Chapter IV

Summary of the ‘Act for the more effectual Relief of the Poor in Ireland,’ and of the ‘Amendment Act’—Arrangements for bringing the Act into operation—-First and second Reports of proceedings—Dublin and Cork unions—Distress in the western districts—Third, fourth, fifth, and sixth Reports—Summary of the Act for the further amendment of the Law—Seventh Report—Cost of relief, and numbers relieved—Issue of amended orders.

Having in the last chapter described the progress of the bill from the commencement till it became law, I now propose, as in the case of the English and Scottish Acts,^[84] to give a summary of the Irish statute sufficiently in detail for enabling the reader, with the aid of the Reports on which the measure was founded, to understand clearly both the import and the object of the several provisions—

Summary of the 1st and 2nd Victoria, cap. 56,

Entitled 'An Act for the more effectual Relief of the Poor in Ireland'—31st July 1838.

Sections 1, 2, 3.—Empower the Poor Law Commissioners for the time being to carry the Act into execution, and to issue such orders for the government of workhouses, the appointment and removal of officers, the guidance and control of guardians, and for keeping and auditing of accounts, as they shall think proper.

Sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.—General rules issued by the commissioners are to be submitted to the secretary of state, and not to take effect until the expiration of forty days, and are to be laid before parliament at the commencement of every session. The rules are to be made public, and to be open to the inspection of the ratepayers; and whenever disallowed, the disallowance is also in like manner to be made public.

223Sections 9, 10, 11.—The assistant-commissioners, secretary, and other officers appointed by the commissioners, are to be officers under the present Act. The commissioners may with the approbation of the secretary of state, delegate their powers (except the power to make general rules) to one of the commissioners, or to one or more of the assistant-commissioners acting in Ireland, subject to such regulations as the commissioners may direct.

Sections 12, 13, 14.—The assistant-commissioners are empowered to summon and examine witnesses on oath, and persons refusing to attend, or giving false evidence, or altering or concealing documents required for the purposes of the Act, are to be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. The commissioners may order reasonable expenses of witnesses to be defrayed.

Sections 15, 16.—The commissioners may by order under their seal, unite so many townlands as they think fit to be a union for the relief of the destitute poor; and may add to, take from, or dissolve the same, and may determine the proportionate amount chargeable in any such case, as shall appear to them to be just. But no such dissolution or alteration of a union is to take place without the consent of a majority of the guardians, and a copy of every order for the same is forthwith to be transmitted to the secretary of state.

Sections 17, 18, 19.—Whenever a union is declared, a board of guardians is to be elected, for which purpose the commissioners may divide the union into electoral divisions, and from time to time alter the same; but in making or altering such electoral divisions, no townland is to be divided. The commissioners are to determine the number of guardians, having regard to the circumstances of each electoral division; and also the qualification, which in no case is to exceed a rating of 30l. net annual value—“provided always that no person being in holy orders, or being a regular minister of any religious denomination, shall be eligible as a guardian.”

Sections 20, 21, 22.—The first election of guardians is to take place at the time fixed by the commissioners, and afterwards on the 25th of March in each year. Outgoing guardians may be re-elected, and in case of vacancy occurring through death removal or resignation, the remaining guardians are to act.

Sections 23, 24.—Every justice of peace not being a stipendiary magistrate or assistant-barrister or minister of any religious denomination, is an ex-officio guardian of the poor of the union in which he resides, and after the board of guardians 224is duly constituted may act as a member of the board, in like manner as an elected guardian. But when the justices duly qualified and residing in the union exceed one-third the number of elected guardians, they are at a meeting specially assembled for the purpose, to appoint from among themselves a number nearest to but not exceeding one-third of the elected guardians, to act as ex-officio guardians from the time of such appointmentappointment, until the 29th of September following, and so annually on each succeeding 29th of September—the number of ex-officio guardians being in no case permitted to exceed one-third the number of the guardians elected by the ratepayers.

Sections 25, 26.—If an election of guardians does not take place, or if any of those elected shall neglect or refuse to act, the commissioners may order a fresh election, and on failure thereof may appoint another to fill the place of any guardian so failing, until an election of guardians takes place under the provisions of the Act. And if regular meetings of the guardians be not held, or if their duties be not effectually discharged according to the intentions of this Act, the commissioners may dissolve such board, and order a fresh election; and if the guardians then elected likewise fail, the commissioners may appoint paid officers to carry out the provisions of the Act, and define their duties, and regulate their salaries, which are to be paid out of the poor-rates of the union.

Sections 27, 28, 29, 30.—The board of guardians is declared a body politic and corporate for all the purposes of the Act. The commissioners and assistant-commissioners may attend the meetings, and take part in the discussions of the boards of guardians, but are not entitled to vote. The guardians are to assemble at such times as the commissioners direct, and no guardian, whether ex-officio or elected, has power to act, except as a member, and at a meeting of the board, for constituting which the presence of three members is necessary. No defect in the election or qualification of a guardian, is to make void the proceedings of any board in which he may have taken a part.

Sections 31, 32, 33.—The commissioners may direct the appointment of such paid officers, with such qualifications, as they think necessary in every union, and may define their duties and determine their continuance in office or dismissal, and regulate their salaries. The commissioners are further empowered, with or without the concurrence of the guardians, to remove any paid officer whom they deem unfit or incompetent, and to require the appointment of a fit and competent person in his 225room, failing in which the commissioners may themselves make the appointment.

Sections 34, 35, 36.—When a union is declared, every house of industry, workhouse, and foundling hospital within its limits, and supported wholly or in part by parliamentary grant &c., with all things thereto belonging, is to become vested in the Poor Law commissioners, subject to the debts and encumbrances thereof—in trust for, and subject to, the powers and provisions of this Act. The commissioners may from time to time as they see fit, build or cause to be built a workhouse or workhouses for any union, or may hire any building or buildings to be used as a workhouse, and may enlarge and alter the same, in such manner as they deem most proper for carrying the provisions of the Act into execution, and may purchase or hire any land not exceeding twelve acres to be occupied with such workhouse, and may order the guardians to uphold and maintain, and to furnish and fit up the same, and provide means for setting the poor to work therein—for all which purposes the guardians are required to raise and levy the necessary sums as a poor-rate, or to borrow the money and charge the same on the future poor-rate, as the commissioners shall direct. But after the workhouse has been declared fit for the reception of the destitute poor, the commissioners are restricted from ordering the expenditure of more than 400l. without the consent of the guardians.

Sections 37, 38, 39, 40.—Incapacitated persons empowered to convey land &c.—the powers of 7th George 4th, cap. 74, regarding the purchase and valuation of sites extended to this Act—Where the purchase-money is paid into the bank of Ireland, the commissioners exonerated from liability as to its application—The commissioners may sell lands &c., and apply the proceeds in purchase of other lands &c.; but are restricted from selling the workhouse of a union without the consent of the guardians.

Section 41.—When a workhouse has been declared fit for the reception of destitute poor, and not before, the guardians, subject to the orders of the commissioners, are to take order for relieving and setting to work therein, in the first place, such destitute poor persons as by reason of old age infirmity or defect, may be unable to support themselves, and destitute children; and in the next place, such other persons as the guardians deem to be destitute poor, and unable to support themselves by their own industry or other lawful means—provided that in any case where there may not be sufficient accommodation for all the destitute persons who apply, the 226guardians shall relieve such as reside in the union, in preference to those who do not.

Sections 42, 43, 44.—A register-book in a prescribed form, is to be kept by the master of every workhouse of the persons relieved therein, and such register is to be examined, corrected and signed by the chairman at every meeting of the guardians, and countersigned by the clerk—Accounts of the expenditure are to be kept and made up every six months, charging to every electoral division the proportion incurred in respect of persons relieved who are stated in the registry to have been resident in such electoral division; the expenses incurred in respect of all others are to be charged against the whole union. At the end of three years, any two or more electoral divisions may, with the commissioners’ concurrence, agree to bear the expense of the relief chargeable to each in common, a copy of every such agreement to be deposited with the commissioners, and another copy with the clerk of the peace.

Sections 45, 46, 47.—On the declaration of a workhouse in any union, all local Acts relating in any way to the relief of the poor therein, are to cease and determine. The commissioners are to inquire into the state of fever hospitals and dispensaries, and report thereon to the secretary of state, stating the number of such institutions which in their opinion ought to be provided. They are also to examine into the administration of hospitals and infirmaries, and give directions for the more effective management thereof.

Sections 48, 49.—The commissioners are to take order for the due performance of religious service in the workhouse, and are to appoint fit persons to be chaplains for that purpose, one being of the established church, another a protestant dissenter, and another of the Roman catholic church, and they are to fix the salaries of such chaplains. But no inmate of a workhouse is to be compelled to attend any religious service contrary to the religious principles of such inmate, or to which his or her parents or guardians object.

Section 50.—The board of guardians are to appoint a fit person in each parish or townland within the union to be the warden thereof, who is to provide for the conveyance to the workhouse of such destitute poor persons as the guardians shall direct, and perform such other duties as the orders of the commissioners shall prescribe.

