第20章

CobbettdeclaredinhisAdvicetoYoungMen(26*)that’iftheslops

wereinfashionamongstploughmenandcarters，wemustallbestarved；for

thefoodcouldneverberaised。Themechanicsarehalfruinedbythem。’In

theReportonthePoorpresentedtotheHantsQuarterSessionsin1795，(27*)

theuseofteaisdescribedas’avainpresentattempttosupplytothespirits

ofthemindwhatiswantingtothestrengthofthebody；butinitslasting

effectsimpairingthenerves，andthereinequallyinjuringboththebody

andthemind。’Daviesretortedontherichwhofoundfaultwiththeextravagance

ofthepoorintea-drinking，bypointingoutthatitwastheir’lastresource。’

’Thetopiconwhichthedeclaimersagainsttheextravaganceofthepoordisplay

theireloquencewithmostsuccess，istea-drinking。Whyshouldsuchpeople，

itisasked，indulgeinaluxurywhichisonlyproperfortheirbetters；

andnotrathercontentthemselveswithmilk，whichisineveryformwholesome

andnourishing？Wereittruethatpoorpeoplecouldeverywhereprocureso

excellentanarticleasmilk，therewouldbethenjustreasontoreproach

themforgivingthepreferencetothemiserableinfusionofwhichtheyare

sofond。Butitisnotso。Whereverthepoorcangetmilk，dotheynotgladly

useit？Andwheretheycannotgetit，wouldtheynotgladlyexchangetheir

teaforit？(28*)……Stillyouexclaim，Teaisaluxury。Ifyoumeanfine

hysontea，sweetenedwithrefined，sugar，andsoftenedwithcream，Ireadily

admitittobeso。Butthisisnottheteaofthepoor。Springwater，just

colouredwithafewleavesofthelowest-pricedtea，andsweetenedwiththe

brownestsugar，istheluxuryforwhichyoureproachthem。Tothistheyhave

recoursefrommerenecessity：andweretheynowtobedeprivedofthis，they

wouldimmediatelybereducedtobreadandwater。Tea-drinkingisnotthe

cause，buttheconsequence，ofthedistressesofthepoor。’(29*)Welearn

fromtheAnnalsofAgriculturethatatSedgefieldinDurham(30*)many

ofthepoordeclaredthattheyhadbeendriventodrinkingteafromnotbeing

abletoprocuremilk。(31*)

Nodoubtthescarcityofmilkhelpedtoencourageatastethatwasvery

quicklyacquiredbyallclassesinEngland，andnotinEnglandonly，for，

beforethemiddleoftheeighteenthcentury，therapidgrowthoftea-drinking

amongthepoorintheLowlandsofScotlandwasaffectingtherevenuevery。

TheEnglishpoorlikedteaforthesamereasonseriously(32*)thatDr。Johnson

likedit，asastimulant，andthefactthattheirfoodwasmonotonousand

insipidmadeitparticularlyattractive。Edenshowsthatbytheendofthe

eighteenthcenturyitwasingeneraluseamongpoorfamilies，takingthe

placebothofbeerandofmilk，andexcludingthesubstitutesthatEdenwished

tomakepopular。Itseemsperhapslesssurprisingtousthanitdidtohim，

thatwhentherich，whocouldeatordrinkwhattheyliked，enjoyedtea，

thepoorthoughtbreadandteaamoreinterestingdietthanbreadandbarley

water。

Afewisolatedattemptsweremadetoremedythescarcityofmilk，(33*)

whichhadbeencausedbyenclosureandtheconsolidationoffarms。LordWinchilsea’s

projectshavealreadybeendescribed。IntheReportsoftheSocietyforbettering

theConditionofthePoor，therearetwoaccountsofplansforsupplying

milkcheap，oneinStaffordshire，wherearespectabletradesmanundertook

tokeepacertainnumberofcowsforthepurposeinaparishwhere’theprincipal

numberofthepoorerinhabitantsweredestituteofallmeansofprocuring

milkfortheirfamilies，’(34*)anotheratStocktoninDurham，wherethebishop

madeitaconditionoftheleaseofacertainfarm，thatthetenantshould

keepfifteencowswhosemilkwastobesoldat1/2d。apinttothepoor。(35*)

Mr。Curwenagain，theWhigM。P。forCarlisle，hadaplanforfeedingcows

inthewinterwithaviewtoprovidingthepoorwithmilk。(36*)

