CHAPTER VI.
Third Annual Report of Poor-Law Commissioners—Further Amendment Act—Fourth Annual Report—New unions and electoral divisions—Consolidated Debts Act—Rates in aid—Fifth Annual Report—Annuities under Consolidated Debts Act—Treasury minute—Act to amend Acts relating to payment of advances—Medical charities—Medical Charities Act—First Report of Medical Charity Commissioners—Census of 1851—Retrospection—Sixth Annual Report—Rate of wages—Expenditure, and numbers relieved—Changes in Poor-Law executive—New order of accounts—Author’s letter to Lord John Russell, 1853—Present state and future prospects of Ireland.
The period comprised in the last chapter was one of great suffering and privation. Famine and pestilence prevailed throughout Ireland, to an extent only equalled by what is said to have occurred in some rare instances among eastern nations, if indeed it has ever been equalled in the world’s history. It was altogether a fearful visitation. I have endeavoured to compress the chief incidents of the period, more especially those at all connected with the administration of the Poor Law, into one chapter, in order to place consecutively before the reader such a condensed account of the great calamity, as will prevent the necessity of again recurring to it. We will now turn to the brighter and more hopeful period which followed—when famine and disease having disappeared, the energies of the country revived, and all classes united in making strenuous efforts to remedy the evils which had taken place, and as far as possible to prevent their recurrence.
1850.
Third annual report of the Poor-law Commissioners for Ireland.
The third Annual Report of the commissioners is dated 25th May 1850, and continues the narrative of events and proceedings from the date of the preceding Report.
Decrease of relief.
The maximum number in the workhouses during the year 1849-50, was 227,329 on the 16th June of the first-named year, and the maximum on the out-relief lists was 784,367 on the 7th July. From these dates the numbers went on rapidly decreasing throughout the succeeding months, until on the 6th October the inmates of the workhouses were reduced to the minimum of 104,266, and the number on the out-relief lists to 124,185, all orders for relief under the 2nd section of the Extension Act being likewise then withdrawn. This sufficiently proves the change which took place shortly after the date of the last Report.
The crops generally sound and abundant.
The crops in the autumn of 1849 turned out generally sound and abundant, and famine no longer cast its blight upon the land. Yet while all other parts of the country, including Mayo and Galway heretofore the most depressed and suffering, rejoiced in the favourable change, we are told that the unions in the county of Clare, especially those of Kilrush and Scariff, continued to exhibit a lamentable extent of destitution. There were still 30,000 persons on the out-relief lists in the Clare unions, nearly twice the number so relieved in the whole province of Connaught; “and the rate of mortality in the workhouses, and the number of inquests, although less than in former seasons, attest the indigent and suffering state of a great part of the population.” |Reduction of expenditure anticipated.| A hope is nevertheless expressed “that the ground has been laid for a further very considerable reduction of expenditure after harvest, and that a material alleviation of the burden of poor-rates throughout Ireland, will be experienced during the year which will end on the 29th September 1851.”
Increase of workhouse accommodation.
The large increase of workhouse accommodation which the last Report states to have been provided,[[181]] and the opinion which generally prevailed as to the importance of limiting relief as much as possible to the workhouse, appear to have realized the hope then expressed of successfully contending with the difficulties of the period. The large expenditure, amounting to 1,498,047l., connected with in-door relief in 1848-9, shows the determined character of the struggle, and although only partial success in establishing the system was obtained, events have shown the prudence of the course then pursued. When the boards of guardians which had been dissolved, resumed the charge of their unions in November, as provided by the 12th and 13th Vict. cap. 4,[[182]] they not only evinced a desire to limit relief to the workhouse, but were also with few exceptions prepared to make a further increase of their workhouse accommodation wherever it appeared to be necessary. So that “the change from out-door relief to the safer system of relief in the workhouse, has (it is said) been found practicable throughout a large part of Ireland, not excepting some districts which suffered most severely during the famine.” |Decrease of out-door relief.|The conclusion of the harvest was as usual followed by an increase of applicants for relief, but the extent of workhouse accommodation being now greater by 70,000 than in the previous year, out-door relief instead of increasing actually continued to decrease until the end of December, when the numbers so relieved amounted to 95,468, the number in the workhouses being then 194,547. At the end of March 1850, the number on the out-relief lists was 131,702, and in the workhouses 224,381, the sanitary state of the houses being at the same time satisfactory. No out-door relief whatever was then administered in 51 of the unions, and at the date of the Report the number of unions thus exempt was increased to 58.
24 new unions formed.
The recommendations of the Boundary Commissioners have been already noticed.[[183]] In carrying out these recommendations, the proposed arrangement of the electoral divisions was generally adhered to; but with regard to the new unions, it was not thought advisable to make the entire of the changes recommended. The commissioners have, they say, “refrained from forming such new unions in districts where it appeared that there was a preponderance of opinion against it, on the part of those who would be locally affected by the change, unless where the necessity for new union centres appeared, in a territorial point of view, to be placed beyond doubt.” Orders were however issued for the formation of 24 new unions,[[184]] and forms of procedure were prepared for adjusting the liabilities of townlands in unions and electoral divisions of which the boundaries were altered, in accordance with the provisions of the 12th and 13th Vict. cap. 104. This Act now requires our attention, some of its provisions being of considerable importance.
The 12th and 13th Vict. cap. 104.
The 12th and 13th Vict. cap. 104, was passed on the 1st August 1849, ‘to further Amend the Acts for the Relief of the Destitute Poor in Ireland;’ and the following is a summary of its provisions:—
Section 1.—Provides that every person applying for relief, is to be deemed chargeable to the electoral division in which during the last three years he has been longest usually resident, whether by occupying a tenement or usually sleeping therein;—provided that if he have not been so usually resident for at least one of the said three years, the expense of his relief is to be borne by the union at large.
Section 2.—Requires the Poor Law Commissioners in all cases where a change is made in the boundaries of any union or electoral division, to make such order under seal as appears to them to be necessary for the adjustment of the liabilities existing at the time of such change, and the proportionate share thereof to be borne by any townland affected thereby, and likewise for indemnifying any union electoral division or townland for any loss on exchange of property occasioned by such alteration of boundaries.
Sections 3, 4, 5.—On the formation of new unions, the commissioners are empowered to prescribe the arrangements for the joint use of the existing workhouses, until the new unions are provided with workhouses of their own, and from time to time to alter or rescind the same, and to enforce payment of the expenses consequent thereon; and for the purpose of providing workhouses, ‘the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act’ (8th and 9th Vict. cap. 18) is declared to be incorporated with the Poor Relief Acts.
Sections 6, 7, 8, 9.—In fixing the qualification of elected guardians, the commissioners are empowered to fix a different amount for different electoral divisions of the same union. The full number of ex-officio guardians may be made up from non-resident justices, if the number resident be not sufficient. Two or more electoral divisions may be combined for the purpose of electing a guardian; and upon the request of a board of guardians the commissioners may appoint an assistant-guardian for such union, whom they are also empowered to remove or discontinue.
Sections 10, 11, 12.—Rents arising from exempted property, are to be rated to the extent of half the poundage. Occupiers are not to deduct from their rent more than one-half the amount of the rate paid by them; and the provisions making void all agreements to forego deductions from rent are repealed.
Sections 13, 14.—The valuations are not required to be signed and sealed by the commissioners. “To encourage the employment of labour in improving the value of land,” the valuation is not to be increased in consequence of improvements made under the Land Improvement Act, within seven years after such improvements.
Sections 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.—A short form of declaration is prescribed, and costs are limited in actions for recovery of rates. Judges may make rules and orders regulating proceedings in actions for poor-rates. Civil bill decrees for poor-rates may be filed, and have force as judgments of superior court. Judgments for poor-rates are to be registered, and take priority as charges on the land, with the exception of crown and quit-rents and rent-charges in lieu of tithes. The recovery of arrears of rate limited to two years.
Sections 20, 22, 23.—Date of audit to be stated on the accounts, and all disallowances thereof to be inserted by the auditor. The rate-books are to be open for inspection, and due notice is to be given to the ratepayers. In cases of appeal, the known agent of the appellant may sign the notices and enter into the recognizances required by law.
Sections 24, 25.—The names of persons relieved to be entered in books kept for that purpose, which are to be open for inspection; and weekly statements of the numbers relieved and chargeable to the union, and to the electoral divisions respectively, are to be posted on the workhouse door.
