Paupers & Pauperism Flashcards
Prior to 1834, how was poor relief administered?
Parishes - unpaid, non-professionals
Administer relief to its own poor, collect taxes in order to provide appropriate relief
How did the poor find work prior to 1834?
The setting of work to the poor was done by churchwardens and overseers of the poor, who were appointed annually by local Jp’s
How were Elizabethan poor laws good?
Poor relief was provided in small areas to local people it meant those providing it usually knew the recipients and could decide who needed it
How were Elizabethan poor laws bad?
Sometimes open to abuse, settling scores, not being fair
How were the poor categorised until 1834?
Deserving- pauperism isn’t their fault (old, sick, children)
Undeserving- poor due to moral failure (drunkenness or prostitution)
Impotent- could not after themselves (disabled or elderly)
Idle- refused to work, resulted to begging or crime
Able-bodied- wanted relief but are able to work
What was the difference in social attitudes between the deserving and undeserving poor?
Deserving poor - children, old, sick were considered worthy of help and support
Undeserving poor - Guilty of a moral failure, not worthy of support, help should include punishment
A balance was needed - too much help, undeserving poor would have no incentive to work
What were the elizabethan settlement laws?
Each parish made responsible for its own poor/local
To claim relief, a person had to return to their place of birth if unknown, then the place they have lived at for more than a year
What is the settlement act?
1662 - Settlement by birth, marriage or apprenticeship or inheritance. Strangers could be removed if they weren’t working within 40 days
How & when were the settlement laws tightened?
1697 - strangers could be barred unless they had a certificate from their home parish saying they would be taken back and given relief if they became needy
1795 removal act - prevented strangers being removed unless they applied for relief
How did the settlement laws fail?
Gave rise to disagreements between overseers of different parishes
Overseers were always mindful of the burden the poor rate levied on their own parish property - wanted to keep it low
Poor were shunted place to place
Overseers could not keep up with settlement orders
Why did parishes use outdoor relief and when could it be used?
Flexible & allowed people to remain in their homes
Used when the breadwinner is ill
Cyclical unemployment (short periods of time)
Solutions developed by parishes - Speedhamland system
Introduced in 1795 by magistrate in Berkshire
Most widely used system, especially in SE england
Subsidised low wages
How much people were given was dependent on the price of bread and number of dependents in the family
Subject to local variations - some parishes took each child into consideration whilst others did not increase relief until they was a certain number of children
Did not always provide money as relief - Newton Valance in Hampshire gave flour
1802 - pauper to population ratio was 20%
Roundman system
The Roundsman system
• A way of providing work for paupers in areas where there were more able bodied paupers than jobs.
• Paupers were sent, in rotation, to local farmers to do either genuine jobs or those created for the purpose.
• The ‘Roundsman’s’ wages were paid in part by the farmer and in part by the parish.
• Locals often referred to this as a ‘billet’ or ‘ticket’ system, because;
• An overseer would sign a ticket giving the pauper permission to work under the parish relief system.
• The employer would sign the ticket to show the work had been done and wages had been paid in part.
• The ticket was returned to the overseer and the second part of wages were paid by the parish.
The labour rate
The Labour Rate
• This involved an agreement between parishioners to establish a labour rate in addition to the usual Poor Rate.
• The parish labour bill was calculated according to what the parish assumed to be the going market rate.
• Ratepayers who employed the pauper labourers paid them at the rate set by the parish. This then made those Ratepayers exempt from having to pay their poor rate contribution into the general fund.
• Popularity of this system is unclear but it is believed that by 1832, one in five parishes were using ‘Labour Rate’.
• Around 40% of parishes were subsidizing wages out of rates in a parliamentary return of 1824
What financial pressures were there for change?
Ending of wars with France (1783-1815) created greater demand for poor relief
Good harvests in Britain 1813 - floored with cheap, foreign corn, meant farmers had to keep their prices low
Many farmers had debts - loans for enclosure and high taxes led to bankruptcy - reduced wages - increased demand for relief
