IntheneighbourhoodofMollingtonWarwickshireandOxonthepoorrates
variedfrom2s。to4s。inthepound。’Thedifferenceintheseveralparishes，
itissaid，arises，inagreatmeasure，fromthefacilityordifficultyof
obtainingsettlements：inseveralparishes，afineisimposedonaparishoner，
whosettlesanewcomerbyhiring，orotherwise，sothataservantisvery
seldomhiredforayear。Thoseparisheswhichhaveforalongtimebeenin
thehabitofusingtheseprecautions，arenowverylightlyburthenedwith
Poor。Thisisoftenthecase，wherefarmsarelarge，andofcourseinfew
hands；whileotherparishes，notpoliticenoughtoobservetheserules，are
generallyburthenedwithaninfluxofpoorneighbours。’34*Anotherexample
ofthisisDeddingtonOxonwhichlikeotherparishesthatpossessedcommon
fieldssufferedfromaninfluxofsmallfarmerswhohadbeenturnedoutelsewhere，
whereasneighbouringparishes，possessedbyafewindividuals，werecautious
inpermittingnewcomerstogainsettlements。35*Thispracticeofhiring
servantsforfifty-oneweeksonlywascommon：Edenthoughtitfraudulent
andanevasionofthelawthatwouldnotbeupheldinacourtofjustice，36*
buthewaswrong，forthe1817ReportonthePoorLawmentionsamong’the
measures，justifiableundoubtedlyinpointoflaw，whichareadoptedvery
generallyinmanypartsofthekingdom，todefeattheobtainingasettlement，
thatofhiringlabourersforalessperiodthanayear；fromwhenceitnaturally
andnecessarilyfollows，thatalabourermayspendtheseasonofhishealth
andindustryinoneparish，andbetransferredinthedeclineoflifeto
adistantPartofthekingdom。’37*Wehearlittleaboutthefeelingsof
theunhappylabourerswhowerebroughthomebytheoverseerswhentheyfell
intowantinaparishwhichhadtakentheminwiththeircertificate，but
itisnotdifficulttoimaginethescene。ItissignificantthattheAct
of1795towhichweshallreferlater，containedaprovisionthatorders
ofremovalweretobesuspendedincaseswherethepauperwasdangerously
ill。
FromtheRulesfortheGovernmentofthePoorintheHundredsofLoes
andWilford，alreadyalludedto，welearnsomeparticularsoftheallowance
madefortheremovalofpaupers。Twentymileswastobeconsideredaday’s
journey；2d。wastobeallowedforonehorse，andsooninproportionper
mile：butifthedistancewereovertwentymiles，ortheoverseerwereobliged
tobeoutallnight，then2s。wastobeallowedforhim，1s。forhishorse，
and6d。foreachpauper。38*Itisimprobablethatsuchascaleofpayment
wouldinducetheoverseertolookkindlyonthecausesofhistrouble：much
lesswouldapauperbeapersonagrataiflitigationoverhissettlement
hadalreadycosttheparishlargesums。
IthasbeennecessarytogivetheseparticularsoftheLawofSettlement
fortworeasons。Inthefirstplace，theprobabilityofexpulsion，’exile
byadministrativeorder，’asithasbeencalled，threwashadowoverthe
livesofthepoor。Inthesecondplace，theoldLawofSettlementbecame
animmenselymoreimportantsocialimpedimentwhenenclosureandthegreat
industrialinventionsbegantoredistributepopulation。Whenthenormallabourer
hadcommonrightsandastripandacow，hewouldnotwishtochangehis
homeonaccountoftemporarydistress：afterenclosurehewasreducedto
apositioninwhichhisdistress，ifhestayedoninhisownvillage，was
likelytobepermanent。
ThewantandsufferingrevealedinDavies’andEden’sbudgetscameto
acrisisin1795，theyearofwhatmaybecalledtherevoltofthehousewives。
Thatyear，whenexceptionalscarcitysharpenedtheedgeofthemiserycaused
bythechangeswehavesummarised，wasmarkedbyaseriesoffoodriotsall
overEngland，inwhichaconspicuouspartwastakenbywomen。Thesedisturbances
areparticularlyinterestingfromthedisciplineandgoodorderwhichcharacterise