Therewasanotherwayinwhichtheenclosureshadcreatedaninsuperable

obstacletothepopularisingof’cheapandagreeablesubstitutes’forexpensive

wheatenbread。TheCumberlandhousewifecouldbakeherownbarleybreadin

heroven’heatedwithheath，furzeorbrush-wood，theexpenceofwhichis

inconsiderable；’(37*)shehadstretchesofwastelandatherdoorwherethe

childrencouldbesenttofetchfuel。’Thereisnocomparisontothecommunity，’

wroteacontributortotheAnnalsofAgriculture，(38*)’whethergood

wheat，rye，turnips，etc。，arenotbetterthanbrakes，goss，furz，broom，

andheath，’butasacreafteracreinthemidlandsandsouthwasenclosed，

thefuelofthepoorgreweverscantier。Whenthecommonwherehehadgleaned

hisfiringwasfencedoff，thepoormancouldonlytrustforhisfuelto

pilferingsfromthehedgerows。Tothespectator，furzefromthecommonmight

seem’gatheredwithmorelossoftimethanitappearstobeworth；’(39*)

tothelabourerwhosescantyearningsleftlittlemarginovertheexpense

ofbreadalone，thelossoffiringwasnotbalancedbytheeconomyoftime。(40*)

Insufficientfiringaddedtothemiseriescausedbyinsufficientclothes

andfood。AningeniouswriterintheAnnalsofAgriculture(41*)suggested

thatthepoorshouldresorttothestablesforwarmth，aswasthepractice

intheduchyofMilan。Fewerwouldsufferdeathfromwantoffireinwinter，

heargued，andalsoitwouldbeacheapwayofhelpingthem，asitcostno

fuel，forcattleweresoobligingastodispensewarmthfromtheirpersons

fornothing。Buteventhisplan(whichwasnotadopted)wouldnothavesolved

theproblemofcooking。Thelabourermightbeblamedforhisdietoffine

wheatenbreadandforhavinghismeat(whenhehadany)roastedinsteadof

madeintosoup，buthowcouldcookingbedoneathomewithoutfuel？’Nodoubt，

alabourer，’saysEden，(42*)’whoseincomewasonly£；20ayear，would，

ingeneral，actwiselyinsubstitutinghasty-pudding，barleybread，boiled

milk，andpotatoes，forbreadandbeer；butinmostpartsofthiscounty，

heisdebarrednotmorebyprejudice，thanbylocaldifficulties，fromusing

adietthatrequirescookingathome。TheextremedearnessoffuelinOxfordshire，

compelshimtopurchasehisdinneratthebaker’s；and，fromhisunavoidable

consumptionofbread，hehaslittleleftforcloaths，inacountrywhere

warmcloathingismostessentiallywanted。’InDavies’moreracyanddirect

language，’itisbutlittlethatinthepresentstateofthingsthebelly

cansparefortheback。’(43*)Daviesalsopointedouttheconnectionbetween

dearfuelandthebaker。’Wherefuelisscarceanddear，poorpeoplefind

itcheapertobuytheirbreadofthebakerthantobakeforthemselves……

Butwherefuelabounds，andcostsonlythetroubleofcuttingandcarrying

home，theretheymaysavesomethingbybakingtheirownbread。’(44*)Complaints

ofthepilferingofhedgerowswereverycommon。’Falstaffsays“his

soldiersfoundlinenoneveryhedge；“andIfearitisbuttoooften

thecase，thatlabourers’childrenprocurefuelfromthesamequarter。’(45*)

TherewereprobablymanyfamilieslikethetwodescribedinDavies(46*)who

spentnothingonfuel，whichtheyprocured’bygatheringcow-dung，andbreaking

theirneighbours’hedges。’(47*)

Insomefewcases，thebenevolentrichdidnotcontentthemselveswith

attemptingtoenforcetheeighthcommandment，butwenttotherootofthe

matter，helpingtoprovideasubstitutefortheirhedgerows。Aninteresting

accountofsuchanexperimentisgivenintheReportsonthePoor(48*)

byScropeBernard。’TherehavingbeenseveralprosecutionsattheAylesbury

QuarterSessions，forstealingfuellastwinter，Iwasledtomakeparticular

inquiries，respectingthemeanswhichthepooratLowerWinchendonhadof

providingfuel。Ifoundthattherewasnofuelthentobesoldwithinseveral

milesoftheplace；andthat，amidthedistressoccasionedbythelongfrost，

apartyofcottagershadjoinedinhiringaperson，tofetchaloadofpit-coal

fromOxford，fortheirsupply。Inordertoencouragethisdispositionto

acquirefuelinanhonestmanner，’apresentwasmadetoallthispartyof

asmuchcoalagainastheyhadalreadypurchasedcarriagefree。Nextyear

thevestrydeterminedtohelp，andwiththeaidofprivatedonationscoal

wasdistributedat1s。4d。thecwt。(itscostattheOxfordwharf)，andkindling

faggotsat1d。each。’Ithadbeensaidthatthepoorwouldnotfindmoney

topurchasethem，whentheywerebrought：insteadofwhichoutof35poor

familiesbelongingtotheparish，29camewithreadymoney，husbandedout

oftheirscantymeans，toprofitwitheagernessofthisattentiontotheir

wants；andamongthemapersonwhohadbeenlatelyimprisonedbyhismaster

forstealingwoodfromhishedges。’Mr。Bernardconcludeshisaccountwith

someaptremarksonthedifficultiesofcombininghonestywithgrindingpoverty。(49*)

