2_d._ per gallon. Sept. 25th, 1826.
WIDOWS.
L. s. d. L. s. d.
Blake, Ann 0 8 0
Bray, Mary 0 8 0
Cook, Ann 0 7 6
Clark, Mary 0 10 0
Gilbert, Hannah 0 8 0
Marshall, Sarah 0 10 0
Smith, Mary 0 8 0
Westrip, Jane 0 8 0
Withers, Ann 0 8 0
Dance, Susan 0 8 0
--------- 4 3 6
BASTARDS.
---- ---- 0 7 0
---- ---- 0 6 0
---- ---- 0 7 0
---- ---- 0 6 0
---- ---- 2 children 0 12 0
---- ---- 2 children 0 12 0
---- ---- - 10 0
---- ---- - 8 0
---- ---- - 6 0
---- ---- - 8 0
---- ---- - 8 0
---- ---- - 6 0
---- ---- - 6 0
---- ---- - 6 0
---------- 5 8 0
OLD MEN.
Blake, John 0 16 0
Cannon, John 0 14 0
Cummins, Peter 0 16 0
Hopgood, John 0 16 0
Holden, William 0 6 0
Marshall, Charles 0 16 0
Nutley, George 0 7 0
--------- 4 11 0
FAMILIES.
Bowley, Mary 0 4 0
Baverstock, Elizabeth, 2 children 0 9 4
Cook, Levi 5 children 0 5 4
Kingston, John 6 ditto 0 10 0
Knight, John 6 ditto 0 10 0
Newman, David 5 ditto 0 5 4
Pain, Robert 5 ditto 0 5 4
Synea, William 6 ditto 0 10 0
Smith, Sarah (Moses) 1 ditto 0 4 8
Studman, Sarah 2 ditto 0 9 4
White, Joseph 8 ditto 0 19 4
Wise, William 6 ditto 0 10 0
Waldren, Job 5 ditto 0 5 4
Noyce, M. Batt, 7do. 6 weeks' pay 1 2 0
--------- 6 10 0
EXTRA IN THIS MONTH.
Thomas Farmer, ill 3 days 0 4 0
Levi Cook, ill 4 weeks and 1 day 1 13 4
Joseph White's child, 6 weeks 0 7 0
Jane Westrip's rent 0 2 0
William Fisher, 1 month ill 1 12 0
Paid boy, 2 days ill 0 0 8
James Orchard, ill 1 0 2
James Orchard's daughter, ill 0 8 0
Adders and Sparrows 0 2 3-1/2
Wicks for Carriage 0 1 0
Paid Mary Hinton 0 4 0
Joseph Farmer, ill 3 days 0 2 9
Thomas Cummins 0 6 0
Samuel Day, and son, ill 0 8 2
--------- 6 11 4
Total amount for the 4 weeks 27 3 10-1/2
71. Under the head of "WIDOWS" are, generally, old women wholly unable to
work; and that of "OLD MEN" are men past all labour: in some of the
instances _lodging places_, in very poor and wretched houses, are found
these old people, and, in other instances, they have the bare money; and,
observe, that money is FOR FOUR WEEKS! Gracious God! Have we had no
mothers ourselves! Were we not born of woman! Shall we not feel then for
the poor widow who, in her old age, is doomed to exist on two shillings a
week, or threepence halfpenny a day, and to find herself _clothes_ and
washing and fuel and bedding out of that! And, the poor old men, the very
happiest of whom gets, you see, less than 7_d._ a day, at the end of 70 or
80 years of a life, all but six of which have been years of labour! I have
thought it right to put _blanks_ instead of the names, under the _second
head_. Men of less rigid morality, and less free from all illicit
intercourse, than the members of the Select Vestry of Uphusband, would,
instead of the word "_bastard_," have used the more amiable one of
"_love-child_;" and, it may not be wholly improper to ask these rigid
moralists, whether they be aware, that they are guilty of LIBEL, aye, of
real criminal libel, in causing these poor girls' names to be _printed_
and _published_ in this way. Let them remember, that the greater the truth
the greater the libel; and, let them remember, that the mothers and the
children too, may have _memories_! But, it is under the head of "FAMILIES"
that we see that which is most worthy of our attention. Observe, that
_eight shillings a week_ is _the wages_ for a day labourer in the village.
And, you see, it is only when there are _more than four children_ that the
family is allowed anything at all. "LEVI COOK," for instance, has _five
children_, and he receives allowance for _one_ child. "JOSEPH WHITE" has
_eight children_, and he receives allowance for _four_. There are three
widows under this head; but, it is where there is _a man_, the father of
the family, that we ought to look with attention; and here we find, that
nothing at all is allowed to a family of a man, a wife, and _four
children_, beyond the bare eight shillings a week of wages; and this is
even worse than the allowance which I contrasted with that of the hospital
patients and convicted felons; for there I supposed the family to consist
of a man, his wife and _three children_. If I am told, that the farmers,
that the occupiers of houses and land, are _so poor_ that they cannot do
more for their wretched work-people and neighbours; then I answer and
say, What a selfish, what a dastardly wretch is he, who is not ready to do
all he can to change this disgraceful, this horrible state of things!