theconductoftherioters。Therioterswhentheyfoundthemselvesmasters
ofthesituationdidnotusetheirstrengthtoplundertheshops：theyorganised
distribution，sellingthefoodtheyseizedatwhattheyconsideredfairrates，
andhandingovertheproceedstotheowners。Theydidnotrob：theyfixed
prices，andwhentheownerofprovisionswasmakingforadearermarketthey
stoppedhiscartsandmadehimsellonthespot。AtAylesburyinMarch’a
numerousmob，consistingchieflyofwomen，seizedonallthewheatthatcame
tomarket，andcompelledthefarmerstowhomitbelongedtoacceptofsuch
pricesastheythoughtpropertoname。’39*InDevonshiretheriotersscoured
thecountryroundChudleigh，destroyingtwomills：’fromthegreatnumber
ofpetticoats，itisgenerallysupposedthatseveralmenweredressedin
femaleattire。’40*AtCarlisleabandofwomenaccompaniedbyboysparaded
thestreets，andinspiteoftheremonstrancesofamagistrate，enteredvarious
housesandshops，seizedallthegrain，depositeditinthepublichall，
andthenformedacommitteetoregulatethepriceatwhichitshouldbesold。41*
AsIpswichtherewasariotoverthepriceofbutter，andatFordingbridge，
acertainSarahRogers，incompanywithotherwomenstartedacheapbutter
campaign。SarahtooksomebutterfromHannahDawson’withadetermination
ofkeepingitatareducedprice，’anescapadeforwhichshewasafterwards
sentencedtothreemonths’hardlabourattheWinchesterAssizes。’Nothing
buttheageoftheprisonerbeingveryyoungpreventedtheCourtfrompassing
amoreseveresentence。42*AtBaththewomenactuallyboardedavessel，
ladenwithwheatandflour。whichwaslyingintheriverandrefusedtolet
hergo。WhentheRiotActwasreadtheyretortedthattheywerenotrioting，
butwereresistingthesendingofcornabroad，andsangGodsavetheKing。
AlthoughtheownertookanoaththatthecornwasdestinedforBristol，they
werenotsatisfied，andultimatelysoldierswerecalledin，andthecorn
wasrelandedandputintoawarehouse。43*Insomeplacesthesoldiershelped
thepopulaceintheirworkoffixingprices：atSeaford，forexample，they
seizedandsoldmeatandflourinthechurchyard，andatGuildfordtheywere
theringleadersinamovementtolowerthepriceofmeatto4d。apound，
andweresentoutofthetownbythemagistratesinconsequence。44*These
spontaneousleaguesofconsumerssprangupinmanydifferentparts，forin
additiontotheplacesalreadymentionedthereweredisturbancesofsufficient
importancetobechronicledinthenewspapers，inWiltshire，Suffolk，and
Norfolk，whistEdenstatesthatatDeddingtonthepopulaceseizedonaboat
ladenwithflour，butrestoreditonthemiller’spromisingtosellitat
areducedprice。45*
Theseriotsareinterestingfrommanypointsofview。Theyarearising
ofthepooragainstanincreasingpressureofwant，andtheforcesthatwere
drivingdowntheirstandardoflife。Theydidnotamounttoasocialrebellion，
buttheymarkastageinthehistoryofthepoor。Totherichtheywerea
signalofdanger。Daviesdeclaredthatiftherulingclasseslearntfrom
hisresearcheswhatwastheconditionofthepoor，theywouldinterveneto
rescuethelabourersfrom’theabjectstateintowhichtheyaresunk。’Certainly
themiseryofwhichhisbudgetspainttheplainsurfacecouldnotbedisregarded。
Ifcompassionwasnotastrongenoughforcetomaketherulingclassesattend
tothedangerthatthepoormightstarve，fearwouldcertainlyhavemade
themthinkofthedangerthatthepoormightrebel。Someofthematanyrate
knewtheirVirgilwellenoughtorememberthatinthedescriptionofthe
thresholdofOrcus，while’senectus’is’tristis’and’egestas’is’turpis，’
’fames’islinkedwiththemoreominousepithet’malesuada。’Ifaproletariat
werelefttostarvedespairmightteachbadhabits，andthisimpoverished
