THE

POOR MAN'S FRIEND ;

OR,

ESSAYS ON THE R I G H T S AND DUTIES

OF THE POOR.

BY Waa. C O B B E T T ,
---

LONDON :
PRINTED AND P U B L I S H E D BY W . COBBETT,
183, FLEET-Sl'Ul;l!T.
-
1829.
 COBBETT'G
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No. I.

P O O R MAN'S F R I E N D :
' n9

Useful Information and Advice for t1.e Working C l a w ;

i n a Series of Letters, addressed to the Working Claesea
of Preston.
LqYKOv :
Printed and Published by \V. CoseETr, No. 183, Fleet-Street.
-
PRICE TWO-PENCE.
. _ - --

LETTER I.
T O THE

W O R K I N G C L A S S E S OF P R E S T O N .

Kensingtun, 1st August, 1826.

Mu EXCELLENT
FRIENDS,
I. DURING one of those many speeches, which you have
so recently done me the honour to listen to, I promised to
comn~unicate,in the form of a little book, such information
and advice as I thought might, in the present state of things,
be useful to you. I am now about to fulfil this promise.
T h e recollection of the misery in which I found so many
of you; those melancholy etiects of poverty produced by
taxation, that I had the sorrow to witness amongst a people
so industrious and so virtuous; the remembrance of these
will not suffer me to be silent on the subject of the means
necessary to the restoration of your happiness, especially
when I think of the boundless kindness which I received a t
your hands, and which will live in my memory as long a s
memory shall live in me.
2. W e are in a very ticklish state of things : the most
sluggish and torpid of men seem to be convinced, that there
must now, at lnst, be some g r e a t clra?zge. Then, ~bserve,
 the manzifacttiring conceraL is, in some ~ o r t approaching
, understand i t in all its branches. But, indeed, the subject*
i t s end: a total change in its very nature is about to take on which I wish to address you are many ; and as I wish
place : the demand for food and raiment must now address to make this little work as convenient and as ~ j c f u lto you as
itself to the l a n d : the rights, therefore, of the working possible, I intend to publish it in SIXo R E I C ~ IrIN u ~ ~ B E R ~ ,
man ought now to be clearly understood by him, and espe- one Number on the first day of each Montl~,until Decem-
cially his right to food a n d ruiment; a right guarakteed ber or February next. Each Number will be sold to other
by the laws. Upon this and many other important subjec:~, people for T W0-PENC E , by tlie single ropy ; but, according