Section 51.—If a meeting of the ratepayers of any electoral division agree to the raising of a rate to assist emigration, the commissioners may direct the guardians to raise such sums (not 227exceeding 1s. in the pound in any one year) as they think requisite for the purpose, either by a rate under this Act, or by a charge on the future rates; and the money so raised is, under the direction of the commissioners, to be applied by the guardians of the union in assisting the emigration to British colonies of poor persons residing in such electoral division.

Section 52.—The money raised under authority of the Act, is only to be applied as is expressly provided for in the Act.

Sections 53, 54, 55, 56.—Every husband is made liable for the maintenance of his wife, and every child under the age of 15, whether legitimate or illegitimate, which she may have; and every father is liable to maintain his child, and every widow to maintain her child, and the mother to maintain her bastard child, until such children respectively attain the age of fifteen. Relief given to a wife or child, is to be considered as given to the person liable to maintain such wife or child. Relief may be declared to be a loan, and be recoverable accordingly, and when given to a person entitled to any pension or other allowance, the guardians may require the next payment thereof to be made to them for indemnity of the union, and are then to repay the surplus to the person entitled thereto.

Section 57.—Every child of a poor person who may be unable to support himself, shall be liable according to his ability to support his parents, and if any relief under this Act be afforded to such parents, it may by order of two justices be recovered by the guardians from such child, together with such other relief as shall subsequently be given.

Sections 58, 59, 60.—Every person absconding from a workhouse and leaving his wife or child to be relieved therein, or who refuses to work, or is guilty of drunkenness or disobedience to the rules prescribed for the government of the workhouse, or who shall introduce spirituous or fermented liquors into any workhouse, is on conviction to be subjected to imprisonment with hard labour for not exceeding one month. Any person who deserts and leaves his wife or child so that they become chargeable, is on conviction to be subjected to hard labour in the house of correction for not exceeding three months; and every justice of peace may issue his warrant for apprehension of the offenders.

Sections 61, 62, 63.—For defraying the expenses incurred under this Act, the guardians are empowered to make and levy such rates as may be necessary on every occupier of rateable hereditaments within the union, regard being had to the proportion previously charged upon any electoral division. The 228rateable hereditaments are then enumerated. But it is provided that no church chapel or other building exclusively dedicated to religious worship, or used for education of the poor, nor any burial-ground or cemetery, nor any building used for charitable or public purposes shall be rateable, except where any private profit or use is derived therefrom, in which case, the person deriving such profit or use, is to be rated as an occupier according to the annual value of the same.

Sections 64, 65.—Every rate is to be a poundage rate, made upon an estimate of the net annual value of the several hereditaments—“that is to say, of the rent at which, one year with another, the same might in their actual state be reasonably expected to let from year to year, the probable annual average cost of repairs insurance and other expenses, if any, necessary to maintain the hereditaments in their actual state, and all rates taxes and public charges, if any, except tithes, being paid by the tenant.” The particulars of every rate are to be entered in a book (the form of which is given in a schedule annexed) and the guardians and other officers whose duty it may be to make the rate, are to sign the declaration at the end of the same, after which it is to be evidence of the truth of the particulars contained therein.

Sections 66, 67, 68, 69, 70.—Existing surveys and valuations may be used, but if these are not deemed sufficient, the guardians may cause new ones to be made. All proprietors of tolls and profits liable to be rated are to keep accounts thereof, which the guardians are to have liberty to inspect. The commissioners may direct the cost of any survey and valuation to be defrayed by a separate rate, or by a charge upon the poor-rate, as they see fit. Twenty-one days’ notice to the ratepayers for inspecting the valuation is to be given before making a rate, copies of which may be taken at all reasonable times.

Sections 71, 72, 73.—The poor-rate is to be paid by the occupiers, but in cases where the property is rated at less than 5l. and where the parties have agreed thereto, the lessor may be rated instead. County-cess collectors may be appointed to collect the poor-rate on giving security and being approved by the commissioners—failing in which the rate may be collected by any other officer appointed for the purpose with like approval.

Sections 74, 75, 76, 77.—Every occupier may deduct half the poundage rate paid by him, from the rent payable to the owner; and where any person so receiving rent, shall also 229pay a rent in respect of the same property, he will be entitled to deduct from such rent a sum proportionate to what was deducted from the rent he received. The entire rate is to be deducted from tithe; and all agreements to forego the deduction of rate are declared void.

Sections 78, 79.—If a rate is not paid within two months after it has been made, the guardians may levy the same by distress, or sue for such rate by civil bill. The receipt for poor-rate is in all cases to be accepted by persons entitled to receive rent or tithe, in lieu of such sum as the person tendering the receipt is entitled to deduct from such rent or tithe. But no deduction is to be made from any rent-charge or terminable annuity.

Sections 80, 81.—Every occupier paying rate, and every receiver of rent from which a deduction has been made on account of rate, and every owner of tithe, is to be deemed a ratepayer; and at the election of guardians in any union, every ratepayer is entitled to vote^[85] according to the following scale—

Where the annual value of the property rated shall not amount to 20l. One vote.

Where it amounts to 20l. and not to 50l. Two votes.

” to 50l. and not to 100l. Three votes.

” to 100l. and not to 150l. Four votes.

” to 150l. and not to 200l. Five votes.

” to 200l. and upwards Six votes.

Where the occupier is also the owner, he will be entitled to double the above number of votes; and where the net annual value of the property rated exceeds the rent paid by the occupier, he is in addition to his votes as occupier, to be entitled to vote for such excess as if it were rent received by him.

Sections 82, 83, 84, 85.—Where two or more ratepayers are jointly liable, each is to be entitled to vote according to the proportion borne by him, but one may claim to vote for the whole. The votes are to be given in writing in such manner as the commissioners may direct, and the majority returned in each electoral division is to be binding on such division. 230Votes may be given by proxy, but no occupier can vote unless all rates assessed upon him of six months’ standing be first paid.

Sections 86, 87, 88.—The members of a corporation or joint-stock company are not entitled to vote, but their officers may do so if duly authorised by the governing body. Where a rate has not been made, the cess-payers are to form a constituency for electing guardians, with the same proportion of votes as is prescribed for ratepayers, each shilling of county cess to be reckoned as one pound of annual value. The commissioners are to appoint a returning officer, and prescribe the duties to be performed by him in the election of guardians.

Sections 89, 90, 91.—The guardians may with consent of the commissioners borrow money for purchasing and providing a workhouse, either from the Exchequer Bill Loan Commissioners, or any persons willing to advance the same on security of the rates. The money so borrowed is to be repaid in twenty years by annual instalments, together with the interest accruing thereon. The securities for money so advanced to a union may be transferred or assigned on notice thereof being given to the guardians.

Sections 92, 93.—Contracts made by the guardians are not valid, unless conformable to the rules of the commissioners; and no guardian, paid officer, warden or other person engaged in collecting the rates, or in the management of the union, is either directly or indirectly to furnish supplies of any kind for the use of the union, under penalty of 100l. with full costs of suit to any person who shall sue for the same.

Sections 94, 95, 96, 97.—Guardians treasurers and other officers are to render a true account of receipts and payments &c., at such times and in such a form as the commissioners shall direct. Auditors are to be appointed to examine such accounts, and are to disallow all payments made contrary to the Act, or at variance with the orders of the commissioners. Bonds contracts advertisements &c. for carrying the Act into effect are exempted from stamp-duty, and letters relating exclusively to the execution of the Act, sent by or addressed to the commissioners, are exempted from postage.

Sections 98, 99, 100, 101, 102.—Justices may proceed by summons for recovery of penalties—penalty on officers disobeying guardians—penalty on officers and others purloining goods &c. belonging to any union—penalty on persons wilfully disobeying the orders of the commissioners or assistant-commissioners.

231Sections 103, 104, 105.—Forfeitures costs and charges may be levied by distress under warrant of two justices, and are to be applied to the use of the union—ratepayers are competent witnesses—distress not to be deemed unlawful for want of form in the proceedings—plaintiff not to recover for wrongful proceeding, if tender of amends be made.

Sections 106, 107, 108, 109.—Persons aggrieved may within four months after the cause of complaint, appeal against the poor-rate, or against a conviction where the penalty exceeds 5l., and the justices and assistant-barrister before whom the appeal is brought, are empowered finally to determine the same; but fourteen days’ notice of the appeal is to be given.

Sections 110, 111, 112.—Notwithstanding any appeal or notice thereof, the rate is to be paid, unless and until it be actually quashed or amended. Persons appealing are to enter into recognisance to prosecute the same at the next sessions, and to abide the order and pay such costs as the justices and assistant-barrister shall award.

Section 113.—No action to be commenced against any person for anything done under authority of the Act, until after twenty-one days’ notice thereof, nor after sufficient satisfaction has been tendered to the party aggrieved, nor after three months from the time the action complained of was committed; and the defendant may plead the general issue.

