第31章

NowtheSpeenhamlandscaledidnotrepresentsomeeasyandluxuriousstandard

ofliving；itrepresentedtheminimumonwhichitwassupposedthataman

employedinagriculturecouldsupportlife。Inthirty-fiveyearsthestandard

haddropped，accordingtoM’Culloch’sstatement，asmuchasathird，and

thisnotbecauseofwarorfamine，forin1826Englandhadhadelevenyears

ofpeace，butintheordinarycourseofthelifeofthenation。Issucha

declineinthestandardofliferecordedanywhereelseinhistory？

Howdidthelabourersliveatallundertheseconditions？Theirlifewas，

ofcourse，wretchedandsqualidintheextreme。Cobbettdescribesagroup

ofwomenlabourerswhomhemetbytheroadsideinHampshireas’suchanassemblage

ofragsasIneversawbeforeevenamongstthehoppersatFarnham。’Ofthe

labourersnearCrickladehesaid：’Theirdwellingsarelittlebetterthan

pig-beds，andtheirlooksindicatethattheirfoodisnotnearlyequalto

thatofapig。Thesewretchedhovelsarestuckuponlittlebedsofground

ontheroadsidewherethespacehasbeenwiderthantheroaddemanded。In

manyplacestheyhavenottworodstoahovel。Itseemsasiftheyhadbeen

sweptoffthefieldsbyahurricane，andhaddroppedandfoundshelterunder

thebanksontheroadside。Yesterdaymorningwasasharpfrost，andthis

hadsetthepoorcreaturestodigginguptheirlittleplotsofpotatoes。

InmywholelifeIneversawhumanwretchednessequaltothis；no，noteven

amongstthefreenegroesinAmericawho，onanaverage，donotworkoneday

outoffour。’(35*)Thelabourers’cottagesinLeicestershirehefoundwere

’hovelsmadeofmudandstraw，bitsofglassorofoldcast-offwindows，

withoutframesorhingesfrequently，andmerelystuckinthemudwall。Enter

themandlookatthebitsofchairsorstools，thewretchedboardstacked

togethertoserveforatable，thefloorofpebblebrokenorofthebare

ground；lookatthethingcalledabed，andsurveytheragsonthebacks

oftheinhabitants。’(36*)ADorsetshireclergyman，awitnessbeforetheCommittee

onWagesin1824，saidthatthelabourerslivedalmostentirelyonteaand

potatoes；aBedfordshirelabourersaidthatheandhisfamilylivedmainly

onbreadandcheeseandwater，andthatsometimesforamonthtogetherhe

nevertastedmeat；aSuffolkmagistratedescribedhowalaboureroutofwork，

convictedofstealingwood，beggedtobesentatoncetoaHouseofCorrection，

wherehehopedtofindfoodandemployment。ifDavieshadwrittenanaccount

ofthelabouringclassesin1820or1830，thepicturehedrewin1795would

haveseemedbrightincomparison。Buteventhiskindoflifecouldnotbe

supportedonsuchprovisionaswasmadebytheparish。How，then，didthe

labourersmaintainanykindofexistencewhensocietyceasedtopiecetogether

aminimumlivelihoodoutofratesandwages？

Fortheanswertothisquestionwemustturntothehistoryofcrimeand

punishment；totheReportsoftheParliamentaryCommitteesonLabourers’

WagesontheGameLaws，onEmigration(1826and1827)，

onCriminalCommitmentsandConvictionsandSecondaryPunishments(1827，

1828，1831，and1832)，andtheevidenceofthosewhowereintouchwiththis

sideofvillagelife。Fromthesesourceswelearnthat，rateaidnotbeing

sufficienttobringwagestothemaintenancelevel，poaching，smuggling，

andultimatelythievingwerecalledintorehabilitatethelabourer’seconomic

position。(37*)Hewasdriventothewagesofcrime。Thehistoryoftheagricultural

labourerinthisgenerationiswritteninthecodeoftheGameLaws，the

growingbrutalityoftheCriminalLaw，andthepreoccupationoftherich

withtheefficacyofpunishment。

WeknowfromFieldingwithwhatsortofjusticethemagistratestreated

personsaccusedofpoachinginthereignofGeorgeIII’sgrandfather，but

whenhewrotehisaccountofSquireWestern，andwhenBlackstonewrotethat

theGameLawshadraisedupalittleNimrodineverymanor，thebloodof

menandboyshadnotyetbeenspiltforthepleasuresoftherich。itis

onlyafterFieldingandBlackstonewerebothintheirgravesthatthispage

ofhistorybecamecrimson，andthatth

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