第26章

’Andsoinproportionasthepriceofbreadrisesorfalls(thatisto

say)，3d。tothemanand1d。toeveryotherofthefamily，oneverypenny

whichtheloafrisesaboveashilling。’

Inotherwords，itwasestimatedthatthemanmusthavethreegallonloaves

aweek，andhiswifeandeachchildoneandahalf。

ItisinterestingtonoticethatatthissamefamousSpeenhamlandmeeting

thejustices’wishing，asmuchaspossible，toalleviatethedistressesof

thePoorwithaslittleburthenontheoccupiersoftheLandaspossible’

recommendedoverseerstocultivatelandforpotatoesandtogivetheworkers

aquarterofthecrop，sellingtherestatoneshillingabushel；overseers

werealsorecommendedtopurchasefuelandtoretailitataloss。

TheSpeenhamlandpolicywasnotafull-blowninventionofthatunhappy

MaymorninginthePelicanInn。Theprinciplehadalreadybeenadoptedelsewhere。

AttheOxfordquarterSessionson13thJanuary1795，thejusticeshadresolved

thatthefollowingincomeswere’absolutelynecessaryforthesupportof

thepoor，industriouslabourer，andthatwhentheutmostindustryofafamily

cannotproducetheundermentionedsums，itmustbemadeupbytheoverseer，

exclusiveofrent，viz。：——

’AsingleManaccordingtohislabour。

’AManandhisWifenotlessthan6s。aweek。

’AManandhisWifewithoneortwoSmallChildren，notlessthan7s。

aweek。

’AndforeveryadditionalChildnotlessthan1s。aweek。’Thisregulation

wastobesenttoalloverseerswithinthecounty。(120*)

ButtheSpeenhamlandmagistrateshaddrawnupatablewhichbecameaconvenient

standard，andothermagistratesfounditthesimplestcoursetoacceptthe

tableasitstood。Thetablespassedrapidlyfromcountytocounty。Theallowance

systemspreadlikeafever，forwhileitistruetosaythatthenorthern

countiestookitmuchlaterandinamilderform，therewereonlytwocounties

stillfreefromitin1834——NorthumberlandandDurham。

Tocompleteourpictureofthenewsystemwemustremembertheresults

ofGilbert’sAct。Ithadbeenthepracticeinthoseparishesthatadopted

theActtoreservetheworkhousefortheinfirmandtofindworkoutside

fortheunemployed，theparishreceivingthewagesofsuchemploymentand

providingmaintenance。Thisoutsideemploymenthadspreadtootherparishes，

andthewayinwhichithadbeenworkedmaybeillustratedbycasesmentioned

byEden，writinginthesummerandautumnof1795。AtKibworth-Beauchamp

inLeicestershire，’inthewinter，andatothertimes，whenamanisout

ofwork，heappliestotheoverseer，whosendshimfromhousetohouseto

getemploy：thehousekeeper，whoemployshim，isobligedtogivehimvictuals，

and6d。；adayandtheparishadds4d。；(total10d。aday；)forthesupport

ofhisfamily：personsworkinginthismannerarecalledrounds-men，from

theirgoingroundthevillageortownshipforemploy。’(121*)AtYardleyGoben，

inNorthamptonshire，everypersonwhopaidmorethan£；20rentwasbound

inhisturntoemployamanforadayandtopayhimashilling。(122*)At

MaidsMortontheroundsmangot6d。fromtheemployerand6d。or9d。from

theparish。(123*)AtWinslowinBucksthesystemwasmorefullydeveloped。

’Thereseemstobehereagreatwantofemployment：mostlabourersare(as

itistermed，)ontheRounds；thatis，theygotoworkfromonehouseto

anotherroundtheparish。Inwinter，sometimes40personsareontherounds。

Theyarewhollypaidbytheparish，unlessthehouseholderschoosetoemploy

them；andfromthesecircumstances，labourerso

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