Of the means used for extending the influence of the institution
for the poor at Munich, to other parts of Bavaria.
Of the progress which some of the improvements introduced at Munich
are making in other countries.
Though the institution of which I have undertaken to give an account,
was confined to the city of Munich and its suburbs, yet measures
were taken to extend its influence to all parts of the country.
The attempt to put an end to mendicity in the capital, and to
give employment to the Poor, having been completely successful,
this event was formally announced to the public, in the news-papers;
and other towns were called upon to follow the example. Not only
a narrative in detail, was given of all the different measures
pursued in this important undertaking, but every kind of
information and assistance was afforded on the part of the
institution at Munich, to all who might be disposed to engage in
forming similar establishments in other parts of the country.
Copies of all the different lists, returns, certificates, etc.
used in the management of the Poor, were given gratis to all,
strangers as well as inhabitants of the country, who applied for
them; and no information relative to the establishment, or to any
of its details, was ever refused. The house of industry was open
every day from morning till night to all visitors; and persons
were appointed to accompany strangers in their tour through the
different apartments, and to give the fullest information
relative to the details, and even to all the secrets of the
various manufactures carried on; and printed copies of the
different tables, tickets, checks, etc. made use of in carrying
on the current business of the house, were furnished to every one
who asked for them; together with an account of the manner in
which these were used, and of the other measures adopted to
prevent frauds and peculation in the various branches of this
extensive establishment.
As few manufactures in Bavaria are carried on to any extent;
the more indigent of the inhabitants are, in general, so totally
unacquainted with every kind of work in which the Poor could be
most usefully employed, that that circumstance alone is a great
obstacle to the general introduction throughout the country of
the measures adopted in Munich for employing the Poor. To remove
this difficulty, the different towns and communities who are
desirous of forming establishments for giving employment to the
Poor, are invited to send persons properly qualified to the house
of industry at Munich, where they may be taught, gratis, spinning,
in its various branches; knitting; sewing, etc. in order to
qualify them to become instructors to the Poor on their return home.
And even instructors already formed, and possessing all the
requisite qualifications for such an office, are offered to be
furnished by the house of industry in Munich to such communities
as shall apply for them.
Another difficulty, apparently not less weighty than that just
mentioned, but which is more easily and more effectually removed,
is the embarrassment many of the smaller communities are likely
to be under in procuring raw materials, and in selling to
advantage the goods manufactured, or, (as is commonly the case,)
IN PART ONLY MANUFACTURED, by the Poor. The yarn, for instance,
which is spun by them in a country-town or village, far removed
from any manufacture of cloth, may lie on hand a long time before
it can be sold to advantage. To remedy this, the house of
industry at Munich is ordered to furnish raw materials to such
communities as shall apply for them, and receive in return the
goods manufactured, at the full prices paid for the same articles
in Munich. Not only these measures, and many others of a similar
nature, are taken, to facilitate the introduction of industry
among the Poor throughout the country; but every encouragement is
held out to induce individuals to exert themselves in this
laudable undertaking. Those communities which are the first to
follow the example of the capital, are honourably mentioned in
the news-papers; and such individuals as distinguished themselves
by their zeal and activity upon those occasions, are praised and
rewarded.
A worthy curate, (Mr. Lechner,) preacher in one of the churches
in Munich, who, of his own accord, had taken upon himself to
defend the measures adopted with regard to the Poor, and to
recommend them in the most earnest manner from the pulpit,
was sent for by the Elector, into his closet, and thanked for
his exertions.
This transaction being immediately made known, (an account of it
having been published in the news-papers,) tended not a little to
engage the clergy in all parts of the country to exert themselves
in support of the institution.
It is not my intention to insinuate that the clergy in Bavaria
stood in need of any such motive to stimulate them to action in a
cause so important to the happiness and well-being of mankind,
and consequently so nearly connected with the sacred duties of
their office;--on the contrary, I should be wanting in candour,
as well as gratitude, were I not to embrace this opportunity of
expressing publicity, the obligations I feel myself under to them
for their support and assistance.
The number of excellent sermons which have been preached,
in order to recommend the measures adopted by the government for
making provision for the Poor, show how much this useful and
respectable body of men have had it at heart to contribute to the
success of this important measure; and their readiness to
co-operate with me, (a Protestant,) upon all occasions where
their assistance has been asked, not only does honour to the
liberality of their sentiments, but calls for my personal
acknowledgments, and particular thanks.
I shall conclude this Essay with an account of the progress which
some of the improvements introduced at Munich are now making in
other countries. During my late journey in Italy for the
recovery of my health, I visited Verona; and becoming acquainted
with the principal directors of two large and noble hospitals,
la Pieta, and la Misericorde, in that city, the former containing
about 350, and the latter near 500 Poor, I had frequent occasions
to converse with them upon the subject of those establishments,
and to give them an account of the arrangements that had been
made in Munich. I likewise took the liberty of proposing some
improvements, and particularly in regard to the arrangements for
feeding these Poor; and in the management of the fires employed
for cooking. Fire-wood, the only fuel used in that country,
is extremely scarce and dear, and made a very heavy article in
the expences of those institutions.
Though this scarcity of fuel, which had prevailed for ages in
that part of Italy, had rendered it necessary to pay attention to
the economy of fuel, and had occasioned some improvements to be
made in the management of heat; yet I found, upon examining the
kitchens of these two hospitals, and comparing the quantities of
fuel consumed with the quantities of victuals cooked, that
SEVERN-EIGHTHS of the fire-wood they were then consuming might be
saved[15]. Having communicated the result of those enquiries to
the directors of these two hospitals, and offered my service to
alter the kitchens, and arrange them upon the principles of that
in the house of industry at Munich, (which I described to them,)
they accepted my offer, and the kitchens were rebuilt under my
immediate direction; and have both succeeded, even beyond my
most sanguine expectations. That of the hospital of la Pieta is
the most complete kitchen I have ever built; and I would
recommend it as a model, in preference to any I have ever seen.
I shall give a more particular description of it, with plans and
estimates, in my Essay on the Management of Heat.
During the time I was employed in building the new kitchen in the
hospital of la Pieta, I had an opportunity of making myself
acquainted with all the details of the clothing of the Poor
belonging to that establishment; and I found that very great
savings might be made in that article of expence. I made a
proposal to the directors of that hospital, to furnish them with
clothing for their Poor, ready made up, from the house of
industry at Munich; and upon my return to Munich I sent them
TWELVE complete suits of clothing of different sizes as a sample,
and accompanied them with an estimate of the prices at which we
could afford to deliver them at Verona.
The success of this little adventure has been very flattering,
and has opened a very interesting channel for commerce, and for
the encouragement of industry in Bavaria. This sample of
clothing being approved, and, with all the expences of carriage
added, being found to be near TWENTY PER CENT. cheaper than that
formerly used, orders have been received from Italy by the house
of industry at Munich, to a considerable amount, for clothing
the Poor. In the beginning of September last, a few days before
I left Munich to come to England, I had the pleasure to assist in
packing up and sending off, over the Alps, by the Tyrol, SIX
HUNDRED articles of clothing of different kinds for the Poor of
Verona; and hope soon to see the Poor of Bavaria growing rich,
by manufacturing clothing for the Poor of Italy.
END OF THE FIRST ESSAY.
Footnotes to Essay I.
[1]
This paper, as it could afterwards be made use of for making
cartridges, in fact cost nothing.
[2]
A creutzer is 11/33 of an English penny.
[3]
Particular local reasons, which it is not necessary here to
explain, have hitherto prevented the establishment of military
gardens in these two garrison towns.
[4]
The whole amount of this burden was not more than 30,000 florins,
or about 2721L. sterling a year.
[5]
Mons. Dallarmi.
[6]
The annual amount of these various receipts may be seen in the
accounts published in the Appendix.
[7]
Almost all the great law-givers, and founders of religions, from
the remotest antiquity, seem to have been aware of the influence
of cleanliness upon the moral character of man; and have strongly
inculcated it. In many cases it has been interwoven with the
most solemn rites of public and private worship, and is so still
in many countries. The idea that the soul is defiled and
depraved by every thing UNCLEAN, or which defies the body, has
certainly prevailed in all ages; and has been particularly
attended to by those great benefactors of mankind, who, by the
introduction of PEACE and ORDER in society, have laboured
successfully to promote the happiness of their fellow-creatures.
Order and disorder--peace and war--health and sickness, cannot
exist together; but COMFORT and CONTENTMENT, and the inseparable
companions of HAPPINESS and VIRTUE, can only arise from order,
peace, and health.
[8]
Upon this occasion I must not forget to mention a curious
circumstance, which contributed very much towards clearing the
town effectually of beggars. It being found that some of the
most hardened of these vagabonds were attempting to return to
their old practices, and that they found means to escape the
patroles, by keeping a sharp look-out, and avoiding them, to hold
them more effectually in check, the patroles sent out upon this
service were ordered to go without arms. In consequence of this
arrangement, the beggars being no longer able to distinguish who
were in search of them, and who were not, saw a patrole in every
soldier they met with in the streets, (and of these there were
great numbers, Munich being a garrison town,) and from
thenceforward they were kept in awe.
[9]
Upon a new division of the town, when the suburbs were included,
the number of subdivisions (abtheilungs) were augmented to twenty
three.
[10]
This was written in the summer of the year 1795.
[11]
As these children were not shut up and confined like prisoners
in the house of industry, but all lodged in the town, with their
parents or friends, they had many opportunities to recreate
themselves, and take exercise in the open air; not only on
holidays, of which there are a very large number indeed kept in
Bavaria; but also on working-days, in coming and going to and
from the house of industry. Had not this been the case,
a reasonable time would certainly have been allowed them for play
and recreation. The cadets belonging to the Military Academy at
Munich are allowed no less than THREE HOURS a day for exercise
and relaxation, viz ONE HOUR immediately after dinner, which is
devoted to music, and TWO HOURS, later in the afternoon,
for walking in the country, or playing in the open fields near
the town.
[12]
Since the publication of the first edition of the Essay,
the Author has received an account of the total destruction of the
Military Work-house at Manheim. It was set on fire, and burnt
to the ground, during the last siege of that city by the Austrian
troops.
[13]
Above 18,000 pounds sterling.
[14]
The committee, at the head of the establishment, has been enabled
to make this purchase, by legacies made to the institution.
These legacies have been numerous, and are increasing every day;
which clearly shows, that the measures adopted with regard to the
Poor have met with the approbation of the public.
[15]
I found upon examining the famous kitchen of the great hospital
at Florence, that the waste of fuel there is still greater.
CONTENTS of ESSAY II.
of the FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES on which GENERAL ESTABLISHMENTS for
the RELIEF of the POOR may be formed in all Countries.
CHAPTER. I.
General View of the Subject.
Deplorable State of those who are reduced to Poverty.
No Body of Laws can be so framed as to provide effectually for
their Wants.
Only adequate Relief that can be afforded them must be derived
from the voluntary Assistance of the Humane and Benevolent,
How that Assistance is to be secured.
Objections to the Expense of taking care of the Poor answered.
Of the Means of introducing a Scheme for the Relief of the Poor.
CHAPTER. II.
Of the Extent of an Establishment for the Poor.
Of the Division of a Town or City into Districts.
Of the Manner of carrying on the Business of a public
Establishment for the Poor.
Of the Necessity of numbering all the Houses in a Town where an
Establishment for the Poor is formed.
CHAPTER. III.
General Direction of the Affairs of an Institution for the Poor
attended with no great Trouble.
Of the best Method of carrying on the current Business, and of
the great Use of printed Forms, or Blanks.
Of the necessary Qualifications of those who are placed at the
Head of an Establishment for the Relief of the Poor.
Great Importance of this Subject.
Cruelty and Impolicy of putting the Poor into the Hands of
Persons they cannot respect and love.
The Persons pointed out who are more immediately called upon to
come forward with Schemes for the Relief of the Poor, and to
give their active Assistance in carrying them into Effect.
CHAPTER. IV.
Of the Necessity of effectual Measures for introducing a Spirit
of Industry among the Poor in forming an Establishment for
their Relief and Support.
Of the Means which may be used for that Purpose; and for setting
on foot a Scheme for forming an Establishment for feeding the
Poor.
CHAPTER. V.
Of the Means which may be used by Individuals in affluent
Circumstances for the Relief of the Poor in their Neighbourhood.
ESSAY II.
CHAPTER. I.
General View of the Subject.
Deplorable State of those who are reduced to Poverty.
No Body of Laws can be so framed as to provide efficaciously for
their Wants.
Only adequate Relief that can be afforded them must be derived
from the voluntary Assistance of the Humane and Benevolent.
