People, aiming to be maintained any way rather than by Labour, betake
themselves to all sorts of Villanies; the ill Consequences whereof
cannot be prevented, but by encouraging Youth in an early delight of
Living by Industry, and on what they call their Own, rather than by
Dependance on others, which will keep up a true British Spirit, and
put them on Honest Endeavours, and this will get them Credit and
Reputation, and give them Opportunities of advancing their Fortunes;
and if such an Emulation went through the Kingdom, we should not have
so many Lazy Beggars, or Licentious Livers, as now there are; Nor is
GOD more honour’d among any, than He is among such Industrious
People, who abhor Vice, on equal Principles of Religion and good
Husbandry, Labour being usually a Barrier against Sin, which doth
generally enter at the Doors of Idleness.
[Sidenote: Mr. Edward Colson’s Two Almshouses in Bristol.]
The Third Consideration is, What Methods must be used to provide for
those, who either are not able to work, or whose Labour can’t
support their Charge; Here I take Alms-houses to be good Gifts, where
they are designed to relieve Old Age, or Educate Youth; not to
maintain idle Beggars, or ease Rich Parishes, but to provide for
those who have been bred up in Careful Employments, tho’ not able
to stem the Current of Cross Fortunes: Two such have been sumptuously
Founded, and suitably Endowed, in the City of _Bristol_, _Edward
Colson_, Esq; a Merchant and Native thereof, who is still living; one
of them for Twenty Four Men and Women, who had formerly lived well;
the Other for One hundred Boys, to be Educated in the Principles of
Vertue, and afterwards set out to Trades, whereby they may get their
Livelihoods; a Charity so great in it self, and carried on so free
from Ostentation, that the like is not to be seen in any Part of this
Kingdom, of the Free Gift of One Gentleman in his Life-time; which he
hath settled in the Society of Merchants Adventurers within That
City, of whose Care and Fidelity in the well Management thereof, he
is fully Satisfied.
Another way to provide for those who are true Objects of Charity is,
by taking Care that the Poors Rates be made with more equality in
Cities and great Towns, especially in the former; where the greatest
Number of Poor usually residing together in the Suburbs or
Out-Parishes, are very Serviceable by their Labours to the Rich, in
carrying on their Trades; yet when Age, Sickness, or a Numerous
Family, make them desire Relief, their chief Dependance must be on
People but one step above their own Conditions; by which means these
Out-Parishes are more burthened in their Payments, than the
In-Parishes are, tho’ much Richer, and is one Reason why they are
so ill Inhabited, no Man careing to come to a certain Charge: And
this is attended with another ill Consequence, the want of better
Inhabitants making way for those Disorders which easily grow among
the Poor; whereas, if Cities and Towns were made but one Poors Rate,
or equally divided into more, these Inconveniencies would be removed,
and the Poor be maintained by a more equal Contribution.
[Sidenote: Hospital for Ancient Sailors and their Widdows.]
And that a better Provision may be made for the Relief of Sailors
(who having spent their Labours in the Service of the Nation, and
through Age and Disasters are no longer fit for the Fatigues of the
Sea, ought to be taken Care of at Home) let a small Deduction be made
from the Freights of Ships, and from Seamens Wages, to be Collected
by a Society of honest Men in every Sea-Port; This, with what
Additions might be made by the Gifts of Worthy Benefactors, would be
sufficient to Raise a Fund, to maintain them in their Old-Age, who in
their Youths were our Walls and Bulwarks; But it must be settled by
Law, and no Man left at his Liberty whether he will pay or no; These
are generally the most Laborious People that we have; I do not mean
those scoundrel Fellows, who often creep in under that Name, but the
true Sailor, who can turn his hand to any thing rather than begging,
and I am many times troubled to see the Miserable Conditions they and
their Families are reduced to, when their Labours are done;
Alms-Houses Raised for them, are as great Acts of Piety as Building
of Churches; Age requires Relief, especially where Youth hath been
spent in Labour so Profitable to the Publick as That of a Sailor; And
not only themselves, but their Widows ought to be provided for; In
this the Worshipful Society of the Merchants Adventurers within the
City of _Bristol_ are a Worthy Pattern.
