. The various forms of disease were originally sepa- rated into large groups, and even now the analysis of disease is very imperfect. By the Registrar General they are classified into two grand divisions ; the First class, Zi/motic, embracing all diseases like fever, small pox, and cholera, that prevail endemically or epidemically; the Second class, Sporadic, embracing all diseases that 94 SUFFOLK IN THE XIXETEEXTII CEXTURY. arise in an isolated manner from ordinary causes, and those caused by violent means. The diseases of this class are grouped according to the systems and organs affected, and sub-divided into Diseases of the " Digestive Organs," " Respiratory Organs," " Nervous System," etc. The annual mortality from the first class, or Zymotic diseases, averages in Suffolk 15 per cent, of the total specified deaths. In 1842 the proportion was only 14 per cent, and in 1849 it was as high as 21 per cent, of specified deaths. During 1840, 1841, 1842, 1848, 1849, 153 persons died of small pox, 330 of measles, 1,097 of scarlatina, 510 of hooping cough, 490 of diarrhoea, 129 of cholera, 1,692 of typhus, 292 of influenza. The first four diseases chiefly affect children ; the last four, adults. Distinguishing the sexes, 2,709 males and 2,807 females died of this epidemic and contagious class of diseases. Small pox, croup, thrush, diarrhoea, and cholera, proved most fatal to males ; measles, scarlatina, hooping cough, influenza, and typhus, to females. The number of deaths here mentioned as occurrinoj from small pox and measles, do not convey an accurate idea of the mortality occasionally produced by these diseases. They remain stationary for months and years and then suddenly break forth and spread desolation around. The small pox epidemic prevailed in Suffolk in 1837, 1838, and 1839, and the deaths from that disease in 1838 amounted to 325, whilst in the three years 1840 — 2 it caused only 11 deaths. Measles were most fatal in 1840, causing 158 deaths, and in 1842 only 5. Scarlatina destroyed 234 in 1839 and 405 in 1849. Hooping cough caused 158 deaths in 1838, and 184 in lb4l. Cholera kiUed 2 persons only in 1841, and 79 in 1849. Influenza carried off" 101 in 1848. Typhus is a regular visitor, generally causing between 300 and 400 deaths annually. We append here a table showing the deaths from small ])ox, measles, scarlatina, anil typhus in 11 CAUSES OF DEATH. 95 qiiarteily periods, extending from July 1st, 1837, to December 31st, 1840--/o«r summers, four autumns, three winters, and three springs. This will show that these diseases are not influenced by increase or decrease of temperature. 1837. 1838. 1 1839. 1840. DISKASES. JULY OCT. JAN. APn. JULY OCT. JAN. APR. JULY OCT. JAN. APR. JULY OCT. AUG. NOV. FK]i. MAY AUG. NOV. I'ED. MAY AUG. NOV. I' Eli MAY .VUG. NOV. SKP. DEC. MAR. JV.-NE SEPT. DKC. MAR. JUNE SEPT DKC. MAR. JUNE SEPT. DEO. Small Pox 12 22 66 64 55 140 88 32 14 8 1 1 1 1 Measles 34 18 33 7 3 5 2 3 8 14 26 .'59 59 Scarlatina 13 8 9 10 19 49 42 41 66 85 23 22 79 62 Typhus 95 113 121 86 112 74 79 87 74 77 94 97 86 109 Here we find that measles declined as small pox rose, and again became powerful as small pox declined, and that each of these diseases have been extremely fatal during all periods of the year. Deaths from small pox occurred before July 1837 in the Woodbridge, Plomesgate, and Blything districts. It reached Ipswich in 1838, but only 2 deaths occurred in the first three months, although 95 ensued in the last three months of that year. At the time it was at its height, in Ipswich, it was declining rapidly in Bury, Mildenhall, Thingoe, Blything, Mutford, and Wangford. It tra- versed the hills and valleys of the county, and attained its maximum in the autumn of 1838. There is seldom a quarterly period without one or more deaths from small pox in Suffolk ; but why these deaths increase at certain seasons to 12, 22, 66, 65, 55, 140, and then progressively fall though the same measured steps, is a fact unsolved. Diseases of Uncertain Seat include hosmorrhage, dropsy, abscess, ulcer, fistula, mortification, cancer, and gout; 1,816 deaths, or about 6 per cent, of the speci- fied deaths, were ascribed to these causes in the five years 96 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. named. Dropsy, doubtless frequently associated with organic diseases of the heart, is the most fatal disease of the class, having destroyed more than 1,000 lives, cancer 408, mortification 179, hoemorrhage (rupture or bursting of blood vessels) 118. The Registrar General has remarked that cancer is an example of great regularity in the mortality which some diseases cause. In Suffolk, however, this regularity is not observed. In the five years ending 1842 the annual deaths from this disease were 55, 66, 05, 82, 00. In the five years ending 1852, they were 92, 107, 372, 335, 31G. Hoemorrhage Cthe effusion of blood), and dropsy (the effusion of serum), as well as cancer, were most destruc- tive to females ; ulcer, fistula, and mortification, to males. Three females to one male died of cancer; but abscess was slightly more destructive to males than to females. There were five deaths from gout, all males. Tuhcrcular Diseases. — There were 7,1 9C deaths, or 23 per cent, of the specified causes, registered under this class, which embraces scrofula, tabes mesenterica, phthisis, and hydrocephalus. But slight variation is exhibited in the annual number of deaths. I a the five years ending 1842 they were 1,452, 1,447, 1,450, 1,540, 1,459. In the five years ending 1852 they numbered, 1,385, 1,364, 1,278, 1,279, 1,319. Hydrocephalus and tabes mesenterica were most fatal to males ; scrofula and phthisis, to females. The mortaHty from phthisis or consumption is truly alarming. ^Hiis disease is doubly and trebly more fatal than any other disease on the list, and the deaths of Suflblk females from this are far above the average of England, as well as of that of the neighbouring counties, lu the four years ending 1842, there were 350 more deaths from consumption in Sufiblk than in Essex, although the total (K'aths were 1,200 less than they were in Essex. Consumption is tlie great inexorable destroyer of men and women in the prime of life, and the most eminent oi' the CAUSES OF DEATH. 97 medical profession have been baflled in their efforts to disarm it of its fatal powers. At the adult age, when this disease prevails, the number of men and women living are neai-ly ecjual, yet there is a great excess of female victims. In the five years previously named it cut off 2,G()S males and 3,570 females, being most fatal in 1841, least so in 1849. The annital deaths from hydrocephalus in the five years ending 1842 were 89, 09, 74, 78, 69. In the corresponding five years ending 1852, they were 117, 91, 93, 101, 94. Diseases of the Nervous Si/stcm. — In this class 2,711 diafhs (8 per cent, of the s[)ecificd nnmber) were registered. The deaths in this class are annually subject to bnt trifling variation, having been in the five years ending 1842, 538, 491, 532, 478, 559 ; and 10 years later they were respectively, 5G7, 575, Gil, G54, 675. Some diseases of the nervous system are singidarly nniform in the nnmber of deaths which they annnally cause. Thus, apoplexy, 4 years — 105, 105, 101, 101 ; ccphalitns, same years — 32, 38, 38, 36. The deaths from convulsions were 666 (349 males and 317 females.) Many of these were very young, and, it being a frecjuent termination of all infantile diseases, it probably included several diseases undeveloped, or the result of diseases of the epidemic class. In Essex the deaths from convulsions are more than double what they arc in Suffolk, and in Norfolk they are much more numerous than in Suffolk. ^I'hc deaths from apoplexy were 593, from paralysis 549. Upon an average of 7 years, apoplexy is in this county 27 per cent, more fatal than paralysis; but in 1842 paralysis was 25 per cent, more fatal than apoplexy. This class is slightly^ more fatal to males than to females, paralysis ancj epilepsy being the only maladies which affected more females than males. To tetanus (lock-jaw) the deaths of nine males and three females were ascribed. To delirium tremens, 31 males and females. "Tetanus" 7 98 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. generally folloAA'S wounds, and is therefore remotely caused by accidental violence, to which males are more exposed than females, and " delirium tremens " is also sometimes brought on by wounds in drunkards, to which males are more especially liable. To chorea (St. Yitus's dance,) the deaths of only two persons (females) were registered. Organs of Circulation. — This class comprised 570 deaths, scarcely 2 per cent, of the specified deaths ; but this is probably much below the real number, which is almost evident from the increase of deaths ascribed to this class in recent years — 71 in 1840 and 210 hi 1849. The diagnosis of heart diseases has of late years been brought to great ])erfection, and many are now detected with facility which formerly escaped notice, death being ascribed to a wrong cause. Many of the dropsies, sudden deaths, apoplexies, and the "visitation of God" at intpiests, are the effects of heart disease. Rheumatism is rarely fatal except when it seizes on the heart. The sexes suffer nearly equally from diseases of the heart and blood vessels ; 25 deaths arc ascribed to the inflammation of the external membranes and of the sac in which the heart is contained (pcricarditus). Nearly three times as many males as females Avere destroyed by rupture of tlio blood vessels of the heart (aneurism). Bcspirator// Or(/aiis. — The deaths from diseases of this class amounted to 2,092, or 8 per cent, of tiie s|)ecified deaths. Considerable variation is shown by the animal returns. In the five years ending 1S42, the deaths were 102, 371, 472, 450, 374. In^ the corres- ])onding 5 years, ending 1852, they were 082, 711', 73S, 789, 7 14. Pneumonia (intlauunation of the lungs) is the most fatal disease of this class, the deaths in the first five vears above named having been 315, 2 18, 290, 213,^245. But young children fnrnisiud the majority of the cases, and some of them were the CAUSES OF DEATH. 99 sequence of hooping congli and measles. Bronchitis is a destructive disease of this class. The deaths from bronchitis and pneumonia together in the live years ending 1852 amounted to 3,055, these diseses being fatal both in infancy and advanced age. The fatality of males in this class is 24 per cent, greater than that of females, some of which is doubtless owing to their being so nuich more exposed to the inclemencies of the weather. More boys than girls, however, die of pneumonia under one year of age, when this cause can have no influence. Diseases of the Digestive Organs. — This class of diseases caused 1,790 deaths or G per cent, of the total number. They are about 10 per cent, more fatal to males than to females. Quinsy destroyed a few lives. Inflammation of the bowels is classed under Enteritis, from which in four years the deaths of 171 males and 152 females ensued; 42 males and 42 females died of peritonitis; 33 males and 13 females of hernia. This disease is not common in females, but its fatality is much greater than with males, the bowel, when it does escape, being much more liable to strangulation in the hernia of females than in the hernia of males. The deaths from intussusception are few. Both hernia and intussusception are inflammation of the intestine caused by pressure, in the former preceded by the escape, in the latter by violent muscular action, of the bowels, and generally terminating in mortification. Stricture of the intestinal tube is often caused by cancerous deposits, and hence affects more females than males. Nearly all other diseases of the intestinal canal proved most fatal to males ; so did jaundice and all diseases of the liver except hepatitis (inflammation of the liver.) In a pure classification, the deaths from thrush, diarrhoea, dysentery, and cholera, should be added tc the diseases of the digestive organs, which would 100 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. raise the mortality of this class to 2,731 deaths, or nearly 9 per cent, of the total number of deaths. Urinarij Or (j cms. — There were 207 males and 47 females died of diseases of the urinary organs ; nearly five times more males than females. The mortality of the former from stone and gravel was 21, of the latter only 2. Diabetis, a singular disease, in which sugar is excreted in the urine, destroyed 37 males and IG females. Cystitus, 10 males and 1 female. Organs of Generation. — Deaths from diseases of the organs of generation are few in males, and in females arc chiefly confined to the diseases incidental to child- bearing. Only 10 deaths are ascribed to paremenia (turn of life) showing that this common disease, embar- rassing to the medical practitioner, and attended with nuich mental apprehension, is rarely fatal: 171 mothers died in child-birth or miscarriage. The proportion of mothers thus perishing at this important period of life nuist suggest to every humane person the hifpiiry, whether the education of the nurses who attend the poor in labor may not be improved. Who will con- tend that the annual deaths of 35 women in child- birth — exclusive of the deaths from metria, a zymotic fever, incidental to child-birth — and of nearly 500 children in the first month after delivery, are natural and inevitable? The mortality of mothers in Sullblk, although in general below the average of England, is in some years excessive. Thus, in the year ending 30th of .Tune, 1S40, there were 16 deaths in child-bed in the district of Blything, Mutford, and Wanglbrd, and only 25 in the whole county of Essex, 20 in Dorsetshire, 17 in Buckinghamshire, 11 in Bedfordshire, and 10 in Oxforrlshirc. Organs of J.ocomotion. — The bones, muscles, liga- ments, and tendons constitute a large ])roportion of the bulk of the body, yet the diseases of tiie entire locomotive svstein were ])ut little more than half as CAUSE.S OF DEATH. lOl fatal as diseases of tlic kidneys and bladder. Inclnd- ing rheumatism, the deatlis were only 151, less than 1 per cent, of the specified deaths. The bones are, notwithstanding, very liable to mechanical inju- ries, and many of the violent deaths are the result of fractures. Ivtegumentary Si/stem. — The deaths from affections of the mtegumentary system were comparatively few — 49 males and 35 females — a proportion very similar to the deaths ascribed to abscess, or to those arising from rheumatism. Malformation. — The deaths from diseases of this class are few, and are generally more conunon to males than to females. Sjnna bifida, in 1S48 — \), destroyed equal numbers of each sex. Premature Births and BehiUty. — 2,0 IG deaths arc included in this class. It is composed chiefly of pre- mature or weakly infants, who, from protracted par- turition or other causes, come into existence in a state of exhaustion, and breathe for a few hours, days, or weeks, and then die. In the four years ending 1842, they numbered annually 3b5, 357, 398, 36G. There is an excess of males amounting to 20 per cent. The male foetus and male infants die in greater num- bers than individuals of the opposite sex. The difference between Essex and Suffolk, as to the number of deaths ascribed to this cause, is very striking. In the four years, ending 1842, the total deaths in Essex were 1,100 more than they were in Suffolk; but under the head of "Debility," the deaths in Suffolk were more numerous, by 384, than in Essex. The excess is annually conspicuous in the districts of Risbridge and Sudbury, and frequently in other rural districts. In 1839, they were one in 12 of the total deaths in the 13osmere, Hartismere, and lloxne districts, and one in 21 in Ipswich; in 1840, they were 07ic in M in Risbridge and Sudbury, and one in 25 in Ipswich. 102 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTUllY. The deaths are frequently described as arising from " Debility from bad nursing." Atrophy. — The body wastes away in many diseases, where the cause of the wasting is not discovered, or nutrition is suspended, and such deaths are classed under atrophy. These deaths are returned in greatly increased numbers in recent years, doubtless arising from improved diagnosis; 59 deaths in 1839, and 251 in 1849, are returned as belonging to this class. It is about equally fatal to males and females. Age. — As the age is precisely expressed in the registry, ** Old Age " is an unnecessary, and, generally speaking, a very inaccurate term to denote the cause of death. In some instances vitality may recede before insensible decay, and the diseases of the aged being exceedingly fatal, and the symptoms in their feeble functions so often masked, that they will run through their course without attracting attention. Improvement in the registry of the aged is apparent. In the first tlu'ce years of its operation the numbers returned as dying from " Old Age " averaged 893 per amnnn ; in the three years ending 1851, they averaged only G13 per annum. Sudden Death. — 351 sudden deaths, viz. 203 males and 148 females, were registered in the five years named. They were all cases in which incpiests were held, and in which the cause of death was not ascer- tained. From the registration it is shown that women liave less chance of dying suddenly than men, in the ])roportion of 15to2(f. The term "Sudden Death" is generally aj)plied to cases where ])ersons, pre- viously able to attend to business, are suddenly deprived of consciousness, and expire in a few hours or a few mimites. These deaths sometimes occur without pro- ducing any a})j)reeiable change in the organisation ; and, without a careful cxaminalion and analysis of the contents of Ihc slomach, hide can be positively known HEALTH. 103 of the causes of sudden death. Such phrases as " Visitation of God," in use among Coroners and Juries, are, in a medical point of view, imintelHgible. External Causes. — The deaths from external causes numbered 8GS ; of males GOi, of females 201; the males thus suffering more than doubly as nuich as the females, their occupations being of a more dangerous character. This class includes all kinds of violent deaths, and there is a great approximation to uniformity in the annual number. In the five years ending 1842, they were 149, 178, IGl), 17G, 159. In the five years ending 1852, 174, 190, IGS, 188, 202. Only 4 deaths are directly ascribed to intemperance. It is with regret we mention that the deaths of G males and 1 female are ascribed to privation. The want of food probably destroys a much larger proportion, but its effects are generally manifested indirectly in the ])ro- duction of diseases of various kinds. The privation is rarely if ever absolute, but the supply of food is inadequate to satisfy the Avants of the organisation. In 1848 — 9, burns and scalds destroyed GG, fractures and contusions 94, drowning 83, poison 7, wounds /^ /* • The individuals carried off" by violence are in the meridian of life, and, like the victims of typhus and consumption, their lives arc, socially and politically, of the highest value. HEALTH. In connection with Health, the value of Registration of Deaths may be mentioned. The returns of the District Registrars form a kind of Sanitary ]\Iap. The localities where disease is most rife, and the salubrious- Hcss of hitherto unknown spots and places where there is the least tendency to particular kinds of sickness and infirmity, are thus made known. This has a direct influence upon public health; the exciting causes of 104 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTU CENTURY. disease being known, measures for the prevention as well as the cure may be applied. Climate is one of the most important circumstances which contribute to heahhy organisation. A good chmate is that which is best adapted to dcvclope and maintain the intellect, the strength, and health of man, in the highest perfection, and to the production of the sup])lics best adapted to the support of man. As an agricultural county, Suffolk can scarcely be surpassed, and in proof, we need only mention the products of the soil, animal and vegetable. Our stock has long been noted for its superiority, and if this excellence is due to breed in the first instance, it must be acknow- led2;ed that no other influence than that of climate could have perpetuated it, for the same stock imported into less favorable regions is known to deteriorate rapidly. Suffolk is peculiar for the bleak n. e. wind in spring. A tender youth, born in Devon, would experience much suffering from the vernal east winds, and a sturdy Suffolk boy would become lax in Devon's mild zephyrs. Even natives, particularly such as are predis[)osed to consumption, feel severely the effects of these biting Avinds, while it seems to brace the nerves and create a healthy appetite in strong constitutions, so that, after a rural walk in ]\larcli and April, we become more hungry than at any time of the year. Whereas, on the coming on of the first lieat of summer, we ex- perience prostration, languor, and debility, with a degree of nnusca, and also when the gloom and d;uiip comes in October and November. Sullblk, however, can ])oast of exemption from the ague, which prevails on the Essex coast, mainly arising from the gravelly and chalky bottom which exists along our coast. The bleakness of tlie east wind is greatest on the coast, and less suit(ul to the aged or consumptive, except during the great sunuuer heat, when the sea HEALTH. 105 breeze produces a moderated temperature, tlie tlier- mometcr being generally 10 degrees lower on the coast than in the central or the western districts of the county. The air on our high Suflijlk plains in the centre of the county, or near lladlcigh and Bury St. Edmund's, is, taking the whole year together, the most liealthy and promotive of longevity. Our rural districts have long been reniarkal)le for such a list of old pcoj)le as few provinces can i)roduce. Many instances of the decease of centenarians, within the last 20 years, might be cited, and whole pages of names be given of those who, like the patriarch of entomology, the Rev. AV^illiam Kirby, of Barham, have attained the age of 90, and upwards. My friend Whistlecraft says : " I have known many men at 85 or more, who could walk many miles daily at the rate of two and a half and three miles per hour, and they looked hale and as if no more than 05 ; but like old hollow trees, with sturdy bark only, they suddenly fell, at the slightest stroke of the axe, nothing solid remaining within to resist the blow." Examination of the Registrars' returns has shown that Norfolk, Suffolk, and Rutland arc the most cele- brated for the longevity of their udiabitants. The longest-lived districts in Suflblk are those of Stow, Bosmerc, llartismerc, and lloxne, or the midlantl district of the county. Persons wishing to choose a long-lived district for a residence, may, however, be acconunodated in various parts of Suffolk. The com- parative longevity in different counties and districts was, in 1811 — Norfolk one in 245 lived to 70 years and upwards, Suffolk „ 24!) 70 Essex ,, 307 70 Ipswich ,, 5-54 70 liundred of Stow ,, 210 70 Camliridscsbirc ,, 340 70 Lancashire ,, 442 70 liutlaudshirc ,, 188 70 This exhibits strong evidence of Suffolk being a 106 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTUllY. healthy province. Of 3,G72 deaths that occurred in 31 years hi the hundred of Stow, otw in four hved to 60 to 70, one in seven lived to 70 to 80, o?ie in 11 lived to 80 to 90, one in 94 lived to 90 to 100, one in 3,C73 attained to 104 years. It may be said that the gradual progression in the increase of the population is a nuich surer test of healthiness than longevity alone. As longevity may exist without health, a district mav not be favorable to long life, yet health may exist in a very perfect form, whereas, in obtaining 10 years of life from 75 to 85, much suffering may have to be endured. An investigation into the state of disease shows that health and longevity co-exist in nearly all the rural districts of Suffolk. The proportion of aged in every 1,000 deaths of males in seven districts of this county, during the seven years 1838 — 44, may be thiis exhibited : No. ill cvcrv 1000 deaths DISTniCTS. that h. 1(1 attained "i uiul upwards. Posmcrc, Stow, Iloxnc, Ilartismcrc , 155 ■\V()0(lbri(]fro, riomcsgatc 154 Cosf'onl, Samford ..... 153 Blytliiiig, Wiingfoid, Mutford 153 Eisbridgc, Sudbui v ..... 140 Buiiy, 'I'hiiigoe, MildcnLall 137 Ipswich ...... 86 The contrast here exhibited, with respect to the ])ro]iortion of persons who have died at the age of 75 and upwards, is remarkable. This diversity of age at death, in dihereiit (Hstricts is worthy of especial attention, affording as it does strong i)roofs of the inllucnce of our towns, and good evidence of the healthy character of Siillblk. We believe it is generally con- ceded Ihiif in tlie varying proi)ortions of deaths in old age, in different parts of the country, there is not much HEALTH. 107 dan! CT. 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J-t ^) 00 ri -^ c^ — < ec 3-. ^ti co i^ . .. ^ ,-, . ...c-l.— i^.-j.. CO 1— » • • . . C-J ^ • ■-< • • • 1— tOOmt^r-iiJitO CI r-l rt «3 • 00 coc»eoc!«o i-i050J-*ii— ic^n-ic! co-^^tD— -iM^ci com eO'*'i-i ... 5^ ^j „ . . : : : Ci to • OS . . CO Ci • -H . • rHcqeooo-^^cooo (M to ; 00 to .-1 .-• tS ?5 CO — 1 O t^ *i-*O--HC>iO-0i-iOI--.i-i'*0J>li-lW • CO CI C-J C-i rH CM rt tor— >ncncnc5co-^ CO r-l CO CO 1-1 CO • f— 1 OS CO C>l00'*C0I~-0J-*.-l-*.-HI-~C0>n50Mr-(-OC>}r-li-HW ,-1 0* cow .-li-l CO 1-1 cjcotooiintcmtoo CO 1-1 -^ 00 1-1 Oi ■* • r— 1 CO 2 CO-*OJt-i.— 'COCOOClCii— i-*iC0l>C^-*C5C(M •Sini:^ CO .-1 CO 10 1— • CO • r-l • CO C>! in 1-1 Ci >-l C5 'O CO ro C-! 00 05 CO ococo-^mcocj^t- oocjr-icoi-i rico CO cj 1-H CO CO l^ CO r-C CI 'l' C-l Ci c -o _ ^ 'O _ CO •* _ _ _ CO tr to cc to CO »— 1 w:o-^^«)"»;enerally believed, nor in an equal ratio with the whole )f England. The increase from the years 1834 — 4G, ihe lowest trio of commitments in the nineteen years, to the years 1850 — 52, is only about 17 per cent, (and population has increased 12 per cent, during the period), although fluctuations from year to year, amounting to 50 per cent., have occurred. From 1841 to 1851 crime increased 15 per cent., and population only 7 per cent. At this stage of the inquiry it seems desirable to look at the ratio of increase of crime in Suffolk, compared ■with that of the neighbouring counties, and compare its j)resent amount. At the beginning of the century this county stood in a position rather favorable with regard to criminal statistics. Essex and Norfolk were among the counties in which crime was highest, whilst Suflblk w^as neither among the highest nor the lowest, although below the average of all England. The number of criminals in each 100,000 of the population Mas in ISuftblk 51, in Norfolk 59, in Essex 03 — the average of England being 54. The fact manifested in the returns of the next 40 years is of considerable interest. Suffolk is an example of crime having increased most where it was least in IsOl. During the first twenty years it increased in this county much more ra})idly than cither in Essex or Norfolk, and far exceeded the average of England. The increase in Siiilblk amounted to 100 per cent., in Essex 154, in Norfolk 83, and in I'ngland 112; and up to 1845 the increase was between 200 and 250 per cent, in Suffolk, Avhilst in Essex and Norfolk the increase was between 150 and 200 per cent. Having thus given a general sketch of the extent of crime, we will now examine its nature, and tlie j)eriods of its lluetuatiuiis. As may be suj)j)ose(b a very FLUCTUATIONS OF CKIME. 119 large proportion of the offences arc i)etty thefts, and the increase in the number of criminals commonly arises from an increase of larcenies ; but the increase of minor offences, and those of an aggravated cha- racter, are by no means uniform in this county, as the following Table of Criminal Offences, compiled from the Official Tables presented to Parliament, will exhibit. In 184S, there was an increase of offences against the person, with a decrease of offences against property, without violence ; in the following year it was vice versa, although the commitments had increased more than 8 per cent. In 1841, the offences against the person increased 30 per cent., whilst those against ])roperty, without violence, increased about 1 per cent. In 1843, the offences against the person increased nearly 200 per cent., but those against property, without violence, did not increase 3 per cent. TOTAL Class I. Class II. Class III. Class IV. Class V. Class VI. OFFENCES OFFENCES FOUOERY, OFFENCES YK.VIIS. NVMUKR OFFENCES AGAINST AOAINST MALICIOUS OFFENCES NOT IN- OK COM- AOAINST PltOPEIiTY riiOI'EHTY OFFENCES AOAINST CLUDED IN MITMENTS. THE WITH WITHOUT AGAINST THE FUECEDINU PEItSON. VIOLENCE. VIOLENCE. I'llOl'EUTY. CUKI1ENCY-. CLASSES. 1834 481 42 18 383 2 3 31 1835 450 36 37 325 G 2 44 183G 528 25 53 405 14 3 28 1837 493 25 42 414 2 2 8 1838 505 27 49 407 3 10 9 1839 527 22 43 435 3 9 15 1840 484 24 40 401 3 3 13 1841 482 39 38 406 1 2 6 1842 527 13 36 459 G 5 8 1843 585 37 63 467 4 3 11 1844 030 39 52 463 52 2 22 1845 407 27 31 317 17 4 ]1 1846 471 28 36 380 10 4 13 ]847 505 28 27 432 8 5 11 1848 495 46 37 387 11 6 8 1849 537 27 39 439 10 6 16 1850 472 24 21 402 13 4 8 1851 629 46 44 484 24 9 22 1852 609 56 44 482 15 •1 8 120 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTU CENTURY. Classes 1 to 4 comprise the most important offences, and the other two chisses embrace crimes which, ex- cepting those connected with the Game Laws, are comparatively unusnal in this district. But it is evident that classes 1 to 4 deal with criminals of a very different character. Numbers 2 and 3 are for oflPences against property. Numbers 1 to 4 are for offences against the person, and malicious oflPences against property. Want may develope tendencies to commit the former, but it seldom prompts to the com- mission of crimes of violence, and their prevalence indicates a degree of moral debasement painful to con- template. Taking the average of the three years at the commencement of the table, the offences in class 1 and 4 were 1 in 12 of the total commitments. The average of the last three years shows them to be 1 in 9 of the commitments. This is very satisfactory. Crime generally has increased 17 per cent, in the 19 years ; but crimes of violence have increased not quite 3 per cent, in the same period. During the five years ending 1852, 2,742 prisoners were placed at the bar in Suflfolk, and the following table exhibits at one view the offences with which they stood charged. As the number of prisoners, and the period in which they were committed, is amply suffi- cient to give a fair average, this dark catalogue is well worthy of study. TOTAL COMMITMENTS FOR CRIME IN SUFFOLK IN 5 YEARS, 1848—02. Murder . . . . . . . 13 Attempts to Jlurdcr, "Woiuuling-, Stabbing, etc. . . . .'iO ]\ran.sl,'iu<,'htc'r . . . . . . . 10 Concealing the Birtli of Infants .....'.) Offences against Nature . . . • 10 Rape and Assaults with Intent to Ravish . . . 23 Assaults . . . . . .100 Other Olfenccs against the I'erson . . . .4 T5ui}.'lary nud TIciusrbnaking . , . .113 linakilif^ into Siiip|is and Warrhousrrt . , 2S Robbcrv and ^Vssaults with Intent to Rdli . . . 43 NATUUE AND EXTENT OF CRIME. 121 Sending Letters to Extort Money .... 1 Ilorsc and Sheep Stealing ..... 62 Larceny in Ilonses and from the Person . . .92 Larceny by Servants . • . . . .198 Simple Larceny ....... 1,639 Embezzlement ...... 46 Receiving Stolen Goods . . . . .81 Frauds and Attempts to Defraud .... 62 Other Olt'cnces of Simple Theft ..... o4 Arson — Attempts at Arson and other Wilful Burning . . C2 Killing and Maiming Cattle ..... 5 Other Malicious Offences ..... 7 Forging and Uttering Forged Instruments . , . 11 I'assing Counterfeit Coin • . . . .18 Offences against the Game Laws .... 26 I'erjury . . . . . . . .5 Breach of Peace and Eiot . . . . . 18 Other Offences ....... 6 This question, however, needs a more elaborate and minute analysis, and we now proceed to offer to the reader's notice details respecting the fluctuations of the crimes in each of the six classes ; and by thus dissecting the entire body of crime of the county, we hope faithfully to exhibit its exact and most prominent features, and show the periods in which particular crimes were most prevalent. Class 1 : Offences against the Person. — This county formerly maintained a very favorable position with regard to serious offences against the person, and this class still is less numerous than in many districts. Great fluctuations occur, although alterations in the price of food do not appear to cause either augmenta- tion or diminution. In 1842, the criminals in this class were only 13, but in 1852 they were 50, an increase more than four- fold in 10 years. The offences were most numerous in 1834, 1841, 1848, 1851, and 1852, and least in 1836, 1839, 1842, 1847, and 1850. In examining the foregoing table, as to the number of offenders in this class, it must be borne in mind that common assaults, and assaults on policemen, arc included 122 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. therein, and greatly swell the number. In the five years endhig 1852, the serious offences of this class were below 4 per cent, of the total amount of crime in the county. The cases of murder, manslaughter, stabbing, wounding, and sexual offences, were 95 in number, whilst the assaults alone were 1 00. In 1841 , the per centage of serious offences to total amount of crime, was 2' 5 in Suffolk, 4*5 in Essex, 4*5 in Norfolk, and 4*0 in England. In 1851, it was 2'6 in Suffolk, 3-7 in Essex, 5 '9 in Norfolk, and in England 4*2 , but if we take the three years ending 1852, the result is less favorable for this county : thus, Suffolk 3 "9, Essex 35, Norfolk 4'0. In 1850, the serious offences of this class were only 13 in number; in 1851, only IG ; but in 1852, they increased to 38. The entire number of commitments decreased 3 per cent, from the previous year, whilst that class of crimes which spring from unbridled passions, malice, or ferocity of disposition, actually increased 137 per cent. Offences against property, with violence, such as burglary and highway robbery, are frequently committed by persons not belonging to the county, and the number of these offences is therefore a sorry index to the actual moral condition of a district. It is not so with serious offences against the i)erson ; they are almost invariably committed by the resident population, and their recent increase in this county indicates a degree of savage l)rutality and moral degradation among a large portion of the laborinn; classes. For wc must bear in mind that it is only the grosser forms of ollcncc which come within the bounds of legal tribunals. The olfenccs in the calendars are types only of manifold transgressions against propriety and morals of which the law takes no cognisance, and which iiillict probably more injury on society than those amenable to its authority. Class 2 : Olfenccs agdinsi Propcrlij coinmillcd wUh f'iolcncc. — This class, which includes burglary, liouse- NATUKE AND EXTENT OF CHIME. 123 breaking, and highway robbery, attained its diinax ill this county in 1843. The offences were most numerous in I'siiG, 1838, 1843, 1844, and 1852, and least so in 1834, 1841, 1845, 1847, and 1850. In 1850, there were only four commitments for burglary, and seven for housebreaking; but in the next two years the increase in these desperate offences was great. In 1851 there were 15 for burglary and 12 for house- breaking; and in 1852, 8 for burglary and 15 for housebreaking. In the three years ending 1852, the per centage of commitments for burglary and house- breaking to total commitments was — in Suffolk 3*5, Norfolk 3-1, Essex 6-1, Devon 4 0, Somerset 5 0, Dorset 5-0, Stafford 4-G, England 4-3. The great excess in the county of Essex is doubtless owing to its proximity to the metropolis. This class of offences is often committed by a migratory class of criminals, and as London sends out its professional burglars, one district of Essex is much exposed to their de- predations. Class 3 : Offences against Properfij luithout Violence. — This class, which embraces sheep stealing, horse stealing, larcenies, embezzlements, and frauds, comprises about three-fourths of the crime committed in England. In this county the largest number of offences of this character occurred in 1851, but they were also numerous in 1842, 1843, 1844, and 1852, and less so than usual in 1835 and 1845, The annual average for the years 1842 — 4 was the highest ever known in this county, being an increase of nearly 12 per cent, on the average of the preceding years, but the two years 1851 and 1852 exhibit an increase of 19 per cent, on the average of the three prior years. The increase of commitments in 1830, amounting to more tlian 10 per cent., was almost entirely for olTences in this class. In 1842 the increase of commitments was (55, and of this lunnber 53 were for oifenccs against 124 SUFFOLK IIST TUE NINETEENTH CENTURY. property without violence. Again, in 184G the increase of commitments was G4, and the increase of offences in this class was 63: and in 1849 the committals increased 42, and the offences in this class 52. Larcenies from the person arc few in this district, the opportunities and temptations being less numerous; but during the five years ending 1852, they have been gradually increasing, having been, respectively, 4, 13, 15, 21, 33. Mr. Flint, in his "Crime in England," has shown that the honesty of servants, making due allowance for their increased proportion in agricultural districts, is 33 per cent, greater in agricultural than in manufacturing counties. Bat Suffolk will not stand so favorably, when compared with manufacturing districts. Of late, there has been a progressive increase in larcenies by servants. In 1848 the offenders were 20, in 1852, they were 55. It is somewhat singular that comparison between Norfolk and Suffolk in several crimes of this class, should exhibit such different results. In the three years 1850 — 2, the number of larcenies by servants w^as, in Norfolk, 32 ; and in Sufiblk, with a less number of prisoners, 141. Had the pro- portion in Suffolk been the same as in Norfolk, the number would have been only 20. In Norfolk they formed 15 per cent., in Suffolk above 8 per cent., of the total commitments. Embezzlements also form a much larger per centage of this class of offences than is usual in aG;ricultural counties. The averaij-e for three years is above Cambridge, Essex, Herts, and England, and even of the manufacturinG* counties of York and Lancaster and Chester, while it is far above Norfolk, Lincoln, and Devon. The offenders were as numerous in each of the years 1850 and 1852 as they were in Norfolk in the three years ending 1852. In the next two offences, receiving stolen goods and frauds, there is no increase of late in lliis county, and \\\(\ latter class is less mnneroiis than in Ncjrfolk. in 1 "- I I llie per ARSOX A FREQUENT OFFENCE. 125 cciitagc of larcenies was greater in Suffolk than in any other county in England. Class 4 : Malicious Offences against Froperfi/. — The offenders in this class are less numerous than they arc in any of the six classes into which the criminal offences in England are divided. The offences were most numerous in Suffolk in 1836, 1844, 1845, and 1851, and least in 1834, 1837, 1841, 1843, and 1847. The climax occurred in 1844, but the average of the three years, 1850 — 2, shows the malicious offences to be more numerous in Suffolk than in any other county in England. The heartless crime of arson is the principal offence of this class committed in this district, and it is to some extent peculiar to Suffolk. There are some districts of England where the horrid crime of destroying corn by the act of the incendiary is com- paratively unknown. The increase of this crime in this country during the last 10 years is truly alarming, and the position at the present time may be thus exhibited. In the three years ending 1852 the ratio of commitments for arson in every 1,000 of total com- mitments in the following agricultural counties, was — ■ Suffolk 24, Essex 18, Norfolk IG, Devon 13, Bucks 12, Dorset 11. It is thus seen how much Suffolk is infested with criminals of this class, and Cambridge- shire is the only county in England that exhibits an ecpial number of offenders for arson. Classifying the Suffolk offenders in periods of five years, there were in the Five years ending 1842 ... 6 Five years ending 1847 . . .83 Five years ending 1852 ... 61 Is not this a marvellous and alarmins; increase? During: the 10 years previous to 1844, there were only 18 commitments for arson — less than 2 per annum — there not being a single commitment in the years 1830 and 1841, and only one in each of the years 1837, 1839, 126 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. and 1S40 ; but during the last 10 years tlicy Lave averaged 14 per annum, an increase of more than 700 per cent. The year 1S44 was one of intense alarm to the owners and occupiers of farms. There were no less than 47 committals for arson in that year, the previous year having furnished only four offenders. Fires were of almost nightly occurrence during the long evenings. The occupiers of land lived in a state of nervous excitement, looking about their premises every night before retiring to rest, apprehensive of their crops being destroyed by the match of the prowling incendiary. The corn stacks were placed in fields, a distance from each other, and away from the buildings, so that if one should be fired the others might escape. Farm produce was as insecure in this district of England, as the life of a landlord's agent was in some parts of Ireland. In several instances the property set on fire belonged to agriculturists who had thrashing machines on the premises, and the offenders doubtless belonsred to a miso-uided class of men who sought o o o revenge for the injury which they believed the machines were inflicting on them as laborers. This crime spreads like an epidemic, and seems indeed a moral contagion that devastates a district. The remain- ing offences in this class are of very unfrcquent occurrence in this county. During the Inst ten years, the committals for arson have been nearly equal to the committals for malicious offences, as may be seen thus — COMSIITTAI'-S FOU COMMITTALS COMMITTALS FOR COMMITTALS YKAUS. MAI.lflOfS KOH YF.AnS. SIAI.UIOl S roil OI FKNf K8. AltSO.V, OITDNCKS. AHSON. 1813 4 4 1848 11 10 1844 .52 47 184!) 10 10 184.') 17 16 18(30 i;j 12 181C 10 9 18ol 'i4 10 1847 8 7 18.32 \r> 13 OFFENCES AGAINST THE GAME LAWS. 127 Class 5 -. Fon/erj/ and Offences against the Ciirrencij. — The ofFenclers in this class are very limited in number. The principal offence is uttering base coin, which is commonly committed by persons not belonging to the county, and may therefore be dismissed without further notice. Class G : Other Offences not included in the Previous Classes. — Among the offences in this class, arc riot, sedition, perjury, breach of the peace, refusing to aid the police, and one that we fear has been prolific of crime in this district, viz., offences against the Game Laws. The offenders are not numerous, having averaged only 13 annually for the last 10 years. They were most numerous in 1834, 1835, and 1S3G, 1844, and 1851; and least so in 1837, 1841, 1848, and 1850. During the five years ending 1852, the offenders were 02 in number; of these 18 were for breach of the peace, 5 for perjury, 3 for keeping disorderly houses, 1 for destroying fish in enclosed waters, 1 for being at large while under sentence of transportation, 9 for misdemeanors and felonies not included in other denominations, and 2G for offences against the Game Laws. In Essex the committals for perjury were equal. In Norfolk the number was 12. The number of com- mitments for offences against the Game Laws, arranged in periods of six years, have been — Six years ending 1839 ... 60 Six years ending 1845 . . .29 Six years ending 1851 . . . 40 Ilis Grace the Duke of Grafton stated in evidence before the Parliamentary Committee on the Game Laws, that it is a proverb in Suffolk that " Poaching is the root of all evil," and the extent of the commitments for that crime, coupled witht he facts we all know, that violence and murder have frequently resulted from a simple breach of these laws, shows the aptness and justness of the proverb. In 1851 a man was liberated 128 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEEXTII CENTURY. from Bury St. Edmimd's Gaol, after his twenty-first imprisonment for poaching; he boasted that he had eaten 1 8 Christmas dinners in the prison ! Another only, 20 years of age, has been 14 times in the prison, chiefly for poaching ; and a third, tried in 1852 for an assault, had been eleven times committed for poaching. The picture of crime will be incomplete without reference to two characteristics of the criminal classes — sex and age. They are features of this great question well worthy of serious attention. First, with reference to sex. As may naturally be expected, the largest pro- portion of offences within the pale of the criminal law are committed by males, although, as we shall be able to show, the criminal mind is doubtless as strong in women as in men, and the less number of offences arise more from want of power than want of disposition. Oflences generally are of a masculine character, and such as females have not the same opportunity of com- mitting ; but wherever females are employed so as to engender masculine habits, female offenders are found to increase. The commitments during the last nineteen years have been as under : — ■ FEMALE MALK FMEjrALE MALE YEARS. COMMIT- rOMMIT- YKAUS. COMMIT- COMMir. MKNTS. MKNTS, ENTS. MEN IS, 1834 44 440 1844 92 538 1836 47 403 1845 66 341 1836 50 478 1846 77 39 1 1837 49 444 1847 82 423 1838 C8 437 1818 57 438 183!) CO 4GI 1819 76 461 1810 84 400 • 1850 74 398 1841 77 405 1851 73 556 1812 80 447 1852 88 521 1843 G8 517 It is here seen that the increase of male and female offenders is not uniformly at the same ])ori()ds. 'J'he largest nnnibcr of females has l)ccn comniilted in 1810, FEMALE COMMITMENTS. 129 1842, 1844, 1847, and 1852. The male commitments were most numerous in 1836, 1843, 1844, 1849, 1851, and 1852. In 1850 the decrease of committals upon the previous year was 65. On comparing the numbers above, it will be seen that of this decrease 63 were males and 2 only were females. If we compare the first with the last year in the Table, we find that the number of female commitments has exactly doubled. Taking the average of three years, 1834 — 6, the female commitments were 47 annually ; in the succeed- ing years they gradually increased, until the average of 1840 — 2 showed them to be 80 annually. This increase of 70 per cent, in so short a period as six years, shows that some powerful influences were at work, and the re-action upon society must have been demoralising in the extreme, as the influence of mothers and sisters, among the working classes in particular, is far more powerful than that of fathers and brothers. The proportion of female crime in this county is, how- ever, favorable when compared with England, being considerably below the average of the whole country, although above the proportion of some of the neigh- bouring counties. Thus, the commitments in the five years ending 1852 exhibited the following proportion of females to males : — Suffolk 78 Fei nales to every 500 Males. Essex 55 500 J? Norfolk 83 500 J, Cambridgesliire 70 500 j> Hertfordshire 47 500 ?» England 120 500 )i Comparing tliese years with the previous five years ending 1847, we find that female prisoners had decreased in this county more than 4 per cent., although males had, during the same period, increased 7 per cent. On examining the returns to ascertain the offences with which the females were charged, we found that during the four years ending 1851, 5 were committed for 9 130 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. murder, 3 for burglary, 4 for housebreaking, 2 for robbery, 5 for arson, 2 for sheep stealing, 1 for perjury, 5 for concealment of birth, 10 for receiving stolen goods, 13 for larceny from the person, 56 for larceny by servants, and 152 for simple larceny. There were only 7 committals for murder in the above-mentioned years, and 5 of these we see were females. They form nearly a sixth of the receivers of stolen goods, a class that is justly regarded as more dangerous to society than thieves, as they are generally much older than those through whose instrumentality their infamous gains are derived. Some of the cases of larceny were of the most petty description : a married and also a single woman for stealing meat, a mother and daughter for egg stealing, a widow for stealing a faggot of wood, another widow for stealing 19 turnips, no true bill against a widow for stealing a gimlet, and a poor old dame, 75 years of age, for larceny, of the value of two- pence. On examining the descriptions of 171 female prisoners, we found 42 entered as female servants, 79 as single women, 40 as married women, and 10 as widows. A very large proportion of the females in gaol have been inmates of workhouses : and for summarv convictions eight out of twelve of them are sent from Union Houses. The influence of age is an important element in examining the statistics of crime. One of the greatest statistical authorities of this country has proved, in a very elaborate exposition, that nearly G4 per cent, of all offences in England and Wales is committed by persons from 15 to 30 years of age. In Suffolk the offences by persons under 30 years of age are above C4 per cent, of the entire number, and in Ipswich they amount to .07 per cent. My. Flint has compared the Criminal Tables for the three years 1844 — 6, with the ages of the people as shown in the Census Returns for 1841, and by his Tables we find that Suffolk has furnished a high ratio of als IS — in 833, of age: in 222, of age: in 31G, age the AGES OF PRISONERS. l.'U criminals between 20 and 30 years of age ; and it has also made known to us the startling fact, that, compared with England, we have a great excess of crime committed by persons under 20 years of age. Taking the number of persons at this age, the number of criminals Suffolk 1 in 851, Essex 1 in 873, Norfolk 1 England 1 in 971. From 20 to 25 years Suffolk 1 in 218, Essex 1 in 231, Norfolk 1 England 1 in 262. Erora 25 to 30 years Suftblk 1 in 292, Essex 1 in 356, Norfolk 1 England 1 in 363. But above 30 years of criminality in this county was remarkably favorable Suffolk 1 in 1,030, Essex 1 in 740, Norfolk 1 in 743, England 1 in 753. If we range the 40 English counties in their order of criminality, placing the least criminal at the top of the list, Suffolk wdll take the 32nd place for criminals below 20 years of age, the same place for those below 25 years of agej the 34th place for criminals between 25 and 30 years of age, while it actually stands 9th on the list for criminals above 30 years of age. Much has been said and written respecting the low moral condition of the manufacturing districts ; but here we have it proved that there are more criminals in Suffolk, under 20 years of age, than in either Chester, Lancaster, Stafford, or the West Hiding of York ; and for criminals between 25 and 30 years of age, Suffolk is in excess of Leicester and Warwick, as w^ell as the counties w^e have named, and stands next to Middlesex in the order of crimi- nality. Criminals betw^een 20 and 30 years of age have been increasing, and it is evident that there are some great differences in the social position of the younger men, and the temptations to which they are exposed, to produce such an excess of crime at their age, and we trust, that directing attention to that point may be the means of ascertaining what these temptations 132 SUFFOLK IN THE XIXETEENTH CENTURY. and differences are. The following table embodies the per centage of ages in 1841, and the proportions of criminals in 1844 — 6 : UNDER 20 YEARS OF AGE. 20, AND UNDER 25 YEABS OF AGE. 25, AND UNDER 30 YEARS OF AGE. 30 YEARS OF AGE AND UPWARDS. COUNTIES. Proportion to all the Population CRIME. One in Proportion to all the Population CRIME. One in Proportion to all the Population CRIME. One in Proportion to all the Population CRIME. One in Suffolk . 47-2 851 9 218 7-2 292 36-6 1,030 Norfolk . 46-2 833 91 222 7-2 316 37-5 743 Essex . . 