Sections 26, 27, 28.—With consent of the commissioners the rates may be applied, or loans may be raised on security of the rates, for defraying the expenses of emigration; but vice-guardians are not so to apply or borrow without the consent of the ratepayers, and the amount borrowed is in no case to exceed 11s. 8d. in the pound, of the yearly value of the rateable property chargeable with the same. The money borrowed is to be applied under direction of the commissioners, in defraying the expenses connected with the emigration to British colonies, of poor persons resident within the union or electoral division, on the rates whereof the same shall have been respectively charged.
Sections 29, 30, 31.—For the purpose of facilitating proceedings for the recovery of rates, assistant barristers &c. may “correct or amend any variance, clerical error, or irregularity not affecting the substantial merits of the question,” in the notices &c. brought before them. Fourteen days’ notice is to be given of proceeding by civil bill against immediate lessors for recovery of rates. The present and preceding Acts are to be construed as one Act.
Emigration.
The facilities afforded by the above Act for promoting emigration, were productive of less effect than would otherwise probably have been the case, owing to the financial embarrassments existing in many of the unions. The guardians were naturally indisposed to apply the poor-rate or to borrow money for purposes of emigration, whilst there was an urgent pressure upon them for relief, and great difficulty in obtaining the means of affording it. The amount expended by the unions on emigration during the year ending 29th September 1849, was 16,260l., being an increase of 13,484l. over that of the previous year.[[185]] The number of orphan girls selected from the several workhouses, and sent out as emigrants to Australia, had been 1,956, which added to the 2,219 so sent out in the preceding year, makes a total of 4,175 from the commencement, under regulations jointly established by the Poor Law and Emigration Commissioners in 1848.[[186]]
Employment.
Notwithstanding that past experience and the deductions of sound principle were alike opposed to the notion that pauper labour could be made a source of profit, many boards of guardians and other persons of undoubtedly excellent intentions, are said to have advocated plans for employing the able-bodied inmates of the workhouses in ordinary agricultural labour, or in the draining and subsoiling of lands belonging to private individuals, or in carrying on manufactures within the workhouse, the produce to be disposed of to other unions, or else sold to the public under the current market-price. But none of these nor any similar propositions were sanctioned by the commissioners, who nevertheless failed not to urge upon boards of guardians the importance of enforcing work of some kind amongst the inmates, not only as tending to promote health and keep up habits of industry, but also as a means of securing the discipline of the establishment, and maintaining the efficiency of the workhouse as a test of destitution.
The workhouse children.
The case of the workhouse children differs essentially from that of the adults. The house is no longer a test, as applied to them; but a place of refuge, supplying in a great degree the wants of home, and responsible also for the fulfilment of home duties. Every consideration of humanity and policy therefore establishes the propriety, not only of providing for the education of these children, but also for their instruction in useful occupations by which they may earn their subsistence in after life; and much appears to have been done in these respects with the children of both sexes in the several workhouses. The power conferred of forming district industrial schools had not yet been acted upon, neither under the depressing circumstances which have existed in most parts of the country, could it be expected that the guardians would attempt to found such institutions, which must, especially at the outset, entail a very considerable expenditure.
Amount of expenditure, and numbers relieved.
The expenditure from the rates on the relief of the poor in the 131 unions during the twelve months ending 29th September 1849, as stated in Table No. 1, Appendix B, was 2,177,651l.[[187]] The number of inmates on that day was 141,030 and the total number relieved in the workhouses during the year was 932,284. The number then receiving out-door relief was 135,019; and the total number who received out-door relief during the year was 1,210,482.
1851.
Fourth annual report of the Poor Law Commissioners for Ireland.
The commissioners’ Report for 1850-51 is dated on the 5th May. After giving the usual statistics, and adverting to the fact that the maximum number on the out-relief lists in the previous year terminating on the 29th September 1850, was 148,909, whilst in the following seven months the number had in no instance exceeded 10,935; the commissioners “notice the still more satisfactory circumstance, that during the year ended 29th September 1850, and the seven months which had since elapsed, the worst evils of the famine, such as the occurrence of deaths by the wayside, a high rate of mortality in the workhouses, and the prevalence of dangerous and contagious diseases, had undergone a very material abatement.” This change was, they consider, owing to a combination of favourable circumstances; but they “do not hesitate to affirm that the extension of workhouse room had afforded the means of relieving actual destitution, far more efficiently than could have been done by a corresponding expenditure in out-door relief; and that life has been preserved with more certainty, and the general condition of the population been improved, wherever a sufficient extent of workhouse room has enabled the guardians to meet all applications for relief, and thus to remove from the minds of the labouring population every expectation of the recurrence of an extensive system of out-door relief.”
State of the workhouses.
With regard to the mortality which had occurred in the workhouses, it is remarked “that an accumulation of cases of chronic sickness among persons who survived the famine, but whose enfeebled constitutions afford little hope of any other result than a permanent residence in the workhouse, had filled the workhouse hospitals and infirmaries with a great number of sick.” Many of these poor people die in the more inclement seasons of winter and spring, and thus the average mortality of the workhouses is stated in the returns to be increased. Yet if not admitted into the workhouse, larger numbers would have perished, as is shown by the great mortality which took place in the county of Clare, where the unions were too much impoverished to provide sufficient workhouse accommodation for the extent of destitution that prevailed, the condition of Clare being at this time much worse than any other part of Ireland. The people had there suffered more, and the revival of the potato crop had brought them less relief. |State of Clare.| They exhibited in fact an exception to the improvement elsewhere happily apparent, and nowhere more so than in Connaught, the unions in which province were among the most forward in recovering from the effects of the famine.
Emigration.
A portion of the fund raised by the rate-in-aid,[[188]] was applied to assist the emigration of poor persons from the workhouses of some of the overburdened unions. But in order to prevent such assistance from operating injuriously, and serving as an inducement to persons to claim admission to the workhouse, the commissioners directed that it should be afforded only to those who had been inmates for one year at least. Certain of the unions were thus relieved from the charge of maintaining persons able to work, but unable to find employment; and by the removal of such persons additional workhouse room was obtained, without incurring the charge of providing additional buildings. The number thus assisted to emigrate during the present year, was 360 adult males, 844 females, and 517 children, at an expense of 21,075l.
New unions and electoral divisions.
Since the last Report eight more new unions[[189]] had been formed, which with the 24 formed last year, and the 131 previously existing make 163 in all. The old unions in which the boundaries either of the Union or its electoral divisions had been altered, were 86; and the number of electoral divisions had been increased to 3,404, instead of 2,049 as originally constituted. Some of the recommendations contained in the boundary commissioners’ Reports, were disapproved by the guardians of the unions to which they applied. This was particularly the case in the north of Ireland, and in several instances the Poor Law Commissioners deemed it expedient to yield to the objections which were made to any change; so that instead of 50 new unions as recommended in the boundary Reports, no more than 32 had been created; and to these, advances to the extent of 200,000l. were made by the exchequer loan board, for enabling them to provide the necessary workhouses.
It was likewise considered inexpedient to proceed further in making alterations in the unions or electoral divisions, “until the task of consolidating the debts due for workhouse loans, relief advances, labour-rate, and the advance of 300,000l. authorized by the 13th and 14th Vict., cap. 14, had been completed.” The proceedings under this Act are said to be far advanced. They are of considerable importance, as is the Act itself, of which the following is an abstract—
The 13th and 14th Vict. cap. 14.
The 13th and 14th Vict., cap. 14, was passed on the 17th May 1850, and after reciting the several Acts under which advances had been made, and declaring that considerable sums in respect of such advances remained unpaid, but that it was nevertheless expedient to authorize a further advance of public money to assist certain distressed unions and electoral divisions in Ireland &c., it empowers—
Section 1.—The commissioners of the Treasury to make advances from time to time not exceeding in the whole 300,000l., to such unions as they shall think fit, such advances to be paid to the Poor Law Commissioners, and by them applied towards the discharge of the debts or liabilities of the union or division &c., as the Treasury shall direct. All sums so advanced are to bear 3 per cent. interest, and be repaid out of the poor-rates at such times as the Treasury prescribe.
Sections 2, 3, 4.—The commissioners of the Treasury may cause the debts and liabilities of the several unions and electoral divisions &c. to be ascertained, and may cause the same to be consolidated and proportionably charged upon such unions or electoral divisions, and may charge such an annuity upon the same as shall be equivalent to such proportionate amount. A statement of the annuities so charged is to be transmitted to the Poor Law Commissioners, who are to issue orders to the guardians directing the punctual payment thereof.