And as for those who loose their Lives or Limbs Fighting against the
Enemy, Themselves or Families ought to be rewarded with Bountiful
Stipends, which if Raised by a Tax, I doubt not would be cheerfully
paid; ’Tis attended with sad Thoughts, when a Woman sees her
Husband Prest into the Service, and knows if He miscarries her Family
is undone, and She and They must come to the Parish; whereas if this
Provision was made, the Fleet would be more easily Mann’d, our
Merchants Ships better defended, Sailors more ready to serve in both,
and their Wives to let them go; But great Care must be taken, that
Charity be not Abused, by being put into the Pockets of those who are
appointed to dispose of it.
These or such like Heads being laid down in a former Discourse on
this Subject, the Magistrates of the City of _Bristol_ were the first
that approved of the Scheme, and desired the Substance thereof might
be reduced to Particulars, suitable for that Place; whereupon the
following Proposals were laid before them, _viz._
That a Spacious Work-House be erected in some Vacant Place within
this City on a General Charge, large enough for the Poor who are to
be Employed therein, and also with Rooms for such, who being unable
to Work, are to be relieved by Charity.
That the Rules of this House be such, as may force all Persons to
Work, that are able, and encourage the Manufacturers of this City to
supply them with Materials to Work on; which they will be ready to
do, having so good a Security as this will be for their being
returned to them again when Wrought up.
That all People who are not able to maintain their Children, may put
them into this Work-House or Hospital at what Ages they will, where
they shall be settled till the Age of ### Years, by which means they
may in the end be of no Charge to the said Work-House or Hospital;
And the good Effects will be these, Children will be bred up to
Labour, Principles of Virtue will be implanted in them early by the
Good Government thereof, and Laziness and Beggary will be discouraged.
That the Antient People who are past their Labours shall have
Lodgings, and Weekly Pay, or be otherwise provided for according to
their Wants, who may still do something towards their Mantenance, and
the Women may look after the young Children.
That the Rates of the Poor of this City, being all united into one
common Fund, may be enough to carry on this good Work; By which means
the Magistrates will be freed from the Trouble which they daily have
about the Settlement of the Poor, the Parish-Officers will be eased,
the Poors Stock will not be spent in Law, but they will be provided
for, without being sent from Parish to Parish, and their Children
will be settled in ways of being Serviceable to the Publick Good, and
not be bred up in all manner of Vice, as now they are.
That the Governors of this Hospital or Work-House have Power to force
all Poor People to Work in it, who do not betake themselves to some
Lawful Imployment elsewhere, but spend their Time Lazily and Idly.
That the said Governors have Power to settle out the young People at
such Ages as they shall think fit; the Boys to Navigation, Husbandry,
and Manufactures; the Maids in Service, and to bind them Apprentices
for certain Years.
That this will prevent Children from being Starved, by the Poverty of
their Parents, and neglect of the Parish Officers, which is now a
great Loss to the Nation; forasmuch as every Person if Imployed,
would by his Labour add to the Wealth of the Publick.
That this will encourage Men of Charity to make Endowments, when they
shall see their Bounties so well laid out.
That Application be made, in order to procure an Act of Parliament,
for the better Carrying on this Work.
Which Proposals being considered of in several Meetings of the
Citizens Appointed for that Purpose, were with some Alterations made
the Model for an Act of Parliament, which past _Anno Septimo & Octavo
Gulielmi Tertii_, being the first Act of that Nature, from which
sundry Acts for many other Places have taken their Frame; and tho’
the Promoters thereof, met with more difficulties and discouragements
in the Execution, than they did expect, yet to the Honour of those
Gentlemen it must be said, that they never lookt back, but with the
utmost Application, prosecuted what they had undertaken, till they
brought it to such a State, as to render it Plain and Practicable to
their Successors; And this good Effect it hath had, that there is not
a common Beggar, or disorderly Vagrant, seen in their Streets, but
Charity is given in its proper Place and Manner, and the Magistrates
are freed from the daily Trouble they had with the Poor, and the
Parishes they lived in, and are discharged from the Invidious
Fatigues of their Settlements, when a great deal of what should have
maintained them, was spent in determining what Parishes were to do it.