47 873 9-2 231 7-5 356 36-3 740 Of the Ipswich prisoners, 26 per cent, are under 20 years of age, and 41 per cent, are 20 years of age, but under 30. During the five years ending 1853, there were 34 prisoners for trial of 17 years of age and under. In the previous five years the number of the same age was 35. Of these, two were only 13, one only 12, and a fourth only 11 years of age. Among the female prisoners there is a larger proportion of young than among males. Of the whole number of prisoners of both sexes, about a sixth are not more than 18 years of age; but of the females nearly a fourth are of that age. We found 31 per cent, under 20 years of age ; 33 per cent. 20 years of age, but under 30 ; 23 per cent, 30 years old, but under 40; and 13 percent, above 40 years of age. In the Fourth Report, the Inspector of Prisons mentions the case of a child only 11 years of age, who lived at Woodbridge with his stepmother, committed for trial for obtaining one bushel of coals under false pre- tences. We know not what sight is more saddening to the thoughtful mind than that of a child wearing the ])rison dress. It is pitiable cnongh to behold youths or fcnifilcs wearing the badge of infamy, but a child JUVENILE CRIMINALS/ 133 of tender age immured within the wails of a prison is one of tlie most affecting objects that a prison reveals. Our juveniles are not generally those that have been regularly trained to courses of dishonesty. They are frequently either illegitimate, or have lost one parent : and, as the Governor of Bury Gaol remarks, " Those from populous places are i)rofligate and drunken — from more rural places they manifest the first great w^ant of training, idleness'' And the Chaplain of the same gaol testifies to their being " dreadfully ignorant." The mass consists of children not hardened in crime, but who, from the culpable neglect of their parents, or the want of relisrious and moral influence at home, have gradually acquired habits of petty thieving, which are connived at rather than punished by their parents. It may be asked. Why is the thieving propensity so rife among the children of the poorer and less instructed classes, and so little known to the law among the children of the better educated and the wealthier? Orchard robbing, cheating, larder thefts, and deception of all kinds, are not unusual among the school-boys belonging to the middle and upper classes. It is clear, therefore, that wealth and poverty are not exclusively the cause. What is the reason, then, that the law knows so much of the thieving propensities among the children of the lower classes, and scarcely any instances in the upper classes ? Manifestly, because the " delinquent " in the one case is brought before his parents or instructor, is admonished and cor- rected, and the offence is passed over without public disgrace ; and because, in the other, the " delinquent " is taken before a magistrate, punished by the law, and disgraced and hardened as a man would be. The one is punished, the other is corrected ; the one is covered with infamy, and the other is screened from disgrace. A Penal Reformatory School is much needed for this county. Society, it is well known, pays dearly for 13-t SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. young thieves. For their detection, conviction, and imprisonment, the rate-payers pay in proportion to their occupation ; but for the support of young thieves at other times, payment is according to no fixed ratio. Some of our town and country residents consider that a Reformatory School has no claim upon their notice, but such gentlemen may find, some day or other, that they have contributed a pocket-book and a bank-note or two towards the maintenance of these juveniles ; or the lady, on her return home, may find that her purse has been abstracted to furnish these outcasts w^itli a few luxuries. If interest, duty, or Christian love, would lead us to reform these young criminals, there would be few successors to the present race of thieves. Having thus analysed the nature and extent of crime, we propose to open a new field of inquiry in connection with criminal returns, to descend still further into par- ticulars, so as to exhibit the localities in which the crimes of the five years ending 1853 have been com- mitted, and the occupations of the criminals. We shall thus point out the districts and particular spots where the social and moral reformer will find work ready to perform, and by tracing out the homes of criminals, the operation of the great producing causes of crime will be the more easily seen, and cause and effect will be brought face to face. As Tables of Crime for all England include counties of very various degrees of criminality, so docs the average for the county of Suffolk include districts, towns, and villages of oppo- site moral tendencies as developed by their criminal aspects. The calendars of the various Sessions and Assizes for the five years ending 1853 having been placed at our disposal, we have analysed them for the purpose of showing the amount of crime that has been committed in each of the Poor Law Unions of this county. The influence of density of po])ulation, and the conipMiiitive and actual criniinahlv of towns nnrl LOCALITIES OF CKLMK. 135 rural districts compared with the population of 1851 will also be exhibited, as comparative criminality can only be accurately displayed by showing the number of persons among whom the offences were dis- tributed. We indulge the hope that this attempt to depict the extent of crime in each district, and the particular towns and villages that are in excess of the district, will meet with that calm consideration which so im- portant a subject eminently deserves. The number of commitments we shall enumerate for each Poor Law Union will not accord exactly with the total number of commitments for the entire county, for the following reasons : — 1st. From 6 to 7 per cent, of the persons committed for trial in Suffolk do not belong to the county. 2nd. The residence of the prisoner is not always stated in the calendar, particularly in cases of persons on bail ; and in some instances, neither the residence of the prisoner, the name of the committing magistrate, nor the place where the offence was committed are entered on the calendar. As an illustration, we give the following from the calendar of the prisoners for trial at the County Sessions, Ipswich, January, 1852 : " DAVID ROSE, \ Charged with having Stolon, in October, GEOEGE ROSE, [ 1851, One Seat-board of a Cart, the I^On BaiLJ ) property of David Atkins." All such cases we had to discard, as there was no guide as to town or village to which they belonged. Further, to prevent any misconception respecting the crimhiality of certain towns and villages, we here state that wherever the number of criminals belonging to a district, a town, or a village is exhibited, w^e invariably mean that such a number of residents has been committed for trial. Whenever the residence is printed in the calendars, it is stated distinct from 136 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. the place where the offence was committed, and it is with the residetice only that w^e have dealt. The following table exhibits the population of the Suffolk parishes in each union, the number of criminals from each union, and the proportion of criminals to population in the five years ending IS 53, thus showing how the respective unions stand in the order of criminality, the lead criminal being placed at the top of the list, and the others increasing in crime down- wards. NUMBER OF POPULATION RATIO OF CRIMINALS UNIONS. CRIMINALS IN- FIVE YEARS. IN 1851. TO POPULATION. Mutford 75 20,163 1 iu 1,344 Mildenball 45 10,354 1 „ 1,150 Samford 57 J 2,493 1 „ 1,086 Plomesgate 121 2),477 1 „ 895 Elythiiig 159 27,883 1 „ 870 "Woodbridge 146 23,796 1 „ 819 Hoxne 103 15,900 1 ,, 781 Eusbridge 92 14,059 1 „ 760 Thingoe 126 19,014 1 „ 760 Stow .... 141 21,100 1 „ 752 Bosmere 126 17,219 1 „ 688 Sudbury .... 171 23,406 1 „ 680 Ipswicb 255 32,759 1 „ 643 Hartismere 154 19,028 1 „ 620 Bury St. Edmund's 114 13,900 1 „ 604 Wangford .... 119 14,014 1 „ 590 Cosford 196 18,107 1 „ 404 There are striking differences exhibited in this table. Criminal tendencies widely spread in some districts, and a glance at some of the previous calendars proved to us that this tendency is not by any means confined to the five years examined, but would be, in some cases, more strongly marked by embracing a larger number of years. Our attention is immediately arrested by Ihe fact of some districts being far less criminal than others. In Mutford Union there is least crime, in Cosford Union the most. AV^ule the ratio «jf criminals (o population is iu Cosford 1 in 10 1, it EXCESS OF CRIME IN COSFOKD UNION. 137 is in Mutford only 1 in 1,344. Criminals are nearly three times as numerous in Cosford as tlicy are in Mutford, and nearly twice as numerous in Hartismere as they are in Mildenluill. The proportion of criminals out of 100,000 persons is in Bosmcre 120, and in the adjoining Union of Samford only 90. It must not be supposed that every town and village in the above districts arc on an equality with the whole Union in point of criminality. The extremes are some- times met with in the same district. Mutford stands as the least criminal in the list of Unions, but its position would appear much more favorable if we substract the criminals furnished by the town of Lowestoft. In the five years named, Mutford has furnished 75 prisoners, but 58 of these come from Lowestoft, thus leaving only 17 criminals hi that period for the rest of the Union, which contains, independent of Lowestoft, 13,382 persons. Again, Wangford has furnished 119 criminals, but of this number, the towns of Beccles and Bungay have sent 97, thus leaving only 22 prisoners for all the villages in the Wangford Union. But if we turn to the Cosford Union and deduct the criminals and population of Hadleigh, which is the only place in the Union having a population of more than 2,000 persons, we shall find that the deduction makes but little difference in the ratio of crime. Cosford furnished 19G prisoners, and of this number Hadleigh contributed 46, leaving 150 for the rest of the Union. Thus, independent of the towns named, Mutford, with a population of 13,382, has sent in five years 17 prisoners ; Wangford, with a population of 5,775, has furnished 22 prisoners ; and Cosford, with 14,709 persons, has contributed 150 criminals. Leaving out Lowestoft, Beccles, Bungay, and Hadleigh, the ratio is — in Mutford, one criminal to every 3,977 persons; in Wangford, one to every 1,330 persons; and in Cosford, one to every 4G4 persons. 138 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. The following towns and villages are most con- spicuous for excess of criminals in each of the Poor Law Unions, the unions being arranged as they stand in the Registrar General's Reports. The Unions of Ipswich and Bury St. Edmund's are omitted because, being limited to the respective towns, there is no variation to be noticed. Eisbridge . Sudbury . Cosford . . Thiugoc . Mildenhall . Stow . . Hartismcre Hoxne . . Bosraere Samford . AVoodbridge Plomesgate Blything . Wangford . Mutford . . TOWNS AND VILLAGES IS EXCESS FOR CRIME. Ilaverliill, Clare, and Witherstield. Nayland, Stoke-by-Naylaud, Great aud Little Waldingfield , and Cavendish. Hadleigb, Hitcham, Boxford, Lavenham, Brettenhani, and Monks Eleigh. Barrow, Ixworth, Stanton, Ingliam, and Troston. Barton Mills. Norton, "Wattisfield, Walsliani, and Rattlesden. Eye, "Wiekham Skeitb, Bacton, Wortham, and Yaxley. Laxfield, Syleham, Metfield, Horham. Helminghani, Debcnham, Somersham, Earl and AspalStonham. Capcl. Trimlcy, Kirton, Bradfiold, and "Woodbridgc. AVickbam Market, Cretingliam, Canipsey Ash, and Earl Soham. Ilalesworth, "Wrcntbam, and Cratfield. Beccles and Bungay. Lowestoft. Compared with the average of the respective unions, the ditt'erence in many of the places named above is very great. Take, for instance, the first district on the list, that of Risbridge. On reference to the previous classification, this union will be found to stand favorable in })oint of criminality, as it occupies the fifth place. The population of the entire union is 18,125, but the Sutlblk parishes include only 1 •1,050 ])ersoiis, and these parishes furnished 82 prisoners for trial in the five years ending 185-'i, about 16 annually. Rut the parish of Withcrsficld, in this union, with a ])opulation of fi 1-2 persons, furnished three prisoners annually out of the Hi. This shows that it is four times more (riiiiiiiiil than (he average nf Ihe district. CRIME IN CERTAIN PARISHES. 139 Had the criminality of the whole district been equal to that of Withcrsfield, the number of prisoners committed for trial would have been 312 instead of 78. Take another parish, that of AVickhambrook. If all the Suffolk parishes in this union had been of the same degree of criminality as the parish of Wickhambrook, the number of committals in five vears would have amounted to 45 only. In Wickhambrook there has been 1 criminal to every 1,500 persons; in Withcrsfield, a few miles distant, 1 to every 214 persons. In the Cosford Union, the rates of criminals to the population in each of the places mentioned stand thus — Hadlcigh, Criminal to every 405 Persons, Monk's Eleigli, 347 Hitcham, 345 Boxford, 224 „ Lavenliam, 290 Brettenham, 280 „ The worst parishes of the most criminal union in Sufi'olk were not (during the five years named) equal in criminality to the parish of Withersfield ! The next point for consideration is the comparative criminality of the towns in this county as compared with each other, and with the rural districts. To know Avhether our towns are really improving or deteriorating our population is a matter of much importance to us. The evils that we find, may, if traceable to local causes, admit of cure. Towns, we all know, contain elements of moral progress nowhere else to be found ; still it is obvious that, as the great mass of offences that are tried at Assizes and Quarter Sessions are committed by members of the laboring classes, the highest ratio of oftcnders must be anticipated where laborers aggregate together. This at once points to the probability of towns being more criminal than riu-al districts ; and the fact of their aflbrding more abundant opportunities for plunder, as well as for 140 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. concealment, strengthen the probability. It is natural for vice to grow most in crowds, and moral evils to spread where they can shun the light. We insert, here a table exhibiting the criminality of 15 of our large and small towns in the order in which they stand, the least criminal being placed at the top of the list. The population of each is above 1,500 persons. Southwold, I Criminal in every 1,320 Persons. jVlildeuliall, 1 ■ " " Framlingham, 1 Sto\vmarkct, 1 Bury, 1 Woodbridge, 1 Lowestoft, 1 Debenham, 1 Ipswich, 1 Eye, 1 Beccles, 1 Sudbury, 1 Hadleigh, 1 Bungay, I Halesworth, 1 Here we see that diflferences in criminality are as great in small as in large areas — as great in towns as in districts ; and that the aggregation in towns 1,020 790 604 585 565 555 557 495 490 475 405 370 309 IS not, in all cases, a sure producer of crime. Stowinarket and Mildenhall, although the only towns in their respective "Unions," are actually less criminal than the whole district to which they belong. Framlingham has also a less ratio of criminals than the Plomesffate Union, with which it is united. The "Town" Ipswich is more criminal than the " Union " Ipswich, as the latter include ])ortions of rural parishes. The Blything Union, singularly enough, contains two small towns, that stand as the least and most criminal of any towns in the county. Southwold and Halesworth, towns nearly crjual in population, and situated within a few miles of each other, stand respectively at the top and bottom of the list, there being four criminals in the hitter to one in the former. Lowestoft is twice as criminal as Southwold, and tlioy are both sea ))orts, EXTENT OF CRIME IN TOWNS. 141 and, in proportion to population, the criminals from Bungay are double those from Stowmarket, from Eye double those from Framlingham, and from Halesworth treble those from Mildenhall. Are the towns as different for the heinousness as they are for the amount of their criminality ? This question will naturally suggest itself to the reader, and we are glad to be able to answer, that a very large per centage of larcenies arc committed by town residents ; and we shall presently show, that on the average, a less number of the gravest offences are committed by them than could fairly be anticipated. If we trace the course of the clouds of criminal delinquency in this county, we shall find them hovering with a medium tint over the majority of our towns ; but over the border town of Bungay, and the small town of Hales- worth, it lours with a more gloomy aspect, and attains its darkest hue over the town of Hadleigh, which stands, for extent of criminahty and gravity of offence, alone in its inky blackness. The per centage of larcenies, in the following towns, during the five years ending 1853, has been as under — PER CENTAGE PER CENTAGE OF LARCENIES OF LARCENIES. Beccles 6G-666 Mildenhall . 80-952 Bungay . 61-538 Framlingham . 58-222 Debennam . 60-000 Lowestoft 75 862 Eye 73-076 Southwold 50000 Hadleigh 60-8'26 Stowmarket . 80-000 Halesworth 65-853 Woodbridge 77-222 Ipswich 63-050 Some remarks are necessary on this tabular state- ment. The small per centage of larcenies at Framling- ham and Southwold is owing to the small number of offences, only 12 at the former and 8 at the latter in five years. Debenham appears to stand as bad as Hadleigh; but this also is attributable to the small 142 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEEXTH CENTURY. number of criminals in one toAvn when compared with the other, viz. 15 at Debenhara, and 46 at Hadleigh. In addition to the petty larcenies, the offences by Debenham residents were — want of sureties, concealment of birth, fowl stealing, rogue and vagabond, assaulting a female, and abduction. But from Hadleigh they were — arson, sheap stealing, horse stealing, fowl stealing, burglary, child murder, maliciously slaying, and mali- ciously cutting and w^ounding. From Halesworth they were — stealing from the person, assault w4th intent, breaking into shop, threatening to kill, forgery, and uttering counterfeit coin. In Ipswich, as might be expected in a large town, cases of embezzlement, obtaining goods under false pretences, and stealing from the person were numerous ; and from Woodbridge there were five charged with stealing from the person, and two with embezzlement. One of the most interesting fields of inquiry in connection with this branch of the subject, is the comparative criminality of the towns and rural districts. The unions varied from 1 criminal in 1,344 persons, to 1 in every 464 persons. The towns likewise varied from I criminal in every 1,3.20 persons, to 1 in 309. The majority of the towns are far more healthy in their criminal aspect than the whole Union of Cosford, and many villages furnish a much larger proportion of criminals than the towns of this county. For instance, compare the county town, Ipswich, with the village of Wickham Market, in the Plomcsgate Union — Ipswich containing 3.2,750 persons, and Wickham Market 1,097. The great facilities that a large town naturally affords to a practised thief would lead any one to suppose that criminals would abound much more in the former than in the latter; but an examination of the calendars proves the very reverse to be the fact. During the five years ending 1853, Ipswich has fur- nished 1 prisoner to every 55 7 persons, whilst Wickham TOWX AND COUNTRY DISTRICTS COMrARED. 148 Market has sent 1 criminal to every 339 persons. The 15 towns we have just named contain unitedly a population of 75,095 persons, and they have furnished annually 127 prisoners; the average criminality of Suffolk towns is, therefore, 1 prisoner to every 593 persons, and the towns may be thus arranged — ABOVE THE AVERAGE OF SUFFOLK TOWNS IN CRIME. Beccles. Bungay. Debeniiam. Eye. Hadleigh. Halesworth. Ipswich. Lowestoft. Sudbury. Woodbrido'e. •o^ BELOW THE AVERAGE IN CRIME. Bury St. Edmund's. Framlingham. Mildenhall. Southwold. Stowmarket, We have stated that in the Mutford Union the chief portion of the prisoners are sent from Lowestoft, and in the Wangford Union from Beccles and Bungay, and many persons may infer from this that crime is to a great extent concentrated in our towns. In many respects, however, such an inference would be unjust towards the town population, and to show that it is not applicable in all cases, we have selected 15 villages from the different unions of the county, and having compared their criminal returns with their population, we now propose to compare them with the same num- ber of towns as above named. The following arc the villages selected — Bradfield, Horham, Boxford, Ixworth, Brettenham, Wattisfield, Wickham Skeith, Gapel St. Mary, Grundis- burgh, Wickham Market, Stoke-by-Nayland, Hitcham, Great Waldringfield, and Withersfield. These parishes contained, in 1851, a population of 12,369 persons, and have furnished, during the five years previously named, 192 prisoners, or one criminal amiually to every 317 persons. This is nearly double f 144 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. the number of prisoners supplied by the towns ; or, in other AYords, the 15 villages have furnished 11 criminals to every C furnished by the chief towns of Suffolk. Fifteen towns in Suffolk, each with an average popu- lation of 5,000 persons, furnish 1 criminal annually to every 593 persons. Fifteen villages in Suffolk, each with an average popu- lation of 820 persons, furnish annually 1 criminal to every 317 persons. It certainly does seem extraordinary that these thinly- peopled agricultural villages should exhibit a lower degree of morality — morality being indicated by the criminal aspect — than the towns, where the opportunities and temptations to commit offences would appear to be so much greater. Who would suppose that Bredfield was more criminal than Framlingham, Grundisburgh than Woodbridge, Ixworth than Bury ? Or that Capel St. Mary, Horham, and Stoke-by-Nayland, would morally appear at disadvantage when compared with the neighbouring towns of Ipswich, Eye, and Sudbury ? Feeling that, if we stopped here, the comparison between the criminality of town and country would be very imperfectly exhibited, as the character of the offences committed by the respective populations would be entirely overlooked, we have instituted a more minute and extended analysis for the purpose of showing whether the town or the country population have mani- fested the most serious phases of the criminal character. Having taken the residences of 228 prisoners committed to the Bury and Ipswich Goals, for the gravest offences in the caleiulars, we felt that herein was ample evidence to prove the point in question. Of the 228 prisoners, 76 were committed for arson, 57 for burglary and housebreaking, 24 for murder, 12 for maliciously cutting, wounding, etc., 14 for stabbing, siiooting, with intent and attempt to murder, 12 for rape, 7 for uinintm'al offrnrcs, 1 for sodomv, 10 for nssnnlt, with DEBASEMENT IX IlUllAL DISTRICT? 145 intent, 5 for beastiality, and 4 for highway robbery. These are offences wliich have their origin in mahce, unbridled passions, ferocity of disposition, a savage state of morals, and a lawless disreo;ard of the riojit ' O CD to property ; and a better index to the degree of criminal debasement in the town and country districts, than such a comparison will afford, could not well be given. We have stated that the number of offenders selected was 2.28 ; of these 38 onlv were residents in our towns, and the remainder, 190, belonged to the villages of this county. Thus 17 per cent, belonged to the former, and 83 to the latter. But it may be objected that the large proportion of cases of arson, which is essentially a rural offence, included in the above list of offences, would materially influence the per centage of country offences. Allowing that there is some force in the objection, it is strange, considering the mass of agricultural laborers that there are residing in the small towns of this county, that out of 70 offenders for the demoniacal crime of arson, only four of the criminals were town residents. To prevent, how- ever, even the appearance of unfairness in the comparison, we give here not the results of our inquiries, but exhibit in detail the proportion of offenders for each crime. OFFKNCES, TOTAL OlTEKDKIiS. TOWN nKSlDKNTS. COUNTRY UESIDENTS. Murder 24 19 Maliciously Cutting, etc. 12 3 9 Stabbing, Shooting, with Intent and Attempt to Murder 14 3 11 Highway Ilobbcry . Burglary and Housebreaking Arson ..... 4 57 76 2 16 4 2 41 72 Eape Assault, Avith Intent 13 16 4 1 9 15 Unnatural Offences . 7 7 Sodomy .... Beastiality .... 1 5 1 5 Total 229 38 191 IQ 143 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEEXTII CENTURY. It must be admitted that this analysis is exceedingly favorable to the town residents, for, although consisting of nearly 29 per cent, of the population, they have furnished only 17 per cent, of the serious crime of the county. Although nearly a third of the population, they have sent less than a fifth of the criminals committed for the gravest offences. In the class of crimes com- mitted under the influence of sexual animalism, only 5 offenders out of 42 of the criminals belonged to towns. Two of these offenders belonged to Hadleigh, one to Bury St. Edmund's, one to Tramlingham, and one to Halesworth. In the offences springing from malice and ferocity, such as murder, stabbing, etc., about 22 per cent, of the offenders were residents in towns. But if thus favorable for towns, what a picture of crime is presented in the country districts. We have been taught to believe that towns are the great centres of vice and crime ; that the residents of villages were an unsophisticated and harmless population, but it is now evident that such descriptions give a false character to rural districts. The simplicity and innocence of peasant life exist only in imagination. Stern facts exhibit to us a sad depth of moral debasement, a large amount of undisciplined passion, and a great want of improving agencies, as belonging to the rural districts. In towns there is less probability of detecting offenders, and haunts may be found wdiere every abomination may be practised, free from the scrutiny of human eye ; but in villages, where the movements of every man are liable to observation, where a sort of natural police operates, and irregularities speedily become locally notorious, it seems strange that an excess of the most deliberate and matured forms of depravity should be found. We know wtII enough tliat there are numbers of earnest, respectable, and Christian-minded men among the laboring classes, but the great mass of the workers are morally and physically OCCUPATION or riMSONEK.S, 147 a prey to their passions, and their employers are too careless to attend to their welfare. A heavy responsi- bility rests on the land-owners, the clergy, and the employers of this county, for much of the debasement which is found in our villages is owing to the cold- lieartcd indifference with which they have treated the moral and social position of those who, hour by hour, have added to the increase of the positive wealth of the county. Pashion and pleasure have withered the offices of Christian love, until vice and sorrow have settled upon our agricultural population, and heathenism and crime have culminated where it would be least expected. In our examination of the calendars we noticed the occupations of 1,825 prisoners, and as the facts thus elicited may serve to show the criminal tendencies of certain trades and pursuits, when compared with others, we insert here the classified analysis which we prepared. OCCUPATIONS OF 1,825 PRISONERS COMMITTED FOR TRIAL IN THE COUNTY OF SUFFOLK, DURING THE FIVE YEARS ENDING 1853. Laborers , 1,308 Carriers 2 Single Women 79 Carters 2 Married Women 40 Chimney Sweeps 6 Widows 11 Hucksters . 6 Male Servants . 9 Ratcatcher 1 Female Servants 42 Clerks . 4 Farmers 11 Commercial Traveller 1 Mariners . 26 Merchant 1 Fishermen, Bargemen, Watermen, Artist 1 and Wharfingers 11 Comedian . I Stone Dredgers 3 Gentleman 1 Tailors 18 Dentist 1 Shoemakers 37 Schoolmasters . 3 Blacksmiths 16 Printer I Wheelwrights 7 Grocers 3 Bricklayers 13 Hairdressers 2 Carpenters 25 Shopkeeper 1 Innkeepers 6 Watch and Clock Makers . 2 Grooms 4 Cabinet Makers and Upholster 3rs 2 Ostlers 10 Harness Makers 2 Post Lads 2 Weavers 3 Cabman 1 Plumbers and Glaziers 6 148 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. OCCUPATIONS OF PRISONERS— , 1^-45 \\'illiam Howell . Mutford . . . 28 Ditto. August 1!), 18,-. 1 Ann Miiry Cage . Stonham . . . 41 Ditto. August ]l\, 1H.-.3 William Flack . . Bacton . 18 Ditto. CAPITAL PUNISHMENTS, 151 EXECUTIONS AT BURY ST. EDMUND'S FROM 1814 TO 1853.* The above list is of considerable interest. Since 1835 no execution has taken place except for murder; and, had our criminal code possessed its present mitigated form during the whole period, there would have been only 16 executions instead of 50. It is remarkable also that prior to 1809, there was no execution for murder, as this is strong evidence of there having been no conviction for that offence during the period ; yet in the next six years there were no less than ten cases in which the extreme penalty of the law was carried out for this very offence. [In the Eastern Division there was no execution for murder from 1815 to 1831, but in the Western Division there was one in 1828, that of the notorious William Corder, It is also worthy of notice, that no execution for arson occurred in this county until 1822. It behoves us now to make inquiry into the Causes of Crime in this county ; for, although some causes, such as ignorance and want of early training, are doubtless similar throughout England, there are still certain local peculiarities which affect the principal causes, and others that are of themselves causes of * The executions prior to 1814 could not be obtained. 152 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. crimes. Criminal statistics in every county demon- strate that crime is chiefly committed by the laboring and ill-educated classes, and extended education has been in consequence held up as a remedy ; but, unless the education be of a very diff'erent quality to that which now passes current, unless it includes the for- mation of moral and industrial habits as well as mental attainments, it will have little effect in the diminution of crime. That low wages and want of regular employment are great causes of crime in this county is evidenced, not only by the testimony of Chaplains and Governors, but also by the fact of the small number of conmiittals in seasons of prosperity. The oft'cnders are generally members of the poorest class, and among this class there is a certain number that alternately gain their living by honest and dishonest means ; who occa- sionally suspend their habits of depredation to gain a living by labor ; who leave off thieving if they can get a larger income by honest employment. The connexion is illustrated by the fact of the juvenile criminals being generally orphans or illegitimate children, and the position is strengthened by there being but a very small number of ])risoners sent from villages along our fishing coast. Many parishes in the Samford and ]\Iutford Unions, which border on the rivers Orwell and Stour, and the German Ocean, have not furnished a single prisoner for trial during the five years ending 1853; and others have contributed a very small pro- portion to their population. Orford, Aldborough, and ^outhwold, three fishing ports, having, unitedly, a poi)nlation of 4,781, are conspicuous for their freedom from a criminal poi)ulation. The influence of low wages is demonstrated in the Cosford Union, where, as wc have shown, the criminals are more than twice; the numl)er of those in (he Samford Union. Wc And thai the agricultural laborer's wages are generally two CAUSES OF CUIME. 153 shillings per week lower in the former than they are in the latter. When we mentioned the Cosford district as unusually criminal, the worthy Chaplain of Hury St. Edmund's remarked, " I have frequently heard from the prisoners complaints of low wages from that district." William Gurdon, Esq., also remarked: "If abso- lute poverty is a cause of crime, comparative poverty, resulting from only partial employment, or full em- ployment at insufficient wages, must tend strongly in the same direction. After some considerable expe- rience in my office as Judge of the County Court, I am inclined to think that systematic low wages tend to lower the moral character of the laborer as much, if not more, than no employment at all. Good wages are an inducement to a man to preserve his character, that he may obtain employment. Low wages offer no such inducement. He cares little whether he gets them or not, and his character, either as an honest man or good workman, he feels of no service." Col. Bence says : " My opinion is that want of em- ployment has done more to demoralise the laboring- part of the community, especially the younger branches of it, than anything else. Where work is found them — where they are well looked after, fair wages paid, and an interest felt in their welfare — there you Avill find but little crime ; but, wdiere these essentials are omitted, there you will find crime existing to a considerable extent. The rebuffs these young men meet with when applying for work tend to drive them into society which they can only obtain at the beer houses. They there talk over their grievances and form their plans. They commence with poaching, and ad- vance by degrees, until crime of a larger extent leads to their apprehension." That poaching is a great cause of crime is an opinion very generally entertained, and Suffolk is one of the counties in which offences of this class are 154 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. most numerous. For many years the prisoners con- fined in Bury Gaol for breaches of the Game Laws formed a large proportion of the ordinary inmates, and even now they are numerous. In 1848 there were 97 convictions for offences under this law in the Bury district. Mr, J. W. Cooper, in his evidence before the Game Law Committee, mentioned a parish in Suffolk, inhabited by many confirmed poachers, in and around which numerous incendiary fires had occurred. Capt. Williams, late Inspector of Prisons, said that, from the love of adventure many men went on from poaching to stealing fowls and other things ; but it is impossible to get at the number that are made criminal by their being punished as poachers, though the testimony of Chaplains and Governors tends strongly to confirm the opinion that the Game Laws have made more criminals than any other system extant. ]\Iuch of the low moral condition of the laborers in woodland districts may be traced to the influence of the Game Laws. Poor men do not look npon hares as property in the same sense as they do sheep, nor consider pheasants as much the property of the landlord as they do his chickens. Neither is a man thought the worse of by his neigh- bours for taking of game, as the following case, taken from the Eleventh Report of the Inspector of Prisons, will show : County Gaol, Ipswich. — J. K , aged 24, laborer, single, three months for poaching. — " Been three times before for similar ofl'cnccs ; thinks there is a difference between poaching and stealing. I should not steal myself ; was never at school ; all that I have learnt has been in prison. I had no work ; tlicy tvould not employ me because I had been a poacher. 'I'licy wanted me to go into the ' house,' and I would ratlicr go to the gaol than the house. 1 was caught witli a leveret. I do not think 1 might as well have POACHING A CAUSE OF CRIME. 155 taken anything else ; the leveret is wild. Many people would be friends with a poacher, })ut would not like to be friends with a man convicted of felony." Want of work is often alleged by poachers as an excuse for their offences, and Captain Williams says that this plea is- most urr/ed in this county, particularly " in the neighbourhood of Beccles, where they pursue the herring fishery in the autumn, and if this is unsuc- cessful, many of them take to poaching, for, in many cases, they are dependent upon its success for their maintenance during the winter." It is difficult for men thus circumstanced to resist the temptation to poach — punishment foUows — until they become inured to, and even relish, the danger. Their committal to prison brings them into contact w^ith hardened rogues, and some of our best laborers have thus been changed into desperate characters. Nay land and Stoke-by- Nayland have furnished a large number of poachers, some of whom have been notorious characters, and during the last five years these parishes have also sent 1 criminal to every 426 persons. The following remarks are communicated by a gentle- man in the AVestcrn Division, whose long experience in magisterial duties entitles his opinions to great weight. " I may say safely, that poaching is a great source of evil, and, no doubt, greatly con- ducive to crime ; though it is an extraordinary fact that many practise that offence without committing more serious breaches of the law. There are in this district, annual, biennial, and triennial visitants to the gaol for poaching, some of whom have been as many as a dozen times for offences against the Game Laws, yet never convicted of felony, and more than one whom I should not think likely to commit a larceny. But the tendency of poaching — its concomitant evils of idleness, drunkenness, and corrupt society, is, no doubt, and too often is found to lead to crime of a worse character. 156 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. The connexion of these offences with want of employ- ment is manifest, as the committals are chiefly from those parishes where game is most preserved, and, hi con- sequence, regular employment least provided." The Chaplain of Beccles Gaol remarked : " The laborers, when destitute of employment, have recourse to poach- ing, and arc afterwards frequently inclined to continue it." William Gurdon, Esq., in reply to the question. Is poaching a cause of crime ? said : " Poaching is itself an offence both legal and moral. Whatever is most exposed to depredation, is most likely to be subject to it ; game unprotected is, therefore, a greater inducement to the ill-disposed than what is protected. The quantity, however, within a given space will form an inducement, where, with less, the risk of detection would not be hazarded. Unprotected property, as well as unprotected game, are both the usual objects of beginners in crimes, and thus may be said to lead to it." Colonel Bence gave it as his opinion that poaching lead to the formation of criminal habits, as poacliers are not generally discouraged by the occupiers of land, and the consequence is, their own hen-roosts soon become the ])lace to attack, and from thence crime advances rapidly. Desirous of obtaining practical information respecting crime in this county, from gentlemen whose experience would give weight to their judgment, we solicited answers to certain (jucstions from five gentlemen. Their replies, which we have now the pleasure of apj)ending, will be fonnd to embody opinions of the highest value. IFhatyfin your opinion, are the chief Causes of Crime in this county ? " Ignorance ; want of early habits of industry (both these causes frequently originating in parental neglect) ; dissolute or drunken parents; want of regular employment; poaching. T]\^', two iirst named no "doubt the chief causes." — Patkick M'Intvkv, Govirnor of Bury Gaol. CAUSES OF CRIME. 157 " "Want of cmployraont and drunkenness, as also the mind being unemployed." — Hev. W. Wklls, Chaplain io Bury Gaol. " Difficulty of getting employment ; low wages ; love of idle company and public bouses. Uncertainty of employment necessarily leads to idleness and crime, and low wages renders tbe mind discontented and leads to pilfering." — Eev. RoBT. Fkaxcis, Chaplain of Beccles House of Correction. "Of the crime of larceny, which constitutes a large proportion of indictable offences, the chief cause is idleness, voluntary and involuntary, with adults; with juvenile offenders, I consider the condition of their homes, social and moral, as the ruling point." — William Gukdox, Esq., Recorder of Bury St. EdmiimVs, and Chairman of Quarter Sessions, Ipswich Division. " Want of employment ; owing in a very great degree to the . diminished means of the occupiers of the land." — Colonel Bence, Chairman of Quarter Sessions, Beccles Division. Are Beer Houses great Catises of Crime ^ " Yes ; I believe them so. The repeal of the Malt Tax, and the reduction of the number of country beer houses, would, I think, avert much crime." — Governor of Bury St. Edmund's Gaol. " I consider them very great causes — the fewer the better. I also consider the prohibiting the sale of beer and liquors on Sundays a very desirable thing towards diminishing crime." — Chaplain of Bury St. Edmund's Gaol. "Beer shops may send somewhat too many, but not more than the small public houses. Reducing the number would have but little effect, unless done to a very large extent of both beer houses and public houses." — Chaplain of Beccles Gaol. " The general question of beer houses is a large subject. Those kept by persons of bad character naturally become the resort of the ill-disposed, and many a previously determined robbery is matured in plan at such places, besides many a one originally designed there. The character of the person who keeps the public house determines, therefore, in my mind, the evil result or otherwise to society." — William GuRDON, Esq. " Almost all crime is concocted in the beer houses, and they are not sufficiently under the care of the police." — Colonel Eence. 158 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEEXTH CENTURY. Larceny hy servants Ms lately increased in this county — Can you assign any Cause ? "I am unable to assign any cause for the increase. The term ' Servant ' includes any person in the employment of the owner of the property stolen, not merely domestic ser- vants." — William Gukdok, Esq. " Farm male servants are (with the exception of horsekeepers) not much better off than other agricultural laborers. Female servants are, I am greatly inclined to believe, tempted to steal from the increasing desire for dress in that rank of life ; the very cheapness of dress being, perhaps, a greater temptation."— (?ot-erwor of Bury St. Edmund's Gaol. " Among females, pride, love of dress, and impatience of dis- cipline, as veell as uneducated minds." — Chaplain of Bury St. Edmund's Gaol. "I do not think larceny among servants has increased of late years in this neighbourhood ; but among male servants intemperate habits seem the principal cause; and, among females, love of dress, and in some cases evil companions." — Chaplain of Beccles House of Correction. " Low price of wages, with an inordinate love of dress on the part of the females ; and an omission of religious instruction by their masters and mistresses in farm houses, and by those engaged in trade." — Colonel Bence. ^o"o^ The cost of crime, or rather the cost of the detection and punishment of criminals, is a part of this subject that must not pass unnoticed. During the last ten years no less than 5,340 persons have been committed to the county and borough prisons of Suffolk ; and, exclusive of rent and repairs, the average cost of each prisoner may be estimated at £-2() per annum. The cost in some of the prisons of this county has been exceedingly high. In the Sixteenth Report of the Inspectors of Prisons, the net average cost per prisoner in Ipswich Borough Gaol is stated to be £36 per annum, at Beccles £30, and at the County Gaol, Ipswich, £29. The average for all England is £22 per annum. At the County (iaol, l^ury St. Ednmnd's, the cost in 1850 was only £21, but at the previous visit of the COST OF CRIME. 159 Inspector it amounted to £25 for each prisoner. We may safely infer therefore that the case is understated, by assuming the cost to have averaged £20 per annum (ku'ing tlie ten years ending 1852. Thus we see at a glance the enormous tax that is imposed upon the industrious to maintain the profligate and the criminal, a tax amounting to nearly £14,000 per annum. In ten years the sum of £138,840 has been spent in main- taining and clothing and guarding of prisoners, a sum about equal to the estimated annual value of the land and buildings as rated to the poor in the whole of the Union of Elything — a union that extends over an area of 29,000 acres. During the five years ending 1852, 255 prisoners were sentenced to transportation. The average cost of these may be estimated at £100 each ; this gives an additional expense of £5,000 per annum, or £50,000 in ten years. The cost of the police may be estimated at £11,000 per annum. The rural police of the Eastern Division alone cost in 1850, on an average of three years, £5,492. The late Lord Rendlesham stated the cost of the police in the Western Division to be £4,629 per annum, and in 1851 we find the entire cost of the rural police of the county entered at £12,176, and this is exclusive of their cost at Ipswich and Bury St. Edmund's. The annual cost of prosecutions average about £4,000 ; the conveyance of prisoners to gaol, £350 ; and the Shire Hall, Judges' Lodgings, etc., £500 per annum. The items of our annual expenditure will form rather a formidable amount when collected together. £ Maintenance of Prisoners . . 13,832 Rural and Boroiigh Police . 11,000 Cost of Transports . . 5,000 Prosecutions . . • . 4,000 Conveyance of Prisoners to Gaol . . 350 ShireLall, Judges' Lodgings, etc. . 500 £34,682 160 SUFFOLK IN' THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. It thus appears that the cost of watching, seizing, detaining, examining, committing, trying, and finally imprisoning and transporting these miserable outcasts of society in the county of Suffolk, during tlie ten years ending 1S52, was nearly equal to £350,000, and this is exclusive of the cost incurred by persons committed under the summary powers of the magistrates and the value of the property stolen. There is one feature in the distribution of the expenses of gaols, police, and other machinery kept up by crime, which seems to us to be recommended by common sense, and based on a principle of natural justice. In examining the causes of crime, we have seen that game lands and beer houses are breeding grounds and training schools of crime. An extra proportion of criminals are sent from the neighbour- hoods of game estates, and universally testimony will convict beer-shops and many pubhc houses also, as hot beds of crime. Why, then, should we not charge an extra rate upon all this property, and thus make the parties pay extra for the evil which they have caused ? Why should \ve not tax largely those districts that are really manufactories of criminals ? Is it not clear to all of us that those things which cause moral delin(picncy, and multiply the temptations to crime, should be made to. assist in an extra degree to pay the cost of imprisonment and support the mechanism of cure? CEAPTEE YI. PAUPERISM, PAST AND PRESENT. Pauperism ! wliat a theme ! what a brood of evils are engendered by this one ! The extent of moral and social evil flowing from this social malady, as well as the pecuniary loss that is incurred, it is dilficult to determine. It is the plague spot of this county; a social cancer preying upon the vitals of the community, and festering away the self-respect, independence, and industry of almost every class of our working population. Our permanent and hereditary paupers are a very numerous class. At the census in 1851 it was found that 65 in every 10,000 persons in Great ]3ritain were paupers. In Suffolk the paupers numbered 153 in every 10,000 persons enumerated. On the average of the five years ending March, IS 53, no less than 26,582 persons have annually received parochial relief. One out of every 12 of our popu- lation is a pauper, and the cost of supporting what Thomas Carlyle aptly designates " this army of paupers," has, during the five years ending March, 1852, averaged £142,688 per annum. These figures demonstrate the existence of an enormous burthen, indicating clearly enough the direct loss we annually sustain by pauperism — a loss in pounds, shillings, and pence more than equal to the nett rental of the whole of the land and buildings in the Union 11 162 SUFFOLK IN THE XIXETEENXn CEXTURT. of Mutforcl, and in the towns of Lowestoft, Woodbridge, Stowmarket, Hadleigh, Debenham, Haleswortli, Fram- lingham, Saxmnndbam, Soutbwold, and Clare. But severe as this pecuniary loss undoubtedly is, the workings of this social evil are still more lamentable when viewed in its moral and social aspects. Taking the laborers as a mass, it is evident that the allowance from the poor's-rate is their resource in sickness and old age. The force of old associations and the habitual custom of applying for parochial relief have operated so strongly, that they never feel the shame or the degradation of pauperism. The feelings of respect and attachment to their superiors have perished imder the operation of the system, and they are replaced by a cringing disposition which is too often fostered by employers ; and, worst of all, the habits of industry having been gradually undermined, a large class of laborers are really insensible to the honest spirit of independence. It is somewhat singular that a question involving, as it does, the pecuniary interests and the social welfare of all classes, and which has pressed unusually heavy upon the ratc-j)ayers of this county — which has in more than one instance caused disturbances in the district, ])ringing down the " * Times' Commissioner " to make incpiiries — should not have excited among the owners and occu})icrs a greater degree of attention. There are many branches of this great social problem that are invested with a great degree of interest, as well as importance. The Law of Settlement, the unequal burden of poor's-rate in different parishes, the indis- criminate association of the depraved wandering mendicant and the resident ])nu})er, the schools of industry for workhouse children, and employment for the able-bodied poor, so as to reduce the amount of ])oor's-rates — these are points of the greatest imj)ortancc to tlie connnunity generally, and of peculiar interest RATErAYEUS NEGLECT THEIR OWN INTERESTS. 163 to ourselves, as our agricultural facilities afford us the better meaus of aiding in the solution of the problem. It might have been vain to expect, that during the late agitation for " protection " which absorbed for a long period the attention of the leading men of the county, any close application would be given to a particular branch of social economy. The struggle has hitherto been for political rather than social reform ; but now that the " question of questions " is in all probability finally settled, there is reason to hope that pauperism and its demoralising consequences will meet with the attention of the rate-payers, and the sympathy and support of the philanthropic of this district. Too much, however, must not be expected, as there prevails among the inhabitants a dread of attacking time-honored institutions and customs ; they seem more disposed than the people of manuhicturing districts to bear easily the burden of social evds ; they put up with abuses, and want others to commence the onslaught. They will follow, but fear to lead. After Mr. Mott, the Assistant Poor Lav/ Commissioner, had visited Suffolk in 1834, and examined the books and accounts of the several parishes, he declared that charges the most barefaced and inconsistent had been submitted to by the farmers and rate-payers, and that almost every species of trickery was developed by the examination ; that in Gloucestershire, with farmers for overseers and rate-payers who attended the vestry, the poor's-rate for the county averaged 8s, lid. per head on the population of 1831, while in Suffolk, during the same period, where the vestry was neglected and the office of overseer was filled by a much less respect- able class of persons, the cost averaged 18s. lOd. per head over the entire county. The want of energy that induced them to disregard their own interests at that period, is still a characteristic of the rate-payers of this district. 