How that Assistance is to be secured.
Objections to the Expence of taking care of the Poor answered
Of the Means of introducing a Scheme for the Relief of the Poor.
Though the fundamental principles upon which the Establishment
for the Poor at Munich is founded, are such as I can venture to
recommend; and notwithstanding the fullest information relative
to every part of that Establishment may, I believe, be collected
from the account of it which is given in the foregoing Essay;
yet, as this information is so dispersed in different parts of
the work, and so blended with a variety of other particulars,
that the reader would find some difficulty in bringing the whole
into one view, and arranging it systematically in a complete
whole; I shall endeavour briefly to resume the subject, and give
the result of all my enquiries relative to it, in a more concise,
methodical, and useful form: and as from the experience, I have
had in providing for the wants of the Poor, and reclaiming the
indolent and vicious to habits of useful industry, I may venture
to consider myself authorised to speak with some degree of
confidence upon the subject; instead of merely recapitulating
what has been said of the Establishment for the Poor at Munich,
(which would be at best but a tiresome repetition,) I shall now
allow myself a greater range in these investigations, and shall
give my opinions without restraint which may come under
consideration. And though the system I shall propose, is founded
upon the successful experiments made at Munich, as may be seen by
comparing it with the details of that Establishment; yet, as a
difference in the local circumstances under which an operation is
performed, must necessarily require certain modifications of the
plan, I shall endeavour to take due notice of every modification
which may appear to me to be necessary[1].
Before I enter upon those details, it may be proper to take a
more extensive survey of the subject, and investigate the general
and fundamental Principles on which an Establishment for the
Relief of the Poor, in every country, ought to be founded.
At the same time I shall consider the difficulties which are
generally understood to be inseparable from such an undertaking,
and endeavour to show that they are by no means insurmountable.
That degree of poverty which involves in it the inability to
procure the necessaries of life without the charitable assistance
of the Public, is, doubtless, the heaviest of all misfortunes;
as it not only brings along with it the greatest physical evils,
pain,--and disease, but is attended by the most mortifying
humiliation, and hopeless despondency. It is, moreover,
an incurable evil; and is rather irritated than alleviated by the
remedies commonly applied to remove it. The only alleviation,
of which it is capable, must be derived from the kind and soothing
attentions of the truly benevolent. This is the only balm which
can sooth the anguish of a wounded heart, or allay the agitations
of a mind irritated by disappointment, and rendered ferocious by
despair.
And hence it evidently appears that no body of laws, however
wisely framed, can, in any country, effectually provide for the
relief of the Poor, without the voluntary assistance of individuals;
for though taxes may be levied by authority of the laws for the
support of the Poor, yet, those kind attentions which are so
necessary in the management of the Poor, as well to reclaim the
vicious, as to comfort and encourage the despondent--those
demonstrations of concern which are always so great a consolation
to persons in distress--cannot be COMMANDED BY FORCE. On the
contrary, every attempt to use FORCE in such cases, seldom fails
to produce consequences directly contrary to those intended[2].
But if the only effectual relief for the distress of the Poor,
and the sovereign remedy for the numerous evils to society which
arise from the prevalence of mendicity, indolence, poverty,
and misery, among the lower classes of society, must be derived
from the charitable and voluntary exertions of individuals;--
as the assistance of the Public cannot be expected, unless the
most unlimited confidence can be placed, not only in the wisdom
of the measures proposed, but also, and MORE ESPECIALLY, in the
UPRIGHTNESS, ZEAL, and PERFECT DISINTERESTEDNESS of the persons
appointed to carry them into execution; it is evident that the
first object to be attended to, in forming a plan of providing
for the Poor, is to make such arrangements as will COMMAND THE
CONFIDENCE OF THE PUBLIC, and fix it upon the most solid and
durable foundation.
This can most certainly, and most effectually be done;
first by engaging persons of high rank and
the most respectable character to place themselves
at the head of the Establishment:
secondly, by joining, in the general administration of the
affairs of the Establishment, a certain number of persons chosen
from the middling class of society; reputable tradesmen, in easy
circumstances;--heads of families;--and others of known integrity
and of humane dispositions[3]:
thirdly, by engaging all those who are employed in the
administration of the affairs of the Poor, to serve without fee
or reward:
fourthly, by publishing, at stated periods, such particular and
authentic accounts of all receipts and expenditures, that no
doubt can possibly be entertained by the Public respecting the
proper application of the monies destined for the relief of the
Poor:
fifthly, by publishing an alphabetical list of all who receive
alms; in which list should be inserted, not only the name of
the person, his age; condition; and place of abode; but also
the amount of the weekly assistance granted to him; in order
that those who entertain any doubts respecting the manner in
which the Poor are provided for, may have the opportunity of
visiting them at their habitations, and making enquiry into
their real situations:
and lastly, the confidence of the Public, and the
continuance of their support, will most effectually be secured
by a prompt and successful execution of the plan adopted.
There is scarcely a greater plague that can infest society, than
swarms of beggars; and the inconveniencies to individuals arising
from them are so generally, and so severely felt, that relief
from so great an evil cannot fail to produce a powerful and
lasting effect upon the minds of the Public, and to engage all
ranks to unite in the support of measures as conducive to the
comfort of individuals, as they are essential to the national
honor and reputation. And even in countries where the Poor do not
make a practice of begging, the knowledge of their sufferings
must be painful to every benevolent mind; and there is no person,
I would hope, so callous to the feelings of humanity, as not to
rejoice most sincerely when effectual relief is afforded.
The greatest difficulty attending the introduction of any measure
founded upon the voluntary support of the Public, for maintaining
the Poor, and putting an end to mendicity, is an opinion
generally entertained, that a very heavy expence would be
indispensably necessary to carry into execution such an
undertaking. But this difficulty may be speedily removed by
showing, (which may easily be done,) that the execution of a
well-arranged plan for providing for the Poor, and giving useful
employment to the idle and indolent, so far from being expensive,
must, in the end, be attended with a very considerable saving,
not only to the Public collectively, but also to individuals.
Those who now extort their subsistence by begging and stealing,
are, in fact, already maintained by the Public. But this is not
all; they are maintained in a manner the most expensive and
troublesome, to themselves and the Public, that can be conceived;
and this may be said of all the Poor in general.
A poor person, who lives in poverty and misery, and merely from
hand to mouth, has not the power of availing himself of any of
those economical arrangements, in procuring the necessaries of life,
which other, in more affluent circumstances, may employ;
and which may be employed with peculiar advantage in a public
Establishment.--Added to this, the greater part of the Poor,
as well those who make a profession of begging, as other who do not,
might be usefully employed in various kinds of labour;
and supposing them, one with another, to be capable of earning
ONLY HALF as much as is necessary to their subsistence,
this would reduce the present expence to the Public for their
maintenance at least one half; and this half might be reduced
still much lower, by a proper attention to order and economy in
providing for their subsistence.
Were the inhabitants of a large town where mendicity is prevalent,
to subscribe only half the sums annually, which are extorted from
them by beggars, I am confident it would be quite sufficient,
with a proper arrangement, for the comfortable support of the
Poor of all denominations.
Not only those who were formerly common street-beggars, but all
others, without exception, who receive alms, in the city of
Munich and its suburbs, amounting at this time to more than 1800
persons, are supported almost entirely by voluntary subscriptions
from the inhabitants; and I have been assured by numbers of the
most opulent and respectable citizens, that the sums annually
extorted from them formerly by beggars alone, exclusive of
private charities, amounted to more than three times the sums now
given by them to the support of the new institution. I insist the
more upon this point, as I know that the great expence which has
been supposed to be indispensably necessary to carry into
execution any scheme for effectually providing for the Poor,
and putting an end to mendicity, has deterred many well-disposed
persons from engaging in so useful an enterprise. I have only to
add my most earnest wishes, that what I have said and done,
may remove every doubt, and re-animate the zeal of the Public,
in a cause in which the dearest interests of humanity are so
nearly concerned.
In almost every public undertaking, which is to be carried into
effect by the united voluntary exertions of individuals, without
the interference of government, there is a degree of awkwardness
in bringing forward the business, which it is difficult to avoid,
and which is frequently not a little embarrassing. This will
doubtless be felt by those who engage in forming and executing
schemes for providing for the Poor by private subscription;
they should not, however, suffer themselves to be discouraged by
a difficulty which may so easily be surmounted.
In the introduction of every scheme for forming an Establishment
for the Poor, whether it be proposed to defray the expense by
voluntary subscriptions, or by a tax levied for the purpose,
it will be proper for the authors or promoters of the measure to
address the Public upon the subject; to inform them of the nature
of the measures proposed;-- of their tendency to promote the
public welfare, and to point out the various ways in which
individuals may give their assistance to render the scheme
successful.
There are few cities in Europe, I believe, in which the state of
the Poor would justify such an address as that which was
published at Munich upon taking up the beggars in that town;
but something of the kind; with such alterations as local
circumstances may require, I am persuaded, would in most cases
produce good effects. With regard to the assistance that might
be be given by individuals to carry into effect a scheme for
providing for the Poor, though measures for that purpose may,
and ought to be so taken, that the Public would have little or
no trouble in their execution, yet there are many things which
individuals must be instructed cautiously to avoid; otherwise
the enterprise will be extremely difficult, it not impracticable;
and, above all things, they must be warned against giving alms to
beggars.
Though nothing would be more unjust and tyrannical, than to
prevent the generous and humane from contributing to the relief of
the Poor and necessitous, yet, as giving alms to beggars tends so
directly and so powerfully to encourage idleness and immorality,
to discourage the industrious Poor, and perpetuate mendicity,
with all its attendant evils, too much pains cannot be taken to
guard the Public against a practice so fatal in its consequences
to society.
All who are desirous of contributing to the relief of the Poor,
should be invited to send their charitable donations to be
distributed by those who, being at the head of a public
Institution established for taking care of the Poor, must be
supposed best acquainted with their wants. Or, if individuals
should prefer distributing their own charities, they ought at
least to take the trouble to enquire after fit objects; and to
apply their donations in such a manner as not to counteract the
measures of a public and useful Establishment.
But, before I enter farther into these details, it will be
necessary to determine the proper extent and limits of an
Establishment for the Poor; and show how a town or city ought to
be divided in districts, in order to facilitate the purposes of
such an institution.
CHAPTER. II.
Of the Extent of an Establishment for the Poor.
Of the Division of a Town or City into Districts.
Of the Manner of carrying on the Business of a public
Establishment for the Poor.
Of the Necessity of numbering all the Houses in a Town where an
Establishment for the Poor is formed.
However large a city may be, in which an Establishment for the
Poor is to be formed, I am clearly of opinion, that there should
be but ONE ESTABLISHMENT;--with ONE committee for the general
management of all its affairs;--and ONE treasurer. This unity
appears essentially necessary, not only because, when all the
parts tend to one common centre, and act in union to the same
end, under one direction, they are less liable to be impeded in
their operations, or disordered by collision;--but also on
account of THE VERY UNEQUAL DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH, as well as of
misery and poverty, in the different districts of the same town.
Some parishes in great cities have comparatively few Poor,
while others, perhaps less opulent, are overburthened with them;
and there seems to be no good reason why a house-keeper in any town
should be called upon to pay more or less for the support of the
Poor, because he happens to live on one side of a street or the
other. Added to this, there are certain districts in most great
towns where poverty and misery seem to have fixed their
head-quarters, and where it would be IMPOSSIBLE for the
inhabitants to support the expence of maintaining their Poor.
Where that is the case, as measures for preventing mendicity in
every town must be general, in order to their being successful,
the enterprise, FROM THAT CIRCUMSTANCE ALONE, would be rendered
impracticable, were the assistance of the more opulent districts
to be refused.
There is a district, for instance, belonging to Munich, (the Au,)
a very large parish, which may be called the St. Giles's of that
city, where the alms annually received are TWENTY TIMES as much
as the whole district contributes to the funds of the public
Institution for the Poor.--The inhabitants of the other parishes,
however, have never considered it a hardship to them, that the
Poor of the Au should be admitted to share the public bounty, in
common with the Poor of the other parishes.
Every town must be divided, according to its extent, into a
greater or less number of districts, or subdivisions; and each of
these must have a committee of inspection, or rather a commissary,
with assistants, who must be entrusted with the superintendance
and management of all affairs relative to the relief and support
of the Poor within its limits.
In very large cities, as the details of a general Establishment
for the Poor would be very numerous and extensive, it would
probably facilitate the management of the affairs of the
Establishment, if, beside the smallest subdivisions or districts,
there could be formed other larger divisions, composed of a
certain number of districts, and put under the direction of
particular committees.
