In 1833, Earl Grey, the Prime Minister of England set up a Law Commission to study the the poor law system in England. Their recommendations to the parliament paved the way to the Poor Law Amendment Act on 14th August 1834 (Dr. Marjorie Bloy, A Web of English History). It joined together 6 parishes into a Union under the national leadership of the Poor Law Commissioners. Several well-to-do citizens in the parishes were appointed as Guardians. By the provisions of the Act, no poor was to receive help or money in any place other than the workhouse. Workhouses, where harsh conditions were advised, were to be constructed in every parish or union.
The board of Guardians or Commission was to supervise the conditions of the workhouse and report to the Central Poor Law Commission. The three persons in the Commission for the whole country would be appointed by the Government. There was no Minister above the Commission. They were to report once a year to the Principal Secretary (An Act for the Amendment and better Administration of the Laws, The Victorian web).
The Guardians who understood only the interests of the ratepayers and not the deserving poor were the ones overseeing the arrangements. Regarding poverty as their fault, the Board did little for them. They actually supported the severe treatment meted out to the poor ( Owston, Newsquest Media Group). They had regulations for the Management of the Poor, the Government of the Workhouses, Education of the workhouse children, and Management of the Poor children in the parish. The right of building new workhouses in Unions not having this facility was thrust upon them. The poor who did not observe rules were to be punished with a fine between five and twenty pounds or undergo imprisonment with or without hard labor (Dr. Marjorie Bloy, A Web of English History)
The poor were moved into workhouses, especially if they had no one to look after them. Previously the poor were contained in their own homes. Abominable conditions in the workhouse, bad food, and the stigma attached to their status gave the poor a hard and shameful life. They were given coarse gowns for uniforms which had ‘P’ written on them for paupers. Segregation of the poor into classes created problems. Couples and families were separated. The emotions of the poor were given no importance when this was done. The Settlement system forced the poor back to their homes were no relatives remained and then they would be shunted from pillar to post. Even pauper children were not free of this system.
Charles Dickens has elaborated the picture of London in his writings. Speedy growth and its large world trade produced untold squalor and filth in Britain. His autobiographer, Peter Ackroyd, notes that had a twentieth-century person been in the London of the 1850s, he would be “sick with various smells, sick with food and sick with the atmosphere”. The raw sewage flowed through the gutters into the Thames. Personal cleanliness, clean laundry, and bathing were not priorities. Residents were drinking water from the Thames. Frequent outbreaks of cholera were present. Cattle were driven through the streets. Dickens was a champion of the poor and frequently wrote about the atrocities in the ‘Morning Chronicle’, the ‘London Labour’ and ‘London Poor'( Dicken’s London, David Perdue site )
Margery Corbett Ashby, in a book named “Memoirs” ( 1997 ) speaks about her mother’s experiences as a Guardian. Mary Corbett was amazed at the appalling conditions of the orphaned and ill children who were living amongst the old and mentally afflicted poor in a workhouse. She assumed measures to move the children into the adoptive homes of village families.
Similarly, Emmeline Pankhurst, a Poor Law Guardian, shares her experiences in her autobiography, “My Own Story”. The inmates in the workhouse were poorly fed and had no privacy. They did not have even a locker to keep their belongings. Little girls, wearing coarse gowns with half their bodies exposed, were scrubbing the floors. At night they were unclothed and left to suffer the cold-causing many of them to have coughs and pneumonia. The Poor Law Amendment Act permitted unmarried mothers to attend Petty Sessions to make claims from the father of their child.
Political and administrative reasons prevented the full enactment of the conditions specified in the Law. Soon relief began to be accepted from outside. Then supervised work was permitted for the able-bodied among the workhouse poor. Soon the relief provided extended to the poor staying at home too. In 1841 of 1300000 people given relief, only 192000 were in workhouses. Of £3,884,000 being spent as relief, only £892,000 were for relief in workhouses. Similar proportions were seen in 1839 and 1840. ( The Poor Law Amendment Act:14th August 1834, The Victorian Web)
The Demoralisation of the Poor
Prior to 1834, the relief of the poor was in the hands of the parishes. If any goodwill was meant after 1834, the condition of the poor only became worse. A rapid fall in the relief rate came about as most workhouses enforced evil and harsh conditions, scaring away beneficiaries. Conditions akin to animal life existed. The poor had no dignity or privacy. The cravings of human beings for a place of shelter, food, clothes, being able to live as families or with the spouse, and like wants were denied to the poor. Conditions were purposefully made unbearable for them so that they would be lower than the worst paid laborer and choose to opt-out of the workhouse. ‘Being cruel to be kind’ was the concept. ( The Poor Law Amendment Act, The Everything Development Company) )
Other humans were the tyrants. The newly administered Law harmed the defenseless. The Times paper wrote thus: ” A crowd of sots, cronies, and drabs, blighted maidens and bloomless children, dwelling inwards and dormitories, existing by dietary, fed without a host, wearied without work, herding without love, and dying without a mourner”.( The Poor Law, Rossbret UK Institutions Website)
The working-class society, in general, was at some time in their life poor due to old age, unemployment, illness, or some other incidental cause. In times of hardship, relying on friends and children was the alternative if the workhouse was to be avoided. Poverty was regarded as a weakness of character, not a social problem, by the higher-ups. It was hoped that real destitution only would make one opt for the workhouse. Poor relief crushed the incentives to work. Nothing increased productivity.
