after, Youth, in this Age of Idleness and Luxury, being not only drawn
aside by them, but also more willing to put themselves on such easy ways
of living, than on Labour.
These, and such like Methods, being Improved by the Wisdom of a
Parliament, may tend, not only to the Introducing a Habit of Virtue
amongst us, but also to the making Multitudes of People serviceable, who
are now useless to the Nation; there being scarce any one, who is not
capable of doing something towards his Maintenance, and what his Labour
doth fall short, must be made up by Charity: but as Things now are, no
Man knows where ’tis rightly plac’d, by which means those who are
truly Objects do not partake thereof; and let it be consider’d, that if
every Person did by his Labour add one Half-penny _per diem_ to the
Public, ’twould bring in Seven Millions six Hundred and four Thousand
one Hundred Sixty-six Pounds thirteen Shillings _per Annum_, (accounting
ten Millions of People to be in the Kingdom) so vast a sum may be raised
from a Multitude, if every one adds a little.
Nor is the sending lazy People to our Plantations abroad (who can neither
by good Laws be forced, or by Rewards be encourag’d to work at home) so
prejudicial to the Nation as some do imagine, where they must expect
another sort of Treatment, if they will not labour; ’tis true, they
give no help in the Manufactures here, but That is made up in the Product
they raise there, which is also Profit to the Nation; besides, the
Humours and other Circumstances of People are to be enquir’d into, some
have been very useful there, who would never have been so here: And if
the People of this Kingdom be employ’d to the Advantage of the
Community, no Matter in what part of the King’s Dominions it is; many
hundreds by going to those Plantations, have become profitable Members to
the Common-wealth, who, had they continued here, had still remain’d
idle Drones; now they raise Sugar, Cotton, Tobacco, and other Things,
which employ Sailors abroad, and Manufacturers at home, all which being
the Product of Earth and Labour, I take to be the Wealth of the Nation.
The Employment of Watermen on the River _Thames_ breeds many Sailors, and
it were good to keep them still fill’d with Apprentices; also the
Employment of Bargemen, Lightermen, and Trowmen, both on that and other
Rivers, does the same, who should be encouraged to breed up Landmen, and
fit them for the Sea.
Idleness is the Foundation of all those Vices which prevail among us,
People aiming to be maintain’d any way rather than by Labour, betake
themselves to all sorts of Villanies; the ill Consequences whereof cannot
be prevented, but by encouraging Youth in an early delight of living by
Industry, and on what they call their own, rather than by Dependance on
others, which will keep up a true British Spirit, and put them on honest
Endeavours, and will get them Credit and Reputation, and give them
Opportunities of advancing their Fortunes; and if such an Emulation went
through the Kingdom, we should not have so many lazy Beggars, or
licentious Livers, as now there are; nor is God more honoured among any,
than He is among such industrious People, who abhor Vice, on equal
Principles of Religion and good Husbandry, Labour being usually a Barrier
against Sin, which generally enter at the Doors of Idleness.
[Sidenote: Mr. Edward Colson's two Almshouses in Bristol.]
The third Consideration is, what Methods must be used to provide for
those, who either are not able to work, or whose Labour can’t support
their Charge; here I take Alms-houses to be good Gifts, where they are
designed to relieve old Age, or educate Youth; not to maintain idle
Beggars, or ease rich Parishes, but to provide for those who have been
bred up in careful Employments, tho’ not able to stem the Current of
cross Fortunes: Two such have been sumptuously founded, and suitably
endowed, in the City of _Bristol_, _Edward Colson_, Esq; a Merchant and
Native thereof, who is still living; one of them for twenty-four Men and
Women, who had formerly lived well; the other for one hundred Boys, to be
educated in the Principles of Vertue, and afterwards set out to Trades,
whereby they may get their Livelihoods; a Charity so great in itself, and
carried on so free from Ostentation, that the like is not to be seen in
any Part of this Kingdom, of the free Gift of one Gentleman in his
Life-time; which he hath settled in the Society of Merchants-Adventurers
within that City, of whose Care and Fidelity in the well Management
thereof, he is fully satisfied.
Another way to provide for those who are true Objects of Charity, is, by
taking Care that the Poors Rates be made with more equality in Cities and
great Towns, especially in the former; where the greatest Number of Poor
usually residing together in the Suburbs or Out-parishes, are very
serviceable by their Labours, to the Rich, in carrying on their Trades;
yet when Age, Sickness, or a numerous Family, may make them desire
Relief, their chief Dependance must be on People but one step above their
own Conditions; by which means these Out-parishes are more burthened in
their Payments, than the In-parishes are, though much richer, and is one
Reason why they are so ill Inhabited, no Man caring to come to a certain
Charge: And this is attended with another ill Consequence, the wanting of
better Inhabitants making way for those Disorders which easily grow among
the Poor; whereas, if Cities and Towns were made but one Poors Rate, or
equally divided into more, these Inconveniencies would be removed, and
the Poor be maintained by a more equal Contribution.