The most natural, and perhaps the most convenient method of
dividing a large city or town, for the purpose of introducing a
general Establishment for the Poor, would be, to form of the
parishes the primary divisions; and to divide each parish into so
many subdivisions, or districts, as that each district may
consist of from 3000 to 4000 inhabitants. Though the immediate
inspection and general superintendance of the affairs of each
parish were to be left to its own particular committee, yet the
supreme committee at the head of the general Institution should
not only exercise a controlling power over the parochial
committees, but these last should not be empowered to levy money
upon the parishioners, by setting on foot voluntary subscriptions,
or otherwise; or to dispose of any sums belonging to the general
Institution, except in cases of urgent necessity;--nor should
they be permitted to introduce any new arrangements with respect
to the management of the Poor, without the approbation and
consent of the supreme committee: the most perfect uniformity in
the mode of treating the Poor, and transacting all public
business relative to the Institution, being indispensably
necessary to secure success to the undertaking, and fix the
Establishment upon a firm and durable foundation.
For the same reasons, all monies collected in the parishes should
not be received and disposed of by their particular committees,
but ought to be paid into the public treasury of the Institution,
and carried to the general account of receipts;--and, in like
manner, the sums necessary for the support of the Poor in each
parish should be furnished from the general treasury, on the
orders of the supreme committee.
With regard to the applications of individuals in distress for
assistance, all such applications ought to be made through the
commissary of the district to the parochial committee;--and where
the necessity is not urgent, and particularly where permanent
assistance is required, the demand should be referred by the
parochial committee to the supreme committee, for their decision.
In cases of urgent necessity, the parochial committees, and even
the commissaries of districts, should be authorized to administer
relief, ex officio, and without delay; for which purpose they
should be furnished with certain sums in advance, to be afterwards
accounted for by them.
That the supreme committee may be exactly informed of the real
state of those in distress who apply for relief, every petition,
forwarded by a parochial committee, or by a commissary of a
district, where there are no parochial committees, should be
accompanied with an exact and detailed account of the
circumstances of the petitioner, signed by the commissary of the
district to which he belongs, together with the amount of the
weekly sum, or other relief, which such commissary may deem
necessary for the support of the petitioner.
To save the commissaries of districts the trouble of writing the
descriptions of the Poor who apply for assistance, printed forms,
similar to that which may been seen in the Appendix, No. V. may
be furnished to them;--and other printed forms, of a like nature,
may be introduced with great advantage in many other cafes in the
management of the Poor.
With regard to the manner in which the supreme and parochial
committees should be formed;-- however they may be composed,
it will be indispensably requisite, for the preservation of order
and harmony in all the different parts of the Establishment,
that one member at least of each parochial committee be present,
and have a seat, and voice, as a member of the supreme committee.
And, that all the members of each parochial committee may be
equally well informed with regard to the general affairs of the
Establishment, it may perhaps be proper that those members
attended the meetings of the supreme committee in rotation.
For similar reasons it may be proper to invite the commissaries
of districts to be present in rotation at the meetings of the
committees of their respective parishes, where there are
parochial committees established, or otherwise, at the meetings
of the supreme committee[4].
It is, however, only in very large cities that I would recommend
the forming parochial committees. In all towns where the
inhabitants do not amount to more than 100,000 souls, I am
clearly of opinion that it would be best merely to divide the
town into districts, without regard to the limits of parishes;
and to direct all the affairs of the institution by one simple
committee. This mode was adopted at Munich, and found to be easy
in practice, and successful; and it is not without some degree of
diffidence, I own, that I have ventured to propose a deviation
from a plan, which has not yet been justified by experience.
But however a town may be divided into districts, it will be
absolutely necessary that ALL the houses be regularly numbered,
and an accurate list made out of all the persons who inhabit
them. The propriety of this measure is too apparent to require
any particular explanation. It is one of the very first steps
that ought to be taken in carrying into execution any plan for
forming an Establishment for the Poor; it being as necessary to
know the names and places of abode of those, who, by voluntary
subscription, or otherwise, assist in relieving the Poor, as to
be acquainted with the dwellings of the objects themselves; and
this measure is as indispensable necessary when an institution
for the Poor is formed in a small country-town or village, as
when it is formed in the largest capital.
In many cases, it is probable, the established laws of the country
in which an institution for the Poor may be formed, and certain
usages, the influence of which may perhaps be still more powerful
than the laws, may render modifications necessary, which it is
utterly impossible for me to foresee; still the great fundamental
principles upon which every sensible plan for such an
Establishment must be founded, appear to me to be certain and
immutable; and when rightly understood, there can be no great
difficulty in accommodating the plan to all those particular
circumstances under which it may be carried into execution,
without making any essential alteration.
CHAPTER. III.
General Direction of the Affairs of an Institution for
the Poor attended with no great Trouble.
Of the best Method of carrying on the current Business,
and the great Use of printed Forms, or Blanks.
Of the necessary qualifications of those who are placed at the
Head of an Establishment for the Relief of the Poor.
Great Importance of this Subject.
Cruelty and Impolicy of putting the Poor into the Hands of
Persons they cannot respect and love.
The Persons pointed out who are more immediately called upon to
come forward with Schemes for the Relief of the Poor, and to
give their active Assistance in carrying them into Effect.
Whatever the number of districts into which a city is divided,
may be, or the number of committees employed in the management of
a public Establishment for the relief of the Poor, it is
indispensably necessary that all individuals who are employed in
the undertaking be persons of known integrity;--for courage is
not more necessary in the character of a general, than unshaken
integrity in the character of a governor of a public charity.
I insist the more upon this point as the whole scheme is founded
upon the voluntary assistance of individuals, and therefore to
ensure its success the most unlimited confidence of the public
must be reposed in those who are to carry it into execution;
besides, I may add, that the manner in which the funds of the
various public Establishments for the relief of the Poor already
instituted have been commonly been administered in most countries,
does not tend to render superfluous the precautions I propose for
securing the confidence of the public.
The preceding observations respecting the importance of
employing none but persons of known integrity at the head of an
institution for the relief of the Poor, relates chiefly to the
necessity of encouraging people in affluent circumstances, and
the public at large, to unite in the support of such an
Establishment.--There is also another reason, perhaps equally
important, which renders it expedient to employ persons of the
most respectable character in the details of an institution of
public charity,--the good effects such a choice must have upon
the minds and morals of the Poor.
Persons who are reduced to indigent circumstances, and become
objects of public charity, come under the direction of those who
are appointed to take care of them with minds weakened by adversity,
and soured by disappointment; and finding themselves separated
from the rest of mankind, and cut off from all hope of seeing
better days, they naturally grow peevish, and discontented,
suspicious of those set over them, and of one another; and the
kindest treatment, and most careful attention to every
circumstance that can render their situation supportable,
are therefore required, to prevent their being very unhappy.
And nothing surely can contribute more powerfully to soothe the
minds of persons in such unfortunate and hopeless circumstances,
than to find themselves under the care and protection of persons
of gentle manners;--humane dispositions;--and known probity and
integrity; such as even THEY,--with all their suspicions about
them, may venture to love and respect,
Whoever has taken the pains to investigate the nature of the
human mind, and examine attentively those circumstances upon
which human happiness depends, must know how necessary it is to
happiness, that the mind should have some object upon which to
place its more tender affections--something to love,--to cherish,
--to esteem,--to respect,--and to venerate; and these resources
are never so necessary as in the hour of adversity and
discouragement, where no ray of hope is left to cheer the
prospect, and stimulate to fresh exertion.
The lot of the Poor, particularly of those who, from easy
circumstances and a reputable station in society, are reduced by
misfortunes, or oppression, to become a burthen on the Public,
is truly deplorable, after all that can be done for them:--
and were we seriously to consider their situation, I am sure we
should think that we could never do too much to alleviate their
sufferings, and soothe the anguish of wounds which can never be
healed.
For the common misfortunes of life, HOPE is a sovereign remedy.
But what remedy can be applied to evils, which involve even the
loss of hope itself? and what can those have to hope, who are
separated and cut off from society, and for ever excluded from
all share in the affairs of men? To them, honours;--distinctions;
--praise;--and even property itself;--all those objects of
laudable ambition which so powerfully excite the activity of man
in civil society, and contribute so essentially to happiness,
by filling the mind with pleasing prospects of future enjoyments,
are but empty names; or rather, they are subjects of
never-ceasing regret and discontent.
That gloom must indeed be dreadful, which overspreads the mind,
when HOPE, that bright luminary of the soul, which enlightens and
cheers it, and excites and calls forth into action all its best
faculties, has disappeared!
There are many, it is true, who, from their indolence or
extravagance, or other vicious habits, fall into poverty and
distress, and become a burthen on the public, who are so vile and
degenerate as not to feel the wretchedness of their situation.
But these are miserable objects, which the truly benevolent will
regard with an eye of peculiar compassion;--they must be very
unhappy, for they are very vicious; and nothing should be
omitted, that can tend to reclaim them;--but nothing will tend so
powerfully to reform them, as kind usage from the hands of
persons they must learn to love and to respect at the same time.
If I am too prolix upon this head, I am sorry for it. It is a
strong conviction of the great importance of the subject, which
carries me away, and makes me, perhaps, tiresome, where I would
wish most to avoid it. The care of the Poor, however, I must
consider as a matter of very serious importance. It appears to me
to be one of the most sacred duties imposed upon men in a state
of civil society;--one of those duties imposed immediately by
the hand of God himself, and of which the neglect never goes
unpunished.
What I have said respecting the necessary qualifications of those
employed in taking care of the Poor, I hope will not deter
well-disposed persons, who are willing to assist in so useful an
undertaking, from coming forward with propositions for the
institution of public Establishments for that purpose; or from
offering themselves candidates for employments in the management
of such Establishments. The qualifications pointed out, integrity,
and a gentle and humane disposition,--honesty, and a good heart;--
are such as any one may boldly lay claim to, without fear of
being taxed with vanity or ostentation.--And if individuals in
private stations, on any occasion are called upon to lay aside
their bashfulness and modest dissidence, and come forward into
public view, it must surely be, when by their exertions they can
essentially contribute to promote measures which are calculated
to increase the happiness and prosperity of society.
It is a vulgar saying, that, what is everybody's business, is
nobody's business; and it is very certain that many schemes,
evidently intended for the public good, have been neglected,
merely because nobody could be prevailed on to stand forward and
be the first to adopt them. This doubtless has been the case in
regard to many judicious and well arranged proposals for
providing for the Poor; and will probably be so again. I shall
endeavour, however, to show, that though in undertakings in which
the general welfare of society is concerned, persons of all ranks
and conditions are called upon to give them their support, yet,
in the INTRODUCTION of such measures as are here recommended,--
a scheme of providing for the Poor,--there are many who, by their
rank and peculiar situations, are clearly pointed out as the most
proper to take up the business at its commencement, and bring it
forward to maturity; as well as to take an active part in the
direction and management of such an institution after it has been
established: and it appears to me, that the nature and the end of
the undertaking evidently point out the persons who are more
particularly called upon to set an example on such an occasion.
If the care of the Poor be an object of great national importance,
--if it be inseparably connected with the peace and tranquillity
of society, and with the glory and prosperity of the state;--
if the advantages which individuals share in the public welfare
are in proportion to the capital they have at stake in this great
national fund--that is to say, in proportion to their rank,
property, and connexions, or general influence;--as it is just
that every one should contribute in proportion to the advantages
he receives; it is evident who ought to be the first to come
forward upon such an occasion.
But it is not merely on account of the superior interest they
have in the public welfare, that persons of high rank and great
property, and such as occupy places of importance in the
government, are bound to support measures calculated to relieve
the distresses of the Poor;--there is still another circumstance
which renders it indispensably necessary that they should take an
active part in such measures, and that is, the influence which
their example must have upon others.
It is impossible to prevent the bulk of mankind from being swayed
by the example of those to whom they are taught to look up as
their superiors; it behoves, therefore, all who enjoy such high
privileges, to employ all the influence which their rank and
fortune give them, to promote the public good. And this may
justly be considered as a duty of a peculiar kind;--a PERSONAL
service attached to the station they hold in society, and which
cannot be commuted.
But if the obligations which persons of rank and property are
under, to support measures designed for the relief of the Poor,
are so binding, how much more so must they be upon those who have
taken upon themselves the sacred office of public teachers of
virtue and morality;--the Ministers of a most holy religion;--
a religion whose first precepts inculcate charity and universal
benevolence, and whose great object is, unquestionably,
the peace, order, and happiness of society.
