第35章
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  Western1767-1844;whigM。P。,1790-1832;chiefrepresentative

  ofagriculturalinterests;madepeerin1833。

  AnnualRegister,1816,Chron。p。67。

  ThedisturbancesatBrandonceasedimmediatelyontheconcessionof

  thedemandsofrioters;flourwasreducedto2s。6d。astone,andwageswere

  raisedfortwoweeksto2s。ahead。Therioterswerecontented,andpeace

  wasrestored——Times,May23,1816。

  18。Times,June26。Acuriousironyhasplacedsidebysidewith

  theaccountintheAnnualRegisteroftheexecutionofthefivemen

  whowerehungfortheirshareinthisspasmofstarvationanddespair,the

  reportofameeting,withtheinevitableWilberforceinthechair,forraising

  asubscriptionforrebuildingtheProtestantChurchatCopenhagen,which

  hadbeendestroyedbytheBritishFleetatthebombardmentofCopenhagen

  in1807。

  19。AgriculturalStateoftheKingdom,p。13。

  SeeAnnualRegister,1819,p。320。

  Thoseassessedat£100weretohavetwovotes,thoseat£150

  threevotes,andthoseat£400fourvotes。Whitbreaddidnotpropose

  tocopytheprovisionofGilbert’sAct,whichwithdrewallvotingpowerin

  vestriesinparishesthatadoptedthatActfrompersonsassessedatless

  than£5。

  PoliticalRegister,August29,1807,p。329。

  LettertoSamuelWhitbread,M。P。,onhisproposedBillfortheAmendment

  ofthePoorLaws,1807。

  H。O。Papers,MunicipalandProvincial。

  Ofcoursethesystemwasonlyoneofthecausesofthisdifference

  ThetableisgivenintheReportoftheCommitteeonthePoorLaws,

  Cobbett,PoliticalRegister,September21,1822。Cobbettwrote

  oneofhisliveliestarticlesonthisscale,settingoutthenumberoflivings

  heldbythefiveparsons,andvariouscircumstancesconnectedwiththeir

  families。

  Thefarmerswereusuallysympathetictopoachingasahabit,butit

  wasnotsomuchfromaperceptionofitseconomictendencies,asfromageneral

  resentmentagainsttheGameLaws。

  SeeCobbett;LetterstoPeel;PoliticalRegister;and

  DrHunt’sevidencebeforetheSelectCommitteeonCriminalCommitmentsand

  Convictions,1827。

  39。AmanifestowaspublishedinaBathpaperinreplytothisAct;it

  isquotedbySydneySmith,Essays,p。263:’TakeNotice——Wehave

  latelyheardandseenthatthereisanactpassed,andwhateverpoacheris

  caughtdestroyingthegameistobetransportedforsevenyears——Thisis

  EnglishLiberty!

  ’Nowwedosweartoeachotherthatthefirstofourcompanythatthis

  lawisinflictedon,thatthereshallnotbeonegentleman’sseatinour

  countryescapetherageoffire。Thefirstthatimpeachesshallbeshot。

  Wehaveswornnottoimpeach。Youmaythinkitatreat,buttheywillfind

  itareality。TheGameLawsweretooseverebefore。TheLordofallmensent

  theseanimalsforthepeasantsaswellasfortheprince。Godwillnotlet

  hispeoplebeoppressed。Hewillassistusinourundertaking,andwewill

  executeitwithcaution。’