[Sidenote: Hospital for ancient Sailors and their Widows.]
And that a better Provision may be made for the Relief of Sailors (who
having spent their Labours in the Service of the Nation, and through Age
and Disasters are no longer fit for the Fatigues of the Sea, ought to be
taken Care of at Home) let a small Deduction be made from the Freights of
Ships, and from Seamens Wages, to be collected by a Society of honest Men
in every Sea-port; this, with what Additions might be made by the Gifts
of worthy Benefactors, would be sufficient to raise a Fund, to maintain
them in their old Age, who in their Youths were our Walls and Bulwarks;
but it must be settled by Law, and no Man left at his Liberty whether he
will pay or no; these are generally the most laborious People that we
have; I do not mean those scoundrel Fellows, who often creep in under
that Name, but the true Sailor, who can turn his Hand to any thing rather
than begging, and I am many times troubled to see the miserable
Conditions they and their Families are reduced to, when their Labours are
done. Alms-Houses raised for them, are as great Acts of Piety as building
of Churches, Age requires relief, especially where Youth hath been spent
in Labour so profitable to the Public as that of a Sailor; and not only
themselves, but their Widows ought to be provided for; in this, the
Worshipful Society of the Merchants-Adventurers within the City of
_Bristol_ are a worthy Pattern.
And as for those who loose their Lives or Limbs fighting against the
Enemy, themselves, or families ought to be rewarded with bountiful
Stipends, which if raised by a Tax, I doubt not would be cheerfully paid:
’Tis attended with sad Thoughts, when a Woman sees her Husband prest
into the Service, and knows, if he miscarries, her Family is undone, and
she and they must come to the Parish; whereas, if this Provision was
made, the Fleet would be more easily mann’d, our Merchants Ships better
defended, Sailors more ready to serve in both, and their Wives to let
them go; but great Care must be taken, that Charity be not abused, by
being put into the Pockets of those who are appointed to dispose of it.
These, or such-like Heads, being laid down in a former Discourse on this
Subject, the Magistrates of the City of _Bristol_ were the first that
approved of the Scheme, and desired the Substance thereof might be
reduced to Particulars, suitable for that Place; whereupon the following
Proposals were laid before them, _viz._
1. That a spacious Work-house be erected in some vacant Place within this
City, on a general Charge, large enough for the Poor who are to be
employed therein, and also with Rooms for such, who being unable to work,
are to be relieved by Charity.
2. That the Rules of this House be such, as may force all Persons to
work, that are able, and encourage the Manufacturers of this City to
supply them with Materials to work on; which they will be ready to do,
having so good a Security as this will be, for their being returned to
them again when wrought up.
3. That all People who are not able to maintain their Children, may put
them into this Work-house or Hospital at what Ages they will, where they
shall be settled till the Age of ### Years, by which means they may in
the end be of no Charge to the said Work-house or Hospital: And the good
Effects will be these, Children will be bred up to Labour, Principles of
Virtue will be implanted in them early by the good Government thereof,
and Laziness and Beggary will be discouraged.
4. That the antient People who are past their Labours, shall have
Lodgings, and weekly pay, or be otherwise provided for, according to
their Wants, who may still do something towards their mantenance, and the
Women may look after the young Children.
5. That the Rates of the Poor of this City, being all united into one
common Fund, may be enough to carry on this good Work; by which means the
Magistrates will be freed from the Trouble which they daily have about
the Settlement of the Poor, the Parish-Officers will be eased, the Poors
Stock will not be spent in Law, but they will be provided for, without
being sent from Parish to Parish, and their Children will be settled in
ways of being serviceable to the Public Good, and not be bred up in all
manner of Vice, as now they are.
6. That the Governors of this Hospital, or Work-House, have Power to
force all poor People to work in it, who do not betake themselves to some
lawful Imployment elsewhere, but spend their Time lazily and idly.
7. That the said Governors have Power to settle out the young People at
such Ages as they shall think fit; the Boys to Navigation, Husbandry, and
Manufactures; the Maids in Service, and to bind them Apprentices for
certain Years.
8. That this will prevent Children from being Starved, by the Poverty of
their Parents, and neglect of the Parish-Officers, which is now a great
Loss to the Nation; forasmuch as every Person if imployed, would by his
Labour add to the Wealth of the Public.
9. That this will encourage Men of Charity to make Endowments, when they
shall see their Bounties so well laid out.
10. That Application be made, in order to procure an Act of Parliament,
for the better carrying on this Work.