t h e working man ought, in this awful state of things, to be to my promise, I will cause, as far as I am able, every work-
made fully acquainted with his rights, and his duties, in ing family in Preston, to have delivered a t their dwelling
order to guard him against the consequences of erroneous one copy of cackNumher, as a gift from me, and as a mark
opinions. There are projectors, some of whom recom- of my gratitude for their great kindness towards me. There
mended an issue of assignats, and others a mulcting of will be some difficulty attending this delivery ; but that
all those who lent the Kirrg and Lords and Gentlemen and which is done without any digiculty is seldom much worth,
Parsons money, or, in otlier words, who lent the Government 4. I shall endeavour to make this little work
and Parliament, or nation,'as i t is called, money to carry on useful to the working clusses in all the manufacturiny
the late wars with, and to pay pensions and salaries and districts. I shall, from time to tilne, give them my best
barrack-establishnle~itsand sinecures with. l'here is one advice on matters of great irnpor tance to then1 ; I shall
SIRJANE$ G R A H A MO F NETIIEKRYin Yorkshire, w l ~ o make every effort in my power to give t h e n clear nctions of
in a large pamphlet, reconmends this sort of mulcting. their rights and duties; I shall c!o erery t1ii1:g in my polver
But, I shall tell you more about this in another Number. It to guide them safely through tlie perilous times that are
is, Lowever, an affair that yozc must clearly understand approaching; I shall neglrct nothing that I can lalvfully d o
soon; for, you are a!l deeply concerned in the proposed in order to rescue them from the miserable state, into wl~ich
sntblcting. If that were to take place with impunity, all they, without any fault of their own, havc now been plunged ;
but the aristocracy and parsons would become the basest of znd, above all things, I sllall endeavour to show them, to
$laves: wc should all be nlere beasts of burden to those two prove to them, that the fclult toill be bz tlic?nseloes, if they
sets of men. If this impuder~taristocrat's project could be lie down like dogs and die with hunger; for, as I shall shorn
guietly carried into e e c t , the people of England would them, the humane laws of their country h a r e provided ample
deserve to be lashed to death. succour for every one that is in want, and that, if succour
3. The subjects on which I have to submit my thoughts be not obtained, there must be neglect to appeal to, ordarlng
to you are Inany, and ercry one of great importance. I n violation of, the laws.
the present state of things, when starvation stalks forth i n 5. This is a subject of so much importance ; i t is so vitally
the midst of ylcnty, i t behoves us to look well into the interesting a t this moment, that I should enter on it in pre-
x a t u r e a n d o r i g i ~of property, and into the conditions on ference to all others were it not necessary for me, first of all,
~ v h i c hit is held. Men are not to lie dozvn like dogs a n d to address you on the subject of the L A T E ELECTION,and
die for urant : God never made them for that, and the laws to offer you something in the way of caution as to the
of England positively cornmand the contrary. This, there- N E X T ELECTION. When I have done this, I shall treat
fore, is now become a great subject; and we must rightly of other matters; and I hope to mslte these six or eight
 Numbers form, when put together, a book worthy of the title 8. All Lancashire, and, indeed, all England, knows, that
that I have given it. Stanley and Wood canvassed the town early in May ; that
6. The history of the late election for Preston is, a t pre- I entered Preston for the first time on the 15th of May ; that
sent, fresh in your minds; but it ought, nevertheless, to be I remained there only three days, and then returned to
recorded in print: it is due to you and to me, that we put i n London; that my reception was that of a n old and beloved
black and white a statement of the facts and circumstances friend rather than that of a stranger; that I returned to
which led to the return of WOOD,whom none of you cared Preston on tho 29th of Mag, and was received amidst the
a straw about, and to the exclusion of me, for whose return acclamations, not only of the people of Preston but of those
nineteen-twentieths of you were anxious beyond description. of the country all round about, who had been drawn toge-
.4t Preston the right of election amounts very nearly to uni- ther by the news of my intended arrival, many of then1
I. ersal szlfrage. Every man, who has attained the age of coming from a great distance, and forming, all together, an
twenty-one years, and who has inhabited the town for the assemllage, from first to last, of, perhaps, forty thousand ,