164 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. It has been generally considered by the landowners of this county — and the opinion was confirmed by the Commissioners appointed in 1833 to examine into the operations of the Poor Laws — that prior to the Poor Law Amendment Act coming into operation, Suffolk was more deeply pauperised than any other county in England. Some idea of the extent of the evil at that time may be inferred from the fact, that during the four years ending Lady-day 1853, the annual average expense of poor relief was about eight shillings per head of the population; whilst in 1834, as we have just mentioned, the relief of the poor amounted to 18s. lOd. per head. The cost per head in 14 Unions are averaged as under. Returns from Samford, Bury St. Edmund's, and ]\Iutford Unions are not obtainable, as these Unions did not dissolve their incorporations until several years after 1834. USIONS. Cost of Poor Relief per head in 1^:31, on the Topulation of 1831. TNIONS. Cost of Poor Relief per head in 18;34, on the Population of 1831. Iloxnc . . . Ilartisnicrc Cosford . . . Plomcsgate Bosmerc . . . Risbridgc . . . lUytbing . . £ s. (I. 1 5 01 1 1 H 1 1 4-| I'J l| 17 11 17 81 17 1 Wang ford . Woodliridge . Thinffoo . Mildadiall . . Stow . . , I\)s\vich . . . Sudbury . . £ .1. fl. IG 111 IG U\ 16 l| 14 l()i 14 8-i. 13 Sj 13 0| But even this exhibition of the cost of pauperism twenty years since fails to show the enormous pressure which some parishes in this district were compelled to bear. The average of the whole county inchide differences of such magnitude as are barely credible, and instances where the ex})ense of the ])oor was in two years nearly ccpial to the annual value of the land of the parish. The cost per head of the po})ulation on a f/nec-yaxvs' average, 1832 to 1831. inclusive, was at INCORPORATED HUNDREDS. 165 £ *. d. £ *■. d. Shipmoadow 5 5 Stradbroke 1 10 2 Wangford . 7 3 Thoriulon All Saints 1 14 11 Braiseworth 12 5 ]5rampton 1 18 5 Oakley . . 13 7 AViiatfiold . 2 7 AVortham 1 6 5 Cookley . 2 2 3 Bacton . . I 7 9 Elvedou 3 14 2 Sibton 1 10 9 Barshara 3 16 Such an enormous expenditure in some districts, and differences ranging from 5s. 5d. per head in one parish to £3 16s. Od. per head in another, render it desirable, before proceeding further, to describe the system of rehcf and management of the poor which was then in actual operation. Such a description in full would occupy a good portion of a volume ; but we trust that our brief narrative, with all its imperfections, will be the means of correcting some false notions existing at the present day. The various Hundreds of Suffolk were incorporated either under Local Acts, or in accordance with the provisions of Gilbert's Act, which was passed in 1775. It is evident that the working of the Poor Law at that period was very similar in its operation to what it was 25 years ago. The evils that had crept on to the law of Elizabeth were increasing in magnitude, and the landowners of this district became alarmed as to the consequences. The 24 parishes in Mutford and Lothingland Hundred were incorporated for the maintenance of their poor by a Local Act in 1763, and in 1764 the owners and occu- j)icrs in the Blything Hundred applied for an Act of Parliament to incorporate the parishes in their hundred for the support of the poor. This act was obtained, and in the following year the sum of £12,000 was borrowed on the credit of the poor's-rate for the erection of the House of Industry at Bulcamp. This innovation on the old parochial management was so strongly opposed by the lower orders, that, before the completion of the building, it was partially destroyed by a riotous mob, who mustered in numbers so strong that the presence of the military was necessary to disperse them. 166 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. The expense of relieving the poor gradually increased , and the necessity for some speedy and effectual inter- position becoming daily more apparent, the landowners evidently considered Gilbert's Act a great boon, as, in a few years after it became law, its provisions were very generally adopted in this county. Bosmere and Claydon was incorporated in 1775, Cosford in 1779, Stow in 1781. Ilartismere, Iloxne, and Thredling, were also incor- porated in 1779 ; l)ut, as the sum of £16,000 required for the erection of a house of industry was never raised, the incorporation was not carried into effect. As might naturally be expected, very dissimilar modes of management were adopted by the various incorporated bodies. In some, the directors and guardians greatly relaxed their authority ; in others, parochial management was substituted for the central control of the hundred. Great differences also existed as to the extent to which the allowance system was adopted and the })rinciple by which it was regulated, as well as the disci])line within the house of industry. In the Mutford and Lothingland, and also in the Wangford incorporation, the board of directors and gnardians retained their authority over the parochial officers, who attended the weekly meetings of the committee, and received orders concerning the distri- bution of relief. In most of the other incorporations, the out-door relief, which was almost the sole remaining: system, was entirely parochial, and conducted without the influence of the board. Various kinds of labor were tried in many of the workhouses, but the profits obtained being more than counterbalanced by the in- creased cost of pan})er mahitenance, as compared with the allowance usually given to finnilies on the out-door system, the directors and guardians, in conse(|uence, substituted as nnich as possible out-relief for in-main- tenanee. The cost of the clothing and establishment charges usually amounted to £13 per head per annum, while the average cost of out-door paupers, under the SCALE ALLOWANCE. 167 scale allowance system, was only £5 per head per annum. Calculations of this kind induced the owners and occu- piers in the Loes and Wilford Hundred to consent to the dissolution of their incorporation in 1824. Upon grovmds of this kind the board frequently degenerated, until it became a mere visiting committee for the house ; the attendance gradually decreased, and the out-relief was entirely managed by the overseers in their respective parishes. In the Colncis and Carlford incorporation, at 42 weekly mcethigs, during the space of two years, no quorum had assembled ; at six of the quarterly meetings out of eight no quorum was present ; and though five special meetings were called during this period, a (juoruni could not be obtained at any one of them : yet accounts were audited and allowed, new expenses incurred, direc- tors elected, and the usual business transacted, in defiance of the provisions of their own Local Acts. A custom generally prevalent was that of relieving the laborers partially or wholly from the expenses connected with their position as householders. Partial relief was given by exemption from the payment of rates. Wher- ever the laborer was a parishioner, poverty was a sure plea for "exemption." In St. Margaret's, Ipswich, the rates excused amounted, on a y?i!;A >^ O (^ m I— 1 Pi o o (M <1 ;5 S5 O ^ in eo w Oi o t^ t^ 1-^ CO CM l-H o Oi Oi cc 00 eo eo f— * CO CO 00 C-. 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CO Tl" 03 f-H l-H 00^ GO ^rt oT l-T in" oT •«j<" eo" oo" cT l-^ od" co" o CM oT OS r- ■1 CM 1^ r— ( •* CO CO Oi CO 00 in o 00 OS ^'^^ 1^- Tjl in eo "1 i^ CO f-H CO o f-H to in ^ OS OS CO OO to » r^ in o ■^ CO 00 o 00 CO Tl* rH t—i OS oo to ■* l-H l-H l-H r-^ r-H O »— t to to o o in CM in eo in •* o O OS o CM OS (N •* J^ m o o CO CO to in r-~l CO in to to r-H to 00 -1^ ,.°° to (M eo CM Ttl r^ o in 00 O CM^ l-H CM CO CO OS CM '^O oo 05 to in o» ■"S< eo oo" C-. i^ oo" T)<~ l-H l-H cT oo" IC ■* ^ CO l-H l-H l-H a> CO to 00 « I^ 00 m r^ o •* l-H ^^ o 00 Oi CM CO »— < •<»< c^ o CO o> TJI CM (Jn CO a 00 00 CM o m OS Oi CO (Ll °^ 00 co_ o eo 00 rH l^ r—t CO CO 03 CM_ ■«< l-H 00 OS l-H M '^ CO ^ Oi of to~ to Oi 'S' ■* I^ o t^ oo" eo" f-H l-H o oo" in" ■* CO l-H l-H f— 1 r-t l-H 05 00 05 00 o in in l-H o o t^ m to C3 CO l-H CO §i C^J 00 Tf r-H CO 05 CO CM IJ* l-H o CM i^ C3 <3S to CM ^"^^ to_ OJ 00^ co__ • 00^ to_ O CM CO in o eo_ r-t CM r-^ CO CO ^00 eo oT CO r-H in" oT CO r^ o" l-H t- l> eo" o" l-H l-H rH o l-H oT in" eo CO Ol -* IM CO in l-H f-^ 05 r-1 l-H l-H in CO r-H ~in~ eo • CM 00 OJ o CO to ^ 05 to in 00 CO 00 o CM o • eo o r—t o OS in" ■>3<' eo l-H l-H f-H l-H to 05 in •<1< r~* r- m eo OS "ST CO eo I^ l-H 00 o OS o eo I- CO o l-H CM •n un csi 00 ■^ Oi CM ■* in ■ eo" o cm" r-t os" in" TjT ^ l-H l-H f-t l-H ^H (— t o ,_^ OS 05 03 CM eo "o~ Tjl 00 00 to r—t m • l— ira CD in CD eo CM J^ t- t^ CO CM l-H to rt< s =rt«i- 00 CO CM CM • eo l-H Cvj CM^ t~ • o co^ to CM •^ . eo CO •o 00 OS t^ O ■^ 00 00 oo" t-^ oT cT o" l-H in" "" r- 1 l-H f-H r-H r-t CO CO l-H TjJ r^ 05 l^ 1> oo" r-^ l-H © in" ' CO '"' r-t I—t l-H o in (-H •"K t^ CM 1^ "'!'" cT o l-H CO 00 to in a r~ CD eo Oi o t^ o CO in l-H to TT CI r-t eo «^"2- <— « l-H to ■^ ' 00^ i^ ■* CM in ; m o_ eo eo^ • oo ^ to 00 co" l-^ oo" ■«<" i-^ o oT i-^ od" cT ,-H i-T in" • eo 1— < l-H l-H r— 1 t-^ «5 CO eo . . . • • ■ • . . . . . . . . . . 00 I^ •^ OO l-H CO fO . . - . . . . . . . . . . . . 00 IM 1^^ o> m —1 CO in 00 CI CI ~^ ~to" in CO 1^ OS oo o »— « «o CI 1^ 1^ eo l-H o o 00 CO -it 1^ OS CO oT eo" • °1 in" CD CO CM oT oT CO '• to eo" 1^ 00* OS os" os_ l-H CI • S rH t^ l-H ^H l-H l-H l-H 1-^ i—t f— t CM l-H en •a B • s 1 13 &> 0> •J A. .J c E: 1^ •c ■c 3 J3 -O 9 Vj il c bo a f2 tn a K £ ft e 41 a c X t PQ E .a ■fe ei. i c 3 tsfj C a is T3 =1 POOR LAW EXPENDITURE. 189 This comparative view of Poor Law Expenditure for a period of 20 years shows great variations in the cost of pauperism, and a considerable decrease (hiring the last three years. Comparing 1851 with 183G, the prices of wheat being about the same in both years, there is a decrease of £55,000 in expenditure, although there had been a large increase of population during the period. The expenditure was least in the year ending March 25th, 1838. From that period it gradually rose with trifling variations until 1848, when, compared with 1838, the increase amounted to £34,511. There were great differences in the price of flour at the two periods, but it must be remembered that in 1838 the establishment charges were included with the " Relief to the Poor," and these added about £12,000 a year to the amount. The year 1848 was the maximum of Poor Law Expenditure in this county since the operations of the New Act. The cost of pauperism in 1834 was 18s. lOd. per head, on a three-years' average, in 1841 it was 8s. lOd., and in 1851 it was only 7s. lid. per head on the same average. This comparison of the pecuniary cost of pauperism at three periods is satisfactory, exhibiting a decrease of the cost at each period, and by inference, a decrease in the actual number of recipients. Descending from the whole to its parts — from the county to the unions within its borders — great differ- ences are observable in the amounts expended for the relief of the poor, both at the commencement of the operations of the Poor Law, and subsequently, even to the present time. Comparing the expenditure of 1834 and 1837, we find a decrease in the latter year on the whole county amounting to 44 per cent. But in Ilartismere Union the decrease was 45 ; in Hoxne 54 ; and in Cosford 59 per cent. ; or more than half in three years. The decrease in 1837 compared with 1834 in the 14 unions from which returns were obtained, may be thus exhibited : 190 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. UXIOKS. Per Centage of Decrease in Poor Relief in 1837, compared with 1834. t'MONS. Per Centage of Decrease in Poor Relief in 1837, compared with 1834. Risbridge . . . 42-961 Hoxne . . , 54019 Sudbury . , . 25 981 Bosmere . . 47-574 Cosford .... Tbingoe . . 59-714 39-261 Ipswicb . . . Woodbridge . 37-449 35-712 MildenhaU. . . 18-501 Plomesgate . . 43-720 Stow .... 42-803 Blvtbing . . 49-420 Hartismere . . 45-173 Waugford . , 52-071 By this analysis we see that the decrease varied from 18 per cent, in MildenhaU Union to 59 per cent, in Cosford Union, and by referring to page ISS it will be seen that the reduction was not uniformlv the greatest where the expenditure had been the heaviest. The cost of poor relief in Wangford was below that of Blything, Bosmere, Plomesgate, and Hartismere; yet the reduction was greater than in either of these unions. The years in which differences in the relief expenditure are most conspicuous are 1839, when a decrease in Hartismere and Plomesgate was simul- taneous with an increase in all the other unions, and the following year, when there was a decrease in the county as a whole, but an increase in five unions, among whicli were Plomesgate and Hartismere. In 1845 the increase in the county was 7 per cent., but there was a decrease in Samford ; in 1847, a decrease in Sudbury, and a very slight one in Samford, although an increase in every other union ; and, in 1848, a decrease in Risbridge and ]\lutford Unions, and an increase on the county of nearly 9 per cent. Time, however, showed that the law, as carried out in 183G, 1837, and 1838, could not be maintained. The Poor Law system had not only been the cause of much pauperism that, in the absence of any legal provision vvouhl have been battled with and avoided. DIFFERENCES IN OUT-RELIEF. 191 but it had also induced the agricultural laborers to submit to such a low rate of wages that a bare sub- sistence only was obtained, and the poor's-rate was relied upon for assistance in sickness or old age. Theoretically, the new law recognised no right to relief, except as an inmate of the union house. There the pauper was to be docked in his food, and have his condition rendered so irksome, that he would gladly consent to swell the ranks of the competitors in the labor market. But our poor had been so used to obtaining assistance from the poor's-rate without be- coming absolute paupers, that the attempt to carry out this principle produced an outcry so fearful that the Commissioners, in obedience to public opinion, were glad to relax their check upon "out-door relief," and thus, at the present time, we find that the average amount expended for "out relief" is more than four times as great as that expended for " in-door relief." This fact will be more clearly exhibited by the following extracts from tables kindly furnished to us by Sir John Walsham, showing the comparative cost of in-door and out-door relief in the several unions of this county during the years 1849, 1850, 1852, and 1853. These tabular statements convey at a glance, and in the best possible manner, the present state of pauperism in each district of the county, and they also exhibit remarkable differences in the out relief of unions that are not only nearly equal in respect to population, but also very similar in local peculiarities. There is evidently no regular system under which out relief is administered, and the workhouse test is much more stringently applied in some districts than in others. In the Sudbury, Stow, Woodbridge, Mildenhall, and Risbridge Unions, the low amount of in-door relief contrasts very strongly with the heavy amount of out-door relief. The smallest expenditure for in-door relief will be found in the Mildenhall and Stow Unions, the largest in the Wang- 192 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. ford, Hoxne, Samford, and Bosmere. The smallest expenditure for out-door relief is found in the Samford, Cosford, and Ipswich Unions. THE COMPARATIVE COST OF IN-DOOR AXD OUT-DOOR RELIEF IN THE SEVERAL UNIONS OF THIS COUNTY DURING THE FOLLOWING YEARS : AVERAGE WEEKLY AMOUNT OF OUT-DOOR RELIEF. AVERAGE WEEK- LY AMOVNT OF IN-DOOR RELIEF. AVERAGE WEEKLY COST OF IN-DOOR AND OUT-DOOR POOR PER 100 POPULATION. VNIOKS. ENDING ENDING ENDING ENDING ENDING ENDING ENDING ENDING ENDING XMAS. XMAS. LADY- LADY- LADY- LADY- XMAS. LADY- LADY- 1849. 1850. DAT 1852 DAY 1853 DAY1852 DAY 1853 1850. DAY1852 DAT1853 £ £ £ £ £ £ s. d. s. d. s. d. Blything . 101 101 105 95 28 29 7 5 9 6 8 11 Bosmere and Claydon . . 85 70 61 70 28 26 8 6 10 4 11 2 Bury St. Ed- mund's . . 67 66 67 68 14 13 10 6 10 10 11 8 Cosford . . 62 63 59 61 19 18 ' 11 8 7 8 9 Hartismere . 103 105 120 118 20 24 16 4 14 9 14 11 Hoxne . . 84 82 94 87 26 25 10 5 15 1 14 1 Ipswich . . 142 136 142 154 32 32 10 9 10 7 11 4 Mildenhall . . 51 47 46 45 6 6 10 3 10 9 10 Mutford . . 45 46 47 44 19 18 5 7 6 6 6 2 Plomesgate . 113 103 107 120 23 26 9 9 12 1 13 7 Risbridge . . 126 113 110 111 17 17 13 14 14 2 Samford . . 27 21 23 29 14 15 3 7 5 11 7 Stow . . . 100 101 103 101 12 13 10 3 10 11 10 10 Sudbury . . 212 189 179 194 25 23 12 7 13 3 14 1 Thingoe . . 110 107 115 115 21 17 11 10 14 4 13 11 Wangford . . "NVoodbridge . 65 65 67 59 25 24 9 5 11 9 11 10 154 148 155 140 20 20 12 10 14 10 13 7 In glancing over the columns of " Average Weekly Cost of Out-door and In-door Poor per 100 of Poj)ulation," the reader cannot fail to observe the extraordinary rauffc of cost. In 1850, the range was from 3s. 7d. in Samford, to 13s. Od. in Risbridge, in the next year from 5s. lid. in Samford, to 1 5s. Id. in Hoxne, and in the year ending Lady Day, 1853, from 6s. 2d. in Mutford, to 14s. lid. in Hartismere. The highest amounts seem to indicate, and doubtless do indicate, a deplorable amount of pauperism in the COST OF COUNTY AND DISTRICT TAUPERISM. 193 respective districts. Samford District comprises a large })ortion of the best land of the county, in a high state of cultivation, and being one of the least populated unions — for under the old system, it expatriated a large number of the rising generation — is no doubt much more free from pauperism than many of the other districts. But another view of this subject will show that the mode of administering relief has an important bearing upon the amount expended. For instance, the out relief in Samford does not double the amount of in-door relief, being in one year but 23 to 1-1, and in the next year 29 to 15 ; while in Mildenhall it is as 6 to 1 ; in Woodbridge 7 to 1 ; and in Sudbury, nearly 8|- to 1. We have been asked, why, if the laborers in Samford are so free from pauperism, do so large a proportion of Samford paupers accept the kind of relief which implies the greatest destitution, viz., the work- house ; and we reply, because in this union the work- house test is very freely applied. Wherever the work- house test is stringently applied the expenditure v/ill be found to be proportionately reduced. The extent of out relief depends very much upon the class of men that constitute the Board. Comparison of the cost of pauperism in Suffolk with the same in Norfolk and Essex, exhibits but a trifling variation of expenditure in the three counties, the average weekly cost of in-door and out-door poor per 100 of population during the years ending Lady Day, 1852 and 1853, being lis. 5d. in Essex, lis. 7^d. in Suffolk, and lis. ll-^d. in Norfolk; but in the county of Kent the average was only 7s. 3d. In Suffolk the unions in which the cost of pauperism is below, or above, the average of the county, are nearly equal in number, thus : — 13 194 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. rXIOXS ABOVE THE AVERAGE OF SUFFOLK. Weekly Cost Weekly Cost : i ' of In-door of Out-door 1 1 Poor per 100 Poor per 100 , !of Population, of Population. < \ I II Hartismeie Hoxne . PlomesgatD Thingoe . «. d. 2 H 3 2\ 2 3| 1 10 s. d. 12 6| 11 10 12 1^ Weekly Cost of In-door rsiONS. Poor per 100 of Population. «. d. Risbridge . 1 lOi Sudburv . 1 6i AVoodbridge 1 8i "Wangford . 3 5f Weekly Cost of Out-door Poor per 100 ofPopulation. 8 d. 2 s. 12 12 12 5i H H UNIONS BELOW THE AVERAGE OF SUFFOLK. Weeklv Cost Weekly Cost Weekly Cost Weekly Cost of Out-door of In-door of In-door of Out-doi>r r.NioNS. Poor per 100 Poor per 100 TNIOXS. Poor per 100 poor per 1 00 ofPopulation. ofPopulation. ofPopulation. ofPopulation. *. rf. s. d. s. d. s. d. Blytbing . . 2 Oi 7 2 Mildcnhall . 1 If 1 io| 2 3f • 1 2| 8 8i Bosmeie . . 3 1| 7 7\ Mutford . . 4 5A 4 l| Bury . . . 1 11 9 9 Samford . . Cosford , . 2 Oi 6 7h Stow. . . 9 8 Ipswich . . 1 11 9 Qi Wc have shown that a great decrease of expenditure took place under the New Law, in the whole county, and in each union, when compared with the expenditure in the same district in 1834, and we now propose exliibiting tlie expenditure for relief in each parish of the Bosmere and Clay don Union in the year 1834, and in the year ending March 25th, 1853. We select this union because its expenditure under the old system, ])rr head of population, was nearly equal to the average of the whole county, and the comparison is therefore most fair. BOSMERE UNION. 195 THE EXPENDITURE FOR RELIEF IN EACH RARISH OF THE BOSMERE AND CLAYDON UNION, IN 1834 AND 1853. 5, Ncedham, Akenhatn Ashbocking Ash field . Badley Barham Barkin^ Darmsden Battisl'ord Baylbam Blakcnham Magna Blakcnham Parva Bramford Brceit . Claydon Coddenham Greeting All Saints Greeting St. Mary Greeting St. OlaTe Growfield Debenham Flowton Framsden Gosbeck Helmingbam Hemingstone Henley Mickfield Nettlestead Offton . Pettaugb . Eingsball Stonbara Aspal Stonbam Earl Stonbam Parva Somersbam . Swilland . Willisham Winston . and Population in isai. 119 234 375 82 416 1.957 436 238 192 102 874 284 402 913 294 129 44 360 1,629 185 642 319 286 342 305 257 74 399 284 337 612 757 329 446 272 224 398 Cost of Poor Re- Population lief in 1834. in 1851. £ ■s. 107 131 246 314 423 327 200 74 328 363 1,320 1,856 254 496 257 310 165 244 131 139 846 997 442 236 336 540 693 1,047 278 301 214 224 35 50 473 410 986 1,653 200 178 961 828 296 311 384 287 283 388 317 326 307 256 111 81 425 410 380 28S 303 371 748 814 715 860 287 402 212 422 207 267 224 213 311 392 Cost of Out-Re- lief and In- Maintenance in 1853. £ 57 409 347 118 97 109 23 4 91 161 3 75 3 126 12 461 11 98 11 58 18 69 45 2 2 303 17 115 7 72 16 243 10 114 48 3 183 743 66 896 93 202 64 78 12 130 18 21 12 115 9 169 19 114 5 7 9 7 4 8 277 10 The extent of pauperism may, perhaps, be more justly estimated by an accomit of the number of persons reHeved at a given period, and we insert here the numbers in receipt of rehef on the 1st of January in each of the following years : — 196 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 1851. 1852. 26,995 26,643 Average of the three years . 1853. 26, 109 26,582 In 1845 the number of persons relieved in this county was returned at 43,857, but as the practice at that period was to take the number reUeved during the quarter ending Lady Day, it is evident that many of the same paupers were entered more than once during the quarter, and counted as distinct persons. An improved system of classification was introduced in 1847, and for the reasons just given no comparison can be made with the returns of the number of paupers relieved in years prior to that date. During the three years ending Lady Day, 1853, there was a gradual reduction in the number of paupers, and comparison of the average of the three years with the population of 1851 shows that every twelfth person in this county is usually in receipt of relief. To exhibit the variations, in differeut unions, of the mimher of paupers, as we have previously done with the cost of relief, we insert here a return of the number relieved on the 1st of January, 1851 — 54. Average of Proportion VXIONS. 1851. 1852. 1853. 1854. three years 185i— 54. Population. One in Samford 595 680 586 721 629 20 Ipswich . 2,314 2,248 2,278 2,095 2,207 15 Sudbury 2,787 2,727 2,804 2,772 11 Plomesgate 1,723 1,721 1,709 1,633 1,087 13 Bosmere . . 1,308 1,457 1,392 1,430 1,420 12 The in-door poor receiving relief on the 1st of .January, 1853, in 10 unions, were 3,245 in number, consisting of 1,005 males, 818 females, and 1,422 children under IG years of age. Of those, 412 males and 5(')5 females were able-bodied. The able-bodied married cou[)lcs were 88 in number, and the children, OUT-DOOR POOR. 197 under 16 years of age, 852 ; but of these 346 were the illegitimate children of able-bodied inmates. Amongst the not able-bodied there were 522 males, 183 females, besides 28 married couples, 2 illegiraate, and 16 other children belonging to inmates, and 547 orphans or other children relieved without parents. The inmates also included 85 adults, and 4 children afflicted with lunacy or idiotcy. The out-door poor relieved in the 16 unions at the same date numbered 22,060 ; viz., 4,935 males, 9,244 females, and 7,881 children under 16 years of age. Among the able-bodied were 694 adult males, married or single, relieved in cases of their own sickness, accident, or infirmity ; 376 adult males on account of sickness, accident, or infirmity in their family ; and 43 adult males on account of want of work; 828 wives, and 2,685 children belonging to the preceding adult males. There were, also, 1,249 widows relieved, 3,073 children, under 16, dependent on widows, as well as 269 single women without children, 79 illegiti- mate children, and 50 of their mothers were among the able-bodied out-door poor. The next class of able-bodied embraces 01 wives, 166 children, relieved in consequence of parents being in gaol ; 20 wives and 40 children belonging to soldiers and sailors ; and 25 wives and 58 children belonging to other non- resident males. The not able-bodied out-door poor consisted of 3,754 males, 6,645 females, 1,292 children under 16 years of age relieved with their parents, and 484 orphans or other children relieved without parents. The lunatics and idiots numbered 153, consisting of Q>Q males, 84 females, and 2 children. The expenses connected with Poor Law manage- ment form no inconsiderable item in the amount i)ut down as total expended for relief of the poor. We cannot exhibit these items for any lengthened period, because, prior to 1849, the poor's-rate return did not 198 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. distinguish the amount of " expenses immediately con- nected with rehef " from the cost of in-maintenance and out-reUef. During the four years ending Lady Day, 1852, the average annual cost of poor relief in Suffolk was £136,962, of which sum £19,515 was spent for in-maintenance, and £33,375 for expenses connected with relief. In-door relief thus cost 14 per cent., and the expenses connected with relief 24 per cent., of the total expenditure for relief of the poor. In the four years named, the expenses of management have exceeded the cost of in-maintenance by the sum of £55,551. The following return exhibits the number and salaries of the Poor Law Officers in this county : OFFICERS. NVMBEU. SALARY. Relieving OflBcers 41 £ 3,970 Assistant Overseers or Collectors 8.T 815* Clerks 17 1,690 Chaplains .... 17 858 Masters and Matrons . 36 1,655 Schoolmasters 14 444 Schoolmistresses 16 334 Porters ..... 15 251 Nurses ..... 13 148 Superintendents of Labor 2 46 Treasurers .... 17 20» Medical Officers 98 5,085 Other Olticers .... 12 161 Total 383 £15,447 Tlic ^Itdical Otiiccrs have a grant of £2,540 in addition to their salaries. The Schoolmasters and Mistresses a grant of £782. There are some important social questions in con- nection with this monster evil of pauperism, to which we arc desirous of soUciting public notice. We deem it possible to lessen the amount paid for poor's-rate, and, at the same time, bring about desirable moral • Treasurers and Collootovs are usually rcnnincratod l)y a poundage, tho amount of which, ni)t being known, is not included in the above. INDUSTRIAL EMPLOYMENT REQUIRED. 199 advantages to those who arc now supported entirely by the pubUc charge. We ask attention to — 1st. The necessity of providing agricultural and industrial employment for adult paupers. — We ask, woukl not the useful employment of paupers be better for them and the rate-payers than the present system of total idleness, or such task-work, totally unpro- ductive, as is supposed to be of a deterring nature? We ask, is industry better than idleness, economy better than waste ? A wrong answer to these ques- tions has taken from the pockets of the rate-payers of this county, since 1837, more than two millions TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY-NINE THOUSAND POUNDS, without producing one sovereign in return. Can any one maintain that these questions are correctly answered when w^e jBnd ourselves taxed annually to the amount of one hundred and forty thousand pounds for the relief of the poor, when, by the substi- tution of useful labor for idleness and tests, the able- bodied poor might support themselves, and this heavy drain on the results of our industry, or our property, be thus very materially diminished? As the poor have a legal right to food and shelter, we think as a matter of duty they should woi'k for what they eat ; and, while w^e are disposed to admit to the fullest extent, that every man in a state of destitution has a claim upon society, we consider it equally just to maintain that society has a claim upon every man, and to lay it down as a principle that relief should be abolished, and that no able-bodied man or woman who enters a workhouse shall live otherwise than by work, that every pauper should be compelled to do something towards the production of his own dinner. It is as unjust towards the rate-payers to require them to support able-bodied paupers in idleness, as it is towards the paupers themselves to allow them to be idle. The former suffer in their pockets, the latter in their morals. 200 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTUKY. The propriety of adopting productive employment for the inmates of workhouses is so self-evident that its neglect would seem to us altogether strange, did we not remember that when the New Poor Law came into operation the principle adopted was this — that, in giving relief to the destitute, care should be taken to select employment having reference to a iest for destifuiion, rather than to provide employment of a productive character, and many of our guardians are so impressed with this " test " notion, as to deem it better that paupers should be idle than employed in reproducing their subsistence. We have a large class of permanent and hereditary paupers, and common sense points out the desirableness of providing em- ployment and subjecting them to an industrial training. Cultivating land by spade husbandry is an excellent method of employment, and is so accordant with the habits of the people of this district as to be adapted to the capabilities of the poor in all rural unions. In Ipswich, Bury St. Edmund's, and Sudbury Unions, different employments might in part be sub- stituted, as the occupations should, in all cases, be assimilated as nearly as possible to the general trade of the neighbourhood ; and if workhouses were to supply each other with goods, the inmates w^ould be more generally occupied, the expense of the in-door poor would be greatly reduced, and the trickeries of the contract system obviated. All the clothing required misht be manufactured in the workhouses of the county. In the Bedford workhouse both tailoring and shoemaking have been carried on very successfully. 2nd. Indasirial EiirpJoijment for Juveniles. — Esjiccially important is this question of productive employment in the case of juvenile paupers. On the 1st of Jainiary, 1853, there were 853 able-bodied children imder 10 years of ago in the workhouses of this couniy. Wiiy should not a carefully-arranged system of j)ro(huiive occupation JUVENILE LAr.OIl TIIOFITABLE. 201 be provided for these children ? It has been demon- strated, by the actual experience of several unions, that milk, vegetables, and other things for the supply of workhouses and out-relief, may, instead of costing a large sum to the rate-payers, be produced entirely by juvenile labor. What a saving might by this means have been annually effected during the last 18 years! The farming account of the Industrial School in the Guiltcross Union, Norfolk, shows an annual profit of £15 per acre for three years from four acres of land. In a union in East Kent, which during the year had never more than ten or a dozen boys able to work, 450 sacks of potatoes have been raised in the course of the year. After supplying all the inmates with vegetables, the remainder were sold for £75. In the Bridgenorth Union, three or four cows are kept, and from four to eight pigs. The boys are employed in cultivating four and a half acres of land, and in the management of cows, pigs, and a pony. The girls are employed in the house and dairy work. The profits of the farm amount to £60 or £70 per annum, after paying rent and taxes. Attempts of this kind are being made, and we are glad to find that in August, 1853, Sir John Walsham was able to make the following statement : — " Indus- trial training, I am happy to say, is now progressing more or less in the Suffolk unions, Hoxne being the only rural union in which the boys of the workhouse school are not industriously trained upon land hired or used by the guardians for that purpose." Sir John has been urgent in recommending the adoption of these schools, but still the efforts in this county are on a small scale, and we trust the rate-payers will arouse themselves and urge upon the guardians the duty of establishing industrial schools upon a scale sufficiently large to give a thorough training to those orphan, illegitimate, and pauperised children, whose unfortunate position leaves 202 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. them without hope, if neglected by the pubUc. Besides, the greater proportion of the children in our workhouses will have to gain their livelihood as agricultural laborers ; and, if we view the subject with reference to their pro- bable destination in after-life, the utility of garden or field labor becomes still more obvious ; and this is inde- pendent of the health and useful habits, which can only be by such means imparted to those who are too often hereditarily predisposed to pauperism. 3rd. Relief to the able-bodied oiigld to be abolished. — The principle upon which the New Poor Law was based was good enough — viz., that nothing should be done which would induce the laborer to rely for support on parochial relief rather than earnings obtained by his own industry — that the conditions of relief should be so un- desirable as to prevent its acceptance by any that could get private employment, and that in all cases the work- house should be looked uj)on as an unpleasant necessity, to which a man might be driven, but to which he would not willingly go. AVe believe, however, that the great object to be obtained in Poor Law Management is to enable the poor, as far as practicable, to avoid the neces- sity of seeking shelter in the workhouses, and thus pre- vent the degradation and expenses that are contingent upon their detention as inmates. We would not, how- ever, allow any out-duor relief to the able-bodied, cither in money or in kind ; because, if the relieving officer had the eyes of Argus, he could not prevent the scheming, lying, and imposition, engendered by such a system. Aid to the necessitous outside the walls of a workhouse should be given in the shape of employment of a productive character, fettered by regulations that woidd discourage laziness and imposition, and foster a desire to live independently of parish employment. Labor, not money, must be oifered to all who arc able to work, no matter how trifling that may be. The labor j)rovi(lc(l need not be [)rolital)k', the aim being to POVERTY THE LOT OF THE MANY. 203 supply labor of a healthy character, and pay each man or woman according to the value of their labor, so as to prevent the unemployed ever becoming paupers. Men who are now made paupers, as soon as thrown out of employment, would then continue as independent laborers working for wages. All that is wanted is, that those who now receive relief, and are able to work, should work for the parish as hard, and for less ivages, than they would for individual employers. Poverty is the lot of the many — the want of sub- sistence must occasionally exist under the best regula- tions in a competitive state of society. Pauperism does not necessarily imply either laziness or impro- vidence. Want of capital, and insecurity of tenm-e in rural districts, over-speculation in towns, inclemency of the weather, commercial derangements, causes over which no individual laborer has the slightest control, deprive him of employment and of bread. Society has two ways to keep him from starving ; it lias chosen the iDorst and most expensive. Alms and enforced idle- ness demoralise and degrade ; the confinement, half- penal garb, and discipline of a workhouse, oakum picking, and useless " tests," destroy his self-respect, his self-reliance, and his industrial habits. He is thus made a pauper, and his children will grow up paupers, or worse. Gratuitous relief to the able-bodied neces- sarily fosters idle habits, and it is clearly the interest of every rate-payer, that the unemployed should not thus be converted into paupers — that instead of being com- pelled by Poor Law regulations to be useless, dependent, and degraded, they should be enabled to continue in- dustrious and self-dependent. We wish the rate-payers to consider that it is not conducive to the pecuniary, moral, or social prosperity of Suffolk to support in total idleness, or degrading task-work, week after week, and year after year, upwards of 3,000 male and female adults, who are able to work for their daily subsistence. 204 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. This truth, from its very simplicity, needs no recom- mendation, and we urge the industrious, the trading, and philanthropic classes to advocate reproductive em- ployment for paupers. The question is one of great importance; it is between feeding the people and putting them in the way They want books. >9 Girls 6.5 Books and slates are wanting. Hadleigli Boys 08 Great deficiency of books and ap- paratus, and scarcely more slates than for the first class. Aldborougli Girls 07 Apparatus inferior, the list of books IS very meagre indeed. liciston Girls 42 Wanting in books and apparatus. Stoke-by-Nayland Infants ■59 Needs more books and apparatus. Bury St. Edmund's Girls Infants 88 100 J Books and apparatus needed. Wangford There is a -want of books and appa- ratus, and the furniture is awkward, an organ fills up part of the room. Box toad . Girls 61 There are no maps or slates, or books, except the Bible, and some Union Spelling Books. The fittings are old and primitive. Laxfield Mixed 92 The books and apparatus are very imperfect. The inefficiency of the supply of books and apparatus in our schools, as well as the poverty or mcagreness, is strikingly evidenced by a Return obtained in 1850, by the Committee of Council, from 60 of the best schools in this county, supported by subscriptions and payments. The return showed that the sum of £183 2s. was annually expended for books and stationery by these 60 schools, or an average of £3 Is. for each school. In the county of Surrey the average expenditure, for the same purpose, amounted to £10 2s. 8d. for each school. The Committee of Council have aided 30 of our schools by grants for school books and maps. These grants have varied in amount, from 17s. 2;jd. to the school at IIoo and Lethcringham, to £10 4s. 10|d. to St. Peter's Parochial School, Ipswich. 220 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 2ud. What is the quality of Tmtruction (/iven in our Day Schools ? There are 1,098 day schools, with 42,360 scholars, giving an average of 39 scholars to each day school. These schools are divided into two great classes, the Private and the Puhlic. The former class includes all those sustained entirely by the payments of the scholars ; the latter comprehends those which gather any portion of their income from any source besides the scholars. The 689 self-supporting private schools, contained 14,214 scholars, and the 409 aided public schools, contained 28,146 scholars. It is difficult to obtain such information as would show the nature and value of the instruction received by the 14,214 scholars in private schools. The Census Returns afford no information as to M'hat proportion of this class of day schools were kept by elderly " dames," but we have no doubt that one-third of the private schools belong to the class of Dame Schools. Of 29,425 schools, analysed in the Census Report, as to the instruction they offer, nearly half are found to teach "only reading and writing — the latter not always." These are chieflv Dame Schools. There is no reason to suppose that the 689 private schools in this county are at all superior to those mentioned in the Census Report, and this would show that more than a third of their number were Dames' Schools. An inquiry made by ourselves in the town of Ipswich, a few months prior to the year 1851, showed that more than a fourth of the children attending private schools were at Dame Schools. The Church School Lujuiry of 1847, made it known that 99, or 1 in 7, of the schools in this county, directly or indirectly connected with the National Society, were Dame Schools. Further evidence of the hicfH- cioncy of many of the private schools is shown by their mnuber of scholars. ]']ach of them had, on the average, only 20 children. This fact alone speaks strongly PUBLIC DAY SCHOOLS. 221 against their efficiency. In numerous cases the income from the few cliikh^en must be too small to admit of outlays for books and apparatus, and scarcely afford a bare subsistence to the teacher. The Public Schools that gave returns were 398 in number, and are divided into four classes. The 1st class, consisting of schools supported by local tax- ation, comprise 10 workhouse schools, containing 1,190 scholars. The 2nd class, schools supported by endow- ments, comprise 00 schools, with 3,522 scholars ; of these, 1 1 are Collegiate and Grammar Schools. The 3rd class, schools " supported by Religious Bodies" comprise no less than 304 schools, containing 21,987, children. The 4th class consist of 12 schools, with 082 scholars; 10 of these are subscription schools, of no specific character; 1 is a Ragged School, with 75 chil- dren, and 1 a Factory School, with 90 children. The quality of instruction received by the scholars in our Public Schools is, by means of published returns, and the courtesy of the teachers, more easily exhibited. The most complete tabulated returns of the instruction given to children in this country, is contained in the Eleventh Report of the Diocesan Society of the Arch- deaconry of Suffolk. This return was drawn up from the notes of the Rev. W. Jackman, and the Rev. W. Potter, the Inspectors appointed by the Committee to visit such schools as had been assisted with Grants by the Diocesan Society. These schools were 09 in number, and the scholars amounted to 0,170. The Reports of Her Majesty's Inspector of Schools, for 1849-50, give us similar information for other schools and scholars, and we have obtained information of the same nature from schools not visited by Her Majesty's, or the Diocesan Inspectors. We are thus furnished with positive information as to the nature of the instruction of 9,037 children, or nearly one-fourth of those at school at the census era. These returns, which are 222 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. from 26 Boys' Schools, 23 Girls' Schools, and 54 Mixed Schools, exhibit the subjects which the children were professedly engaged in learning, and the number of children learning each. NO. OF CHILDREN, Learning the Letters and Elementary Reading 4,997 Able to read the Scriptures 3,307 Write on Slates .... 4,594 "Write on Paper 3,218 Dictation ..... 2,394 Composition .... 682 Elementary Arithmetic 4,051 Compound Eules 1,453 Geography .... 2,628 Grammar .... 1,471 History ..... 1,137 Total number of Children 9,037 Here we see that of the 9,037 children on the school books at the time of inspection, only 3,307, or rather more than 1 in 3, can read with sufficient ease to be classed as " able to read the Scriptures." If we take the Girls' Schools only, the proportion is still lower. When we consider that " teaching to read " is a drudgery of the schoolmaster that begins with the first opening of the intelligence of a child, and continues daily until it leaves school, the result must be considered as very inadequate. That more than half of our scholars have no higher attainments than " beginning to read," is, to say the least, unsatisfactory. Again, we find that nearly half of the scholars arc returned as unable to " write on slates," although the first attempts at strokes, curves, or single letters, would be therein included. About 1 in every 3 are writing on paper. This pro- portion varies considerably in different schools, being much crrcater in town schools than it is in rural schools. Unfortunately the children are not often accustomed to convey their own thoughts in writing on paper. A\'riting from dictation is practised by I in 4, and composition by only 1 in 14. Turning to Arithmetic, we find that 4,051 children arc INSTRUCTION IN DAY SCHOOLS. 223 learning the first four rnles, being nearly half of the total number; 1,453, or 1 in 14, have advanced to compound rules. Only 293 girls are included in this last number. Many of the 4,000 who profess Elementary Arithmetic, cannot do a sum in Simple Addition without help. The proportion of children learning English Grammar and English History is lamentably small. As we descend to particular schools the notes of the various Inspectors come to our aid. The Church School Inspector for 1850, says, "St. Matthew^'s Boys, and St. Peter's Girls, at Ipswich, are the two best schools in the county. Kesgrave, Woolpit, and Stonham Aspal, may be referred to as possessing good moral tone, without high intellectual acquirements. Bungay, and Walsham le Willows are good schools." He also says, "There arc in Ipswich two certificated schoolmasters, and three cer- tificated schoolmistresses, 13 male and 15 female pupil teachers, and the sum obtained for them from the Committee of Council, in 1851, amounted to £503 10s. In addition, the schools have derived much advantage from grants for buildings, for fittings, and for books. The consequence is, that the state of education of the working classes in Ipswich, is relatively higher than in most other towns. We transcribe a few of the Inspector's notes : — SCH00LS4 St. Matthew's, Ipswich Kesgrave Ilalesworth Sudbury St. Peter's, Ipswich Lowestoft, Wylde's DESCUIP- TION. Boys Mixed Infants lafauts Girls Infants INSPECTOtt'S KBMARES. This is a first-rate school, the instruction much above the average. I confidently recommend it as a good illustration of what may be called the Government System of Education. Is an admirably conducted Agricultural School, the best in the district. The cji^hering is good ; general intelligence, geography, and grammar, arc all good. Two pupil teachers have been made Queen's scholars. A very nice Infants' School. It is one of the most pleasing Infant Schools I have yet witnessed. A very good school indeed, it works admirably. The school is admirably conducted ; the best I have ever seen. 224 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. The Diocesan Inspectors, after stating that it may be useful to specify such schools as appear to be models of their kind, say, " We would name — As tlie Best Model of a Boys' School i As the Best Model of a Girls' School { As the Best Model of an Infants' \ School . . j As the Best Model of a Rural School \ in a small parish ... j And as the Best Model of how much may he done at a small expense hy the indefatigable exertions of a clergyman and his lady The Boys' District National School in St. "Matthew's, Ipsvrich. The Girls' National School at Low- estoft. The Infants' School at the same place. The Mixed School at Woolver- stone. The Mixed School at Bromeswell." These "Notes" show that the instruction given in many of our public day schools has gained the com- mendation of gentlemen whose large experience claims for their remarks great attention, and make their com- ments of approval of great value. When it is con- sidered that the Government Inspector had to visit 347 schools in his district, all will admit that the instruction must be of a very high order of merit, that could elicit such praise as is given to the Lowestoft Infant, Kes- grave Mixed, and St. Matthew's Boys' Schools. Although the schools visited by the Inspector are doubtless among the best schools in the county ; those, in fact, in which the managers take the most interest, and to promote the efficiency of which the largest sums are annually spent ; many of them are much below that degree of efficiency that might be anticipated of those on whose behalf the stimulant of annual inspection is sought. The following arc cases in illustration : — SCHOOLS. DESCRIP- TIOM. INSPECTOa's SKMAliKS. Bury St. Edmund's . Bury St. Edmund's . Boys Boys l?'"} children. The school is too largo for one master without pupil teachers. 235 children. An endowed school. Only two apprentices. It is inipossiblc for the master to conduct satisfactorily so large a school. IXEFFICIENCY OF THE INSTRUCTORS. 225 SCHOOLS. Di;s(;iup- TION. i\spi:ctor's remarks. Stratford St. Mary Mixed The children, 36 in number, me mostly mere infants. Tattingstouc Mixed They can say the Catechism. It is a mere dame's school. Holbrodk Boys The master is young and inexperienced, ai:d needs, at least, six months' training. It is more an Infant than a National School. Laxfield . Mixed 92 children. The instruction could not be narrower. Kcssingland Two schools — 86 children. There are few books or slates, and their chief purpose is to keep children out of the streets. Belton 14 children. The master aged 73 and infirm, without much knowledge. Bury St. Edmund's Girls The iustruction is of the most moderate order, and the arithmetic a mere farce. None could multiply by three figures. The geo- graphy and history are mere names. 3rd. Were the 41,331 Dai/ Schulars receiving an Ediicatio7i under efficient Instructors ? To a certain extent this question has been answered in the preceding, but the main points remained un- touched. It will be generally admitted that the efficiency of a school depends more upon the efficiency of the teacher than upon any other circumstance. The first test as to the ability of the instructors, that we shall apply, is the aid offered by the Committee of Council of Education. In March, 1851, there were 304 public Day Schools, supported by Religious Bodies, to the masters, or mistresses, of which the Grants in Aug- mentation of Salaries, and the annual stipends paid to them for instructing apprentices, were, of course, open. Of these schools 90 had received Government aid, yet only 20 were reported as worthy of being on the Annual Grant list. In other words, it was only this number of masters and mistresses who, up to that date, were considered by the Inspector as qualified to instruct 15 226 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. pupil teachers. Nine Boys' Schools, four Girls' Schools, and seven Mixed Schools, had pupil teachers, and one had applied. Of the schools supported by Dissenters, the managers, in many cases, object to receive Govern- ment aid, and the teachers in these schools are thus prevented from receiving the rewards for ability which the Committee of Council confers. But to the schools belonging to the Church of England, this remark will not apply. There w^re 265 schools in this class, but of the teachers, up to December, 1S52, only 5 males and 7 females had obtained certificates. The certificated mistresses had charge of the Girls' Schools at St. Mat- thew's, and St. Clement's, Ipswich, Sudbury, and Hales- worth, and of the Infant Schools at Halesworth, and Aldborough, there being two certificated mistresses at the latter. The masters were at Kesgrave, Leiston, Halesworth, St. IMatthew's, and Trinity, Ipswich. The masters of the school at Bly thing Union House, of the Wesleyan School, Ipswich, and of the British School at Mildenhall, had also obtained certificates. The Committee of Council require, as a condition of their augmentation, that the salary for masters shall not be less than £40 for the lowest division of the lowest class of certificates, and £26 for the lowest division of certificated mistresses. The inquiry must now be made as to whether the teachers are prevented by the smallness of the stipend, or the meagreness of their attainments, from offering themselves as candidates for certificates. In 1850, a "Return of the Income and Expenditure" of 60 schools in this county was obtained by the Committee of Council ; this showed that the sura of £3,485 10s. was annually paid to the teachers of these schools, giving an average salary of £58 for each teacher. It is important to bear in mind, in con- sidering the efficiency of the teachers, that, although all these were by salary eligible to become competitors INEFFICIENCY OK Till: IXSTRLXTORS. 