If there be any whose peculiar province it is to seek for objects
in distress and want, and administer to them relief;--if there be
any who are bound by the indispensable duties of their profession
to encourage by every means in their power, and more especially
by EXAMPLE, the general practice of charity; it is, doubtless,
the Ministers of the gospel. And such is their influence in
society, arising from the nature of their office, that their
example is a matter of VERY SERIOUS IMPORTANCE.
Little persuasion, I should hope, would be necessary to induce
the clergy, in any country, to give their cordial and active
assistance in relieving the distresses of the Poor, and providing
for their comfort and happiness, by introducing order and useful
industry among them.
Another class of men, who from the station they hold in society,
and their knowledge of the laws of the country, may be highly
useful in carrying into effect such an undertaking, are the civil
magistrates; and, however a committee for the government and
direction of an Establishment for the Poor may in other respects
be composed, I am clearly of opinion, that the Chief Magistrate
of the town, or city, where such an Establishment is formed,
ought always to be one of its members. The Clergyman of the
place who is highest in rank or dignity ought, likewise, to be
another; and if he be a Bishop, or Archbishop, his assistance is
the more indispensable.
But as persons who hold offices of great trust and importance in
the church, as well as under the civil government, may be so much
engaged in the duties of their stations, as not to have
sufficient leisure to attend to other matters; it may be
necessary, when such distinguished persons lend their assistance
in the management of an Establishment for the relief of the Poor,
that each of them be permitted to bring with them a person of his
own choice into the committee, to assist him in the business.
The Bishop, for instance, may bring his chaplain;--the Magistrate,
his clerk;--the Nobleman, or private gentleman, his son,
or friend, etc. But in small towns, of two or three parishes,
and particularly in country-towns and villages, which do not
consist of more than one or two parishes, as the details in the
management of the affairs of the Poor in such communities cannot
be extensive, the members of the committee may manage the
business without assistants. And indeed in all cases, even in
great cities, when a general Establishment for the Poor is formed
upon a good plan, the details of the executive and more laborious
parts of the management of it will be so divided among the
commissaries of the districts, that the members of the supreme
committee will have little more to do than just hold the reins,
and direct the movement of the machine. Care must however be
taken to preserve the most perfect uniformity in the motions of
all its parts, otherwise confusion must ensue; hence the
necessity of directing the whole from one center.
As the inspection of the Poor;--the care of them when they are
sick;--the distribution of the sums granted in alms for their
support;--the furnishing them with clothes;--and the collection
of the voluntary subscriptions of the inhabitants,--will be
performed by the commissaries of the districts, and their
assistants;--and as all the details relative to giving employment
to the Poor, and feeding them, may be managed by particular
subordinate committees, appointed for those purposes, the current
business of the supreme committee will amount to little more than
the exercise of a general superintendance.
This committee, it is true, must determine upon all demands from
the Poor who apply for assistance; but as every such demand will
be accompanied with the most particular account of the
circumstances of the petitioner, and the nature and amount of
assistance necessary to his relief, certified by the commissary
of the district in which the petitioner resides,--and also by
the parochial committee, where such are established,--the matter
will be so prepared and digested, that the members of the supreme
committee will have very little trouble to decide on the merits
of the case, and the assistance to be granted.
This assistance will consist--in a certain sum to be given WEEKLY
in alms to the petitioner, by the commissary of the district, out
of the funds of the Institution;--in an allowance of bread
only;--in a present of certain articles of clothing, which will
be specified;--or, perhaps, merely in an order for being
furnished with wood, clothing, or fuel, from the public kitchens
or magazines of the Establishment, AT THE PRIME COST of those
articles, AS AN ASSISTANCE to the petitioner, and to prevent the
NECESSITY OF HIS BECOMING A BURTHEN ON THE PUBLIC.
The manner last mentioned of assisting the Poor,--that of
furnishing them with the necessaries of life at lower prices than
those at which they are sold in the public markets, is a matter
of such importance, that I shall take occasion to treat of it
more fully hereafter.
With respect to the petitions presented to the committee;--
whatever be the assistance demanded, the petition received ought
to be accompanied by a duplicate; to the end that, the decision
of the committee being entered upon the duplicate, as well as
upon the original, and the duplicate sent back to the commissary
of the district, the business may be finished with the least
trouble possible; and even without the necessary of any more
formal order relative to the matter being given by the committee.
I have already mentioned the great utility of PRINTED FORMS,
for petitions, returns, etc. in carrying on the business of an
Establishment for the Poor, and I would again most earnestly
recommend the general use of them. Those who have not had
experience in such matters, can have no idea how much they
contribute to preserve order, and facilitate and expedite
business. To the general introduction of them in the management
of the affairs of the Institution for the Poor at Munich, I
attribute, more than to any thing else, the perfect order which
has continued to reign throughout every part of that extensive
Establishment, from its first existence to the present moment.
In carrying on the business of that Establishment, printed forms
or blanks are used, not only for petitions;--returns;--lists of
the Poor;-- descriptions of the Poor;--lists of the inhabitants;
--lists of subscribers to the support of the Poor;--orders upon
the banker or treasurer of the Institution;--but also for the
reports of the monthly collections made by the commissaries of
districts;--the accounts sent in by the commissaries, of the
extraordinary expences incurred in affording assistance to those
who stand in need of immediate relief;--the banker's receipts;
--and even the books in which are kept the accounts of the
receipts and expenditures of the Establishment.
In regard to the proper forms for these blanks; as they must
depend, in a great measure, upon local circumstances, no general
directions can be given, other than, in all cases, the shortest
forms that can be drawn up, consistent with perspicuity, are
recommended; and that the subject-matter of each particular or
single return, may be so disposed as to be easily transferred to
such general tables, or general accounts, as the nature of the
return and other circumstances may require. Care should likewise
be taken to make them of such a form, SHAPE and dimension, that
they may be regularly folded up, and docketed, in order to their
being preserved among the public records of the Institution.
CHAPTER. IV.
Of the Necessity of effectual Measures for introducing a Spirit
of Industry among the Poor in forming an Establishment for
their Relief and Support.
Of the Means which may be used for that Purpose; and for setting
on foot a Scheme for forming an Establishment for feeding the
Poor.
An object of the very first importance in forming an Establishment
for the relief and support of the Poor, is to take effectual
measures for introducing a spirit of industry among them; for it
is most certain, that all sums of money, or other assistance,
given to the Poor in alms, which do not tend to make them
industrious, never can fail to have a contrary tendency, and to
operate as an encouragement to idleness and immorality.
And as the merit of an action is to be determined by the good it
produces, the charity of a nation ought not to be estimated by
the millions which are paid in Poor's taxes, but by the pains
which are taken to see that the sums raised are properly applied.
As the providing useful employment for the Poor, and rendering
them industrious, is, and ever has been, a great DESIDERATUM in
political economy, it may be proper to enlarge a little here,
upon that interesting subject.
The great mistake committed in most of the attempts which have
been made to introduce a spirit of industry, where habits of
idleness have prevailed, has been the too frequent and improper
use of coercive measures, by which the persons to be reclaimed
have commonly been offended and thoroughly disgusted at the very
out-set.--Force will not do it.--Address, not force, must be used
on those occasions.
The children in the house of industry at Munich, who, being
placed upon elevated seats round the halls where other children
worked, were made to be idle spectators of that amusing scene,
cried most bitterly when their request to be permitted to descend
from their places, and mix in that busy crowd, was refused;--but
they would, most probably, have cried still more, had they been
taken abruptly from their play and FORCED to work.
"Men are but children of a larger growth;"-- and those who
undertake to direct them, ought ever to bear in mind that
important truth.
That impatience of control, and jealousy and obstinate
perseverance in maintaining the rights of personal liberty and
independence, which so strongly mark the human character in all
the stages of life, must be managed with great caution and
address, by those who are desirous of doing good;--or, indeed,
of doing any thing effectually with mankind.
It has often been said, that the Poor are vicious and profligate,
and that THEREFORE nothing but force will answer to make them
obedient, and keep them in order;--but, I should say, that
BECAUSE the Poor are vicious and profligate, it is so much the
more necessary to avoid the appearance of force in the management
of them, to prevent their becoming rebellious and incorrigible.
Those who are employed to take up and tame the wild horses
belonging to the Elector Palatine, which are bred in the forest
near Dusseldorf, never use force in reclaiming that noble animal,
and making him docile and obedient. They begin with making a
great circuit, in order to approach him; and rather decoy than
force him into the situation in which they wish to bring him, and
ever afterwards treat him with the greatest kindness; it having
been found by experience, that ill-usage seldom fails to make him
"a man-hater," untameable, and incorrigibly vicious.--It may,
perhaps, be thought fanciful and trifling, but the fact really
is, that an attention to the means used by these people to gain
the confidence of those animals, and teach them to like their
keepers, their stables, and their mangers, suggested to me many
ideas which I afterwards put in execution with great success, in
reclaiming those abandoned and ferocious animals in human shape,
which I undertook to tame and render gentle and docile.
It is however necessary in every attempt to introduce a spirit of
order and industry among the idle and profligate, not merely to
avoid all harsh and offensive treatment, which, as has already
been observed, could only serve to irritate them and render them
still more vicious and obstinate, but it is also indispensably
necessary to do every thing that can be devised to encourage and
reward every symptom of reformation.
It will likewise be necessary sometimes to punish the obstinate;
but recourse should never be had to punishments till GOOD USAGE
has first been fairly tried and found to be ineffectual.
The delinquent must be made to see that he has deserved the
punishment, and when it is inflicted, care should be taken to
make him feel it. But in order that the punishment may have the
effects intended, and not serve to irritate the person punished,
and excite personal hatred and revenge, instead of disposing the
mind to serious reflection, it must be administered in the most
solemn and most DISPASSIONATE manner; and it must be continued no
longer than till the FIRST DAWN of reformation appears.
How much prudence and caution are necessary in dispensing rewards
and punishments;--and yet--how little attention is in general
paid to those important transactions!
REWARDS and PUNISHMENTS are the only means by which mankind can
be controlled and directed; and yet, how often do we see them
dispensed in the most careless--most imprudent--and most improper
manner!--how often are they confounded!--how often misapplied!--
and how often do we see them made the instruments of gratifying
the most sordid private passions!
To the improper use of them may be attributed all the disorders
of civil society.--To the improper or careless use of them may,
most unquestionably, be attributed the prevalence of poverty,
misery, and mendicity in most countries, and particularly in
Great Britain, where the healthfulness and mildness of the
climate--the fertility of the soil--the abundance of fuel--the
numerous and flourishing manufactures--the extensive commerce--
and the millions of acres of waste lands which still remain to be
cultivated, furnish the means of giving useful employment to all
its inhabitants, and even to a much more numerous population.
But if instead of encouraging the laudable exertions of useful
industry, and assisting and relieving the unfortunate and the
infirm--(the only real objects of charity,)--the means designed
for those purposes are so misapplied as to operate as rewards to
idleness and immorality, the greater the sums are which are
levied on the rich for the relief of the poor, the more numerous
will that class become, and the greater will be their profligacy,
their insolence, and their shameless and clamorous importunity.
There is, it cannot be denied, in man, a natural propensity to
sloth and indolence; and though habits of industry,--like all
habits,--may render those exertions easy and pleasant which at
first are painful and irksome, yet no person, in any situation,
ever chose labour merely for its own sake. It is always the
apprehension of some greater evil,--or the hope of some enjoyment,
by which mankind are compelled or allured, when they take to
industrious pursuits.
In the rude state of savage nature the wants of men are few,
and these may all be easily supplied without the commission of
any crime; consequently industry, under such circumstances,
is not necessary, nor can indolence be justly considered as a vice;
but in a state of civil society, where population is great,
and the means of subsistence not to be had without labour,
or without defrauding others of the fruits of their industry,
idleness becomes a crime of the most fatal tendency,
and consequently of the most heinous nature; and every means
should be used to discountenance, punish, and prevent it.
And we see that Providence, ever attentive to provide remedies
for the disorders which the progress of society occasions in the
world, has provided for idleness--as soon as the condition of
society renders it a vice, but not before--a punishment every way
suited to its nature, and calculated to prevent its prevalency
and pernicious consequences:--This is WANT,--and a most
efficacious remedy it is for the evil,--when the WISDOM OF MAN
does not interfere to counteract it, and prevent its salutary
effects.
But reserving the father investigation of this part of my subject
--that respecting the means to be used for encouraging industry--
to some future opportunity, I shall now endeavour to show, in a
few words, how, under the most unfavourable circumstances,
an arrangement for putting an end to mendicity, and introducing
a spirit of industry among the Poor, might be introduced and
carried into execution.