Which Proposals being considered of in several Meetings of the Citizens
appointed for that Purpose, were with some Alterations made the Model for
an Act of Parliament, which past _Anno Septimo & Octavo Gulielmi Tertii_,
being the first Act of that Nature, from which sundry Acts for many other
Places have taken their Frame; and though the Promoters thereof, met with
more difficulties and discouragements in the Execution, than they did
expect, yet to the Honour of those Gentlemen it must be said, that they
never looked back, but with the utmost Application, prosecuted what they
had undertaken, till they brought it to such a State, as to render it
plain and practicable to their Successors; and this good Effect it hath
had, that there is not a common Beggar, or disorderly Vagrant, seen in
their Streets, but Charity is given in its proper Place and Manner, and
the Magistrates are freed from the daily Trouble they had with the Poor,
and the Parishes they lived in, and are discharged from the Invidious
Fatigues of their Settlements, when a great deal of what should have
maintained them, was spent in determining what Parishes were to do it.
I wish it could be said so of the two Metropolitan Cities of _England_
and _Ireland_, where such Swarms of lazy Beggars pester the Streets, that
they are not only troublesome, but also nauseous to the Beholders; and
the Church Doors are so crouded with them, that you can scarce pass to
your Devotion; nor do you know when you bestow your Charity rightly,
those who do not deserve it, taking such Methods to move Compassion, that
you cannot easily distinguish them from those who do.
And since I have mentioned this Act, and the well executing thereof by
the first Undertakers, I think it cannot be amiss to set it forth
_Verbatim_ (being never yet printed, save only some Copies for the Use of
the Corporation) together with the Steps whereby the first Guardians
proceeded, and as it was laid before the Parliament _Anno_ 1700; which I
have done in the Appendix, because it may probably be of use to those,
who shall be willing to take Pains in a Work of such Service, both to God
and the Public.
But because this Act was adapted only for Cities and great Towns, and
can’t be a Model for the Counties at large, I will here subjoin such
Methods as may be proper to carry on this charitable Design throughout
the whole Kingdom, if Power be given by some public Act of Parliament,
for all Places to incorporate who are willing (but may not be able to be
at the Charge of a private Act) and to build, or otherwise provide,
Hospitals, Work-Houses, and Houses of Correction, for the better
maintaining and imploying their Poor, under the Management of such
Corporations; which in the Counties must be by uniting one or more
Hundreds, whose Parishes must be comprehended in one Poors Rate, and each
of them contribute to the Charge thereof, not by bringing them to an
equal Pound Rate on their Lands and personal Estates, as in Cities and
great Towns, but by Taxing every Parish according to what it paid before,
there not being the same Parity of Reason for that way of raising Money
in the Hundreds, as there is in Cities and Towns; because in the former,
the Parishes do not receive an equal Benefit from the Labour of the Poor
of other Parishes, as they do in the latter; which Hospitals,
Work-Houses, and Houses of Correction, to be provided at the general
Charge of the Parshies thus united, according to the Proportion that each
of them pays to the Poor.
The Guardians of these Corporations to consist of all the Justices of the
Peace inhabiting within the several Parishes thus united, together with a
Number of Inhabitants chosen out of each Parish, in proportion to the Sum
of Money it pays; which Choice to be made every Year, or once in two
Years, when one half of those that were first chosen must go out, and the
Remainder stay in, to instruct those who were last chosen; the Electors
to be the Freeholders of ### _per Annum_; and on the Death of any
Guardian, another to be chosen in his Room, by the Parish for which he
served.
That the Guardians being thus settled, they shall have Power to choose a
Governor, Deputy-Governor, Treasurer, and Assistants, Yearly, and to hold
Courts, and make By-Laws, and appoint a Common Seal; and also to Summon
the Inhabitants to answer to Matters relating to the Corporation; and to
compel all People, who seek for Relief, to dwell in their Hospitals and
Work-Houses, if they see fit; and to take in young People of both Sexes,
and breed them up to work, who they shall also be obliged to teach to
Write and Read, and what else shall be thought necessary, and then to
bind them out Apprentices; and likewise to provide for the aged and
Impotent, and to assist those whose Labours will not maintain their
Charges, and to apprehend Rogues, Vagrants and Beggars, and cause them to
be set at Work, and also to inflict reasonable Correction where they see
it necessary, and to entertain proper Officers, and pay them out of the
Stock; with a Clause to secure them from vexatious Suits; and they must
be obliged once in ### at least to hold a General Court, where the
Governor, Deputy-Governor, or one half of the Assistants, together with
such a proportionable Number of the Guardians as they shall agree on,
shall be present.
That the Court shall once in six Months agree and settle how much Money
will be necessary for maintaining and imploying the Poor for the six
Months next ensuing, and certify the same to the Justices inhabiting
within the said Hundred or Hundreds, at a Meeting to be had for that
Purpose, who shall proportion the same Regularity in each Parish, and
grant out their Warrants to proper Persons to Assess the same, and
afterwards, other Warrants to collect, and pay it to the Treasurer of the
Corporation; with a Power to inflict Penalties on the Assessors and
Collectors, if they refuse or neglect to do their Duty, in Assessing,
Collecting, and paying the said Money, according to their Warrants.