227 lor augmentation grants, 1.2 only of the niitiibcr had obtained certicatcs. By the " Church School Inquiry," for Suffolk, we find that, in 1847, there were 31 schools in connection with the Church of England in which the salaries of the teachers were £40 per annum and above. Only five of the teachers of these schools are among the certificated masters and mistresses of this county. These facts point strongly to the inefficiency of the mass of our teachers, and to the need that exists of instructors of a higher order, as it is evident that three-fourths of the masters and mistresses, receiving the highest salaries, had either failed to obtain a certi- ficate of merit, or that, conscious of their inferior abilities, had refrained from offering themselves to the notice of her Majesty's Inspector. If the competency of the instructor is to be in any way measured by the payment received, the mass of the teachers in Suffolk must take a very low position. Generally speaking, the stipends paid are much belo^'' that sum which would be a fair remuneration to a person of moderate abilities. The Government In- spector speaks of the salaries of the teachers at Kessing- land being " wretchedly small,'' and they are types of many others. The Rev. F. C. Cook states that the teachers' salaries in Suffolk vary from £10 to £90, and average £33. Those most competent to give an opinion assume that the lowest stipend that should be paid to an efficient master is £60 ; to a mistress £40 ; and that they should have in addition a comfortable resi- dence, rent free. With salaries averaQ-ino; £33 a year, competent, much less efficient, instructors cannot be expected. The " Church School Inquiry " shows that there were 88 teachers in this county in connection with the Church of England, Avhose salaries were in each case below £30 per annum ; and 48 of the number were 228 SUFFOLK IX THE NIXETEENTH CENTURY. receiving amounts varying from £.20 a year downwards. The fact that, in 88 Church of England Schools, the salaries of the teachers were below 12 shillings weekly, and that upwards of 60 were actually eking out their subsistence on sums varying from 4 to 10 shillings weekly, exhibits plainly enough the state of opinion among the supporters of these schools, as to what is needed for the education of the laboring classes. We annex a list of the National Schools in which the salaries of teachers, as published by the " Church School Inquiry," are under £25 per annum. The amount paid to master or mistress includes the children's pence and allowance for coals, etc. PAl;iSHES. Badinofliam *Bradficld St. George BadwcU Asli Bredfield Bainby *Brocklcy Battisford . Bromoswell Bildiston . *Buxliall f'hclinoiuliston . C(>tt071 . Crcoting- St. Clave Drinkstone Ellough Felixstow . Fornbain St JIartin Fritton Frostendun rrrundisbiirgh lla.skcton Ilitcbam Honierslield . Ilopton Iloxnc . ITunston Kc'ssingland . Kctilcbufiton T-etbcringbam and FIno TOTAL PAID TO MASTER 0« MISTKKSSi 1 £ .$. 18 30 12 10 18 10 1() 20 16 16 21 20 16 20 -0 20 10 13 18 20 10 \o 16 19 20 18 15 24 22 10 IS 19 10 12 PARISHES. Laybam Great & Little Livermere ISIcndbain Middleton . Mutford Old Newton Oulton . Ousden Pakelield Parbam Poslingford Redliiigfiold llickiugball . Buslibrooko Little Laxbaiu Sbadingfuld Soutbclmbam St. Jam Staniiiiiglii'ld . Stonbain Parva . Stokc-by-Naylaiid .. Stuston Tattingstone . *'i'bcbcrton . Wcstcrficld . Wrliutbam, I>i(llo Wickliain Maikrt . AN'inglicbl . . "N\'i;y bread TOTAL PAID TO MASTEU OS MISTRESS Is IT 16 10 17 15 21 10 15 10 10 17 16 18 12 17 10 10 16 12 20 18 12 20 12 10 13 6 27 6 15 22 18 4 16 18 15 Tho<;c tnarkcfl arc tim schools. AGES OF SCHOLAKS. 229 In Suffolk, as the test of abil exhibited in tlic anticipated, and causes a number nected with our 4th. Jt what Juvenile schools, ifistruction ? elsewhere, salary is generally speaking ity, and, with such stipends as are above list, skilful teachers cannot be this deficiency of proper stipends of very inefficient teachers to be con- elementary schools, age do the children (/enerally enter the and how long du theg remain under The short time which the children of the poor now spend in our public day schools is one of the most hopeless difficulties with which the advocates of popular instruction have to battle. Wherever facilities exist for obtaining employment for juveniles, there it will be found that the average duration of school-life is lamentably short, and the fluctuating attendance of the children the general complaint. At most of the Juvenile Schools the children enter at five years of age. Hence it is that a great pro- portion of them would be more fitly placed in Infant Schools, where they would make more progress in their own studies, and interfere less with the progress of others, by the constant attention which they require from the teacher. The followinsr statistics of the ao;es of scholars in 26 of our schools will exhibit at one view the difficulty with which the instructor has to contend : 7 VEAES OF A(iE AND V.NDEU. 7 TO 8. 8 -lo 9. 9 10 10. 312 10 TO 11. 11 TO 12. 153 12 TO 13. 100 903 380 368 205 1.3 A.NU ABOVK. The schools from which the above returns were obtained include all those (Infant Schools excepted) 230 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. in which pupil teachers have been placed, and it may be fairly assumed that these schools are above the average in respect to efficiency; yet only 175 out of 2,496 children, or 7 per cent, of the scholars, are above 12 years of age ; and more than 50 per cent, are not 8 years of age ; 1,963 children, or 78 per cent, of the scholars, are under 10 years of age. When we consider the amount of education which a child, under the age of 10, can receive even under the most favorable circumstances — and the education they are receiviug is, doubtless, in many cases much below this standard — and that 78 per cent, of the scholars aj-e actually under this age, the fact cannot be disguised that education, under such circumstances, is inefficient for permanent good — that the learning communicated to a child at so early a period can be of but little service to him in manhood. We have stated that the fluctuations in attendance is the subject of general complaint. On reference to the Census Tables we find that, lor the entire county, the attendance was 83 per cent, of the children on the school books. In the private schools the attend- ance was as regular as could be anticipated ; but, in the public schools, 21 per cent, of the scholars were absentees ; in the Sudbury Union, 23 per cent. ; in the Cosford Union, 24 per cent. ; the Woodbridge Union, 26 per cent. ; and, in the Stow Union, 30 per cent, of the children were absentees. In the public schools of the two town unions, the attendance was much superior, only 19 per cent, of the scholars at Bury St. Edmund's, and 13 per cent, at Ipswich, were absent. Comparison of these two unions with the returns of three rural unions will plainly exhibit the difference that exists in the atlendance of scholars. ATTENDANCE OF 8CIIOLAKS. 231 sriioi.Aiis, UNIONS. Number on the Books. Number in Attendance. Fer Centapre of Absentees. Ipswich and Bury St. Edmund' a Stow, Cosford, and Woodbridgc 3,685 5,486 3,124 3,988 15-4 271 In some of the National Schools the attendance is much more iiTes-nlar than in the total of schools in the rural unions named. We select the following examples from the Eleventh Report of the Diocesan Society of the Archdeaconry of Suffolk : NATIONAL SCHOOLS. SCHOLARS ON TIIK BOOKS. AVERAGE ATTENDANCE IN- IS51. PER CENTAGK OF ABSENT KE3 "WoodbridgG 173 109 37 Wickham-Skeith 85 36 57 Walton-cum-Felixstow 80 40 50 Witueshatn 72 44 38 Stowmarket 175 115 34 Otley .... Needhnm Market 88 73 50 36 43 50 IIoo and Lctheringliani . 45 25 44 Haughley . Henley .... St. Margaret's, Ipswich 74 72 178 45 40 102 39 44 42 Laxfield .... 138 87 37 This irreo-ularitv of attendance is not only detrimental to the children individually, but is also very injurious in lovi'ering the tone of instruction in the school. On the pupils' part, the object of study, from the frequent interruptions of their progress, is felt to be unattainable, and is therefore abandoned. On the teacher's part, dis- couragement is inevitable, when the very material which he hopes to mould is so often taken from his hands before it has received any distinct and durable impres- sion. Anotlicr fact worthy of special attention is, that the number of children who arc admitted, or have left 232 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. the schools in twelve months, bears, in many instances, a most remarkable proportion to the total number under instruction. SCHOLARS. SCHOOLS. Average A .iintted i Left in Attendance. 1 ; months 12 months. Ipswich, St. Clement's— Boys 88 93 r9 „ „ —Girls . 120 105 76 „ Triuitv— Boys 102 74 €4 „ St. Matthew's 184 66 70 Sudbiirv— Boys 119 81 52 Burv St. Edmund's— Poor Boys 247 104 109 Halesworth ...... 73 67 35 Dallinghoo 96 1,029 104 41 Total .... 754 540 The average daily attendance at these schools is 1,029, and 546 children have left them during the twelve months previous to the returns. If this propor- tion leave the schools every year, it would appear that the average time of a child's attendance is less than two years, and that the schools completely change their occupants in that period. But even this general state- ment fails fully to exhibit the Avliolc difficulty. The lowest class, composed of the dullness and ignorance of the school, is in a state of perpetual change. The children mostly belong to very poor parents, among Avhom education is very lightly estimated, and many of them remain only a few months at school. Satisfactory results under such circumstances cannot be exjiocted, and that some of these schools are remarkable for efficiency and order reflects the highest credit upon the teachers. This endeavor to answer the question as to whether our educational position is as satisfactory in point of p/ficienn/ as it is in respect to nvvibcrt^, has shown that of the j)ul)lic schools a few are well organised, and efficiently conducted under well-trained teachers, most of wliom arc fiiiiiished with puj)il teachers, and Iburleen ol SCHOOLS FAK FROM EFFICIENT. 233 lliein have received certificates from the Committee of Council of Education. In contrast to this there are many private schools in which the instruction is very scanty in amount, as well as a large number of dame schools. The inefficiency is, however, most known to us in the public schools, a large proportion of which are imperfectly organised, ill-supplied with books and apparatus, and conducted by miserably- paid teachers. ]n the chief of these, the instruction is low in its aim, meagre in its outline, and unskilfully imparted, which, in connection with the short period the children remain at school, cause hundreds of them to finally leave school without acquiring so much of the elements of reading, writing, and arithmetic, as would enable them to discharge the duties of any situation where such qualifications are needed. The minutes of the Committee of Council of 1846 instituted a new educational era ; and the small number of schools that have availed themselves of the aid offered by these minutes, affords strong evidence of the inefficiency of the mass of our schools. Of the 90 schools that had received Government aid at the time of the census, 52 had received it prior to 1S4G. The number of schools on the hst of the Inspector exhibits the feelings of the managers of schools as respects the value of inspection ; and as the advantages offered for the purchase of books and apparatus, grants to masters, and stipends to pupil teachers, are generally admitted to be of great value in a pecuniary, and of the utmost importance in an educational, point of view, we cannot withstand the inference that many managers, whose schools need assistance, and who appreciate the importance of annual inspection, have refrained from making application solely from the conviction that want of conqjctcncy in the master or mistress, and the bad supply of books and apparatus in their school, would prevent the application from being entertained. Upon 2;]i SUFFOLK IX THE XIXETEENTH CEXTURY. no other o-round can we account for the fact that onlv IS of our schools were on the Annual Grant list at the time of the census, being at the rate of 1 in 22 of all the public day schools in the count}^ Many of the schools which received Government aid, according to the minutes of 1846, have been brought into a state of efficiency previously unknown, and are at the present time among the most efficient in the county, vet verv few other schools have souo;ht the same aid. Thus, it appears, that those managers whose schools were up to the required standard of attainments, availed themselves of Parliamentary grants as soon as offered, and though opinion in favor of education has spread much since that period, it has not been able to give such a degree of efficiency to the other schools as would induce the managers to invite Her jMajesty's Inspector of Schools to examine their condition. AVe have next to consider bv what means the de- ficiency of scholars can be removed, and a thoroughly efficient education be given to those that attend school. 1st. I'he deficiency of scholars. Taking the entire county, the scholars, it will be remembered, averaged one in eight of the population ; but it has been well said, that a broad average covers a great many ugly inequalities, as the following state- ment of the per ccntage of day scholars in each of our Poor Law Unions will show : — Per Ccntape of Day Per Ccntapre of Day VMONH. .Scholars to Population Scholars to Population MALES. 8-8.3 FEMALES. MALES. FEMALKS. Risbridgc . 7-47 Bosmere 10-54 11-14 Sudbury 12-70 12-49 Samford . 12-74 13 94 (Josford 14-96 141.5 Ipswich AVoodbridgc 14-32 10-60 Thingoc 11-8.5 14-5.5 13-47 12-78 Burv 11-61 9-47 riomciigate . 14-61 11-72 Mildcnhall . 11-24 11-24 Blvtbinu: . 14 -54 13-49 Stow 1.3-9.5 12-86 AViuigfiird 13-87 11-66 Hiirtisin(ac 9-70 8-69 M lit lord . 14-91 11-93 Jloxnc 861 9-;ji Suffolk . 12-76 11-76 EDUCATIONAL DESTITUTION. 235 This table shows clearly enough that averages are of 110 value in such a matter as this. An average of one in eight under instruction in the whole county, includes places entirely neglected, and districts where the propor- tion is one in ten, one in eleven, and one in twelve, of the population. Are the hundreds of children growing up without elementary instruction in the Risbridge, Hartismere, and Hoxne Unions, to be neglected because there is a fair average for the whole of Suffolk ? Are we to be satisfied with intellectual starvation in Risbridge, because there is abundance in Cosford ? No ! no ! The advocates of Popular Instruction must still labor on, to establish schools in the neglected parishes. The table shows the proportion of scholars of each sex, for the whole countv, and for each Poor Law Union in the county ; and here we observe that the sexes do not furnish an equal number of scholars. The males being 12"70 per cent., and the females only 11.76 per cent. In the Union of Risbridge the proportion of female scholars is as low as 7 '47 per cent, of the popu- lation. This indifference to the instruction of the future wives and mothers of the people — this neglect of the - education of those whose influence for good or for evil is universal, is truly lamentable. There are numbers of parishes without any day school, and it seems desirable to point them out, that the public may know where the schoolmasters are most needed. The Census Report aftbrds us no means of distinguishing the parishes in which there are no day schools, but the " Church School Inquiry " for this county affords us conclusive evidence as to what parishes were deficient of day schools, con- ducted on Church of England principles, in 1847; and as the National Schools are in villao;es almost the onlv schools for the poor, we may safely conclude that these parishes were almost all without day schools for the children of the laboring classes. 236 SUFFOLK IX THE NIXETEENTH CENTU15Y, The following is a list of the parishes in which there were, we believe, either no day school, or no other than a '"'Dame's School" at the census of 1851. In conjunction with this list we give the population of each parish in 1851, and the amount assessed to the pro- perty tax, that our readers may judge how far the non- existence of subscription day schools is due to such impediments as small population, small and needy occupiers, or whether the want of educational influence is attributable to the indifference of the clergy, and the neglect of the landed gentry. The villages with Dame Schools are marked with an asterisk. PARISHES. Akculiam Aldciton Ashbocking . Aspal Athclington . Badley *Bacton iiarnaidiston . Barninghain & Coney Weston Bealings, Great Bcdficld Bedingfield . Belstead Blakcnham,Grt. Blakcnbam, Lit. *Benacre and Covo-IIitlie * Bla.xliall *Hlvtliburgli Blytliford Boulge ♦Brampton • lirantham . Biadley, Great Braiseworth Hrandeston • Hrent Kleigh •Brcttcnliam . * Hricet, (!roat *• Brockt'ord and Wcllifringsrlt rOPVLATION 1«51. ASSESSMENT PltOPERTY TAX, 1843. £ 131 2,323 630 4.005 3J4 2,415 143 1,018 117 884 74 1,453 901 4,263 251 1,367 765 4,031 377 2,029 372 2,279 312 2,602 308 1,194 211 1,906 139 2,193 418 2,174 ■ 577 2,344 1,118 4,090 194 1,638 39 886 281 3,280 413 3,6 9 542 2,462 171 1,204 508 2,524 200 2,424 401 2,.')59 236 1,407 1,101 5,208 PAi!isni:s. *Brundish . * Burgh . liurgate B'lvstall *('battisliam . *Claydon Chillcsford Olopton *Cookley Combs *Cornard, Great Cornard, Little Crausford . Cretiiigliam . C'ulplio Darsham Diinwicli Elmsett EUougb Soutli'lniliam All Saints „ 8t. IVtcr ,, St. Margaret ,, St. Micb.acl * ,, St. .Tames Elmswell *Kriswell E.xning and liandwade * I\'lshain I'lixton . * I'lowfnn Pl'LATlON ASSESSMENT 1801. PKOPERTY TAX, 1843. £ 510 2,745 296 2,252 350 2,601 243 1,220 234 1,442 540 1,882 203 1,768 390 3,080 275 2,591 1.148 5,162 857 3,275 380 2,550 309 2,180 423 2,777 63 955 462 3,069 294 825 433 3,223 133 1,558 232 2, no I 97 752 182 759 150 1.105 269 J, 880 779 1,961 524 3,234 1,556 7,382 402 2,656 210 1,932 178 1,016 EDUCATIONAL DESTITUTIOX. 237 ASSESSMENT ASSESSMENT rorUT.ATION POPULATION rAUISlIKS. 1851. PROPHUTY TA.^C, 1843. p.vBisiirs. 1851. PROPERTY TAX, I8i;i. £ £ Framsdcii 828 4,811 *Scmer 243 2,420 *rrostendun 456 2,635 Shelley . 138 1,267 *Glemliam, Great 349 2,584 *Shotley 505 3,513 *Glemham, Little 318 2,222 ♦Sc.ham, Earl . 729 4,211 Gislino-liam . 696 4,326 *Soham, Monk 448 2,755 Gosbeck 311 2,221 SomertDU 136 1,293 Haverhill 2,278 5,159 * Sottei-ley 227 1,848 Hemingstone 388 2,402 *Spexhall 196 2,271 * Hep worth 582 2,541 Stansfield . 506 2,463 Hemley 63 1,007 *Stanstead 412 2,037 Ilerringswell . 225 1,256 Stoke Ash . 392 1,746 Hifrhaui 292 2,330 Stoke-by-Clare 911 3,627 HoUeslcy 578 5,306 Stovcn 172 1,115 Hopton 674 1,893 Straddishall . 430 1,561 Horham 436 2,739 Stratford St. Hundon 1,218 5,851 Andrew . 200 1,107 *Ilketshall St. Sudbourne 601 4,365 Lawrence 203 1,420 Syleham 374 2,810 „ St. Margaret 306 2,811 ♦Tanuington . 243 2,190 Kedingtou 668 2,479 Tliorington 157 2,102 *Kentford 172 1,253 Thorpe by Ix- Kersey . 714 3,300 worth 136 1,271 Lindsey 326 1,869 *Thurlow, Great 431 2,676 Kettleburgh . 318 2,385 Thwaite, St. Knoddishall 432 2,485 George 179 1,342 l^instead Parva 200 991 Tostock 348 1.745 Marlesford . 428 2,145 *Ubbeston 208 1,763 Mcllis . 610 2,239 Waldingfield, Mendlesham 1,442 6,911 Little 404 2,188 *Mendham 877 4,175 *Waldringfield 169 1,098 Melfield . 6.J1 2,978 Walberswick 357 1,620 *Mettingham . 382 3,127 *"NYcnham, Great 269 1,763 Mickfield . 256 2,403 Westhorpc 240 2,251 *Moulton 486 2,851 *Wcston, near Nettlestead . 81 1,289 Becclcs 243 2,163 Naughton 134 1,067 Wherstead 238 3,348 Occold 620 2,646 Wattisfield . 603 Orford . 1,045 5,087 AVantisden 107 1,320 *Playford . 260 1,548 Whixoe 168 Pettaugh 288 1,195 "Wickhambrook 1,597 5,454 Pettistrec and AVilby 020 3,460 Loudham . 297 3,541 Winston 392 2,173 Raydon 555 3,566 Wiston 256 2,686 lledisham 152 946 Withersficld . 642 2,315 Eishangles . 279 1,427 Yaxley 550 2,325 *Snnfr)n Down- KJf <> 1 1 vv.' 11 X-/ 17 > 1 11 ham 70 888 Total 61,947 Here we perceive that 143 parishes, that is, 28 in every 100, or ncarlji one-third of the entire number 238 SUFFOLK IX THE XINETEEXTII CEXTURY. of parishes in the county were, in 1S51, in a state of educational destitution. Gl,947 persons, or 15 per cent, of our population, are living in parishes in which there are no day schools for the poor worthy of the name; 43,393 in parishes without schools; and 18,556 in other parishes in Avhich the only schools for the children of the poor are those kept by elderly dames. It will, doubtless, be observed that in many of the parishes the population is too limited for a day school, but such parishes might unite their efforts with those of other parishes, as Swilland and Witnesham have done. But, granting the force of this observation, what shall we say to " no Church School " in such places as Haver- hill, with 2,278 persons ; Wickhambrook, with 1,597 ; ]\Iendlesham, 1,442; and Hundon, with 1,218 persons? Why is there not a good National instead of Dame's Schools in such parishes as Blythburgh, IMendham, and Great Cornard, the population in each averaging 950 persons, while the assessment to the Property Tax in each parish amounts to nearly £4,000 per annum ? Many other places of considerable population might be cited which are equally destitute. 2nd. The inefficiency/ of the Instruction, The preceding statements have almost demonstrated that, in a great majority of the day schools of this county, the instructors are very inefficient, and that the children, whose irregular attendance is so nuich com- })lained of, might, in many cases, as well stay at home for any good they are likely to get from the unskilful teacher. Compared with another county by the money test, the inelHciency is plainly exhibited. In GO of our best schools, the average salary of each teacher amounted to £58. In the county of Surrey the salaries of 71 teachers averaged £9G. The cost of books and stationery was, in Suffolk, £3 Is. O^d. ; in Surrey, £10 2s. 8d. ; tlie miscellaneous expences, as repairs, furniture, light- ing and firing, payments to monitors, rewards, and other IXEFFICIENCY OF IXSTRUCTIOX. 239 incidental expcnccs, averaged in Suffolk, £8 4s. 6d. ; in Surrey, £46 5s. Od. The total cost was, in Suffolk, £71 18s. 6d. per school; in Surrey, £145 5s. Od. ! This proves that the income of our best schools is not sufficient for their liberal support. Another means of exhibiting the inefficiency by the money value is, that according to the Reports of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools, the average expense of instructing boys and girls, (exclusive of Government Grants) in the best Church Schools in England, is twenty shillings per head. On comparing the total Expenditure, and the number of children, in the returns of 10 National Schools of this county, as published in the " Church School Inquiry," we find the average cost per child was lis. 2d. per head. The schools selected are at Sudbury, Woodbridge, Stowmarket, Bungay, Aldborough, Lowestoft (Annott's), Gorleston, Beccles, Bury St. Edmund's, and Trinity, Ipswich. The highest amount of expenditure was at Sudbury, 1 5s. 9^d. per head ; the least at Stowmarket, 4s. fid. per head. 354 children were receiving instruction at the National Schools, Stowmarket, at a cost of £80 per annum. We may now perceive the extent of our deficiencies in the number of schools and the quality of the instruc- tion. .There are 93 parishes without day schools, 50 parishes without any other than a " Dame's School," and 57 other parishes in which the inefficiency of the school miay be judged of by the salary of the teachers being below that of the wages of the commonest mechanic. How are these deficiencies to be removed, and how arc the funds to be raised ? It has been shown that popular education has been chiefly promoted by religious influence. Can we expect to embrace destitute places, and render the existing schools efficient by the same means ? Let us inquire. 1st. Among Nonconformists. 2nd. Among Church- men. 240 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY., Although much has been clone by Denominational activity, experience has convinced us that in this county the Voluntary principle is incapable of making education universal. Among Dissenters we have many who pro- claiin the power of Voluntaryism in education ; but, as a body, the Nonconformists of this county are doing very little towards the establishment or the maintenance of day schools. Many who are loudest in their declara- tions against legislative interference, are the most un- willing to meet the legitimate claims of the schools. There are 90 churches belonging to the Congregation- alists, but only 18 day schools belonging to that body. The Baptists have 91 congregations, and only 7 day schools. The Weslevan Methodists have 84 congrega- •' Do tions, and 2 day schools. The Primitive Methodists have 72 congregations, but do not support one day school. These facts display such an amount of apathy on the question of Education, that it would be unrea- sonable to anticipate much aid from Dissenters in the establishment of new schools, or the improvement of existing ones. Small as the number of their schools is, some of tiiem have been closed, and others are inefficient through want of funds. In 1837 a school for girls was instituted by the Independents at Southwold, and in July, 1849, discontinued for want of funds. lu 1853, the British Schools at Wickham Market were closed, leaving a balance due to the Treasurer. At Ipswich, in 1853, the incom.e of the "British School Society" was £192 lis. 0(1. ; the expenditure, £2G1 17s. 8d. ; balance due to the Treasurer, £127 5s. lid. At Sudbury, in 1832, the income for the support of the British Schools was £139 3s. 5d., and the expenditure £142 l(3s. 4d., balance due to the Treasurer, £25 9s. 9d. At Lowes- toft, the income in three years has been £254 9s. Od., and tlic expenditure £253 10s. Od. Of the income, about £57 only was subscribed, the remainder being derived from children's pence. At Bungay, the receipts INCOME OF 15R1T181I SCHOOLS. 241 in 1851, were £102 15s. lOd. ; and in 1853, only £G0 2s. Gd. ; the disbursements being £85 17s. Od. Tlie scliools are always in the Treasurer's debt, and it is only by donations from wealthy friends, who are not residents in Bungay, that the schools are enabled to continue their usefulness. At Hadleigh deficiencies are prevented by one gentleman invariably subscribing the needful balance. The preceding facts show that Nonconformists, as a body, are neglectful of our educational wants. We have next to inquire whether Churchmen are able and willing to render the existing schools efficient, and establish new ones in the destitute places. Popular instruction has been chiefly promoted by religious influence. To a certain extent each sect educates its own recruits, and what is now doing for the diftusion of education in this county is chiefly eft'ected by the mem- bers of the Church of England. 265 day scliools are supported by them ; but, although they are freed from contributing to the support of their minister, there is often great difficulty in inducing them to subscribe for the support of schools. Generally speaking, the farmers view with suspicion the attempts now making to educate the children of the laboring classes. In numbers of parishes the schools are entirely/ supported by the incumbents ; in others the farmers do not sub- scribe a penny towards their maintenance, and the gentry are found to contribute to their support in a manner much less generous than their means would lead us to expect. The apathy of the gentry is well illus- trated by the fact that of the 254 annual subscribers to the Diocesan Societies for the Archdeaconries of Sud- bury and Suffolk, 85, or one-third only of this number, are laymen. There are some of the owners of property that are alive to the value and importance of education, and who fairly recognise their duty in this respect, but they bear a very slight proportion to the number of IG 242 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. those who do not feel that the possession of property brings with it corresponding educational duties, and who, in fact, appear to be wholly indifferent to the progress of instruction. The time, we trust, is not far distant when the wealthy landowners of this county will imitate the example of R. N. Shawe, Esq., of Kesgrave, whose liberality has called an excellent school into existence, enabling the boys to acquire, not only mental and moral training, but also the manual skill that is adapted to their probable condition of life. A return of the salary of the master or mistress of the schools in those parishes that are entirely, or almost entirely, the property of one lady or gentleman would be valuable, by showing the different estimates which they, as proprietors of the soil, feel that they owe to the children of the laborers employed thereon. As a matter of justice to the clergy, we cannot refrain from mentioning how liberally they contribute to the support of schools. They form but a small section of the property class of this county, yet it is certain that the major portion of our schools have been established by them, at the risk of diminishing to a very considerable extent their limited income, and with a sense of divided responsibility. The indifference of landowners have caused the clergy, in many instances, to be taxed beyond their means, and com})elled thcni to bear a burden, a considerable portion of which ought, in common justice, to be borne by others. But it is not so much the establishment, as the numberless ways in which they are taxed for the future support and maintenance of schools, which press heavily upon them, and thus cause additional care and anxiety. The dread of personal responsibility has doubtless deterred many clergymen from taking steps for the establish- ment of new schools, and the improvement of others, where both one and the other are most urgently needed. A good school is a luxury which few clergymen can CLERGYMEN THE CHIEF SUPPORTEKS OF SCHOOLS. 243 afford, and it is to be earnestly hoped that the owners of hu'ge ])roperties will not continne to permit the expenses of schools for the instruction of their depen- dent's children, to be borne by the clergy to an extent utterly disproportionate to their incomes. The inefficiency of the major portion of our day schools being apparent, and the inadequacy of their present means of support equally so, liow can the instruction be improved and extended ? Wherever the resources for the maintenance of the school are derived from suljscriptions and school pence, there is a great uncertainty about the funds, and it is, therefore, morally certain that unless some other plan is brought forward for tlieir support, the great mass of our schools nnist remain in the same feeble state as they have been for years, not only unable to produce the slightest moral impression upon the population, but positively injurious, inasmuch as they induce a belief that because there are school buildings and teachers, there must be education. The public are awakening to a perception of the fact that education is one of the moral necessities of man, not to be neglected without peril to the community, any more than food can be neglected without suffering to the body, or than religion without damage to the soul. The educational want is now generally admitted to be of vital importance. The history of the past assures us that voluntary contributions will not adequately meet this want, and that some measures nuist be devised by which it shall be incumbent on all to promote that wdiich is for the good of all, and we know no method by which this can be so effectually done as by an Educational Rate. Voluntaryism is unable to cope with the difficulty in our towns ; how, then, can we expect help from it in our rural districts — in those dark agricultural villages where the mass of the inhabitants are unlettered — where, as in Hartismere, in 1848, out of 300 persons married, 175 244: SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTUIiY. signed the marriage register with marks ? Can we reasonably anticipate that such inhabitants will sponta- neously educate themselves? Tliey do not feel the want of education — they do not know that it will be useful to them — they cannot see that they ought to possess it. Left to voluntary effort, education is, and ever will be, in such places, a failure, and a General Act is therefore required to compel these dark spots, and benighted villages, to rate the property of the district for the pur- ])ose of giving education to the people. We have men- tioned that many of the resident proprietors are negli- gent in providing education for their dependents. And if the parishes in which the proprietors reside are thus scantily supplied, how fares the parishes in which the proprietors are wo;2-resident ? There is absenteeism in Suflblk as well as in Ireland, Numerous cases mio-ht be named, but two will suffice. The Marquis of Hert- ford owns the land in Sudbourne and Oxford, and he has not lived at the Hall for many years, and although receiving a large rental, we heard of no school estab- lished by his efforts or advice. The Earl of Ashburn- ham is owner of several thousand acres around Need- liam Market, and he visited the spot in 1S53, after an absence of eleven years. The school has received some aid from his Lordship, but not at all proportionate to the income he receives from the district. In many parishes there is not a resident landed pro})rictor of any extent, and if the people arc educated in these parishes it is, generally speaking, not done by those who enjoy the rentals of the property, but by parties who ought not to be called upon to bear a large share of the burthen. An Educational Rate upon j)roperty is the only available means of meeting the urgent necessity of the case, and of coni])clliiig absentee and unwilling resident ])roprietors to aid in providing funds for the instruction of the })eople. AVe in\ist again cite facts and liguivs to show the necessity for some such provision, although we think the APATHY OF FARMERS AND OWNERS. 245 miserable pittances subscribed for tlic support of National Schools, in some parishes where there is no other school for the poor, and where the assessment to the property tax is large in amount, will almost demonstrate this. The following statements of the total amount paid to the master or mistress of such schools, and the remarks of the incumbents, are taken from the " Church School Inquiry" of 1848:— Total paid to Master or POPULA- ASSESSMF.NT TION, 1851. PARISHES. •i'Opuoi'i;ktv TAX, 18i53. Mistress, in- cluding the Children's pence. UEMAltKS BY THE ISCUMBENTS.- £ .€ s. 4,370 Stowinarkct and Stowiipland . 11,580 *G3 New School Room wanted. Larf;er salaries for the master and mistress needed ; but no help can be expected from local resources. 659 Grt. Waldingfield 4,128 9 12 A Dame's School. 1,037 Hitcham . 6,307 18 Great unwillingness on the part of the farmers to assist in finding means for educating the children of the laborers. 857 Great Cornard 3,275 Only a Dame's School. .\ Day School is much wanted, but the funds are not forthcoming to pay for the support of a teacher. 546 Kirton 3,178 31 10 The difficulty of maintaining these schools is as great as their necessity is urgent, all the rich land-owners have been applied -to, but unavailingly, on this point. 911 Stoke-by-Clare . 3,G72 No Day Scliool. There is manifestly in this district a disin- clination to assist in improving the condi- tion of the Laboring Classes, as regards their educational wants. 2,215 Brandon . 6,010 *54 Two Schools. There is a great difficulty in raising a sufficient sum of money to defray the expences. 1,201 Rattlesden 5,395 *54 Schools in debt to the Incumbent, and the debt increasing. 610 Mellis 2,239 No Day School. The great want of this parish is a Daily School ; there are about ninety children who would, without doubt, attend. Towards this object the Rector has oflered to sub- scribe £10 10s. per annum ; but the laud- owners will not pledge themselves to any subscription. These salaries are to Master mid Mistress. The above will convey a tolerably clear idea of the apathy that exists, among the wealthy, towards the education of the poor. The" difficulties here alluded to 246 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. by the Tncnmbents are typical of what exist in every district. In the parish of Bramford, which contains nearly 1,000 persons, and whose assessment to the Pro- perty tax amounts to £5,292, Sir Philip Broke, Bart., is owner of nearly 2,000 acres of land, besides having a very beneficial lease of the tithes, yet how little he has done for the education of the poor of that parish is evident from the income of the schoolmaster, which, including the children's pence, amounted to only £20 a-year. The parish of FramsJen may be cited as another case; 1,300 acres of this parish is the property of John Tollemache, Esq., IM.P., who, in addition, has the rectorial tithes, valued at £500 per annum ; yet, with a population of 800 persons, in some respect needing a missionary as much as the Heathen, there w^as no school until 1S52. Bacto7i, recently made notorious by an atrocious murder, has a population of 901 persons. Nearly 1,100 acres of this parish are the property of George Tomline, Esq., M.P. It had no day school in 1851 . Some gentlemen begin their educational help at the wrong end. This was aptly illustrated in 1855, by the Hector of Bacton, who gave a donation of ten pounds towards estabUshing a " Reformatory" school in Suffolk, although during the fifty years of his rectorship he had not devoted a similar sum to the education of the poor children of his own parish, many of whom in after years annually stood at the bar of justice, and the maintenance alone of the Bacton criminals have cost the county fifty pounds per annum. In each of the three above- mentioned parishes the chief j)ortion of the land is the ])roperty of one gentleman ; but Wickham-S/ceith is in the same state of educational destitution, and there the land belongs to several wealthy owners, viz., 293 acres to Lord Hennikcr ; 28G to J. G. Shc])pard, Esq. ; 205 to Charles Tyrrell, Esq. ; 201 to G. E. Frcre, Esq. ; and smaller quantities to other gentlemen. TJic establisli- nicnt of a sdiool wonld, therefore, be bnt a slight APATHY OF LANDOWNERS. 247 expense to each of the gentlemen deriving rentals from the land. No school exists, although during five con- secutive years this village has annually furnished 1 criminal to every 307 inhabitants. Thus far we have endeavored to show that the apathy of the landowners points to the necessity for an educational rate. AVc will now go a step further and show that it is the interest of the ratepayers to pro- mote the means of education for the children of the poor. We press the education (juestion thus prominently be- cause Pauperism and Crime are, in Suffolk, above the average of the kingdom, and because we feel sure that ignorance is, in a great measure, the cause, as well as the companion, of these wasteful evils. For years past it has been obvious that in this county the dif- ficulty has been yearly increasing for an ignorant man to obtain permanent employment, at a rate of wages which will allow even a bare present subsistence, without the possibility of laying aside any provision for a period of ill health, or lack of employment, and that to a man so situated the temptation to crime is most likely to prove irresistible, and the probability of his ultimately be- coming a burthen upon his parish so great as to amount almost to a certaintv. It is thus evident that, in a pecuniary point of view, the community suffers greatly from ignorance developing itself in the two forms of Pauperism and Crime. But are we certain that criminals are ignorant ? The Chaplain of the County Gaol, Ipswich, states, that of the 420 prisoners in that gaol, during the year 1853, 141 could neither read nor write ; 9G, though unable to write, could read a little ; and 57 were ignorant, or nearly ignorant, of the Lord's Prayer. The worthy Governor of Bury St. Edmund's Gaol (Mr. MTntyre), declares "ignorance" to be one of the chief causes of crime in his district, and the Chaplain of the same gaol speaks of the juveniles being " dreadfully ignorant." 248 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTUEY. Out of 2,133 persons committed in the 5 years ending 1852, and whose degrees of instruction were ascer- tained, 887 could neither read nor write; 55G could read ; only 605 could read and write imperfectly ; and 75 could read and write w^ell. Here we have the fact, that out of 2,133 persons coming within the cognizance of the law^ 96. in every 100 were uninstructed beyond the merest rudiments of education. We do not offer these facts as proofs of the influence of instruction in pre- serving from legal offences, but considering the large number of young criminals in this county, the facts are sufficient to indicate the direction in which our efforts should be applied. Adopting the marriage registers of each Poor Law Union as the test of instruction among the laboring classes of each district, we do not find that in every Union there is an excess of crime where there is least instruction ; but w^e do find that in Sudbury, Cosford, and llartismere districts, more than half (about 58 per cent.) of the parties married sign the register with marks ; whilst in the districts of JNIutford, Samford, and jNIildenhall, less than half (about 42 per cent.) make their marks. In the three former Unions the ratio of criminals to population are double what they are in the latter ; the expense of pauperism is also 60 per cent, greater, and bastardy is much more frequent. Such a result from so simple a test is sufficient to raise more than a suspicion of the rela- tionship of cause and effect between this state of ignorance and this corresponding display of pauperism and crime. Poor Law guardians see the importance of giving to the children in workhouses such an education as may raise them from the class of paupers to that of independent lal)orers, and the sanction of schools in connexion with prisons is a proof that Her JMiijesty's Ministers are aware of the value of education as a COST OF CRIME, PAUPERISM, AND EDUCATION. 249 safeguard against the evils we name. But if, as a question of economy, it will really answer to educate as a means of reforming felons, it will surely pay us better to educate so as to prevent children ever becoming felons. We have not yet learned the value of the proverb, that " prevention is better than cure " ; for the amount subscribed for educational purposes is ridiculously small, compared with the amount which, as the result of neglected education, becomes necessary for pauper and criminal support. This we will now proceed to prove. The town of Iladleigh, during the five years ending December, 1853, furnished 40 persons for trial at the Quarter Sessions and the Assizes. The average annual cost of prisoners in Bury St. Edmund's Gaol is £25. The 46 committed, therefore, cost £1,150. Seven of these prisoners received a sentence of transportation. This added £700 to their expenses. And one man had been on ten occasions summarily convicted, and once previously committed for felony. The cost of examinations and commitments average 30s. each, and the expense of conveyance to Bury Gaol (from which the town is distant 20 miles) will average 7s. Gd. each. The expense of the 46 will, therefore, stand thus : — £ s. ' Examinations and Commitments 69 Conveyance to Gaol . . 17 •'j Maintenance in Gaol . 1,150 Cost of Transportation . . 700 Total . . £1,936 5 G Crime by the Inhabitants of Iladleigh has cost nearly 100 per annum. Pauperism cost the Inhabitants of Uadlcigh . 900 „ Education provided by Inhabitants of Iladleigh about 250 „ For every shilling spent for education, five shilhngs have been spent for the punishment of crime and for the supporting of pauperism. Of the 46 criminals, 16 could neither read nor 250 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. write, 17 could read only, 7 could read and write, and 1 (a female) had a superior education ; the degrees of instruction of 5 were unknown. As 19 of the prisoners were under twenty years of age, they may be considered victims of the evil influences to which society has exposed them. Turn to another district of the county, and take as an example the town of Halesworth. This town sent 41 prisoners in five years out of a population of 2,529, or 1 prisoner annually to every 31G inha- bitants. These prisoners were lodged in Beccles Gaol, where the cost averaged £30 each per annum. The expenses of the 41 amount to £1,230. Two of them were transported. And the total expenses of the Halesworth criminals, in five years, will stand thus : — £ s. ExamitLation ami Commitments, 30s. each 61 10 Conveyance to Gaol, 4s. each . . 8 4 Maintenance in Gaol . . 1,230 Cost of Transportation . . 200 Total . £1,499 14 Crime by the Inhabitants of Halesworth has cost 300 per annum. Pauperism cost the Inhabitants of Halesworth 6o0 ,, Education provided in Ualesworth cost about . 200 ,, Of the il prisoners, 2 only had a superior education : one of these, a farmer, was committed for forgery ; and the other, an artist, for drunkenness : 1 5 could neither read nor write, and 12 could read only. Taking a larger extent into view — a district instead of a town — the result is equally disheartening. Cosford Union furnished 190 prisoners, the maintenance and punishment amounting in five years to £3,900, the commitments to £291, and the conveyance to gaol, at an average cost of five shilHngs cacli, to £49 ; the cost of transportation in this district may be esti- mated at £2,0()() per annum : total, £6,243 jxm' anmim. EDUCATION AND CRIiME. 251 The expenditure for poor relief alone in this district averages more than £0,000 per annum. According to the " Church School Inquiry," there were 920 children at the Church of England Schools in this Union, with a 'total income of £539 per annum. Allowing that each child pays on the average one penny per week for 42 weeks in the year, the sum voluntarily subscribed by the clergy and gentry only amounted to £330 per annum, whilst the compulsory payment for the support of criminals amounted to £1,300 a-year. If the summary conmctions as well as the com- mitments for trial are taken, the difference between the cost of crime and the subscription for education, in towns, villages, and districts, would be enormously extended. In proof, we mention that Assington fur- nished 8 criminals, and 9 of its inhabitants were in seven years convicted for offences against the Game Laws. The punishment of criminals cost about £80 a-year, whilst the salary of the Schoolmaster, inclu- ding children's pence, was £27 10s. Stoke-by- Clare sent 5 criminals and 9 for game offences : no school. Stoke-hy-Nayland, 14 criminals and 12 for offences against the Game Laws. Punishment of criminals cost £120 a-year, whilst the support of the school devolves entirely upon the Rector. That the mass of the laboring classes of this county are, in an educational aspect, behind the people of many other counties, is a disgrace and a stain upon this agricultural and industrial commu- nity, and should stimulate the friends of education to increased zeal and perseverance, conscious as they are that the principles which they advocate are founded upon common sense, and a sincere regard for the improvement of the people. The moral reformer must feel himself pledged to the advancement of popular education — he must strive to have the best 252 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. teachers, the best books, and the best apparatus that can be commanded ; but above all, as the landowners, the Church, and Dissent have equally failed in their duty in educating the people, he must labor to diffuse the principles — to interest a larger number of" persons in the education movement. He must do this, as it certainly is not desirable that the establishment, the support, or degree of efficiency to which schools require to be raised — should be left to the pleasures, the fancies, or the caprices of individuals ; or depend upon the pecuniary ability, inclination, or particular opinion of the clergy, or any one particular class of society. Now is the time for the friends of Popular Education to bestir themselves, as the aspect of the social horizon induces us to believe that a National System of Education is not so distant as some of its friends seem to imagine. SUNDAY SCHOOLS. In Suffolk, as elsewhere, Sunday schools had priority in the work of popular education, although, from the commencement, religious not secular instruction has been the great object of the promoters. The aim is to give to the children of the masses a sacred occupa- tion for a few hours on the Sabbath day, to implant a habit of attending upon religious worship, and in carryhig out these objects the system has been exten- sively useful. Tiic important influence it exercises on both teachers and scholars has commanded such general aj)probation that it has now nearly covered the surface of the county, and embraced all classes of its inhabi- tants, and is regarded with intense interest by the Christian and the philanthropist. According to the census returns there were, in March, IST)!, no less than 541 Sunday schools in Suffolk, having enrolled upon their books ,'37,470 scholars, taught by 3,01);") teachers. On the census Sunday SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 25 o 28,010 scliolars were returned as attending at their schools ; but as the returns inckided only those present at one time, either the morning or the afternoon, it is probable that the total number of attendants would include a considerable number who attended only during that portion of the day for which the retiu-n was not given. An examination of the returns shows that the amount of Sunday school instruction varies greatly in different districts of the county. Avoiding fractions, we may state that the Sunday scholars range from one in six of the population of Mildenhall, to one in twenty of the population of Ipswich. As a general rule through- out England, Sunday schools are found to be most numerous in localities where opportunities for day- school education are most wanting. In Suffolk there are many exceptions to this rule. The proportion of day scholars to population is greatest in the Cosford Union, and the proportion of Sunday scholars in that union is equal to that of the average for the whole of the county. In Stow, Ilartismere, Bosmere, and Blything Unions the day scholars and the Sunday scholars each form nearly the same proportion to the population. In our towns, however, the rule is fully borne out. In Ipswich, the day scholars are one in eight, the Sunday scholars are one in twenty ; in Bury, day scholars one in nine, Sunday scholars one in twelve ; in Eye, day scholars one in eight, Sunday scholars one in fifteen ; in Beccles, day scholars one in six, Sunday scholars one in eleven ; and, in Sudbury, day scholars one in five, and Sunday scholars one in nine. There are, doubtless, other circumstances which operate in increasing the attendance at Sunday schools in certain districts. In some parts of the county dissenters a})pear to throw into Sunday schools the energy which churchmen use in raising and sustaining- day schools. In Wangford Union the Independents have 254 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. the largest per ceiitage of the scholars, and, in the Miklenhall District, the Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists have the greatest number. If we inquire by what religious bodies in particular these Sunday schools are supported and carried on, we shall find that, taking the entire county, the Church of England has more than two-thirds of the schools, and nearly two-thirds of the scholars. The proportion of scholars and schools varies considerablv in different districts. In Wangford more than half of the scholars are in Dissenters' schools, and in Ipswich the Church schools contain but little more than half of the Sunday scholars. Church of England Sunday schools are much more general in some places than they are in others. In the Mildenhall Union there are 13 parishes, and 10 Sunday schools supported by the clergy of the district. But Ipswich, with 12 parishes, has only six Sunday schools in connection with the Church of England. Mutford has 25 parishes and 15 church schools ; and the Woodbridge Union, with 46 parishes, has only 25 church schools. The Independents and Baptists are nearly equal in this county in the number of chapels and in the number of attendants, yet the former have 01 Sunday schools with G,597 scholars ; the latter have only 41 schools with 3,458 scholars. More than half the chapels of the original body of Wcsleyans arc without Sunday schools ; to 84 chapels there are only 41 schools; and the Primitive Methodists with 72 ])laccs of worship have only 15 Sunday schools. One of the most valuable features of the Sunday school system is the number of teachers it engages. They are generally gratuitous teachers, and conunonly ])ersons whose self-denial induces them to abstract from their own scanty leisure the hours they devote to this service. AVliere zeal and religious interest are really felt in the work, it amply compensates for the school- master's technical skill, and, although the effects of SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 255 the Snndny schools on the cliildrcii have in many cases been of the most sakitary kind, experience has shown that the teachers are ahnost as much benefited as the scholars. If \vc assume that the proportion of teachers was the same in the 39 schools from which no returns as to the number of teachers were received as in those which sent complete returns, there were 1,807 teachers in connection with Church of England Sunday schools, 921 in the schools of the Independents, 541 in those of the Baptists, and 425 in the schools of the Original Wesleyans. The average number of children to a school, and the proportion of scholars to a teacher, differ widely in the different denominations. In the church schools there are on an average G3 scholars to a school, and 13 scholars to a teacher ; in the schools of the Independents, the number of scholars, 108, and there are seven scholars to one teacher; amongst the Baptists the average is 84, with six scholars to one teacher. The Wesleyan schools average 03 scholars, and they also have one teacher to every six scholars. In the schools of the Church of England there are 430 paid teachers (181 males and 249 females). The Independents have 12 teachers of this class, and the Baptists 27. The following table exhibits the number of scholars in the Sunday schools of each of the Poor Law Unions of Suffolk : NUMBKR OF NlMIiKIl OK VNIOXS. SUNDAY VNIONS. SVNDAY SCHOLAKS. 