;nst six months, without receiving parochial relief, has a people; that, on my canvass, I was voluntarily promised more
7 ote. Even this is an unjust limitation ; for, according to than half the real good votes in the town; that, during the
the Charter of the Borough, the right of voting is in '< the month that I was in Preston, I never appeared in the streets
inhabitants a t large," aithout any limit as t o time of resi- but amidst huezas and blessings ;that, upon no occasion did
dence ; and there is no more law for limiting it to a re& a n y one person ever, in public, and before my face, openly
d m c e of six months than for limiting it to a residence of and aloud express disapprobation of me, or of any thing that
ten years. The exclusion on account of parochial relief I said or did ; that STANLEY(a grandson of the Earl of
is also arbitrary, and it is cruelly unjust. A man in want Derby), having caused an expensive procession to to be pre-
I ~ a sa r i g h t to relief; it is a right which he possesses in pared to d o honour to his entrance into Preston, was hissed,
lsschange for other and greater rights mhich he has given hooted, and spitten upon by the people ; that WOOD(a son
rip; and is lie, because he has need to use this right, to of an old cotton manufacturer) prudently crept into the
]lave his right of voting taken from him? town unseen; that BARRIE (a Captain in the Navy and a
7. However, we shall have to discuss this matter more Commissioner in Canada), the moment he showed his face,
fLlllyby-and-by, when we come to talk of the means which was pursued and pelted, and was actually compelled to flee
to make use of effectually to prevent yourselves from the hustings the first day lie appeared upon them; that,
you
and your children from starving, during the dreadful times even after the election was over, all the marks of popular
that are approaching. The right of voting extends, in prac- attachment to me remained ; that I came out of the town
tice, tof o u r j f t h s , a t any rate, of the uQorkingmen; and amidst all those deinonstrations of respect and admiration
a s almost the whole of these working men were decidedly which had marked iny entrance into it; and that the like
and openly for me, while a large part of the shopkeepers demonstrations accompanied me even beyond the boundaries
and others anxiously wished me success, it is necessary of the county.
that we clearly see and well remember the means by 9. These facts are well known ; and it is also known that
which these wishes and hopes were defeated, in order I had a majority of, perhaps, twenty to one on the show of
that we may effectually guard against any such means i n hatads. I t is also well known to you, that, on the actual
future. canvass, I had promised me more than three times as many
 votes as WOOD, and many more than STANLEY. I t is, and after that by ones; but he still kept the ditches, which
therefore, necessary to state the means by which my exclu- accomplicrhed two things : namely, they enabled hini to
@ion and the return of Stanley and Wood were effected. know whona every man was going to poll ,fo1. B E F O R E
These objects were accomplished principally by the use of the goodness o r badness of the vote was d cided on ; a n d
d e a l hoards and other deal timber. A model is now they enabled him to prevent my voters from coming on
making of these curious contrivances of NICIIOLASG ~ r n r - faster than those of any other candidate ; or, in other words,
S I I A W ; and I think it likely that this model will finally be as the Tallies had put me at the bottom of the poll so this
deposited in the Town-Hall of Preston, and there kept to polling, tllrough ditches and by tu7.ns, must necessa~ilykeep
the inlmortal Ilono~lr of the engineer. The history of me there.
the deal bcards is very well known to yo11; and, as the 11. Seeing him renolred to pursue this course, having
whole nation will hear enough of them, before next winter evidence that terror was s t work anlongst the voters, and
be orer; as there will be both a model and a copper-plate that some had already been thrown out of bread for having
picture of this set of most curious contrivances, i t is unne- voted for me; seeing a h , that much more than enough liad
cessary for me to say more of them here, than to state their been done to set aside the election, and I, a t the end of the
effects. They enabled the Mayor to keep me, from the out- ninth day, declared my intention not to hring up a n y
set, at the botfom 'If' the poll, though I had three times a s more voters, and I gave notice, that, nest mornin:, I shou!d
many votes as Woc!~: and more than either of the other throw my ditch open to ull parties! Here was a pretty
two, and thoogll my voters were waiting in hundreds to be scene! Here had I the absolute porver of causing Wood,
polled. Thcse deal boards and timbers enabled him to know or Barrie, just which I pleased, to be elected. I could yive
whonz every man was going to vote for, before the m a n m y ditch, or sell it, to which I pleased; and he ~ o u l d ,
w a s exami:ied, and before the vplidily of his vote w a s thereby, h a r e two votes to the otl~er'sone. And this they
dccided o!~. They enabled him to cause the polling to be call a free election! I neither gare nor sold my ditch, but
quick, or sloiv, just as he pleased ; accordingly, he liept ten flung it open for the use of all parties. Now, then, as it was
of my voters, more than two hours under examination, in the becoine next to impossible to poll all the voters, it was clear
early part of the election ; and, in the latter part, when I that whoever (of Barrie and Wood) got the command of this
had ceased to bring up men to rote, he frequently polled a t ditch, got the election. Here, then, there was something