Sections 114, 115, 116, 117.—No order of the commissioners, assistant-commissioners, or guardians, is removable by writ of certiorari except into the Court of Queen’s Bench in Dublin, and every order or rate^[86] so removed is to continue in force until declared to be illegal. No application for writ of certiorari to be made, unless ten days’ notice of the particulars thereof shall have been delivered in writing to the commissioners, who may thereupon show cause against such application, and the court may if it think fit, proceed at once to hear and determine the case. Recognisances must be entered into previous to application for a writ of certiorari, and if the order be quashed, notice thereof is to be given to the unions to which it was directed; but the judgment is in no case to annul existing contracts.

Sections 118, 119, 120, 121.—The Poor Law Commissioners for England and Wales are declared to be “The Poor Law Commissioners” 232under the provisions of this Act, and are empowered to carry the same into effect. A fourth commissioner may be appointed, and any two or more of the commissioners may sit as a board in England and Wales, or in Ireland, as they shall deem expedient. They are to have a common seal, and all orders or copies thereof purporting to be sealed therewith, are to be received as evidence that the same have been duly made.

Sections 122, 123.—When required by the secretary of state, or when the board shall think fit, one of the commissioners may act in Ireland, and have all the powers given to the board of commissioners, except the power of making general rules; but the whole of the commissioners are to assemble in London once at least in every year, for the purpose of submitting a report of their proceedings, which report is to be made on or before the 1st of May, and is to be annually laid before parliament, “together with an account of the expenditure upon the relief of the poor in each union, and of the total number relieved in each union during the year ended the 1st of January preceding.”

Section 124.—Interpretation clause.

Notwithstanding all the care that had been taken in framing this Act, it was found on proceeding to carry it into operation that there were several defects, partly owing to a want of information with regard to certain peculiarities existing in Ireland, but principally arising out of the changes made in the passage of the bill through parliament. Thus, on the assumption that the division into townlands was universal, an alteration was made in the Lords constituting a townland the unit in the formation of unions; but in some places it was found that no townland existed, and in very many cases the extent of the townland was not known. There was uncertainty also with regard to parishes, their limits being in many instances undefined. It became necessary therefore with as little delay as possible to take steps for remedying these defects, and to pass a short Act amending the former, which was accordingly done; and as this last was 233essential to the one which preceded it, so that the two Acts may be said to form one statute, it will be convenient to insert a summary of it here in continuation of the above—

Summary of the 2nd Victoria, cap. 1, to amend the 1st and 2nd Victoria, cap. 56.—15th March, 1839.

Section 1.—The boundaries of many townlands not being accurately known, and there being places which are not known as townlands—it is enacted that the provisions in the preceding Act relating to townlands, shall “apply to every place in Ireland whether known as a townland or not.”

Section 2.—Where the population of any city borough or town exceeds ten thousand, or where the population of any other place within an area of three miles exceeds ten thousand, the commissioners may constitute such city borough town or other place, or any part or parts thereof respectively, an electoral division; and may divide such electoral division into wards for the purpose of conducting the election of guardians.

Sections 3, 4.—The commissioners may by order under seal declare any place not known as a townland, to be a townland; and where the boundaries of a townland are not known, may declare and determine the boundaries thereof.

Sections 5, 6.—In the election of guardians, every ratepayer who under the last rate made shall have paid or be liable to pay rate in respect of property in any electoral division, “shall have a vote or votes in the election of guardians in such electoral division, according to the scale of votes prescribed.” And where needful expenses are incurred before any rate can be levied for defraying the same, a sum not exceeding 200l. may be borrowed and charged upon the first rate made.

Sections 7, 8.—Conveyances of land &c. to the Poor Law commissioners are to be made according to the form set forth in the schedule annexed to the Act, or as near thereto as circumstances admit. The purchase-money is to be paid into the Bank of Ireland to account of the accountant-general of the Court of Chancery, “ex parte the Poor Law commissioners.”

Sections 9, 10.—Appeals may be made heard and determined at general or quarter sessions of the peace, although an assistant-barrister be not present. So much as relates to the removal by writ of certiorari of any rate made under the previous Act, is by the present Act repealed.

1838. Proceeds to Ireland to bring the Act into operation.

234We will now resume our narrative, in the order of date. It has been stated that the Irish Poor Relief Act was passed on the last day of July. A fortnight afterwards it was arranged that I should proceed to Ireland for the purpose of carrying the new law into operation. I had an interview with Lord John Russell on the occasion, and urged the necessity of proceeding vigorously and without delay in the introduction of the measure, and expressed my conviction that our so doing was essential to success. His lordship assured me that government approved of our at once going forward with the formation of unions and providing workhouses, and were prepared to afford every assistance that we might require. It was settled that I should go to Ireland at the end of the month, taking with me four of our assistant-commissioners, whose experience in the administration of the English Poor Law would, it was thought, be found highly useful in Ireland.^[87] I quitted London on the 1st of September, and as soon as the assistant-commissioners had assembled in Dublin, one of them was sent to Belfast, another to Limerick, a third to Cork, and one was retained in Dublin. They were furnished with instructions in which the objects to which their attention should be chiefly directed were pointed out. The mode of commencing operations was one of the first things which had to be considered. Would it be better to commence by forming unions of the chief towns, and then work back from them to the interior of the country; or else to begin in the interior, and work up to the great towns?—This, the assistant-commissioners were told, was an important question, requiring to be decided as quickly as possible; and in order to obtain the requisite data for so deciding, it was necessary that 235some of the chief towns should he first examined, in doing which, they were desired at the same time to endeavour to obtain such a knowledge of other parts of the country, as would assist them in forming a judgment upon the question.

The investigations in which the assistant-commissioners would thus he engaged, would it was considered, serve to bring them acquainted with the condition and habits of the people, and prepare them for entering upon the formation of unions as soon as arrangements for the purpose were sufficiently advanced. The position size and character of the towns, the existence of barracks or other buildings readily convertible into workhouses, the disposition of the inhabitants with respect to the new law, whether favourable or otherwise, were all to be noted, as constituting materials for judging of when and where the unions should be formed; it being important to begin, where the least difficulty or opposition would have to be encountered.

The principle adopted in the formation of unions in England was considered applicable to Ireland, namely, that the union should consist of a market town as a centre, and the district surrounding and communicating with it. The unions so formed would, it was supposed, be pretty equally distributed throughout the country, and be of a size not materially differing from what had been stated in the Reports to be the most eligible, that is embracing a radius of about ten miles. Some persons had contended for smaller unions, but the smaller the union, the larger in proportion would be the establishment charges; and as the provisions introduced in the house of lords for localizing the rate upon each electoral division, had removed one of the objections to large unions chiefly insisted upon, it would now probably be considered, that in taking the market town as a guide, the commissioners could not be far wrong, since the people who frequent the market would find no difficulty in 236attending at the union workhouse, whether as guardians or applicants for relief. At the same time however, local interests were not to be disregarded in the arrangement of unions and electoral divisions; but the boundaries of private property, and of counties and baronies were to be observed, as far as might be consistent with the general interest and convenience.

The assistant-commissioners were likewise cautioned as to the sensitiveness of the Irish people, and the importance of conciliating their feelings and gaining their confidence, which would be best accomplished by observing a simple straightforward line of conduct towards them, a scrupulous fulfilment of promises, and not raising or encouraging expectations unless they were pretty certain of being fulfilled. “We know,” it was added, “that the object of the law we are called upon to administer is kind and beneficent, and calculated to better the condition and improve the social habits of the people; and knowing this, we cannot feel otherwise than confident in its application, and earnestly zealous in working out the results contemplated by the legislature in its enactment.”

The assistant-commissioners re-assembled in Dublin on the 9th October, and reported the result of their investigations; and being joined by four others who had been appointed in the interim,^[88] the whole question as to the mode of bringing the law into operation was very fully discussed and considered. The assistant-commissioners shortly afterwards proceeded to Cork, Limerick, Londonderry, and Belfast, furnished with full instructions for their guidance in the formation of unions in and around those places, it being considered that clusters of unions so formed would be better protected 237from undue pressure at the outset, than if they stood singly and isolated. Mr. Earle remained in Dublin for a like purpose. With regard to the formation of unions, the instructions previously given were confirmed, but careful consideration, they were told, would be required in arranging the electoral divisions, as well as in determining the number; for although the commissioners were empowered “to alter the electoral divisions from time to time as they may see fit,” it was important that the divisions should be so formed at the outset as to render subsequent alteration unnecessary. As a general rule the board considered that there should be as many electoral divisions as there were elected guardians, and that the divisions should be all nearly of the same size. There might however be cases, owing to the extent of individual properties or other cause in which this rule could not be observed, and in such cases, the larger divisions might properly have more than one guardian, as in the larger English parishes: but it would be well to deal with such cases as exceptions, and as far as practicable to form the several electoral divisions of the same size, and each to return one guardian.