72. But, at any rate, is the salary of the "ASSISTANT OVERSEER" necessary?
Cannot that be dispensed with? Must he have as much as _all the widows_,
or _all the old men_? And his salary, together with the charge for
_printing_ and other his various expenses, will come to a great deal more
_than go to all the widows and old men too_! Why not, then, do without
him, and double the allowance to these poor old women, or poor old men,
who have spent their strength in raising crops in the parish? I went to
see with my own eyes some of the "_parish houses_," as they are called;
that is to say, the places where the select vestry put the poor people
into to live. Never did my eyes before alight on such scenes of
wretchedness! There was one place, about 18 feet long and 10 wide, in
which I found the wife of ISAAC HOLDEN, which, when all were at home, had
to contain _nineteen persons_; and into which, I solemnly declare, I would
not put 19 pigs, even if well-bedded with straw. Another place was shown
me by JOB WALDRON'S daughter; another by Thomas Carey's wife. The _bare
ground_, and that in holes too, was the floor in both these places. The
windows broken, and the holes stuffed with rags, or covered with rotten
bits of board. Great openings in the walls, parts of which were fallen
down, and the places stopped with hurdles and straw. The thatch rotten,
the chimneys leaning, the doors but bits of doors, the sleeping holes
shocking both to sight and smell; and, indeed, every-thing seeming to say:
"_These_ are the abodes of wretchedness, which, to be believed possible,
must be seen and felt: _these_ are the abodes of the descendants of those
amongst whom _beef_, _pork_, _mutton_ and _veal_ were the food of the
poorer sort; to _this are come, at last_, the descendants of those common
people of England, who, FORTESCUE tells us, were clothed throughout in
good woollens, whose bedding, and other furniture in their houses, were
of wool, and that in great store, and who were well provided with all
sorts of household goods, every one having all things that conduce to make
life easy and happy!"
73. I have now, my friends of Preston, amply proved, that what I have
stated relative to the present state of, and allowances to, the labourers
is TRUE. And now we are to do all we can to remove the evil; for, removed
the evil must be, or England must be sunk for ages; and, never will the
evil be removed, until its causes, remote as well as near, be all clearly
ascertained. With my best wishes for the health and happiness of you all,
I remain,
Your faithful friend, and most obedient servant,
WM. COBBETT.
THE END.
Footnotes:
[1] 4s. 6d. English, equal to one dollar.
[2] 2d. English, equal to four cents, nearly.
[3] The above items may be converted into United States' money by
reckoning 4s. 6d. to the dollar: Thus As 4_s._ 6_d._ : 1 dollar :: 11_l._
7_s._ 2_d._ : 50 dollars 48 cents.
[4] To convert these sums into United States' money, see page 16.
[5] All the calculations in this work, it must be remembered, are in
English money but may be turned into United States' money as before
directed, page 16.
[6] Be sure, now, _before you go any further_, to go to the end of the
book, and there read about MANGLE WURZLE. Be _sure_ to do this. And there
read also about COBBETT'S CORN. Be sure to do this before you go any
further.
[7] To me the following has happened within the last year. A young man, in
the country, had agreed to be my servant; but it was found _that he could
not milk_; and the bargain was set aside. About a month afterwards a young
man, who said he was _a farmer's son_, and who came from Herefordshire,
offered himself to me at Kensington. "_Can you milk?_" He could not; but
_would learn_! Ay, but in the learning, he might _dry up my cows_! What a
shame to the _parents_ of these young men! Both of them were in _want of
employment_. The latter had come more than a hundred miles in _search of
work_; and here he was left to hunger still, and to be exposed to all
sorts of ills, because he _could not milk_.
[8] London
[9] The father of the present Sir Robert Peel, who gained his fortune as a
cotton weaver by the help of machinery.
[10] Editors of the London Times Newspaper.
* * * * *
Transcriber's note:
Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_).
Footnote marker 4 is not in the original text.
Some quotation marks are not matched in the original. Obvious errors
have been silently matched, while those requiring interpretation have
been left unmatched.
The following misprints have been corrected:
"it" corrected to "is" (page 26)
"whorthy" corrected to "worthy" (page 51)
"bady" corrected to "bad" (page 68)
"buln of the hatch" corrected to "bulk of the batch" (page 119)
"the the" corrected to "the" (page 123)
"abuudant" corrected to "abundant" (page 126)
"pig's" corrected to "pigs" (index)
"Chancollor" corrected to "Chancellor" (Part 2, page 47)
"Chanceller" corrected to "Chancellor" (Part 2, page 47)
"Amecan" corrected to "American" (Part 2, page 55)
Other than the corrections listed above, printer's inconsistencies in
spelling and hyphenation usage have been retained.