Great Britain. Royal Commission on Poor Laws and Relief of Distress; Poor -- Great Britain; Poor laws -- Great Britain
Sir Francis Head, as we have seen, had his way. In writing a farewell
letter to the Kentish boards of guardians at the end of 1835, he urges
them to stick to the dietary, and to appoint a chaplain "to your central
house, which will shortly be the sole establishment in your union.... As
soon as this important object has been gained--as soon as you find that
the whole of your indoor poor are concentrated in one respectable
establishment--under your own weekly superintendence--when you see
yourselves surrounded by a band of resolute, sensible, well-educated men
faithfully devoted to your service--you will then, I believe, fully
appreciate the advantage which you, as well as your successors, will
ever derive from possessing one strong, efficient building, instead of
having, from false economy, frittered away your resources among your old
existing houses."[201]
[201] _Ibid._
After this we hear no more of the policy of specialised institutions for
particular kinds of paupers, as recommended in the Report of 1834. The
policy of the Central Authority settles down definitely to that which
provided each union with one general workhouse, almost invariably built
for the purpose, near the centre of the union.[202]
[202] The possibility was once barely mentioned in 1837 of the one
"common workhouse establishment" consisting "of a selection of the
better workhouses now existing in each union," instead of
concentrating "all the necessary accommodation in one workhouse
situated in the centre of the union" (Third Annual Report, 1837,
p. 27.) _See also_ the reference to this possibility in the
Instructional Letter sent in that year to each new Board of
Guardians (_ibid._ p. 82). In June 1837, the Central Authority
said that it had always preferred one central workhouse, but had
sometimes allowed existing ones to remain. Its two years'
experience had now confirmed it in its belief that one central
workhouse was better (Letter to Newcastle Board of Guardians, 20th
June 1837).
Two years later, in describing, with praise, "the consolidation of
workhouse establishments" which had been going on in Lancashire and
Yorkshire, the Central Authority observes "that very few will ultimately
find it desirable to retain more than one establishment" (Fifth Annual
Report, 1839, p. 29). In the Special Report on the Further Amendment of
the Poor Law, 1839, it is pointed out, as evidence that the Central
Authority had not yet had time to put its policy completely into
execution, that there were "still about seventy unions in which a
central workhouse" had "not yet been built." (Report on the Further
Amendment of the Poor Law, 1839, p. 7.)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account