must be greater; but then we fhall have a good militia that will not be the fhame of, but an honour to the nation,' amounting to about 150,000 men *. This ftrength added to our standing army, muft give us weight every where, and intimidate all our enemies, both at home and abroad; and united with our feamen, muft deter the French and Spaniards from ufing us ill on any account, either in rifling our fhips, or difturbing our fettlements abroad.

ART. XIV. Obfervations on the Defects of the Poor Laws, and of the caufes and confequences of the great increase and burden of the Poor, &c. In a Letter to a Member of Parliament. By Thomas Alcock, A. M. 8vo. Is. Baldwin..

MR.

R. Alcock is highly diffatisfied with the prefent manner of providing for the poor. He juftly obferves, that England is the only country in Europe, where the poor are provided for by law, an immenfe fum being annually levied for that purpose; and yet the number of indigent perfons, and street-beggars, is greater with us than abroad.

Many are the bad confequences he enumerates of this compulsory method of relieving them; but we fhall only take notice of a few. In the first place, then, he obferves, that fuch a method has a tendency to hurt induftry, care, and frugality. The fear of one day coming to want, is a strong motive with moft people to be induftrious and fober; and to make ufe of their youth and health, and Atrength, to provide fomething for accidents, fickness, and the infirmities of old age. But this motive is much weakned, when a man has the profpect of parish-pay to rely on, in cafe of future wants or misfortunes: and too many, it is to be feared, trufting to this, have neglected fair opportunities of gaining a tolerable competence, and have become chargeable upon the firft ceffation of their labour, whether by ficknefs, old-age, want of employ, or otherwife. The fluggard, upon this presumption, is tempted to continue in

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*The author tells, us that this number may be established for the fame fum which 6c00 of our prefent forces cofts the nation: So that if we fhould reduce 6000 out of the 56,000 now maintained in the British dominions, it would pay the whole charge, at the highest computation.

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floth; the glutton, as he receives his gains, eats them, and the drunkard drinks them. In fhort, men labour less and spend more; and the very law that provides for the poor, makes poor.

He next obferves, that this compulfion is not only contrary to the principle of charity in the giver, but deftroys. gratitude in the receivers; who imagine they have a legal right to be relieved, and therefore owe no thanks to their benefactors. This muft of courfe create a great deal of ill-blood, hatred, murmuring and indignation on the fide of the payer, and make him think it an invafion on his natural right, for fuch unthankful, idle, and profligate wretches to go away with a confiderable portion of his honeft industry. It must be allowed, therefore, that the poor-law tends to destroy charity; especially when the legal exaction is fo very high, that no lefs a fum than three millions yearly, at a medium, is levied for this purpose, which is equal to a land-tax at fix fhillings in the pound. Add to all this, that the fhamelefs, the impudent, the idle, and leaft deferving poor run away with this vaft fum; while the modeft, the bafhful, and really indigent are fuffered to languish, in the most distressful circumftances. People are forced to harden their hearts, not daring to take in a poor wretch for fear of bringing a new charge upon the parish, already overburdened. A perfon asked for voluntary charity, may with great reafon answer to this effect: If left to my own liberty, I fhould be willing to do for the poor to the utmost of my power; but it is grating to be obliged to do it; and yet this is the cafe; I am obliged to pay fo much to the poor by law, that, though my mind be quite charitably difpofed, I am not of ability to beftow any thing in voluntary contributions. I already give more by compulfion, than I am well able to do.'

After enlarging confiderably on this head, our author obferves, that the only good argument in favour of a poortax, is, that it forces open the purfes of the covetous rich. The generous and worthier part of mankind, it is said, bear all the burden in voluntary charities. But the poor-law obliges the hard-hearted and cruel to be merciful, and contribute to the relief of their aged, helplefs, diftreffed neighbours. To this he answers, by afking whether the evils attending fuch a law do not counterbalance this fingle benefit? Befides, continues he, if a man hath not the heart to part with any thing voluntarily, let him keep his riches as a curse to himself, and let him never taste the happiness the beneficent VOL. VI.

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enjoy, when they relieve the wants, and gladden the hearts of their fellow creatures around them. The people of England want lefs perhaps to be forced, than any other nation under the fun. Witness the handfome fubfcriptions and generous collections, that even now are commonly made, when the call is really preffing, and the object truly deferving. Witness the daily alms, the lame, the blind, the beggar of every fort commonly meets with, on the road, in the streets, or at our doors, though we know fuch alms to be wrong, as giving encouragement to strollers; though we know that no poor can justifiably go about, and tho' we every now and then find, to our coft, fuch beggars to be impoftors and thieves, and by fuffering them to come about our houses, give them an opportunity of fpying out the weakest parts, and, as occafion offers, of rifling them, and by permitting them to approach our perfons, put it in their power, especially on the highway, of affaulting and robbing us. However, in muft be confeffed, that at prefent, the love of many waxeth cold. As poor-rates have increased, private alms and gifts have leffened; and though the present times afford fufficient inftances of occafional benefactions, and particular donations; a general beneficence. and conftant flow of charity, it is to be feared, do not make up our modern character.