the rate of a nzan in IrnZf a minute. During the three to $ght for: and accordingly the figl~t began the next
first days helpolled only two hundred and eight men ; and, morning !
in one of the latter days, he polled 610 men. In short, 12. The great object with my friends was to keep o u t
these deal boards and timbers enabled him to put into the Barrie. I was now out of tlie question myself, and they
seats those whom he chose to put into them, except in case cared nothing for Wood ; but they abhorred Barrie, as t h e
of such an accident as that which, on this occasion, put in tool of those who had kept them down for so rnany
Wood, and an account of which we shall presently see. years Wood haa green colours; green was the people's
10. The tally-scheme, by which you have been jostled out colour; the green, it is positively asserted, had been tied
of your rights for halfa century, having, on the third day, been under the hoofs of the I~orses,ridden in the chairings, by
put an end to a t my demand, and a t the demand of some of the HORNBIESand HORROCKSES ! The people mere,
my voters, the Mayor then took the rotes by fours, for a day, therefore, bent upon tlie defeat of Bwiie ; they were re-
solved, a t all hazards, that the green should not, this time, j u s t before this adjournment, set of to LORDDERBY'S,
be trampled under the hoofs of the horses of the insolent whence they returned the nest day. I t was said, that thei;
tyrants. Wood had, a t this time (when I opened my ditch) business was, to consult on a proposition which Stanley
only fourteen votes more than Barrie; Barrie had, for several h a d received for ,forming a coalition with Barrie, like the
days, been fast gaining upon him ; only about a t h i r d of old one between the Stanleys and the Horrockses. I t a a i
the voters had polled ;and Wood would have been driven off also said, that this proposition was rejected; and, indeed,
i n two days, had it not been for the poor fellows, some of the cold and shabby and even sneering reception, given to
whom H E , WHILE HE S A T QUIETLY, saw hand- LORDSTANLEY, by the Tories and even by the Whigs.
cufed a n d taken to gaol by dragoons, after they, and they when he came in a t the race-time, seems to warrant this
alone, had given him h's majority ; and by dragoons, too, of report. Be all this as it may, the polling began again on
the bringing in and the employing of whom he h a d ex- the 22d in the morning, and continued throughout the day.
pressed his approbation ! the green and white bludgeon-men having the absolute
13. These good fellows had, for the most part, voted for command of my ditch, and shutting out all those who were
me plumpers. They still carried my colours, green and not about to vote for me, or for me a n d Wood. Thus was
white. They took the green and white qtaves (about six Wood, by these good, honest fellows, whom he (sitting per-
feet long), which my peo2le had used, and had laid by. fectly quiet, alongside of Dr. Crompton,) saw hand-cuffed
These they carried to Wood's Committee Room, where each a n d taken off to gaol under thk sabre ;age, under the sabres
staff was cut into flrr-e lludgeons; and a s there were which he himself had approved of bringing in; thus was
seventy-two staves, here n e r e arms for two hundred and Wood placed above Barrie on the poll ; and Barrie, seeing
sixteen men. Other bludgeons were got; and, a t last, t h a t there was to be no coalition with Stanley sufficient t~
there were, I believe, about two hundred and fifty men thus take Stanley's splits from Wood ; Barrie, seeing this, now.
arnied. Their object was to keep out of my ditch all but on Thursday morning, the 2?d June, delivered to the Mayor
those who were about to vote for me, or for me a n d Wood; a protest against the proceedings !
o r in other words, their object was to defeat Barrie, or, 15. Nevertheless the polling kept on throughout the day,
still more correctly, to defeat those who had trampled on Barrie's people being strictly e s c l ~ ~ d efrom
d my ditch ; but.
them for so many years. the next day (the 23d June), at about eleven o'clock, in
14. Barrie could muster no force to resist this; his voters came the dragoons, some gallopping in amongst the people
were driven back from my ditch; and, as mine now split in front of the hustings, others posting themselves a t the
betrveen me and Wood, Barrie must, it was clear, be beaten, entrance of my ditch, while others, dismounted, rushed in:o
unless this bludgeon force could be put down ; and, unless the ditch, sword in hand, and seized many of the bludgeon-
Stanley and Barrieinstantly coalesced,and Stanley, by ceas- men, who were actually hand-cuffed, and taken directlv
ing to split occasionally with Wood, shut him out. O n the from the hustings to the goal, under the naked sword ! Three
S l s t of June, therefore, after a vain attempt, on the part of of the dragoons were then posted a t the entrance of my
Barrie's people, to get into my ditch; after, in short, they had ditch ; they sat there, on their horses, with their snords
been beaten and kicked away from the place, what does the drawn, during the remainder of the polling time of that
Mayor do but adjourn the court to the next d a y !It is very day, and during the whole of the polling time of the next
curious, that Stanley, with some of his cowmittee, had, day. S O that jve wire, nearly tcvo \r.l%oledajs, actually pol -
 ing under the naked sabre ! A t this rate, we shall soon see both high and low, who would not look at him another time;
Captains and Serjeants taking the ~ 0 1 1! If we were not and, as for Wood, I should think that the horse on which he
under " military govern~nent"a t Preston, I should like to rode round the town, would be as likely to be chesen a s he.
know what 'Lntilttury governvtent" means. All this is 17. Other opportunities will offer for speaking to you of