The townland being the unit, and some townlands being heavily charged with pauperism, while others were comparatively free, it was thought that difficulties might sometimes arise in determining upon the townlands of which an electoral division should consist. Landed proprietors might be naturally desirous of having all their land in one division, unmixed with the land of others, especially where they have taken pains, or incurred expense to improve their properties. The board deemed it impossible to lay down any unvarying rule that would be applicable to all such cases, but considered that the wishes of the proprietor, where the lands are contiguous, should be attended to whenever it could be done without injury or inconvenience to others; and in grouping pauperised and unpauperised townlands together, it 238should be endeavoured so to arrange the district, as to make the junction as little oppressive as possible to the latter. In Dublin, Limerick, and a few of the older towns, it was thought likely that the electoral divisions could not be so formed as to maintain an equality of pressure, owing to some parishes being exclusively inhabited by the poor and mendicant classes, whilst others were entirely free from them. The board declared that it was “very sensible of the magnitude of this difficulty, which will receive its best attention with the view of endeavouring to devise a palliative, if not a remedy; and it is much to be desired that the efforts of the assistant-commissioners should be directed to the same end.”

Number and qualification of guardians.

As respects the number of elected guardians to be assigned to a union, it was on the whole considered, having regard to the satisfactory despatch of business as well as the importance of there being an executive so extended as to command the confidence of the ratepayers, that a number varying according to circumstances from 16 to 24, would be best calculated for carrying into effect the provisions of the Act. These numbers, with the proportion of one-third ex-officio guardians, would give to each union a board of from 21 to 32 members, which would be sufficient for the purpose of deliberation, and yet not so numerous as to impede efficient action. The qualification of guardians must of course depend very much upon the circumstances of the district. “In some parts of Ireland a 5l. qualification would not be too low, whilst in others the maximum of 30l. would not be much if at all too high;” and the assistant-commissioners were told to use their discretion between these extremes in the recommendations they might make. The board however considered that it would be advantageous to assume 10l. as a preferable medium to be observed, except in cases where a greater or a smaller amount of qualification appeared to be required. Recommendations were then made as to the 239selection and duties of returning-officers, the nomination of parish wardens, and the appointment of clerks to the boards of guardians, and also as to the necessity for observing strict economy in all the arrangements connected with the formation and working of the unions. The board likewise, under the heavy responsibility devolved upon it, considered it to be a duty “to point out to the assistant-commissioners the vast importance of their avoiding even the semblance of party bias, either in politics or religion.”

The commissioners being by the 35th section of the Act made responsible for providing the workhouses, very particular instructions were given to the assistant-commissioners on the subject, which constituted in fact the foundation of the whole measure. They were directed “at the formation of every union to make a careful survey, not only of the present state of destitution and mendicancy within it, and of what will be the extent of workhouse accommodation required immediately, or in the first two or three years, but also what was likely to be necessary afterwards; so as to frame such plans and adopt such arrangements in the construction of the buildings, as should afford the earliest present accommodation, and at the same time afford facilities for enlargement whenever it should become necessary.” In cases where barracks or other buildings should be taken for workhouse purposes, care ought likewise to be taken that the necessary alterations and additions were so framed that a portion only need be constructed in the first instance, and that the whole of the plan as designed might be completed whenever it should afterwards be found necessary, without materially interfering with the parts already in use. The quantity of land to be occupied with the workhouse is by the Act restricted to twelve acres, and the assistant-commissioners were recommended to endeavour to convince the guardians of the inexpediency of occupying more land than was 240sufficient for the purposes of a garden, or than could be conveniently managed by the boys and aged and infirm men.

Next in importance to the workhouse, was the establishing an assessment founded upon the actual value of all the rateable property within the union, in conformity with the 54th section of the Act. The assistant-commissioners were directed to call the attention of the boards of guardians at their first and second meetings to this important duty, for the performance of which they were responsible. Suggestions were then offered with regard to the government valuation, and that made under the Tithe Composition Act, and also to the probable necessity in some cases of procuring a new valuation; although in general it was considered that it would be found practicable at the outset to establish a fair and equitable assessment for the poor-rate, without resorting to the expensive process of a valuation by professional men.

The board next determined upon the kind of returns, statistical and otherwise, to be required from the assistant-commissioners, and the extent of information in all cases to be obtained before any unions should be declared; and a circular containing full directions on every point, together with a form for tabulating the several heads of information, was addressed to the assistant-commissioners for their guidance in this highly important part of their duty.

Whilst the assistant-commissioners were pursuing their inquiries and collecting information preparatory to forming unions, the commissioner acting as a board in Dublin was occupied in preparing the several forms and orders for declaring unions, governing elections, and regulating the proceedings of boards of guardians. These were all framed, as nearly as circumstances admitted, on the model of those issued in England, and were transmitted to the board in London for revision 241and approval. And here it may be well to state, that although under the 122nd section, I was when acting singly in Ireland invested with all the powers of a board, and might make and issue all orders and regulations with the exception of “general rules,” yet I never directly exercised this power, but forwarded every such instrument to be approved and sealed by the board in London. This course was adopted in consideration that it afforded greater certainty of keeping up a unity of action, and a more complete interchange of information between the two boards, than would be likely to exist if the commissioner acting in Ireland were to frame and issue orders without the participation of his colleagues acting in England.

At the commencement of their proceedings, the assistant-commissioners found that vague and often very exaggerated notions prevailed with regard to the new law, and their approach was at first everywhere viewed with more or less of suspicion and alarm. By great patience and perseverance however in explaining the objects and intentions of the Act, and by the examples they were enabled to cite of the working of the amended law in England, they generally succeeded in removing these impressions, and in obtaining a willing co-operation; so that ere long, the requirements of the law, if not universally popular, were at least very generally acquiesced in. Perhaps this change may also have been in some degree owing to the magistrates and the clergy of each denomination having been furnished with copies of the Act, elucidated by copious explanatory notes, and likewise with copies of the Reports on which the Act was founded. The extensive correspondence which was continually going forward, and the frequent personal communications with the board in Dublin, contributed moreover to diffuse information as to the nature objects and working of the law, and not only helped to prepare the way for its introduction, but proved likewise 242the means of raising up zealous administrators for carrying it into execution.

1839. First report of proceedings in Ireland.

Having thus generally stated the nature of the preliminary arrangements for bringing the law into operation, it is now proposed, as in the author’s ‘History of the English Poor Law,’ and as is also done in his ‘History of the Poor Law of Scotland,’ to take the Commissioners’ annual Reports as the groundwork of the narrative. Their first Report of proceedings is dated 1st May 1839.^[89] It comprises only a short period, and will not require a lengthened notice; but it is of considerable interest, as showing the steps earliest taken in the introduction of the measure.

Election proceedings.

As the time approached for declaring Unions, and for constituting boards of guardians, it was necessary be prepared for conducting the elections. Arrangements were accordingly made, with the sanction of the Irish government, for the distribution and collection of the voting-papers by the constabulary; and as the commissioners were immediately responsible for the appointment of returning officers to conduct the elections, the assistant-commissioners were directed to seek for and recommend competent individuals for the purpose, that is, some one in each district about to be united who was well known, and possessed the confidence of the ratepayers; and the Report states that there is every reason to be satisfied with the manner in which the selections have been made.

To aid the returning officers in the performance of their novel duties, they were furnished with ample instructions on every point not provided for in the 243election order; and the assistant-commissioners were required to attend at all the early stages of the proceedings in every union, to afford such further assistance and counsel as might be necessary. Some few irregularities occurred, but not more than was to be expected under the circumstances. There were likewise a few instances of party or sectarian feeling, but in no case were improper individuals returned as guardians; and allowance being made for the want of previous training, the Irish boards will, it is said, “fairly bear a comparison with the boards in England,” and a hope is confidently expressed that the measure will not fail through the want of an efficient executive.

The workhouses.

Relief in the workhouse being the only mode of relief sanctioned by the Act, it was evident that until a workhouse is provided the law must be practically inoperative. Attention was therefore early directed to this object, for the due execution of which the commissioners were alone responsible; and much pains were taken to ascertain the kind of buildings that would be most suitable, having regard to the circumstances of the country and the habits of the people. After extensive inquiry, as well in England as in Ireland, and a careful consideration of the whole subject, it was determined to engage an architect experienced in the construction of English workhouses, and to employ him in conjunction with the assistant-commissioners, and with the aid of the best local information that could be obtained, in devising a series of plans for the Irish workhouses, of different sizes, together with descriptive specifications and estimates for each.^[90] This was accordingly done, and the proceeding was fully justified by the result. The style of building adopted for 244the workhouses, was of the cheapest description compatible with durability; and effect was sought to be obtained through harmony of proportion and simplicity of arrangement, all mere decoration being studiously excluded. The unoccupied barracks were originally proposed to be converted into workhouses, and at first a few of the unions were arranged with a view to this object. But after repeated discussions with the Ordnance authorities, it became evident that very few if any of these buildings could be obtained, the whole appearing to be considered necessary for military purposes.^[91]

Valuations and rating.

One of the first duties to which a board of guardians is required to attend, was the valuation of the property within the union for the purpose of its being rated to the relief of the poor. This under any circumstances is a matter of some difficulty, but in Ireland the difficulty was increased by the condition of the country, and the absence in many parts of any reliable data for framing such a valuation. To assist the guardians in the performance of their duties in this respect, they were furnished with very full instructions, pointing out in detail the principle on which the valuation and the rating were to be conducted, and all that was necessary to be attended to, in order to fulfil what the law required.