If I am obliged to take a great circuit, in order to arrive at my
object, it must be remembered, that where a vast weight is to be
raised by human means, a variety of machinery must necessarily be
provided; and that it is only by bringing all the different
powers employed to act together to the same end, that the purpose
in view can be attained. It will likewise be remembered, that as
no mechanical power can be made to act without a force be applied
to it sufficient to overcome the resistance, not only of the vis
inertia, but also of friction, so no moral agent can be brought
to act to any given end without sufficient motives; that is to
say, without such motives as THE PERSON WHO IS TO ACT may deem
sufficient, not only to decide his opinion, but also to OVERCOME
HIS INDOLENCE.
The object proposed,--the relief of the Poor, and the providing
for their future comfort and happiness, by introducing among them
a spirit of order and industry, is such as cannot fail to meet
with the approbation of every well-disposed person.--But I will
suppose, that a bare conviction of the UTILITY of the measure is
not sufficient alone to overcome the indolence of the Public, and
induce them to engage ACTIVELY in the undertaking;--yet as people
are at all times, and in all situations, ready enough to do what
they FEEL to be their interest, if, in bringing forward a scheme
of public utility, the proper means be used to render it so
interesting as to awaken the CURIOSITY, and fix the attention of
the Public, no doubts can be entertained of the possibility of
carrying it into effect.
In arranging such a plan, and laying it before the Public,
no small degree of knowledge of mankind, and particularly of the
various means of acting on them, which are peculiarly adapted to
the different stages of civilization, or rather of the political
refinement and corruption of society, would, in most cases,
be indispensably necessary; but with that knowledge, and a good
share of zeal, address, prudence, and perseverance, there are few
schemes, in which an honest man would wish to be concerned, that
might not be carried into execution in any country.
In such a city as London, where there is great wealth;--public
spirit;--enterprize;--and zeal for improvement; little more,
I flatter myself, would be necessary to engage all ranks to unite
in carrying into effect such a scheme, than to show its public
utility; and, above all, to prove that there IS NO JOB at the
bottom of it.
It would, however, be advisable, in submitting to the Public,
Proposals for forming such an Establishment, to show that those
who are invited to assist in carrying it into execution, would
not only derive from it much pleasure and satisfaction, but also
many real advantages; for too much pains can never be taken to
interest the Public individually, and directly, in the success of
measures tending to promote the general good of society.
The following Proposals, which I will suppose to be made by some
person of known and respectable character, who has courage enough
to engage in so arduous an undertaking, will show my ideas upon
this subject in the clearest manner.--Whether they are well
founded, must be left to the reader to determine.--As to myself,
I am so much persuaded that the scheme here proposed, by way of
example, and merely for illustration, might be executed, that,
had I time for the undertaking, (which I have not,) I should not
hesitate to engage in it.
PROPOSALS for forming by private subscription, an ESTABLISHMENT
for feeding the Poor, and giving them useful Employment;
And also for furnishing Food at a cheap Rate to others who may
stand in need of such Assistance. Connected with an INSTITUTION
for introducing, and bringing forward into general Use, new
Inventions and Improvements, particularly such as relate to the
Management of Heat and the saving of Fuel; and to various other
mechanical Contrivances by which DOMESTIC COMFORT and ECONOMY may
be promoted.
Submitted to the Public,
By A. B.
The Author of these Proposals declares solemnly, in the face of
the whole world, that he has no interested view whatever in
making these Proposals; but is actuated merely and simply by a
desire to do good, and promote the happiness and prosperity of
society, and the honour and reputation of his country.--That he
never will demand, accept, or receive any pay or other recompence
or reward of any kind whatever from any person or persons,
for his services or trouble, in carrying into execution the proposed
scheme, or any part thereof, or for anything he may do or perform
in future relating to it, or to any of its details or concerns.
And, moreover, that he never will avail himself of any
opportunities that may offer in the execution of the plan
proposed, for deriving profit, emolument, or advantage of any
kind, either for himself, his friends, or connections;--but that,
on the contrary, he will take upon himself to be personally
responsible to the Public, and more immediately to the
Subscribers to this Undertaking, that NO PERSON shall FIND MEANS
to make a job of the proposed Establishment, or of any of the
details of its execution, or of its management, as long as the
Author of these Proposals remains charged with its direction.
With respect to the particular objects and extent of the proposed
Establishment, these may be seen by the account which is given of
them at the head of these Proposals; and as to their utility,
there can be no doubts. They certainly must tend very powerfully
to promote the comfort, happiness, and prosperity of society,
and will do honour to the nation, as well as to those individuals
who may contribute to carry them into execution.
With the regard to the possibility of carrying into effect the
proposed scheme;--the facility with which this may be done, will
be evident when the method of doing it, which will now be pointed
out, is duly considered.
As soon as a sum shall be subscribed sufficient for the purposes
intended, the Author of these Proposals will, by letters, request
a meeting of the TWENTY-FIVE persons who shall stand highest on
the list of subscribers, for the purpose of examining the
subscription-lists, and of appointing, by ballot, a committee,
composed of five persons, skilled in the details of building,
and in accounts, to collect the subscriptions, and to superintend
the execution of the plan.--This committee, which will be chosen
from among the subscribers at large, will be authorised and
directed, to examine all the works that will be necessary in
forming the Establishment, and see that they are properly
performed, and at reasonable prices;--to examine and approve of
all contracts for work, or for materials;--to examine and check
all accounts of expenditures of every kind, in the execution of
the plan;--and to give orders for all payments.
The general arrangement of the Establishment, and of all its
details, will be left to the Author of these Proposals; who will
be responsible for their success.--He engages, however, in the
prosecution of this business, to adhere faithfully to the plan
here proposed, and never to depart from it on any pretence
whatever.
With regard to the choice of a spot for erecting this Establishment,
a place will be chosen within the limits of the town, and in a
convenient and central a situation as possible, where ground
enough for the purpose is to be had at a reasonable price[5].
--The agreement for the purchase, or hire of this ground, and of
the buildings, if there be any on it, will, like all other
bargains and contracts, be submitted to the committee for their
approbation and ratification.
The order in which it is proposed to carry into execution the
different parts of the scheme is as follows:--First, to establish
a public kitchen for furnishing Food to such poor persons as
shall be recommended by the subscribers for such assistance.
This Food will be of four different sorts, namely,
No. I. A nourishing soup composed of barley--pease--potatoes,
and bread; seasoned with salt, pepper, and fine herbs.--The
portion of this soup, one pint and a quarter, weighing about
twenty ounces, will cost ONE PENNY.
No. II. A rich pease-soup, well seasoned;--with fried bread;--
the portion (twenty ounces) at TWO PENCE.
No. III. A rich and nourishing soup, or barley, pease, and
potatoes, properly seasoned;--with fried bread; and two ounces of
boiled bacon, cut fine and put into it.--The portion (20 ounces)
at FOUR PENCE.
No. IV. A good soup; with boiled meat and potatoes or cabbages,
or other vegetables; with 1/4 lb. of good rye bread, the portion
at SIX PENCE.
Adjoining to the kitchen, four spacious eating-rooms will be
fitted up, in each of which one only of the four different kinds
of Food prepared in the kitchen will be served.
Near the eating-rooms, other rooms will be neatly fitted up,
and kept constantly clean, and well warmed; and well lighted in
the evening; in which the Poor who frequent the Establishment
will be permitted to remain during the day, and till a certain
hour at night.--They will be allowed and even ENCOURAGED to bring
their work with them to these rooms; and by degrees they will be
furnished with utensils, and raw materials for working for their
own emolument, by the Establishment. Praises and rewards will be
bestowed on those who most distinguish themselves by their
industry, and by their peaceable and orderly behaviour.
In the fitting up of the kitchen, care will be taken to introduce
every useful invention and improvement, by which fuel may be
saved, and the various processes of cookery facilitated, and
rendered less expensive; and the whole mechanical arrangement
will be made as complete and perfect as possible, in order that
it may serve as a model for imitation; and care will be likewise
be taken in fitting up the dining-halls, and other rooms
belonging to the Establishment, to introduce the most approved
fire-places,--stoves,--flews, and other mechanical contrivances
for heating rooms and passages;--as also in lighting up the house
to make use of a variety of the best, most economical, and most
beautiful lamps; and in short, to collect together such an
assemblage of useful and elegant inventions, in every part of the
Establishment, as to render it not only an object of public
curiosity, but also of the most essential and extensive utility.
And although it will not be possible to make the Establishment
sufficiently extensive to accommodate all the Poor of so large a
city, yet it may easily be made large enough to afford a
comfortable asylum to a great number of distressed objects; and
the interesting and affecting scene it will afford to spectators,
can hardly fail to attract the curiosity of the Public; and there
is great reason to hope that the success of the experiment,
and the evident tendency of the measures adopted to promote the
comfort, happiness, and prosperity of society, will induce many
to exert themselves in forming similar Establishments in other
places.--It is even probable that the success which will attend
this first essay, (for successful it must, and will be, as care
will be taken to limit its extent to the means furnished for
carrying it into execution,) will encourage others, who do not
put down their names upon the lists of the subscribers at first,
to follow with subscription for the purpose of augmenting the
Establishment, and rendering it more extensively useful.
Should this be the case, it is possible that in a short time
subordinate public kitchens, with rooms adjoining them for the
accommodation of the industrious Poor, may be established in
all the parishes;--and when this is done, only one short step
more will be necessary in order to complete in the management
of the Poor. Poor rates may then be entirely abolished,
and VOLUNTARY SUBSCRIPTIONS, which certainly need never amount to
one half what the Poor rates now are, may be substituted in the
room of them, and one general establishment may be formed for the
relief and support of the Poor in this capital.
It will however be remembered that it is by no means the
intention of the Author of these Proposals that those who
contribute to the object immediately in view, the forming A MODEL
for an Establishment for feeding and giving employment to the Poor,
should be troubled with any future solicitations on that score;
very far from it, measures will be so taken, by limiting the
extent of the undertaking to the amount of the sums subscribed,
and by arranging matters so that the Establishment. once formed,
shall be able to support itself, that no farther assistance from
the subscribers will be necessary.--If any of them should, of
their accord, follow up their subscription by other donations,
these additional sums will be thankfully received, and faithfully
applied, to the general or particular purposes for which they may
be designed; but the subscribers may depend upon never being
troubled with any future SOLICITATIONS on any pretence whatever,
on account of the present undertaking.
A secondary object in forming this Establishment, and which will
be attended to as soon as the measures for feeding the Poor,
and giving them employment, are carried into execution, is the
forming of a grand repository of all kinds of USEFUL MECHANICAL
INVENTIONS, and particularly of such as relate to the furnishing
of houses, and are calculated to promote domestic comfort and
economy.
Such a repository will not only be highly interesting,
considered as an object of public curiosity, but it will be
really useful, and will doubtless contribute very powerfully to
the introduction of many essential improvements.
To render this part of the Establishment still more complete,
rooms will be set apart for receiving, and exposing to public
view, all such new and useful inventions as shall, from time to
time, be made, in this, or in any other country, and sent to the
institution; and a written account, containing the name of the
inventor,--the place where the article may be bought,--and the
price of it, will be attached to each article, for the
information of those who may be desirous of knowing any of these
particulars.
If the amount of the subscriptions should be sufficient to defray
the additional expence which such an arrangement would require,
models will be prepared, upon a reduced scale, for showing the
improvements which may be made in the construction of the
coppers, or boilers, used by brewers, and distillers, as also of
their fire-places; with a view both to the economy of the fuel,
and to convenience.
Complete kitchens will likewise be constructed, of the full size,
with all their utensils, as models for private families.--
And that these kitchens may not be useless, eating rooms may be
fitted up adjoining to them, and cooks engaged to furnish to
gentlemen, subscribers, or others, to whom subscribers may
delegate that right, good dinners, at the prime cost of the
victuals, and the expense of cooking, which together certainly
would not exceed ONE SHILLING A HEAD.
The public kitchen from whence the Poor will be fed will be so
constructed as to serve as a model for hospitals, and for other
great Establishments of similar nature.
The expense of feeding the Poor will be provided for by selling
the portions of Food delivered from the public kitchen at such a
price, that those expenses shall be just covered, and no more:--
so that the Establishment, when once completed, will be made to
support itself.
Tickets for Food (which may be considered as drafts upon the
public kitchen, payable at sight) will be furnished to all
persons who apply for them, in as far as it shall be possible to
supply the demands; but care will be taken to provide, first,
for the Poor who frequent regularly the working rooms belonging
to the Establishment; and secondly, to pay attention to the
recommendations of subscribers, by furnishing Food immediately,
or with the least possible delay, to those who come with
subscribers' tickets.