racemightbegintolookwithravenouseyesonthelotofthosewholived
onthespoilsandsinecuresoftheState。Thusfearandpityunitedtosharpen
thewitsoftherich，andtoturntheirmindstothedistressesofthepoor。
CapelLofft；followerofFox；writerofpoemsandtranslations
fromVirgilandPetrarch；patronofRobertBloomfield，authorofFarmer’s
Boy。CalledbyBoswell’ThislittleDavidofpopularspirit。’ThomasRuggles1737-1813，authorofHistoryofthePoor，published
in1793，Deputy-LieutenantofEssexandSuffolk。
SirHenryGould，1710-1794。
TheAnnualsofAgriculturevol。xvii，p。293containsacurious
apologybyagleanerin1791totheownerofsomefields，whohadbegunlegal
proceedingsagainstherandherhusband。’WhereasI，MargaretAbree，with
ofThomasAbree，ofthecityofNewSarum，blacksmith，did，duringthebarley
harvest，inthemouthofSeptemberlas，manytimeswilfullyandmaliciously
gointothefieldsof，andbelongingto，MrEdwardPerry，atClarendonPark，
andtakewithmemychildren，anddidthereleaze，collect，andcarryaway
aquantityofbarley……Nowwedoherebydeclare，thatwearefullyconvinced
oftheillegalityofsuchproceedings，andthatnopersonhasarightto
leazeanysortofgrain，ortocomeonanyfieldwhatsoever，withoutthe
consentoftheowner；andarealsotrulysensibleoftheobligationweare
undertothesaidEdwardPerryforhislenitytowardsus，inasmuchasthe
damagesgiven，togetherwiththeheavycostincurred，wouldhavebeenmuch
greaterthanwecouldpossiblyhavedischarged，andmusthaveamountedto
perpetualimprisonment，aseventhosewhohaveleastdisapprovedofourconduct，
wouldcertainlynothavecontributedsolargeasumtodeliverusfromthe
legalconsequencesofit。Andwedoherebyfaithfullypromisenevertobe
guiltyofthesame，oranylikeoffenceinfuture。ThomasAbree，Margaret
Abree。HerMark。’Itisinterestingtocomparewiththisjudge-madelaw
ofEnglandtheMosaicprecept：’Andwhenyereaptheharvestofyourland，
thoushaltnotmakecleanriddanceofthecornersoftheyfieldwhenthou
reapest，neithershaltthougatheranygleaningofthyharvest：thoushalt
leavethemuntothepoor，andtothestranger。’Leviticusxxiii，
Kent，Hints。p。238。
p。34；cf。MarshallontheSouthernDepartment，p。9，’Yorkshirebacon，
generallyoftheworstsort，isretailedtothepoorfromlittlechandlers’
shopsatanadvancedprice，breadinthesameway。’
NotesontheAgricultureofNorfolk，p。165。
LargeandSmallHoldings，p。11。
Young’sPoliticalArithmetic，quotedbyLecky，vol。vii，p。
Anexampleofaparishwheretheinterestsoftheemployerandof
theparishofficersdifferedisgivenintheHouseofCommonsJournalfor
February4，1788，whenapetitionwaspresentedfromMrJohnWilkinson，a
masterironfounderatBradley，nearBilston，intheparishofWolverhampton。
Thepetitionerstates’thatthepresentDemandfortheIronofhisManufacture
andtheImprovementofwhichiscapable，naturallyencourageaveryconsiderable
ExtensionofhisWorks，butthattheExperiencehehashadofthevexation
Effect，aswellasoftheconstantlyincreasingAmountofPoorRatestowhich
heissubject，hasfilledhimwithApprehensionsoffinalRuintohisEstablishment；
andthattheParishOfficers。areconstantlyalarminghisWorkmenwith
ThreatsofRemovaltothevariousParishesfromwhichtheNecessityofemploying
skilfulManufacturershasobligedhimtocollectthem。’Hegoesontoask
thathisdistrictshallbemadeextra-parochialtothepoorrates。
Theunbornwerethespecialobjectsofparishofficers’dread。At
Derbythepersonssentoutunderordersofremovalarechieflypregnantgirls。
Edenvol。ii，p。126。Bastardsseeabovewithsomeexceptionsgained
asettlementintheirbirthplace，andHodge’slegitimatechildrenmightgain
onetooiftherewasanydoubtabouttheplaceoftheirparents’settlements。