Sections 5, 6.—If payment be not so punctually made, the treasurer of the union is to reserve a third part of the moneys collected and lodged with him on account of the electoral division, and place the same to a separate account, to be entitled the “Loans Repayment Account,” until all arrears have thereby been discharged. But the rate in aid under the 12th and 13th Vict. cap. 24, is to be paid, before the annuities charged under this Act.
Sections 7, 8.—The Treasury are further empowered to make additions to the annuities chargeable under this Act, in respect of loans for building or enlarging workhouses; and may likewise suspend the recovery of workhouse loans, and moneys directed to be levied by grand-jury presentments.
The consolidation of the various claims upon the unions and electoral divisions, and converting them into annuities on terms which, whilst they secured the government from loss, would make the repayment as little burdensome as possible, must no doubt have been, as was intended, an easement and an advantage to the borrowers. The financial difficulties of many of the western unions were however, it was apprehended, such as would not only disable them from making any payment for some years, but such as would render further aid necessary, in order to keep them in operation as dispensors of relief to the destitute poor.
Second rate in aid of 2d. in the pound.
A statement is given in the appendix to the Report, of the appropriation of the loan of 300,000l. advanced under the above statute, which was, the commissioners say, “a most seasonable relief to many unions and electoral divisions that were deeply embarrassed by debt in the early part of 1850.” But in addition to this loan of 300,000l., a second rate in aid of 2d. in the pound, amounting to 99,362l. 3s. 3d., was levied under an order issued on the 23rd December 1850, “for the further assistance of distressed unions and electoral divisions.” The Rate-in-Aid Act would expire on the 31st of December, and it had been hoped that the raising a second rate under it might have been avoided. “But after the conclusion of the harvest of last year (the commissioners say) they perceived indications of the continuance of distress in so serious a degree in the counties of Clare and Kerry, that they could not, with the small balance at their disposal, feel justified in omitting to avail themselves of the power of declaring a further rate;” and subsequent experience, they observe, confirmed the propriety of the step thus taken. The two rates in aid amounted together to 421,990l. The distribution of this large sum among the distressed unions was, under direction of the government, intrusted to the Poor Law Commissioners, by whom an account of its application was furnished in detail.
Amount of expenditure, and numbers relieved.
An expectation had been held out in the last Report of a very considerable reduction of expenditure taking place in the following year,[[190]] and this expectation was fulfilled. In the 163 unions the total expenditure from the rates for the relief of the poor during the year ending on the 29th September 1850, was 1,430,108l. The number of inmates on that day was 155,173, and the total number relieved in the workhouses during the year was 805,702. The number then receiving out-door relief was 2,938, and the number who received out-door relief during the year was 368,565.—It is seen therefore that, as was expected, a very considerable decrease had taken place; but to show this clearer, I will recapitulate the several amounts for the three preceding years. In the year ending 29th September 1848, the total expenditure for relief of the poor was 1,835,634l.—in 1849 it was 2,177,651l.—and in 1850 it was 1,430,108l. The total number relieved in the workhouses in these years respectively, was 610,463—932,284—and 805,702; and the total number who so respectively received out-door relief, was 1,433,042—1,210,482—and 368,565. The decrease in the numbers who received in-door relief, may perhaps seem disproportionately small; but this is accounted for by the fact of the workhouse being more extensively used for the purposes of relief, than had been the case in former years.
Extension of workhouse accommodation.
The generally improved circumstances of the country must doubtless be regarded as the chief cause of the present decrease of pauperism; but the commissioners consider that it is likewise in no small degree attributable to the extension of workhouse accommodation. This extension has, it is said, “enabled the administrators of relief throughout Ireland, with very few exceptions, to meet the actual destitution existing, without having recourse to out-door relief.” The progress of the extension may thus be tabulated:—
Extent of Workhouse Accommodation.
| Year. | On March 25. | On Sept. 29. |
| 1847 | 114,129 | 114,865 |
| 1848 | 154,429 | 169,142 |
| 1849 | 228,458 | 244,942 |
| 1850 | 276,073 | 289,931 |
| 1851 | 308,885 | — |
And at the date of the Report (5th May 1851), the aggregate of the workhouse accommodation available, beyond the numbers then receiving in-door relief, was 60,491. Improvement in the sanitary state of the workhouses, and of the labouring population generally, is said always to follow the increase of workhouse accommodation, and the substitution of in-door for out-door relief; so that although a great reduction of expenditure took place in the last year, a still further reduction may be expected in the present.
1852.
Fifth annual report of the Poor Law Commissioners for Ireland.
The Report of the commissioners for 1851-52 is dated on the 1st of May, as had been theretofore generally the practice, although this date was not adhered to in the three preceding Reports.
Improved circumstances of the country.
The transition from out-door to in-door relief was said to be now complete throughout Ireland, accompanied by a reduction in the number of applicants, as well as a most satisfactory decrease in workhouse mortality, The crops generally had everywhere regained their usual state of productiveness. Famine or fear of famine no longer prevailed, and its effects were only perceptible in the decrease of the population, and the consequent increased demand for labour. All in short was prosperous and promising compared with the state of things five years ago. There was however one exception, several of the western unions being still much embarrassed in their finances, and continuing to require assistance. |The Munster unions an exception.| This was especially the case in Munster; for the Connaught exception, unions had passed successfully through the ordeal, and were comparatively prosperous. “Thus on the 23rd February 1850, while the whole number receiving out-door relief in Ireland was 148,909, the unions in the province of Munster contained 101,803 of that number, and those in Connaught only 19,261; and again, on the 26th April 1851, when the number on out-relief was reduced to 10,935, the eight unions in the county of Clare comprised 6,846, and the 29 unions in the province of Connaught only 232.”
Increase of workhouse relief.
During the progress of the important change which was now taking place in the circumstances of the country, the number of persons relieved in the workhouses had always considerably increased in the spring and early part of the summer. These persons were generally in a state of great exhaustion, and the aid and shelter they received enabled them afterwards in most cases to leave the house with their health and strength restored. Some however remained, especially females and the children of both sexes, by whom it appears the workhouses continued to be unduly burdened. So long as there was an expectation of out-door relief being administered, a considerable amount of disease and mortality often prevailed, owing to the way in which persons really destitute persisted in hanging upon that expectation, instead of earlier seeking for admission to the workhouse; but when all hope for relief otherwise than in the workhouse was removed, “the sequel has invariably been a reduced number of applicants, a decreased rate of workhouse mortality, and an improved sanitary state of the population.”
The increased extent of workhouse accommodation which has been noticed, had been obtained, either by means of permanent additions to the original workhouses, or by building new ones in the newly-formed unions, or by the erection of a cheap kind of temporary structure to meet the emergency; or else by hiring premises for the purpose. The latter of these expedients had been resorted to more extensively than was consistent either with economy or with efficient management, and most of these premises were now given up, or shortly would be so. Anxiety is expressed that the succeeding year should be commenced with the workhouse establishments concentrated as far as practicable in each union, “so as to avoid the disadvantage of using auxiliary buildings.” Such a concentration was no doubt essential to efficient management, and it was only by such management, the commissioners observe, and by a further reduction of expenditure, “that some of the distressed unions in the west can be expected to become so far solvent as to support their own pauperism without further external aid.”
It is certainly important on many accounts that there should be only one workhouse in a union, and that it should have been expressly constructed for the accommodation of the classes to be relieved therein, with all suitable means for their separation and employment. Without these essentials, a workhouse can hardly be effective either as a test of destitution or a medium of relief; and there is always danger of an inefficient workhouse becoming a stimulant, instead of being a check to pauperism.
Annuities under the Consolidated Debts Act.