1 SCUOI.AUS. Eisbridge . 2,485 i Bosraere . 2,103 Sudbury 3,900 Samford 1,221 Cost'ord 2,2.>0 Ipswich 1,609 Tbingoc . 1,!)63 Woodbridgc . 2,063 Bury . 1,117 I'loracsgatc 2,o86 Mildenhall . 1,S10 lilythiug 3,640 Stow . 2,989 Waiigford . 1,442 Hartismcre 1,903 .AFutford 1,899 Iloxne 1,730 Suliblk 37,470 256 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. EVENING SCHOOLS. The short time that is spent iu primary instruction by the great mass of the children of the working classes renders it quite evident that the mere instruments for gaining knowledge can alone be acquired. Knowledge itself must be obtained in after-life. Hence the im- portance of Evening Schools, Classes at Mechanics' Institutes, and Mutual Improvement Societies. Numbers of adults may be said to be uneducated who have acquired the art of reading and writing, but who have not since had the opportunity of putting into exercise these means of information. The number of evening schools from which returns were obtained was 3S, containing 835 scholars, of whom 714 were males, and 121 were females. None of them had "free admission" for their terms; but the charges varied, and some of them were low. The number of schools at each of the several rates of charge being thus — Less than 2d. per week NO. OF 6CU0OLS, 2 2d. and less tliau 3d. per week 9 3d. „ 4d. 6 4d. „ 5d. 3 5d. and upwards 7 raymcut not stated 11 There were 17 open all the year round, G of them for only six months, and 10 for less than six months in the year. There were 3 open only one hour in the evening, 27 for two hours, and G for three. The total number of teachers was 87, of whom GO were males, and 18 were females. On examining the occu- pations of the 835 students, no less than 100 were found entered as agricultural laborers, 100 as fishermen, 225 as artizans, 30 as domestic servants, 10 as errand boys, and 70 of no stated occuj)ali()n. Tlie course of instruction was similar to that of a good day school : 31 of the students were learning to read, 31 the art EVENING SCHOOLS. 257 of writing, 31 aritlmictic, 3 English grammar, 5 geography, 4 mathematics, 9 history, and 1 rehgious knowledge. Of these schools, three in Mutford Union were attended by 204 scholars, six in Sudbury Union had 101 scholars, ti€o in Wangford 81 scholars, five in Blything had 78, and sine in Thingoc had only 55 scholars. In Thingoe, Hartisraere, Samford, Wood- bridge, and Plomesgate, the scholars were all males ; but in Wangford 41 out of 81 scholars were females, and in Bosmere 28 out of 63 belonged to that sex, whilst in Mutford, the 204 scholars included only 5 females. 17 CnAPTER YIII. RELIGIOUS CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE. There is no portion of our subject more important than that which is now to occupy our attention. As the morality of a people is based on Religion, the inves- tigation of the Religious Condition of the People is of essential importance in contemplating their present moral condition, and cannot fail to arrest the attention and awaken the interest of all moral and social reformers. Suffolk is in the province of Canterbury, and until 1837 was, with the exception of four peculiars, entirely in the Diocese of Norwich. It has two archdeaconries, Sudbury and Suftblk. The former was instituted in A.D. 1127, and has been by the Ecclesiastical Com- missioners attached to the See of Ely. It comprises the Deaneries of Sudbury, Blackbourn, Clare, Fordham, Thedwestry, and Thingoe; 174 cures, of which I2G are rectories, IS are vicarages, 19 perpetual curacies, and II cha])elries. The present archdeacon is the Very Reverend George Glover, M.A., of South Repps, Norfolk. Charles Wodehouse, Esq., of Bury, is deputy registrar. The Archdeaconry of Suftblk, which was created in A.D. 1127, comprehends the Deaneries of Rosmere, Carlsford, Clay don, Colncis, Dunwich, llartismcre, Iloxne, Ipswich, I^oes and Lothingland, Samford, Orford, Stow, Southelmham, Wangford and Wilford, iiichi(liiig '318 cures, of which IDS nrc rectories, 80 VALUE OF BENEFICES. 2.39 vicarages, 55 perpetual curacies, and 15 cliapclries. The present archdeacon is the Very Reverend Thomas Johnson Ormerod, M.A. Charles Steward, Esq., of Ij)s\vich, is deputy registrar. The total amount of cures in this county is therefore 522 — viz., 324 rectories, 98 vicarages, 74 perpetual curacies, and 26 chapelries. But, by the union of cures, the number of benefices is greatly reduced. The four peculiars in this county are the rectories of Hadleigh and Monks' Elcigh, and the rectory and vicarage of Moulton, belonging to Canterbury ; and the rectory and vicarage of Feckenham, which is attached to the See of Rochester, Among these preferments, live — viz., Gipping, Shelland, Mctfield, Herringfleet, and Thorpe-by-Ixworth — are donatives ; that is, benefices exempt from episcopal jurisdiction, the lay impropriator appointing the curate without institution by the ordi- nary, and remunerating him as he thinks proper. With respect to incomes, there are in the county — £ £ 10 Benefices below 50 per annum 37 Benefices yarying from 50 to 100 M 47 100 >7 150 M 44 150 11 200 11 67 200 11 300 11 89 300 11 400 )) 63 400 11 500 >> 48 500 )) 600 11 23 600 )) 700 )) 12 700 M 800 )) 7 800 J) 900 11 5 900 11 1,000 11 6 1,000 11 1,200 11 2 1,200 11 1,500 11 1 1,500 11 2,000 11 Fifty-six of these livings are valued at upwards of £600 per annum, and 9 benefices are worth above £1,000 per year; but 138 are below the annual value of £200 per annum, and the income of the major portion of this number is less than the actual cost of a university education. Some of these values in the 260 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. above list are from the Commutation Returns, others from the Clergy List ; but grave doubts have been raised as to whether the Clergy List gives the real value. A Suffolk incumbent of considerable experience declared to us that the estimates are usually one-third less than the real income, and in some instances even more ; and, in proof, he writes us word that " the Clergy List returns the living of , Norfolk, at £800 per annum. Now, I commuted the tithe of that parish for my rector at £1,260, and there are 70 acres of glebe. So much for published returns ! Our small livings are returned correctly enough ; we should be glad to have them raised." Of these preferments 14 are in the gift of the Crown, including the valuable living of Hitcham, 40 in the patronage of the Lord Chancellor, of which Ilelmingham and Risby are the most valuable, 6 in the gift of the parishioners, five of which are in the town of Ipswich, 3 in the gift of corporations, 4 and 1 alternate presen- tation (Alderton) in the Bishop of Norwich, 3 in the Dean and Chapter of Norwich, 9 in the Bishop of Ely, 4 in the Dean and Chapter of Ely, 2 (Hadleigh and I\Ionks' Eleigh) in the Archbishop of Canterbury, 2 (Bramford and Exning) in the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury, 1 (Tannington) in the Bishop of Rochester, 34 (the majority of which are among the most valuable benefices of the county) arc in the patronage of the colleges, and the remainder (more than two-thirds of the preferments of Suffolk) are in the patronage of ])rivate persons. A large number of these are in the incum- l)ency of the patrons, but 13 are in the gift of the Manpiis of Bristol, 8 in the Earl of Stradbrokc, 7 in Sir Edward Kcrrison, Bart., ]\I.P., in Lord Henniker, 5 in Sir Robert Shafto Adair, 3 in Lord Iliuitingficld, 3 in the Duke of Grafton, 2 in the Duke of Norfolk, 2 in Earl Howe, 1 in the Duke of Rutland, and 1 in the Duke of Hamilton. ARCHDEACONRY OF SUFFOLK. 261 From these general remarks on the Church Establish- ment of the whole county, we shall proceed to consider briefly and minutely subjects immediately connected with the Archdeaconry of Suffolk. In 1851, the number of benefices in this arch- deaconry was 294, the number of incumbents was 257, the number of curates not incumbents was 88. Of the above-mentioned incumbents, 192, about 66 per cent., were residing in their parsonage-houses, and 40 in their parishes, or within three miles, there being no glebe-house. There were 59 benefices without parsonage-houses. It is gratifying to find that there were only 15 cases of license for non-residence, and of these 8 were on account of no residence, 3 on the ground of unfit residence, and 4 on account of ill- health ; and hi 235 parishes service was performed twice on the Lord's-day. What a contrast does this present to the aspect of the establishment in this Arch- deaconry in 1831, a few years prior to the installation of the energetic Dr. Edward Stanley, when, owing to the advanced age, infirmities, and consequent inefficiency of Bishop Bathurst, some of the grossest abuses were here prevalent. There were 90 licenses for non-resi- dence, and only 86 parishes in which divine service was performed twice on the Lord's-day. In several parishes service was performed only once a fortnight, and in some instances even longer intervals elapsed. Even in the Deanery of Samford, where, from the value of the benefices and the number of resident gentry, one might naturally expect to find the church in a more efficient condition than in the generality of rural districts, in 1837, out of the twenty-eight parishes, five churches only were open for divine service twice on the Lord's- Under the present system disproportionate distribu- tion is unavoidable, and, as might be expected in a large district, there are many cases of distribution in 202 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTUKY. the "^ Archdeaconry singularly disproportionate to the wants of the people. In the Deanery of Ipswich there are 13 pastors to 32,215 persons, and in the Deanery of Samford there are 28 to 12,493 persons. In the former, each pastor has an average spiritual supervision of every 2,478 of the population ; and in the latter, each minister has, on the average, the pastoral care of only 417 persons. Tiie income of the Church Establishment in the Archdeaconry of Suffolk averages upwards of £100,000 p6r annum^ which gives to the 294 benefices an average income of £340 to each incumbent. But this average gives but a poor idea of the actual income. The rectory of Framlingham with Saxted is worth upwards of o£l,500 per annum, Dennington £1,000, and Wortham £800 ; whilst, on the other hand, Blythburgh is valued at only £45, Kesgrave £58, Redisham £50, Southwold £60, Thorpe-by-Ixworth £20, and that of Little Fin- borough at only £11 per annum. The Deanery of llartisniere has the largest number of rich livings of any district in the Archdeaconry. The average annual income of the 29 benefices is £13,436, independent of 589 acres of glebe. Eleven of these livings are above £500 per annum in value. Comparison will show that this is really an unusual cluster of rich livings. In Ipswich the church livings average £158 per annum ; in Colchester, £152 ; in Cambridge, £100 ; and it has been said that in the whole Diocese of Norwich they averaij-e only £81 each. Seven clergymen in the llartisniere deanery arc in the enjoyment of 400 acres of glebe. The glebe in the Archdeaconry extends to upwards of 4,400 acres, ranging in the deaneries from 7 acres only in that of Colneis to 033 acres in that of Samford. The rectory of Dennington has 152 acres, that of Huntingfiefd 150, Eritton 87, Barsham 72, liarkstead 55, Shotlcy 5 1, and many others of nearly equal (xtrnt. AliCUDEACONliY OF SUFFOLK. 2G3 The 294 benefices are enjoyed by 257 incumbents, and " pluralism, a blot upon the spiritual character of our national establishment," is, therefore, existing among us. Prom the smallness of souie of the benefices the incomes, in many instances, are very limited, and much in the way of palliation may be urged in such cases on behalf of pluralities. In the ten instances men- tioned, where the benefices are under £50 annual value, nine of the benefices belong to the Archdeaconry of Suffolk, and the stipends of Gl out of the 294 benefices are less than £150 per annum. In the words of Bishop Stanley, we say that no candid inquirer can bring a railing accusation against such ill-paid incumbents as these holding more than one piece of preferment. But there are instances of rectors, with large incomes, holding a plurality of livings, and joint cases of non-residence and pluralism, " where the distance is such as to prevent constant intercourse and personal superintendence, and where, consequently, the requisite duties neither are nor can be discharged by the appointed incumbent." Law and custom have sanctioned the receipts and enjoyment of stipends for duties not performed ; but it would, nevertheless, be difficult to justify the practice. Laymen are, in many instances, receiving large profits from the benefices. In some cases the rectorial tithes belong to them by virtue of the ownership of the soil, in others they are leased to them by some ecclesiastical body. Thus Sir P. Broke holds the tithes of Bramford, on lease of the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury ; Sir J. Shelley, those of Old Newton, as lessee of the Bishop of Norwich ; Lady Ilotham, those of Great Einborough, as lessee of the Bishop of Ely ; and J. Francis, Esq., those of Mendlesham, as lessee of the Dean and Chapter of Chichester. The £100,000 mentioned as the income of the Church Establishment in this Archdeaconry is far from being the total income arising from tithes. It is simply the total value to the incumbents, and, 264 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. indepeDdent of the suras received by the impropriators, which are sometimes double the amouut received by the incumbents. At Old Newton, about £400 goes to Sir John Shelley, and £160 to the vicar ; at Reydon, £400 to the Earl of Stradbroke, and £.218 to the vicar ; at Debeuham, £650 to Lord Heuniker, and £282 to the vicar ; Framsden, £560 to John ToUemache, Esq., ^ /and £340 to the vicar ; Eye, £750 to Sir E. Kerrison, and £550 to the vicar; at Hoxne, £750; Bramfield, £420;. Great Cornard, £360; Eressingfield, £919; Mendlesham, £512; and at Edwardstone, £373 go to the impropriators. In some instances, where the impropriator or lessee is receiving a large sum, a niggardly stipend is doled out to the incumbent. Of this kind of blot upon our "\ Church Establishment Tannington is a good sample; £320 goes to the impropriator, and £80 to the vicar; but the vicarage of Bramford, with the curacy of Burstall annexed, is the best type of this class in the Arch- deaconry. The tithes are worth about £700 a-year, and the vicar has an allowance of about £80 a-year. The living is in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury ; but the lease of the tithes being held by Sir P. Broke, Bart., the Dean and Chapter have but little power to increase the vicar's stipend. The following letter from the late Bishop of Oxford will show the beneficial nature of the lease : " lilitneJioM, Staffordshire, March 28th, 1812. "Rev, Sir, " I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 21st instant, which needs not any apology. I will forward it to Canterbury to be l;tid before the Chapter whenever wc meet, at our next audit, which is all that is in my power to say or do. I know no particulars of the case, beyond that of Mr. Xaylor's being vrrj' poor, and to him the Chapter granted an anuual allowance some time since, but I thiidc considerably more than what you state in your letter (viz. £25), with Avhich he expressed himself satisfied. " Your letter appears to be written under the impression that Iho ARCHDEACONRY OF SUFFOLK. 265 Chapter arc in the annual receipt of the value of the tithes, be that amount what it may, but of which I have no recollection. This is not an uncommon error, and the Chapter would naturally ask what the lessee does towards this state of destitution. Ho has a beneficial lease of these tithes, and so beneficial (if it is like other church leases) that it is understood that expcnces which would otherwise fall upon the holder of the tithes should fall upon him. I mean that in the course of seven years he receives upwards of five years' value, the Chapter receiving one and a-half years* value once in seven years. " I rather think there has been a communication between the Bishop of the Diocese and the Chapter on this subject ; but I am not sure, as it was in my absence. I will forward your letter to Canterbury. " And remain your faithful servant, "B.Oxford." We here give the number of Benefices, then- value and the extent of Glebe, m each of the Deaneries in the Archdeaconry of Suffolk. DEANERIES. NO. OF BENEFICES. valt;e. EXTENT OF OLEBK. Bosmere . 26 10,683 518 Carlst'ord 16 5,71.5 80 Claydon Colueis . 10 10 2,792 3,672 168 7 Dunwich. . 39 11,000 465 Hartismere 29 13,436 589 Iloxue . , 21 8,678 571 Ipswich • Loes 13 14 2,102 5,462 194 Lothiugland . 23 7,107 285 Orford 18 5,300 331 Samford 21 10,562 633 Southelmham 5 1,298 77 Stow 12 3,567 53 Wan^ford 19 4,469 326 Wilford 15 5,209 92 Total 294 101,052 4,400 After all, however, these facts, valuable and interesting as they must be acknowledged, are only the dry bones of the subject. The most important facts connected 266 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. with the reUgious portion of our inquiry are the extent of spiritual provision and destitution in this county. The attendance npon rehgious worship is one of the few subjects respecting which, until the census of J 851, we had nothing authoritative. Positive statistical evidence was nowhere obtainable, and the religious condition of the people of a whole county was an ingredient in our moral estimate, which, prior to that period, could not have been ventured upon without the results being subjected to much disputation. The returns relating to religious worship, the accom- modation, and the number of attendants who frequent our churches and chapels, are so full of valuable and interesting particulars that it is difficult to over-estimate their real significanco and importance. Men of all parties are interested by the facts ; but to the moral reformer these returns are not merely welcome, they are most gratifying and suggestive, while, at the same time, they reveal to him a state of thiuf^s over which he is compelled to ponder. Our desire is to give a statistical record of the various sects into which religious society in this county is divided, and to show the respective and comparative supporters of each ; and, by the aid of these returns, we shall be enabled to place before our readers, for the first time in the History of Suffolk, not merely certain general facts concerning the condition of religious life in the county, but also an authentic account of the number of persons attending places of worship, the niunbcr of places provided for tliat purpose, and the particidar doctrines and forms of the parties by whom these provisions have been made. It aj)penrs that the population of Suffolk on i\larch 30th, iS5l, was tuuek hundred and TniuTV-sEVKN THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN. Of tllis popu- lation there were, in the afternoon of that day, one HU.NDRED AND THIRTY-SIX THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED ATTENDANCE Ul'ON Tl BLIC AV011811IP. 267 AND TWENTY PERSONS attending public worship in SEVEN HUNDRED AND NINETEEN PLACES. Of tllCSC 130,820 attendants, nearly two-thirds, 8C,095, belonged to the Church of England. The largest numbers among the Protestant sects were Independents, 18,181 ; Par- ticular J3aptists, 18,415; Wesleyan Methodists, 0,473; Primitive Methodists, 5,822. The other religions bodies are much smaller than these, ranging from 10 Jews to 579 Unitarians, 374 Roman Catholics, 115 Mormons, 272 Friends, etc. As it is obvious that a certain pi'oportion of the population, under the best possible circumstances, are not in a condition to attend any public places of worship, we must consider, at the outset of the inquiry, for what proportion of the 337,215 inhabitants of Suffolk it is necessary to provide accommodation in buildings devoted to religious worship, how we shall reckon the legitimate absences, and how calculate the sutticiency or insufficiency of our accommodation. The reply to this inquiry will at once show us, in connection with the returns, in what districts, if any, the supply is inadequate to the demand. A variety of circumstances necessarily prevent a large number of persons from attending public worship. A large deduction from the total population must be made on accovuit of infants and young children, there being in Suffolk, in 1851, as many as 85,843 under 10 years of age; 45,040 of this number were under 5 years. There will also always be a certain number absent from sickness, and a proportionate number kept at home as attendants and in charge of houses. The infirmities of age would cause another deduction. The. number of persons in Suftblk, in 1851, aged 70 and upwards, was 12,840. Enq)loyment in connection with public conveyances, as railways, steandjoats, coaches, cabs, etc., will produce another class of absentees from religious ordhiances. Other minor causes exist, and 268 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY- Horace Mann, Esq., after a careful and elaborate review of what may be considered lawful impediments to attendance upon public worship, arrives at the con- clusion that the accommodation requisite for those who are able, not merely those who are loiUing, to attend, should amount to 58 per cent, of the population. This estimate allows that 141,732 of our residents will, of necessity, be absent whenever divine service is performed, and that sittings in religious edifices in this county are not required for more than 195,583 persons. On page 269 is exhibited the accommodation now provided in each of the Poor Law Unions of this county, distinguishing the per centage provided by the Church of England from that of other Protestant sects, and the number of sittings provided by the Roman Catholics. This table shows the importance of a better distri- bution of accommodation. Whilst the total number of sittings in Suftblk is 239,403, an excess of more than 50,000 over the required number, there is a deficiency of 3,151 in the towns of Ipswich and Bury St. Edmund's when compared with the number required to provide for 58 per cent, of the population, Ipswich alone requiring 2,988 of the sittings. In the union of Pury St. Edmund's the deficiency is 2 per cent., in all the other unions there is a superabundant pro- vision, which, in those of Risbridge, Cosford, Stow, Posmerc, and Samford, varies from 20 to 30 per cent, in excess. The rate at which the supply is increasing and has increased during the present century, as compared with, the increase in the numbers of the people, is to a certain extent ascertainable from the census returns. No carhcr authentic record of the provision for religious worship exists, and the dates here given are valuable as exhibiting the amount of acconunodation in the 1 •S^^SSs^-^g^gWW^Pgw^og^g sbridge dbury sford . lingoe iry St. E ildenhall irtismere )xne ismere mford . swicli oodbridg omesgate y tiling angford lit ford . o o m &, Sd 1- ' a 4 P; oT o at b0i-'tON3NSC0>-'^(-'K^tO^^^i-'>-C0i-' ^ 5* *TJ 00 Ji o _p Jf>- ^» ^^ J<3 Jsi JsO J^ Ji 1 ^O ^H-J _p OO ^CO J» O j» ^"o"cB"ht>-"--J --jTf^~tc"cDlD~^ Co'cD O H-' CC f-* 2 o •§ C5 1— O) ^I ^l Cn O ►-• O lO —' Oi O H-i O I— lO f • co»f>.co^i02cococcic;oo0t(i0tt^^»»f»ox (— » H- » H-» H-» )— t I— ' t— * Numbe of Sitting alread providei js j:ri jfi JO J-" GO ^i ^ ^j ^ _o jf^ jf^ H- JO p> JO ~t-' oo~oi^^"a> M^moi^i CO oi t^ o -'OOH^OiOi^J>*^ COiXSOOOrf^^Ji— 'OStOOl-'OCOl-'OCBtf^ p,.OlCliOt i'S'ga!?^ t) o • '5 OCOOJrfi^Ohf^OCJS^4005f-'l>SOOi— ' .P- 3 a. ffi 3 c ?§ =^2 •Spa: >; o p,p a "'5' H tOCiOCilOOOtOOO>^JOCOOiCOh*-005 0» 2 S' »t.0iCDlOOOC0C0^I00lNSCiC»C2Ci«3O ro e-iq (D CO^J^at050C005tf^l*>-MOO0lsDN3i— 'l>Stf^C0IC>-'0ii-i03 P P c --.1-3 '^' 2 oicoaifi^otowoi^joit-'oitt^woicco orti cen the lati mm ted. > •z o o r* o h^ ■ 3 3 ^pt/j 2 . h-..-CO >-^ ■ 2 ^S-'n g ^■p --2.3 •CO.--0 H-- O O >f- .<=>,.. o o. . to ... to ,4-' Proporti per cen of the Populati accomm dated. O O f o 13 • 3 1— •)— *^0^-*^— 'f— 'I— *l— 't— 'H-Jl— • ►— »►— 'tOi— ' •^p OT !2i CO o K' ►"'^i'jjn jP»- jr> jf^jx^j^jjio j^jojf^ 2 ^S^ S ^. ro --2,3 ~tfc~c»~co'-p- CO to >;• Ci! CO 00 'CD i-c ^1 oo oocoocoOiOOOi^i'X'Co^^oiocooorf^ p-'O0itO00^^^1O0>C0O*-?DH-[0OiC0 p,"^ CO i? Prop per of Popu acco da Ci ^J CO 05 CO ►&. 00 CO 05 ^I CO ^I f< --t CC ~T oo o (^^iOGcOcococ^>+*-c:j"toobcotod>tia)Occiod50co ortion cent, the ilation m mo- led. > .Additional Sittings required ; on the assumption that accommo- dation should be provided for 58 per cent. of the Population i* "cO H^ . . . . CO-.--«-C5-.-- 00 CO fcd n O o o o o a t> H >— < O !^ O ■) 23 14 72 AYesleyan Association 1 2 Wesleyan Keformers 1 i 2 5 Brethren .... i 2 3 Isolated Congregations . '2 3 '3 10 Roman Catholics . 3 1 4 Lattcr-Day Saints . i , , i 3 Jews .... 1 1 This table shows that a satisfactory progress has been made during the last twenty years. It is difficult to assign the number of sittings at each period from the fact of lOG of the returns having given no date. Of these, 63 belong to the Church of England, the greater portion of which were probably built before the commencement of the century, while the 43 buildings without date, belonging to the Dissenters, have, doubt- less, been erected in recent years. We have followed the plan adopted by Horace ]\Iann in his report, dis- tributing the lOG places of worship not dated, "over the six intervals according to the proportion which the numbers actually assigned to each of these intervals bear towards the total number having dates assigned." Thus, in 1801, they numbered 580 ; in 1811, they had increased to G02 ; in 1821, to 044; in 1831, to 705 ; in 1841, to 812 ; and, in 1851, they amounted to 895. p]stimating that the average number of sittings was at each of these periods the same as in 1851, viz., 33U for places of worship belonging to Church of PLACES OF WORSHIP OPEN. 271 England, and 228 for tliose belonging to Dissenters, the number of sittings at each of the dates mentioned can be easily ascertained. Assuming that all religious sects are to have their share in ministering to the people, it is evident that, excepting the deficiency in the town of Ipswich, and a trifling one in Bury St, Edmund's, the existing provision furnished by the entire religious community is more than adequate to supply the spiritual wants of those persons v\'ho have the opportunity of attending. Excepting the towns named, there are places of worship within the reach, and capable of holding more than 58 per cent, of the population. But, as the church or chapel n:iay not be open, and, therefore, not available for the use of those by leisure able to frequent it, the practical value of these sittings, computed to be within the reach of that same number of persons, is dependent on the extent to which they are off'ered for the occupa- tion of the public. Many places of worship are opened only once upon the Sunday, and where this is the case, although there may be an excess of sittings, it is possible that an inadequate supply may be expe- rienced. The following table exhibits the number of places of worship open, and the number of sittings available at each period of the day : Total Number of Places of Worship Number of Places (qyenfur Worship, at each period of the Day, on Sunday, March 30, 1852 ; and Number of Sittings thus made available. and Sittings.* Places of Worship open. Available Sittings.* Places of Worship. Sittings. Morning'. Afternoon. Evening. Morning. Afternoon. Evening. 895 239,403 716 719 290 221,377 1 208,427 91,756 * Including an estimate for Returns which omitted to mention the number of sittings. 272 SUFFOLK IN THE NIXETEENTH CENTURY. Here, then, we see that, while the actual number of sittings is 239,402, that number is never at any one time available to the public. In the morning 18,026 of them, in the afternoon 30,976, in the evening 157,648 are withdrawn from public use. An attempt was made at the census inquiry to ascer- tain what proportion of our present provision for religious worship was at the service of that great portion of the community most needing spiritual instruction and least able by pecuniary outlay to procure it. Inquiry was made as to how many of the sittings were " free," the meaning of the term being " free to any persons wishing, without payment, to occupy them." The answers to this question were unfortunately " not in every instance framed in accordance with this interpre- tation. In the case of ancient parish churches some- times all the sittings were returned as free, the meaning evidently being that no money payment was received from the occupants ; but, as many of them were no doubt appropriated, either by custom or the authority of church officers to particular persons, it is clear they would not be available indiscriminately to the poor so as to make them ' free sittings ' in the sense referred to. And, with reference to Dissenters' chapels, it seems not unlikely that the term ' free sittings ' has been taken as including sittings merely unlet, and not confined to sittings specially and permanently set apart for the use of the poorer classes." The result of the inquiry is that of the 239,403 sittings, 183,836 were distin- guished into the two classes of " free " and " appro- ])riatcd," while the remaining 37,917 were not distin- guished at all ; of the 183,836 which loere distinguished 91,918 were described as free, and 91,736 were described as appropriated ; but, from the reasons just mentioned, it is probable a much too favorable view is j)rcsented of the provision for worship for the use of the poor. t SITTINGS PROVIDED BY THE ESTABLISHMENT. 273 Having shown the accommodation offered by the Church of England and all the sects together, we must next exhibit a few facts showing the provision made by each religious body. The total number of sittings pro- vided, including an estimate for defective returns, are — Church of England, 157,476 sittings; Independents, 31,406; Particular ]3aptists, 24,515; Baptists (unde- fined), 14,304 ; Wesleyan Methodists, 14,649 ; Primi- tive Methodists, 7,740; Society of Friends, 2,380; Unitarians, 1,270 ; Wesleyan Methodist Association, 395 ; Wesleyan Reformers, 518 ; Brethren, 400 ; Isolated Congregations, 1,780; Roman Catholics, 725; Mormons, 233; Jews, 10. It is thus apparent that the Church of England pro- vides, in the gross, accommodation for 157,476 persons out of the 195,583 persons able to attend at one time upon religious service. But when we inquire if these sittings are equally distributed, we find that in the Bosmcre, Samford, and Thingoe Unions, the Established Church can accommodate more than 58 per cent, of the population ; while in Bury St. Edmund's the provision is for 32, and in Ipswich it is for only 24 per cent, of the population. To enable the Church of England to pro- vide for all that could attend in every district of Suffolk, additional sittings to the number of 38,107 w^ould be requisite. Comparison of the position of the Established Church with that of the Nonconformists show that in no district of the county does the sittings of other Pro- testant sects exceed the number provided by the Church of England. The largest amount of accommodation provided by the Dissenters is in the Union of Stow ; the least, in the Union of Tuingoe. In Sudbury, Blything, Hoxne, and Mutford Unions, the preponde- rance of the Establishment is great, the sittings being in number more than double those of the Dissenters. In Ipswich alone does the provision by the Dissenters nearly equal that of the Established Church. IS 274 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. in the evening, available was — Further inquiry respecting the Church of England may be made as to how many of their buildings are open for worship at each period of the Sunday. The answer is, that out of the 519 buildings, 455 were open for service in the mornins:, 430 in the afternoon, and 36 The number of sittings thus made Morning, 145,124; afternoon, 132,633; evening, 26,717. The larger proportion of sittings to churches in the evening than in the other periods of the day is explained by these services being held in Bury St. Edmund's, Ipswich, and other towns, the edifices therein being much larger than in the villages. In the Unions of Hoxne, Samford, and Thingoe, there were no evening services. In Risbridge the attendants numbered 80, and in Bosmere only 70, The contrast between the practice of the Church of England and the Dissenters on this point is great. The Establishment make most use of the earlier, the Dissenters most use of the latter, part of the day, as the following figures prove : — PLACES OF -WOHSHIP OPEN. MOENINO. AFTEnNOOM. EVENING. Church of England Other Protestant Scots 4o5 253 430 284 36 250 Next to the Established Church, the Baptists, the Independents, and the Methodists are the most nume- rous sections of the Christian cluu'ch of this county, the vjti'ious sections of the Methodists being considered in their aggregate capacity. The three denominations contri1)ute(l each as follows towards the religious accom- modation of the countv : — • BUILDINGS OPEN FOR AVORSHir. 2/0 UKNOMINATIONS. Baptists Independents Wesleyan Methodists PLACKS OF woneuip. 91 90 163 SITTINGS. 38,819 I 31,466 23,302 It must be borne in mind that many of the places of worship here numbered are parts of buildings, school- rooms, or rooms in houses, used for the purposes of worship where the worshippers are unable to erect a chapel. The Independents or Congregationalists have been numerous in this county for more than a century. Congregationalism is in the Church what Democracy is in the State, and this republican form of Church govern- ment has naturally drawn around itself a class of men individually earnest and most devotedly interested in religious matters. They ])rovide the greatest accommo- dation in the Unions of Wangford, Samford, Bosmere, Risbridge, Cosford, and Stow ; and least in liartismcre, Hoxne, and Thingoe. The Baptists are strongest in Ipswich, Woodbridge, and Hoxne Unions ; weakest in Mutford, AVangford, and Samford. Wesleyan Metho- dists have the most accommodation in Bly thing, Milden- hall, Thingoe, and Mutford ; and least in Hoxne, Bosmere, and Sudbury Unions. If we inquire the use which these three denominations made of the accommodation they possessed, it will be found that of the 90 places of worship belonging to the Independents, only 59 were open for the morning ser- vice, 61 in the afternoon, and GS in the evening. The Baptists, out of 91 places of worship, opened 70 in the morning, 71 in the afternoon, and 57 in the evening. Of the 103 places of worship belonging to the Wesleyan Methodists, 104 were open in the morning, 137 in the afternoon, and 113 in the evening. 276 SUFFOLK IN THE NIXETEENTH CENTURY. No other class of Dissenters are sufficiently numerous to require more observation from us than a mere notice of the number of their places of worship and amount of accommodation. The Isolated Congregations are those which refuse to acknowledge connexion with any par- ticular sect. DENOMINATIONS. PLACES OF WORSHIP. SITTINGS. Society of Friends . 8 2,380 TJnitarians 3 1,270 Brethren 3 400 Isolated Congregations . 10 1,780 The Roman Catholics had four places of worship, having (with an estimate for defective return) 725 sit- tings. Two of these are situated in the Sudbury Union, one in the Ipswich, and one in the Wangford Union. The Latter-Day Saints, or Mormons, had three places of worship, with 233 sittings. They were respectively in the Cosford, Wangford, and Mutford Unions. The activity of those who have embraced ]\Iorinon doctrine is a remarkable peculiarity. Each of their places of wor- ship was open morning, afternoon, and evening — a frequency of service unequalled by any of the other churches, Jividcnce, however, of the ample or the inadequate supply of the means of religious worship will be insufficient to enable us to form a correct judgment as to the prcvalency of the religious sentiment among the people. If we are anxious to discover the extent of the religious influence, wc must inquire, not merely the amount of accommodation, but wliat j)roportion of that accommodation is used. A knowledge of tlio number of attendants upon i)ubHc worsliip is the EXCESS OF ACCOMMODATION. 277 best test that can be applied to ascertain tlic religious disposition of the people. It has been stated that there are 895 places of worship in this county, with 239,403 sittings. Many of these buildings were, however, closed upon each portion of the day ; and, the sittings in them being thus rendered unavailable, it is with the provision in the open build- ings that we must compare the number of attendants. In those open for the morning service there were (including an estimate for defective returns) 221,377 sittings; in those open in the afternoon, 208,427 sittings; in those open in the evening, 91,755 sittings. The total number of attendants (also including estimates for omissions) was — in the morning, 114,467 ; in the afternoon, 135,477 ; in the evening, 44,147. Thus it appears that but little more than half the accommoda- tion actually available was used, and in the evening lem than half of the available sittings were occupied. A closer examination of the question will show, however, that the feeble spiritual life which the disproportion between accommodation and attendants seem to exhibit, is to a certain extent only apparent. As previously mentioned, 58 per cent of the popu- lation is the utmost that can be attending a religious service at one time, yet the accommodation is in all our rural unions for more than this proportion of the people, and in such districts an excess of sittings over worshippers must necessarily exist. If, for ex- ample, we refer to the Cosford Union, which, with a population of 18,107, has sittings for as many as 10,232, or for 5,731 more persons than could possibly at any one time attend, it is quite clear that a great many sittings must at each service be unoccupied. Following the cxanq)le adopted by Horace Mann, we shall, therefore, compare the attendants, in the first place, with the population, and then, secondly, with the sittings. 278 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. On comparing the number of actual attendants with the number of persons able to attend, we find that out of 195,583 (58 per cent, of our total population) who might have been present at religious services during one period of the day, there were actually worshipping but 114,467 in the morning, 135,477 in the afternoon, and 44,147 in the evening. So that in the morning there were absent 81,116; in the afternoon, 60,106; and in the evening, 151,436. There are no means of determining how many attended twice and how many three times on the Sunday, but if we suppose that half of those attending service in the afternoon had not been present in the morning, and that a third of those attending service in the evening had not been present at either of the previous services, we shall obtain a total of 196,917 persons who attended service either once or oftener on the Census Sunday. But as the number that would be able to attend at some time in the day is more than 58 per cent, (which is the esti- mated number able to be present at one and the same time) and would probably amount to 70 per cent., it is with this latter number (236,050) that this 196,917 must be compared, and the result of such comparison shows that upon the Census Sunday 39,133 persons, without excuse of inabiUty, neglected altogether to attend religious worship. On examining the returns of the largest number of attendants at one time, in each of the Poor Law Unions of this county, we found that the loioest propor- tion of attendants to population occurred in a rural union, and to our surprise the Mutford district, the highest proportion of attendants being in the Risbridge Union. Ipswich and ]3ury St. Eduumd's each con- tributed 29 per cent, of their population ; Risbridge 58, and Mutford only 27 per cent. The following is the per centage of attendants in each of our Poor Law Unions, at tlie most nnmerouslv attended service on the ATTENDANCE UPON WORSHIP. 279 Census Sunday: — Risbridge 58, Stow 53, Cosford 48, Samford 46, Plomesg-ate 40, Thingoe 43, Bosmere 43, Wangfoi'd 43, Woodbridge 42, Bly thing 41, Ilartismere 39, Hoxnc 38, Sudbury 37, Mildenliall 36, Bnry St. Edmund's 29, Ipswich 29, Mutford 27. The difterence between attendants and popuhition in some of the rural unions is thus shown to be very great. We have no means of ascertaining the exact number of sittings available at each of the services in every district. For the entire county the number is given, but not for each of the Poor Law Unions. From what we have previously stated, however, respecting the excess of sittings, there is no reason to believe that this neg- ligence of attendance upon religious worship can in any case be ascribed to a deficiency of accommodation either at the morning or afternoon services. At Ipswich and at Bury St. Edmund's, there is not at one time accom- modation for 58 per cent, of the population ; we are privately informed, however, that at each of the services in those towns, the available accommodation was much greater than the amount used, and it cannot therefore be said that the people were absent because the places of vv^orship^ were closed. Few can read the previous details respecting the small number of attendants upon public worship without a feeling of sadness at the unfortunate but melancholy fact impressed upon our notice, viz., that a large })ortion of the people of this county are habitual neglecters of religious ordinances. In the Bury St. Edmund's, Ipswich, and Mutford Unions more than two-thirds of the population were absent from public worship ; and in Ilartismere, Iloxne, Mildenhall, and Sudbury districts, nearly two-thirds of the people were non-attendants. That the main portion of these non-attendants belong to the artizan and laboring classes, the testimony of all observers will prove. On the middle class, as a body, the various forms of Protestant worship have a strong 280 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. hold. Removed alike from the passionate temptations of the homeless artizan, and from the mental activity of the man of letters, the rural gentry and urban trades- people are, partly from earnest conviction, and partly from the vv'holesome conservatism of moral habit, the best attenders upon public worship. Testimony also informs us that attendance upon public worship has during the last quarter of a century been on the increase among the middle and upper classes of this county, and the statement receives confirmation from the fact of 167 buildings having been erected, or devoted to religious purposes, between 1831 and 1851. It will be worth while to inquire to what cause, or causes, this neglect of religious observances can fairly be attributed. By many it is thought that one of the principal causes of the dislike of the laboring class to religious services is the maintenance of class distinctions in our religious structures. The injustice and inconsistency of " well-to-do Christianity," with its pew rents, and cushioned enclosures, has doubtless done much to deter many of the working classes from attending public worship, and to impress them with the idea that religion is purely a middle class propriety or luxury. But still we think that much of the absenteeism is traceable to a want of disposition among the laboring class to mingle on the Sunday with those from wliom^ during the week days, they are separated by a broad line of demarcation. How far this dis})osition has been caused by the conduct of professed Christians towards the social condition of the poor — to a want of sympathy, or a manifestation of indillerencc to the evils of poverty, disease, and ignorance, under which they groan — we must leave. In towns, one great cause of the ill success of Christianity may be traced to the misconception of the motives of ministers prevalent among the working NEGLECT OF RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES. 281 class. Ministerial exhortations are looked upon as matters of professional routine, and a wide and yawning cleft is thereby created betwixt the artisan class and their appointed teachers. The self-educated are often men of keen understanding and intellectual ability. They are frequently prejudiced against the Church of England, which, to vast numbers of them, presents the aspect of a moral police, paid by their antagonists to keep the laboring classes in a state of subserviency and quietude. Men of this class rarely attend a place of worship, and still more rarely the parish church. To reach those who are thus hostile or indifferent to the teachings of Christian ministers we need lay agents. To reach the working class, as a body, we need a modification of the organs through Avhich Christian theology is to be presented. We need men less removed in station and pursuits from those whom it is sought to influence. We need teachers whose cast of mind will ensure their catching that view of Christian history which is most likely to rivet the attention of the working classes. We want teachers of religion to whom Christian faith is likely to present itself mainly in its broader and simpler aspects, to whose minds it will develope its large practical bearings on social duty and the practical aspects of life. It must be confessed, that upon some of the ministers and patrons of livings in the Church of England, much of this blame rests. Cases of non-residence, and pluralities, were at one time numerous in this county. Sporting, dancing, card-playing, and even tippling clergymen, were not uncommon ; and flagrant instances of moral delinquency have occurred. One, instead of two, services on the Lords' day, was the rule in two- thirds of the parishes in Suff'olk. There were parishes in which service was performed once a fortnight only ; and at Elowton, three weeks, and sometimes even five weeks, have elapsed between the services. The clergy- 282 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. man to whom was entrusted, by God and the chm^ch, the care of immortal souls, was a non-resident. Pie went through the services in about thirty minutes, and again left his little flock, including the sick and dying poor, for three weeks, or, perhaps, for a longer period. At burials again, the custom was widely spread of making a marked difference between the wealthier and the poorer classes. Over the remains of the latter but half the funeral service w'as performed, the corpse being- taken at once to the grave, while the mourners of the wealthier classes w^ere alone admitted wdthin the church to listen to the beautiful and impressive burial service. Who can wonder at indifference growing up under such influences, or that such disregard of ordinary duties should excite the indio;nation of those who could reflect on the conduct of their pastors. Happily, a glorious change has, in several respects, taken place during the last twenty years, and many of the grossest abuses have been entirely removed. There is a lively interest now taken in Church principles and Church practices, and a diffusion of knowledge upon these subjects among the middle and upper classes, which are equally remarkable and gratifying. The evils of the pew system have been, in many cases, seriously dealt with, and the distinction of parties within the Avails of those churches is, to a great extent, obliterated. Many clergymen have tried for " Equality in the House of God," but the task is not easy of attainment. The parishioners are often great opponents of these improve- ments, and the cry of " Vested interests," has out- weighed that of insulted reliG;iou. ]\Iusic is takinn; its proper place in public worship. Sunday schools are now general in the county, and rectors have, in numerous cases, devoted much of their time, and more than a fair proportion of their means, to the establish- ment of day schools. For the local improvement of the laboring class the pastors of some parishes have striven INJURIOUS INFLUENCEfl. 283 by lectures, summer excursions, and innocent amuse- ments, to elevate the character of their respective flocks, and among these clergymen the Rev. Professor ITenslow, and the Rev. Tighe Gregory, deserve particular mention. In other parishes the efforts of the ministers are directed in a line more strictly clerical. They seek, by means of cottage lectures, Bible classes, plain tracts, and house to house visitation, to improve the moral and religious dispositions of the people under their spiritual charge. Allotments have also been tried, through the influence of the pastors, in a large number of parishes, coal clubs established in a smaller number, and village libraries in a few. Even in recent times circumstances have arisen in- jurious in their influence to the welfare of the Church and religion, and calculated to foster, among the people, feelings of indifference towards religious observances. The followino; are cases which we deem of this character. A few months since it was announced in a parish in East Suffolk, that the service on the following Sunday — there being service only once a day — would commence at nine o'clock in the morning, the vicar intending to return to his own parish ready for the usual morning service at eleven o'clock. As might be expected, the people took umbrage, only four persons attended at the service, and the experiment was not further tried. In a neighbouring parish the clergyman, a stout portly man, has been frequently seen marching to the church in his surplice, and smoldng a long pijje, and returning to the rectory after service in the same manner. Can such unseemly conduct as this win the reverence of laboring men ? In a third parish the slender income and great age of the minister caused the parishioners to be bored by a lot of youthful curates, who, from their staying but short periods, apparently paid a consideration fee to the incumbent to be allowed to occupy his pulpit for their improvement. In a fourth case, the wealthy rector, 284 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. desirous of attending a horse race on the Monday, actually sent his groom with a pair of carriage horses a distance of 60 miles on the Sunday/, in order that they might be ready for his use on the race-ground the following day. Can laboring men be expected to attend, or if they do attend, can we expect them to pay proper attention to the teachings of such a rector ? We believe that a clergyman's connection with the civil power, as magistrate or guardian of the poor, is detrimental to his spiritual influence. We know that the difficulty of finding duly-qualified laymen to serve as magistrates is considerable, and may be pleaded as an excuse for the appointment of clergymen to that office ; but we feel that the pastor of a parish serves a higher Master than the highest of those who make human laws, and we would not have them mixed up with the painful details of business which magistrates who do their dutv to the public must constantly encounter. Besides, the ' clergyman is frequently needed to admonish or console the relatives of ofienders ; but these poor unlearned creatures cannot be expected to attend to the instruction of the man who has just sentenced their companion. Such a clergyman is frequently looked upon with fear instead of love, and the higher interests of the Gospel as well as the influence of the Church suffer. \^y some it has been contended, that to interest himself in the proper administration of Poor Law relief in his own neighbourhood, is an occupation for which a country clergyman is peculiarly fitted. We believe, however, that it is not desirable to place the pastor of a parish at the head of the parochial establishment for the sujjport of the poor. We would have the clergyman be as little as possible the administrator of civil government, and have as little as possible to do with secular affairs. " The harshness of legal authority is better placed elsewhere." The amusements of a portion of our clergymen have ABUSE OF PATRONAGE. 