I wish it could be said so of the Two Metropolitan Cities of
_England_ and _Ireland_, where such Swarms of Lazy Beggars pester the
Streets, that they are not only Troublesome, but also Nauseous to the
Beholders; And the Church Doors are so crouded with them, that you
can scarce pass to your Devotion; nor do you know when you bestow
your Charity rightly, Those who do not deserve it, taking such
Methods to move Compassion, that you cannot easily distinguish them
from those who do.
And since I have mentioned this Act, and the well Executing thereof
by the first Undertakers, I think it cannot be amiss to set it forth
_Verbatim_ (being never yet Printed, save only some Copies for the
Use of the Corporation) together with the steps whereby the first
Guardians proceeded, and as it was laid before the Parliament _Anno_
1700; which I have done in the Appendix, because it may probably be
of Use to those, who shall be willing to take Pains in a Work of such
Service, both to God and the Publick.
But because this Act was adapted only for Cities and great Towns, and
can’t be a Model for the Counties at large, I will here subjoyn
such Methods as may be proper to carry on this Charitable Design
throughout the whole Kingdom, if Power be given by some Publick Act
of Parliament, for all Places to Incorporate who are willing (but may
not be able to be at the Charge of a Private Act) and to Build, or
otherwise Provide, Hospitals, Work-Houses, and Houses of Correction,
for the better Maintaining and Imploying their Poor, under the
Management of such Corporations; which in the Counties must be by
uniting One or more Hundreds, whose Parishes must be comprehended in
one Poors Rate, and each of them contribute to the Charge thereof,
not by bringing them to an equal Pound Rate on their Lands and
Personal Estates, as in Cities and great Towns, but by Taxing every
Parish according to what it paid before, there not being the same
Parity of Reason for that way of Raising Money in the Hundreds, as
there is in Cities and Towns; because in the former, the Parishes do
not receive an equal Benefit from the Labour of the Poor of other
Parishes, as they do in the latter; which Hospitals, Work-Houses, and
Houses of Correction, to be provided at the General Charge of the
Parshies thus united, according to the Proportion that each of them
pays to the Poor.
The Guardians of these Corporations to consist of all the Justices of
the Peace Inhabiting within the several Parishes thus united,
together with a Number of Inhabitants chosen out of each Parish, in
Proportion to the Sum of Money it Pays; which Choice to be made every
Year, or once in Two Years, when one half of those that were first
chosen must go out, and the Remainder stay in, to Instruct those who
were last chosen; the Electors to be the Freeholders of ### _per
Annum_; and on the Death of any Guardian, another to be chosen in his
Room, by the Parish for which he served.
That the Guardians being thus settled, they shall have Power to chuse
a Governor, Deputy-Governor, Treasurer, and Assistants, Yearly, and
to hold Courts, and make By-Laws, and appoint a Common-Seal; and also
to Summon the Inhabitants to answer to Matters relating to the
Corporation; and to compel all People, who seek for Relief, to dwell
in their Hospitals and Work-Houses, if they see fit; and to take in
Young People of Both Sexes, and breed them up to Work, who they shall
also be obliged to Teach to Write and Read, and what else shall be
thought necessary, and then to bind them out Apprentices; and
likewise to Provide for the Aged and Impotent, and to assist those
whose Labours will not Maintain their Charges, and to apprehend
Rogues, Vagrants and Beggars, and cause them to be set at Work, and
also to inflict reasonable Correction where they see it necessary,
and to entertain proper Officers, and pay them out of the Stock; with
a Clause to secure them from vexatious Suits; And they must be
obliged once in ### at least to hold a General Court, where the
Governor, Deputy-Governor, or one half of the Assistants, together
with such a proportionable Number of the Guardians as they shall
agree on, shall be present.