Most of the unions made provision for the payment of first annual instalment under the Consolidated Debts Act (13th and 14th Vict. cap. 14),[[191]] the arrangements under which, including the advance of 300,000l.,[[192]] appear to have been all completed by the end of September. But in the following month a Treasury minute was issued, declaring[declaring] that although “my lords” are of opinion that the present state of the greater part of Ireland does not call for any relief from the operation of the Act, yet they cannot doubt that there are districts in which relief must be given—“in the case of those districts, for instance, where the local resources are insufficient to meet the ordinary expenditure for relief of the poor, and where it is necessary to have recourse to assistance from the relief-in-aid fund for this purpose, it cannot be expected that further sums for payment of the consolidated annuities can be raised.” With regard to postponement, their lordships are of opinion that it would only tend to prolong a feeling of uncertainty as to future payments, whilst it is deemed of great importance to restore confidence in the owners and occupiers of land in the distressed districts, to which end the demands should be definite both in amount and in time. It is thought therefore that a remission of payment, either altogether or in part according to circumstances, is preferable to postponement, and an intimation is given of its being intended to apply to parliament with this view. Meantime however, the Poor Law Commissioners were authorized to direct the treasurers of the unions to retain the whole annuity payable by electoral divisions of which the expenditure in relief was ascertained to be 4s. in the pound, or more; and also to direct “so much only of the annuity to be paid in other divisions as might, together with the relief expenditure, amount to 4s. in the pound.”
The Treasury minute, October 21, 1851.
This was doubtless a considerate, but it was at the same time a necessary proceeding on the part of the government. The impoverished unions, whose utmost exertions could not raise within themselves sufficient for relieving their own urgent necessities, would of course find it impossible to pay the consolidated annuity for which they were made liable; whilst the continual accumulation of this charge hanging over them would paralyze local effort, and tend to prevent the introduction of capital from other quarters. The accumulation would for the present be put a stop to by this Treasury minute; and if, in consideration of their late sufferings and present difficulties, parliament should confirm the boon, it will it is thought inspire confidence, as well as afford present relief; and it may then be hoped, that at no very distant day the impoverished unions would be able to emerge from their state of depression, and join in the general race of improvement. |The 15 and 16 Vict., cap. 16.| The requisite confirmation was given in the following year by the 15th and 16th Vict. cap. 16, entitled ‘An Act to amend the Acts relating to the Payment of Advances made to Districts in Ireland.’ After reciting the 13th and 14th Vict. cap. 14, and the Treasury minute of the 21st October 1851, made “upon representations contained in memorials from many unions in Ireland, of the pressure upon the local resources of several electoral divisions on account of the necessary expenditure for the relief of the poor, and in anticipation of a measure to be submitted to parliament”—it is declared to be expedient that the directions contained in the said minute should be confirmed, and it is accordingly enacted that “the sums payable in the year 1851 in respect of the annuities mentioned in such minute and directions, shall be remitted and deemed to be discharged without further payment.” The remissions thus sanctioned amounted altogether to about 75,000l.—that is 48,000l.. to Munster, 24,000l. to Connaught, and 3,000l. to Leinster. The remission, it will be observed, only applied to the annuities due in 1851, and no expectation was held out of similar indulgence in future.
The medical charities.
Some account has already been given of the inquiry into and Report upon the medical charities in 1842, and of the bill then prepared but not proceeded with, in consequence of the opposition made to it by the medical profession.[[193]] In August 1851 however a bill, founded on that Report, and similar in principle and in its main provisions to the bill of 1842, was introduced and readily passed, the necessity for such a measure, and for bringing the rating powers and machinery of the Poor Law in aid of the medical charities, being then admitted by all parties; and this was the object of the Act of 1851, as it had been of the bill prepared under the author’s direction in 1842.
Medical Charities Act, 14 and 15 Vict., cap. 68.
On the passing of the 14th and 15th Vict. cap. 68, the working of the medical charities became so closely connected with the operations of the Poor Law, that a description of the chief provisions of the Act is here necessary—
Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.—Provide for the appointment of a medical commissioner, being a physician or surgeon of not less than thirteen years’ standing, to be united with the Poor Law Commissioners in the execution of the Act. The commissioners may appoint fit persons, being physicians or surgeons of not less than seven years’ standing, to be inspectors, but the medical commissioner and the inspectors are restricted from practising professionally.
Sections 6, 7, 8, 9.—The guardians are, whenever required by the commissioners, to divide unions into dispensary districts, having regard to extent and population; and are to appoint a dispensary committee, and provide necessary buildings, and such medicines and appliances as may be required, for the medical relief of the poor. A committee of management consisting of the dispensary committee, the ex-officio guardians, and ratepayers of 30l. annual value, are to appoint one or more medical officers, to afford advice and medical aid to such poor persons as may be sent by any member of the dispensary committee, or by the relieving officer or warden.
Sections 10, 11, 12, 13.—On the declaration of a dispensary district, all provisions for affording dispensary relief from the poor-rate or county cess are to cease. Guardians or members of the committee of management, are not to be concerned in furnishing medicines or goods for the use of the dispensary, under penalty of 50l. The commissioners are to frame regulations for the government of each dispensary district, and the medical officer is required to vaccinate all persons who may come to him for that purpose.
Sections 14, 15.—Existing medical officers are in the first instance to be the medical officers of the dispensaries. The medical officers of a dispensary district are to attend at the examination of dangerous lunatics, and are also to attend the bride-wells within their districts.
Sections 16, 17, 18.—The commissioners and inspectors are empowered to examine on oath, and to summon witnesses. The giving false evidence is declared a misdemeanour, and the refusing to obey summons &c. is subjected to a penalty of 5l. Inspectors may visit dispensaries, and attend meetings of guardians. The commissioners are to report upon hospitals and infirmaries. They are also to execute the powers and purposes of the Nuisances Removal and Diseases Prevention Acts, and to report their proceedings annually to the lord-lieutenant.
Such were the chief provisions of this Act, and the powers conferred by it appear sufficient for procuring the establishment of dispensaries in districts where they were much needed, and also for securing better management with regard to medical relief. |First report of Medical Charity Commissioners.|In their first Report dated 15th February 1853, the commissioners remark, that by the Medical Charities Act, a partial and imperfect system of medical relief, unattended with responsibility in its agents, and resting on a financial basis at once uncertain in duration, and unequal in its pressure as a tax, has been exchanged for a system uniform and universal, supported out of the poor-rates, and “influenced in its administration by well-defined responsibilities, under the direction and control of a central authority.” The expenditure is estimated at 102,700l. per annum. |Anticipated expenditure.|But “having regard to the diminution of pauperism, and the improving circumstances of the country,” it is thought probable that the cost of dispensary relief under the Medical Charities Act, will not exceed 100,000l. in future years.
New electoral divisions.
A few more of the electoral divisions were divided, in addition to the subdivisions which had been made the preceding year,[[194]] and the total number of electoral divisions was now increased to 3,439, that is 1,390 more than what were originally constituted, although still short of the number recommended by the Boundary Commissioners. The permission of out-door relief, and the increase in the number of unions, especially the latter, would no doubt render some increase of electoral divisions necessary; but after the distress out of which these changes had arisen shall have passed away, and when the country has regained its normal state, it is not unlikely that these changes may be found burthensome, and the machinery they have created be beyond what is really necessary for affording relief to the destitute poor. |New order of proceedings issued.| The various changes which had been made in the law, also rendered a new order for regulating the proceedings of boards of guardians necessary; and accordingly on the 19th January 1852, the old order was rescinded, and a new one adapted to the altered circumstances of the unions and the state of the law was issued.
Apprenticing boys to the sea-service.
14 and 15 Vict., cap. 35.
In July 1851, the 14th and 15th Vict. cap. 35 was passed, to extend the benefits of the General Merchant Seamen’s Act relating to apprentices bound to the sea-service by guardians of the poor in Ireland. By this Act, the board of guardians of a union is empowered to apprentice any boy of the age of twelve and upwards being of sufficient health and strength, and who is or whose parents are receiving relief in such union, and who consents to be so bound, into the sea-service for not less than four years, or until he attains the age of twenty-one, or has served seven years, as the case may be. The apprentice is to be furnished with a suitable outfit at the expense of the union, and sent to the seaport where the master or owner of the ship resides; and it is further provided that any such boys may, if they desire it, be placed out in the naval service. This is a well-devised Act, although it may not be very operative, at least for a time, the Irish generally having little predilection for the sea. The Act however supplies what was certainly an omission in the Act of 1836, and which became more apparent as the number of boys accumulated in the workhouses, without any means for apprenticing or getting them out into service. But the abuses which had resulted from the apprenticeship law in England, prevented its introduction in any shape into the original Irish Poor Relief Act.
Emigration.