285 tended, we believe, to lower that respect for the minis- terial character which it is desirable to maintain. In 1854, no less than 48 Suffolk clergymen (20 in the Eastern and 28 in the Western Division) took out licenses to kill game. Such devotion to the sports of the field — such exchanges of the study for the stubble — the bedside of the dying parishioner for a covey of par- tridges — the surplice for the dress of a keen sportsman — God's Avord for a fowling-piece — a parcel of tracts for a bag of game — such contrasts as these cannot, we believe, occur without detriment to the ministerial cha- racter. We don't say that there is moral evil in the enjoyment of a day's sport in the field, but we do think that such sports are inconsistent with that earnestness and spirituality which should distinguish the pastor of the flock, and we trust that clergymen whose love of sport induces them to take out a license will feel the necessity of relinquishing a pursuit which, though of itself comparatively innocent, is inconsistent with their legitimate functions, and provokes among the parish- ioners free comments to the pastor's disadvantage. But the manner in which certain ecclesiastical patro- nage has been used has tended as much as anything to disgust many persons, who have in consequence been driven to quit the Church and too frequently to remain indifferent to all religious observances. The " Rougham case," which excited intense interest in 1853, was an instance of this character. The Rev. Robert Davers, who died in 1853, had held the living of Rougham since 1802, and also the Rectory of St. George, Brad- field, where he resided. The inhabitants of Rougham had in consequence, for about half a century, been without a resident incumbent. The living is worth about £800 per annum. But the spiritual care of 1,000 souls was left to a curate. The death of Mr. Davers gave the opportunity of removing this blot upon the Establishment. But, alas ! instead of placing at 286 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. Eongham a young, earnest, and high -principled minister, the living was presented to the Rev. George Naylor, 86 years of age, and perfectly incompetent by liis infirmities for discharging the pastoral duties ; for even the Thirty-nine Articles had to be printed in Ipswich in large type to enable this aged minister to read them at his institution. We might cite other instances of a similar abuse of patronage, but the above is sufficient to exhibit the injury which is thereby inflicted upon Church principles and religious obser- vances. These are the most obvious hindrances to religious influences that have impressed themselves upon our notice in making the inquiry we undertook, and we trust that the visible blemishes may be removed by the earnestness of the real friends of the Church, and the Establishment become as it was intended — the instru- ment of spreading the blessings of the Gospel among all classes of the people. CHAPTER IX. LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS. We have seen that Agricultural Suffolk is celebrated for Schools of inferior quality, and, as may be expected, institutions for carrying on the means of instruction among adults arc neither numerous nor flourishing in this county. Newspapers and cheap publications have but a small circulation in Suffolk. The educative influ- ence arising from the contact of mind Avith mind is denied to a scattered population, and the agricultural mind in this district lags in the rear of a large portion of England. It is quite evident that this is in a great measure owing to the defective instruction of the chil- dren, as about 50 per cent, of our adult population are unable to write, and numbers of men in this county cannot read with sufficient fluency to be able to derive pleasure or advantage from books. This idea is con- firmed by the statement of Sir John Herschel, that " many a rough hind on Highland hills is as familiar with the ' Paradise Lost,' or the works of his great national historians, as with his own sheep-hook," it being well known that in Scotland the people generally receive a much larger share of instruction at the educational age. The following returns will show the aggregate con- dition of the Mechanics' and Literary Institutes of Suffolk in 1851 :— Number of Institutes ... 20 Nunil)or of Members .... 2,808 Number of Male Members in 20 Institutes . 2,G89 Female ,, . .119 Total Income of 13 Institutes . . £1,486 Number of Volumes in 20 Institutes . . 33,296 288 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY COXDITION OF SUFFOLK LITERARY INSTITUTES IN 1851. DATE OF NO. OP MEMBERS. ESTAB- BATE OF NO. OF LIBRARIES. LI>H- FK- ANNUAL ANNUAL VOLS IN MKNT. MALES. MALKS. lOTAL. SUBSCRIPTION. INCOME. LIBRARY Eeccles Public Library . 1835 117 10 127 21s. & lOs. £ 112 3000 Bures Reading Room . 18 18 , , , , 154 Bury Mechanics' Institute 1824 247 4 251 21s., lOs.Cd., 5s.Gd. 98 4500 Bur> & AV. Suffolk Library 1846 100 40 140 21s. 148 3500 Clare Literary Institute 97 7 104 21s., 10s. Gd., OS. 350 Framlingham BL I. S. . 38 38 8s. 320 Haverhill Literary Institute 1845 50 20 1100 Halesworth M. P. S. 100 100 lOs. 57 360 Ipswich Literary Institute isis 102 102 31s.6d. & 21s. 126 3000 ,, Public Library . 1796 158 21s. 166 4500 „ Mechanics' Institute 1824 541 io 551 lOs. 407 5024 „ Orwell Works . 1836 320 320 4s 4d. 60 2000 Leiston Mechanics' Institute 1850 124 124 10s. 64 7-20 Lowestoft ,, „ 1843 120 30 150 6s. 900 Melford Literary ,, 55 55 1 Os. and 6s. 261 Ncedham Mechanics' ,, 50 "5 55 12s. and 6s. 40 500 Stowniarket ,, ,, 85 85 , J 303 Sudbury ,, ,, 1834 124 13 137 21s., 16s., 5s. 1100 Woodbridge „ „ 1835 150 10s. and 6s. 1400 Yoxford 1851 93 lOs. 92 304 The first thing that arrests the attention of the observer in these tables is the presence of a library and reading-room in some places of small population, and their absence in towns and villages containing; a much larger number of persons. Hadlcigh with 3,338, Bmigay with 3,841, Eye with 2,587, South wold with 2,10U, and Debenham with 1,G53 persons, were each of them without a library to which the public could have access by right or payment ; whilst Needhnm Market with 1,307, Clare with 1,709, Leistou with 1,580, and Yoxford with 1,272 persons, had each their institute and reading-room. Some of these places have since 1851 made efforts to collect books for a library, or to cstabHsh a rcadiiiij-room. In Debenham an attempt has been made to estabhsh a mechanics' institute, and at liimgay, whi(;li, to its disgrace, has no library for the people, a reading-room was opened SCARCITY OF LITERARY INSTITUTES. 289 in October, 1852, at which "The Times," " Ilhistratcd London News," and sonic other newspapers, as well as " l^mch " and other periodicals, are taken. That a town like Bungay, with nearly 4,000 inhabitants, assessed to the Property Tax to the amount of £13,500, should be so regardless of the value of mental influences for social amelioration as not to raise a Library that would be accessible to the pnblic generally, although for years the inhabitants have spent £1,500 per annum in relief of the poor, and an additional £300 in sup- porting felons in gaol, seems almost incredible. But the following note from the late highly respected John Childs, who furnished us the information, is a conclu- sive proof, if such is needed, of the correctness of what we have stated, and will apply in many respects to several other towns. ''Bungay, May 2Gth, 1853. " Dear Sir, " This is such a dark region that I am sorry the inclosed is all I can procure for you, that is within the range of your inquiry. " I am, Dear Sir, " Yours trulj'-, "JOHN CHILDS. " Mr. John Glyde, Jtjif." There are 59 places in Suffolk containing a population of above 1,000 in number, yet only 20 Mechanics' and Literary Institutes were in existence at the census era. These 20 are in 10 towns and villages, leaving 43 places sufficiently populous to support a Library and Reading Room entirely without them. That the dark region spoken of by Mr. Childs extends a long way over Sufiblk is thus evident, and comparison of Suftblk with Yorkshire renders it painfully apparent. By the Census Educational Report, we find in the West Riding of York, one Literary Institute to every 867 persons ; in Suffolk there is one to every 22,481 persons. 19 290 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. The total number of members of the Mechanics' and Literary Institutes of Suffolk, did not, in 1851, amount to three thousand. There were 87,250 males of the age of 20 and upwards, enumerated at the census, but little more than one-fortieth of these were connected with societies for mental improvement. The Mechanics' Institute of Manchester had nearly as many members as all the Institutes of Suffolk combined. In Leeds, with about half the population, there were more sub- scribers to Literary Societies than in the whole county of Suffolk. In the West Riding of York, there was one member of a Mechanics' Institute to everv 66 of the population ; in Suffolk, however, the proportion was one member to every 180 of the population. It is among Females that the most striking deficiency in the members of our Institutes is apparent. That only 119 females out of 113,121 that were returned as 20 years of age and upwards, should be found among the subscribers to the Literary Institutions of the entire county, seems barely credible, yet such is the fact, as exhibited by the census returns, which though not strictly accurate, are sufficiently so to justify our accep- tance of them as data in this particular. The Liverpool Library, with its 801 members, included as many females as all the Institutes of Suffolk ; and one Institute at Leeds had nearly three times the number of females among its subscribers. Liverpool ]\Iechanics' Institute had 101 female members; Plymouth had 230; Oldham with 408 mend)ers had 65 females ; whilst Ipswich, with 551 members, had only 10 females. In the West Riding of York there were nearly nine males to one female member of Literary Societies ; but in Suffolk there were more than 18 nudes to one female among the subscribers to Literary Institutes. Of what class of persons do the members consist ? Mechanics' Institutes were intended to embrace the o])erative class, but at the present time a very small LIBRARIES, BY WHOM SUPPORTED. 291 proportion of this class arc members. The sphere of these institutions is now greatly enlarged. For many years they have embraced a considerable portion of the middle class of society, and they are now almost entirely supported by them, and the higher order of skilled artisans. The inferior artisans and laborers consti- tuting the bulk of our population, do not belong to Mechanics' Institutes in this district. In a county where more than 50 per cent, of its adult population are unable to write, there is, doubtless, a large proportion of the working class who cannot read well enough to enjoy its influence, and this is a great hindrance to the demand for books. But we have known many very intelligent men among the working class abstain from becoming members of Mechanics' Institutions because political works were excluded from the library. Gene- rally speaking, they prefer the excitement of politics to the pleasures of literature and science. In 1S50 we made an analysis of the persons who had paid subscrip- tions to the Ipswich Mechanics' Institute in the preceding 18 months, and we found them thus described in the receipt book — 25 drapers, 14 farmers, 14 gentlemen, 11 clerks, 9 grocers, 9 carpenters and builders, 7 engi- neers, 5 clergymen, 5 chemists, 5 shoemakers, 5 silver- smiths, 4 pawnbrokers, 4 bakers, 3 ladies, 3 surgeons, 8 schoolmasters, 3 fitters, 2 carvers, 2 painters, 2 tailors, 2 artists, 2 ironmongers, 2 printers, 2 travellers, 2 book- sellers, 2 soldiers, 2 accountants, a miller, music master, merchant, broker, innkeeper, glover, currier, town mis- sionary, jeweller, brush maker, gardener, tea dealer, brazier, turner, plasterer, butcher, cigar maker, iron- founder, book-binder, station-master, harness-maker, besides 42 persons of no occupation, and a number of juveniles. Among the members of another Mechanics' Institute, having 137 members in three classes, paying respectively 21s., 10s., and 5s. per annum, we found — a general, an 292 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. army captain, 3 Church clergymen, 2 Dissenting ministers, a banker, bankers' agents, soUcitors, drapers, shoemakers, schoolmistresses, (3) ; schoolmasters, (2) ; pupil teachers, (females) ; a relieving officer, a bookseller, a tea dealer, a grocer, printers, weavers, chemists, a brewer, a carpenter, a miller, a baker, a journeyman brazier, a builder, an ironmonger, a cabinet maker, and a miscellaneous number, 16 of whom were under IS years of age, many being persons of good means, and but very few occupying the position of jom'neymen, these few being invariably mechanics of a superior order, receiving higher wages than the generality of their brethren. The library must ever be regarded as the stronghold of interest, and permanent mental storehouse, in all literary institutions. The total number of volumes in the various Literary and Mechanics' Institutes, and INIental Improvement Societies, of this county, amounts to 33,296. According to the census returns, there was in Suffolk one volume to every seventeen persons, and in the West Riding of York, one volume to every eleven persons. The 33,296 volumes just mentioned are not all of them accessible to the operative class of the community. Por the use of 11,000 of these volumes an annual payment of one guinea is rc([uircd, and this necessarily places the books within the reach of the middle and upper classes only. The libraries for opera- tives, and small tradesmen, contain 22,296 volumes ; they are Mechanics' Institutes and Mental Improvement Societies, and the number of volumes range from 5,000 in the Ipswich Institution, to 303 in the Stowmarket Institute, The books in these libraries arc frequently very imperfectly selected. A large pr()[)ortion of the volumes have been presented to the libraries, not so much because they are well adapted to the artisans, as because (hey are not wanted by the owners. Too often tliey are cast away from the rich man's library. Jn MEAGRE LIBllAllIES IN SUFFOLK. 293 many cases, not more than two-thirds of the books are really useful, the remainder being scarcely ever taken down from the shelves. An extensive, and well selected library, accessible to the public by subscription, does not exist in Suffolk. Wolverhampton has one library with 10,000 volumes ; Lincoln one with 11,000 ; Not- tingham one with 12,000; Sheffield one with 20,000; and Newcastle-upon-Tyne one with 23,000; but in Suffolk, the most extensive library in 1851 was, we believe, that of the Ipswich Mechanics' Institute, numbering nearly 5,000 volumes. This, and the West Suffolk Library, and the so-called Public Libraries of Ipswich, and Beccles, the former established in 1790, and the latter in 1835, are the most valuable collections of books in the county. The three latter arc vested in shareholders whose interest is dependent upon their annual subscriptions of twenty shillings. The difficulties which literary men, wanting a library for consultation, have to encounter in this county can only be fairly conceived by those who have been similarly placed. There are numbers of volumes necessary for reference, and which ought to be accessible in all towns of moderate size, which cannot be consulted at any sub- scription library in Suffolk. A set of the valuable Reports of the Registrar General are obtainable onhj at the West Suffolk Library in this county, and there, through the kindness of Sir John Walsham. Several of the institutions do not possess even a single volume of the set, and to examine the Census Commissioners' Taljles on the Occupations of the People, a journey to the office of the Clerk of the Peace, at Bury St. Edmund's, must be undertaken. "Blue books " are proverbial for their dryness, but they are, in many cases, " our best sources of information on a great variety of social, economical, political, and commercial questions." A large number of them have been pre- sented to the Literary Institution, Ipswich, for the 294 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. use of the public, but the valuable statistical aud literary matters embodied therein have been rendered in a great degree useless and inaccessible from the want of intel- ligible indexes to the information they contain, and from their being stowed away in an upper room like so much grocers' waste paper. The Beccles Public Library was established in 1835. The property is vested in shareholders, w'hose interest is dependent upon their continuing an annual subscrip- tion of one pound. Other persons, for a like yearly payment, become entitled to the privileges of the insti- tution, and journeymen, apprentices, and mechanics, at lialf subscription. In 1851, there w^ere 90 members, 79 being subscribers of tioenttj shillings per annum, (51 being shareholders,) and 11 at ten shillings per annum. The Corporation of Beccles, regarding such an institution as of general benefit to the inhabitants, allow the free use of a convenient room for the library, which is open for reading from twelve to two, at mid-day, and from seven to nine o'clock in the evening. Occasionally the funds have been augmented by courses of gratuitous lectures. In one year a sum of about £50 was cleared by these means, and expended in the purchase of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and other standard works. In 18-39 an exhibition was opened, which realized a ])rofit to the library, and conversaziones have been held for the same object. Nearly 500 volumes of books have been presented to the library by shareholders and others, and it now contains about 3,000 volumes. In such a modern proprietary library, which takes its stand as one of the best in the county, and is the only one within many miles, and whose growth has been fostered, not by working men, but by gentlemen of enlarged culture, we exi)ected to lind at least a collected edition of standard Ihitish authors. On examination, however, we find it deficient in the works of EHzabcth Barrett Browning, Bunyan, libenezer illHott, Fielding, Ciodwin, DEFICIENCIES IN SUFFOLK LIBKAUIES. 295 Grote, Kobcrt Hal], Ilootl, Jeffrey, Keats, Knovvlcs, James Mill, John Stuart Mill, Rogers, Shelley, Steele, Sterne, and Jeremy Taylor. Of the works of all these authors the library had not, in 1850 — 1, (according to the catalogue })laced in our hands,) a single volume. Of the works of Chalmers it had onlij his Bridgewatcr Treatise ; of Coleridge, his Table Talk ; of De Foe, his " Journal of the Plague Year " ; of Mrs. Heraans, one volume ; of Isaac Taylor, three vokmies ; and of Thackeray only three, and they his minor productions, (Doctor Birch, Irish Sketch Book, and Journey to Cairo.) An examination of the catalogues of the Ijest library at Ipswich, and another at Bury St. Edmund's, con- vinced us that these deficiencies were not peculiar to the Beccles Library. The Bury and West Suffolk Library was formed in 1846, and in 1851 it contained, in many respects, a most valuable selection of books, consisting of about 3,500 volumes. Planted in a district dis- tinguished by the number of the nobility, clergy, and gentry, especially formed to provide for the wants of this very class, deriving its support entirely from share- holders of one guinea, and subscribers of two guineas per annum, and having a nucleus of 1,G00 volumes from the Old Bury and Suffolk Library to commence with, we certainly did not expect to find many urgent wants in the works of English authors. The library is rich in the department of British History, possessing, as it docs, Lingard's, Smollett's, Henry's, JMacaulay's, and the Pictorial Histories. In other departments we noticed volumes for which the library must have been indebted to the sound scholarship, and catholicity of judgment, of some of its managers. Many valuable additions have also been made by benefactors to the library, among whom the Marcjuis of Bristol, Sir Henry Bunbury, Bart., and Henry Crabbe Robinson, Esq., deserve particular mention. But, although possessing so valuable a nucleus, the deficiencies are, nevertheless, 293 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. considerable. In tlic Biographical section we missed the Lives of Dr. Thomas Brown, Bnnyan, Caxton, Channing, Chaucer, Captain Cook, Curran, George Fox, Edmund Gibbon, Sir Thomas More, Sir Walter Raleigh, Spencer, and George AYhittield. Also Bentham's Life and Cor- respondence ; Spelman's Alfred the Great, Stoughton's Spiritual Heroes, and Spark's American Biography. The Ipswich Library, called the Public Library, is like the one just named, a Proprietary Library, with subscribers at twenty shillings per annum. It was formed in 179G, and is supported by the most influential inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood. We examined the catalogue, dated ISol, and found in the department of Prose Fiction about 500 volumes, including the entire writings of Scott, the gems of Bulwer and of Fennimore Cooper, and the coarse ])ictures of life so graphically drawn by Fielding and Richardson; but the brilliant pages of " Coningsby," that Mirabeau of romance, " Jane Eyre," the outspoken- r.ess of " Alton Locke," or that prose poem, " Mary Barton," were not in this library. This neglect in y)rocuring four of the finest works of fiction published (luring the last quarter of a century, is remarkable. 'J'urning to the section, Poetry and the Drama, wc found the deficiencies still more serious. The volumes in this section were sufficiently mmierous (370) to embrace the works of the best authors, but the place that such works should have had was occupied by volumes of very inferior merit. We found that the library possessed the poems of Francis Abbot Bird, Samuel Jiishop, Byrom, Burgoyne, Ann Candler, Mrs. Carter, Satan Montgomery, Rev. William ]h-()onio. Lady I'lora Hastings, and the dramas of Whitehead ; and, having the works of such com})aratively unknown jiuthors, it is diilicidt to account for the absence of the ))oetical works of Chaucer, Collins, Elizabeth Ih'owning, Chattcrton, Eli/.a Cook, Ebcnezcr l^^lliott, Ikaumont and CLASSIFICATION OF BOOKS. 297 I'ictclier, Goethe, ITogg, Marlowe, Aiulrew Marvel), Jkrry Cornwall, Keats, P. J. Bailey, James Montgomery, and Ford, and Massinger. The three Proprietary Libraries which we have named (Beccles, West Snffolk, and Ipswich Public,) contained in 1851 about 11,000 volumes. Adoi)ting a general system of classification, we found the class History to consist of 1,319 volumes; Biography, 1,264 volumes ; Theology, 285 volumes; Novels and Romances, 1,013 volumes ; Poetry and the Drama, 7G9 volumes ; Voyages and Travels, 1,325 volumes. From these details it will be perceived that the best furnished class in these libraries is that of Voyages and Travels, by far the largest portion of which arc books of travel. In the Ipswich Public Library there are 477 works of travel, whilst of voyages alone there are only 46 works. In the Mechanics' Institution, in the same town, there are 205 volumes of travel to 69 volumes of voyages. Pinkerton's valuable collection of Voyages and Travels are in the Ipswich Public and West Suffolk liibraries, but Bruce's Travels in Abyssinia. Martineau's Eastern Life, and Buckhardt's Arabia, are in the West Suffolk Library only. We failed to discern in any of the catalogues the reprint of Plakluyt's celebrated Col- lection of the " Early Voyages, and Travels, and Dis- coveries of the English Nation." The section History comprised 1,319 volumes, and included the works of most of our best historians. The Ipswich Library contained the largest proportion. Oldlicld's Representative History, Palgrave's Rise and Progress of the Commonwealth, and six different works on the Reign of George the Third, Avere on its shelves ; but it was barren of the histories of many individual reigns, and deficient in special histories. Thus Bogue and Bennett's History of the Dissenters, Bede and Jeremy Collier's Ecclesiastical Histories, F'uller's Church History, Neal's Llistory of the Puritans, and Sewcll's 298 SUFFOLK IN THE NIXETEENTU CENTURY. History of the Quakers, were not in the hbrary. The " Queens of England " ought to be in every Hbrary, and Miss Strickland's long residence in Suffolk has invested her works with especial claims upon the literary institutes of the county ; nevertheless, several of the libraries did not possess this valuable work. ]\Iacaulay's invaluable History we observed at Lowe- stoft, Ipswich, and Leiston Mechanics' Institutes. Of volumes of the entire class, Beccles Library had 333 ; Ipswich Public Library, 525 ; Ipswich Mechanics, 462 ; Ipswich Literary Institute, 265 ; Sudbury Mechanics, 181 ; Yoxford Mechanics, 25 ; Lowestoft ]\lechanics, 118; Leiston Mechanics, 114, Ipswich Orwell Works Library, 133. The works in Biographjj are almost as numerous as those on History, and in some libraries even more so. Still there are great deficiencies. In the Proprietary Libraries the Bury subscribers must travel to Ipswich or Beccles to consult Bell's Lives of the Poets, and the Beccles and Ipswich subscribers must take a trip to Bury to peruse Baxter's Life and Times, or the Lives of Dr. Adam Clarke or Pope. The admirable biography of poor Blanco Whytc we observed at the West Suffolk and Yoxford Mechanics' Libraries only. The number of volumes are — Ipswich Public, 727 ; Ipswich Mecha- nics', 353 ; Ipswich Literary, 219 ; Ipswich Orwell Works, 174; West Suffolk, 293; Beccles, 244; Yox- ford, 67 ; Leiston, 89 ; Sudbury Mechanics', 170 ; Lowestoft, 69. It is gratifying to see the value of Biography so thoroughly appreciated in some of our small institutions. Biography furnishes instruction by setting before us a person's whole character. During life there arc but few of us that are not clothed by a})pearaiiccs. After death the veil is removed, and the ])icture of character can be contemplated with all the advantages of light and shade, coloriug and distance. How important, then, it is that NOVELS EXCLUDED IN SOME LIBKAlllES. 299 the circumstances which raised men to greatness, or the rocks on which they spht and sunk to infamy — the influences which prompted Tell to liberty, and deter- mined Columbus over trackless oceans in search of new lands — or Linnccus, or Bentham, or Watt, or Howard, to advance knowledge, science, and society — should be within the reach of every reader. Benefactors to working men's libraries could not perform a greater service than by presenting them with popular Biogra- phies of people worth knowing, persons whose lives arc a legacy to all posterity and a light through all time. The section TJieology contains but a limited number of volumes in almost all of the libraries. In the West Suffolk Library, we observed Hugh M'Neile's Lectures on the Passion Work, and Gumming on the Parables ; but not a volume of Archbishop Whately's, nor of Professor Maurice's. The number of volumes were — Beccles, 39; West Suffolk, 51; Ipswich Public, 195; Ipswich Mechanics', 207 ; Ipswich Literary, 110 ; Ips- wich Orwell Works, 201 ; Lowestoft, 28; Yoxford, 15; Leiston, 35; Sudbury Mechanics', 15. In Frose Fiction the volumes in many libraries are not numerous. The three Proprietary Libraries previ- ously named contain 1,013 volumes, the West Suffolk having the largest number of works, the Ipswich Public the largest number of volumes. Very few of the libra- ries in Suffolk contained a complete collection of Scott's Novels. The West Suffolk was the only hbrary in which we observed Mrs. Barbauld's edition of the British Novelists. Mr. Kingsley's vivid expositions of the var- nished hypocrisy and ghastly sores in high life and in low are sparingly distributed in the Suffolk Libraries ; and Hawthorne, the greatest of American novelists, had not found a place on their shelves. At the Sudbury and also at the Lowestoft Mechanics' Institute, there is a clause in the rules prohibiting " Novels " from being proposed for purchase ; but they 300 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. have a few volumes, nevertheless, of this class. We can- not but thmk this rule both impolitic and unwise. The love of Fiction has been found among all nations, from the days of Homer to our own. Fable and Story Books are ever the favorite teachers of children. '' The cliild is father to the man," and, although the experiences which crowd upon the child in its progress to manhood may render faint the simple tales which were the delight of its youth, there is no essential change of nature, and the craving for Friction in some form or other remains. At the Ipswich Mechanics' Institute, Scott's Novels circulate more than any other volumes in the library. At the Manchester Free Library, and also at the Liverpool Free Library, the demand for works of Fiction is five times as nuich as for any other class of books. The prevailing desire for works of this class is also well illustrated by the catalogue of the Orwell Works Library, Ipswich. It contains 34 works relating to Arts and Sciences, Trade and ]\Ianufactures, and 313 under the head "Fiction." During the year 1851, there were added to this library 2 volumes on Geology, 2 on Biography, 1 on Chemistry, 4 on Engineering and Mechanics, and 54 volumes of Fiction. To provide w^orks of Fiction of a healthy character we consider the duty of all institutions that j)rofess to cater for the working classes. The love of reading in any form must tend to counteract the ])ropensity to low and degrading ])ursuits. Ilalf- awakcncd intellects are easily roused by Talcs Avhich clot lied imaginary beings with the hopes and the struggles of cvery-day life, and, in order to insj)irc a thirst for knowledge, the first step is to cultivate a taste for reading in some direction. Periodical JAteralure was sup])liod most liberally at the West SMJlblk Library. The following IVriodicals were rcgulai'ly taken at that Institution : — The Edin- INCOME OF INSTITUTES. 30 1 burgli, Quarterly, Westminster, British Quarterly, and North British Reviews ; the Christian Remembrancer, Archaeological Journal, and Journal of the Geological Society ; Blackwood's, Tuit's, Bentley's, Eraser's, Gen- tleman's, United Service, and New Monthly Magazines ; as w^eir as the Athenccum, Punch, Household Words, and Gardeners' Chronicle. At the large institutions of the county, the Edinburgh and the Quarterly were generally taken ; but the other " Quarterlies " are seldom seen. Since we obtained our returns, an amusing instance of the want of knowledge possessed by the Connnittec of one of these institutes was made known to us. A new Review was to be added to the Library, and the Westminster and British Quarterly were re- spectively entered on the " Proposition Book." The Committee met, and, after due deliberation, agreed to order the Westmhister, on the ground of its being less heretical in Theologij than the British Quarterly. It was the first time we had heard of Francis Newman, Foxton, and Froude being more religiously orthodox than Drs. Vaughan, Davidson, and Beard. Chambers's Edinburgh Journal was taken at almost every mstitute in the county, and was evidently a great favorite. Household Words and Blustrated London News were also pretty generally taken. The small income of many of the Suffolk Listitutes is worthy of particular notice. The table shows that 3 institutes have only an average income of c€76 per annum, and, after paying necessary expenses, but few new books can be added by the committees of these libraries unless larger means are placed at their disposal. At more than half of the institutes of Suffolk, in order to meet the working-man's sniall income, provision is made to admit that class at about Is. Gd. per quarter; but such a low rate of contribution is decidedly injurious to the success of these institutes. James Hole, in his valuable Prize Essav on Mechanics' Listitutes, has 302 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. remarked, that "to think that a sum not more than a man is willing to pay to a barber for shaving his beard, or to a publican for a single glass of beer, is to be charged for all the advantages Avhich such an institute professes to afford — library, news-room, classes, lectures, a week's education and amusement — is preposterous." There is great difference in the amount of subscriptions. In one town, with about 2,500 inhabitants, the sub- scriptions amount to about £12 a-year ; whilst in another, with nearly 1,000 less inhabitants, they average £40 a-year. We are sorry to be obliged to state that the con- tributions of the wealthy in support of these institutes have been very scanty in amount, and many of them arc struggling with difficulties from the want of that annual support which gentlemen living in their immediate neighbourhood, and in the regular enjoyment of all the resources and recreations of knowledge, might be expected to afford. It is idle to say that working men oi((/]Lt to support these institutions, for as a body they arc not sufficiently educated to appreciate their value. To bring them up to that standard should be the aim of all possessors of wealth. We might as well refuse our contribution to the jNlissionary fund " because the blacks ought to evangelize themselves," as refuse aid to Mecha- nics' Institutes because they ought to be self-supporting. " When the savage is converted, he will support his own church ; so when the working man is educated, he will support his own college." Robert Newton Shawc, Esq., presents annually a subscription of £10 to the Mechanics' Institute over which he worthily presides, and lias been, in addition, a most valuable donor of books to the same library ; l)ut how few of our country gentlemen emulate such a noble example ! The Earl of Ashburnham, we were informed, did not help the Ncedham Market Institute, although he receives a rental of some thou- sands from the district ; and we could name a wealthy VILLAGE LIBRARIES. 303 Baronet who has neither given a shilhng from his purse, nor a vohirae from his library, to the JMcclianics' Insti- tute of the town in which he resides. The Secretary of one Institute says, " Our institute has been raised several years, and during the first two years received donations to the amount of £G2 12s. ; and, to the disgrace of our wealthy neighbours, we received no more than £9 10s. from the residents of this place; the remainder was obtained from personal friends of the committee, who were in many cases entire strangers to the neighbourhood ; and, more annoying still, three gentlemen receiving their hundreds annually from the town, to whom we applied, had not even the courtesy to answer our letters " ! Such is the treatment which the social reformers experience from some of the country gentlemen in this district. To ascertain the circulation of the volumes is important, as the activity of an institution is generally manifested by the number of books taken out. In the Midland Counties there were, in 1848, generally six issues to one volume."'^ In some libraries in Yorkshire the issues have been as high as twelve times the number of volumes they contain. There is, however, no library in Suffolk whose returns exhibit such a literary demand. At Sudbury Institution the issues were about three times the number of volumes ; at Yoxford there were four issues to one volume ; and at Framlingham Mutual Improvement Society in one year, with 320 volumes, there were 2,100 issues ; so that every book was issued, on the average, nearly seven times. But at Ipswich, with 5,000 volumes, there were only 9,000 issues — less than two issues for each volume. In some parishes of this county (Copdock and Walsham-le-Willows may be cited as examples), village libraries have been established by the exertions of the rectors and some of the influential parishioners, and the * "Evidences on Public libraries," p. 81. 304 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. importance of their formation claims the attention of the parochial clergy and resident proprietary of all our large villages. By their establishment much of the frivolous and unprincipled cheap publications, which now circulate weekly among our rural populations, might be replaced by sound and healthy literature. In some instances, where tried, village libraries have been less popular than they deserve, from their having too many works of a religious character on their shelves. These libraries should contain literature of the best quality intermingled with books of instruction and amusement ; and the supporters of the church or chapel might be left to supply the books that are exclusively religious. The necessity for the introduction of works of amuse- ment is painfully urgent when we recollect the wants of the class whom we wish to reach. The laborer and the industrious mechanic require a something that will keep their mental faculties from being mastered by the drowsiness which rest from physical labor induces. The pipe and the glass are resorted to by those whose pleasures extend not beyond the senses ; and the " free and easy," the excitement of the ten- pin ground, and the social converse of the tap-room, are the means adopted to kill time by numbers of young men, who have really no other place of resort. Those whose duty it is to watch over the young men of our villages should provide the means for social intercourse, independent of the evils of the public house, and associate with those means such other objects as should attract the uneducated from the vices and follies to which, through ignorance and neglect, they are in a great measure liable. A'^illage libraries might be made useful means for moral and religious improve- ment of the people, by teaching them household economy, sanitary laws, ventilation, and such couunon 1 lungs as have a mere material existence, yet tend to l)romotc their welfare. VILLAGE LIBRARIES. 305 There is, however, considerable difRculty in sustaining the interest in a village library. The novelty at the commencement causes continual demand for books, but, when the readers have "had the pick" of the library, the demand begins to languish. A fresh supply of books is needed, and here it is that the Itineralvng Library system is so valuable. Books are by this means kept in constant circulation in small towns and large villages. Those books which have been read and become old in one district are drauoihted off to another where they had not been read and were still new. Constant attraction would thus be kept up, and the books be brought home to the firesides of nearly every village in the county. The plan requires considerable judg- ment to carry out, but if a man of energy and ability were paid to devote his time to the superintendence of itinerating libraries, say, for East Suffolk, we feel assured that immense benefit would be conferred upon the population within reach of their influence. East Suffolk might be divided into 20 districts, and, commencing with 1,000 volumes — depot and committee at Ipswich — each station should be supplied with 50 volumes, to remain there six months. A period of five years would thus elapse before the whole of the- original set of volumes were perused. West Suffolk might be divided in the same manner, with depot and committee meetings at Bury St. Edmund's. The plan has been extensively worked in Scotland, and we especially invite the attention of the clergy and gentry of this county to the advantages of the system. Paid lectures are unfrcquent even at the large Institu- tions. This is attributable generally to the low financial condition of the Institutes, although, in some cases, the ease with which gratuitous lectures of an interesting character have been obtained has prevented the Com- mittees from seeking the services of professional lecturers. This fact points to the desirability of an organization 20 306 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. for the purpose of obtaining the class of lectures most in demand, viz., gratuitous ones ; to lay under contri- bution all the talent and knowledge that surround us ; and to induce the well-informed to engage, by means of lectures, the attention of others. Certain residents in all districts, as ministers of religion and medical men, are capable of giving information of vital importance to the community on the moral and social duties and obligations, and the laws and conditions of health and disease. If gentlemen of such education and attain- ments were from time to time to prepare themselves to address the members of Mechanics' Institutes, the popular teachers of the people would be increased almost without limit, and, by the interchange of services, an almost uninterrupted succession of lectures could be given. It is a matter of regret that the young men con- nected with Mechanics' Institutions are not encouraged to give more aid in lecturing and teaching. We cannot afford to spare any efforts which the members can do for themselves, and what has been done at Yoxford, where essays have been read and discussed for the purpose of stimulating the members in the acquisition of knowledge, could be done in connection wdth every institute in the county. This picture of the Literary Institutions of Suffolk brings facts of a dismal character into view, such as should not belong to a district justly ])roud of being the birth-place of Wolsey, of Gainsborough, and of Crabbe ; whose earth was made sacred by the ashes of Rowland Taylor ; the soil on wdiich were reared Robert l^loomficld and Mrs. Trimmer, and to which George Rorrow and Agnes Strickland still cling; from which Racon fii-st went to harangue the Commoners of England ; in which the mighty Milton received his mental and moral training, and first lisped forth the numbers from which evolved his sublime and holy song ; INCREASE OF MBKAKIES WANTED. 307 from which Cavendish sailed to circumnavigate the globe; and the philanthropist, Clarkson, aroused the nation to the enormous evil of slavery. To a county blest with the educational benevolence of Sir Robert Hitcham ; from Avliose pulpits have sounded the elo- quence of Whately, the scholar-like accuracy of Trench and Hugh James Rose, and the learning of Evanson and Priestly — to such a district the reproach of scarcity of books and poverty of Literary Institutions should not justly hang, and it is earnestly hoped that the inhabi- tants will hasten to wipe off this reproach. CHAPTER X. RATES AXD EATING. Estimated by a monetary standard, there are few ques- tions that ■svill take precedence of that of Rates and Rating. The annual amount gathered in Suffolk for poor's-rate, high^vay rate, paving and lighting rate, church rate, and county and borough rate, average about £250,000 per annum. If to this amount we add the sums applied by local authorities to local purposes, but raised under a different system of taxation, such as dock and harbour dues, turnpike tolls, and fees received by magistrates' clerks and others, in the local adminis- tration of justice, the sums annually disposed of by local authorities in the county of Suffolk do not, probably, fall much short of £400,000 sterling. A sum so enormously large left to the administration of local bodies, is of itself sufficient to justify an examination into the manner in which such rates are levied. The poor's-rate is the heaviest of our local burdens, being six times as much as the county rate, and three times as much as the land tax. It increased greatly during the last quarter of the eighteenth and the first quarter of the nineteenth centuries. During the three years ending 1750, the amount collected averaged £28,003 per annum ; in 1S03, it amounted to £124,058 ; in 1823, to £259,748 ; and in 1833, to £260,107, but was greatly reduced a few years afterwards by the opera- tion of the Poor Law Amendment Act. As the poor's-rate THE pook's-kate. 309 is generally the basis for all local taxes the observa- tions we shall make respecting the property assessed to the poor's-rate will apply to all other local rates. The kinds of property rateable for the relief of the poor, are lands, houses, tithes, canals, railways, woods, etc. The poor's-rate is not a personal tax, but a tax on visible property situate within the district in which the tax is levied. The sum of £172,411 sterling, was raised as poor's- rate in the year ending Lady Day, 185.2. The largest portion of this sum, £100,840, was derived from assess- ments on land. This term includes profits from the use of the soil itself, from the growing produce, and from improvements of the land by means of railroads, bridges, docks, canals, etc., but the sum named above is raised by assessments on land and farm houses only. The word land, as generally understood, would be supposed to make all kinds of growing wood and timber rateable, but the express mention in the statute of Elizabeth of " saleable underwoods," is held to exempt all kinds of wood and timber not coming under the denomination of " saleable underwoods." An opinion prevails that houses are assessed much nearer their real value than lands. This opinion seems borne out by certain facts. Thus, of the £259,748 raised as poor's-rate in 1823 no less than £214,607 was levied on land, whilst in 1852 the levy amounted to only £100,840, a decrease of more than 110 per cent. Houses, etc., in 1852, contributed the sum of £52,033, and in 1823, the levy on the same description of pro- perty amounted to £44,251. The returns, therefore, show that permanent erections for the shelter of man, beast, and property, contributed, in 1852, about 17 per cent, more to the poor's-rate than they did in 1823, whilst land contributed 110 per cent, less than it did in 1823. Some improvements of lands are assessed at a very 310 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. high rate. We may instance a railway. It may take an acre of land that is not worth five shillings, and another worth forty shillings, but the railway is rated upon each for a monopoly value, and this monopoly value is great when compared with the previous agricul- tural value, although, wherever it passes through a parish, it raises the value of the land and other pro- perty, to a very considerable extent. In the parish of Sproughton, the railway is rated at £4 lOs. Od. although the rent of land let by the Railway Company, in the same parish, is only estimated at £1. The greatest discrepancies prevail in the assessments of diflferent parishes. In Baylham, the rental of the railway, which occupies eleven acres, is estimated by the overseers at £139 ; in the adjoining parish of Badley, the railway occupies twelve acres, and the rental is estimated at £57. Three miles of railway on the London line, are rated in the parish of Bentley at £150; two miles on the Hadleigh line, at £100 ; and two miles on the Bury line, in the parish of Needham-Market, are rated at £96 — an assessment nearly equal, although there is an immense diflperence in the letting value of the three lines of railway. Before the railway w^as commenced, the land was assessed at from 5s. to 18s. per acre ; it is now, as a railway, annually assessed at from 80s. to 130s. per acre. The term ^'saleable undenooodsj' includes woods, of whatever nature, cut down periodically and shooting again from the same stem, to be again cut in like manner. The sum of £500 was assessed on this kind of wood, in aid of poor's-rate, in 1852. In Essex, £953 w^as raised on the same description of property, and in Norfolk, only £ 1:23. There arc considerable differences in the value of this kind of property in Suffolk, the value depending upon the kind of wood grown, and the age of the wood. In the parish of l^ruisyard the under- wood is very good, and competent judges have valued DISCREPANCIES IN RATING TITHES. 311 it at 10s. per annum, as, supposing it to be cut every twelve years, it is estimated to be worth £G an acre and upwards. But at Rendlcsliam, upon a light soil, the same judges have valued the underwood at 5s. an acre, and at Aldborough, near the coast, where there is but little un- derwood, but in its place a little sour herbage growing under stunted trees, it is valued at only Is. 7d. an acre. Tithes or Commutation Bent Charges. — Tithes im- propriate, and tithes propriate, are expressly liable to local taxation. They are both severed from benefices, but the former class are due to lay persons or corpo- rations, and the latter are annexed to spiritual cor- porations. The tithes of the efficient incumbent are rated by implication only, the parson or vicar being mentioned among i\\Q persons liable to the rate; £17,213 were raised for the poor's-rate in 1852 by assessments on tithes. In Essex, the amount was £21,766 ; and in Norfolk, £21,936. Discrepancies in the mode of rating tithe are numerous in this county. In some parishes it is rated at the full value, in others from 5 to 40 per cent, below the full value. We subjoin a few- instances of this kind from a list in our possession, extracted from the rate books : — ESTIMATED RATEABLE ESTIMATED RATEABLE PARISHES. RENTAL. VALVE. RENTAL. VALUE. £ £ £ £ Barbara 379 358 Kettleburgh 328 321 Battisford . 400 339 Mickfield . 390 272 Bergholt 627 527 Pcttaugh 196 145 Bildeston 287 255 Raydon 320 320 Bricet . 283 193 Stowmarket . 120 100 Chattisliam 140 106 Tattingstone 377 333 Chelmondiston 306 305 Thwaite 245 224 Debenham . 419 404 Winston . 311 221 Hintlesham . 582 450 As far as the rating is concerned the Tithe Commu- tation Act has acted disadvantageously to the tithe owner, because it exhibits, in an authentic manner, the entire amount of his tithe. Thus the overseer, knowing the 312 SUFFOLK IN THE NIXETEENTH CENTURY. full value, puts down the tithe owner in the rate book at the exact amount, but being himself generally a farmer, he rates other farmers in the parish at an amount less than the net annual value. The tithe owner is rated at 100 per cent., the occupier of land at 80 or 85 per cent. The occupiers of land thus get an advantage in compa- rison with the tithe owner, and the two shares of the rent of land are thus unequally assessed. That portion of rent which goes to the landlord, is not rated up to the same proportion of value as that portion which goes to the tithe owner ; and why ? — because the tithe owner's cards are shown, while the cards of the other ratepayers are not only not shown, but they are actually allowed to withdraw some of the cards in their hands. The injus- tice of this is often felt by clergymen, but a desire to retain their influence over their parishioners, undis- turbed by contests about pecuniary interests, restrain them from the unpleasant task of appealing against the assessment. The diversity of amounts paid annually as poor's-rate, by different parishes in this county, is a subject which opens a wide' field of interest. To exhibit the inequality, as at present levied, we here give the annexed table. THE AVERAGE POOR'S RATE IN THE POUND PAID BY THE PARISHES OF SUFFOLK, DURING 1839—1842. No. of No. of AMOUNT OF HATE. Parishes. AMOUNT OF RATE. Parishes. s. d. S. d. S. d. S. d. Under 6 3 From 4 to 4 G 27 From 6 to 1 8 1) 4 G „ 5 25 1 2 1) 5 „ 5 6 11 )) 1 )) 1 G 47 i» 5 G „ G 6 )> 1 G !) 2 85 ») G „ 6 6 4 2 4 >) G G „ 7 3 )) 2 )1 2 6 80 )> 9 „ 9 6 I )» 2 6 M 3 G7 )) 10 G „ 11 1 3 G )) 11 G „ 12 1 }i 3 )7 3 G 70 >) 14 „ 14 G 1 3 G !