  TheArchbishopofCanterburyprosecutedamanunderthisActinJanuary

  1831,forrescuingapoacherfromagameskeeperwithoutviolence,onthe

  groundthathethoughtithisdutytoenforcetheprovisionsoftheAct。

  AmagistratewrotetoSirR。Peelin1827tosaythatmanymagistrates

  sentinveryimperfectreturnsofconvictions,andthatthetruenumberfar

  exceededtherecords——Webb,ParishandCountry,p。598note。

  BroughamSpeeches,vol。ii,p。

  PoliticalRegister,Marc

  SelectCommitteeonCriminalCommitteeandConvictions,1827,p。30。

  QuotedinTimes,September18,1830。

  ReturnofConvictionsundertheGameLawsfrom1827to1830。Ordered

  bytheHouseofCommonstobeprinted,February14,1831,p。4。

  Hansard,June9,1817。

  Scotlandwasexemptedfromtheoperationofthisstatute,forwhilst

  theBillwasgoingthroughParliament,acaseraisedinaScottishCourt

  endedinaunanimousdecisionbythesixJudgesoftheHighCourtofJusticiary

  thatkillingbyaspringgunwasmurder。Hencethemilderprovisionsofthis

  Actwerenotrequired。SeeAnnualRegister,1827,p。185,andChron。

  p。116。

  ThatCokeofNorfolkdidnoterronthesideofmercytowardspoachers

  isclearfromthisrecord。HisbiographerMrsStirlingstatesthatone

  ofhisfirsteffortsinParliamentwastointroduceaBilltopunishnight

  poaching。

  ’Speakingnowofcountryandagriculturalparishes,Idonotknow

  aboveoneinstanceinallmyexperience。’

  SomeEnclosureActsprescribespecialpenaltiesforthebreakingof

  fences。SeecasesofHauteHuntreandCroydoninAppendix。

  SeeMrEstcourt’sevidencebeforeSelectCommitteeonSecondaryPunishments,

  1831,p。41。

  PresentStateoftheLaw,p。41。

  FromPloughsharestoParliament,p。186;theAnnualRegister

  for1791recordstheexecutionoftwoboysatNewportforstealing,oneaged

  fourteenandtheotherfifteen。

  Romilly,Memoirs,vol。ii,p。181。

  Itwasagainrejectedin1813bytwentytofifteen,themajorityincluding

  fivebishops。

  CorrespondenceontheSubjectofSecondaryPunishments,1834,

  SeeSelectCommitteeonSecondaryPunishments,1831,andSelectCommittee

  onTransportation,1838。

  SeeevidenceofDr。Ullathorne,RomanCatholicVicar-GeneralofNew

  HollandandVanDiemen’sLand,beforethe1838CommitteeonTransportation。

  ChapterEightTheIsolationofthePoorTheupperclasses,towhomthefactthatthelabourersweremorewretched