The Poor Law hoped to improve the moral character of the poor working class. It failed to do this. It left them shameful of their condition that they would rather die than live in the workhouse. Thomas Carlyle in his book, “Past and present”, 1843 highlights the miserable plight of the poor in the workhouses ( Dr. Marjorie Bloy, The Peel Web).
Physical and mental health problems were not addressed. Old age as a cause of destitution was not recognized. Loss of parents made children paupers. Young unmarried mothers were deemed, paupers. Workhouses were the only resort for these various groups. The implications of combining them in the workhouse can be gauged. The influence of the various groups on each other could have created more problems than could have existed before the Law.
“The major reason for the passing of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act was to cut the poor rates, particularly in the rural south of England. This document from the Poor Law Commissioners details the effectiveness of the legislation. It is clear that no attention is paid to the humanitarian effects of the PLAA and that the Commissioners were interested mainly in the financial savings made by the implementation of the legislation” ( Savings on the poor rates by the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act, The Victorian Web). This correct assumption paved the way for modifications later.
What happened afterward
Studies were conducted. The social investigations stirred the public conscience. Attempts were made to set right the inadequacies of the Poor Law. That poverty was due to lack of proper wages was a discovery by Samuel Smiles and seen in a pamphlet ‘Self Help’ in 1859.
The Medical Act required a degree in medicine and surgery for doctors to be employed by the Commission for the poor. The Public Health Act of 1848 improved conditions in the workhouse. The economy improved surprisingly. The status of women improved. Attitudes towards the poor changed. There arose many champions for the cause of the poor.
In 1847, a Member of Parliament was made the President of the Poor Law Board. In 1871 this became a Local Government Board hopefully for the better. In 1929, workhouses were finally abolished.
The Metropolitan Act of 1857 changed the situation to a certain extent. Lunatics, smallpox patients, and fever cases were shifted to Infirmaries. The Metropolitan Asylums Board were to build hospitals for them.
The maintenance and education of Pauper children were provided for by an act in 1862.
In 1897 pauper nurses were allowed to work under supervision but could not be employed independently.
The Local Government Board Order 1913 stipulated that a hospital with 100 patients required a qualified Nursing Superintendent.
A previous Guardian was brought to book for “systematic famishing, neglect of the sick, decoying into manufacturing districts (for forcing the poor into labor) under false pretenses, cruelty to the aged and infants and general contempt of all the charities and decencies of life”. (The Poor Law, Rossbret UK Institutions website)
Conclusion
The Poor Law Amendment Act achieved its immediate purpose of reducing the poverty relief rate. However, it was not tenable for a long period, being socially unacceptable to its beneficiaries. Though the New Law was strangely benevolent, the real causes of poverty were not addressed. The workhouse only served the purpose of reducing the number of poor coming for relief. Life-cycle poverty kept bringing back people for relief. However, the economic boom of the nineteenth century improved a lot of urban workers by 1867. The poor laborer also no longer belonged to the fringe group. He became an important pillar of society (The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, The Everything Development company )
Experience has taught us that the poor are worthy citizens just like others. They must be provided the same rights of shelter, food, wages, clean clothes, good drinking water, and treatment for illnesses. Ample housing arrangements must be provided and not the workhouse. They must be trained and made employable even if allowed relief. Sufficient wages would make them stand on their own feet. The aged must be well cared for in homes if necessary. All children must be educated free of cost. Free treatment should be provided. The health of the poor must be used as an indicator of the health of the nation. Imparting sex education would prevent unmarried pregnancies. Poverty is a social issue and must be dealt with effectively.
References
- An Act for the Amendment and better Administration of the Laws relating to the Poor in England and Wales. Web.
- Dicken’s London, 2007, Web.
- Dr.Marjorie Bloy. Web.
- Dr. Marjorie Bloy. Web.
- Owston, Timothy J.; “The New Poor law,1834 Britain”. Web.
- “Savings on the poor rates by the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act”. Source: Parliamentary Papers, 1836, XXIX. Web.
- “The Poor Law Amendment Act. Web.
- The Poor Law. Rossbret UK Institutions Website. Web
- The Poor Law Amendment ac. The Everything Development company. Web.