A history of the Irish poor law, in connexion with the condition of the people

by Sir George Nicholls

“The objections usually urged against the introduction of Poor Laws into Ireland, are founded on an anticipated demoralization of the peasantry—and on the probable amount of the charge. The first objection derives its force from the example of England under the old Poor Law; but the weight of this objection is destroyed by the improved administration under the new law, which is rapidly eradicating the effects of previous abuse; and will, there is good reason to believe, effectually prevent their recurrence. This belief is founded on the experience of the effects of the system in every instance in which it has been brought into operation, and particularly in two important parishes in Nottinghamshire, where the workhouse principle was first established in its simplicity and efficiency fifteen or sixteen years ago, and where it has continued to be equally effective up to the present time. Similar results have invariably attended its application in the unions formed under the new law, which are conducted essentially upon the same principle, but with a superior combination of machinery, and administrative arrangement.

“With respect to the second objection, founded on the probable amount of expenditure, it may be remarked that the Irish population, like every other, must be supported in some way out of the resources of the country; and it does not follow that the establishment of such a system of relief will greatly increase the charge, if it increase it at all. During the progress of my inquiries, I was often told that the recognition of any legal claim for relief would lead to universal pauperism, and would amount to a total confiscation of property. Many Irish landowners appeared to participate in this apprehension—under the influence of which it seems to have been overlooked, that the only legal claim for relief in England is founded on the actual destitution of the claimant, and that as the existence of destitution is the ground of the claim, so is its removal the measure of relief to be afforded. This, if the destitution be rightly tested, will be a sufficient protection to property. At present there is no test of destitution in Ireland. The mendicant, whether his distress be real or fictitious, claims and receives his share of the produce of the soil in the shape of charity, before the landlord can receive his portion in the shape of rent, and before the tenant has ascertained whether he is a gainer or a loser by his labours and his risks. The mendicant’s claim has now precedence over every other. If the whole property of Ireland was rated to the relief of the poor, it would be no more; but in such case the charge would be equally borne, whereas at present it is unequal, and tends to evil in its application.

“The voluntary contributions of Scotland have been recommended as an example to be followed, rather than the compulsory assessments of England; and the Dublin Mendicity Association has been referred to, and its working described as at once effective for the suppression of mendicancy, and for the relief of the indigent within the sphere of its operations, without injury to the sensibilities of individual benevolence. But the feelings of charity and gratitude, which it is delightful to contemplate as the motive and the fruit of benevolent actions, can only exist between individuals. It matters not whether the fund to be distributed has been raised by voluntary contribution, or by legal assessment, or whether it has been devised for purposes of general charity. The application of the fund becomes, in each case, a trust; it is distributed as a trust, and it is received as a right, not as a gift. It may moreover be remarked, that the Dublin Mendicity Association has with difficulty been kept in existence by great exertions on the part of the committee, and by threats of parading the mendicants through the streets. If difficulty is thus found in supporting such an institution in Dublin, how impracticable must it be to provide permanent support for similar institutions in other parts of the country. Some persons contend that relief for the indigent classes in Ireland should be provided in ‘houses of industry,’ similar to those now existing in Dublin and a few other places. These institutions are in general not badly managed, and some classification is enforced in them, and the sexes are invariably separated. But they are certainly not entitled to the designation of ‘houses of industry.’ They are in fact places for the maintenance of a number of poor persons, mostly aged or infirm, and idiots, and lunatics; but as a general means of supplying necessary relief, and of testing the necessity, they are totally inefficient.

“Notwithstanding these objections, I found everywhere, after quitting Dublin, a strong feeling in favour of property being assessed for the relief of the indigent. At present, the burthen falls almost exclusively upon the lower classes, whilst the higher classes generally escape. A system of poor-laws, similar in principle to the English system, would go far to remedy this inequality—the people are aware of this—and, as the general result of my inquiries, I have been led to the conclusion, that poor-laws may be now established in Ireland, guarded by the correctives derived from experience in England, with safety and success. I think also, that such a measure would serve to connect the interest of landlords and tenants, and so become a means of benefiting both, and promoting the general peace and prosperity of the country. The desire now so generally expressed for a full participation in English laws and English institutions, will dispose the Irish people to receive with alacrity any measure tending to put them on the same footing as their fellow-subjects of England—a circumstance particularly favourable to the establishment of a poor-law at this moment. At another season, or under other circumstances, it might be difficult to surround a legal provision for the relief of the Irish poor, with sufficient guards against abuse; but at present, I think the legislature may venture to entertain the subject, having the experience of England before them, with a reasonable confidence of being able to bring the measure to a successful issue; and if the landed proprietors and gentry of Ireland will there perform the same part, which the proprietors and gentry of England are now performing in the administration of the new Poor Law, the result will be neither distant nor doubtful.