> •1 oO 11 4 1 Total 503 INEQUALITIES OE POOll'S-IiA'l'E. 313 Suffolk contains 510 parishes, from five of which tlie returns are imperfect, and two others are united parishes. The eleven parishes which paid the highest rate are returned as having an annual amount of property assessed to the poor of £20,421, and paid, for the four years, average rates of 8s. 2^d. in the pound, while the same number of parishes that paid the lowest rate have an annual amount of property assessed of £1 19, 941, and paid, for four years, average rates of but 8 Jd. in the pound. We insert another table showing the rate in the pound for relief of the poor in the parishes of Suffolk in the year ending Lady day, 1847 : — No. of No. of AMOU>'T 3F KATE. Parishes. AMOUNT 3F RATE. Parishes. S. (1. S. (1. s. d. S. (I. From 3 to 6 8 From 4 to 4 6 11 G „ 1 51 4 6 „ 5 3 1 „ 1 6 101 5 „ 5 6 3 1 6 „ 2 107 5 6 „ 6 1 2 2 6 91 6 „ 6 6 3 2 6 3 CO CO 6 57 49 13 „ 14 1 3 6 „ 4 18 Total 510 The parish paying the highest rate, 13s. lOd. in the pound, was that of Nowton, in the Thingoe Union. Its population in 1851, was 187, and the property rated to the poor's-rate, in 1847, was valued at £828. Brock- ley paid 6s. 5d., Great Livermere 6s. 4fd., Haverhill 6s. l^d. in the pound ; whilst Kentford paid 3^d. in the pound, Boulge 3d., and Little Finborough o)ih/ one half- l)ennij in the jjoand. Upon inquiry in 1852, we found the inequality still existing, though not so strongly marked. Taking the poor's-rate as it stands in the books, which in this form includes the county rate, and the Bosmere Union as an example, we found one parish paid 6d. in the pound, two paid 8d., 52^ from Is. to X^.Qdi., eleven from ls.6d. to 2s., five from 2s. to 2s. 6d., seven from 2s.6d. to3s.,y?y^ from 314 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 3s. to 3s. 6d., and two from 3s. 6d. to 4s. A farmer assessed at £100, in the parish of Debenham paid £18 15s. per annum in the shape of poors'-rate, whilst another farmer occupying property of the same rateable value, in the parish of Nettlestead, paid £3 6s. 8d., and another in Willisham, only £2 10s. Such an unequal distribution of the burden of pauperism in the same union, must surely lead to some more equitable mode of levying the rate. There are 15 places in the county called extra parochial, containing 83 inhabited houses, and a popu- lation of 435 persons, which are exempt from the pay- ment of poor's-rate. In some parishes the farm-houses and buildings are rated separately from the lands, but the practice is pretty general of rating the houses and buildings used for agricultural purposes, together with the farm. In the parish of Tattingstone we found a singular mode of rating. The poor's-rate is proportioned. If the land and large occupiers pay 6d. in the pound, smaller occupiers pay 4^d., and cottages, or their owners, 3d. in the pound. In the year 1851, the total number of assessments in Suffolk was 77,535, but the gross number of persons assessed to the poor's-rate was only 59,925. The assessments were of the undermentioned annual rateable values : — NO. OF AS- NO. OF AS- lATEABLK VALVE UATKAm.K VALri!. SF.SSMKNTS. BKS8MKNT3 £ £ i : £ £ Under 1 3,012 6 and under 7 2,307 I and undur 2 17,802 ' 8 1,656 2 ,, 3 1G,383 8 9 1,811 3 91 4 7,597 9 10 1,011 4 » 6 4,754 10 and above 18,172 5 >» 6 3,100 Those at £1, and under £2, being nearly equal to NUMBER OF RATEPAYERS IN TOWNS. ;i5 those of the rateable vahie of £10 and above. A very large number of the assessments were made on the owners, instead of the occupiers, by virtue of the 13th and 14th Vic, chap. 99, or Local Acts, and the number and annual rateable value of the assessments so made were — RATEABLE VAIXF. NO. OF AS- SESSMENIS. RATEABLE VALUE. NO. OF AS- SESSMENTS. £ Under £ 1 1,771 £ 6 and under £ 7 905 1 and under 2 12,398 8 123 2 3 10,500 8 9 223 3 4 4 5 5,026 3,051 9 10 and above 10 78 553 5 6 2,262 The following Summary of the total number of Assess- ments, the number of Ratepayers, the number of Assess- ments of £10 annual value, and the number made on the Owners in several of our chief towns will repay perusal : — TOWNS. 1 Total Number of Assessments. Number of Assessments, £10 Annual Rateable Value. No. of Assessments made on the Owners. Gross Number of Persons Assessed. Ipswich Bury St. Edmund's Sudbury Eye . . . Beccles Bungay Lowestoft Hadleigh . 7,999 3,154 1,301 593 1,223 1,192 1,338 886 2,024 1,068 233 118 282 238 276 222 5,493 1.788 * * * 380 665 717 816 550 5,934 1,548 1,239 529 1,036 1,109 574 441 The necessity of re-valuation of parishes has been repeatedly urged by many practical men in this county, as it is notorious that landed and house property, in many parishes, is assessed at nearly 40 per cent, below its real value. In the Hartismere Union, some of the best land in the county is rated at twenty-two shillings 316 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTUKV. per acre, considerably below the net value, and in the town of Ipswich it has been calculated that £10,000 of rateable property is lost, through the assessments being below the net value — in one parish as much as 30 per cent. A property in this parish, letting for £S0 a-year, was only assessed at £10 10s. In the rural districts the same discrepancies exist. The Guardians, and Pro- fessional Valuers, in the Plomesgate Union, have declared the fair rateable value of the property in some of the parishes to be £800 above the actual assessment. The annual value of property in Sutfolk, rated to the poor, was in 1847, £1,407,413, but in 1850 it was only £1,360,648, the assessment on land having been reduced, whilst the assessment for the property tax amounted, in 1851, to £1,834,252, showing a difference of £467,004 between the assessment to the poor's-rate and the assessment to the property tax. Some parishes are rated to the poor's-rate nearly equal to their assess- ment to the property tax, and others are far below it. St. Margaret's, Ipswich, is assessed to the poor's-rate at £16,726, and to the property tax at £17,010; difference, £284. St. Clement's, Ipswich, is assessed to the property tax at £15,700, and to the poor's-rate at only £11,817; difference, £3,883! Real property is rated to parochial assessments ; real and personal property to the property and income tax. Every impartial inquirer must admit the injustice of assessing local rates exclusively upon real property. In Scotland, all personal as well as real property, is assessable, and even the pension of the Earl of Campcrdown was held to be rateable. Stock-in-trade, and money out at interest, were originally rated at Norwich. Py the act of Eliza- beth, the ainidij of the occupier, rather than the house rental, is recognised ; and ruiidliolders, annuitants, pen- sioners, and mortgagees, should contribute to the support of the poor. No capitalist of any kind, nor any description of property, should be exempt from l)aying COUNTY RATE. 317 its proportionate quota for the maintenance of the distressed and disabled. If the poor tax was levied on the same principle as the pro])erty and income tax, a considerable reduction in the amount of the tax would immediately ensue, and such contrasts in taxation as the folloAving instances exhibit would be at once avoided : — Assessment Assessment Poor Rate PARISHES. to Poor's Rate to Property in the Pound Dec, 1852. Tax, 1843. 1852. £ £ ~sr d. " Willisham 1,043 1,428 6 Tattingstone 2,114 2,695 1 IVettlestead . 1,133 1,289 8 East Bergliolt 6,251 9,283 1 4 Pettaugh 1,281 1.195 3 5 Thwaite . 1,248 1,342 4 4 Snape 1,672 2,450 3 10 Debenhain 5,212 6,625 3 9 Here are four parishes, with an average rate for the year of lO^^d. in the pound, and four other parishes, with an average rate of 3s. lOd. in the pound, Pettaugh paying nearly sever? times as much as Willisham, and, contrary to all equity, the poor parish of Thwaite was contributing nearly /o?rr times as much on its rateable value as the rich parish of Bergholt. Generally speaking, the small towns are most burdened with poor. The proprietors of land, in many villages, prevent the erection of cottages, compelling the laborers to reside in the towns or neighbouring parishes. Thus, the landowner and occupier reap all the advantages of the laborers, while efficient, without the responsibility of their maintenance when impotent. The sum raised and expended in Suffolk as County Rate, amounts annually to nearly £30,000. In 1852, it was £27,358 ; in Essex it amounted to £28,362 ; and in Norfolk to £20,782. In 1805, the amount raised in Suffolk was £25,557; in 1823 it was only £13,759; 318 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, in 1836 it had risen to £19,911 ; and in 1846, exclusive of borough rates, to £31,828. It is levied on the same description of property as the poor's-rate, and was raised in 1852 in the following proportions: — From land, £15,999; houses, £8,250; tithes, £2,729; underwoods, £89; railways, £130; canals, £1 ; other property, £149. The following table exhibits the amount of County and Borough Rates paid in Suffolk in the five years ending 1852, according to the Poor Law Commissioners' return : — YEARS ENDING MARCH as, ■ 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 SVMS RAISED, £34,337 30,703 27,380 30,985 30,822 The sums raised in the three years, ending 1850, if compared with the amounts collected in the three years ending 1840, would show a great increase. But the increase, in certain districts, is much greater than the increase upon the whole county. In the Blything Union, the county expenses for the year ending March 25th, 1838, were £1,336; and fourteen years after, for the year ending March 25th, 1852, the expenses were £3,547, being an increase of 165 per cent. The amount of county rates paid by the fol- lowing Unions, at two periods, seven years distant, 25th March, 1841, and 2oth Marcli, 1848, were— UNIONS. 1841. 1848. Cosford Sudbury Stow Thiiif^nc! Mildcnhall . £ 1,026 2,065 1,281 1,369 678 £ 2,230 3,069 2,403 2,873 1,281 Tlie " Bury Post," of the 3rd of December, J.S51, printed the items of County Expenditure for the year 1850, which we here republisli. EXPENDITURE OUT OF COUNTY RATE. 319 , £. Rural Police . 12,176 Convey;mce of Prisonei's to Gaol 385 Prosecutions . 4,065 Gaols .... 8,410 Conveyance of Transports 156 Shirehalls, Judges' Lodgings, etc. 497 Lunatic Asylum 1,158 County Bridges 1,272 Clerk of the Peace 2,350 Treasurer 197 Coroners 1,11G Inspectors of "Weights 330 Incidental and other Expenses 3,853 Total £35,965 The largest item, it will be observed, is for Police. The expense of the force in 1841 was £4,333, and in 1842 it was £4,441 ; and from a Parliamentary Return of 1850, we find that East Suffolk had 88 men ; that the district which they guarded contained a population of 172,933; that its extent was 530,430 acres, and the cost of the force £5,431 19s. 8d,, giving one policeman to every 1,965 persons, and 6,027 acres, at a cost of £61 14s. 6d. per annum. West Suffolk had 74 men— annual cost, £68 2s. 2d. per head. Essex had 199 men, at a cost of nearly £80 a-head ; and Norfolk had one policeman to every 2,085 persons, and 8,872 acres, at a cost of £71 lis. per annum. The cost of Gaols is put down at £8,410, salaries, tradesmen's bills, and maintenance of prisoners forming the principal items. At Ipsivich County Gaol the salaries are — Governor, £300 ; Chaplain, £200 ; Sur- geon, £100 ; Matron, £40 ; Schoolmaster and School- mistress, £66 12s.; Turnkeys, £368 15s.; Watchman, £52 16s.; Cook, £31 4s.; Female Tm-nkey, £31 4s. In 1854, the provisions cost £641 15s. 3d.; trades- men's bills amounted to £383 4s. 6d., and clothing bills to £65 13s. 8d. The Prosecutions form another item, but a very considerable portion of the expense is re-paid by 320 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. Government. The papnents to the Clerk of the Peace amounted to £2,350, but, takhig the average of the three years, 1848, 1849, and 1850, the fees and emoluments amounted to £2,826 per annum. In Norfolk, during the same period, they averaged £1,329 ; and in Essex, £1,876 : in the latter case, the amount included disbursements for general busi- ness. The single item of expense incurred by the Clerks of the Peace in the three counties named, for preparing, printing, and publishing the list of persons entitled to vote at elections for Members of Parlia- ment, shows an extraordinary discrepancy. The cost per head was — in Suffolk, 5^d. ; in Essex, 4d. ; and in Norfolk, 3d. The mere printing the list cost 3^d. per head in Suffolk and l^d. per head in Norfolk. Repairs to Briclr/cs cost £1,272. In some years the expense was much greater. In the year ending September 1854, the cost to the Ipswich Division alone for repairing Bridges amounted to £1,051 10s. The expenditure for Lunacy, out of the county rates, amounted to £1,158. The Asylum was opened on the ]st of January, 1839. The original expense was £32,000, the land costing £30 an acre. A Parliamentary Return of the Salaries and the mnnber of Patients in Lunatic Asylums, for the five years ending December, 1849, exhibits the Suffolk Asvlum in an economical light, the weekly cost being 7s. in Suffolk, and in Gloucestershire and Oxford, with nearly the same number of patients, respectively, 9s. 2d., and 9s. 8d, Norfolk was the only county in which the cost was below that of Suffolk. The amount raised as Porougii Rate in Suffolk is small, then; l)(3ing only the towns, Ipswich, Bury St. Edmund's, and Sudbury, in which a borough rate is made. For the year ending March 25th, 1852, the fium raised was £3,087, levied on real ))roperty, in tho HIGHWAY KATE. 321 following proportions : — Land, £1,805 ; houses, £931 ; tithes, £308; underwoods, £10; canals, £1 ; railways, £15; other properties, £17. Of the total amount, £2,57G was raised in the Borough of Ipswich. At Bury St. Edmund's, a very small sura is annually raised as borough rate; in 1846 it was only £75 ; in 1848 it was £90; and during the three years ending 1852, it averaged £120 per annum. In the Borough of Sud- bury the amount raised averages nearly £500 annually. The amounts thus raised in the other municipal boroughs of the county are insignificant. Of the items of expenditure we note salaries. The Mayor: Ipswich, £105; Bury St. Edmund's, £50. Recorder : Ipswich, £40 ; Sudbury, £40 ; Bury St. Edmund's, £42. Toiv?i Clerk: Ipswich, £200 ; Bury St. Edmund's, £80 ; Sudbury, £50. Treasurer: Bury St. Edmund's, £60. Folice : Ipswich, £1,572; Bury St. Edmund's £445 ; Sudbury, £33. Highway Rate. — The highways of this county have long been noted for the excellence of their condition ; the cross roads are also good, and it is only when we encounter by-lanes (generally very narrow), and unfre- quented paths, that the miry character becomes con- spicuous. The cost of keeping the roads in this condition is great, and hence we find that the sum collected as highway rate exceeds, in some years, the amount collected as county rate. The highway rate for the three years ending 1814 shows an annual average expenditure of £42,833 on 322 miles of paved streets and turnpike roads, and 2,962 miles of other highways in this county. The large sums expended on turnpikes is evident from a return for the year 1839, showing a total expenditure of £10,583 by fourteen of the Suffolk trusts. The amount of highway rates, in 1827, was £24,848. In the years ending 25th March, 1852 and 1853, the sums were respectively, £29,384, and £20,319. 21 322 SUFFOLK IX THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. In 1852 the sum was raised in the following propor- tions : by assessments on land, £17,186; houses, £8,868 ; tithes, £2,934 ; underwoods, £95 : canals, £1 ; railways, £140 , other property, £160. In ]\Iarch, 1852, there was a balance in hand of £3,627, and in addition to the £20,319 raised by assessments, the following sums were received from other sources, viz., £160 Is. 4d., by team labor in lieu of rates ; £12 lls.7d. by other work performed in lieu of rate ; £3 from turnpike trusts, with other receipts, amounting to £338 4s. 4d., leaving a balance in March, 1853, of £3,338 14s. lid. The expenditure during the same year amounted to £21,651 15s., comprising the follow- ing items: — Manual labor, £6,365 10s. 8d. ; team labor, £3,307 8s. 2d.; materials, £8,418 19s. 4d. ; tradesmen's bills, £182 15s. 8d. ; salaries, £757 12s. 3d. ; work performed in lieu of rates, £172 12s. lid. ; turn- pike trusts, £3 17s.; other payments, £802 19s. The returns were obtained from 490 parishes. In 10 boroughs and small towns in the county, the income was £8,681 16s., and the expenditure £8,417 6s. 3d. The cost of manual labor was £1,765, of team labor £728, of materials £1,229, tradesmen's bills £1,561, salaries £601. Experience has fully justified the step of taking the parish roads in small boroughs, under the charge of the Paving and Lighting Couuuis- sioners. In the town of Ij)swich, under the old system, tlie average annnal cost of the parish roads during five years ending 1850, was £659 13s. ; since that period these roads have been kept in repair at a cost of £389 9s, per annum. During the year ending July, 1852, there were 6,130 loads of stone, and 122 loads of broken granite laid on the roads in Ipswich, and the latter lias answered admirably. Improvements that involve oiitlays of money cannot be very readily made by the Connnis- sioners, as they are hampered on tlie one iiand by a very defective Act of ParHament, and on the other liand HIGHWAY KATE. 323 by an income, more than one-fourth of which being absorbed in the payments to the Gas Company leaves but an inadequate margin for the requirements of a contin- ually growing town. In some of our Suffolk towns the salary of the Surveyor is miserably small. In Ipswich it is £150 a year, and in Sudbury £30, but in the borough of Eye, the Surveyor, with nearly 18 miles of roads to superintend, had, up to 1853, a salary of only tenpounJs a year. And at Debenham, with nearly 20 miles of roads, the Surveyor, in 1853, received the miserable remuneration of Four Pounds a year. CHAPTEE XL LAND, AGRICULTURE, AND FARMERS. Suffolk takes a high rank as an Agricultural county, and it will naturally be expected that we should enter with some degree of minuteness into that which is the characteristic of the county. We commence, there- fore, with THE LAND AND ITS OWNERS. The varieties of soil which in particular districts give to the cultivation certain definite and peculiar features have been already mentioned : we allude to the sand in a substratum of chalk in the north- western district, the mixture of shells and marine deposits with sand in the eastern district, and the strong loam on a substratum of clay marl in the centre and south-west parts of the county. The tract of sandy land along the eastern coast is extremely light, and in many parts its value is about 5s. an acre. From this tract coprolites have been extensively obtained. Mr. Caird states that, in 1850, the average rent of land in Suffolk was 24s. per acre ; in Norfolk it was 25s. Od., in Essex 2Gs., and in Lincoln 30s. an acre. Li the llisbridge ILindred of Suffolk land varies from L5s. to 30s. an acre, average about 21s.; in the Thingoc Hundred, 20s.; lloxne Hundred, 2()s. to 32s.; Stow llundiTd, 2'^s. ; Hosmcrc ELmdrod, 21s. to 28s.; i^amford iliiiidred, 25s. to 30s.; VALUE OF LAND. 325 Blything Hundred, 21s.; and Plomesgate Hundred, 10s. to 25s. The increased value of land may be inferred from comparison of the rents in Artlmr Young's time with those of the present day. In the neighbourhood of Woodbridgc, he says, rents rise from 6s. to 17s.; on the average, are 14s. At Eyke, Wantisden, Bromes- well, Sutton, Rarasholt, and Bawdsey, the sheep-walk sands are 4s. or 5s., but the better kinds of land from 14s. to 20s.; in general, about 16s. From Wood- bridge to Ipswich it lets from 10s. to 16s. an acre. In the neighbourhood of Bramford it averaged 12s. 6d. per acre, and from thence to Hadleigh about 13s. About Hadleigh some woodcock land let for 15s. an acre, from hence to Lavenham at 12s. an acre, to Stowmarket 10s. 6d., and to Colchester 14s. an acre. From Lavenham to Ilalstead the land lets from 9s. to 20s. an acre, average about 14s. 6d. Taking Suffolk generally, cultivated land let for 13s. 6d. an acre in 1770, and 24s. an acre in 1850. In 1841, the net rental or annual value of landed property in Suffolk was estimated at £912,062. In 1851, there were 421 males who returned themselves as land proprietors ; also 2 females. Feeling assured that great misconception prevails among the mercantile classes respecting the situation and circumstances of the owners of land, we have taken considerable pains to ascertain particulars as to what proportion the opulent proprietors bear to those of the middle class and to persons of slender income, and also the extent of each person's ownership. The result is, that the land is proved to be held in much smaller divisions than is generally supposed, and many of the owners are among the most industrious and economic of the conmiunity. It is true that there are a number of instances where the entire parish, or very nearly so, belongs to an 320 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. individual, and we give here many cases known to us. Ampton belongs to Lord Calthorpe ; Badley to the Earl of Ashburnhain ; lielmingham to John Tollemache, Esq. ; Woolverstone to John Berners, Esq. ; Great Barton to Sir Henry Bunbury, Bart. ; Great Livermore to Sir W. E. E. Middleton, Bart. ; Bougham to Philip Bennett, Esq. ; Rushbroke to ]\lajor Rushbroke ; Rendlesham and Capel St. Andrew to Lord Rendlesham ; Great Thorn- ham to Lord Henniker; Stanningfield, Blengrave, and Elempton to Sir Thomas Rokewood Gage, Bart. ; Great Ashfield to Lord Thurlow ; Cavenham to EL S. Wad- dington, Esq. ; Dalham to Sir Robert Affleck, Bart. ; Little Saxham and Ickworth to the Marquis of Bristol; Great Eakenham, Euston, and Barnham to the Duke of Grafton ; Great Saxham to William Mills, Esq.; Elvedon to William Newton, Esq. ; Wangford, Henham, and Bruisyard to the Earl of Stradbrokc ; Thorington to Colonel Bence ; Benacre to Sir Edward S. Gooch, Bart. ; Shelland and Gipping to Charles Tyrrell, Esq. ; Euston to the Duke of Hamilton ; Burgate and Rickinghall to George St. Vincent Wilson, Esq. ; Iken, Orford, and Sud- bourne to the IMarquis of Hertford ; Little Glemham to the Hon. Mrs. North ; West Stow, Wordwell, Culford, Ingham, and Timworth to the Rev. E. R. Bcnyon ; and' Sir Robert Adair, Bart., has estates in Elixton, Metlicld, Southolt, Stradbroke, Tannington, AVilby, AVeybread, Wingfield, ^Vorlingworth, Rcdlingfield, Monewden, Battisford, OfFton, the Southclnihams, the Ilketshalls, and in many other parishes, and appeared to us to be the largest landed proprietor in the county. To obtain returns of the ownership of land from every parish in Suftblk, although greatly to be desired, is too much for an individual to hope. Many gentlemen in various parts of the county obliged us with the facts required, but we soon found it hoi)elcss to expect a friend in each of the 500 parishes prepared to copy from the Rate Book such particulars as we desired. OWNERS OF LAND. 327 We therefore directed our attention to obtaining an accurate return from every parish in one Poor Law Union, as that would convey a fair idea of the owner- ship of the various holdings in the county ; and we selected the Bosmere Union for that purpose. The facts thus obtained we shall now proceed to detail. The Bosmere Union comprises 39 parishes, in an inland but fertile and picturesque district, containing 57,899 acres. It has generally a clayed soil, well adapted to the growth of corn ; and has only 1,781 acres of wood and plantation, and 93 acres of parish commons. It is intersected with good turnpike roads, and the Eastern Union Railway, as well as the navigable river " Gipping," runs through a considerable portion of the district. Commercial improvement has with giant strides gone to the doors of the granary and made a highway where but recently there were only the furrows of the plough, thus giving to the Bosmere district nearly all the advantages that an agricultural district can fairly possess. Deducting 3,559 acres for houses, gardens, and roads, 93 acres for commons, and 946 for holdings under two acres, there remain 53,301 acres to be accounted for as farms, woods, plantations, etc. ; and these 53,301 acres we find are owned by no less than 339 proprietors, giving an average of 157 acres to each owner. An analysis, however, which we shall shortly give, will show the folly of estimating by averages. Putting aside 435 acres belonging to the Corporation of Ipswich, 246 to the Ipswich Charities, 227 to Peoffees of Charities, 206 to Bishop Andrews' Charity, 147 to Stonham Parish, 23 to Bedingfield Parish, 5 to Stonham Peoffees, 1806 in the hands of Executors, and 312 vested in "Trustees," besides 357 belonging to " Thclluson's Trustees," we come to the great body of individual proprietors, and are prepared to say who they 328 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. are, and what number of broad acres they own in the Bosmere Union. There are 4,665 acres of this district which belong to 42 clergymen, ranging from the Rev. H. White's 5 acres to the 102 of the Rev. Mr. Oakes, the 267 of the Rev. George Sandby, the 451 of the Rev. Mr. Theobald, and the 532 acres of the Rev. E. B. Sparke. In addi- tion, there are 17 acres belonging to the Rectory of St. Peter's, Norwich, 234 to Eton College, 207 to the Dean of Ely, 266 to the Dean of Canterbury, and 482 to King's College, making a total of 5,871 acres, or more than 10 per cent, of the land of the entire Union in the hands of the ecclesiastics and ministers of the Church of England. It is said that law, custom, and hereditary prejudices conduce to the aggregation of landed property in Eng- land, a considerable portion of the land being in the hands of a few persons. " Bosmere " forms no excep- tion to this rule, as the following account of the number of acres belonging to several gentlemen will testify. Sir W. E. F. Middleton, Bart., owns 7,045 acres ; John Tollemache, Esq., 5,375; Earl of Ashburnham, 2,867; Lord Henniker, 1,605; Sir Philip Broke, Bart., 1,557; Sir Robert Adair, Bart., 1,190. Exclusive of roads and wastes, considerably more than a third of the land of the Bosmere Union is in the hands of these six gentle- men. Other known landed proprietors have but small extents in this district. Thus — Charles Austin, Esq., 490; Sir Joshua Rowley, 155; Lord Rcndlcsham, 81 ; George Tomline, Esq., 246; Sir Thomas Cullum, 309; Thomas Milncr Gibson, Esq., 135; Lady Nightingale, 30; H. I. Oakes, Esq., 11 ; R. D. Alexander, Esq., 45 ; S. A. Maw, Esq., 113; Rev. F. Steward, 197 ; George Thomas, Esq., 191; Sir H. Pierpoint, 17; J. G. Hart, Esq., 99. There are 2,365 acres in the ownership of females, mostly in small quantities, there being only two cases NUMBER OF SMALL LANDOWNERS. 329 of ladies having more tlian 200 acres — viz., Mrs. Rayn- harn and Mrs. Parry. To illustrate more fully the social position of the landowners of this district, we have classified them according to the number of acres they own ; and we find six owners of 1,000 acres and above, two of 500 acres and under 1,000, ten of 400 but under 500, nine of 300 but under 400, twenty-three of 200 but under 300, twenty-eight of 150 but under 200, thirty-nine of 100 but mider 150, forty-two of 75 but under 100, twenty-nine of 50 but under 75, sixty of 25 but under 50, and ninety-one who owned under 25 acres. This shows that 151, nearly half of the owners of land in the Bosmere Union, have less than 50 acres in their possession. We have given the names of those gentlemen who own more than 1,000 acres of land in this district, and we now give the names of all who own above 200 but under 1,000 acres of land : — NO. OP NO. OP NAME. NAME. ACRES. ACRES. Executors J. B. Smith, Esq. 841 Alexander Family 401 Rev. E. B. Sparke . 532 Sir Thomas CuUum 309 Rev. J. Theobald 4.31 Frederick Hayward, Esq. 416 George Tomline, Esq. 246 R. Dalton, Esq. . 236 A. B. Cook, Esq. 411 Rev. M. G. Edgar . 288 Mr. John Turner 230 Barrington Bloomfield, Esq. 248 E. B. Venn, Esq. 423 Mv. John Bloomfield 360 W. Raikes, Esq. 301 Mr. William Cockrell . 225 W. Mills, Esq. . 332 Mr. David Go wing 324 Baker Orford, Esq. . 325 Mr. Elliston 226 Rev. George Saudby . 267 Thclluson Trustees 357 Mr. Edward Snell . 227 Bishop Andrew's Charity 206 Mr. Pulford 247 Corporation of Ipswich . 435 Mrs. Raynham 206 Charities of Ipswich . 2.56 Rev. R. Longe 416 Dean of Canterbury 266 Major Leek . 230 Dean of Ely . 207 Mr. 11. Moore . 259 Eton College 234 Mrs. Parry 217 King's College 482 Cobbold and Meynell . 357 Feoffees of Charity 227 "William Carthcw, Esq. . 249 French's Executors 270 Rev. — Manning 411 Christie's Executors 232 Charles Austin, Esq. 490 330 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. Another point of considerable interest, in connection with this land question, is the number of persons residing upon and farming their own property. The total num- ber of acres thus occupied in the Bosmere Union, was 6,115, or less than 12 per cent, of the land. This is independent of some small pieces occupied by large proprietors, as Sir W. F. F. Middleton, Bart., Earl of Ashburnham, and others ; and which from the low esti- mated rental, about 10s. an acre, is most likely woodland or some kind of plantation. These 6,115 acres were owned by 107 persons. Upon analysing the extent of land held by each of these persons, we found 7fi;e holding over 200 acres, viz : IMr. Turner, of Stonham Aspal, Mr. David Gowing, of Mickfield, Mr. H. Moore, of Greeting, Mr, John Bloomfield, of Little Stonham, and Mr. Edward Snell, of Nettlestead. The extent of each may be seen in the foregoing table. The analysis further showed six persons farming 1 50 but under 200 acres ; ten farming 100 but under 150 ; ten with 75 but under 100 acres ; eleven with 50 but under 75 acres; twenty-three Avith 25 acres but under 50; and forty-one having under 25 acres; three-fourths of whom had each less than 20 acres. In some instances these owners of small farms, or portions of a farm, were farmers of large extent on hired land, as Mr. J. Moore, of Darmsden,. farmed 14 acres of his own, and 243 under the Earl of Ashburn- ham ; Mr. Ghurchyard, of Gosbeck, 24 acres of his own, and 203 the property of E. B. Venn, Esq. ; and Mr. Rowland, of Akcnham, 165 of his own, and 309 under R. B. Orford, Esq., and 83 acres under W. C. Fonnereau, Esq. ; Mr. Snell, of Nettlestead, also farms 249 acres ; belonging to W. Garthcw, Esq., as well as the 227 acres of his own. The inq)ortancc of resitJent ■proprietorship is worthy of particular attention, and as an illustration of the social and in(ji;il influence which this engenders, wc l.^IPORTANCE OF RESIDENT PROPllIETORSIllP. 331 mention that at Winston, Pettaugh, and Somersham, there is either no resident proprietor or a fractional proportion only of the land is farmed by the owner. At Mickficld, on the contrary, about half the parish is farmed by resident owners, and at Ringshall more than 500 acres are similarly occupied. In 1851 the popula- tion of the three former parishes averaged 307, and the two latter 314. The parishes are all situated in the Bosmere Union, but the poor's-rate averaged 3s. Id. in the pound in the three former, and 2s. only in the two latter. Somersham, Winston, and Pettaugh had in live years furnished 8 criminals for trial, and iMicktield and Ringshall only 2. On examining the return for Prams- den, Thwaite, Pinningham, and Snape, where the poor's- rate averaged 3s. 8^d. in the pound, we found but a very small portion of the land occupied by owners. If more testimony on this point is needed, we would refer to the villages of Wickharn-Market and East Berg- holt, as affording striking proofs of the value of resident gentry to the poor inhabitants of a village, and the consequent moral influence npon the people. These villages are nearly equal in size, are both in the heart of agricultural districts, and are in no ways dependent on the general fluctuations of trade or manufactures ; yet, strange to say, Wickharn-Market has in five years sent 25 prisoners for trial, and East Bergholt only 5. Such an extraordinary discrepancy in the criminal tendencies of the two populations arrested our attention, and induced us to seek the cause. The result of our inqui- ries may be briefly sunmied up. The laborei's of I^ast Bergholt were better paid, there was a good deal of field work for boys, and owing to the number of resident gentry, frequent employment for women, who either go out washing or charing, or took in needlework to do at home, thus earning from two to four shillings weekly ; and, indeed, the collected earnings of many famflies averaged nearly twenty shillings per week for six months 332 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. of the year. From 80 to 100 boys and girls belonged to a penny clothing clnb, in which the money was doubled by resident ladies and gentlemen, and laid out in substantial wearing apparel. From six to eight bushels of coals were also annually distributed to the poor belonging to the parish, and three bushels to those who did not so belong. By a legacy left by a lady, in J 758, from £10 to £15 worth of bread is given away every year, but this being given at the " church " the Dissenters receive no benefit from the benevolent intentions of Mrs. Mitchell. These facts show that the people of East Bergholt were furnished with the means of providing for them- selves, and from the absence of many of these conditions at Wickham-Market, the moralitv and circumstances of the inhabitants were far nearer zero, and they aug- mented the criminal calendar in a far greater ratio. FARMS, FARMERS, AND FARMING. From the returns furnished at the census of 1851, we find that there were 5,09.2 farms in Suffolk. The number of farms and farmers do not exactly agree, for on examining the occupation tables we found 5,620 males entered as farmers hi this county. This is owing to the fact of retired farmers being classed according to their previous occupation. Of the 5,G20 farmers above mentioned, 5,170 were above 20 years of age, and 444 under 20 years of age. They were distributed, as may be imagined, over the county, the proportionate number varying greatly in different districts. The smallest nund)er, 28, was found in the Bury St. J'^dnnmd's Union, and the largest number, 583, in the Blything Union. The number in each union was — Kisbridgc, 2G8 ; Sudbury, 384 ; Cosford, 350; Thingoe, 3 ID ; Bury, 28 ; Mildenhall, 223 ; Stow, 133 ; Ilartis- iiiere, 474; Hoxnc, 550; J^osmere, 414; Samford, 229; Ipswich, 09; AVoodbridgc, 387; Plomcsgatc, SIZE OF FARMS. 333 379; Blything, 583; Wangford, 270; Mutford, 230. There were also 17 females returned as farmers, one of the number being under 20 years of age. An error of some kind, however, exists here, as it is quite evident that female occupiers are much more numerous in this county than is here stated. On referring to the rate books of the Bosmere Union, we found 24 females rated as occupiers of land. The actual number of female farmers in this union alone, is therefore greater than the census papers have returned for the whole county. In Buckinghamshire the farms vary in extent from 100 to 300 acres ; in Oxfordshire, from 300 to 600 acres; in Devon, from 50 to 250 acres ; and in Suffolk, the heavy-land farms seldom exceed 300 acres in extent. They are generally much smaller ; and many are found from 30 to 50 acres. On the light lands the farms are much larger, and vary from 300 to 1,500 acres. Gene- rally speaking, we have but few large farms, although there are many large farmers — men holding several farms. As an instance of this kind we mention Mr. Capon, of Dennington, who holds 5,000 acres of land, 2,000 of which arc heavy land. lie keeps for the work of his different farms a stock of about 1 20 horses. His bill for oil cake and feeding sometimes exceeds £1,200* in a year, and an. equal sum is expended on artificial manures. On the light lands, Mr. Place of Wangford Ilall, near Brandon, occupies 3,250 acres as one farm, but a great portion of this is rabbit warren, and the census gave a return of one gentleman farming 8,660 acres in this county, and em])loying 362 men. The census returns give the average size of 5,058 farms out of 5,092 in the Registration County of Suffolk. Of these we found 1,473 under 50 acres. This lot includes a variety of holdings from 2 to 49 acres, no less than 702 being under 20 acres in extent, and nearly half of • Caird'd Letters. 334 SUFFOLK IN THE NIXETEENTH CENTURY- this number were under 10 acres. Many of these small patches are in the neighbourhood of towns-, the occupiers depending, to a great extent, on employment in carting for a living, and both man and beast manifest, by their appearance, that there is a hard struggle to procure a scanty subsistence. The 323 occupiers of land, from 10 to 20 acres in extent, are scarcely any better off. The land can hardly be said to be farmed, and the occupiers have neither the means, the skill, nor the energy requisite to place them out of the difficulties which beset them. Nearly two-thirds (209) of the number did not employ a single laborer. Leaving the lowest rank of occupiers, we come to a class of small farmers with holdings a trifle larger, ranging from 20 to 50 acres. Men, who are anxiously toiling to make farming a profitable occupation, and where they have not embarked their small capital in a larger farm than they can fairly manage, and unite, in themselves, the two great essentials, economy and in- dustry, success is almost certain. There were 871 farmers of this class ; 5 1 of the number had each 3 men in their employ, 209 had each 2 men, and 3G0 had each only 1 man in their employment as farm laborers, whilst the remaining 217 farmers gave no return of " employment of men," and in all probability the occu- piers, with the assistance of their children, ])crfornied the mamial labor themselves, excepting at certain periods of the year. AVe next come to a class, ])artly tenants, and partly yeomen, the " stay of the county," as they were called. Of farms between 50 and 300 acres, there were 2,821 — more than half the farms in Suffolk. There were 012 of 50 l)ut under 75 acres, employing 1,114 men ; 493 of 75 but under 100 acres, cnii)loying 1,583 men; S21 of 100, l)ut under 150 acres, employing 4,108 men ; 513 of 150 but under 200 acres, employ- ing 3,710 men; 352 of 200 but under 250 acres, BUT FEW LARGE FARMS. 335 employing 3,154 men, and 213 of 250 but under 300 acres, employing 2,330 men. The occupiers of these 2,821 farms had therefore 16,265 laborers in their employ: In many instances the occupiers of this class are descendants of farmers of several generations, and are tilling the same farms which their grandfathers held under the same race of owners. Farms of 300 but under 500 acres numbered 375, those of, 500 but under 1,000 numbered 134, and the farms of 1,000 acres in extent and above were 42 in number. Many of the occupiers of the last-mentioned farms employ 30, 40, 50, and even 60 men. As illustrations of the variety of sizes of farms in heavy land districts, we cite the testimony of J.. F. Snell, Esq., respecting the parish of Hundon, in the Risbridge Union. The estimated extent is 4,240 acres. There is about 50 acres of wood, and 10 per cent, of the parish is waste. Of farms there are — one 480 acres, two 360, two 300, one 250, two 200, two 150, five 120, four 80, four 50, three 30, with eight or ten smaller occupations. Mr. Snell also states that the " average size of the farms of the heavy land district are not, I think, quite so large." OF EVERY 1,000 FARM HOLDINGS THE PEOPGRTIONAL NUMBER OF THE FOLLOWING SIZES: IN THE EASTERN SIZE OF FARM HOLDINGS. IN ENGLAND AND WALES. DIVISION, SUFFOLK, ESSEX, AND NORFOLK. IN SUFFOLK. Under 100 acres 637'60 535-02 517-59 100 „ 204-92 223-89 263'73 200 „ 82-42 108-16 111-70 300 „ 3610 5642 53o7 409 „ 16-06 26-32 20-56 500 „ 8-83 18-94 14-39 600 „ 4-95 10-08 5-33 700 „ 2-75 571 3-16 800 „ 1-89 3-98 2-57 900 „ 1-04 1-51 •98 1,000 „ 1-53 3-40 1-58 1,200 „ •90 3-15 3-95 1,.500 „ -62 212 r77 2,000 ,, and upwards •40 1-2S •98 , S s - 5 - - a £ ^ s 5 o " O t) ^ J ^2 5; 2 or^o(or--oo'*Oi-c^rHi— I d co 03 S PJ < o I-; (ll ^) « & o pa < ao paioid -013: -OK 05030— il/5-^mi— IrH i-H C^i I-H •SttHVii. ■J'T^ 09 o o CO o CO in CM o CM —I .-- i-l C^ • -M r-irHC>ie05OC>im5Oe0 •r-l'* .-ir-.-^ •t^O'i'CMCM OOOSlOt^OOSOOCM CM 1-1 COCtl I^ -X! C^J -^ ira CM r^ 0> '^ • CM ' CM ^ •M O CO CO CM ■ ro CO 00 CO .— 1 O CM in ■* CM -^ ti-l'*C0O5COI^U5CM CO m Tt< r-l comC'!.-iom-*cM U3 00 ■* ■*00»^Ol^COCM CM C-i t^ CO CMCMCMCO'O'OOSOCOCM —1 CO ir: J^ CM f-Hcoos«oi*< O) r-l COl^»ntOU500t^-)<5DOOr-ICJ I— » CO t^ OS ""^ *-< CO CM l^ CM in -9< .— • LO -»> 'O CM >-< I— I C-1 05 0( C>l ^- CO CO •— c lO *n <5 ■a « ^ <" S s 2 minoooooiraooQoooooooooOooo a, ^ >-icMeov''5i-0'nOu50>raooo©o5oooo ?/ 5 -- ■-' cj M CO CO ■<< io -o 1^ 00 05 o c>i in o « -3 rt _ ^- ei" j; ^- o j: P- S o ♦J r-l «*-*»> rt 0) MODE OF CULTIVATION. 337 The Table of the Size of Farms in Suffolk, in the Eastern Division of England and in England and Wales, will cxhil)it at one view the comparative size of the farm holdings of this county. It will thus be seen that of every 1,000 farms in Suffolk, 517'59 were mider 100 acres in extent, whilst in England and Wales the proportion was G37'G0. Farms of 800 acres and up- wards were 2*57 in every 1,000 in Suffolk, and 3'98 in every 1,000 in the Eastern Division. The climate of this county has long stamped the district as one particularly adapted for the growth of corn. Gentle undulations run along the coast, and nowhere in the county is the elevation so considerable as to retard vegetation in the spring, or to shorten the period of summer growth, or where from elevation the cultivation of wheat would cease to be profitable, while draining and the peculiar system of drill husbandry have rendered a considerable portion of Suffolk one of the finest corn districts in England ; and, in addition, the increased cultivation of green and root crops is rapidly contributing to place the farmers among the largest graziers of fat sheep and cattle. The rotation and manner of cultivation in the heavy land district is — first year, fallow — either clean fallow, tares, beet, or turnips ; second year, barley ; third year, half clover, half peas, or beans, alternately ; fourth year, wheat. There is much variation in the course of crop- ping, particularly among the small farmers ; but on the largest estates, and throughout all the best cultivated farms, this mav be taken as the 2;eneral course. The modifications occasionally made by good farmers are — in the first year, having all long fallow on strong land, or all roots, or growing rye grass or trefoil for spring feed, and then breaking up for fallow ; in the second year, growing wheat instead of barley, after beet ; in the third year, growing tares instead of beans, and Italian rye grass instead of clover, and the growing of oats on 22 338 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. freshly broken-up land, and, to a small extent, in lieu of other white straw crops, for home consumption. On the light land a different course of management is adopted, but it is generally farmed on the four-course system : first year, fallow, swedes, white turnips, carrots, or mangold wurzel ; second year, barley ; third year, seeds ; fourth year, wheat. In portions of the Eastern district, the farms are of so varied a character of soil as to require both light and heavy land farming. Beet-root has in some measure superseded the growth of carrots, but on the very light lands swedes and mangold are not grown, and rye is grown as a corn-crop. The latter, however, is not so much cultivated as it used to be. Oats are occasionally grown instead of barley and wheat. Thorough draining has been much practised in this county, in some districts for nearly three-quarters of a century. The extent to which it is carried may be judged of by the well authenticated statement that throvghoiit the entire heavy land of Suffolk there are few arable fields in which drains are not to be found. The venerable agriculturist, Charles Poppy, of Wit- nesham, says, " The first field that I can speak positively as to being thorough drained, was on Sir Gerard Vanneck's estate (now Lord lluntingficld's), in the parish of Cookley, probably not a mile from Hunting- field Hall. This was thoroughly drained in 1790 or 1791." The draining has been effected at an enormous outlay, but from the great increase of production, no one questions the propriety of the expenditure. In 1770 the produce of wheat was 24 bushels per acre, in 1850 it was 32 bushels, and on the farm of Mr. Bond, of Earl Soham, the second wheat crop yielded 40 bushels an acre, weighing G9ll)s. per bushel ; on another farm, in the Samford Hundred, a larger produce than that was grown, and the oat crop on a third farm yielded 20 coombs per acre. INADEQUATE FARM BUILDINGS. 339 The farms are held chiefly from year to year by men of Uttle capital. Farm buildings are made in a very un- substantial manner, the side walls being of wood, the roof thatched, and the whole requiring constant repair. The buildings are almost everywhere defective in arrange- ment for accumulating or saving manure. The solid manure too often lying about the yards, and the liquid manure runs into the nearest ditch, or drains itself into the watering. In fact, the cattle sheds, the barns, and all the premises, are defective in economical arrange- ment, and it is only when you go to such places as Mr. Harwood's, of Belstead Hall, and the Rev. J. Y, Cooke's, of Semer, that we see what can be done in Suffolk farm yards. Mr, Caird's letter on Suffolk has the following excellent remarks on this point : " Drainage has made consider- able progress, the removing of useless hedge-rows is slowly extending, but farm buildings are generally defective. The inconvenient, ill-arranged hovels, the rickettv wood and thatched barns and sheds, devoid of every known improvement for economising labor, food, or manure, are a reproach to the landlords in the eyes of all skilful agriculturists who see thera. Buildings of such a character that every gale of wind brings some- thing down which the farmer must repair, and of so combustible a nature that, among ill-disposed people he lives in continual dread of midnight conflagration. With accommodation adapted to the wants of a past century, the farmer is urged to do his best to meet the necessities of the present. The economics of arrange- ment and power which are absolutely necessary to ensure profit amid the active competition of manufac- tories are totally lost sight of here, and even the waste of raw material, which would be ruinous in a cotton mill, is continued as a necessary evil by the farmer, whose landlord provides neither sufficient lodging for his stock, nor in that lodging, such as it is, the power of econo- mising food by warmth and shelter," 340 SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, The high system of farming which the present times demand, require improvements to be made — a larger amomit of capital to be expended in cultivating the soil ; and a strong feeling has for some time existed among the most intellio;ent farmers of the countv in favor of a more general system of " tenant right." A tenant may feel himself secm'e under his present landlord, but the uncertainty of life, and the prospect, in consequence, of being compelled to relinquish his farm before he had received the additional profit from his outlay, and no chance of remuneration for unexhausted improvements, deter him from adopting that good arrangement that would be most profitable to himself, and most advan- tageous to the proprietor. Parchment covenants are not the best safeguards to the landlords ; securit}'' of tenure, and liberal dealing with the tenant, will best insure the proper cultivation of the soil. The erection of economical and useful rather than expensive build- ings is advocated. If farmers are to be exposed to universal competition, landlords must give them a fair chance. If they decline to grant long leases, they must themselves make such outlays in improvements as yearly tenants would not be justified in incurring. The economical arrangement of the farm buildings of the Continent, nearest the Suffolk shores, arc far superior to the majority of this county, and unless improvements are speedily made, the Suffolk farmer will have as much chance in competition as the stage coach has with the railway. We insert here tabular information respecting the Agricultural Statistics of Suffolk, in 1853, for which we are indebted to the Report of Sir John Walsham. w O P O O hH H I— I <1 H 02 iJ ti H 1-:] t> o I— < o t^ TJ* ■* ^ to I^ OS to CO r-H CO >-H OS nH •< C>l CO 1^ CO o r-i -a' in r-i t^ 1< m cn to l^ m 00 09 •I f-H ^^§ o to CO to iM t-~ 10 OS 1 ■ T)< • • to Tt< . f-H , M 00 CM • o< • r— 1 ^ « 2 ? O H * • O • * f-H " • •^ ' •^ ■ ■ I-H D P in fc o ;- i 2 ^ "^ 5 i ■^ to .— ( CO 00 00 CO ?->. 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M OS CO o (M >o I-H 00 o oo ■* 00 (M I-H CO «!a> CA I-H ■< Pi ^ W C^ o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o O « i CO ■^ 2 p5® T^ (M CO r-l o ^H o CO o (M CO o oo o o C-l ^ gH o I— t ^H t^ 'O I-H '^l lO CO I^ »o _l CD o o l^ cs CO <1 S S .o^ co~ r-t »— ( (M CO I-H (M I-H Co OS 00 K «i !M oo Tt< -* o CO T-< CO »o CO »o o CD lO ■*_ (M H tA f-H I-H I-H r~\ I-H CO I-H to s:® o o o CO o o o o o o o o o o o o o o CO M® o o ^ C-I CO CO ^ l>- f-H 00 (M f-H t^ CO .O »o f— ( t-H lO CO -* t^ CO lO >o r-H >o OS o >o t^ 00 <: CO »o o^ 00 o^ (M ■>*< oo -*l 05 ^ ■*„ o^ o^ "*^ lO^ ■> 144 is-is 437 . . Cove North . . „ 1849 , , 10 Copdock . . • )» 50 1842 , . 25 Cratfield . . . „ , , , , 50 Creating . . • u , , . , 25 Dallinghoe • „ 146 1849 453 3 6 36 Debenham . . • >> 70 1835 , , 70 Drinkstonc ,, 1834 , , 25 Erwarton . . • >> 27 1839 • • 15 Fordham . . „ 1849 100 Frcssingfield . . • » . . 1845 50 Fritton . . . ,, 45 1848 145 8 Gazeley . . • » 34 1844 . . Gorleston . . „ 206 1841 . , 125 Glemsford . . • »» 1818 . , 20 Hadleigh . . B.S. 200 1837 Hadleigh . . . N.S. 1853 , . 5a Hawkedou . . „ 80 1848 249 7 30 Hales worth . . • .» 9 1850 80 Hessett . ^. „ 80 1848 , , 30 Harkstead . . • n 60 1848 , , Hcpworth . . ,1 1852 25 Henley . . • » 42 Hintlesham . . „ 23 1841 . . Hoo . . • )) 40 1843&1844 20 Huntingfield . . ,, 1849 10 Hketshall St. Margaret's . „ 30 1847&1818 15 Ipswich, St. Alargaret's „ 172 1851ifcl852 GO Ipswich, bt. Clements & St. Hel. „ 145 1843 ) Ditto 174 1848 410 } 100 Ditto , 90 7 6 1852 .. ) , . Ipswich, St. Matthew's . „ 454 1848 028 120 Ditto . . . „ 38 1852 . . Ipswich, Trinity . • >. 96 I\worth . . . ,! 50 181l'&1847 . . 35 Kettlebastou . . ,, 37 1838&1839 . , 25 LaVenham . . „ 100 1838&1839 25 Laxfield . ■ » 80 1845 Loiston . • n 202 1848 310 14 60 liowestoft . . • )) 4 10 1846 . . Lowestoft, Annott'a 6 13 4 . . Mildcn . . • )> 1834 20 Melton . • )) 75 18 k; 445 6 Ditto 4 11 1847 . . Mihlcnhall , , 1817&1823 120 Naylaiid . . • >, , , 1813 50 Newton . i> 50 \s:',7 . . 35 Nedging . . • ,, 1825 40 APPENDIX. OiO SUMS GRANTED TO SCHOOLS IX SUFFOLK. NAME AND DENOMINATION OF SCHOOL. Norton, St. Andrew's Otley Poslingford Preston, St. Mary Ditto . Eced Piedgrare Rickinghall Rushmcre Stowmarket Sbipracadow Sliotley Southwold Ditto Ditto . Stonliam Aspal Stratford, St. Mary Sudbury Sudbury, All Saints Ditto Sudbury Ditto Tattingstone Theberton Thrandeston Tuddenhara . Walsbam-le-Willows Walter Belcbamp Walton cum Felixstow AYangford Ditto Westerfield . Wattisham Westletou Ditto . Ditto Wcybread Wliclnetham, Great Wbelnetliam Parva Wickhambrook Wickham Market Wickbam Market Wickbam Skeith Wissett Whitton . Woolpit Woodbridgc Wratting, Little Wreutbani Wrentbam . Yoxford N.S. B.S. >> N.S. N.S, B.S. N.S >> >> ») >t B.S. N.S. GRANT BY COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL & S. 50 32 6 47 16 14 10 80 75 75 66 10 35 71 75 333 6 24 487 40 54 33 65 5 30 68 35 51 70 5 10 20 125 5 10 46 75 48 15 27 40 8 77 55 45 50 60 6 175 30 65 131 100 120 DATE OP PAY.MENT. 1837 1839 1844 1843 & 1844 1847 1843 1845 1852 1846 1819&1836 1852 1 849 & 1850 1841 1845 1848 1847 1840&1843 1823 & 1832 1848 1851 1847 1851 1841 1838&1839 1851 1841 & 1849 1832 & 1849 1839 1850&1852 1843 &1844 1847 1840 1837 1813 1846 1847 1843 1849 1845 1835 1842 1835 1845 1845 1850 1838 1841 1851 1838 1833 & 1835 1837 SUMS BATSED BY PROMOTORS. GRANT3 FKOM NATION- AL SOCIETY. 263 3 11 312 l: 212 1 584 655 1 283 10 d. 6 4 221 6 9 77 4 £ 20 60 30 25 10 60 30 50 20 10 38 60 25 100 10 15 i.5 50 3.3 50 is 10 65 20 20 15 45 25 40 12 80 APPENDIX, No. 2. STATISTICAL RETUENS FOE EACH OF THE POOE LAW UNIONS AND PARISHES IN THE COUNTY OF SUFFOLK. 3 POPULATION. si °|£^|>.£2 Ceo POOR LAW rXIONS AND OJ a « '^fJ I^S-s PARISHES. li II & SStrS a ■s.s < 1801. 1811. 1821. 1831. 1841. 