Peel And social reform 1832-46

Question 1

When was the Royal commission on the Poor Law?

Answer 1

1832

Question 2

When was the royal commission on Factory reform?

Answer 2

1833

Question 3

When was the first Factory act passed?

Answer 3

1833

Question 4

When was the poor law amendment act passed?

Answer 4

1834

Question 5

When was the royal commission into children working in mines?

Answer 5

1840

Question 6

When was the Mines Act passed?

Answer 6

1842

Question 7

When was Graham’s Factory act passed?

Answer 7

1844

Question 8

When was the Maynooth grant put in place?

Answer 8

1845

Question 9

When did the Irish potato famine begin?

Answer 9

1845

Question 10

When was the Devon Commission report?

Answer 10

1845

Question 11

When were the corn laws repealed?

Answer 11

1846

Question 12

What was the health and morals of apprentices Act? When was it?

Answer 12

1802

Apprentices in cotton factories had to be adequately clothed and given some religious knowledge

They had to have clean and well ventilated working conditions.

This did not cover all children, only apprentices

Question 13

What did the 1833 Factory Act do? What inspired it?

Answer 13

Employers must have an age certificate for all their child workers

Children 9-13 no more than 9 hours per day

Children 13-18 no more than 12 hours per day

Children not allowed to work at night

2 hours of schooling a day for children under 13

Four factory inspectors to enforce this and report to the Home Secretary. Given same power as justices of the peace

The act followed a royal commission on Factory reform and was framed by Edwin Chadwick. Introduced by lord Althorp and passed by Whig govt under Lord Grey.

Question 14

What did the 1842 Mines and Collieries Act do?

Answer 14

Prohibited all underground work for women and girls and boys under 10

(Tits out)

Question 15

What did the 1844 Factory Act do?

Answer 15

Factory Labour forbidden for children under 8

Children 8-13 maximum of 6.5 hours per day

Women and children 13-18 maximum of 12 hours

Safety rules (children not allowed to clean moving machinery and machinery fenced off)

Inspectors had right to enter factories and schools

Surgeons appointed to specify the age of children

Children had to have three hours of school per day

Inspectors had to ensure education was competent

This was passed by Home Secretary Sir James Graham and followed a parliamentary commission on the employment of children

Question 16

Who was Edwin Chadwick?

Answer 16

Associate of the influential philosopher Jeremy Bentham

Helped to frame the Factory Act of 1833

Work on poor law reform and public health

Highly influential social reformer and administrator. Extended the range of government

Question 17

Who pushed for the ‘ten hour day’? When was it actually passed

Answer 17

Lord Ashley (the Earl of Shaftesbury)

Peel would not pass it, waited until 1847 when it was passed Party in revenge with support from anti-peel Tories and Whigs

Question 18

What were the issues with the legislation of the factory acts?

Answer 18

Many employers not complying with the acts

Certificates to confirm age were complicated

Requirement for children to attend classes was difficult to enforce

Difficult to guarantee that classes were of a good standard

Not many factory inspectors compared to the number of factories

HOWEVER, the acceptance of the principle of regulation - an achievement

Question 19

What was Speenhamland?

Answer 19

This said that wages of agricultural workers could be supplemented rather than fixing wages and basing the supplement on three price of bread and size of family

Meant rate payers paying a lot of money

Question 20

What were the issues with the old poor law?

Answer 20

Rate payers in industrial areas paying for a lot of poor people

Due to industrialisation people moved around for work and didn’t stay in the same place all their life so it was difficult to access relief

It was expensive to move people back to their places of birth

Rate payers were paying a lot

Seemed to reward the ‘undeserving poor’

Question 21

Which Act allowed parishes to join together to set up workhouses for the first time?

Answer 21

1783

Question 22

How much was poor relief in 1832?

Answer 22

£7 million

And this is at a time of economic good times

Question 23

Which men influences the final report on the commission of enquiry into the poor law?

Answer 23

Edwin Chadwick

Nassau Senior (economist)

Bentham’s philosophy has impact too

Question 24

Was things needed to change about the poor law?

Answer 24

Needed a ‘less eligibility’ principle

A national system for dealing with the poor

Needed to enhance moral attitudes in the working class

Question 25

How many parishes did the Poor Law Commission look in to?

Answer 25

3,000

Question 26

Who were the Poor Law Commissioners?

Answer 26

These people were a central body which let Central govt increase its power. They were in chance of the Poor Law Guardians of each Poor Law Union

Edwin Chadwick- leading administrator

Sir Thomas Frankland Lewis (former Tory MP)

Captain George Nicholls (businessman)

John Shaw-Lefevre

Question 27

Where was the new Poor Law system accepted?

