Broadsides; Chapbooks; Street literature -- Great Britain
A. The same which the Poor Law Commissioners make in Somerset House,
saying, We are thy lords and masters, who have caused thee to be
confined as in bastiles, and separated thee and the wife of thy bosom,
and the children of thy love. 1st, Thou shalt obey no laws but ours.
2nd, Thou shalt not make to thyself any substitute for skilley, nor
the likeness of tea, or any other kind of food, or drink, except as is
allowed in the workhouse; for we are very jealous men, punishing with
severity any transgression against our laws. Should’st thou disobey in
this, we shall teach you a lesson that shall last thee all the days of
thy life. 3rd, Thou shalt labour hard, and for nothing, and none of
thy earnings shall be thy own. 4th, Remember the Sabbath day: six days
shalt thou labour hard, and have but little to eat; but the seventh
day is the Sabbath, wherein we cannot make you work, and so we give
you liberty for an hour or two, to save the parish the expense of your
Sunday dinner. 5th. Thou shalt honour the Poor Laws, the Commissioners,
and the Beadles; thou shalt take no offence at what they say or do, or
else thy days shall be made more miserable in the workhouse wherein
thou livest. 6th, Thou shalt commit murder by neglecting thy starving
children, for we will give thee no assistance to get them food. 7th,
Thou shalt learn to neglect the dear ties of nature, for we will
separate thee from the wife of thy bosom, and the children of thy love.
8th, Thou shalt rob thyself of the society and enjoyment of her whom
thou hast sworn to protect while life shall last. 9th, Thou shalt be a
false witness whenever a Pauper dies, and should the coroner or jury
ask you how you live, why tell them you live like lords, and are as
happy as princes. 10th, Thou shalt covet all thy neighbour is possessed
of, thou shalt covet his friends, his clothes, and all the comforts
which thou once had; yet shalt thou long in vain; for remember, oh,
pauper! that the motto of every workhouse is--“He who enters here
leaves all comforts behind.”
LINES ON THE DEATH OF AN OLD PAUPER.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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