Poverty Flashcards
Settlement act 1697
Strangers be end from entering a parish and finding work from there unless they provided a settlement certificate issued by their home parish stating that they should be given relied there
Settlement act
1662- Legal settlement by birth,marriage apprenticeship or inheritance.
Individual claiming relief parish based on these factors.
Individuals not working within 40 days after overseers confirmed they would be claiming poor relief.
Removals common
What were settlement laws for?
Control a migrant population and at the same time ensure the burden of providing for the poor did not overwhelm parishes.
Proved ineffective because of hatred towards systems.
Workhouse test
Able bodied poor person applying for relief should be required to enter a workhouse where their life is regulated and less comfortable for them. Overseers and masters would make sure workhouse was uncomfortable.
Roundsman system
Able bodied paupers were sent round the parish until a parish ratepayer paid pauper a wage agreed with overseer and then parish overseer would pay the rest of the wage with poor rate.
Overseer looked at evidence of work then paid up.
Wages made up by price of bread, number in family or based on flat rate.
Labour rate.
1832-Overseers didn’t up low pay.
Relied of parish rate to cover the relief for able bodied poor.
Then set a wage for unemployed labourer.
Employer ratepayers were exempt from paying poor rates in general fund
Unpopular and unclear scheme.
Speenhamland system
1795- Berkshire.
Way to subside low wage.
Based on price of bread and number in family.
Relief always not in money.
Adopted in south and east
Didn’t have legal backing
Struggled after economic changes in 1815.
Disadvantages of Poor law 1601
No consistent relief for the poor.
Practice differed.care for elderly - inadequate.
OWN KNOWLEDGE- NORWICH MERCURY …. ISAAC WISEMAN
‘Imagine 600 persons indiscriminately lodged, crowded into rooms seldom or ventilated, the beds and bedding swarming with vermin………. All mixed without regard to decency.’
What did the knatchbull act of 1722 allow?
Parish officers to buy buildings and to be used by able bodied paupers as workhouses.
2,000 work aphorises through England and Wales leading to 90,000 spaces.
William booth
Founder of Salvation Army.
Poverty not just a moral falling.
Looked at reasons for unemployment.
Personal crisis or trade depression responsible.
Charles booth
York surveys.
30% of Londoners living below poverty line.
Thomas Malthus the economist.
Believed that the Poor law should be abolished altogether.
Because…..
The population had the tendency to rise and outstrip all available food supplies.
More children more relief for poor.
Cut off relief so they wouldn’t have big families…..
Waged would rise and employers would pay more….. Because poor rate wouldn’t be high.
Thomas Malthus quote about negative of Poor law.
‘The poor laws of England may therefore be said to reduce both the power and will to save and thus to weaken one of the strongest incentives to stop drinking and to work hard and consequently to find happiness.’
Tom Paine
Property tax for very rich to be used for a variety of support.
Believed able bodied poor should go into workhouses before they could receive itself.