As soon as the Establishment shall be completed, every subscriber
will be furnished gratis with tickets for Food, to the amount of
ten per cent. of his subscription; the value of the tickets
being reckoned at what the portions of Food really cost, which
will be delivered to those who produce the tickets at the public
kitchen.--At the end of six months, tickets to the amount of ten
per cent. more, and so on, at the end of every six succeeding
months, tickets to the amount of ten per cent. of the sum
subscribed will be delivered to each subscriber till he shall
actually have received in tickets for Food, or drafts upon the
public kitchen, to the full amount of ONE HALF of his original
subscription.--And as the price at which this Food will be
charged, will be at the most moderate computation, at least FIFTY
PER CENT. cheaper than it would cost any where else, the
subscribers will in fact receive in these tickets the full value
of the sums they will have subscribed; so that in the end, the
whole advance will be repaid, and a most interesting, and most
useful public institution will be completely established WITHOUT
ANY EXPENSE TO ANYBODY--And the Author of these Proposals will
think himself most amply repaid for any trouble he may have in
the execution of this scheme, by the heartfelt satisfaction he
will enjoy in the reflection of having been instrumental in doing
essential service to mankind.
It is hardly necessary to add, that although the subscribers will
receive in return for their subscriptions the full value of them,
in tickets, or orders upon the public kitchen, for Food, yet the
property of the Whole Establishment, with all its appurtenances,
will nevertheless remain vested solely and entirely in the
subscribers, and their lawful heirs; and that they will have
power to dispose of it in any way they may think proper, as also
to give orders and directions for its future management.
(Signed)
"A. B."
London, 1st January
1796.
These Proposals, which should be printed, and distributed gratis,
in great abundance, should be accompanied with subscription-lists
which should be printed on fine writing-paper; and to save
trouble to the subscribers, might be of a peculiar form.--Upon
the top of a half-sheet of folio writing-paper might be printed,
the following Head of Title, and the remainder of that side of
the half-sheet, below this Head, might be formed into different
columns, thus:
SUBSCRIPTIONS,
For carrying into execution the scheme for forming an
Establishment for feeding the Poor from a Public KITCHEN,
and giving them useful employment, etc. proposed by A. B.
and particularly described in the printed paper, dated London,
1st January 1796, which accompanies this Subscription List.
N.B. No part of the money subscribed will be called for, unless
it be found that the amount of the subscriptions will be quite
sufficient to carry the scheme proposed into complete execution
without troubling the subscribers a second time for further
assistance.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Subscribers Names. I Place of Abode. I Sums subscribed.
-----------------------------------------------------------
I I pound. s. d.
I I
I I
I I
I I
I I
I I
that this list is authentic, and that the persons mentioned in it
have agreed to subscribe the sums placed against their names, is
attested by [ ]. The person who is so good as to take
charge of this list, is requested to authenticate it by signing
the above certificate, and then to seal it up and send it
according to the printed address on the back of it.
The address upon the back of the subscription lists, (which may
be that of the author of the Proposal, or of any other person he
may appoint to receive these lists,) should be printed in such a
manner that, when the list is folded up in the form of a letter,
the address may be in its proper place. This will save trouble to
those who take charge of these lists; and too much pains cannot
be taken to give as little trouble as possible to persons who are
solicited to contribute IN MONEY towards carrying into execution
schemes of public utility.
As a public Establishment like that here proposed would be highly
interesting, even were it to be considered in no other light than
merely as an object of curiosity, there is no doubt but it would
be much frequented; and it is possible that this concourse of
people might be so great as to render it necessary to make some
regulations in regard to admittance: but, whatever measures might
be adopted with respect to others, SUBSCRIBERS ought certainly to
have free admittance at all times to every part of the
Establishment,--They should even have a right individually to
examine all the details of its administration, and to require
from those employed as overseers, or managers, any information or
explanation they might want.--They ought likewise to be at
liberty to take drawings, or to have them taken by others,
(at their expense,) for themselves or for their friends,
of the kitchen, stoves, grates, furniture, etc. and in general of
every part of the machinery belonging to the Establishment.
In forming the Establishment, and providing the various machinery,
care should be taken to employ the most ingenious and most
respectable tradesmen; and if the name of the maker, and the
place of his abode were to be engraved or written on each
article, this, no doubt, would tend to excite emulation among the
artizans, and induce them to furnish goods of the best quality,
and at as low a price as possible.--It is even possible, that in
a great and opulent city like London, and where public spirit and
zeal for improvement pervade all ranks of society, many
respectable tradesmen in easy circumstances might be found,
who would have real pleasure in furnishing gratis such of the
articles wanted as are in their line of business: and the
advantages which might, with proper management, be derived from
this source, would most probably be very considerable.
With regard to the management of the Poor who might be collected
together for the purpose of being fed and furnished with
employment, in a Public Establishment like that here recommended,
I cannot do better than refer my reader to the account already
published (in my First Essay) of the manner in which the Poor at
Munich were treated in the house of industry established in that
city, and the means that were used to render them comfortable,
HAPPY, and industrious.
As soon as the scheme here recommended is carried into execution,
and measures are effectually taken for feeding the Poor at a
cheap rate, and giving them useful employment, no farther
difficulties will then remain, at least none certainly that are
insurmountable, to prevent the introduction of a general plan for
providing for all the Poor, founded upon the principles explained
and recommended in the preceding Chapters of this Essay.
CHAPTER. V.
Of the Means which may be used by Individuals in affluent
Circumstances for the Relief of the Poor in their Neighbourhood.
As nothing tends more powerfully to encourage idleness and
immorality among the Poor, and consequently to perpetuate all the
evils to society which arise from the prevalence of poverty and
mendicity, than injudicious distributions of alms; individuals
must be very cautious in bestowing their private charities,
and in forming schemes for giving assistance to the distressed;
otherwise they will most certainly do more harm than good.--
The evil tendency of giving alms indiscriminately to beggars is
universally acknowledged; but it is not, I believe, so generally
known how much harm is done by what are called the PRIVATE CHARITIES
of individuals.--Far be it from me to wish to discourage private
charities; I am only anxious that they should be better applied.
Without taking up time in analyzing the different motives by
which persons of various character are induced to give alms to
the Poor, or of showing the consequences of their injudicious or
careless donations; which would be an unprofitable as well as a
disagreeable investigation; I shall briefly point out what appear
to me to be the most effectual means which individuals in
affluent circumstances can employ for the assistance of the Poor
in their neighbourhood.
The most certain and efficacious relief that can be given to the
Poor is that which would be afforded them by forming a general
Establishment for giving them useful employment, and furnishing
them with the necessaries of life at a cheap rate; in short,
forming a Public Establishment similar in all respects to that
already recommended, and making it as extensive as circumstances
will permit.
An experiment might first be made in a single village, or in a
single parish; a small house, or two or three rooms only,
might be fitted up for the reception of the Poor, and
particularly of the children of the Poor; and to prevent the bad
impressions which are sometimes made by names which have been
become odious, instead of calling it a Work-house, it might be
called "A School of Industry," or, perhaps, Asylum would be a
better name for it.--One of these rooms should be fitted up as a
kitchen for cooking for the Poor; and a middle-aged women of
respectable character, and above all of a gentle and humane
disposition, should be placed at the head of this Establishment,
and lodged in the house.--As she should serve at the same time as
chief cook, and as steward of the institution, it would be
necessary that she should be able to write and keep accounts; and
in cases where the business of superintending the various details
of the Establishment would be too extensive to be performed by
one person, one or more assistants may be given her.
In large Establishments it might, perhaps, be best to place a
married couple, rather advanced in life, and without children,
at the head of the institution; but, whoever are employed in that
situation, care should be taken that they should be persons of
irreproachable character, and such as the Poor can have no reason
to suspect of partiality.
As nothing would tend more effectually to ruin an Establishment
of this kind, and prevent the good intended to be produced by it,
than the personal dislikes of the Poor to those put over them,
and more especially such dislikes as are founded on their
suspicions of their partiality, the greatest caution in the
choice of these persons will always be necessary: and in general
it will be best not to take them from among the Poor, or at least
not from among those of the neighbourhood, nor such as have
relations, acquaintances, or other connexions among them.
Another point to be attended to in the choice of a person to be
placed at the head of such an Establishment, (and it is a point
of more importance than can well be imagined by those who have
not considered the matter with some attention)-- is the looks or
EXTERNAL APPEARANCE of the person destined for this employment.
All those who have studied human nature, or have taken notice of
what passes in themselves when they approach for the first time a
person who has any thing very strongly marked in his countenance,
will feel how very important it is that a person placed at the
head of an asylum for the reception of the Poor and the
unfortunate should have an open, pleasing countenance, such as
inspires confidence and conciliates affection and esteem.
Those who are in distress, are apt to be fearful and apprehensive,
and nothing would be so likely to intimidate and discourage them
as the forbidding aspect of a stern and austere countenance in
the person they were taught to look up to for assistance and
protection.
The external appearance of those who are destined to command
others is always a matter of real importance, but it is
peculiarly so when those to be commanded and directed are objects
of pity and commiseration.
Where there are several gentlemen who live in the neighbourhood
of the same town or village where an Establishment, or Asylum,
(as I would wish it might be called,) for the Poor is to be
formed, they should all unite to form ONE ESTABLISHMENT, instead
of each forming a separate one; and it will likewise be very
useful in all cases to invite all ranks of people resident within
the limits of the district in which an Establishment is formed,
except those who are actually in need of assistance themselves,
to contribute to carry into execution such a public undertaking;
for though the sums the more indigent and necessitous of the
inhabitants may be able to spare may be trifling, yet their being
invited to take part in so laudable an undertaking will be
flattering to them, and the sums they contribute, however small
they may be, will give them a sort of property in the
Establishment, and will effectually engage their good wishes at
least, (which are of more importance in such cases than is
generally imagined,) for its success.
How far the relief which the Poor would receive from the
execution of a scheme like that here proposed ought to preclude
them from a participation of other public charities, (in the
distribution of the sums levied upon the inhabitants in Poor's
taxes, for instance, where such exist,) must be determined in
each particular case according to the existing circumstances.
It will, however, always be indispensably necessary where the same
poor person receives charitable assistance from two or more
separate institutions, or from two or more private individuals,
at the same time, for each to know exactly the amount of what the
others give, otherwise too much or too little may be given,
and both tend to discourage INDUSTRY, the only source of effectual
relief to the distresses and the misery of the Poor.--And hence
may again be seen the great importance of what I have so often
insisted on, the rendering of measures for the relief of the Poor
as general as possible.
To illustrate in the clearest manner, and in as few words as
possible, the plan I would recommend for forming an Establishment
for the Poor on a small scale--such as any individual even of
moderate property, might easily execute; I will suppose that a
gentleman, resident in the country upon his own estate, has come
to a resolution to form such an Establishment in a village near
his house, and will endeavour briefly to point out the various
steps he would probably find it necessary to take in the
execution of this benevolent and most useful undertaking.
He would begin by calling together at his house the clergyman of
the parish, overseers of the Poor, and other parish officers, to
acquaint them with his intentions, and ask their assistance and
friendly co-operation in the prosecution of the plan; the details
of which he would communicate to them as far as he should think
it prudent and necessary at the first outset to entrust them
indiscriminately with that information.--The characters of the
persons, and the private interest they might have to promote or
oppose the measures intended to be pursued, would decide upon the
degree of confidence which ought to be given them.
At this meeting, measures should be taken for forming the most
complete and most accurate lists of all the Poor resident within
the limits proposed to be given to the Establishment, with a
detailed account of every circumstance, relative to their
situation, and their wants.--Much time and trouble will be saved
in making out these lists, by using printed forms or blanks
similar to those made use of at Munich; and these printed forms
will likewise contribute very essentially to preserve order and
to facilitate business, in the management of a private as well as
of a public charity;--as also to prevent the effects of
misrepresentation and partiality on the part of those who must
necessarily be employed in these details.
Convenient forms or models for these blanks will be given in the
Appendix to this volume.
At this meeting, measures may be taken for numbering all the
houses in the village or district, and for setting on foot
private subscriptions among the inhabitants for carrying the
proposed scheme into execution.
Those who are invited to subscribed should be made acquainted,
by a printed address accompanying the subscription lists, with the
nature, extent, and tendency of the measures adopted; and should
be assured that, as soon as the undertaking shall be completed,
the Poor will not only be relieved, and their situation made more
comfortable, but mendicity will be effectually prevented, and at
the same time the Poor's rates, or the expense to the public for
the support of the Poor, very considerably lessened.
These assurances, which will be the strongest inducements that
can be used to prevail on the inhabitants of all descriptions to
enter warmly into the scheme, and assist with alacrity in
carrying it into execution, should be expressed in the strongest
terms; and all persons of every denomination, young and old, and
of both sexes, (paupers only excepted,) should be invited to put
down their names in the subscription lists, and this even,
HOWEVER SMALL THE SUMS MAY BE WHICH THEY ARE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE.