Emigration under the provisions of the Poor Law was more active during the year 1850-51 than in any preceding year, although many unions were prevented by their poverty from resorting to it.[[195]] The commissioners had, as is before stated, applied a portion of the rate-in-aid fund in relieving the overcrowded workhouses in the counties of Clare and Kerry, but the nearly exhausted state of that fund disabled them from meeting other urgent applications for similar aid. Indeed the decrease of the population in the impoverished districts, as shown in the census returns, together with the smaller number of applicants for relief, and a greater demand for labour, would seem to render further aid or stimulus to emigration both unnecessary and inexpedient. Where the guardians and ratepayers of a district however were desirous of raising funds for the purpose, the commissioners did not refuse to give effect to the proposition.|Extent of emigration.| It appears from the Reports of the colonial land and emigration commissioners, that the total Irish emigration from 1847 to 1850 inclusive, was 833,692, nearly all of which was for North America—the Canada and New Brunswick immigration from all countries in the same period amounting to 210,904. In 1851, the emigration from Great Britain to the United States was 267,357, and it was 244,261 in 1852, in which year the number of Irish emigrants to New York alone was 118,134. This continuous emigration was chiefly effected by the aid of remittances from persons who had previously emigrated, to their friends and relatives at home, to enable them to follow.
Population census of 1851.
The above figures show the extent of the drain upon the population of Ireland which had been in progress during the last six years, and will go far to account for the startling results of the census returns of 1851, which exhibit an actual decrease of considerably over a million and a half in the previous decennial period, and make the population less than it was in 1821. The census commissioners,[[196]] after stating that the numerical decrease of the inhabitants between 1841 and 1851 amounted to 1,622,739, go on to remark—“But this being merely the difference between the number of people in 1841 and 1851, without making any allowance for a natural and ordinary increase of population, conveys but very inadequately the effect of the visitation of famine and pestilence”—“We find that the population of 30th March 1851, would probably have numbered 9,018,799, instead of 6,522,385; and that consequently the loss of population between 1841 and 1851 may be computed at the enormous amount of 2,496,414 persons.” That is to say, the population in 1851 amounted to 6,522,385, whereas under ordinary circumstances, and with the average rate of increase, it would have amounted to 9,018,799.
It may be convenient in the way of elucidation, to place the numbers of the four census periods in juxtaposition, thus—
| The population of Ireland in 1821 | was | 6,801,827 |
| ” ” in 1831 | ” | 7,767,401 |
| ” ” in 1841 | ” | 8,175,124 |
| ” ” in 1851 | ” | 6,522,385 |
How much of the present decrease was owing to emigration, and how much was occasioned by want and disease, it is impossible to predicate with any degree of certainty. Both causes were in operation at the same time, and both were consequent upon the potato failure. The universal and almost exclusive use of the potato as an article of subsistence, led to a rapid increase of the population—its failure led to a still more rapid decrease, accompanied by an amount of suffering and privation for which it would be difficult to find a parallel in the history of any people.
Amount of expenditure, and numbers relieved.
The expenditure from the rates for relief of the poor in all the 163 unions now established, during the year ending on the 29th September 1851, was as had been expected, considerably less than the preceding year, and amounted to 1,141,647l. The number relieved in the workhouses on that day was 140,031, and the total number so relieved during the year was 707,443. The number then receiving out-door relief was 3,160, and the total number who received out-door relief during the year was 47,914. It seems almost superfluous to add, that none of these were relieved under the 2nd section of the Extension Act. The results of the year as regards relief, both numerically and financially, was deemed highly satisfactory, and it was expected that a still further reduction would be effected in the year following.
Before entering on the proceedings of another year (which will moreover be the limit of our inquiry), it may be well to look back for a moment to the disastrous period through which we have latterly passed. Famine and pestilence now happily no longer prevail, and the country has in great measure recovered from the effects of the severe ordeal to which it was subjected. The Poor Law has likewise nearly regained its ordinary state, after passing through the dangers and difficulties of a most calamitous visitation; and has risen from its trials with an increase of reputation, and also it may be added, with a greatly increased capacity for effecting its objects, through the large additional workhouse accommodation that has been provided. The failure of the potato in 1845 and 1846, the partial failure in 1847, and the more general destruction of the crop in 1848, were followed in each year by the vast efforts made to palliate, and as far as possible to relieve the consequent distress—first by importations of food, and employing the people on public works—next by a partial adoption of the Poor-law principle of relief, as it was administered under the Temporary Relief Act—and lastly by extending the provisions of the Poor Law to meet the emergency, and permitting relief to be afforded out of the workhouse. These circumstances have each occupied our attention in the foregoing pages. They are all exceptional in their nature, but are at the same time most instructive in their results, whether viewed locally or generally—as affecting the empire at large, or Ireland in particular.
The character of the period—the waxings and wanings of distress—the variations in its extent, and the phases of its intensity, are all unmistakeably indicated in the weekly returns from the several unions, of the numbers and mortality in the respective workhouses from the commencement of 1846, and the numbers on the out-relief lists from the passing of the Extension Act in 1847. |Tables of numbers relieved and extent of mortality. See p. [404].| These weekly returns are given at length in the commissioners’ Reports, and from them I have compiled two tables, which will be found at the end,[[197]] showing the dates in each year when the most marked changes occurred in the numbers relieved both in and out of the workhouses, and the extent of mortality which took place; but always giving the maximum and minimum numbers in each case. The cost of out-door relief in the respective weeks is also inserted, so that the state of the country at the several periods is as it were mapped out before the reader, and can be taken in at a glance, requiring nothing further in the way of explanation; and to this table the reader’s attention is requested.
1853.
Sixth annual report of the Poor Law Commissioners for Ireland.
The commissioners’ sixth Report is dated 2nd May 1853. After the usual weekly summary of the in-door and out-door recipients of relief, it is remarked that the number of out-door poor is so inconsiderable, and liable to so little fluctuation, that “the comparative extent of pauperism in successive years is now almost wholly dependent on the number receiving relief in the workhouses.” This number, it is added, “continues to fluctuate almost in the same degree as formerly, notwithstanding the absolute decrease which has taken place; the number in autumn not usually much exceeding one-half the number at another period of the year.”
State of Connaught and Munster.
The satisfactory progress made by the province of Connaught in surmounting the effects of the famine years has already been noticed.[[198]] Although some of the Connaught unions were still in a state of financial embarrassment, and subject to payment of heavy rates, the reduction of relief in the last three years had been remarkable, the number in the workhouses having decreased from 42,286 in April 1851, to 17,389 in April 1853. In Munster on the contrary improvement continued to be comparatively backward, that province still containing more than half the pauperism of Ireland.
The workhouse children.
A large number of the children and young persons who had been admitted during the prevalence of the famine, were discharged from the workhouses in the course of the last two years. These must be regarded with satisfaction as the fruits of the Poor Law, but for which, they would in all probability have fallen victims to want and disease. The children still remaining in the workhouses, a great proportion of whom were likewise rescued at the time of the famine, were chiefly orphans, or illegitimate or deserted, and without friends able or willing to take charge of them. The number of these children in the workhouses on the 2nd April 1853 under the age of fifteen, was 82,434, of whom 5,710 were illegitimate; and looking at the large proportion who were returned as being orphans or deserted, the commissioners say they “cannot but feel that the prospect of enabling a large number of them to leave the workhouses and obtain a permanent position in society, must depend in a great degree upon the exertion made to educate and train them in such a manner as to enable them to do this at an early age.” A child of twelve or thirteen is, it is observed, “more easily grafted into society, than if he resides in a public establishment till eighteen or nineteen, when he becomes too much accustomed to its routine to exert himself in a new position, where more labour and individual efforts have to be exacted, and greater hardships and privations endured.”
Their education and industrial training.
The literary education in the workhouse schools was considered to be on the whole satisfactory. But letters alone, without industrial training, will not, it is truly said, help a boy or girl of fifteen to get into employment; and the commissioners therefore encouraged the formation of agricultural schools, in connexion with the national education board. The boys were moreover in most of the workhouses taught some kind of trade, such as tailoring, shoemaking, carpentering &c. The girls were taught to wash, and make and mend their own clothes, and clean their own dormitories and day-rooms; but there is obviously more difficulty with them than with the boys, in regard to employment. As the country improves however, “and when the drain caused by the continued emigration is more felt,” there can be little doubt, the commissioners say, that in all the unions where proper attention has been paid to the education and training of the children, there will be a demand for those educated in the workhouses as soon as they are of an age fitted for being useful; and in the mean time it is satisfactory to learn, that during the year 1852, no less than 5,371 of these children under fifteen years of age, found employment out of the workhouse.
Rate of wages and cost of subsistence.