  in1830thantheyhad,beenin1795wasareasonformakingpunishmentmore

  severe,werenotdeliberatelycallousandcruelintheirneglectofallthis

  growingmiseryandhunger。Mostofthosewhothoughtseriouslyaboutithad

  learntareasonedinsensibilityfromthesternSibylofthepoliticaleconomy

  infashion,thatstrangeandpartialinterpretationofAdamSmith,Malthus

  andRicardowhichwastheninfullpower。Thispoliticaleconomyhadrobbed

  povertyofitsstingfortherichbyrepresentingitasNature’smedicine,

  bitterindeed,butlessbitterthananymedicinethatmancouldprescribe。

  Ifpovertywassharperatonetimethananother,thisonlymeantthatsociety

  wasmorethaneverinneedofthismedicine。Butthegoverningclassasa

  wholedidnotthinkoutanysuchschemeororderofsociety,ormasterthe

  newscienceofmiseryandvice。Theythoughtofthepoornotinrelation

  tothemysteriousforcesofNature,butinrelationtotheprivilegesof

  theirownclassinwhichtheysawnomysteryatall。Theirstateofmind

  ispresentedinapassageinBolingbroke’sIdeaofaPatriotKing。

  ’Asmenareapttomakethemselvesthemeasureofallbeing,sotheymake

  themselvesthefinalcauseofallcreation。Thusthereputedorthodoxphilosophers

  inallageshavetaughtthattheworldwasmadeforman,theearthforhim

  toinhabit,andalltheluminousbodiesintheimmenseexpansearoundus

  forhimtogazeat。Kingsdonomore,naynotsomuch,whentheyimagine

  themselvesthefinalcauseforwhichsocietieswereformedandgovernments

  instituted。’Ifweread’thearistocracy’for’kings’weshallhaveacomplete

  analysisofthesocialphilosophyoftherulingclass。Itwasfromthiscentre

  thattheylookedoutupontheworld。Whenthemiseryofthepoorreacted

  ontheirowncomfort,asinthecaseofpoachingorcrimeorthepressure

  ontherates,theywereawareofitandtookmeasurestoprotecttheirproperty,

  butofanysocialproblemoutsidetheserelationstheywereentirelyunconscious。

  Theirphilosophyandtheirreligiontaughtthemthatitwasthedutyofthe

  richtobebenevolent,andofthepoortobepatientandindustrious。The

  richwerereadytodotheirpart,andalltheyaskedofthepoorwasthat

  theyshouldlearntobeartheirlotwithresignation。Burkehadlaiddown

  thetrueandfullphilosophyofsociallifeonceandforall。’Goodorder

  isthefoundationofallgoodthings。Tobeenabledtoacquire,thepeople,

  withoutbeingservile,mustbetractableandobedient。Themagistratemust

  havehisreverence,thelawstheirauthority。Thebodyofthepeoplemust

  notfindtheprinciplesofnaturalsubordinationbyartrootedoutoftheir

  minds。Theymustrespectthatpropertyofwhichtheycannotpartake。They

  mustlabourtoobtainwhatbylabourcanbeobtained;andwhentheyfind,

  astheycommonlydo,thesuccessdisproportionedtotheendeavour,theymust

  betaughttheirconsolationinthefinalproportionsofeternaljustice。’1*

  Theupperclasses,lookingupontheworldinthisway,consideredthat

  itwasthedutyofthepoormantoadapthimself,histastes,hishabits,

  andhisambitions,tothearrangementsofasocietywhichithadpleased

  Providencetoorganiseonthisinterestingplan。Wehaveinthepagesof

  Edentheportraitoftheidealpoorwoman,whoselifeshowedwhatcouldbe

  doneifpovertywerefacedintheproperspirit。’AnneHurstwasbornat

  WitleyinSurrey:thereshelivedthewholeperiodofalonglife,andthere

  shedied。Assoonasshewasthoughtabletowork,shewenttoservice:there,

  beforeshewastwenty,shemarriedJamesStrudwick,who,likeherownfather,

  wasadaylabourer。Withthishusbandshelived,aprolific,hardworking,

  contentedwife,somewhatmorethanfiftyyears。Heworkedmorethanthreescore

  yearsononefarm,andhiswages,summerandwinter,wereregularlyashilling

  aday。Heneveraskedmorenorwasneverofferedless。Theyhadbetweenthem

  sevenchildren:。andlivedtoseesixdaughtersmarriedandthreethemothers

  ofsixteenchildren:allofwhomwerebroughtup,orarebringingup,to

  bedaylabourers。Strudwickcontinuedtoworktillwithinsevenweeksof

  thedayofhisdeath,andattheageoffourscore,in1787,heclosed,in

  peace,anotingloriouslife;for,tothedayofhisdeath,heneverreceived

  afarthinginthewayofparochialaid。Hiswifesavedhimaboutsevenyears,

  andthoughbentwithageandinfirmities,andlittleabletowork,excepting

  asaweederinagentleman’sgarden,shealsowastooproudtoaskorreceive

  anyrelieffromtheparish。Forsixorsevenofthelastyearsofherlife,

  shereceivedtwentyshillingsayearfromthepersonwhofavouredmewith

  thisaccount,whichhedrewupfromherownmouth。Withallhervirtue,and

  allhermerit,sheyetwasnotmuchlikedinherneighbourhood;peoplein

  affluencethoughtherhaughty,andthePaupersoftheparish,seeing,as

  theycouldnothelpseeing,thatherlifewasareproachtotheirs,aggravated

  allherlittlefailings。Yet,theworstthingtheyhadtosayofherwas,

  thatshewasproud;which,theysaid,wasmanifestedbythewayinwhich

  sheburiedherhusband。Resolute,assheownedshewas,tohavethefuneral,

  andeverythingthatrelatedtoit,whatshecalleddecent,nothingcould

  dissuadeherfromhavinghandlestohiscoffinandaplateonit,mentioning

  hisage。Shewasalsochargedwithhavingbehavedherselfcrosslyandpeevishly

  towardsoneofhersons-in-law,whowasamasonandwentregularlyevery

  Saturdayeveningtothealehouseashesaidjusttodrinkapotofbeer。

  JamesStrudwickinallhislife,assheoftentoldthisungraciousson-in-law,

  neverspentfiveshillingsinanyidleness:luckilyasshewassuretoadd

  hehaditnottospend。Amoreseriouschargeagainstherwasthat,living

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