--Although the sums which day-labourers, servants, and other in
indigent circumstances may be able to contribute, may be very
trifling, yet there is one important reason why they ought always
to be engaged to put down their names upon the lists as subscribers,
and that is the goods effects which their taking an active part
in the undertaking will probably produce ON THEMSELVES.--Nothing
tends more to mend the heart, and awaken in the mind a regard for
character, than acts of charity and benevolence; and any person
who has once felt that honest pride and satisfaction which result
from a consciousness of having been instrumental in doing good by
relieving the wants of the Poor, will be rendered doubly careful
to avoid the humiliation of becoming himself an object of public
charity.
It was a consideration of these salutary effects, which may
always be expected to be produced upon the minds of those who
take an active and VOLUNTARY part in the measures adopted for the
relief of the Poor, that made me prefer voluntary subscriptions,
to taxes, in raising the sums necessary for the support of the
Poor, and all the experience I have had in these matters has
tended to confirm me in the opinion I have always had of their
superior utility,--Not only day-labourers and domestic servants,
but their young children, and all the children of the nobility
and other inhabitants of Munich, and even the non-commissioned
officers and private soldiers of the regiments in garrison in
that city, were invited to contribute to the support of the
institution for the Poor; and there are very few indeed of any
age or condition (paupers only excepted) whose names are not to
be found on the lists of subscribers.
The subscriptions at Munich are by families, as has elsewhere
been observed; and this method I would recommend in the case
under consideration, and in all others.--The head of the family
takes the trouble to collect all the sums subscribed upon his
family list, and to pay them into the hands of those who
(on the part of the institution) are sent round on the first Sunday
morning of every month to receive them; but the names of all the
individuals who compose the family are entered on the list at
full length, with the sum each contributes.
Two lists of the same tenor must be made out for each family;
one of which must be kept by the head of the family for his
information and direction, and the other sent in to those who
have the general direction of the Establishment.
These subscription-lists should be printed; and they should be
carried round and left with the heads of families, either by the
person himself who undertakes to form the Establishment,
(which will always be best,) or at least by his steward, or some
other person of some consequence belonging to his household.
--Forms or models for these lists may be seen in the Appendix.
When these lists are returned, the person who has undertaken to
form the Establishment will see what pecuniary assistance he is
to expect; and he will either arrange his plan, or determine the
sum he may think proper to contribute himself, according to that
amount.--He will likewise consider how far it will be possible
and ADVISABLE to connect his scheme with any Establishment for
the relief of the Poor already existing; or to act in concert
with those in whose hands the management of the Poor is vested by
the laws.--These circumstances are all important; and the manner
of proceeding in carrying the proposed scheme into execution
must, in a great measure, be determined by them. Nothing,
however, can prevent the undertaking from being finally
successful, provided the means used for making it so are adopted
with caution, and pursued with perseverance.
However adverse those may be to the scheme who, were they well
disposed, could most effectually contribute to its success--yet
no opposition which can be given to it by INTERESTED PERSONS,--
such as find means to derive profit to themselves in the
administration of the affairs of the Poor;--no opposition, I say,
from such persons, (and none surely but these can ever be
desirous of opposing it,) can prevent the success of a measure so
evidently calculated to increase the comforts and enjoyments of
the Poor, and to promote the general good of society.
If the overseers of the Poor, and other parish officers, and a
large majority of the principal inhabitants, could be made to
enter warmly into the scheme, it might, and certainly would,
in many cases, be possible, even without any new laws or acts of
parliament being necessary to authorize the undertaking,
to substitute the arrangements proposed in the place of the old
method of providing for the Poor;--abolishing entirely, or in so
far as it should be found necessary,--the old system, and
carrying the scheme proposed into execution as a GENERAL MEASURE.
In all cases where this can be effected, it ought certainly to be
preferred to any private or less general institution; and
individuals, who, by their exertions, are instrumental in
bringing about so useful a change, will render a very essential
service to society:--But even in cases where it would not be
possible to carry the scheme proposed into execution in its
fullest extent, much good may be done by individuals in affluent
circumstances to the Poor, by forming PRIVATE ESTABLISHMENTS for
feeding them and giving them employment.
Much relief may likewise be afforded them by laying in a large
stock of fuel, purchased when it is cheap, and retailing it out
to them in small quantities, in times of scarcity, at the prime
cost.
It is hardly to be believed how much the Poor of Munich have been
benefited by the Establishment of the Wood-magazine, from whence
they are furnished in winter, during the severe frosts,
with fire-wood at the price it costs when purchased in summer,
in large quantities, and at the cheapest rate. And this arrangement
may easily be adopted in all countries, and by private individuals
as well as by communities. Stores may likewise be laid in of
potatoes, peas, beans, and other articles of food, to be
distributed to the Poor in like manner, in small quantities,
and at low prices; which will be a great relief to them in times
of scarcity. It will hardly be necessary for me to observe,
that in administering this kind of relief to the Poor it will
often be necessary to take precautions to prevent abuses.
Another way in which private individuals may greatly assist the
Poor, is, by showing them how they may make themselves more
comfortable in their dwellings. Nothing is more perfectly
miserable and comfortless than the domestic arrangement of poor
families in general; they seem to have no idea whatever of order
or economy in any thing; and every thing about them is dreary,
sad, and neglected, in the extreme. A little attention to order
and arrangement would contribute greatly to their comfort and
conveniences, and also to economy. They ought in particular to
be shown how to keep their habitations warm in winter, and to
economise fuel, as well in heating their rooms, as in cooking,
washing, etc.
It is not to be believed what the waste of fuel really is, in the
various processes in which it is employed in the economy of human
life; and in no case is this waste greater than in the domestic
management of the Poor. Their fire-places are in general
constructed upon the most wretched principles; and the fuel they
consume in them, instead of heating their rooms, not unfrequently
renders them really colder, and more uncomfortable, by causing
strong currents of cold air to flow in from all the doors and
windows to the chimney. This imperfection of their fire-places
may be effectually remedied;--these currents of cold air
prevented,--above half their fuel saved,--and their dwellings
made infinitely more comfortable, merely by diminishing their
fire-places, and the throats of their chimnies just above the
mantle-piece; which may be done as a very every trifling expence,
with a few bricks, or stones, and a little mortar, by the most
ordinary bricklayer. And with regard to the expence of fuel for
cooking, so simple a contrivance as an earthen pot, broad at top,
for receiving a stew-pan, or kettle, and narrow at bottom, with
holes through its sides near the bottom, for letting in air under
a small circular iron grate, and other small holes near the top
for letting out the smoke, may be introduced with great advantage.
By making use of this little portable furnace, (which is equally
well adapted to burn wood, or coals.)--one eighth part of the
fuel will be sufficient for cooking, which would be required were
the kettle to be boiled over an open fire.--To strengthen this
portable furnace, it may be hooped with iron hoops, or bound
round with strong iron wire:--but I forget that I am anticipating
the subject of a future Essay.
Much good may also be done to the Poor by teaching them how to
prepare various kinds of cheap and wholesome food, and to render
them savoury and palatable.--The art of cookery, notwithstanding
its infinite importance to mankind, has hitherto been little
studied; and among the more indigent classes of society, where it
is most necessary to cultivate it, it seems to have been most
neglected.--No present that could be made to a poor family could
be of more essential service to them than a thin, light stew-pan,
with its cover, made of wrought, or cast iron, and fitted to a
portable furnace, or close fire-place, constructed to save fuel;
with two or three approved receipts for making nourishing and
savoury soups and broths at a small expence.
Such a present might alone be sufficient to relieve a poor family
from all their distresses, and make them permanently comfortable;
for the expences of a poor family for food might, I am persuaded,
in most cases be diminished ONE HALF by a proper attention to
cookery, and to the economy of fuel; and the change in the
circumstances of such a family, which would be produced by
reducing their expenses for food to one half what it was before,
is easier to be conceived than described.
It would hardly fail to re-animate the courage of the most
desponding;--to cheer their drooping spirits, and stimulate them
to fresh exertions in the pursuits of useful industry.
As the only effectual means of putting an end to the sufferings
of the Poor is the introduction of a spirit of industry among
them, individuals should never lose sight of that great and
important object, in all the measures they may adopt to relieve
them.--But in endeavouring to make the Poor industrious,
the utmost caution will be necessary to prevent their being
disgusted.--Their minds are commonly in a state of great
irritation, the natural consequences of their sufferings, and of
their hopeless situation; and their suspicions of every body
about them, and particularly of those who are set over them,
are so deeply rooted that it is sometimes extremely difficult to
sooth and calm the agitation of their minds, and gain their
confidence. --This can be soonest and most effectually done by
kind and gentle usage; and I am clearly of opinion that no other
means should ever be used, except it be with such hardened and
incorrigible wretches as are not to be reclaimed by any means;
but of these, I believe, there are very few indeed.--I have never
yet found one, in all the course of my experience in taking care
of the Poor.
We have sometimes been obliged to threaten the most idle and
profligate with the house of correction; but these threats,
added to the fear of being banished from the House of Industry,
which has always been held up and considered as the greatest
punishment, have commonly been sufficient for keeping the unruly
in order.
If the force of example is irresistible in debauching men's minds,
and leading them into profligate and vicious courses, it is not
less so in reclaiming them, and rendering them orderly, docile,
and industrious; and hence the infinite importance of collecting
the Poor together in Public Establishments, where every thing
about them is animated by unaffected cheerfulness, and by that
pleasing gaiety, and air of content and satisfaction,
which always enliven the busy scenes of useful industry.
I do not believe it would be possible for any person to be idle
in the House of Industry at Munich. I never saw any one idle;
often as I have passed through the working-rooms; nor did I ever
see any one to whom the employments of industry seemed to be
painful or irksome.
Those who are collected together in the public rooms destined for
the reception and accommodation of the Poor in the day-time, will
not need to be forced, nor even urged to work;--if there are in
the room several persons who are busily employed in the cheerful
occupations of industry, and if implements and materials for
working are at hand, all the others present will not fail to be
soon drawn into the vortex, and joining with alacrity in the
active scene, their dislike to labour will be forgotten, and they
will become by habit truly and permanently industrious.
Such is the irresistible power of example!--Those who know how
to manage this mighty engine and have opportunities of employing
it with effect, may produce the most miraculous changes, in the
manners, disposition, and character, even of whole nations.
In furnishing raw materials to the Poor to work, it will be
necessary to use many precautions to prevent frauds and abuses,
not only on the part of the Poor, who are often but too much
disposed to cheat and deceive whenever they find opportunities,
but also on the part of those employed in the details of this
business:--but the fullest information having already been given
in my First Essay, of all the various precautions it had been
found necessary to take for the purposes in question in the House
of Industry at Munich, it is not necessary for me to enlarge upon
the subject in this place, or to repeat what has already been
said upon it elsewhere.
With regard to the manner in which good and wholesome food for
feeding the Poor may be prepared in a public kitchen, at a cheap
rate, I must refer my reader to my Essay on Food; where he will
find all the information on that subject which he can require.
--In my Essay on Clothing, he will see how good and comfortable
clothing may be furnished to the Poor at a very moderate
expence; and in that on the Management of Heat, he will find
particular directions for the Poor for saving fuel.
I cannot finish this Essay, without taking notice of a difficulty
which frequently occur in giving employment to the Poor, that of
disposing to advantage of the produce of their labour:--This is
in all cases a very important object; and too much attention
cannot be paid to it.--A spirit of industry cannot be kept up by
making it advantageous to individuals to be industrious; but
where the wages which the labourer has a right to expect are
refused, it will not be possible to prevent his being discouraged
and disgusted.--He may perhaps be forced for a certain time to
work for small wages, to prevent starving, if he has not the
resource of throwing himself upon the parish, which he most
probably would prefer doing, should it be in his option; but he
will infallibly conceive such a thorough dislike to labour,
that he will become idle and vicious, and a permanent and heavy
burden on the public.
If "a labourer is worthy of his hire," he is peculiarly so,
where that labourer is a poor person, who, with all his
exertions, can barely procure the first necessaries of life;
and whose hard lot renders him an object of pity and compassion.
The deplorable situation of a poor family, struggling with
poverty and want,--deprived of all the comforts and conveniences
of life--deprived even of hope; and suffering at the same time
from hunger, disease, and mortifying and cruel disappointment, is
seldom considered with that attention which it deserves, by those
who have never felt these distresses, and who are not in danger
of being exposed to them. My reader must pardon me, if I
frequently recall his attention to these scenes of misery and
wretchedness. He must be made acquainted with the real
situation of the Poor--with the extent and magnitude of their
misfortunes and sufferings, before it can be expected that he
should enter warmly into measures calculated for their relief.