Having thus fhewn the inconveniences attending the prefent method of providing for the poor, he proceeds next to lay down a plan for relieving the indigent without oppreffing the public in such an intolerable manner. He tells us, he is not for repealing the poor-law, but only amending it; and therefore proposes, that a poor-houfe, workhouse, hospital, or whatever you please to call it, be erected in fome convenient place near the middle of every hundred. It fhould confift of three parts, one for the impo tent, and the able and industrious poor; one for the fick; and one for the confinement, labour, and correction of vagrants, idlers, and sturdy beggars. It should be ftrong and plain grandeur here is abfurd; for furely palaces are not proper for paupers. The buildings need not be of large extent that part indeed for a correction-house should be particularly ftrong. If poffible the building should be erected near fome river, and where there is a good deal of wafte, ground. The river might serve for mills of various forts, and for many purposes of trade and manufactures as well as culinary ufes and the wafte ground might be taken in and improved, and serve for the production of roots and vegetables,

For FEBRUARY, 1752.

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getables, corn, &c. for the rope-yards, for bleaching and drying hemps, flax, yarn, wool, &c. and for many other purposes. If poffible alfo, it fhould be near fome church, that the poor might have the benefit of divine fervice every Sunday, and other days of public worship.

University

All perfons who begged or afked for relief, fhould directly be fent to this houfe, and be immediately admitted, on an order figned by the minifter and overfeers for the time. being, or by a majority of the churchwardens and overfeers of every parish. No money, but what paffed through this house, fhould be charged by the overfeers. Here the poor fhould be well taken care of, and fupplied with wholefome diet, clothing, and lodging. Materials fhould be provided for the employment of all thofe that should be able to work, as hemp, flax, wool, leather, yarn both linnen and woolen, iron, wood, &c. and likewise proper implements and working tools, as spinning-wheels, cards, turns, knitting and other needles, looms, fhovels, axes, hammers, faws for stone and timber, and perhaps fome forts of mills, where a stream could be had, as corn, fulling, paper-mills,. &c. Here feveral forts of bufinefs and fome small manufactures might be carried on, as spinning, weaving, ftocking and net knitting, fawing, rope-making, wool-combing, particularly in the weft of England, where the woollen trade is confiderable; flax-dreffing, particularly in the north, where a good deal of hemp and flax is produced. The manufacture of pin-making would employ a number of poor. A skilful manager would find work of some kind or other for every one. The lame of foot, might ufe their hands. for many good purposes; the blind might turn a windlas, a wheel, or a grinding-ftone; children might foon be brought to do many things, to knit ftockings or nets, to wind thread of yarn, and affift the weavers, &c. And the aged if they could do nothing elfe, might overlook, instruct, and direct others, in those several branches of business they were skilled in. But none fhould be hardly dealt with, or forced beyond their age and strength.

For encouragement, there might be feveral little pofts in the house, as butler, cook, gardener, porter, houfe-keeper, chamber-maid, &c. and thefe given away to those that were most industrious, and behaved beft. It might be so or. dered, that the poor fhould in a manner do all the business of the house, and work for, and attend one another, without the expence of taylors, fhoemakers, fpiníters, weavers, nurfes, &c. A gentleman, bred a regular apothecary and

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furgeon, might be contracted with by the year to attend the fick.

After the buildings are erected, and the furniture, and materials for work, and working implements are provided, the labour of the houfe will go a great way towards maintaining it. The eating of the house might be upon much the fame plan as our county hofpitals. The cloathing fhould be an uniform. The charge of building, and all other expences, should be borne by the feveral parishes of the hundred, each parish paying a proportion, according to a medium of what they had paid to the poor for four years last past. The money should be affeffed and collected, in the fame manner as at present.

If any idle, diforderly perfons, fhould be found begging, or loitering about, in twelve hours after notice to depart, they should be taken up by the minifter, overseers, or conftable, and sent to the house of correction, and there be kept to hard labour for one week, and then difmiffed with a pass to the next hundred, &c. on a promife to behave well, and forthwith to repair to their respective places of fettlement. And if found a fecond time loitering or begging, in the fame, or any other parish of the hundred, then to be taken up, and whipped at the house, and confined to hard labour for one month. And upon a third offence to be confined as above, till the quarter feffions of the peace, and on proof of any fuch perfon's being an incorrigible rogue, &c. to be tranfported, made a flave of, or whatsoever the quarter feffions fhall think proper. Nay, the officers of every parish should have a power to take up any idle, diforderly, drunken, prophane, abufive perfons of their own respective parishes; especially fuch perfons as fhould frequent tippling houfes; neglect to provide for their families; refufe to labour; and had no honeft, apparent way of getting a livelihood, and fend them to the workhouse, and there keep them to hard labour a longer or fhorter time, according to the degree of the offence, and appearance of reformation.

If any poor in the work-houfes, that were able to work, refufed, St. Paul fhews us the right and ready punishment, commanding, That if any would not work, neither should be eat. In cafe of theft, quarrelling, abufivenefs, drunkennefs, contumacy, lying out of the houfe without leave, felling their cloaths, &c. the acting officers, after proper admonition for the first offence, fhould have a power to 'put the offenders into the house of correction, and there keep