That the Court shall once in Six Months agree and settle how much
Money will be necessary for Maintaining and Imploying the Poor for
the Six Months next ensuing, and certifie the same to the Justices
inhabiting within the said Hundred or Hundreds, at a Meeting to be
had for that Purpose, who shall proportion the same Regularity in
each Parish, and grant out their Warrants to proper Persons to Assess
the same, and afterwards, other Warrants to Collect, and Pay it to
the Treasurer of the Corporation; with a Power to Inflict Penalties
on the Assessors and Collectors, if they refuse or neglect to do
their Duty, in Assessing, Collecting, and Paying the said Money,
according to their Warrants.
That each Corporation be one Body Politick in Law, and be capable of
Suing and being Sued, and be enabled to Purchase, Take and Receive,
Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments, Goods and Chattles, for the
Benefit of the Poor.
These, or such like Methods, being Rectified by the Wisdom of a
Parliament, will soon appear to be of great Use to the Nation, and
also to the Poor who are truly Objects of Relief; and will also put a
stop to Wandering Vagrants, against whom, every Corporation will then
be a Barrier, and none will expect Charity, but from the Parishes to
which they belong, and who are the most proper Judges whether they do
deserve it.
[Sidenote: Conclusion.]
And thus I have gone through what I Undertook, and have given my
Thoughts of these Two Subjects; wherein I have no other View, than
promoting the Welfare of this Kingdom, by Improving its Trade, and
providing for the Poor in a Regular Method; Both which will tend to
the Honour of His Majesties Government, and the advancing the Wealth
and Prosperity of the Nation.
FINIS.
The Appendix.
Anno Septimo & Octavo
_GULIELMI_ III. Regis.
An Act for Erecting of Hospitals and Work-Houses within the City of
Bristoll, for the better Employing and Maintaining the Poor thereof.
WHEreas it is found by Experience, That the Poor in the City of
_Bristoll_ do daily multiply, and Idleness and Debauchery amongst the
meaner Sort doth greatly Increase, for want of Work-houses to set
them to Work, and a sufficient Authority to Compel them thereto, as
well as to the Charge of the Inhabitants, and Grief of the Charitable
and Honest Citizens of the said City, as the great Distress of the
Poor themselves; for which sufficient Redress hath not yet been
Provided: For Remedy whereof, Be it Enacted by the Kings most
Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords
Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons in Parliament Assembled, and by
the Authority of the same, That from and after the Twelfth Day of
_May_, which shall be in the Year of our Lord, One thousand six
hundred ninety and six, there be, and shall be, a Corporation to
continue for ever within the said City of _Bristoll_, and the County
thereof, consisting of the several Persons herein after mentioned
(that is to say) of the Mayor and Aldermen for the time being, and of
Eight and forty other Persons, to be Chosen out of the Honestest and
Discreetest Inhabitants of the said City and County, by the Eleven
Wards in the said City, and the Castle Precincts there, which to all
Intents and Purposes, shall be from henceforth for ever a Ward within
the said City (that is to say) Four out of each Ward, and of such
other Charitable Persons as shall be Elected and Constituted
Guardians of the Poor of the said City, in a manner as is herein
after expressed: And the First Eight and Forty Persons shall be
Elected at a Court for that purpose to be held within each Ward, by
the Alderman of the same, or his Deputy, by the Votes of the
Inhabitants of such Ward, Paying One Penny _per_ Week, or more, in
his own Right, for and towards the Relief of the Poor of the said
City, or of the major part of them then present.