The drain of emigration just adverted to, must have given rise to an increased amount of employment for those who remained, but this was attended with a less apparent effect upon the rate of wages than might have been expected. Another circumstance had however occurred closely bearing upon wages which it is necessary to notice, for we find that the weekly cost of maintenance in the workhouses, the average of which in 1847, exclusive of clothing, was as high as 2s. 1½d. per head, had fallen to little more than 1s. per head in the years 1850, 1851, and 1852.[[199]] Comparing the cost of subsistence with the rate of wages, it will therefore appear that there has been relatively a very considerable rise in the latter, although the money-rate in 1852 and 1853 may not appear to differ very materially from what it was in 1845. Employment had likewise become more certain and more steady, so that the labourer’s actual earnings during the year were probably greater than before, which coupled with the general reduction in the price of provisions, would enlarge his command of the necessaries and conveniences of life, and tend to improve his condition.
Remittances from emigrants.
Returns had been obtained from the several unions showing the extent of remittances from abroad, for enabling certain of the workhouse inmates to emigrate. From these returns it appeared, that in the last year 2,158l. was so remitted to enable 877 of such inmates to join their friends in America; 136l. to assist 489 to go to England and Scotland; and 221l. to enable 31 to proceed to Australia. When the sums remitted were insufficient, assistance was often afforded by the guardians under the provisions of the Poor Law, and 14,041l. was so expended for this purpose in the year ending 29th September 1852. In the following year (ending September 1853), 12,865l. was so expended by the unions for the emigration of 403 men, 1,202 women, and 996 children, making together 2,601 persons; and including the cost of free passages, about 3,500l. is known to have been remitted to enable more than 1,100 inmates of the workhouses to join their friends who had emigrated, or had settled in Great Britain. Others are likewise supposed to have left the workhouses in consequence of similar remittances, which were not made through or known to the boards of guardians.
The valuations.
The valuations of rateable property in the several unions had, as was to be expected, varied more or less with the changes which took place from time to time in the circumstances of the country. In 1845 they appear to have amounted to 13,404,403l., and to 13,187,421l. in 1847; but in 1851 the entire valuation of Ireland for the purposes of the poor-rate was only 11,500,000l., so great had been the change caused by the severe ordeal through which the country had passed. Although the principle on which the valuation of property in the several unions was originally founded, namely, what it would let for, was undoubtedly correct, there were counteracting influences at work, and the valuations made under it were rarely altogether satisfactory. Some persons denounced them as being too high, some as being too low, and others as being unequal or partial.
Commissioner of valuations.
In order to remedy these asserted defects, and place the valuations on what was expected to be a better footing, the 15th and 16th Vict. cap. 63 was passed in 1852, ‘to amend the Laws relating to the Valuation of Rateable Property in Ireland.’ The Act declares it to be expedient to make one uniform valuation of lands and tenements, which may be used for all public and local assessments and other rating. The lord-lieutenant is empowered to appoint a commissioner of valuation “who shall make or cause to be made a valuation of the tenements and hereditaments within every barony, parish, or other division when directed so to do.” But further legislation was still necessary, and in the following year the 16th and 17th Vict. cap. 7, was passed to amend the above, and directing the clerks of unions to prepare lists of tenements proposed for revision by the collectors, and to transmit the same to the commissioner of valuation, together with the opinion of the guardians whether a revision is necessary, and the name of a person whom the guardians recommend as fit to revise the same. The combined provisions of these Acts are no doubt calculated to effect improvement in the valuations; but the principle of fair letting value as originally prescribed, must still be adhered to in whatever changes are made.
1852.
Amount of expenditure and numbers relieved.
The expenditure for relief of the poor during the year ending on the 29th September 1852, was 883,267l., being 258,380l. less than in the preceding year,[[200]] and fully realizing the expectations then held out. The number relieved in the workhouses at the above date was 111,515 and the total number so relieved during the year was 504,864. The number then receiving out-door relief was 2,528, and the total number who received out-door relief during the year was 14,911. A further reduction was likewise still expected. “But the reduction must not, it is said, be expected to go so far as it would have gone if 32 new unions had not been formed, inasmuch as a certain amount of establishment charges must be incurred to maintain the new workhouses, and the necessary staff of officers, in whatever degree the pauperism of the districts in which they are built may hereafter be found diminished.”
1853.
Amount of expenditure, and numbers relieved.
The expected further reduction was again confirmed, the expenditure on relief of the poor during the year ending on the 29th September 1853, being 785,718l., or nearly 100,000l. less than in the previous year. The number relieved in the 163 workhouses was 79,600, and the total number so relieved during the year was 396,436. The number receiving out-door relief was 2,245, and the total number who received out-door relief during the year was 13,232—and now also, important as the reductions which have latterly taken place assuredly are, we are again told that still further reductions may be looked for.[[201]]
A tabular statement[[202]] has been given of the annual expenditure and the numbers relieved, down to the end of 1846, after which time the date of the returns was altered to correspond with the half-yearly audits in April and September. The following is a continuation of the statement before given, but also including the number of persons who were relieved out of the work-house in the successive years under the provisions of the Extension Act—
| The year ending Sept. 29. | No. of unions in operation. | Expenditures during the year. | No. in the workhouses on the 29th Sept. | Total no. relieved in the workhouses during the year. | No. receiving out-relief on 29th Sept. | Total no. who received out-relief during the year |
| 1847 | 130 | £ 803,684 | 86,376 | 417,139 | — | — |
| 1848 | 131 | 1,732,597 | 124,003 | 610,463 | 207,683 | 1,433,042 |
| 1849 | 2,177,651 | 141,030 | 932,284 | 135,019 | 1,210,482 | |
| 1850 | 163 | 1,430,108 | 155,173 | 805,702 | 2,938 | 368,565 |
| 1851 | 1,141,647 | 140,031 | 707,443 | 3,160 | 47,914 | |
| 1852 | 883,267 | 111,515 | 504,864 | 2,528 | 14,911 | |
| 1853 | 785,718 | 79,600[[203]] | 396,436 | 2,245[[203]] | 13,232 |
This table speaks at once to the eye, and by its ascending and its descending numbers indicates the circumstances of the period to which they severally refer. But in addition to the expenditure in the third column, it must not be overlooked that since the passing of the Consolidated Debts Act[[204]] in 1850, a considerably larger amount of rates has been collected than was required for the immediate relief of the poor. Thus the amount collected in the year ending in September 1853 was 1,000,312l., whereas the expenditure on relief was only 781,523l., the remainder being applied in payment of the consolidated annuities, and in defraying expenses incurred under the Medical Charities Act. At present, it is said, out of 357,858l. the entire amount of the two annuities payable in 1852 and 1853, only 28,768l. remains unpaid; and the advances made on security of the Rate-in-aid have been wholly repaid, with the exception of a trifling sum due on certain newly arranged townlands. But it is expected that in a short time “all the exceptional charges on the poor-rates will cease, and that thenceforward the rates will be exclusively applied to the relief of the poor, and the support of the medical charities.”
Further advance to the impoverished unions.
Notwithstanding the general improvement, and the reduction of expenditure which has been shown to have taken place, assistance was still required by some of the western unions, and the government consented to an advance of 30,000l. being made to eleven of them,[[205]] to pay their debts and relieve them from financial embarrassments; but this was done however, on the express condition that they “should not expect further assistance, and should make rates to the satisfaction of the Poor Law Commissioners, to meet their immediate and future wants.” The condition and the assistance were alike well timed and judicious, and secured the objects for which they were intended.
Average cost of maintenance.
The cost of subsistence in the workhouse, may be considered to afford a fair criterion for judging of what is required for the subsistence of the labouring classes generally, there being in fact little difference between the food usually consumed by the peasantry, and that supplied to the inmates of the work-houses. The average weekly cost per head is ascertained half-yearly, when the union accounts are audited in March and September, and the following table shows the results on these occasions from 1847 downwards[[206]]—
| Half-year ending. | Average weekly cost of provisions and necessaries. | Average weekly cost of clothing. | Total. | |||
| s. | d. | d. | s. | d. | ||
| 1847. | 25th March | 2 | 1 | 3½ | 2 | 4½ |
| 29th September | 2 | 1½ | 3 | 2 | 4½ | |
| 1848. | 25th March | 1 | 7 | 3¼ | 1 | 10¼ |
| 29th September | 1 | 5 | 3¼ | 1 | 8¼ | |
| 1849. | 25th March | 1 | 4½ | 3¼ | 1 | 7½ |
| 29th September | 1 | 2¾ | 3 | 1 | 5¾ | |
| 1851. | 25th March | 1 | 0½ | 2½ | 1 | 3 |
| 29th September | 1 | 0 | 2¼ | 1 | 2½ | |
| 1852. | 25th March | 1 | 0½ | 2 | 1 | 2½ |
| 29th September | 1 | 0½ | 1½ | 1 | 2 | |
| 1853. | 25th March | 1 | 1¾ | 1¾ | 1 | 3½ |
| 29th September | 1 | 2½ | 1½ | 1 | 4 | |
| 1854. | Week ended 22nd April[[207]] | 1 | 9 | |||
Cost of subsistence and rate of wages.