Answer 27

The rural south

Although still some variation

Question 28

Which areas of the UK took longer to accept the new Poor Law? Where was its introduction met with violence?

Answer 28

The North and West took longer

Richard Oastler urged on a mob at Huddersfield which stopped the guardians using their powers.

Rebecca Riots in Wales in 1839-43

Question 29

By 1839 what percentage of parishes had created unions under the Poor Law Amendment Act?

Answer 29

95%

Question 30

What other jobs used children apart from factories and mines?

Answer 30

Domestic work

Fame work

No protection for children in these industries

Question 31

What was the issue with the context in which child labour took place?

Answer 31

Not about disagreeing with child labour but disagree with having children away from the family unit as could be subject to harsher discipline in factories

Question 32

What was said in defence of the conditions child labourers worked in?

Answer 32

At least indoors

Not as hard as farm work

Had food and shelter

Hours of work shorter than domestic service

Employment stopped idleness and helped the family. As no school, nothing to do otherwise

Many employment suited to child labour (mining galleries, machines that needed small fingers)

Children did not form trade unions

Question 33

In 1833 what percentage of factories employement were under thirteen?

Answer 33

10-13 %

Question 34

What percentage of the labour force was children?

Answer 34

15%

Question 35

What reformers opposed the Factory system as it stood for children?

Answer 35

Richard Oastler

John Fielden

Anthony Ashley Cooper (Earl of Shaftesbury)

Question 36

What concerns were there about child employment?

Answer 36

• unnatural and upsetting the social order
• ethical concerns and religious conviction (exploitation). Young had wrong principles when kept from family
• desire for the old healthier rural environment for children
• child labour kept wages low as cheap competition to adult work
• became a big human interest story in the press
• increasing desire for change and reform in society
• more concern for general education, wanted this for working children

Question 37

Why did some view restriction of working hours as wrong?

Answer 37

Reduced industrial competitiveness

Raised costs

Deprived poor families of income

Question 38

What were the reasons for change? (to the poor law)

Answer 38

Wanted lower cost poor relief

Wanted tighter social discipline (after rural unrest in 1830-31 and in Reform bill crisis)

Elevating moral condition of poorer classes

Bring unruly local government under power of central government

Question 39

How would the new Poor law work?

Answer 39

Parishes group into poor law unions (cheaper and more efficient)

Central plan for workhouse design

Pauper children educated and found apprenticeships, stop being a burden on families and parish

Poor rates would fall as people wouldn’t want to enter the workhouse

Help provide shelter for those roaming looking for work (casual wards)

Prevent suffering in parishes that didn’t provide enough relief

End the Speenhamland system and therefor end the depression of wages

COST EFFECTIVE AND RATIONAL

Question 40

What were workhouses like?

Answer 40

Called ‘the bastille’ to sum it up

The bad conditions contributed to Chartist agitation

Unemployment in a trade fluctuation society was not a moral failing…

Created a division between north and south as north more dependant on trade

Implementing the Poor law still rested with local people, this meant there was lack of consistency

Some year accommodation not adequate and had to return to outdoor relief or face riots

Scandals such as Andover

Prison like uniforms, poor rations, petty humiliations, little medical care

Families separated

Question 41

What happened at the Andover workhouse?

Answer 41

Inmates had to gnaw at animal marrow to survive

Led to a select committee in the House of Commons

Led to a new Poor law board being set up in 1847

Question 42

Was the new Poor law act successful?

Answer 42

Reduced poor rates but not as much as expected

At least bought some education to the poorest children

Did end some of the abuses of the old workhouses

However the new law permitted more independence in running workhouses than expected- this led to scandals such as Andover

Question 43

What opposition was there to the new Poor law?

Answer 43

Workers who feared the new ‘bastilles’- rumours authorities would poison those in the new workhouse

Tory radicals opposed the new centralised government. Felt respect of Poor to landowners would be undermined as landowners charity would no longer happen

Distrust of utilitarian philosophy

Harsh stories of abuse in the Times

Oliver Twist in 1838 stirred opposition

An anti Poor law movement developed but had little success (Oastler, Fielden)- associated with 10 hours movement too. Chartists like O’Connor support this too

This movement tried to get supporters elected as guardians

Also delayed implementation of Act in north and sparked protest in places such as Huddersfield

Arrival of Irish Labourers after famine in 1845 led to less opposition to outdoor relief

Question 44

What was the Maynooth Grant Crisis?

Answer 44

To try and get Catholic support for English rule Peel proposed increasing grant given to Catholic training college at Maynooth.

Better educated Priests would be less extreme and favour union

Lots of opposition, seen as undermining the Anglican Church of England

Seemed Inconsistent as Peel used to oppose Catholics

150 Tory MPs voted against the act