The number of those persons who were in receipt of indoor relief, the number in receipt of outdoor relief, and their ages as stated, are given in the table on the following page.
The notable fact which emerges is that of 286,867 paupers over 60, as many as 245,687 were over 65. Old age as a cause of pauperism is strikingly illustrated by a comparison of the two numbers. It is clear that death at 64 would mercifully have saved over two hundred thousand poor old men and women from the stigma of pauperism.
According to the census returns, in 1891, the following year, there were 1,372,974 persons (606,960 males and 766,014 females) at and over the age of 65. On August 1st, 1890, the date of Mr Burt's return, therefore, there were 245,687 persons out of about 1,372,000 persons 65 years old and upwards or say 1 in 5½ in receipt of poor relief.
But Mr Burt's return related to the paupers relieved on one day only. What ratio does the number of aged paupers relieved in one day bear to the total number relieved in the course of the year?
PAUPERS OVER 60 YEARS OF AGE (ENGLAND AND WALES ONLY)
ON AUGUST 1ST, 1890
| Ages. | Indoor. | Outdoor. | Total Paupers. | ||||||
| Males. | Females. | Total. | Males. | Females. | Total. | Males. | Females. | Total. | |
| 65 to 70 | 9,468 | 6,339 | 15,807 | 10,567 | 35,866 | 46,433 | 20,035 | 42,205 | 62,240 |
| 70 to 75 | 9,953 | 6,856 | 16,809 | 17,633 | 43,266 | 60,899 | 27,586 | 50,122 | 77,708 |
| 75 to 80 | 7,086 | 5,298 | 12,384 | 16,474 | 32,021 | 48,495 | 23,560 | 37,319 | 60,879 |
| 80 and over | 4,949 | 4,803 | 9,752 | 12,456 | 22,652 | 35,108 | 17,405 | 27,455 | 44,860 |
| Total over 65 | 31,456 | 23,296 | 54,752 | 57,130 | 133,805 | 190,935 | 88,588 | 157,101 | 245,687 |
| 60 to 65 | 8,018 | 5,354 | 13,372 | 5,959 | 21,849 | 27,808 | 13,977 | 27,203 | 41,180 |
| Total over 60 | 39,474 | 28,650 | 68,124 | 63,089 | 155,654 | 218,743 | 102,563 | 184,304 | 286,867 |
This question is answered by a further parliamentary return, asked for in 1892 by Mr (afterwards Lord) Ritchie. This return shows for England and Wales the number of persons of each sex aged 65 years and upwards, and the number between 16 and 65, also the number of children under 16 years of age, in receipt of relief (a) on January 1st, 1892, and (b) during the twelve months ended Lady Day 1892. As in Mr Burt's return, vagrants and lunatics are not included. The return differs from Mr Burt's, however, in distinguishing those persons in receipt of medical relief only.
This return of Mr Ritchie's showed that while 700,746 paupers of all ages were in receipt of relief on January 1st, 1892, the number relieved during the year ended Lady Day 1892 was more than twice as great, viz. 1,573,074.[60]
Mr Ritchie's return relates to all paupers, whereas that of Mr Burt related to the aged only. It is difficult to say which fact in Mr Ritchie's return is the more saddening, the relief of 401,904 aged paupers in a single year, or that in the same period 553,587 children under sixteen were pauperized.