第39章

ChapterNineTheVillagein1830

Wehavedescribedthegrowingmiseryofthelabourer，theincreasingrigours

ofthecriminallaw，andtheinsensibilityoftheupperclasses，duetothe

isolationofthepoor。WhatkindofacommunitywascreatedbytheSpeenhamland

systemafterithadbeeninforceforageneration？Wehave，fortunately，

averyfullpicturegiveninaParliamentaryReportthatisgenerallyregarded

asoneofthelandmarksofEnglishhistory。Wecannotdobetterthanset

outthemainfeaturesoftheReportofthePoorLawCommissionersof1834，

andtheseveraleffectstheytracedtothissystem。

Thefirsteffectisonethateverybodycouldhaveanticipated：thedestruction

ofallmotivesforeffortandambition。Underthissystem’themostworthless

weresureofsomething，whiletheprudent，theindustrious，andthesober，

withalltheircareandpains，obtainedonlysomething；andeventhatscanty

pittancewasdoledouttothembytheoverseer。’(1*)Alllabourerswerecondemned

toliveonthebrinkofstarvation，fornoeffortofwillorcharactercould

improvetheirposition。Theeffectontheimaginationwaswellsummedup

inarhetoricalquestionfromalabourerwhogaveevidencetoaCommissioner。

’Whenamanhashisspiritbrokenwhatishegoodfor？’(2*)ThePoorLaw

Commissionerslookedatitfromadifferentpointofview：’Thelabourer

feelsthattheexistingsystem，thoughitgenerallygiveshimlowwages，

alwaysgiveshimwork。Itgiveshimalso，strangeasitmayappear，what

hevaluesmore，asortofindependence。Heneednotbestirhimselftoseek

work；heneednotstudytopleasehismaster；heneednotputanyrestraint

uponhistemper；heneednotaskreliefasafavour。Hehasallaslave’s

securityforsubsistence，withouthisliabilitytopunishment。Allthe

otherclassesofsocietyareexposedtothevicissitudesofhopeandfear；

healonehasnothingtoloseortogain。’(3*)

Butitisunderstatingtheresultofthesystemonindividualenterprise

tosaythatitdestroyedincentivestoambition；forinsomeparishesit

actuallyproscribedindependenceandpunishedthelabourerwhoownedsome

smallproperty。Wagesundertheseconditionsweresolowthatamanwith

alittlepropertyorafewsavingscouldnotkeephimselfalivewithouthelp

fromtheparish，butifamanwasconvictedofpossessinganythinghewas

refusedparishhelp。Itwasdangerouseventolooktidyorneat，’ragged

clothesarekeptbythepoor，fortheexpresspurposeofcomingtothevestry

inthem。’(4*)TheReportoftheCommissionersonthissubjectrecallsRousseau’s

descriptionoftheFrenchpeasantwithwhomhestayedinthecourseofhis

travels，who，whenhissuspicionshadbeensoothed，andhishospitableinstincts

hadbeenwarmedbyfriendlyconversation，producedstoresoffoodfromthe

secretplacewheretheyhadbeenhiddentoescapetheeyeofthetax-collector。

Amanwhohadsavedanythingwasruined。AMr。Hickson，aNorthamptonmanufacturer

andlandownerinKent，gaveanillustrationofthis。

’Thecaseofamanwhohasworkedformewillshowtheeffectoftheparish

systeminpreventingfrugalhabits。Thisisahard-working，industriousman，

namedWilliamWilliams。Heismarried，andhadsavedsomemoney，totheamount

ofabout£；70，andhadtwocows；hehadalsoasowandtenpigs。Hehad

gotacottagewellfurnished；hewasamemberofabenefitclubatMeopham，

fromwhichhereceived8s。aweekwhenhewasill。Hewasbeginningtolearn

toreadandwrite，andsenthischildrentotheSundaySchool。Hehadalegacy

ofabout£；46，buthegothisothermoneytogetherbysavingfromhis

fairwagesasawaggoner。Somecircumstancesoccurredwhichobligedmeto

partwithhim。Theconsequenceofthislabouringmanhavingbeenfrugaland

savedmoney，andgotthecows，wasthatnoonewouldemployhim，although

hissuperiorcharacterasaworkmanwaswellknownintheparish。Hetold

meatthetimeIwasobligedtopartwithhim：“WhilstIhavethese

thingsIshallgetnowork；Imustpartwiththemall；Imustbereduced

toastateofbeggarybeforeanyonewillemployme。”Iwascompelled

topartwithhimatMichaelmas；hehasnotyetgotwork，andhehasnochance

ofgettinganyuntilhehasbecomeapauper；foruntilthenthepauperswill

bepreferredtohim。Hecannotgetworkinhisownparish，andhewillnot

beallowedtogetanyinotherparishes。Anotherinstanceofthesamekind

occurredamongstmyworkmen。ThomasHardy，thebrother-in-lawofthesame

man，wasanexcellentworkman，dischargedundersimilarcirc

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