Shortly after the commencement of operations in Ireland, it was discovered, as has been before stated, that there were certain defects in the Act, which it was necessary forthwith to remedy; and this it has been shown was accordingly done by the passing of the 2nd Vict., cap. 1,^[92] until after which no union could be 245formed in Dublin and some of the other chief towns, owing to the townland division not being there known.

Unions declared.

On the 25th of March, the end of the usual parochial year, the Report states that—“the number of unions declared was 22, and that in 18 of these boards of guardians had been elected. The requisite statistical details were also completed for nine other unions, which would shortly be declared, and considerable progress had likewise been made in arranging nine more.” Such were the results of somewhat less than six months’ operations in the introduction of the Irish Poor Law, and they were generally regarded as satisfactory, and as warranting an expectation of the successful introduction of the measure.

1840. Second report of proceedings in Ireland.

The Report of the second year’s proceeding is dated 30th April 1840, and is considerably longer than the preceding Report. It was moreover report of accompanied by an Appendix containing copies of Orders and Reports, in fact a copy of each class of important documents issued or received by the Dublin board, thus showing not only everything that was done for bringing the law into operation, but also the mode of doing it, and whatever took place in connexion with it.

Unions declared, and workhouses in progress.

The first Report brings the proceedings down to the 25th of March 1839. The second Report brings them down to the same date in 1840, at which time the number, of unions declared was 104, and it was thought that 30 more would probably complete the number into which it might be desirable that the country should be arranged. This would be a greater number than was at first contemplated, but a strong desire for small unions was found to be very general; and this desire, added to the want of convenient centres, and other local circumstances, led to an increase of the number beyond the original 246estimate. Sixty workhouses had been contracted for, and were in progress of building, and arrangements for ten others were considerably advanced.

Three additional assistant-commissioners.

It soon appeared to be on many accounts exceedingly desirable, not only that the formation of the unions, but also that the necessary arrangements for administering relief, should be urged forward as rapidly as possible. The government concurred in this view, and sanctioned the appointment of two additional assistant-assistant-commissioners,^[93] who after a short training in England, were assigned to their respective duties in Ireland, whither also another of the English assistant-commissioners was transferred.^[93] The valuable services of Mr. Earle were in the present year withdrawn from the commission, and he was succeeded in the charge of the Dublin district by Mr. Hall, who had previously been acting in England.

Formation of unions.

Great pains were taken in forming the unions, and for the most part the arrangements made were satisfactory to the parties interested, but not always so to the extent desired; for it was not always found possible “to adapt the limits of the union to the limits of individual properties, and at the same time adhere to other local boundaries and pay a due regard to general convenience.” Difficulties likewise arose in determining the portion of rural district to be included in the same electoral division with towns, or with other places where the destitute and mendicant classes were numerous. Such places were regarded as likely to bring a burden upon whatever else they might be combined with. It does not follow however because mendicancy prevails in a town, that the poor-rates will be heavier there than in the neighbouring country districts. The reverse will often be the case, the larger amount of 247property rateable in a town, being more than equivalent to its comparatively greater charge of pauperism. The practice generally adopted on such occasions, was to attach to a town as much of the adjoining district as seemed naturally to belong to it, and over which the town mendicants habitually levied contributions. No part of an electoral division so formed would be subjected to any new burden. It had supported the mendicant classes heretofore—it would have to pay rates for supporting the destitute thereafter; and of the two, the latter would probably be found the lighter.

Before submitting a proposal for establishing a union, the assistant-commissioners in every instance called a meeting of the inhabitants of the district, and explained the nature and intent of the law, together with the proposed arrangements for carrying it into effect, and also took into consideration whatever objections or suggestions there might have been made on the occasion; and it was not until after this public exposition of the course proposed to be pursued, and a careful sifting of testimony for and against it, that the arrangements for the several unions were proposed to, and received the sanction of the board in Dublin. The Reports of the assistant-commissioners on these occasions were sometimes long and minute, entering into a detail of the circumstances of the district, and thus forming “a valuable body of information general and statistical, which may hereafter serve to test the working of the measure, and its effects upon the population.” A copy of one of these Reports furnished by each of the assistant-commissioners, was inserted by way of example in the Appendix to the annual Report.

The Dublin house of industry.

The Board’s attention was early directed to the state of the charitable institutions in Dublin, and especially to the house of industry and the foundling hospital, both of which became vested in the commissioners under the 34th section of the Poor Relief 248Act. The house of industry consisted of an asylum for aged and infirm poor and incurable lunatics, together with the Hardwick, the Whitworth, and the Richmond Hospitals, and the Talbot Dispensary. It was constituted under the Irish Act of 11th and 12th Geo. 3rd, cap. 11,^[94] and was expected to be supported by voluntary contributions, but these soon failed, and in 1777 it received a grant of 4,000l. from parliament, and had continued ever since to be supported in like manner. In 1816 it was determined to appropriate the house of industry to the reception of the aged and infirm and the sick poor, orphan children, and lunatics and idiots. This led to the introduction of a large number of persons requiring medical treatment, and made it necessary to provide hospitals for the purpose. The expense of the entire establishment was defrayed by parliament, and the grant for each of the preceding five years had been 20,000l. The estimate for 1839 was 21,136l. The number of inmates was as follows—

Aged and infirm poor 888

Incurable lunatics and epileptics 474

1,362

Sick in the hospitals 303

Total 1,665

The Dublin foundling hospital.

The foundling hospital was established in 1704 by the 2nd Anne, cap. 19, and was re-constituted in 1772 by the 11th and 12th Geo. 3, cap. 11.^[95] With the exception of a small rent from property devised to it, the institution had been supported by parliamentary grants, which during the last five years had averaged 14,765l. The estimate for the current year was 11,255l. Infants were at first, and for many years subsequently, received into the hospital without payment or inquiry, the annual number varying from 1,500 to 2,000. In 1822 a deposit of 5l. was required with 249each child, which soon had the effect of reducing the admissions to below 500; and in 1829 a committee of the house of commons recommended that admissions should cease altogether, which they accordingly did in the following year. The previous admissions however had been so numerous, that on the 25th of March 1839 the dependents on the institution still amounted to 4,258, viz.—

Children at nurse in the country, of whom 446 are under ten years of age 1,484

Apprentices 2,528

In course of being apprenticed, or under medical treatment in the house 40

Adults on the invalid list 206

4,258

The invalid class consisted of 150 females and 56 males, and had accumulated principally since 1797, only 13 having been admitted previous to that year. “Many were blind, some crippled, others were severe cases of scrofula, and a few were deaf and dumb. They were quartered in the country, and were annually visited by the inspectors.”

Arrangements with regard to the house of industry and foundling hospital.

The capacity of the house of industry and foundling hospital for being converted to workhouses, and the great prevalence of mendicancy in Dublin, made it expedient to introduce the new law with as little delay as possible; and steps were taken for this purpose, as soon as the passing of the Amendment Act^[96] enabled the board to unite districts not being townlands. Arrangements were, with the approbation of government, made for the lunatic inmates of the house of industry, amounting with their attendants to 523, by preparing certain old barracks at Island Bridge for their reception; and as the hospitals and the dispensary, when detached from the house of industry, would stand in need of kitchen and other office accommodation, these essentials 250were accordingly provided, and the appointments in connexion with them were consigned to the Irish government. With regard to the foundling hospital, a suitable residence was provided for the officers, and for such of the children as it might be occasionally necessary to bring to Dublin. The expense attendant upon making these various changes was very considerable, but the whole was accomplished “without calling for any advance beyond the money already voted by parliament for the house of industry and foundling hospital, the balance remaining from the vote of the year preceding, and the saving of expenditure by enforcing a rigid economy during the past year, having afforded sufficient funds to effect all that was necessary.” This result is declared to have been chiefly owing to the confidence which government placed in the commissioners with regard to a matter of much intricacy, and which did not perhaps strictly come within the line of their duty. It was also in no slight degree owing to the prompt support afforded by his excellency the lord lieutenant, whose cordial co-operation and assistance on all occasions is gratefully noticed in the Report.^[97]

The two Dublin unions.

A full account of the measures adopted with regard to the Dublin foundling hospital and house of industry, is given in the assistant-commissioners’ Report^[98] on these institutions, and also of what was required to be done preparatory to their being used as the workhouses of the two Dublin unions, for which they were well suited both as to size and situation. One of the unions comprised the district on the south side of the Liffey, with a population of 182,767; and the other comprised the district on the north side, 251having a population of 125,245. The workhouses would each be made capable of accommodating 2,000 inmates, and were very conveniently placed, with a sufficiency of land attached to them. A belt of unions had been formed nearly encircling the city, so that the Dublin unions would be protected from undue pressure. The guardians exhibited a good spirit, and promised an active co-operation in carrying out the law.|Dublin workhouses declared, March 25, 1840.| The unions were both declared on the 6th of June 1839; and the order declaring the workhouses fit for the reception of paupers was issued on the 25th of March 1840, the interval being occupied in making the necessary preparations.