“If a poor-law were established in Ireland, it must not however be expected to work miracles. It would not give employment or capital, but it would, I think, help the country through what may be called its transition period; and in time, and with the aid of other circumstances, would effect a material improvement in the condition of the people. The English Poor Laws, in their earlier operation, contributed to the accomplishment of this object in England; and there seems nothing to prevent a similar result in Ireland. Facilities now exist in Ireland for helping forward the transition, and for shortening its duration as well as securing its benefits, which England did not possess in the time of Elizabeth, or for a century and a half afterwards. By ‘transition period,’ I mean that season of change from the system of small holdings, con-acre, and the subdivisions of land, which now prevails in Ireland, to the better practice of day-labour for wages, and to that dependence on daily labour for support, which is the present condition of the English peasantry. This transition is, I believe, generally beset with difficulty and suffering. It was so in England; it is, and for a time will probably continue to be so in Ireland; and every aid should be afforded to shorten its duration, and lessen its pressure. It has been considered that the existence of the con-acre system is favourable to such a transition. I am disposed to concur in this view, and think that the annual hiring of the con-acre, may help to wean the Irish peasantry from their present desire of occupying land, and lead them to become labourers for wages. The eager clinging to land, and its subdivision into small holdings, is at once a cause and a consequence of the rapid increase of the people, and of the extreme poverty and want which prevail among them. It is not because the potato constitutes their food, that a kind of famine occurs annually in Ireland between the going out of the old, and the in-coming of the new crop; but it is because the peasantry are the sole providers for their own necessities, each out of his own small holding; and being all alike hard pressed, and apt to under-calculate the extent of their wants, they thus often find themselves without food before the new crop is ripe. In this emergency there is no store provided to which they can have recourse, and misery and disease ensue. A poor-law would lighten the pressure under such a visitation, and the poor-law machinery might be useful in cases of extreme need, as well as for preventing a recurrence of the calamity.

“It is impossible to mix with the Irish people without noticing the great influence of the clergy, and it seemed important therefore to ascertain their views in regard to a poor-law. I discussed the subject with many of them, as well Roman catholic as protestant, in all parts of the country; and I found them, with few exceptions, decidedly favourably to such a law. In the cases where they were not so, it appeared to be owing to an apprehension that their influence might be lessened, by taking from them the distribution of the alms which now pass through their hands; but this feeling was of rare occurrence, and I am warranted in saying, that the clergy of every denomination are almost unanimously favourable to a system of Poor Laws for Ireland. This was perhaps to be expected, the duties of the clergy leading them to mix more with the people, and to see more of their actual wants, than any other class of persons. The shopkeepers too, and manufacturers and dealers generally, I found favourable to a poor-law. They declared that they should be gainers at the end of the year, whatever might be the amount legally assessed upon them; for that they could neither close their doors, nor turn their backs upon the wretched objects who were constantly applying to them; whilst the gentry, if resident, were in a great measure protected from such applications, and if non-resident, escaped them altogether.

“A legal provision for the destitute, is moreover an indispensable preliminary to the suppression of mendicancy. If the state offers an alternative, it may prohibit begging—it would be in vain to do so otherwise, for the law would be opposed to our natural sympathies, and would remain inoperative. This was the course adopted in England, where it was long endeavoured to repress vagrancy by severe enactments, but apparently with little advantage. At last the offer of relief was coupled with the prohibition of mendicancy, and until our Poor Law administration became corrupt, with perfect success. To establish a poor-law, then, is I believe a necessary preliminary to the suppression of mendicancy. That it will be, on the whole, economical to do this in Ireland, it is I think scarcely possible to doubt; but whether it be so or not, the advantage both morally and socially of removing such an evil, is beyond question important.

“It may be regarded as a circumstance favourable to the introduction of a poor-law, that so much land is lying waste and uncultivated in Ireland. Much of this land is susceptible of cultivation, and the order and security which a poor-law would tend to establish, will encourage the application of capital to such objects. If capital were to be so applied, considerable tracts would be brought under culture, and thus afford occupation to the now unemployed labourers. Most of the reclaimed bog which I saw in the western counties, was effected by the small occupiers, who partially drained and enclosed an acre or two at a time; but such operations were without system or combination, and for the most part indifferently performed. In this way, however, the reclamation of these wastes will of necessity proceed—constantly adding to the number of small cottier tenants, and swelling the amount of poverty and wretchedness in the country—unless proprietors and capitalists shall be induced to take the matter in hand, and by enclosing and effectually draining whole tracts, secure the means of applying economical management on a large scale. The enclosing and draining, and the whole process of reclamation, would afford employment to labourers who are now, for a great portion of the year, idling about without occupation; and when the land so reclaimed becomes subjected to a regular process of cultivation, it will continue to afford them regular employment at daily wages, instead of the often miserably insufficient produce of their own small holdings, to which they now are compelled to cling as their sole means of support.

“It appears then, I think, that a poor-law is necessary for relieving the destitution to which a large portion of the population in Ireland is now exposed. It appears too, that circumstances are at present favourable for the introduction of such a measure. A poor-law seems also to be necessary, as a first step towards bringing about improvement in the habits and social condition of the people. Without such improvement, peace, good order, and security cannot exist in Ireland; and without these, it is in vain to look for that accumulation of wealth, and influx of capital, which are necessary for developing its resources, agricultural and commercial, and for providing profitable employment for the population. Ireland is now suffering under a circle of evils, producing and reproducing one another. Want of capital produces want of employment—want of employment, turbulence and misery—turbulence and misery, insecurity—insecurity prevents the introduction or accumulation of capital—and so on. Until this circle is broken, the evils must continue, and probably increase. The first thing to be done is to give security—that will produce or invite capital—and capital will give employment. But security of person and property cannot co-exist with extensive destitution. So that, in truth, the reclamation of bogs and wastes—the establishment of fisheries and manufactures—improvements in agriculture, and in the general condition of the country—and lastly, the elevation of the great mass of the Irish people in the social scale, appear to be all more or less contingent upon establishing a law providing for the relief of the destitute.—How such a law may be best formed, so as to secure the largest amount of good, with the least risk of evil, it is proposed next to consider.

Part the Second.—“There are two points for consideration under this division of the subject which are of primary import, the question of a Poor Law for Ireland mainly depending upon them. First—Whether the workhouse system can be safely and effectively established in Ireland; and secondly—Whether a machinery can be there established for their government, such as exists in the English unions.