In forming Establishments, public or private, for giving employment
to the Poor, it will always be indispensably necessary to make
such arrangements as will secure to them a fair price for all the
labour they perform. They should not be OVER-PAID, for that
would be opening a door for abuse;--but they ought to be
generously paid for their work; and, above all, they ought never
to be allowed to be idle for the want of employment. The kind of
employment it may be proper to give them will depend much on
local circumstances. It will depend on the habits of the Poor;--
the kinds of work they are acquainted with;--and the facility
with which the articles they can manufacture may be disposed of
at a good price.
In very extensive Establishments, there will be little difficulty
in finding useful employment for the Poor; for where the number
of persons to be employed is very great, a great variety of
different manufactures may be carried on with advantage, and all
the articles manufactured, or prepared to be employed in the
manufactures, may be turned to a good account.
In a small Establishment, circumscribed and confined to the
limits of a single village or parish, it might perhaps be
difficult to find a good market for the yarn spun by the Poor;
but in a general Establishment, extending over a whole country,
or large city, as the quantity of yarn spun by all the Poor
within the extensive limits of the institution will be sufficient
to employ constantly a number of weavers of different kinds of
cloth and stuff, the market for all the various kinds of yarn the
Poor may spin will always be certain. The same reasoning will
hold with regard to various other articles used in great
manufactories, upon which the Poor might be very usefully
employed; and hence the great advantage of making Establishments
for giving employment to the Poor as extensive as possible.
It is what I have often insisted on, and what I cannot too strongly
recommend to all those who engage in forming such Establishments.
Although I certainly should not propose to BRING TOGETHER, under
one roof, all the Poor of a whole kingdom, as, by the inscription
over the entrance into a vast hospital began, but not finished,
at Naples, it would appear was once the intention of the
government in that country; yet I am clearly of opinion that an
institution for GIVING EMPLOYMENT TO THE POOR can hardly be too
extensive.
But to return to the subject to which this Chapter was more
particularly appropriated, the relief that may be afforded by
private individuals to the Poor in their neighbourhood; in case it
should not be possible to get over all the difficulties that may
be in the way to prevent the forming of a general Establishment
for the benefit of the Poor, individuals must content themselves
with making such private arrangements for that purpose as they
may be able, WITH SUCH ASSISTANCE AS THEY CAN COMMAND, to carry
into execution.
The most simple, and least expensive measure that can be adopted
for the assistance of the Poor will be that of furnishing them
with raw materials for working. Flax, hemp, or wool, for instance,
for spinning; and paying them in money, at the market price, for
the yarn spun. This yarn may afterwards be sent to weavers to be
manufactured into cloth, or may be sent to some good market and
sold. The details of these mercantile transactions will be
neither complicated nor troublesome, and might easily be managed
by a steward of house-keeper; particularly if the printed tickets,
and tables, I have so often had occasion to recommend, are used.
The flax, hemp, or wool, as soon as it is purchased, should be
weighed out into bundles of one or two pounds each, and lodged in
a store-room; and when one of these bundles is delivered out to a
poor person to be spun, it should be accompanied with a printed
spin-ticket, and entered in a table to be kept for that purpose;
and when it is returned spun, an abstract of the spin-ticket
itself, should be bound up with the bundle of yarn, in order that
any frauds committed by the spinner, in reeling, or in any other
way, which may be discovered upon winding off the yarn, may be
brought home to the person who committed them. When it is known
that such effectual precautions to detect frauds are used, no
farther attempts will be made to defraud; and a most important
point indeed will be gained, and one which will most powerfully
tend to mend the morals of the Poor, and restore peace to their
minds. When, by rendering it evidently impossible for them to
escape detection, they are brought to give up all thoughts of
cheating and deceiving; they will then be capable of application,
and of enjoying real happiness, and, with open and placid
countenances, will look every one full in the face who accosts
them: but as long as they are under the influence of temptation
--as long as their minds are degraded by conscious guilt,
and continually agitated by schemes of prosecuting their
fraudulent practices, they are as incapable of enjoying peace or
contentment, as they are of being useful members of society.
Hence the extreme cruelty of an ill-judged appearance of
confidence, or careless neglect of precautions, in regard to
those employed in places of trust, who may be exposed to
temptations to defraud.
That prayer, which cannot be enough admired, or too often
repeated, "LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION," was certainly dictated
by infinite wisdom and goodness; and it should ever be borne in
mind by those who are placed in stations of power and authority,
and whose measures must necessarily have much influence on the
happiness or misery of great numbers of people.
Honest men may be found in all countries; but I am sorry to say,
that the result of all my experience and observation has tended
invariably to prove, (what has often been remarked,) that it is
extremely difficult to KEEP THOSE HONEST who are exposed to
continual and great temptations.
There is, however, one most effectual way, not only of keeping
those honest who are so already, but also of making those honest
who are not so; and that is, by taking such precautions as will
render it EVIDENTLY impossible for those who commit frauds to
escape detection and punishment: and these precautions are never
impossible, and seldom difficult; and with a little address, they
may always be so taken as to be in nowise offensive to those who
are the objects of them.
It is evident that the maxims and measures here recommended are
not applicable merely to the Poor, but also, and more especially,
to those who may be employed in the details of relieving them.
But to return once more to the subject more immediately under
consideration.--If individuals should extend their liberality so
far as to establish public kitchens for feeding the Poor,
(which is a measure I cannot too often, or too forcibly recommend,)
it would be a great pity not to go one easy step further, and fit
up a few rooms adjoining to the kitchen, where the Poor may be
permitted to assemble to work for their own emoluments, and where
schools for instructing the children of the Poor in working, and
in reading and writing, may be established. Neither the fitting
up, or warming and lighting of these rooms, will be attended with
any considerable expense; while the advantages which will be
derived from such an Establishment for encouraging industry, and
contributing to the comfort of the Poor, will be most important;
and from their peculiar nature, and tendency, will be most highly
interesting to every benevolent mind.
END OF ESSAY TWO.
Footnotes for Essay II.
[1]
This English Reader is desired to bear in mind, that the Author
of this Essay, though an Englishman, is resident in Germany;
and that his connections with that country render it necessary for
him to pay particular attention to its circumstances, in treating
a subject which he is desirous of rendering generally useful.
These is still another reason, which renders it necessary for him
to have continually in view, in the Treatise, the situation of
the Poor upon the Continent, and that it is an engagement which
he has laid himself under to write upon that subject.
[2]
The only step which, in my opinion, it would be either,
necessary, or prudent, for the legislature to take in any country
where an Establishment for the Poor is to be formed, is to
RECOMMEND to the Public a good plan for such an Establishment,
and repeal, or alter all such of the existing laws as might
render the introduction of it difficult or impossible.
[3]
This is an object of the utmost importance, and the success of
the undertaking will depend in a great measure on the attention
that is paid to it.
[4]
This measure has been followed by the most salutary effects at
Munich. The commissaries of districts flattered by this
distinction have exerted themselves with uncommon zeal and
assiduity in the discharge of the important duties of their
office. And very important indeed is the office of a commissary
of a district in the Establishment for the Poor at Munich.
[5]
It will be best, if it be possible, to mention and describe the
place, in the Proposals.
CONTENTS of ESSAY III.
of FOOD and particularly of FEEDING the POOR
Introduction.
CHAPTER. I.
Great importance of the subject under consideration.
Probability that water acts a much more important part in
nutrition than has hitherto been generally imagined.
Surprisingly small quantity of solid food necessary,
when properly prepared, for all the purposes of nutrition.
Great importance of the art of cookery.
Barley remarkably nutritive when properly prepared.
The importance of culinary processes for preparing food shown
from the known utility of a practice common in some parts of
Germany of cooking for cattle.
Difficulty of introducing a charge of cookery into common use.
Means that may be employed for that purpose.
CHAPTER. II.
Of the pleasure of eating, and of the means that may be
employed for increasing it.
CHAPTER. III.
Of the different kinds of food furnished to the poor in the
house of industry at Munich, with an account of the cost of them.
Of the Expense of providing the same kinds of food in Great
Britain, as well at the present high prices of provisions,
as at the ordinary prices of them.
Of the various improvements of which these different kinds of
cheap food are capable.
CHAPTER. IV.
Of the small expense at which the Bavarian soldiers are fed.
Details of their housekeeping, founded on actual experiment.
An account of the fuel expended by them in cooking.
CHAPTER. V.
Of the great importance of making soldiers eat together in
regular messes.
The influence of such economical arrangements extends even to
the moral character of those who are the objects of them.
Of the expence of feeding soldiers in messes.
Of the surprising smallness of the expence of feeding the poor
at Munich.
Specific proposals respecting the feeding of the poor in Great
Britain, with calculations of the expense, at the present
prices of provisions.
CHAPTER. VI.
Of INDIAN CORN.
It affords the cheapest and most nourishing food known.
Proofs that it is more nourishing than rice.
Different ways of preparing or cooking it.
Computation of the expense of feeding a person with it,
founded on experiment.
Approved Receipt for making an INDIAN PUDDING.
CHAPTER. VII.
Receipts for preparing various Kinds of cheap Food.
Of MACCARONI.
Of POTATOES.
Approved receipts for boiling potatoes.
Of potatoe puddings.
Of potatoe dumplings.
Of boiled potatoes with a sauce.
Of potatoe salad.
Of BARLEY
Is much more nutritious than wheat.
Barley meal, a good substitute for pearl barley, for making
soups.
General directions for preparing cheap soups.
Receipt for the cheapest soup that can be made.
Of SAMP
Method of preparing it
Is an excellent Substitute for Bread.
Of brown Soup.
Of RYE BREAD.
ESSAY III.
INTRODUCTION.
It is a common saying, that necessity is the mother of
invention; and nothing is more strictly or more generally true.
It may even be shown, that most of the successive improvements
in the affairs of men in a state of civil society, of which we
have any authentic records, have been made under the pressure
of necessity; and it is no small consolation, in times of
general alarm, to reflect upon the probability that, upon such
occasions, useful discoveries will result from the united
exertions of those who, either from motives of fear, or
sentiments of benevolence, labour to avert the impending evil.
The alarm in this country at the present period[1], on account
of the high price of corn, and the danger of a scarcity, has
turned the attention of the Public to a very important subject,
THE INVESTIGATION OF THE SCIENCE OF NUTRITION;--a subject so
curious in itself, and so highly interesting to mankind, that
it seems truly astonishing it should have been so long neglected:--
but in the manner in which it is now taken up, both by the
House of Commons, and the Board of Agriculture, there is great
reason to hope that it will receive a thorough scientific
examination; and if this should be the case, I will venture to
predict, that the important discoveries, and improvements,
which must result from these enquiries, will render the alarms
which gave rise to them for ever famous in the annals of civil
society.
CHAPTER. I.
Great importance of the subject under consideration.
Probability that water acts a much more important part in
nutrition than has hitherto been generally imagined.
Surprisingly small quantity of solid food necessary,
when properly prepared, for all the purposes of nutrition.
Great importance of the art of cookery.
Barley remarkably nutritive when properly prepared.
The importance of culinary processes for preparing food shown
from the known utility of a practice common in some parts of
Germany of cooking for cattle.
Difficulty of introducing a charge of cookery into common use.
Means that may be employed for that purpose.
There is, perhaps, no operation of Nature, which falls under
the cognizance of our senses, more surprising, or more curious,
than the nourishment and growth of plants, and animals; and
there is certainly no subject of investigation more interesting
to mankind.--As providing subsistence is, and ever must be, an
object of the first concern in all countries, any discovery or
improvement by which the procuring of good and wholesome food
can be facilitated, must contribute very powerfully to increase
the comforts, and promote the happiness of society.
That our knowledge in regard to the science of nutrition is
still very imperfect, is certain; but, I think there is reason
to believe, that we are upon the eve of some very important
discoveries relative to that mysterious operation.
Since it has been known that Water is not a simple element,
but a COMPOUND, and capable of being decomposed, much light has
been thrown upon many operations of nature which formerly were
wrapped up in obscurity. In vegetation, for instance, it has
been rendered extremely probable, that water acts a much more
important part than was formerly assigned to it by philosophers.
--That it serves not merely as the VEHICLE of nourishment,
but constitutes at least one part, and probably an essential part,
of the FOOD of plants.--That it is decomposed by them, and
contributes MATERIALLY to their growth;--and that manures serve
rather to prepare the water for decomposition, than to form of
themselves--substantially, and directly--the nourishment of
the vegetables.