The Cork union.

Cork possessed a foundling hospital and a house of industry as well as Dublin; but both were much smaller than the metropolitan ones, and the house of industry alone was susceptible of being used as a workhouse, and that only temporarily until an adequate building could be provided for the purpose. With respect to the foundling hospital, steps were taken as in the case of that of Dublin, to bring it to a close at the earliest period compatible with the wellbeing of the children maintained in it. The Cork guardians entered with alacrity on the discharge of their new duties, and took immediate steps for obtaining a valuation, and levying a rate. It was therefore determined in compliance with the desire strongly expressed by them, and by the inhabitants generally, to bring the law into full operation in the Cork union with the least possible delay, although it was not unlikely that some inconvenience might arise from relief being administered there so much sooner than it would be practicable to provide for its administration in the neighbouring districts. |Cork workhouse declared temporarily, February 15, 1840.| The union was declared on the 3rd of April 1839; and on the 15th of February 1840 an order was issued declaring the old house of industry to be the temporary workhouse of the 252union for administering relief. Full instructions were furnished to the guardians on the occasion, and an intention was expressed of watching the progress of the Cork and the Dublin unions, with a view to the prompt exercise of the powers provided by the law for mitigating “whatever inconveniences might arise from thus early bringing the law into operation.” The proceeding was one of great interest, and of great anxiety also to those on whom the responsibility rested, so much depending on the success of the first unions. The author has a vivid recollection of all that passed on the occasion, and of the deep thankfulness experienced on witnessing the efficient working of these unions, and this moreover under difficulties far greater than would be likely to arise when the course of procedure was more matured.

Workhouse regulations and order of accounts prepared.

As the period approached for bringing the Cork and the Dublin workhouses into operation, it became necessary to prepare a code of workhouse regulations, and a system of union accounts. The latter, it was endeavoured to make as simple as possible, having regard to accuracy and to a proper discrimination of subjects; and the former it was determined to frame on the model of the English workhouse regulations, making such changes only as were necessary for adapting them to the circumstances existing in Ireland. The “order for regulating the workhouse, and for keeping and auditing accounts,”^[99] was accordingly prepared, and was issued successively as the unions became sufficiently advanced for its reception. |The workhouse dietaries.| With regard to the dietaries, an “order” for which it was also necessary to prepare, the Board instituted inquiries into the mode of living in different parts of Ireland, so as to be able to establish dietaries in the different unions that should accord with 253the general habits of the people, and yet “not be in any case superior to the ordinary mode of subsistence of the labouring classes in the neighbourhood.” On this principle the Board continued to frame the workhouse dietaries, as being essential adjuncts of workhouse management. But for the efficiency of the workhouse, reliance was chiefly placed on the enforcement of order, sobriety, cleanliness, daily occupation, the observance of decency and decorum, and the exclusion of all stimulants to excitement—these constitute the real strength of the workhouse as a test of destitution, and would be in a great degree effective, even if the diet, clothing, and other merely physical appliances were superior to what is seen in the neighbouring cottages; and these essentials the workhouse regulations are calculated to maintain.

Exaggerated expectations as to the effects of the Poor-law.

Very exaggerated notions prevailed as to what would be the effect of the Poor Law, when brought into full operation. Some declared that all the charitable institutions would be immediately annihilated, as people would cease to subscribe as soon as they were called upon to pay a poor-rate, and compensation was claimed on behalf of certain functionaries, on the ground that they would be deprived of their means of living when the workhouses were opened. Numerous applications were made on the subject, and among others by the officers of the Dublin Mendicity Association who claimed to be compensated on this account. They were however told that the association might still be continued with advantage, as an independent auxiliary to the Poor Law; for that it was highly probable there would be a class of persons whose destitution would not be so urgent as to compel them to become inmates of the workhouses, and who yet would be proper objects of such charitable assistance as it came within the province of the mendicity institution to bestow.

Erection of workhouses.

254The measures connected with the erection of workhouses required much care and circumspection, and a constant watchfulness of the prices of labour and materials in the several districts. The buildings were proceeded with in such a way as to create the least disturbance in the labour-market, and it was endeavoured to spread the operations as equally as possible throughout the country. Notwithstanding these precautions however, a tendency to advance in prices was sometimes manifested; but on such occasions the Board made it to be understood, that it was prepared to put out repeated advertisements, or to postpone building altogether for a season, rather than submit to terms above what it considered to be the fair market price. On the other hand, the Board did not bind itself to accept the lowest tender, and generally gave a preference to builders resident in the district, when of good character and possessing a sufficient command of means. The extreme wetness of the previous season was very unfavourable to building, and also delayed the valuations, so that the completion and opening of the workhouses was delayed longer than had been at first contemplated; but an assurance was given, that no effort would be spared to effect this object at the earliest possible period.

Repression of mendicancy.

Numerous representations were addressed to the board on the subject of mendicancy, urging provision should be made for its being put an end to simultaneously with the commencement of relief under the Poor Law. The question was very generally discussed by the boards of guardians, and forty of them, for the most part unanimously, passed resolutions in favour of a measure for the suppression of mendicancy; but three of the boards took a different view, and were adverse to such suppression. The correspondence which took place on these occasions appears in the Annual Report, and also a minute which the 255Dublin board addressed to the assistant-commissioners on the occasion. In this minute, after pointing out the necessity for repressing vagrancy and mendicancy as a measure of police, the repression is declared to be likewise necessary for ensuring the effective operation of the Poor Law; for so long as the vagrant classes were permitted to levy contributions on the plea of destitution, the ratepayers, although taxed for the relief of the destitute, would not be protected from the daily demands of the mendicant, nor be exonerated from those compulsory contributions which the mendicant so well knows how to exact. Unless mendicancy were repressed therefore, great injustice would be inflicted on the ratepayer, whose payment of the poor-rate entitles him to protection from such demands. The most expedient way of effecting this object, was considered to be by establishing a law founded on the English Vagrancy Act, with such modifications as might be necessary for adapting it to the state of Ireland.^[100]

Emigration.

The subject of emigration was generally regarded with great interest in Ireland, and had latterly occupied more than usual attention, partly on account of a persuasion that it would be necessary to have recourse to it as the corrective for a redundant population, and partly also in consequence of the efforts which were made by certain associations to promote it. In answer to the various representations on the subject, the Board did not offer any opinion as to whether an extensive and organized system of emigration were necessary or not, but considered that there might be localities over-densely peopled, to which it might be applied with advantage. When the unions were all in operation, and when the effects of the Poor Law had been fully developed, the Board would be prepared to 256state its views on the subject—“but pending the introduction of the Poor Law, one object of which was to establish an identity of interest between the owners and occupiers of property and the working classes, and to hold out to the former the strongest inducements to extend the field of employment at home”—pending the development of this great impulse upon the home energies of the country, it was considered that it would be premature to offer any opinion on the general question of emigration.

Distress in the western districts—relief afforded by government.

As the summer of 1839 advanced, severe distress began to prevail in several districts of the west of Ireland, and the government deputed Captain Chads of the Royal Navy to investigate its extent and furnished him with means for affording such present relief as might be found imperatively necessary.^[101] It was at first thought, that where poor-law unions had been formed, use might be made of the union machinery in dispensing the relief which government was prepared to furnish; but it soon appeared that this would be inexpedient if not impracticable, and that the administering of government aid must be kept totally distinct from the poor-law executive, except only as regarded information and advice and whatever other facilities the assistant-commissioners might be able to afford. The relief distributed by the agent of government on this occasion, was in every case made contingent upon an equal amount being raised by persons resident or having property in the district; and notwithstanding the danger from fraud and misrepresentation to which a person so deputed was obviously liable, and the still greater danger of creating an undue dependence upon government aid, there is reason to believe that a considerable amount of good was effected, 257and that little mischief was caused by what was done by the agent of government in this instance.

Unfavourable season.

The extremely wet and ungenial summer and autumn of 1839, caused great apprehension throughout Ireland as to the effect upon the crops, and steps were taken to obtain correct information on the subject, particularly with regard to the potato crop, it being the one most universally important to the Irish people. The result of these inquiries through the assistant-commissioners and other sources, showed that there was much ground for alarm, “the crop appearing to be deficient in quantity in some districts, whilst owing to the almost incessant rains the quality would it was feared be found inferior in all, and probably so far inferior as not to admit of the potatoes being kept for the usual time.” If such should turn out to be the case, distress wide spreading and severe would inevitably ensue, and the distress would moreover be aggravated by the want of fuel, the people having been prevented by the continual wet from gathering in their turf.

Suggestions for relieving the distress.

Many applications were addressed to the Poor Law board, and to the Irish government on this subject, several of them containing schemes and suggestions for rendering the Poor Law available, in case the danger apprehended should actually arise; and it was therefore deemed advisable that the views of the Board in reference to this question should be made known. This was accordingly done by a minute, calling attention to the provisions by which relief was to be governed.

Board’s minute, Dec. 5th 1839.