In April 1854, we see there was a large increase in the cost of workhouse maintenance, arising no doubt from the increase which had taken place in the prices of provisions. This increase would bear hard upon the labouring classes, unless there were a somewhat proportionate increase in wages. To obtain information on this point, the Poor Law Commissioners caused inquiry to be made by the inspectors in their several districts; and we find it stated as the combined result of their Reports—“that there is now[[208]] observable a material increase in the money value of agricultural labour, to the extent of about 1s. per week on the average throughout Ireland.” It appears also, that agricultural employment was more continuous than formerly, and that in most parts of the country the wages of artizans had improved in a still greater ratio than those of common labourers. Unless there were some advance in the price of labour, it is probable that the great increase in the price of provisions would cause an increase in the numbers applying for relief, which does not appear to have occurred; and this may be regarded as a further proof, that on the whole the rate of wages had about kept pace with the increased cost of subsistence.
Changes in the poor law executive.
Certain changes took place in the Poor Law executive in 1852, which it is necessary to notice. Mr. Ball resigned the office of Poor Law Commissioner, and was succeeded by Mr. Senior. The temporary inspectors were all discontinued. The number of these officers in 1847, on the passing of the Extension Act, was 48; but they had been subsequently reduced to 11, and of these 4 were now discontinued, and the remaining 7 were placed on the permanent staff, making the number of inspectors 16, each having the charge of a larger or smaller number of unions according to the circumstances of the district.
New order of accounts.
A new order of accounts adapted to the alterations made in the law had been completed, and was issued in April of the present year; and the commissioners remark in their Report that “the administration of relief to the destitute poor in Ireland, may be now looked upon as nearly identical with its normal state, as originally contemplated on the passing of the Act 1st and 2nd Vict. cap. 56. Such a result could hardly have been expected after the severe trials to which the country had so recently been exposed, but it was most satisfactory, and must be regarded as a proof of the enduring soundness of the principle on which that measure was founded.
I have now brought the narrative of the Irish Poor Law, down to a period coincident with my histories of the English and the Scottish Poor Laws; and here, as originally intended, I should conclude. But in the autumn of 1853 I again visited Ireland, and examined many of the unions, chiefly in the south and the west, in order to see and form my own judgment as to the working of the law, and the condition of the people. The results of what came under my own observation, and of the inquiries which I was enabled to make, were embodied at the time in a letter to Lord John Russell, by whom the measure of Irish Poor Law had been originally introduced and carried through parliament, and who always took a lively interest in everything connected with it; and it now appears to me that I cannot do better than give the substance of that letter, written with all the facts and incidents fresh before me, as a fitting close to the statements contained in the present work. The letter is dated Dublin 16th September 1853, and omitting a short introduction is substantially as follows—
The author’s letter to Lord John Russell, September 1853.
“Eleven years have passed since I quitted Ireland. In the interim the country has suffered from famine and pestilence, and the Poor Law has been subjected to a most severe trial. An examination of the present condition of the country and state of the law cannot therefore fail of being deeply interesting, and I should have been glad to have given more time to it, if other claims had permitted.
“The circumstance that now first arrests attention in passing through the country, is the comparatively small number of beggars. Formerly the roads were lined with them, and the traveller wherever he stopped was surrounded by clamorous miserable-looking solicitors of charity. This is now changed. Beggars are rarely seen on the roads, less frequently in the towns; and are not I think on the whole, more numerous than in England. The famine may have been partly the cause of this change, but another if not the chief cause is the workhouses, where the old the feeble the sick and infirm poor are now supported, as the law designed, and as sound policy required that they should be. The workhouses are entirely occupied by this description of paupers, and the very young—there are no able-bodied. The total number of inmates of all classes is now 84,000, which is about the number I estimated at the outset as requiring to be provided for. The cost of relief is moreover about the same as I then estimated that it would probably amount to; and it is not a little gratifying to find that our calculations in these respects are so far verified.
“The Poor Law appears to be now thoroughly naturalized in Ireland. Your lordship would have been delighted to have heard it spoken of as I have done, and that by persons who did not know me, and who praised it as having been the salvation of the country, exclaiming “what should we have done without it!”—Complaints of the expense are it is true sometimes heard, but these are directed rather against the inequality of the charge than against the general amount, some electoral divisions paying heavily, whilst others pay little or nothing, as is sometimes the case with English parishes.
“The changes which have been made, are not I think all of them improvements. Although the subdivision of a few of the unions might have been necessary, this as well as the subdivision of the districts of chargeability, has I fear been carried too far—it has added to the working friction, and swelled the aggregate charge.
“When settlement shall be abolished in England, and union rating established instead of parochial, as I trust will ere long be the case, we may hope to see a similar reform extended to Ireland, which would bring the law back nearly to what your lordship first proposed and carried through the house of commons; and most of the changes which were subsequently made, as well as some of those since added, have in my judgment served to detract from its simplicity, and tended to impede its effective operation.
“All the workhouses which I have seen are in good order and the buildings in perfect condition, and such also I am informed is the case with the others. It is not a little satisfactory to find this the case, after the complaints that were made of these buildings, which are now as much praised as they were at one time decried.
“The most pleasing circumstance connected with the workhouse is the state of the pauper children, who are there educated and trained up in habits of order cleanliness and industry, instead of being left as outcasts, with every likelihood of their becoming a burthen, and possibly a bane to the community. I wish you could have seen with me some of these workhouse schools, and witnessed the benefits they are conferring upon the country. In the rural districts there is little difficulty in getting the boys out to service as soon as they are of an age fit for it, and the girls likewise now generally obtain places, although not so readily; but in the large towns there is still a difficulty with these last, there being proportionally less employment for females in Ireland than in England. A considerable number of girls and young women have been assisted to emigrate within the last three years, and it is very desirable that others should be so assisted and sent out from such of the workhouses as are overstocked with this class of inmates.
“With respect to emigration, I think that it has been already carried farther than was desirable. There appears to be no excess of labourers anywhere, and now in the harvest season there is evidently a want of hands to do the work, and high wages are paid, as much in some instances as 2s. and 2s. 6d. a day; but this is only during the period of urgency. There is still a want of certain and continuous employment in Ireland, and the people do not rely upon regular daily labour as a means of support, although they are I think approximating to it; and the extensive emigration which has taken place, will no doubt help forward the change. The rage for emigrating however continues, although the occasion for it has ceased. It pervades every class, and is strongest with the best educated and most intelligent. I found this to be the case among the boys in the workhouse schools. The sharp active intelligent lads were all eager to emigrate. It was only the more dull feeble and inert who appeared content to remain at home. Yet I know of no country where labour can be applied with the certainty of a better return. Labour is here in fact the thing chiefly needed. It is impossible to pass through Ireland without seeing this, and lamenting the omission.
“It is encouraging to reflect however, that were there less room for improvement in this and other respects, there would be less incentive to exertion; and when the rage for emigration which still prevails shall have subsided, as subside it will, we may with greater confidence expect that the energies and increased intelligence of the people will be turned to the improvement of their own country, in which they will assuredly find a rich reward, and in furtherance of which they will, in the Poor Law, have a valuable auxiliary.”
Such were the impressions derived from what came within the limit of my own observation and inquiry, on again visiting Ireland in the autumn of 1853. That these impressions were not more favourable than the circumstances warranted, is proved by the progressive ameliorations which have since taken place, of the extent of which generally, the proceedings under the Poor Law may be regarded as an index; and these have shown a continual reduction, both in expenditure and in the numbers relieved. The total cost of relief in the year ending 29th September 1855, including every item of charge, was no more than 685,259l.; and the total number of persons relieved on that day was 57,201, of whom 655 (being exceptional cases) were relieved out of the workhouse.[[209]] This reduction in expenditure has moreover taken place, notwithstanding the greatly increased cost of maintenance in the workhouses as compared with what it was in 1850 and 1851,[[210]] making a difference on the whole of probably not less than 150,000l.; so that but for this increase, the entire cost of relieving the poor in 1855 might perhaps not have exceeded half a million, and in the event of prices falling to their former level, and other circumstances proving favourable, it may hereafter possibly range at about that amount.