MINIMUMWAGE

Theattemptstoreducecottageexpenditurewerethusafailure。Wemust

nowdescribetheattemptstoincreasethecottageincome。Thereweretwo

waysinwhichthewagesofthelabourersmighthavebeenraised。Oneway，

thewayofcombination，wasforbiddenbylaw。Theotherwaywasthefixing

ofalegalminimumwageinrelationtothepriceoffood。Thiswasnonew

idea，fortheregulationofwagesbylawwasavenerableEnglishinstitution，

asoldastheStatuteofEdwardIII。Themostrecentlawsonthesubject

werethefamousActofElizabeth，anActofJamesI，andanActofGeorge

II(1747)。TheActofElizabethprovidedthattheJusticesofthePeaceshould

meetannuallyandassessthewagesoflabourersinhusbandryandofcertain

otherworkmen。Penaltieswereimposedonallwhogaveortookawageinexcess

ofthisassessment。TheActofJamesIwaspassedtoremovecertainambiguities

thatwerebelievedtohaveembarrassedtheoperationoftheActofElizabeth，

andamongotherprovisionsimposedapenaltyonallwhogaveawagebelow

thewagefixedbythemagistrates。TheActof1747(50*)waspassedbecause

theexistinglawswere’insufficientanddefective，’anditprovidedthat

disputesbetweenmastersandmencouldbereferredtothemagistrates，’although

norateorassessmentofwageshasbeenmadethatyearbytheJusticesof

theshire，wheresuchcomplaintshallbemade。’

Twoquestionsariseonthesubjectofthislegislation，Wasitoperative？

Inwhoseinterestswasitadministered，theinterestsoftheemployersor

theinterestsoftheemployed？Astothefirstquestionthereisagooddeal

ofnegativeevidencetoshowthatduringtheeighteenthcenturytheselaws

wererarelyapplied。Anexampleofanassessment(anassessmentdeclaring

amaximum)madebytheLancashiremagistratesin1725，waspublishedinthe

AnnalsofAgriculturein1795(51*)asaninterestingcuriosity，andthewriter

remarks：’ItappearsfromMr。Ruggles’excellentHistoryofthePoorthat

suchordersmustingeneralbesearchedforinearlierperiods，andafriend

ofourswasmuchsurprisedtohearthatanymagistratesinthepresentcentury

wouldventureonsoboldameasure。’(52*)

Astothesecondquestion，atthetimewearediscussingitwascertainly

takenforgrantedthatthislegislationwasdesignedtokeepwagesdown。

SoimplicitlywasthisbelievedthattheActofJamesIwhichprovidedpenalties

incaseswherewagesweregivenbelowthefixedratewasgenerallyignored，

andspeakersandwritersmentionedonlytheActofElizabeth，treatingit

asanActforfixingamaximum。Whitbread，forexample，whenintroducing

aBillin1795tofixaminimumwage，withwhichwedeallater，arguedthat

theElizabethanActoughttoberepealedbecauseitfixedamaximum。This

viewoftheearlierlegislationwastakenbyFox，whosupportedWhitbread’s

Bill，andbyPittwhoopposedit。FoxsaidoftheActofElizabeththat’it

securedthemasterfromariskwhichcouldbutseldomoccur，ofbeingcharged

exorbitantlyforthequantityofservice；butitdidnotauthorisethemagistrate

toprotectthepoorfromtheinjusticeofagrindingandavariciousmaster，

whomightbedisposedtotakeadvantageoftheirnecessities，andundervalue

therateoftheirservices。’(53*)PittsaidthatWhitbread’imaginedthat

hehadonhissideofthequestionthesupportofexperienceinthiscountry，

andappealedtocertainlawsuponthestatute-bookinconfirmationofhis

proposition。Hedidnotfindhimselfcalledupontodefendtheprinciple

ofthesestatutes，buttheywerecertainlyintroducedforpurposeswidely

differentfromtheobjectofthepresentbill。Theywereenactedtoguard

theindustryofthecountryfrombeingcheckedbyageneralcombinationamong

labourers；andthebillnowunderconsiderationwasintroducedsolelyfor

thepurposeofremedyingtheinconvenienceswhichlabourerssustainfrom

thedisproportionexistingbetweenthepriceoflabourandthepriceofliving。’(54*)

Onlyonespeakerinthedebates，Vansittart，afterwardsChancellorofthe

Exchequer，tooktheviewthatlegislationwasnotneededbecausetheAct

ofJamesIgavethemagistratesthepowerswithwhichWhitbreadsoughtto

armthem。