The minute states, that the 3rd section of the Act directed that relief should be administered “according to such laws as shall be in force at the time being;” and that the 41st section provides—“That when the commissioners shall have declared the workhouse of any union to be fit for the reception of destitute poor, and not before, it shall be lawful 258for the guardians to take order for relieving and setting to work therein destitute poor persons &c.” Nowhere else is power given to the guardians to administer relief—their functions in this respect are limited to receiving destitute persons into the workhouse, and relieving and setting them to work “therein.” And by the 52nd section it is further provided, “that it shall not be lawful for the commissioners, or guardians, or other persons acting in execution of this Act, to apply directly or indirectly any money raised under authority of this Act, to the relief of destitute poor in any other manner than is herein expressly mentioned, or to any purpose not expressly provided for in this Act.” Whether the relief so provided for be or be not in the opinion of the guardians suitable or sufficient, the Act under which they are constituted, and whence their administrative functions are derived, is thus seen to be precise and definite in its provisions; and they were told that they could not legally deviate in the slightest degree from the course it prescribes, neither did there reside in the Poor Law Commissioners any power or discretion to authorize any such deviation. Some persons however suggested that the law should be altered early in the next session, so as to allow of other modes of relief as a temporary measure, to meet the then apprehended exigency. But this, it was said, would be re-opening a question upon which the deliberate sense of the legislature had been recently recorded; and parliament having deemed it right to prohibit all relief except in the workhouse, the commissioners could not encourage an application which had for its object the reversal of that decision.

Such was the general purport of the minute, although considerably more in detail, and embracing some minor points not noticed above. It was circulated among the boards of guardians, and was thought to have produced a good effect by directing attention to the principle as well as to the provisions of the Act. There was reason 259to believe moreover, that the potato crop, although scanty in some districts, was on the whole not materially deficient in produce, and that although the quality was generally inferior, the potatoes would keep nearly as well as in ordinary seasons. There was likewise reason to believe that the dread of scarcity had influenced the people to be more careful and economical in the use of their stores than they probably otherwise might have been, and that they would thus by provident forethought avert the occurrence of any very serious amount of distress, notwithstanding that a general deficiency in the grain crops was superadded to the other evils arising out of the extreme wetness of the season.

1841. Third report of proceedings in Ireland.

The third Report of proceedings in Ireland is dated May 1st, and contains an account of all that was done during the previous parochial year, ending March 25th 1841. At the date of the second Report 104 unions had been declared. |Unions and workhouses.| At the date of the third Report we find the number increased to 127, and it is stated that only 3 more will be required, and that these will be declared in the course of the present month, making the entire number of unions in Ireland amount to 130. At the date of the last Report 60 workhouses had been contracted for, and the buildings were in different stages of progress. The number of workhouses contracted for and built or in process of building up to the 25th of March 1841, was 115, of which a particular account is given in a Report by the architect inserted in the Appendix to the present Report.

Erection of the workhouses.

The providing of the Irish workhouses was a large and difficult operation, involving a great variety of details, and requiring constant attention. The contracts were as stated in the last Report entered into so gradually, and the works were spread so equally throughout the country, that although the number actually in progress at one time was greater than it might 260at first have been considered safe or expedient to undertake, it yet was not found that prices were materially affected, or that any other material inconvenience had arisen. One of the chief impediments was the delay and difficulty encountered in obtaining sites for the workhouses, owing to encumbrances and other circumstances connected with landed property in Ireland, and to the Act’s containing no special provision for the purpose. At one time indeed it was thought that it would have been necessary to apply to parliament on the subject; but by determined perseverance sites were at length everywhere obtained, and although not in every case so good as might be wished, no union was left without one sufficient for its object. The winter of 1841 began early, and continued late, and was unusually severe, which greatly retarded the progress of the buildings; but the contractors were generally sensible of the value of time, and whenever the weather permitted, exerted themselves to recover what was unavoidably lost through unfavourable seasons. It may perhaps not be deemed irrelevant to mention, that the author being then the resident commissioner in Ireland, he made a point of examining every workhouse site purchased, or intended to be purchased, and also inspected once at least in every year each of the workhouses, whether built or in progress of building. These inspections were no doubt a great addition to his other labours, but they were very necessary for correcting the defects and omissions which are sure to occur in carrying out so extensive an operation.

Fourteen workhouses in operation.

Eleven workhouses were completed and opened for the relief of the destitute poor during the year 1840-41 in addition to those of Dublin and Cork opened in the preceding year, and making fourteen in all. Two of these belonged to the important unions of Londonderry and Belfast. The Londonderry house had been open throughout the winter, and continued 261to work in all respects satisfactorily. The others had been too recently declared to afford reliable indications as to their future working, but nothing had occurred to excite apprehension with respect to them.

The Dublin unions.

The two Dublin workhouses had been opened upwards of twelve months, and the guardians had attended to the administration of relief and the union business generally, in a very exemplary manner. Before the houses were thoroughly completed and organized, the closing of the Dublin mendicity institution threw a sudden pressure upon these establishments, especially upon that of the South Dublin union, as many as 500 poor persons having been admitted there in one week, and 1,473 within the first month, a great majority of whom had been previously supported in the Dublin Mendicity. Such an influx could hardly fail of causing embarrassment and confusion, and it may be regarded as a proof of the efficiency of the workhouse system, that notwithstanding the want of preparation which necessarily prevailed, and the inexperience of the guardians and union officers, so large an admission was provided for, and order speedily established. Even after the first influx of mendicity paupers had ceased, there was great pressure for admission, on which account a cautionary letter was addressed to the guardians, recommending that from the numerous applicants they should at one time select such a moderate number only “as could be conveniently cleansed, classified, placed in their proper wards, and registered in course of that and the following day;” and likewise, that the visiting committee should report as to the condition of the inmates, and whether they had been disposed of in accordance with the regulations, previous to further admissions taking place on the days fixed for the purpose. In the absence of strict discipline, the workhouse will, they are told, become a place to which the idle would resort to the 262exclusion of those who are real objects of charity; and this was the more to be apprehended in the Dublin unions, from the circumstance of their workhouses being open while no relief was given in the neighbouring unions, and were consequently attracting from the surrounding country those poor persons who needed or who professed to need such relief. The number of inmates in the South Dublin workhouse on the 25th of March was 2,080, and in the North Dublin the number was 1,837.

The Cork union.

The case of Cork differed materially from the two Dublin unions. These had each a capacious workhouse in which classification could be established and order be enforced; but the Cork house was small, ill-arranged, and altogether insufficient for these purposes; and it was not without considerable misgiving, that in compliance with the wishes of the guardians, it had been permitted to be used as the temporary workhouse of the union, until the new house should be ready.^[102] The inconvenience was certainly less felt than might be expected, the guardians having made the most of the old building, and established a tolerable degree of order among the inmates under circumstances extremely unfavourable for the purpose. The number of inmates on the 25th of March was 1,844, nearly the half of whom were former inmates of the old house of industry. This number was much beyond what could be properly accommodated, but owing to the severity of the winter and the high price of provisions there had been much distress among the poor, and the pressure for admission had consequently been very great. When relief shall be administered in the neighbouring unions, the pressure upon Cork may be expected to subside. The new house is calculated for 2,000 inmates, and will it is considered, when completed, be sufficient to meet the wants of the union.

263The foregoing account of the proceedings in the Cork and Dublin unions, exhibits the actual working of the Poor Law in the only unions in which it had been in operation sufficiently long for showing any definite result. In each of these unions workhouse relief had been administered for upwards of a year, and the boards of guardians and other executives had mostly held office for double that period. The circumstances under which they had to act, were moreover peculiarly trying. These unions may therefore be regarded as average examples of the working of the law, and might be appealed to in proof of its sufficiency for the objects contemplated in its enactment. There was no doubt still in these three unions much to adjust and regulate, which it required time and watchfulness to effect. But the general establishment of the law throughout Ireland might now, it was considered, be looked forward to with confidence, nothing having hitherto occurred to raise a doubt as to its applicability; but on the contrary, all the proceedings had served to show that the system was suitable to the circumstances of the country, and adequate for the relief of the destitute poor.

By the 123rd section of the Relief Act it is directed, that an account of the expenditure upon the relief of the poor during the year, and the total number of persons relieved, in each union on the 1st of January, shall be annually laid before parliament, together with the commissioners’ General Report. On the 1st of January 1841, the returns showed that the expense of relief in the previous year, and the numbers relieved in the four unions then in operation, were as follows—

No. in the workhouse on the 1st Jan. 1841.

Cork £12,453 8 0 1,549

North Dublin 10,407 12 7 1,601

South Dublin 12,732 3 8 1,987

Londonderry (two months) 1,464 4 5 331

£37,057 8 8 Total 5,468

Education and training of workhouse children.