That each Corporation be one Body Politic in Law, and be capable of Suing
and being Sued, and be enabled to Purchase, Take and Receive, Lands,
Tenements and Hereditaments, Goods and Chattles, for the Benefit of the
Poor.
These, or such like Methods, being rectified by the Wisdom of Parliament,
will soon appear to be of great use to the Nation, and also to the Poor
who are truly Objects of Relief; and will also put a Stop to wand’ring
Vagrants, against whom, every Corporation will then be a Barrier, and
none will expect Charity, but from the Parishes to which they belong, and
who are the most proper Judges whether they deserve it.
[Sidenote: Conclusion.]
And thus I have gone through what I undertook, and have given my Thoughts
of these important Subjects; wherein I have no other View than promoting
the Welfare of this Kingdom, by improving its Trade and Commerce and
providing for the Poor in a regular Method: Both which will tend to the
Honour of His Majesty’s Government, and the advancing the Wealth and
Prosperity of the Nation.
FINIS.
THE
APPENDIX.
Anno Septimo & Octavo
_GULIELMI_ III. Regis.
An Act for Erecting of Hospitals and Work-Houses within the City of
Bristol, for the better Employing and Maintaining the Poor thereof.
WHEREAS it is found by Experience, That the Poor in the City of _Bristol_
do daily multiply, and Idleness and Debauchery amongst the meaner Sort,
doth greatly Increase, for want of Work-houses to set them to Work, and a
sufficient Authority to compel them thereto, as well as to the Charge of
the Inhabitants, and Grief of the charitable and honest Citizens of the
said City, as the great Distress of the Poor themselves; for which
sufficient Redress hath not yet been provided: For Remedy whereof, Be it
enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice
and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons in
Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That from and
after the Twelfth Day of _May_, which shall be in the Year of our Lord,
One thousand six hundred ninety and six, there be, and shall be, a
Corporation to continue for ever within the said City of _Bristol_, and
the County thereof, consisting of the several Persons herein
after-mentioned (that is to say) of the Mayor and Aldermen for the time
being, and of eight and forty other Persons, to be chosen out of the
honestest and discreetest Inhabitants of the City and County, by the
Eleven Wards in the said City, and the Castle Precincts there, which to
all Intents and Purposes, shall be from henceforth for ever a Ward within
the said City, (that is to say) Four out of each Ward, and of such other
charitable Persons as shall be Elected and Constituted Guardians of the
Poor of the said City, in a manner as is herein after expressed: And the
first eight and forty Persons shall be Elected at a Court for that
purpose to be held within each Ward, by the Alderman of the same, or his
Deputy, by the Votes of the Inhabitants of such Ward, paying one Penny
_per_ Week, or more, in his own Right, for and towards the Relief of the
Poor of the said City, or of the major part of them then present.
And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, that the said Eight
and Forty Persons shall be chosen in manner, as aforesaid, the Twelfth
Day of _May_ next following, and shall continue in their Office until
others shall be elected in their Rooms, according to the Direction herein
after-mentioned; and in case any of the said Persons so Elected, or any
other Person so Elected in their Room, shall, after their respective
Elections, happen to die, That then it shall, and may be Lawful to and
for the Alderman of the Ward, for which such Person so dying was Elected,
or his Deputy, at a Court to be held within the said Ward for that
purpose, within the Space of ten Days next after the Death of such
Persons, to Elect others in their Place, in manner, as aforesaid; which
Court and Election, such Alderman, or his Deputy, is and are hereby
required to Hold and Make: Which said Mayor and Aldermen, and Forty-eight
Persons, and such other Charitable Persons, so Elected and Constituted
for the Time being, shall be called Guardians of the Poor of the City of
_Bristol_.
And to the intent that the said Guardians so Elected out of the said
Wards may have perpetual Succession: Be it further Enacted by the
Authority aforesaid, That the said respective Aldermen for the Time
being, or their respective Deputies, shall and may, and are hereby
required, on the first _Thursday_ in _April_, in every second Year, from
henceforth, to hold a Court in their respective Wards, and then and
there, by the Votes of the Inhabitants of such Ward, so qualified, as
aforesaid, or of the Majority of them then present, to Elect and Choose
two of the honestest and discreetest Persons out of the said Inhabitants
of the said City, to be Guardians of the Poor of the said City for the
said Ward; which Paid two Persons, so Elected, shall be Guardians, and
shall succeed the two Persons before that first Elected, and then being
Guardians for the said Ward; and the said two Persons so first Elected,
shall immediately upon such Election, and Notice thereof given to them,
cease to be Guardians.