At present however the expenditure under the Irish Poor Law contrasts favourably with what is taking place under the English and Scottish laws—in Ireland it averages 2s. per head on the population, whilst in Scotland the average amounts to 4s.,[[211]] and in England to 5s. 6d. per head—or if we take the valuations in the three countries as a standard of comparison, it will appear that the expenditure on relief of the poor in Ireland amounts to 1s. 2½d., in Scotland to 1s. 4d., and in England to 1s. 5½d. in the pound. These comparisons are I think satisfactory, and it is encouraging also to find the commissioners declaring in their last Report,[[212]] that—“a material diminution of pauperism in Ireland is still going on”—and that—“the improvement in the rate of wages and the increased constancy of employment have not only been sustained, but have further advanced and acquired a still more permanent and healthy aspect.” Emigration likewise, both spontaneous and that conducted at the expense of the poor-rates,[[213]] is considerably lessened, and seems likely ere long to be reduced within its natural limits. The future therefore appears in every way hopeful for Ireland—may the Irish people on their part, not be wanting in due effort for securing the benefits of which there is at present so fair a promise!
Tables of the Numbers relieved in and out of the Workhouse, with the extent of Mortality, etc., referred to at page [389].
| Numbers relieved in the workhouses houses in each of the weeks ending on the dates in the first column respectively; together with the number and the rate per 1,000 of the deaths. | |||
| Weeks ending | Total number in the workhouses. | Deaths in the week. | Rate per 1,000. |
| 1846. | |||
| 4 April | 50,861 | 159 | 3.0 |
| 4 July | 50,693 | 146 | 2.9 |
| 7 Nov. | 74,175 | 312 | 4.2 |
| 1847. | |||
| 2 Jan. | 98,762 | 1,206 | 12.2 |
| 6 Mar. | 115,645 | 2,590 | 22.0 |
| 3 July | 101,439 | 1,239 | 12.2 |
| 4 Sept. | 75,376 | 589 | 7.8 |
| 13 Nov. | 102,776 | 523 | 5.1 |
| 1848. | |||
| 1 Jan. | 117,568 | 1,362 | 11.6 |
| 12 Feb. | 135,467 | 1,316 | 9.7 |
| 1 July | 139,397 | 620 | 4.5 |
| 9 Sept. | 107,320 | 350 | 3.3 |
| 2 Dec. | 172,980 | 787 | 4.5 |
| 1849. | |||
| 13 Jan. | 191,445 | 1,477 | 7.7 |
| 3 Mar. | 196,523 | 1,846 | 9.4 |
| 5 May | 220,401 | 2,730 | 12.4 |
| 16 June | 227,329 | 2,009 | 8.8 |
| 6 Oct. | 140,266 | 488 | 3.5 |
| 1 Dec. | 180,641 | 471 | 2.7 |
| 1850. | |||
| 5 Jan. | 203,320 | 792 | 3.9 |
| 2 Feb. | 230,348 | 994 | 4.3 |
| 2 Mar. | 237,939 | 1,150 | 4.8 |
| 4 May | 243,224 | 1,247 | 5.1 |
| 22 June | 264,048 | 1,126 | 4.3 |
| 3 Aug. | 219,231 | 808 | 3.7 |
| 28 Sept. | 155,173 | 526 | 3.4 |
| 7 Dec. | 191,341 | 501 | 2.6 |
| 1851. | |||
| 4 Jan. | 206,468 | 654 | 3.2 |
| 22 Feb. | 251,836 | 1,201 | 4.8 |
| 22 Mar. | 248,501 | 1,512 | 6.1 |
| 7 June | 263,397 | 1,264 | 4.8 |
| 2 Aug. | 222,038 | 789 | 3.6 |
| 27 Sept. | 140,458 | 386 | 2.8 |
| 1852. | |||
| 3 Jan. | 168,248 | 407 | 2.4 |
| 21 Feb. | 196,966 | 594 | 3.0 |
| 5 June | 187,003 | 541 | 2.9 |
| 18 Sept. | 111,117 | 261 | 2.3 |
| 25 Dec. | 134,476 | 281 | 2.1 |
| 1853. | |||
| 19 Feb. | 160,774 | 627 | 3.9 |
| 30 July | 113,099 | 272 | 2.4 |
| 1 Oct. | 79,410 | 202 | 2.5 |
| Number of destitute persons relieved out of the workhouses under the 1st and 2nd sections of the Extension Act (10th and 11th Vict., cap. 31) respectively, in each of the weeks ending on the dates in the first column; together with the weekly cost of such relief. | ||||||
| Weeks ending. | Numbers relieved under Section 1 of Extension Act. | Numbers relieved under Section 2 of Extension Act. | Total | Weekly cost of relief. | ||
| 1848. | £. | s. | d. | |||
| 5 Feb. | 337,665 | 107,811 | 445,476 | 12,788 | 9 | 0 |
| 4 Mar. | 425,949 | 228,763 | 654,712 | 17,564 | 18 | 2 |
| 1 April | 408,923 | 235,076 | 643,999 | 17,092 | 6 | 6 |
| 6 May | 485,364 | 266,430 | 751,794 | 18,786 | 18 | 5 |
| 1 July | 490,902 | 342,987 | 833,889 | 21,800 | 14 | 10 |
| 2 Sept. | 279,567 | 96,523 | 376,090 | 10,335 | 14 | 5 |
| 7 Oct. | 192,401 | 7,202 | 199,603 | 5,925 | 4 | 2 |
| 2 Dec. | 246,125 | 31,859 | 277,984 | 7,845 | 12 | 10 |
| 1849. | ||||||
| 6 Jan. | 327,733 | 75,622 | 423,355 | 11,170 | 7 | 5 |
| 3 Mar. | 422,693 | 170,012 | 592,705 | 15,051 | 14 | 3 |
| 2 June | 402,184 | 239,229 | 642,413 | 19,263 | 7 | 1 |
| 7 July | 492,503 | 291,864 | 784,367 | 21,757 | 8 | 3 |
| 1 Sept. | 425,197 | 50,796 | 276,793 | 6,493 | 13 | 11 |
| 13 Oct. | 114,316 | 1,647 | 115,963 | 2,653 | 7 | 2 |
| 3 Nov | 102,247 | 13 | 102,260 | 2,336 | 11 | 11 |
| 1850. | ||||||
| 5 Jan. | 104,305 | 345 | 104,650 | 2,159 | 0 | 3 |
| 23 Feb. | 148,909 | 148,909 | 3,216 | 8 | 8 | |
| 1 June | 127,727 | 128 | 127,855 | 2,805 | 9 | 2 |
| 3 Aug. | 73,129 | 40 | 73,169 | 1,617 | 7 | 5 |
| 14 Sept. | 3,794 | 3,794 | 96 | 14 | 2 | |
| 19 Oct. | 2,249 | 2,249 | 63 | 13 | 6 | |
| 1851. | ||||||
| 4 Jan. | 2,713 | 6 | 2,719 | 76 | 14 | 0 |
| 22 Feb. | 9,103 | 20 | 9,123 | 229 | 4 | 6 |
| 3 May | 11,145 | 7 | 11,153 | 268 | 17 | 4 |
| 5 July | 19,454 | 28 | 19,482 | 486 | 4 | 11 |
| 4 Oct. | 3,084 | 3,084 | 75 | 10 | 4 | |
| 1852. | ||||||
| 3 Jan. | 3,170 | 3,170 | 88 | 6 | 3 | |
| 6 Mar. | 3,396 | 3,396 | 100 | 0 | 10 | |
| 3 July | 3,579 | 3,579 | 102 | 19 | 0 | |
| 9 Oct. | 2,491 | 1 | 2,492 | 74 | 1 | 3 |
| 25 Dec. | 2,998 | 2,998 | 87 | 12 | 10 | |
| 1853. | ||||||
| 26 Feb. | 4,152 | 4,152 | 116 | 16 | 10 | |
| 30 July | 3,092 | 3,092 | 96 | 5 | 2 | |
| 8 Oct. | 1,977 | 1,977 | 61 | 16 | 10 | |