264The education of the children maintained in the workhouse, was from the very outset felt to be a matter of the utmost importance. In the North Dublin workhouse there were 500 children under sixteen years of age, and in the South Dublin workhouse there were 635. That these children should be trained up in moral and religious habits, and be fitted by education and by instruction in useful branches of industry for earning their own living, all must admit to be necessary; and for these purposes a protestant and a Roman catholic chaplain, and a schoolmaster and schoolmistress, were appointed to each workhouse. The girls were taught sewing, and were employed in the domestic work of the house, so as to fit them for service. The boys were taught tailoring, shoemaking, carpentering, and some were set to work in the garden: but the various employments to which boys reared in the workhouse are likely in after life to betake themselves, hardly admit of their being specifically trained for them, and little more can be done in the way of preparation than to send them forth imbued with habits of industry, their frames strengthened and inured to labour, their tempers and mental faculties duly cultivated, and above all with their minds duly impressed with a sense of their moral and religious duties. When thus prepared, they will be best fitted for entering upon the duties incidental to their position, on the right performance of which their future condition in life must depend. The earnest attention of the Dublin boards was given to this subject, and arrangements were made with the Commissioners of National Education for inspecting the workhouse schools, and for supplying them with books and other requisites on the most favourable terms. The Board likewise took advantage of every opportunity for impressing upon the guardians and union officers the great importance of attending to the education and training of these children, and of getting 265them out into service and other occupations as soon as they were fitted for it.

Mendicancy.

Shortly after the opening of the Dublin workhouses, a marked decrease was observed in the number of beggars, and persons before adverse to the Poor Law were then heard to speak in its favour. Many of the beggars had in fact entered the workhouses, and thus the public were relieved from their solicitations; but the relief was short-lived, for others soon flocked in from the neighbouring districts, and many who had entered the workhouses experimentally as it were, or through fear that their vocation might be suddenly put a stop to, again left them and resumed their former practice of begging; and thus after a time, the streets and suburbs of Dublin were as full of beggars as before. This circumstance appears to have produced a very general conviction, not in Dublin only but throughout the country, of the necessity for suppressing mendicancy, and Lord Morpeth^[103] introduced a bill for the purpose, which however was not proceeded with. The commissioners nevertheless again emphatically declared “that a law for the repression of mendicancy was essential to the well-working of the Poor Relief Act in Ireland.”

The valuations.

Much attention was given to the valuations of the rateable property in the several unions, and such advice and assistance as appeared to be necessary were afforded on the occasion. The valuations were said to be complete in fifty of the unions, and were in progress in most of the others; and notwithstanding that they were said to be too low, “there was on the whole reason to be satisfied with the manner in which this very important duty had been performed, although in so large an operation, entered upon under such a variety of circumstances, there must be variances 266and imperfections requiring time and experience to rectify.” It was at this time proposed to found the parliamentary franchise upon the Poor Law valuations, and the author’s opinion was asked as to their accuracy, and whether the commissioners possessed sufficient power for securing their correctness in future. A good deal of communication took place on the subject, and the author stated that he considered no further powers to be necessary—that strictly speaking the valuation was only applicable to one rate, and was constantly open to revision as the value of property changed, or as circumstances required it; so that supposing the valuations not to be accurate then, as provision was made for successive revisions, it could hardly be doubted that after a few rates had been levied, they would be made to approximate very closely to what was contemplated by the Act, and would also be kept in that state by the self-corrective principle with which they were imbued. With respect to any consequences likely to arise from basing the parliamentary or the municipal franchise upon the Poor Law valuations, if either should be determined on, he thought “that whatever influence such a connexion might have, must tend to raise the valuations; and as these were now confessedly too low, the effect would be so far beneficial.”

Election of guardians.

Many irregularities had occurred in the election of guardians, and there had likewise been instances of improper interference with the distribution and collection of the voting papers. An inquiry was therefore instituted with a view to ascertain whether it might not be expedient to make some change in these respects. Under the Municipal Corporation Act, the suffrages are required to be given at polling-places appointed for the purpose, while by the Board’s order for the election of guardians they are directed to be given by means of voting papers; and of the two modes, many persons thought the former best suited to the 267state of Ireland. But although irregularities and improper influence had no doubt in some cases interfered with the distribution and collection of the voting papers, intimidation and undue influence of another kind might, it was thought, be as effectually practised, and in a more turbulent manner, when the electors proceed to polling-places to record their votes; and to make so important a change at the then early stage of the proceedings, unless it were absolutely necessary, would tend to weaken public confidence—on all which accounts, and after much consideration, it was determined to adhere to the mode of conducting the elections then established—endeavouring however at the same time to improve the details, and as far as possible to guard against irregularities and improper influences of every kind. Elections had taken place in 99 unions, and in 25 of these the guardians were returned without a contest. The other 74 unions comprised 1,234 electoral divisions, and ten divisions which were subdivided into 54 wards, making in all 1,288 election districts, in 254 of which contests took place, whilst in 1,034 the guardians were returned without a contest. These results seemed to augur well for the future elections under the existing order. A tabular statement showing the particulars of all these elections, with the names of the several returning officers, is given in the Appendix to the Annual Report.

The medical charities.

A limited inquiry into the state of a few of the medical charities had been made in the previous year, but a more extended inquiry under the provisions of the Poor Relief Act appearing to be desired, and the time indicated by the 46th section for commencing such inquiry, namely “so soon as conveniently may be after the formation of the unions,” having arrived, it was determined that the whole of the medical charities should forthwith be examined, and a series of instructions were accordingly prepared for the 268purpose.^[104] At the date of the commissioners’ third Annual Report the medical charities within 53 of the unions had been examined and reported upon, and as these were spread over every part of the country, and comprised every variety of circumstance usually connected with such institutions, they might be considered as presenting a fair sample of the wants, and of the actual state and condition of the whole. It was therefore thought that a sufficient amount of information had been obtained for reporting the same to government, and suggesting such corrective measures as appeared to be called for, although the inquiry had not been completed in all the unions; and this was soon afterwards accordingly done.

Vaccination.

The 3rd and 4th Vict., cap. 29, ‘to extend the practice of vaccination,’ had been passed in the year preceding, and no time was lost in bringing the Act into operation in Ireland, so far as depended on the Poor Law executive. Letters were addressed to the unions, advising and instructing the guardians as to the steps to be taken by them on the occasion, and furnishing them with the necessary forms of contract &c. for carrying the law into effect. These were generally found sufficient for the purpose, and ninety of the unions had already contracted in the form and on the terms proposed; and the others would, it was expected, do the same, when their organization became sufficiently advanced. The rate of remuneration recommended for the medical practitioners, was a shilling for each case of successful vaccination treated during the year up to 200, and sixpence for each such case beyond that number; but the guardians were not restricted to these rates, if in any case they should appear to them to be unsuitable.

Union agricultural societies.

269It had always been considered that the union machinery would afford facilities for the introduction of local improvements in Ireland. Hitherto there had been a want of means for carrying any such object into effect. But the Union authorities now afforded the means, and possessed sufficient local influence for setting on foot and supporting whatever local measures might be necessary for promoting the comfort and well-being of the people. I had frequent communications on this interesting subject with persons residing in different parts of the country, and I omitted no opportunity of adverting to the important considerations which it involved. Agriculture is the chief staple of Ireland, on which the welfare, and it may be said the very existence of its inhabitants depended. Yet agriculture was, with few exceptions, confessedly in a very backward state; and it appeared to me likely that this backwardness might to some extent be remedied by the establishment of union agricultural societies—that is, associations for promoting improvements in agriculture within the limits of the respective unions; but of course to be in no way connected with the administration of the Poor Law. Efforts were accordingly made for accomplishing this object, and with considerable success, several such associations having been formed at the date of the third Report, the Ballinasloe union under its chairman Lord Clancarty being the first, and others likewise being in course of formation, with every prospect of beneficial results.

Prevalence of distress.

The prices of provisions were high during nearly the whole of last year (1840), and there was a good deal of distress in some districts. Applications for assistance were as usual made to government on the approach of summer in the present year, and these being referred to the Dublin Board, were in every instance fully inquired into. It was evident that much pressure prevailed in some parts of the country, owing to the exhaustion or short supply and consequent 270dearness of the potato; but “it did not appear that the pressure was so great, or the distress in any district so urgent, as to call for extraordinary interference on the part of the government.” The distress which usually took place in the western parts of Ireland between the months of June and September, from a failure of the old and pending the incoming of the new crop, will it may be feared continue more or less to prevail, so long as the potato continues to be the chief or nearly sole food of the population. The intensity of the distress is always in proportion to the length of the interval between the exhaustion of one crop and the maturity of the other; and this interval under ordinary circumstances can only be reduced by the exercise of forethought and prudential considerations by the people themselves. These qualities happily appear to be increasing and becoming more general, the pressure of the preceding year having been sustained, not only without the usual aid from government, but with less suffering and privation than had prevailed in former years, although the last year’s crops were considerably under an average. The people therefore must have been more careful in husbanding their means, and were likewise, it may be presumed, better informed with regard to their social position, and the duties which it imposed upon them. Perhaps a portion of this improvement may be attributed to the frequent discussions with reference to the Poor Law question during the last five or six years, partly also to the organization of unions latterly in progress throughout the country, and partly likewise to the spread of temperance which had happily taken place of late.