第25章

Otheradvocatesofthepolicyofgivingthelabourerslandpleadedonly

forgardensinarabledistricts；’agarden，’wroteLordWinchilsea，’may

beallottedtotheminalmosteverysituation，andwillbefoundofinfinite

usetothem。Incountries，whereithasneverbeenthecustomforlabourers

tokeepcows，itmaybedifficulttointroduceit；butwherenogardenshave

beenannexedtothecottages，itissufficienttogivetheground，andthe

labourerissuretoknowwhattodowithit，andwillreapanimmediatebenefit

fromit。OfthisIhavehadexperienceinseveralplaces，particularlyin

twoparishesnearNewportPagnell，Bucks，wherethereneverhavebeenany

gardensannexedtothelabourers’houses，andwhere，uponlandbeingallotted

tothem，theyall，withoutasingleexception，havecultivatedtheirgardens

extremelywell，andprofessreceivingthegreatestbenefitsfromthem。’(99*)

’Afewroodsofland，atafairrent，’wroteacorrespondentintheAnnals

ofAgriculturein1796，(100*)’woulddoalabourerasmuchgoodaswages

almostdoubled：therewouldnot，then，beanidlehandinhisfamily，and

themanhimselfwouldoftengotoworkinhisrootyardinsteadofgoing

tothealehouse。’(101*)Theinterestingreportonthe’Inquiryintothe

GeneralStateofthePoor’presentedattheEpiphanyGeneralQuarterSessions

forHampshireandpublishedintheAnnalsofAgriculture，(102*)a

documentwhichdoesnotdisplaytoomuchindulgencetotheshortcomingsof

labourers，recommendsthemultiplicationofcottageswithsmallpiecesof

groundannexed，sothatlabourersmightlivenearertheirwork，andspend

thetimeoftenwastedingoingtoandfromtheirwork，incultivatingtheir

plotofgroundathome。’Asitischieflythispracticewhichrenderseven

thestateofslaveryintheWestIndiestolerable，whatanadvantagewould

itbetothestateoffreeservicehere！’(103*)

Theexperimentsintheprovisionofallotmentsofanykindwerefew，and

theyarechieflyinterestingforthelighttheyreflectonthecharacter

ofthelaboureroftheperiod。Theyshowofwhatthosemenandwomenwere

capablewhosedegradationinthemorassoftheSpeenhamlandsystemisthe

lastandblackestpageinthehistoryoftheeighteenthcentury。Theirrulers

putastoneroundtheirnecks，anditwasnottheircharacterbuttheircircumstances

thatdraggedthemintothemire。Invillageswhereallotmentsweretried

theagriculturallabourerisanuprightandself-respectingfigure。Theimmediate

moraleffectswerevisibleenoughatthetime。SirThomasBernard’saccount

ofthecottagersonLordWinchilsea’sestatecontainsthefollowingreflections：

’IdonotmeantoassertthattheEnglishcottager，narrowedashenowis

inthemeansandhabitsoflife，maybeimmediatelycapableoftakingthat

activeandusefulstationinsociety，thatisfilledbythosewhoarethe

subjectofthispaper。Toproducesogreatanimprovementincharacterand

circumstancesoflife，willrequiretimeandattention。Thecottager，however，

ofthispartofthecountyofRutland，isnotofadifferentspeciesfrom

otherEnglishcottagers；andifhehadnotbeenprotectedandencouraged

byhislandlord，hewouldhavebeenthesamehopelessandcomfortlesscreature

thatweseeinsomeotherpartsofEngland。Thefarmer(withtheassistance

ofthesteward)wouldhavetakenhisland；thecreditor，hiscowandpig；

andtheworkhouse，hisfamily。’(104*)

Wehaveseen，indiscussingenclosures，thatthepolicyofsecuringallotments

tothelabourersinenclosureActswasdefeatedbytheclassinterestsof

thelandlords。Why，itmaybeasked，wereschemessuchasthoseofLordWinchilsea’s

adoptedsorarelyinvillagesalreadyenclosed？Thesearrangementsbenefited

allparties。Therewasnodoubtaboutthedemand；’inthegreatestpartof

thiskingdom，’wroteonecorrespondent，’thecottagerwouldrejoiceatbeing

permittedtopaytheutmostvaluegivenbythefarmers，forasmuchland

aswouldkeepacow，ifhecouldobtainitatthatprice。’(105*)Thesteadiness

andindustryofthelabourers，stimulatedbythisincentive，wereanadvantage

bothtothelandlordsandtothefarmers。Further。itwaswellknownthat

inthevillageswherethelabourershadland，poorrateswerelight。(106*)

Whywasitthatapolicywithsomanyre

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