And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, that the said
Eight and Forty Persons shall be chosen in manner, as aforesaid, the
Twelfth Day of _May_ next following, and shall continue in their
Office until others shall be Elected in their Rooms, according to the
Direction herein after mentioned; And in case any of the said Persons
so Elected, or any other Person Elected in their Room, shall, after
their respective Elections, happen to Die, That then it shall, and
may be Lawful to and for the Alderman of the Ward, for which such
Person so Dying was Elected, or his Deputy, at a Court to be held
within the said Ward for that purpose, within the space of Ten Days
next after the Death of such Persons, to Elect others in their Place,
in manner, as aforesaid; which Court and Election, such Alderman, or
his Deputy, is and are hereby required to Hold and Make: Which said
Mayor and Aldermen, and Forty eight Persons, and such other
Charitable Persons, so Elected and Constituted for the time being,
shall be called Guardians of the Poor of the City of _Bristoll_.
And to the intent that the said Guardians so Elected out of the said
Wards may have perpetual Succession, Be it further Enacted by the
Authority aforesaid, That the said respective Aldermen for the time
being, or their respective Deputies, shall and may, and are hereby
required, on the First _Thursday_ in _April_, in every Second Year,
from henceforth, to hold a Court in their respective Wards, and then
and there, by the Votes of the Inhabitants of such Ward, so
qualified, as aforesaid, or of the Majority of them then present, to
Elect and Choose Two of the Honestest and Discreetest Persons out of
the said Inhabitants of the said City, to be Guardians of the Poor of
the said City for the said Ward; which said Two Persons, so Elected,
shall be Guardians, and shall succeed the Two Persons before that
time first Elected, and then being Guardians for the said Ward; and
the said Two Persons so first Elected, shall immediately upon such
Election, and Notice thereof given to them, cease to be Guardians.
And be it Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Mayor,
Aldermen, Eight and forty Persons, and such other Charitable Persons
Elected and Constituted, as is herein mentioned and expressed, for
the time being, shall for ever hereafter in Name and Fact, be One
Body Politick and Corporate in Law, to all Intents and Purposes, and
shall have a perpetual Succession, and be called by the Name of The
Governor, Deputy-Governor, Assistants and Guardians of the Poor in
the said City of _Bristoll_; And that they shall be Enabled to Plead
and Sue, and to be Sued and Impleaded by that Name, in all Courts and
Places of Judicature within this Kingdom; and by that Name shall and
may, without License in Mortmain, Purchase, Take, or Receive any
Lands, Tenements or Hereditaments, of the Gift, Alienation or Demise
of any Person or Persons, who are hereby, without further Licence,
Enabled to Transfer the same, and any Goods and Chattles whatsoever,
for the Use and Benefit of the Corporation aforesaid. And for the
better Governing of the said Corporation, the said Mayor, Aldermen,
and Eight and forty Persons or the Majority of them, shall have, and
hereby have Authority to meet on the Nineteenth Day of _May_ next
following, in St. _George’s Chapel_ in the said City, or in some
other convenient Place there, and shall on that Day, or any other Day
or Time, that to them shall seem convenient, Elect and Constitute out
of and from amongst themselves, the several Officers following (that
is to say) One Governor, One Deputy-Governor, One Treasurer, and
Twelve Assistants, to continue in the said Office for One Year, and
no longer; and from thenceforth the said Governor, Deputy-Governor,
Assistants, Treasurer, and other Officers, shall Yearly, and every
Year, by the said Mayor, Aldermen, Forty eight Persons, and such
other Charitable Persons as shall be Elected and Constituted as is
herein mentioned and expressed, or the Majority of them, be Elected
and Constituted out of and from amongst themselves, on the Second
_Thursday_ in the Month of _April_, or any other Day or Time, as they
shall think convenient, to continue in their respective Offices for
One Year, and no longer; And the said Mayor, Aldermen, and Forty
eight Persons, and such other Charitable Persons that shall be
Elected and Constituted, as is herein mentioned and expressed, for
the time being, or the Majority of them, shall have Power, in case of
the Death of any such Officer so Elected and Constituted, before
their said Year expired, to Elect and Constitute others in their
Room, to hold the said Office for the Remainder of the said Year, and
shall have Power and Authority at any time or times, for just Cause,
to remove, displace and put out any such Officer out of his said
Office, and to Elect and Constitute another in his Room.