Poor law - Section B (3.3-3.7) Flashcards
What WH reforms did Sturges Bourne advise?
New voting system when choosing OotP = more rich, vote means more
Clergyman in the vestry = guides who’s deserving and undeserving
What did Gilbert advise for WH reforms?
If 2/3rd of tax ratepayers agree = union and gave gentry more power (NEGATIVE)
Church wardens + ministers = info about local charities that provide relief(POSITIVE)
What is the Speenhamland systems of outdoor relief?
Relief in goods e.g flour
System = no legal backing
Established clear criteria on who was eligible = link between bread and no. of dependants.
What is the Roundsman system of providing relief?
Able bodied paupers = employees of farmers
Wage paid by the farmer and parish
System was corrupt = farmers would pay for whatever was cheaper, the poor rate or the cheap labour.
What is the labour rate as a system for providing poor relief?
By 1832 = 1 in 5 parishes used this system
Nominal labour rate was set for able bodied paupers
Farmers employed + paid wages of the paupers. Farmers then didn’t have to pay the poor rate.
Why did the wars with France cause a pressure for change?
Good harvests = forced food prices to be low. War time taxes was high so people couldn’t afford it
1815 - Corn Laws introduced = to pro torch British farmers, don’t allow import of foreign corn.
^ Consequence = riots up and down the country
Why did the swing riots cause a pressure to change?
Petitions signed by ‘Captain Swing’ = looked like an organised revolution Created fear within the government.
POSITIVE = create an atmosphere where the reform of the poor laws was a necessity
NEGATIVE = 19 rioters sentenced to death and 600 were sent to Australia
How did regional demands create a pressure to change?
Regional differences were significantly different = 24% in London were in WH and nearly 4% in Wiltshire
Government = needed to centralise system
Parishes adopt policies that don’t benefit the pauper to reduce the cost.
Long term concerns, which led to the Whig gov in 1832, setting up an enquiry into the Poor Law
Systems such as Speenhamland were encouraging larger families and continued the cycle of destitution.
Increase cost of poor relief
People perceive administrators of poor relief were corrupt and abused their power
Short term concerns, which led to the Whig gov in 1832, setting up an enquiry into the Poor Law
Swing riots
Wars with France
Ideological arguments
How did ideological arguments cause a pressure for change?
Malthus = abolish Poor Law bc families would not be encouraged to have big families. Tf breaks poverty cycle.
^ Ricardo same conc. but different reason. Argued more money into poor tax = less money into wages
Paine = property tax of the rich to support pensions
How did Utilitarianism influence a pressure to change?
Bentham = society should be organised so that the greatest amount of people will be happy
Argued poor relief was responsibility of the public and deserving and undeserving shouldn’t be classed.
When did the Royal Whig government set up the Royal Commission of Enquiry into the Operation for Poor Laws?
February 1832
What did the 1832 enquiry do to get results?
Three non- compulsory questionnaires sent to parishes
1 = parishes in towns and 2 = parishes in rural areas.
Only 10% replied
26 assistant commissioners = sent to question 3,000 parishes (1/5 of poor law districts)
Who was apart of the 1832 enquiry?
Nine commissioners e.g Chadwick
Strengths of the 1832 enquiry
Main aim was to understand how PL work to reform them = first of its kind
13 volumes of findings were published in the appendices of their report
Weaknesses of the 1832 enquiry
Large volumes of results = hard to analyse what was the problems.
Leading questions in the questionnaire
Give examples of keys findings of the 1832 enquiry
OotP = incompetent because they don’t want to do anything and want to be popular
Roundsman system = farm workers lose their jobs to paupers and have to get relief
Growing pop. = parish can’t keep up with the poor relief
What did the Royal Commissioners suggest in the 1834 Amendment Act recommend?
Integrated WH = provide for able bodied, children and infirm
Parishes = unions
New central authority should be established
What were the aims of the poor amendment act?
Reduce cost of providing poor relief
Make sure the destitute gets the relief
Provide international system for poor relief
What did the amendment act say?
Outdoor relief was to be abolished and discouraged
Knutchbull’s less eligibility = conditions is worse than a labourer inside WH
Poor law unions made
What did the Poor law commissioners do as a priority for the Poor law amendment act?
WH = deterrent so no. of people claiming poor relief decreased.
Settlement Laws = clear to protect urban ratepayers from fluctuating demand
What happened when you enter the WH?
Families are split up = children stay with mothers until 7 and given a medical check up.
What was it like inside the WH?
No personal belongings and always wearing a uniform.
Staff watched bathroom and given razors one a week to stop self mutilation
Work couldn’t affect the work/ businesses outside the WH. So it had to be down outside.
What was the food like inside the WH?
Until 1842 = all food was eaten in silence
Food was part of the routine and was to not be enjoyed.
Food was to keep them alive to work. Poor Law Commissioners created 6 models for food but PL guardians chose the cheapest one.
What was discipline like in the WHs?
Staff used reward and punishment system = extra food or money.
^ No legal backing
PL comm = specific punishments and handbook
^ better than Old Poor law = staff didn’t know limit of their power (abused it)
Girls and women couldn’t be hit. Used jailed cells
What happened to children in the WH?
education institutionalised
^ Education Act (Forsters Act) = education outside WH helped integration.
Who were the paupers inside the WH?
1/5 of inmates had been there 5 years or longer
Young people
Vagrants
Children
Elderly
Single women
Mentally ill