1851. m £ «|^ 5 ElSBRIDGE. £ £ Haverhill . ,, L104 1,216 1,421 1,758 2,152 2,278 417 2,485 5,195 1,366 Kedinstou 467 441 513 542 028 668 131 1,576 2,479 564 Barnardiston 1,100 142 148 175 206 207 261 45 1,094 1,367 246 Monks Risbridge 92 7 8 , 10 8 1 . , , , , Little Wratting 936 107 141 183 212 239 212 42 850 1,027 250 Great Wratting l,329i 260 259 263 344 355 391 75 1,206 1,507 171 M'ithersfield 2,509 424 433 484 545 640 642 142 2,346 2.345 280 Great Tlmrlow 2,023 299 342 462 425 431 431 88 2,098 2,676 480 Little Tluirlow . 1,470 348 342 436 464 422 449 99 1,043 2,031 314 Little Bradley 957 48 44 31 22 33 35 8 985 1,052 208 Gre.it Bradley 2,280 395 406 487 527 544 542 110 2.049 2,402 454 Cowliiii;e 3,025 570 659 790 845 882 879 189 3,593 4,273 941 Mickhambrook 4,348 1,002 1,160 1,295 1,400 1,023 1,597 338 4,201 5,454 1,436 Stradisliall 1,376 460 404 443 393 379 430 101 1,524 1,561 339 Lcnardiston 1,230 277 299 327 341 339 303 00 1,450 1,010 331 Staiisfield 1,989 376 380 451 470 510 506 112 2,311 2,463 453 Posliiigford 2,43S 253 215 295 316 343 371 75 2,782 2,009 265 Hiindoa 4,461 824 833 956 1,121 1,095 1,218 259 5,294 5,851 904 Clare 2,228 1,033 1,170 1,487 1,019 1,700 1,769 38:.^ 3,417 5,000 973 Stoke-by-Clare 2,361 687 665 746 792 808 911 174 3,116 3,027 737 Wliixoe 600 130 125 147 146 104 168 31 712 1,008 101 Sudbury. Biires St. ilary , , 702 710 837 990 984 1,144 237 3,339 ,. 1,133 ■\Viston 1,485 220 218 246 249 252 256 57 1,889 416 Kajland 941 881 933 1,019 1,047 1,114 1,153 247 2,134 , , 602 Stoke-by-Naylaiid . 5,277 1,041 1,242 1,393 1,147 1,362 1,406 303 6,744 . , 900 Assington 2,986 471 478 5:53 641 778 770 150 3,829 4,882 704 Little Cornard 1.6,17 279 239 297 345 390 380 80 1,811 2,550 443 (ircat Cornard 1,567 535 510 650 819 938 857 190 2,191 3,275 451 HuMitry — All Saints . , , 800 958 1,129 1,151 1,202 1,251 304 J ^ , , St. Gregory . . 998 1,041 1,160 17,10 1,893 2,030 393 , , , , , , St. Peter 1,093 1,442 1,515 1,661 1,810 1,92() 1,941 401 3,471 16,150 1,773 St. Bartliolomew , , , , , , , , ^ ^ 4 3 1 CliiUon 979 79 88 97 108 98 151 27 r,ii8 l',972 123 Newton, near Sndliury 2,197 354 310 343 432 443 499 99 2.737 3,383 529 (in at WHldingficld , 2,423 564 577 711 679 676 059 147 :{,328 4.128 870 I-ittle Waldniglicld 1,574 338 347 386 403 420 404 89 2,104 2.188 307 APPENDIX. 377 STATISTICAL RETURNS FOR THE POOR LAW UNIONS — Continued. 2J 3 *-> •s« Mk 1 POOR LAW VNIONS AND «-* en POPVLATION. Q> ~^ Nf 3 « «2 c S C3 t/T -?-gH £x.^.a Pi PARISHES. £3 = B 5! ? "sg *j tn < 1801. 1811. 1821. 1831. 1841. 1851. a c S S i £ «|.- £ £ Acton 2,811 461 470 555 565 555 539 112 3,03.5 3,8.39 817 Alpheton 1,202 204 208 264 3U9 320 370 74 1,324 1,797 292 Long Melford 5,185 2,-'04 2,068 2,288 2,514 2,597 2,587 574 7,724 11,836 2,441 Cavendish 3,354 1,042 1,074 1,215 1,214 1,353 1,394 284 4,400 4,5,33 1,400 Glemsford . 2,295 1,215 1,148 1,275 1,470 1,366 1,626 345 3,675 5,098 1,381 Staiistead 1,162 258 284 341 353 387 412 84 1.453 2,037 189 Boxtead 1,367 171 173 196 239 200 201 35 1,400 1,666 389 Hawkedon 1,461 237 268 329 328 339 359 74 1,6.58 1,875 450 Somerton . 1,040 117 187 1.56 141 143 1.36 30 1,149 1,293 93 Hartest . 1,964 €46 705 740 761 812 832 175 2,905 3.099 550 Shinipling . 2,098 441 393 450 496 517 470 110 3.050 3,947 596 IjawshiiU 2,699 554 717 837 88.D 92.5 908 209 3,428 3,787 902 COSFOKD. Codtfield . 3,626 739 829 897 1,023 931 988 221 4,086 5,074 980 Thorpe Morieux 2,4.57 271 305 369 412 418 414 93 2,176 3,282 429 Bretteiiham 1,558 228 292 280 366 367 401 80 1,666 2,559 471 Wattisham 1,298 154 167 193 202 240 220 50 1,381 1,958 393 Hitchara . 4,117 746 866 965 1,022 1,065 1,037 222 4,126 6,367 1,407 Biliieaton 1,420 744 762 814 836 857 818 195 1,840 4,153 588 Kettlebastoii 1,063 145 186 190 202 203 189 o9 1,144 1,522 183 Preston . 1,931 309 272 320 321 406 386 72 .. Lavenham . 2,887 1,776 1,711 1,898 2,107 1,871 1,811 415 3,755 5' 652 L889 Brent Elei;;h . 1,617 243 255 298 290 289 260 32 2,200 2,424 314 Aloiiks Eleigh . 2,099 542 560 713 733 732 722 155 2,520 3,571 572 Mildcn . 1,339 130 141 167 177 186 165 39 1,473 1,863 174 Chelsworth 861 234 269 311 346 284 255 66 1,319 1,878 137 Nedging 837 143 181 203 214 195 183 37 867 1,408 116 Naughton . 854 120 125 1.55 187 137 134 30 854 1,067 227 Elmaett 1,973 324 345 371 437 446 433 96 2,489 3,223 632 Aldhara 1,744 197 251 292 318 293 307 61 1,953 2,232 395 Hadleigh 4,288 2,332 2,592 2,929 3,425 3,679 3,716 749 7,605 12,941 3,720 Laylmiu 2,488 471 493 695 552 549 577 119 3,772 5,046 654 Polstead 3,4U2 655 699 900 960 989 943 209 3,936 5,461 1,029 Boxford . ] 1,820 636 702 743 874 889 898 195 3,102 4,663 889 Hadleigh (Ilaiidtt) j 154 186 201 214 232 204 47 446 702 102 Groton 1,571 516 545 597 577 624 589 123 1.719 2,620 488 Edwardstoue 1,872 362 374 416 503 495 479 95 2,104 3,859 585 Liiidsey 1,246 170 212 232 250 290 326 71 1,333 1,869 532 Kersey 1,510 513 616 621 700 787 714 151 2,339 3,300 671 Semer 1,248 203 395 431 429 370 558 51 1,718 2,420 507 Whatfield 1,570 235 268 326 377 394 380 74 1,932 2.370 765 TllINCOR. Bradfield St. Clare 1,428 131 151 201 220 240 214 51 1,406 1,211 lOS Bradtield St. George 1,984 3.34 370 409 489 479 486 10.5 2,110 2,003 346 Rougham . 3,840 607 626 778 868 969 1,079 209 3,933 4,468 1,103 Bushbrook 1,060 122 148 194 177 175 184 35 1,618 973 159 Little Welnetham 592 142 127 176 180 206 178 35 869 9i2 102 Bradfield Combust 818 125 137 146 154 192 203 46 1,106 1,161 171 Stanningtield 1,455 248 263 290 306 327 320 66 1,788 2,176 199 Great Welnetham . 1,493 222 266 399 422 514 552 119 1,851| 2,733 300 Hawstead . . '^ 2,237 392 409 404 414 457 520 109 3,560 4,252 254 Hardwick . j •• •• •• •• 19 36 4 •• 3,634 402 SiiS APPENDIX STATISTICAL RETUENS FOR THE POOR LAW UNIONS — Continued, POOR I,AW UNIONS AND PARISHES. S 03 g C O POPULATION. 0) 00 *-> .— t 03 S J3 to 3t3 ^ C al Property issed to Pro- ty & Income ax in 1S53. g 4^ 00 V 1-1 C c ^ - =- S 6-t< m 'r* < 1801. 1811. 1821. 1831. 18-11. 1851. a ^34^ «|o. 5 £ £ £ Newton 1,157 170 16^ ' 171 137 171 187 42l 1,683 1,804 173 Whepstead 2,670 546 63t ) 664| 618 681 652 140 3,421 3,634 402 Brockley . 1,565 253 26] 276 i 319 3S0 378 71 1,450 1,665 363 Reed . 1,224 161 202 23S 231 241 247 63 1,292 1,233 133 Chedburgh 566 179 201 24C 295 284 243 67 645 1,185 98 Depdeu 1,595 240 282 3K 329 345 279 58 1,824 1,916 319 Chevington 2,429 445 490 59(J 573 624 600 123 2,681 3,205 634 Hargrave 1,108 324 313 360 394 457 489 99 2,159 1,836 369 Denham . 1,267 141 147 166 191 182 218 42 Barrow 2,665 614 645 755 856 995 1,120 214| 3,726 4*143 "768 Great Saxhara . 1,428 226 276 260 260 271 293 5212,301 2,019 287 Little Saxham 1,381 194 192 202 198 230 191 3o| 1,727 1,881 102 Ickworth . 1,259 67 68 82 43 62 71 12 2,074 4,704 862 Horningsheath 2,200 543 523 539 586 597 670 136, 2,458 1,465 314 Westley . 1,216 88 99 124 132 144 118 24 1 974 1,695 142 Risby . 2,801 266 277 293 332 360 431 79 2,500 2.938 287 Foruham All Saints . 1,698 236 282 305 310 336 358 78 2,119 1,836 291 Fornham St. Martin's 1,230 ItiO 174 222 276 294 322 67 1,668 2,060 169 Foruham St. Genevieve 790 116 111 144 73 70 57 13 731 810 48 H engrave 1,044 196 178 168 238 228 240 43 1,712 1,465 240 Flempton . 789 99 128 129 188 210 247 42 1,049 6,0 51 Lackfurd 2,243 162 r28 163 193 193 216 35 1.642 1,490 94 West Stow . "i Cliimiiey Mills . ) 2,926 168 170 179 260 273 6 308 7 53 1 1,156 1,235 132 Word well 2,299 "'40 "45 "48 "69 06 56 11 853 888 09 CulforJ . 2,217 244 239 291 327 352 348 65 1,674 1,780 280 Inghum 1,808 160 i5j 185 226 208 233 45 1,450 1,637 174 Tim worth 1,358 149 166 210 216 212 241 43 1,056 1,657 130 Ampton 736 75 71 117 110 147 131 30 845 '720 86 Gt. liivermere 1,549 259 239 251 336 320 301 62 1,312 1,620 75 Little livermere 1,433 89 142 187 185 172 174 29 1,368 1,221 164 Troston . 1,764 247 293 371 399 409 427 92 1,323 1,992 295 Thorpe by Ixworth 770 122 107 148 128 142 136 28 1,163 1,271 34 Bardwell 3,144 556 553 687 799 826 893 193 2,972 4,878 1,130 Stanton All Saints ) Stanton, John Baptist / 3,254 728 SIC 939 1,035 1,029 1,082 214 3,828 6,680 792 Ixworth . 2,248 827 846 952 1,061 1,064 1,189 229 2,495 4.704 862 Pakenham , 3,696 681 793 92>s 979 1,102 1,134 2:M 3,113 6,030 739 Gt. Barton 4,030 523 509 70^ 778 774 855 177 3,128 3,883 659 Bury St. Edmund's. St. Mary , . i St. Jumea . . j 2,934 4,090 3,565 4,206 3,780 6,230 4,769 5,494 5,042 6,269 6,269 7,232 6,668 1,374 1,378 13026 26,796 • • MlLDENIIALL. Cavenliam 2,630 190 230 261 261 277 283 63 1,178 1,201 179 'J'liddcnham 2,644 268 276 316 388 428 479 93 1,438 2,194 256 llcrringswell . 2,540 126 163 21'> 239 219 225 42 1,157 1,256 109 Kent ford . 798 120 95 109 173 152 172 40 6.0 1,253 52 Freckonhnm . 2,520 256 307 306 427 495 477 99 1,897 3,077 283 Worliri;;lon 2,0»0 326 340 360 368 351 391 86 1,983 3,i;;() 3^7 Biirton Mills . 2.050 305 376 523 691 610 012 1.S8 2,! 95 3,805 2.S'.J lOrinwcll . . 6,620 295 295 346 403 601 624 103 1,8;!9 1,201 314 l^kciilicalh . . . 10550 745 844 1,042 1,209 1.579 1,864 389 4,343 9,059 1,123 APPENDIX. 379 STATISTICAL RETURNS FOR THE POOR LAW UNIONS- — Continued. -s- JC ol lin&s Pro- 1815. Uh s« porur,ATioN. Ci ^^ = =2k" |3l! 3 ^ POOR LAW VNIONS AND c/? p ]B - > S a Q^^ C o ci fj ►S.3EH S^'Vii-S th« <-? PARISHES. S e O- I. ^ = ■/: c = 1 1 ' 1 •J C S hi O '12 fs- liiil £ 2,750 1,749 1,706 3,091 1,890 1,565 3,874 1.195 2,524 1,442 875 2,287 1,471 182 69 52 149 159 159 131 190 161 69 125 24 60 68 140 2,768 12112,093 44 1.020 480, 6,475 29 872 62] 1,617 76 1,505 37 872 43 1,743 48 1,428 265 6,345 66 1,682 319 5,283 133 3,791 81 1,951 156 3,268 131 4,471 43 1.268 143 3,001 290 5,788 223 5,383 136 2,535 93| 2,037 25 711 63' 2,062 39; 1,077 174 3,220 46 1,949 i ^ O « 103 168 216 92 77 90 327 170 2,593 5,252 5,185 1,784 1,748 2,072 £ 4,263 2,311 2,251 4,326 1,427 1,134 4,949 3,323 2,601 4,949 2,830 2,595 1,746 4,787 2,646 1,446 9,614 1,204 2,325 2,056 1,134 2,004 2,223 8,366 1,991 7,844 3,928 2,810 4,492 4,175 1,571 2,978 8,234 7,130 3,460 2,739 884 2,602 1,341 4,182 2,190 2,745 5,900 6,155 2,347 2,279 2,755 5^ a CO PL,-. *^ * o a a: -I-. O O £ 1,052 406 224 574 469 678 1,345 695 449 579 220 317 456 1,206 544 256 2,470 97 654 370 218 273 248 1,687 321 2,479 915 383 821 677 115 940 1,945 1,243 854 647 139 347 211 899 463 608 1,288 1,532 592 426 472 > This included the whole PariRli, part of which is in Norfolk. APPENDIX. 381 STATISTICAL RETURNS FOR TnE POOR LAAV UNIONS - — Continued. B 3 POPULATION. ted 1851.' o£o2 "J -Sis «52 K 'oka §•2^2 CO ^ rOOR lAW VNIONS AND m aj .o .. >2 a £"►- o o-"l c S 2 S -Sl^ a,T3y.S PARISHES. 'Z< c S %t^b :alt..« °§ < 1801. 1811. 1821. 1831. 1841 1851. £ 3 "-I o 1 Rei Asses 1 pert 1 Ta £ £ £ Helmiiigham 2,438 235 267 325 286 284 287 56 2,920 3,533 384 Pettaugh 794 204 216 254 284 266 288 59 , , 1,195 380 Winston . . L476 261 298 366 398 399 392 81 , , 2,173 311 Debeiiham . 3,271 1,215 1,224 1,535 1,629 1,667 1,653 374 . • 6,625 986 Mick6eld . 1,200 173 219 246 257 263 256 54 . • 2,403 307 Stoiiham Aspal 2,399 578 619 633 612 772 814 171 3,229 4,585 748 Crowfield . IJil 250 268 345 360 385 410 91 1,350 2,886 473 Coddenhara . , 2,719 653 725 847 913 924 1,047 223 2,747 4,831 693 Gosbeck . 1,466 284 266 308 319 316 311 67 1,991 2,221 296 Hemitijrstone 1.441 253 265 322 342 381 388 83 1,789 2,402 283 Ash bock iii^ 1,408 186 237 248 234 321 314 64 1,046 2,415 246 SwillanJ 9.51 184 237 195 272 270 267 53 1,192 1,791 207 Henley 1232 250 248 241 305 329 326 65 1,286 2.232 317 Akeahiiui 998 105 117 120 119 117 131 22 1,052 2,323 107 Claydon , 950 305 316 328 402 418 540 118 1,653 1,882 336 Baiham 1,806 352 539 845 825 576 776 85 2,251 2,400 328 fireat Blakenham . 809 120 127 162 192 180 124 47 1,011 1,906 165 Ba>lliam 1,332 232 224 23 7 238 275 310 62 1,983 1,850 257 Barknig . . | 470 301 38 7 418 465 435 95 2,709 3,183 1,164 Darmsden Hamlet J 3,164 82 83 74 73 61 64 12 548 1,153 156 Needhara Mkt. Hmt. ) L348 1,301 1,300 1,466 1,353 1,367 312 2,134 3,494 Creeling St. Mary j 122 165 167 129 196 224 48 2,010 2,488 214 Creeling All Saints > 3,115 279 244 271 294 286 301 65 1,927 2,366 278 Greeting St. Olaves ) 36 26 35 44 30 50 8 472 634 35 Little Stonham . 1,193 257 258 311 329 368 402 80 1,564 2,688 287 Earl Stonham 2,520 575 620 677 757 878 860 173 3,572 4,626 715 Badley 1,050 82 81 84 82 83 74 15 1,186 1,453 200 Battisford . 1,542 290 320 421 436 520 496 107 1,688 2,397 254 Ringshall . 2,116 257 290 304 337 356 371 ♦ 72 2,454 2,713 303 Great Bricet 915 224 224 290 284 214 236 57 878 1,467 442 Wilhsham 927 154 159 173 224 217 213 44 1,149 1,428 224 Offton 1,561 264 283 328 399 417 410 87 1,560 2,384 425 Nettlestead 1,028 87 97 85 74 98 81 18 1,049 1,289 111 Soraersham . 1,027 298 337 377 446 485 422 104 1,252 1,936 212 Little Blakenham 1,054 115 102 120 102 119 139 30 1,302 2,193 131 Bramford . . 3,226 762 784 855 874 881 997 205 4,096 5,292 846 Flowton . i 495 121 118 150 185 179 178 36 578 1,016 200 Samford. Spron;;hton 2,393 353 442 506 524 585 580 129 3,555 4,424 * Burstall 76b 151 166 203 199 223 243 49 1.074 1,220 Hintlesham . 2,828 419 510 562 578 583 584 12, 3,569 4,047 ChaUishara . 713 161 171 231 241 215 234 49 217 3,491 Washbrook 1,443 278 289 377 418 506 504 105 2,309 2,735 Copdook 9.54 225 288 278 310 299 349 71 1,759 1,890 Little Wenham . 931 64 69 90 88 87 72 19 1,507 1,287 Great Wenham 1,1^3 170 156 205 181 198 269 5.') 1,224 1,763 Capel St. Mary 1,910 401 506 561 628 608 649 141 2,896 3,491 Helton St. Mary . .347 190 196 213 194 187 192 41 1,147 1,318 Itavdon 2,335 367 422 501 659 592 555 119 2,916 3,566 Slitlley 928 137 136 130 142 139 138 26 1,147 1,207 Higham 880 202 237 262 200 259 292 54 2,650 2,330 Siralford St. Mary 1,461 502 573 614 630 647 643 155 5.846 3,963 East Bergholt 3,063 970 1,151 1,246 1,360 1,461 1,467 337 5,846 9,283 • Samford Union was not embodied till 1840, the cost of Pauperism for 1834 was therefore not known. 582 APPENDIX. STATISTICAL RETURNS FOR THE POOR LAW UNIONS— Cor, ■73 O S to C a POPULATION. 0) oo 3 'O ^- •5< C 3 ■3|&S Oi ^3 = c J'g G, GJ t- t^ < 1,574 1801. 290 1811. 1821. 1831. 1841. 1851. K 53^^ < 330 387 373 415 435 95 £ 2,382 £ 2,717 7-59 127 122 114 114 134 116 25 872 1,415 1,691 475 529 579 666 658 777 168 2,419 3,317 1,344 198 201 222 262 254 310 57 2,120 2,425 2,804 497 527 714 745 785 845 178 3,359 4,807 771 282 328 349 472 495 718 151 896 1,357 579 177 305 337 374 433 799 170 823 1,167 1,685 2,332 3,189 3,675 4,238 4,647 6,781 1,296 7,451 13,910 1,997 522 475 704 809 660 742 119 2,020 3,409 602 41 37 34 39 23 23 7 918 622 1,072 36 89 87 63 77 77 10 1,306 1,016 1,492 242 294 375 410 442 559 111 1,594 2,241 1.573 386 355 448 517 592 663 140 2,397 3,295 1,410 240 277 349 419 507 627 117 2,398 2,518 1,720 160 200 168 183 197 179 34 1,297 1,564 1,109 42 39 34 42 53 50 11 558 L122 1,264 332 375 416 425 412 439 96 2,263 2,707 1,267 202 225 274 260 251 331 62 1,669 2,082 1,562 174 178 174 170 223 215 47 1,441 1,593 1,496 189 217 239 570 327 344 62 2,264 2,383 2,383 199 225 272 257 270 341 64 3,372 3,835 2,059 350 389 385 424 465 489 104 1,941 3,004 1,714 1,928 2,116 2,351 2,587 573 2,175 1,728 3,796 8,592 757 1,039 1,304 1,428 1,412 293 TO oO o ADDENDUM. In the Table of the "Executions at the County Goal, Ipswich," on pajje 150, the name of the man Ransome, wlio was executed April 17, 1819, with Ilillyard and Laws, for the same offence, is not included. The Author begs to state, that the printed list is a verbatim copy of one furnished by the present Governor of the County Goal. INDEX. Ages of the Inhabitants of Suffolk in each Union, 45 — of Husbands and "Wives, 52 — of unmarried, married, and widowed Persons, 51 — of the Blind, of Lunatics in Asylums, of the Deaf and Dumb, of Patients in Hospitals, 77 — of Children on entering School, 229. Agricultural Statistics, 341. Archdeaconry of Suffolk, Number of Benefices, Value and Extent of Glebe, 261. Agricultural Laborers, Wages, Diet, 349 — their Social Habits and Moral Con- dition, 351 — Ignorance of, 362. Allotments, Benefits of, 350 — Sir Henry Banbury on, 352. Births in each year and each quarter of the year since 1841, 85 — Births influ- enced by climate, 86. Birth-places of the People, 50. Births, number of Illegitimate, 87 — Excess in Hartismere Union, 88 — Effects as a Social Evil, ib. Boundary and Extent, 1. Civil Condition of the People, 44. Coast and Surface, 2. Crime in Suffolk from the commencement of the Century, 116 — Years of fluc- tuation, 117 — Classification of Commitments for 19 years, 119 — Commit- ments for 5 years ending 1852, 120 — Arson (a prevalent crime), 125 — Female Prisoners, their ages, civil condition, and offences charged with, 128 — Great proportion of Juvenile and youthful Prisoners in Suffolk, 131 — Reformatory School needed, 133 — Localities of Crime, ratio of Criminals to Population in each Poor Law Union, 136 — Cosford Union the most Criminal district, ib. — Towns and Villages conspicuous for excess of Criminals, 138 — Town and Rural Districts compared, 139 — Larcenies and serious Offences in the Towns, 141 — Occupations of Prisoners, 147 — Punishments, 149 — Execu- tions .since 1801, 150 — Opinions of Colonel Bence, William Gurdon, Esq., and others, on the causes of Crime in Suffolk, 153— Cost of Crime, 159. Civil and Political Government, 29. Causes of Death, 92 — Registrar- General's Returns, 111. Climate, Temperature, 19 — Rain, 22 — Winds, 24. Cosford Union the most Criminal district of the County, 136. Cost of Poor Relief in 14 Unions in 1834, 164. Clergy pay more than their share of Educational expenses, 242. Children, Employment of; their hours of Work and Wages, 368. 388 INDEX. Deaf and Dumb, 75— Ages of, 77. Diet of Agricultural Laborers, 355. Deaths, Annual number of, 89 — Deaths in each quarter of the year, 90 — Causes of Death, 92— Deaths from Zymotic diseases, 94— Diseases of uncertain seat, 95 — Tubercular diseases, 96 — Diseases of the Nervous system, 97— fiom Organs of Circulation, 98— Respiratory organs, ib. — from Diseases of the Digestive organs, 99— from Organs of Generation, lOO^from Organs of Locomotion, ib. — from Urinary organs, ib. — from Old age, 102. — from Ex- ternal causes, 103. — Annual number of Sudden deaths, «i.— Health of Suffolk, «■*.- Longevity of the Inhabitants, 105.— Specified causes of Death iiT the years 1848, 1849, 1850, 1851, and 1852, 111. Distribution of Persons born in Suffolk, 56. Education, State of, 205— Number of Day Schools and Scholars in 1851, 207— Progress of Education during the present Century, ?'6.— Assistance granted by the Treasury and the National Society, 210— Proportion of Scholars to Population, 1818, 1833, and 1851, 211— Doubtful Accuracy of the Returns for 1833, 212— Efficiency of the Education, State of the School Buildings, 216 — Deficiency of Books and Apparatus in Public Schools, 219— Great number of Dames' Schools, 220— Superior and inferior Schools pointed out by the Inspectors, 224— Small number of certificated Schoolmasters, 225— Wretchedly-small Salaries, 228— Age of Children on entering School, 229— Fluctuation of Attendance, 230— List of Parishes with no Day School, 236 — British Schools in debt, 240— Churchmen unwilling to aid Schools, 241— Clergy bear more than a fair share of the expense of Schools, 242 — Necessity for Educational Rate, 243— Compulsory Payment for Crime in Hadlcigh, 249— Halesworth and Cosford Union compared with Voluntary payment for Education, 250— Friends of Education must bestir themselves, 251— Sunday Schools, 252 — Evening Schools in 1851, 256. Executions in Suffolk from 1801, 150. Farms, Farmers, and Farming, 332— Number of Farmers in each Poor Law Union, 333— Small Farmers, 334— Size of Farms and number of Laborers employed in each, 336— Mode of Cultivation, 337— Draining, 338— Produce of Land, «*.— Farm Buildings defective, 339— Agricultural Statistics, 341— Female Prisoners, 128, Geology of the County and its influence on Agriculture, 12. Health of the County, 103. Juvenile Criminals, 130. Land and its Owners, 324— Rent of Land, 325— Land belonging to the Clergy, 328— Large Owners, 328— Small owners, 329— Resident Proprietorship, its importance, 330. Literary Institutes, 287 — Number of Members, date of establishment, and number of volumes, 288 — By whom supported, 291— Deficiencies in the Libraries, 293 — Classification of Books, 297 — Income, 301 — Village Libraries, 303— Meagreness of the Libraries a reproach to the County, 306. Marriages in each Year and in each quarter of the Year, 80— Where celebrated, 82— Proportion of Widowers and Widows, 83— Widowers more frequently re-marry than Widows, 82 — Persons married under age, 83 — Number that signed with Marks, compared with other Counties, 83— Annual number of Marriages from 1754 to 1854, 84. Mutford Union the least criminal in the County, 136. Nature, extent, and locality of Crime, 115. INDEX. 389 Occupations of the People, 55— of Males, 65— of Females, 66— Occupations in 1841, 72 — Occuiiations of 1825 prisoners, 147. Police, 32. Population, at each decennaid, 36 — Number of inhabited houses, uninhabited, and houses building in each Union, 38 — Proportion of Population concentrated in Towns, 41 — density of Population in each Union, 42. Pauperism, past and present, IGl — Suffolk deeply pauperised, ib. — Apathy of Ratepayers to the evil, 162— Cost of Poor relief in fourteen Unions in 1834, 164 — Variation of the cost, 165 — Scale allowance, 167 — Demoralising results, 169 — Indoor relief and dietary table, 172 — Indulgences allowed to Paupers, 173 — Compulsory Apprenticeship, extent and obnoxious character, 176 — The new Law an innovation on Humanity, 182 — The Poor preferred the Gaol to the Workhouse, 184 — Cause of Incendiarism, 155 — Amount annually expended for Poor relief from 1832 to 1852, 182— Decrease in 1837 compared with 1834, 189 — Low rate could not be maintained, 190 — Cost of relief in each Union, 1849, 1850, 1852, 1853, 192— Extraordinary range of Cost between Samford and Hoxne, ib. — Cost of Poor relief in Bosmere Union in 1834 and 1853, 195 — Number of Persons relieved, 196 — Indoor Poor, ib. — Outdoor Poor, 197 — Salaries of Poor Law Officers, 198— Indus- trial Training for Children, 200— Employment instead of relief to the able bodied urged, 202 — Advantages that would result, 203. Proportion of Male and Female Prisoners, 128. Punishment of Prisoners, 149. Eeformatory for young Criminals needed, 133. Religious Condition,' 258— Deaneries, Rectories, and Vicarages, ib, — Value of the Benefices, 259 — Patrons, 260— Ai'chdeaconry of Suffolk, number of its Benefices, and extent of Glebe, 261 — Pluralities, 263— Tithes taken by Laymen, ib. — Bishop of Oxford on the Bramford Vicarage, 265 — Attendance on public Worship, 267 — Sittings provided, 269 — Rate of increase of sittings, 270 — Deficiency in the towns of Ipswich and Bury St. Edmund's, 271 — Number of Places of Worship open Morning, Afternoon, and Evening, ib. — Free and appropriated Sittings, 272 — Number provided by each sect, 273 — Greatest provision by Church of England in every district, ib. — Baptist, Independent, and Wesleyan, 275 — Other Protestant Sects, Roman Catholics, Mormons, 276 — Excess of Accommodation in Cosford Union, 277 — Absentees at Public Worship, 278 — Per Centage of Attendants in each Union, 279 — Number of habitual neglecters of religious Ordinances, 279 — Inquiry into the causes of this neglect, 280. Rent of Cottages, 327. Rivers, 3. Rates and Rating, 308 — Poor's-rate, how levied, 309 — Discrepancies and inequality in Assessments, 311 — Number of Assessments and number of Rate- payers, 315 — County Rate, 317 — Borough Rate, 320 — Highway Rate, 321. Soil of the County, 9. Sunday Schools and Scholars in 1851, 252 — Proportion in various Unions, 253 — Number of Teachers, 254. Wages to Farm Laborers low in Suffolk, 349. Women, employment of, 364 — Hours of Work, Wages, social evils resulting, 367. Value of Land in 1770 and 1850, in Suffolk, 325. Value of Benefices, 259. Village Libraries, 306. tPSTTICH : PKINTED ETT J. M. BURTON AND CO. ^^Iiifiilk in tljf liimtn^ntlj Cfiihinj'' 1856. WM, B. JEFFRIES, HENLEY ROAD, IPSWICH, (Seed Establishment, Hyde Park Corner,) Begs to offer his grateful acknowledgments to the Nobility, Gentry, and Clergy, for the greatly increased patronage that has been so liberally accorded to him since his removal from the London Road, to the above more commodious grounds, Avherc he is enabled to keep a much larger selection of every article connected with the Trade, and trusts by his unremitting attention to merit a continuance of their kind support. He also begs to offer the following choice which are sure to give every satisfaction. GREENHOUSE PLANTS. £ *. d. Azalea Indica, superior, including many new varieties . per dozen 93., 123. to 1 4 Achimeues and Gloxinias, splendid new varieties . . „ Qs. to 12 Cinerarias and Fuchsias, fine show varieties . . „ 63., 9s. to 12 Camellias, fine large flowering plants . . . each 2s. 6d. to 15 Ericas, some splendid specimens . . . „ 5s. to 10 10 Ditto, small flowering plants, fine varieties . . . per dozen 6s. to 12 Geraniums, superb show varieties, strong flowering plants . „ Qs. to 1.5 Fancy Geraniums, very best distinct sorts, ditto . . „ 93. to 15 NEW AND CHOICE PLANTS. Petunia Imperialis, double white, very fragrant .... each 1 6 Gynerium Argenteum, a noble ornamental grass, producing a splendid silvery plume „ 2 6 Phlox, Countess of Home, decidedly the best yet known . . .,,16 Eugenia Ugnii, a splendid luscious fruit-bearing shrub . . „ 1 6 Escalonia Pterocladou, a beautiful shrub, producing an abundance of white Epacris- like flowers . . . . . . .,,16 Sarracenias or Pitcher plants, greenhouse varieties . . „ 2 6 BEDDING PLANTS. A very large collection of Verbenas, Heliotropes, Geraniums, Petunias, and all the approved Varieties, 23 to 43. per dozen ; or W. B. J.'s own selection, per 100, 20s. ; 50, 10s Cii. ; 25, 5s. 6d. Also Dahlias of all the leading kinds, 63., 9s., and r2s. per dozen. HARDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS. Fine Varieties, suitable for Borders and Kockwork, 43., Gs., aud 93. per dozen. ROSES on clear stems, varying iu height from 6 inches to 3 feet, the finest in cultivation, IBs. per dozen. FEUIT TREES, STANDARDS, and DWARFS, Trained. Also STANDARD ORNA- MENTAL TREES for LAWNS, EVERGREENS, and FLOWERING SHRUBS, CLIMBING ROSES, CONIFERA, etc., etc, W. B. J. offers at the lowest remunerative prices. VEGETABLE AND FLOWER SEEDS. Owing to the great extent of W. B. J.'s grounds, he is enabled to grow most of the Seeds himself, he can therefore confidently recommend them as being good and true to name. W. B. J.'s Catalogues are pnhUshed in September, of Dutch Bulbs, and in January, of Vegetable and Flower Seeds, and may be had Free upon application. "SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY" ADVERTISER. AND DEPOT FOR PHOTOGEAPHIO GOODS, SAINT MATTHEW'S STREET, IPSWICH. JOHN GLYDE, JUN., Respectfully informs the Inhabitants of Suffolk, that he has fitted up Rooms especially for Photographic purposes, and that he is now prepared to take PORTRAITS, either on Glass or Paper, and the greatest care will be taken to obtain pleasing Likenesses. Charge from 2s, 6d. to ^1 Is. Od. J. G. calls the attention of Amateurs to his stock of Photographic Goods, Cases, Passepartouts, Cameras, Positive and Negative Paper, Chemicals of tested purity, and nearly every Article and Instrument used in the art, at London Prices. LENSES by th.e Best Makers obtained and tested for Purchasers. AGENT FOR RAMSDEN'S POSITIVE & NEGATIVE COLLODION, Unrivalled for Gradation of Light and Shade and delicacy of detail, 9d. per oz. STEREOSCOPES AND SLIDES IN GREAT VARIETY ■\T LOW I'llICLS. ^EWMhws moi mm'P¥m colors m sale. A Fine Collection of Pictures by some of the most Enwient IVwtographcrs in England on Sale. INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN TO LADIES AND GENTLEMEN IN THE COLLODION PROCESS ON MODERATE TERMS. 'SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY" ADVERTISER. s xj F F o iL. k: NURSE AND SERVANTS' INSTITUTION, AND GENERAL REGISTER OFFICE, ST. MATTHEW'S STREET, IPSWICH. CONDUCTED BY JOHN CLYDE, JUN. THE ONDEKSIGNRD HAVE PLEASUHE IN RECOMMENDING THE ABOVE INSTITUTION TO THE FAVOUKABLE NOTICE OF THE PUBLIC. OF OF THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL CARLISLE. THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL STRADBROKE. THE RIGHT HON. SIR W. F. F. MIDDLETON, Bart. SIR EDWARD KERRISON, Bart., M.P. E. S. GOOCH, ESQ., M P. J. C. COBBOLD, ESQ., M.P. THE MAYOR OF IPSWICH. THE MAYOR OF BURY ST. MUND'S. THE MAYOR OP COLCHESTER. THE MAYOR OF SUDBURY. THE MAYOR OF SOUTHWOLD. THE MAYOR OF BECCLES. THE MAYOR OF THETFORD. ED- R. D. ALEXANDER, ESQ. W. H. ALEXANDER, ESQ. J. B. ALEXANDER, ESQ. W. R. BEVAN, ESQ,, J. P., Sudbury. R. BURRELL, ESQ., Stoke Park. P. B. LONG, ESQ. J. MOSELEY, ESQ., Glemham House, Saxmundham. R. RA.NSOME, ESQ. JAMES ALLEN RANSOME, ESQ. R, N. SHAWE, ESQ., Kesgrave Hall. HON. ARTHUR THELLUSON, Aid- borough. G. TOMLINE, ESQ, Orwell Park, Nacton. G. THOMAS, ESQ., Woodbridge. C. TYRRELL, ESQ., Polstead Hall. Hitherto many evils have been connected with the offices for the hiring of Servants ; and by sending unsuitable ones, much unnecessary trouble given. The present Institution is formed to remove these defects. The Conductor will endeavour, by direct correspondence with the Servants' former Employers, to ascertain what has been the general conduct of each servant or applicant prior to application ; so that Ladies and Gentlemen requiring domestic Servants, may gain those whose good conduct has been made the condition of their E-egistration. The names of Ladies and Gentlemen are entered for the payment of 6d. on the books of the Institution ; and, if suited, the charge varies according to the amount of wages given. If £5 per annum, or under, the charge is One Shilling only ; above that amount, the charge is One Shilling and Sixpence; and if above £10, the sum of Two Shillings and Sixpence is charged for each Servant provided. To Servants, and to all in want of situations, the charge is One Shilling only. Upon this payment being made, their characters will be ascertained, and, if found satisfactory, their names will be entered on the books for recommendation ; if otherwise, the money will be returned, and the applicant on no account be admitted. Servants receiving above £10 per annum, pay an additional fee of One Shilling after they arc engaged. WAITING ROOMS FOR LADIES AND SERVANTS. • ♦ * Letters of Enquiry toill be answered if a Postage Stamp is enclosed, but if the Name is to be entered on the Books, Six Postage Stamps must be sent. 26 " SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY " ADVERTISER. FEEDERIOK PEIOE, LADIES' AND GENTLEMEN'S /fl0l)innalilp limt itiih Ijjae ®nker, 1, LOWER BROOK STREET, IPSWICH, In gratefully acknowledging the extensive patronage conferred on him during the last ten years, begs to inform his Friends, and the Public generally, that he has Eemoved from Carr Street to more extensive Premises as above, formerly occupied by Mr. Jennings, Optician, where a carefully selected STOCK OF FASHIONABLE GOODS, suitable for all seasons, is offered at such prices as he trusts will secure him a preference. s. d. French Calf "Wellington Boots . . per pair 16 Ditto, best that can be made . . ,, 18 Ladies' Superior Cashmere Boots . . „ 6 Ladies' Military-heel Boots . . . ,, 7 6 Made to Measure. Every Article equally cheap. A SUPERIOR STOCK OF AMERICAN OVERSHOES OF ALL SIZES. R. SEAGER, AND LARD MANUFACTURER, Three Doors below the Eose Inn, SAINT PETER'S STREET, IPSWICH, takt:s this opportunity of informing his Friends and the Public that he has lately discovered an Entirely New Process for Smoking and Drying Hams, Bacon, Chaps, &c., by which all the finest properties of the wood smoke are obtained apart from that wasteful and highly OBJECTIONABLE RANCIDITY SO generally complained of in the old system. -'M A LARGE QUANTITY OF HAMS, BACON, AND CHAPS, FRESH AND PICKLED PORK, AND HOME-TRIED LARD ALWAYS ON HAND. SAUSAOES P^RESH EVERY DAY. Hams, Bacon, Chaps, Tongues, &c., Smoked and Dried for Families on the Improved System. DbSEUVE THE ADDRESS, 3 DOORS BELOW THE ROSE INN, ST, PETER'S STREET, IPSWICH. "SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY" ADVERTISER. WILLIAM CORBYN, No. 2 & 3, BERNERS STREET, ST. MATTHEW'S, IPSWICH, Begs most respectfully to offer his sincere thanks for the favors he has received during the last eleven years ; and humbly solicits a con- tinuance of their patronage. He embraces this opportunity to solicit the attention of the Clergy and Gentry generally to the following Testimonials from Military Gentlemen. "We, the undersigned Officers of the Royal Scots Greys, having employed Mr. CoRBTN, Berners Street, St. Matthew's, while in Ipswich, to our perf(-ct satisfaction, feel great pleasure in recommending him as an excellent Tailor and Cutter, and for being particularly economical in his charges. J. WINTERSCALE, Surgeon. W. CRAWFORD, Paymaster. H. S. PIGOT, Lieut. THOS. JEX, V. S. Ipswich, April, 1844. I BEG to recommend strongly Mr. Corbtn, Tailor. He has been much employed by the Officers of the 4th Light Dragoons, and made the Mess-Servants' Liveries, and has given general satisfaction. GEO. DALBIAC, 4th Light Dragoons, Meisiber of the Mess Committee. Ipswich, April 4, 1845. I BEG to recommend Mr. Corbtn, Berners Street, Ipswich, as an excellent Tailor, he having made my private dresses and servants' livery. He is very reasonable in his charges, and punctual in the execution of all orders. Ipswich, April, 1846. CAPT. G. P. BUSHE, 7th Hussars. We, the undersigned Officers of the Sixth Carabineers, having employed Mr. Corbyn, Berners Street, as Tailor, while in Ipswich, to our great satisfaction, feel confidence in recommending him as an excellent Tailor, also for being very reasonable in his charges. E. WARRENER, Capt. R. J. KNOX, Capt. October 10, 1846. H. DAWSON, Lieut. F. BUCHANAN, Lieut. I beg most respectfully to reommend Mr. Corbyn, Tailor, Berners Street, having made my clothes during my stay in Ipswich, as an excellent Cutter and Workman, and for being particularly reasonable in his charges. Ipswich, April 21, 1849. W. READY, Capt., Staff Officer. Having employed Mr. Corbyn, Tailor, Berners Street, I beg respectfully to recommend him as a good Tailor, very punctual to all orders, and an excellent Cutter, particularly of Overalls. Ipswich, May 12, 1950. ^- G^YIN, Major, 16th Lancers. Gentlemen, preferring to find their own cloth, may have it made up on the most economical terms, in respect to the quantity of material for each garment, and with the best workmanship, for cash. IT MAY NOT BE OUT OF PLACE TO STATE THAT W. CORBYn'S LIVERIES HAVE GIVEN GREAT SATISFACTION TO BOTH MASTERS AND SERVANTS. SUITS OF MOURNING AT THE SHORTEST NOTICE. "SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTUEY" ADVERTISER. PURE AND CHOICE TEA. The late Parliamentary Inquiry into the Adulteration of Food, Drinks, and Drugs, shows the great extent to ■which this nefarious practice has heen carried, and the absolute necessity of using great caution in purchasing the necessaries of life. The following facts prove that Pure Tea can always be procured, for during the last four years, the EMPRESS OF CHINA'S TEA has been extensively patronised in all parts of the kingdom, and stood every kind of test as to its PURITY AND HIGH auALiTY. Analytical Chemists have certified that it is Genuine Tea, free from every kind of adulteration. Tea Inspectors have pronounced it to " consist of various sorts of really fine Tea, well matured, and so judiciously blended, that great flavor and strength are most happily combined." Nearly 1,000 of the leading Tea Dealers of the Provinces who have been appointed Agents /or its Sale, have certified to its superior properties ; that their customers have for a long period been well satisfied with it ; and that its quality has been always the same. The Editors of many of the London and Country Newspapers have voluntarily reviewed it, and highly recommend it. It is, in short, THE -FC>-^TJlL.AJ^i. TE-A. OF THE IDA-'ST, and the best 4s. Tea in the Kingdom. MOORE & Co., Little Tower Street, London. Sold in Tin Canisters of various sizes, by the following Tea Dealers -. AGENTS IN SUFFOLK: Ipswich, Bungay, BuiiY St. Eye, GLEMSrOIlD, J. Glvde, Jun., St. Matthew's Street. J. Limmcr, Tea Dealer, Brook Street. W. Cocks. Edmund's, J. Denovan. H. Bishop. G. Boggis. Lowestoft, IMlLUKNHALL, Nf.w.mauket, Stowmauket, SrDjiuuY, WlCKllAMBllOOK, WooDnaiDGE, T. Crowe. C. Seeker. G. C. Postans. J. A. Lancaster. G. Parker. W. Uockley. D. Crowe. Drss, DoWNHAM, East Dfueham, Harlestone, Holt, Lynn, S. J. AGENTS IN Browning. Brett. Brewster and Co. W. Hare. T. Craske. H. Mctcalf. NORFOLK ; North Walsham, Norwich, Wells, Yarmouth, E. Woodrow, J. Cliamberlain. T. Fryer. W. Laws. W. Orford. Bishop Stohtford, T. Pavitt. Brai.ntrke, B. I'ortway CuirriNO Onoau, T. Haijics. AGENTS IN ESSEX. CoLCHF.STF.R, Hatfield, Manmnotree, J. Habgood. George and Co. T. Brooks. Agents Wanted (Tea Dealers only,) where none are appointed. "SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY" ADVERTISER. OF EVERY DESCRIPTION EXECUTED WITH NEATNESS & DESPATCH, AND ON REASONABLE TERMS AT THE OFFrC;: OF AND ESSEX AND SUFEOLK MERCURY," Oi© miJEE HABKET, fPSWIBH. Pamphlets, Tradesmen's BiUheads and Receipts, Auctioneer's Catalogues and Conditions of Sale, Legal Forms, Circulars, Cards, etc. ESTIMATES ON APPLICATION. ANASTATIC & LITHOGRAPHIC FEINTING. Architects, Artists, Auctioneers, Bankers, Engineers, Literary, Archselogical, and other Societies, Merchants, Members of Parliament, Eailway Companies, Insurance, and other Public Offices, etc., etc., supplied at the shortest notice, with fac-similes of their Drawings, Plans, Circulars, Writings, etc., in any quantity and at a cost far below any other method of reproduction. MANUFACTUEING STATIONER AND PEINTER, iUTTEB MARKET, lP3WlSli» A description of the Art, and a Cake of Anastatic Ink, with full directions for its use, forwarded on receipt of 12 Postage Stamps. "SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY" ADVERTISER. THE LI-^ER,FOOXi .A.nsriD LOHNTHDOlSr FIRE AND LI FE INSURANC E COMPANY. ESTABLISHED IN 1836. EMPOWERED BY SPECIAL ACT OP PARLIAMENT. OFFICES : 37, Castle Street, Liverpool ; 20 and 21, Poultry, London ; 61, King Street, Manchester ; 56, WaU Street, New York ; Place D'Armes, Montreal ; Wynyard Square, Sydney ; and Elizabeth Street South, Melbourne. Sir Thomas Bernard Birch, Burt J. C Alex. H. Campbell, Esq. Villiam Earle, E*q. George Grant, Esq. Francis A. Hamilton, Esq. Thomas Haigh, Esq. Robert Higgin, Esq. Adam Hodgson, Esq. Dirrrtnrs in Xinrrpnnl: Thomas Brocklebank, Esq., Chairman. Ewart, Esq., M. P. ; F. Haywood, Esq. Deputy Chairman Samuel Henry Thompson, Esq. George Holt, Esq. Hugh Hornby, Esq. George Hall Lawrence, Esq. Harrold Littledale, Esq. William Lowe, Esq. Alex. Macgregor, Esq. Iniitnrs. T. Buddicom Blackburne, Esq. Daniel James, Esq. 5ilpiiiral jRrfprrrs. James K. W. Yose, M.D. Robert Bickersteth, Esq. ^ankrrs. he Bank of Liverpool. The Union Bank of London. Inliritnrs. .^nrnriiar. Messrs. Swift, Wagstaff, and Blenkinsop. John Stewart, Esq, John Harriot, Esq. Charles Saunders, Esq. Francis Shand, Esq. John Swainson, Esq. Jas. Aspinall Tobiu, Esq. lErrrtari;. Swinton Boult, Esq. Edward Barnard, Esq. William Brown, Esq , MP. Sir William P. de Bathe, Bart Sirrrtnrs in f nniinn. Matthew Forster, Esq., Chairman. George Frederick Young, Esq., Deputy Chairman. William Ewart, Esq., MP. I Ross D. Mangles, Esq., M.P. Frederick Harrison, Esq. William Nicol, Esq. Donald Larnach, Esq. | John Ranking, Esq. Swinton Boult, Esq., Secretary to the Company. IRrsiiirnt Ifrrrtari;- Sniliinr. Benjamin Henderson, Esq. H. H. Cannan, Esq. MMini Hrfrrrp. JBankprs. Alexander Anderson, Esq., F.R.C.S. The Union Bank of London. .^nliritors, Inrnrnar. Messrs. Palmer, Palmer, and Bull. William Thomson, Esq. Dirrrtnrs in Blanrlipstpr. Samuel Ashton, Esq., Chairman. E. R. Langworthy, Esq. ; Edward Tootal. Esq. ; James Aspinall Turner, Esq. ; Thomas Wrigley, Esq.; Swinton Boult, Esq., Secretary to the Comi)any. f\rsitipnt Iprrptarij. Jlipiiiral Hrfprpp. Robert A. Kennedy, Et^q. Edward Lilackmorc, Esq. Cnnstitntion. Liability of the entire body of Shareholders unlimited. All Directors must be Proprietors in the Company. The CAPITAL is £2,000,000, divided into 100,000 Shares of £20 each, 85,429 of which are in the hands of the Proprietors at £2 per Share, £170,858. 1854. ACCUMULATED FUNDS. 1855. £Hi.t,"J70 Reserved Surplus . . Xl(i'l,150 55,924 I'roflt & I,o»», or Rc-lnsuruncc 83,3G0 164,128 Life Department Reserve . .293,557 X4B3,O02 £ii6,ooa Tcitiils. FIRE DEI'AKT.MENT. Premiums RccelTcd £546,007 £1B6,271 1854. LIFE DEPARTMENT. 1855. 472 Policies issued . . 577 £349,301 Insuring .... £i70,773 1U,'2U7 Producing in Premiums . 11,137 57,079 Total I'rcmiuuis . . . (i3,y09 13,713 Received (or Annuities . 12,758 10,703 Paid AnnuitunU . . . 11,398 SWINTON BOULT, Secretary to tht Company. Agent for Ipswich, Mr. JOHN GLYDE, JUN. SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY " ADVERTISER. EASTEEN UNION BAKERY, iS, ST. MiSHOUS STBEET, S?SV¥iGH. From Mr. G. Smyth's, FANCY BREAD & BISCUIT BAKER, COOK AND CONFECTIONER. GINGtER nuts at 6d. and 8d. per pound, not to be surpassed ia the Kingdom. II. P. wishes to observe that he malccs no attempt to rival in charges, his constant endeavour will be to merit the encomium that QUALITY is the distinguishing feature at his Establishment. ..^ I^ O lEi E I^ ^ S REGISTERED FOLDING CAMERA. This very useful Apparatus is adapted for Working the Collodion and other Photographic Processes in the open air, without the aid of a tent or otlier dark chamber. The Tourist will find it an iuviiluablc instrument, as it contains within itself, when packed up, all the necessary Chemicals, etc., for an excursion. ARCHER'S PATENT PROCESS FOR REMOVING COLLODION NEGATIVE PICTURES FROM THE GLASS. Mr. A. invites the attention of Photographers to this process, by means of which they will be saved a great expense of glass and the risk of breakage, both when operating at home and when travelling. £ s. d. Professional License under this Patent . 5 5 Amateur Ditto . . 10 For the whole Term. COLLODION" AND OTHER CHEMICALS OF THE BEST QUALITY. 105, GREAT RUSSEL STREET, BLOOMSBURY, LONOON, GEMS OF PHOTOGRAPHY. Photographs, by O. G. Rejlander, in Great Variety, on Sale at JOHN GLYDE'S, J UN,, ST. IvOI^^TTIiE-W'S STIiEET, IFS-WICIi. "SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY" ADVERTISER. LIBRARY EDITION OF THE BRITISH POETS. EDITED, WITH BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL NOTICES, BY THE EEV. GEOEGE GILFILLAN. Six handsome Volumes, demy 8vo., averaging' 350 pages each, are delivered to Subscribers to this Series for 21s. per annum. FIRST YEAR'S ISSUE, 1853. MILTON'S POETICAL WORKS . . 2 Volumes THOMSON'S „ I HERBERT'S " ' 1 " YOUNG'S NIGHT THOUGHTS . ' 1 " GOLDSMITH, COLLINS, and WARTON ' . ' 1 SECOND YEAR'S ISSUE, 1854. COWPER'S POETICAL WORKS . . .2 Volumes BUTLER'S „ 2 SHENSTONE'S „ " 1 BEATTIE, BLAIR, and FALCONER . . I THIRD YEAR'S ISSUE, 1855. DRYDEN'S POETICAL WORKS . 2 Volumes W. L. BOWLES „ . . 2 „ CHURCHILL'S ... 1 JOHNSON, PARNELL, GRAY, and SMOLLETT .1 ", FOURTH YEAR'S ISSUE, 1856. BURNS' S POETICAL WORKS, with Biographical Notices and Selections from the Writings of his Contemporaries —A Wilson, H. M'Neil, R. Tannahill, R. Gall, J. Mayne, (^c. .... 3 Volumes. POPE'S POETICAL WORKS 2 H. K. WHITE'S POETICAL WORKS . . ' 1 '.' " We repeat emphatically the recommendation which on frequent occasions we have given to the .scries." — Eclectic lUvicw. " Mr. Gilfillan's handsome lihrary edition of the British Poets continues its course with admirable regularity and unflagging energy.'" — Atlas. '_' The volume is all tliat could be wislied by the subscribers to Mr. Nichol's Library Edition of tlic I'oets as to undiiiunished carefulness of production and beauty of appear- ance." — Noticonfonnist. " An edition of tlie British Poets was never before presented to the Britisli people so •worthy of both, with so much beauty and correctness of typography, and at a cost so small." — H'atchiuan. " We cannot sufficiently express our gratitude to Mr. Niehol for the taste and enterprise which led him to place in tlio hands of the Briti.sh public this fine edition of our classic poets. It will do lasting credit to both publisher aud c^xior. "—:Scuttish Uuanlian. Detailed Prospectuses can lie obtained from the Publishers on application. Subscribers' Names received by all Booksellers for the Yearly Issue of Six Volumes, at 21s. per annum. Edinbuuou: JAMES NICIIOL. London: JAMES NISBET & Co. Livkupool : G. PHILIP & SON. Dublin: W. ROBERTSON. "SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY" ADVERTISER. PHOTOGRAPHY APPARATUS AND CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE, 30, PICCADILLY, Respectfully informs Amateurs, Artists, and the Profession, that he supplies every kind of PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS, of the best construction, and with all the latest improvements, at the lowest possible prices. A Large Assortment of Foreign and English LENSES kept in stock, and purchasers can select from any of the best makers, and see them tested on the premises. A complete set of APPARATUS FOR PICTURES, 4i by 3i, and under, with all the necessary Chemicals, packed in box, £3; larger sizes, £5 os., £11 lis., and upwards ; the largest Assortment in London to select from, of all the best makers. C. E. Clifford begs to inform AMATEURS that he gives INSTRUCTION GRATUITOUSLY to Purchasers of Apparatus, and will at all times be happy to give every information requisite for carrying out the above art. C. E. Clifford begs to call particular attention to the CHEMICAL DEPARTMENT of his Establishment, being so essential for the production of good Photographs ; he is enabled, from his large and extensive practice, to supply his customers with Chemicals of the utmost tested purity. C. E. Clifford's Positive and Negative COLLODION AND IODIZING SOLUTION may be had separate, in which state it will keep an indefinite period, and exported to any climate. All kinds of Chemical Preparations Kept ready for immediate use for every known process in Photography. Passepartouts in every variety, from Two Shillings per dozen. MINIATURE CASES FROM FOUR SHILLINGS PER DOZEN. Portraits taken daily, and coloured, to equal the finest Miniatures. Paintings, Engravings, Sculpture, and Works of Art copied. Lists of Prices, Gratis, on application at the Warehouse, 30, Piccadilly, Londox. "SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTUEY;' ADVERTISER. NEW CAMERA. PHOTOGRAPHEE, BEAUCHAMP SQUARE, LEAMINGTON. Supplies (in addition to all other Photographic Apparatus, &c ) a new form of Camera. ■which he has perfected, combining lightness with rigidity and compactness, in a remarkable degree. It is equally suited to Portraits as to Views, and can also be elongated for near objects; it has a sliding front, and allows either side of the picture to be at a longer focal distance than the other, when the subject requires such an adjustment. The usual form of dark frame, for paper or glass negatives, may be used with the above Camera. The weight of this Camera is about half that of any other form, and the reduction in the weight of a Tripod Stand capable of firmly supporting it, is aso very considerable. MR. BTJCKLE GIVES INSTRUCTIONS IN PHOTOGRAPHY. PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS, FOR TAKING PORTRAITS AND VIEWS, Complete, £3 13s. 6d., £5 5s. Od., and upwards. A Catalogue containing Descriptions and Prices of every kind of Photographic Apparatus and Materials free by Post, on receipt of' four postage stamps. STEREOSCOPES AND ONE DOZEN PICTURES, Complete, 6s., 7s. 6d., 10s., 20s. A Large Collection of Views for the Stereoscope from Switzerland, Pompeii, Paris, England, Crystal Palace, etc. 'The Stereoscope sent to us by Mr. Wood is a specimen of its kind, and from a series of ' Elementary Scientific Papers,' which accompanied it, we perceive that he is not a workman merely, but wel read in th3 sciences he labors for." — Englishwoman's Domestic JUagazine, March, 1856. E. O. "V^ O O 33:, Optician, Manufacturer of Photographic Apparatus, Spectacles, Drawing Instruments, Barometers, etc., etc., 117, CHEAPSIDE, Coenee of Milk Steeet, LOjS^DON. rublishcd Monthlu, price Ad., PHOTOGRAPHIC NOTES, JOIKNAL or Tiir. PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND AND OF TUB MAfSCHESTEB PHOTODdAPHiC SOCIETY. EDITED BY THOMAS SUTTON, B.A. HORNE & THORNTHWAITE, 122, NEWGATE STREET, LONDON. "SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY" ADVERTISER. Now Ready, Dedicated, by Special Permission, to His Grace the Diike of Devonshire. A OF THE SCENERY AEOUND BOLTON ABBEY, YOEKSHIEE, BY MK. J. V. EAMSDEN. These Photographs which have been denominated the " Ne Plus Ultra op Art," are respectively 16 X 12, and 10 x 8, Mounted on thick proof paper of large size. Price of Complete Work in Neat Portfolio, £5 Os. Od. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY E. GAMBART, AND CO., BERNERS ST. OXFORD ST. LEEDS : E. H.ilSE, BOAK LANE ; and RAMSDEN AND BRIGGS, 18, PARK ROW. RAMSDEN AND BRIUGS, PHOTOaRAPHIC AKTISTS, AND |Hnniifflrturer0 iif ^^jiiitiignijiljit Ifiiiinitiis 18, PARK ROW, LEEDS. AGENTS TO THE PHOTO-GALVANO-GRAPHIC COMPANY. COLLODION FOR POSITIVES, 9d. per oz., or 12s. per 20 oz. NEGATIVE COLLODION at similar prices may be had with Iodising Solution separate. For professional purposes these Collodions will be found unequalled on account of their stability and uniformity of action, possessing a \\\g\\ degree of sensitiveness, at the same time producing pictures representing perfect gradations of light and shade. To be had in Ipswich of Mr. John Glyde.Juu. ; London, E. G. Wood, 117, Cheapside; Leeds, Messrs. Harvey and Reynolds, and Ramsdeu and Briggs, 13, Park Row. Agents are appointed in the principal towns. CHARGES FOR PRINTING FROM AMATEURS' NEGATIVES. 5 in. by 4 in. G.^ in. by 4 J in. 8i in. by Gj in. 8i in. by 10^ in. 16 in. by 12 in. 4d. each. 6d. each. 9d. each. Is. each. 2s. each. SPECIAL ESTIMATES FOK LARGE QUANTITIES. A Large Collection of Miscellaneous Fhotographs always in Stock, from 2s. tqmards. Ramsden's TOURISTS' CAMERA for Glass Pictures, ^ in. by 10^ in. Price £9. Ditto, for the Paper Processes, with Paper Changer. Price £9 9s. In using the above Camera, the Faper may be changed in the open air, icithout the use of a dark room. The Portable Tripod of the Tourists' Camera (exceedingly firm and very light) may be had separately, price 308. •»• Two Photographs of the above Camera, sbewingr it fixed for operating and closed for travelling-, sent on application by Post enclosing a Stamp. "SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY" ADVERTISER. *' Seems, Madam ! nay, it IS ! "— Shakspebe. BEAUTIFUL STEI^EOSOOieiO From Nature's loveliest Nook and Dell, to its grandest Aljiine Glacier, Is-^ Ss-:, Ss-^ E^^OZBai- INVALUABLE FOR PARTIES AND PRESENTS. Subjects in endless variety of the most amusing character. The Stereoscope, in Mahogany, 7s. 6d. to 12s. 6d. each LONDON STEREOSCOPIC COMPANY, 54, CHEAPSIDE, 2 DOORS WEST OF BOW CHURCH; 313, OXFORD STREET, 2 DOORS FROM HANOVER SQUARE. FRENCH KXIIirUTION, CKY.STAI, I'ALACK, TANOUAMAS, EUKOl'DAN CATHEDRALS, lU'INS ANn OLD CASTLES, ANTMjri'; STATUARY, iMUDKRN DITTO, GROUTS, MILITARY, f-OCMAL, DOMlisTlC, AND AMUSING, IN ENDLESS VARIETY. oi^iisrioisrs of the fi^ess- "No family or school should be without one ; it is one of the wonders of our age." — Britannia. " A more jjluasiufj instrument there cannot be." — iS/atidard. " beautiful result of philosophical deduction." — Mo7-ninff Fost. " A new field of entertainment and instruction." — Illustrated London News. " Invaluable aid to intellectual ])r()j,Mess." — Globe. " All Nature and Art are subordinated to it." — Moruiixj Herald. " Everythiiifj that is beautiful brouj^ht within the circles of our own homes." —Morning Adierttscr. "Sir David IJrcw.stcr, for this wonderful invention, merits the thanks of the nation." — Morning Chronicle. " Their groups and views aro tho finest wo over saw." — Art Journal. A STEREOSCOPE, with a Selection of 20 varied and beautiful subjects, sent to any part for SOs. SUFFOLK IN THE NINETEENTH CENTUEY" ADVERTISER. JOHN SANFORD'S PRICE LIST GALOTYPE AND TALBOTYPE PAPERS. JOHN SAN FORD, having^ gone into a careful set of experiments this last three months, can recommend tiie prepared Pliotographic Papers, superior to any hitlicrto made. Iiistriictions, Pure Chemicals, Cameras, Pressure Frames and Tripod Stands, Prepared Papers to any Formula, and every rcq\iisite for the Calotype on Paper and Glass, Positives Printed and Mounted, Port Folios, Ross's Lenses, etc. PLEASE TO ORDER BT THE NUMBER No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 7a Sanford'a New Mali II 1 1 HI HN HbGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY AA 000 394 633 JU 1 1 II iiiiii ml ilii II I 3 1158 00926 2584 DA 690 S 94^x5 m