positively forbidden by the lazu ; and, it remains for us to the family of Stanley, and of the benejts you a l e likely to
see, whether the electors and town of Preston be out- derive from them ; other occasions will offer for asking you
lawed. whether you mill again suffer yourselves to be cajoled by ten
16. There llow remained but one day to come, Monday, or a dozen of poor fowls being set a fighting, and three or
26th June. I t caine, and the Mayor declared Stanley a n d four horses set a gallopping, by the family of Stanley ; other
Wood dzJy elected. The umber of votes, according to the occasions will offer for expressing a hope, that you are no
31ayor's account, were thus: S T A N L E Y2923, WOOD1993, longer to be thus amused, as the Romans were, after they
BARRIC 1653, COBUETT 935. Nothing can be more de- became the slaves of haughty and insolent n ~ b l e s , who,
ceptious than the appearances here ; for, of plumpers, while they fed them, like dogs, on offal and on ga~bage,in-
Stanley had 36, Wood 92, Barrie 71, Cobbett 451. So that, stituted shows and game3 to amuse them; other occasions
if we reckon by halfuotes, Stanley had 2959, Wood 2064, will offer for speaking to you on the subject of the Stanleys ;
Barrie 1728, Cobhett 1446 ; and, observe, that, on the 9 t h and, as to Wood, I should not have said a word (it being
day I left off bringing up, and desired co more of my voters impossible thst he should ever trouble us again), had not t h e
to come, unless it were to please themselves; and, observe transactions connected with his riame been sach as to give
also, that, at this time, only about a t h i r d of the voters had us a trce idea of the fellows who set up for gentlemen, on
polled. But the curious thing is to observe, how Wood g o t the,ground of pretending to be duellers.
in. He had only 736 votes of his own, he got more than 18. To say that Wood was first a cotton-broker, then s
700 from Stocley, and he got 446 from me ! Take my 446 sugar-baker, then in training for an Unitarian Parson, a n d
from him, and he is 110 under Barrie. And these 446 h e then a God-knows-ahat; to say this is nothing; thousands
got merely because my friei.ds wished to keep out Barrie. have been members of parliament with no fairer pretensions
Those who gave Wood t h e ~ evotes disliked hip. " D-n to gentlemansl~zp. I t may have been a joke to say (as was
Wood," said one of them, when he gave his vote ; I' but," said a t Preston), that,when he treat on his canvass, he carried
said he, lookiog at Barrie, " I vote for him to keep iolly pop in his pocket to please the electo~s'chi!dren with,
thee out." Wood had far less of real votes for hint than but who can behold the man's 1006, hear the sound of that
Barrie had ; and, observe, Stanley's y r e d mujority is all a zoice of his, and see (when 11e is speaking) the morement
deception. IIe got about 700 splits from Wood, and about of that seamst:ess.like a r m a n d elbozu of his ; who can see
800 splits fiom Barrie; so that he brorcght up, after a]], and hear these, and reject as incredible the arniable gentle-
only about 1400 men, and there came up for me 995 men, manship of the lolly-pop appeal to the paternal feelings of
because all mine xould have beell plun~pers,if i t had not the electors ?
been that 446 gave Wood splits, in order to keep out Barrie. 19. It was not, however, till he came to be placed i n
I t is very material to bear this in mind ; for it shows, that open hostility with Barrie and his men of war, that the yen-
neither Stanley nor wood has any real weight on their side tlemanship of Wood became so very co\nspicuous. H e had
in the borongh. Stallley was su!~ported by many of those, three antagonists ; and we shall now see how he dealt 1vit11
them. I shall relate the facts as they are stated in the pass for a " t r a i t o r and a coward"! H a r d choice! S a d
~ I A X C I I E S T EGRU A R D I A Nof 1st July, because this paper hobble ! And now you shall see how your Member of Par-
is owned and edited by one T A Y L O R who , was, as he tells liament got out of it with a whole shin a t any rate.
us, Wood's negotiator in these " affairs of honour." Wood 21. Colquitt's disdainful refusal was conveyed to Wood's
had three antagonists; first CAPT. CoLQUITT, next CAPT. man of honour and gentleman" (as the fellow calls him-
B A R R I Eand, , third, the red-coated Captain, whose name self), about noon on the Saturday. Nothing was done !
was POI.IIILL.AS to the first, he, on the hustings, and to N o challenge sent to Colquitt. I t was, however, necessary
Wood's face accused him of " cowardice and treachery." for Wood to do something, or to give up, a t once, all pre-
Wood took no notice of this a t the time. I t waspublished tensious to the character '' of a gentleman and a man of
in the PRESTON PILOTthe next day (Saturday morning), honour," as the great fool, Taylor, calls it. Well, now,
and then this T A Y L O Rthis , newspaper-man of Manchester, what was done; what did these ''nlen of I~onour" d o ?
was set to work to try to get Capt. Colquitt to " explain Did they determine tofight, or did they determine to con-
tile offensive words," in order to " save the honour," as i t is fess that they would r a t h e r not! They did neither of
called, of Wood. Taylor sent somebody (whom he does not these. They did that which one almost blushes to think of
name) to Colquitt; but, observq, with how gentle a mes- as the act of human beings. I t d d Wood, a t the busting,
sage ! I t was this : to ask whether, " on receiving from that my feeling towards him was that of contempt :let the
" Mr. Wood, an assurance, on his word a n d honour, that world hear the following facts, as related by .this Taylor
" he had not been accessory, directly or indirectly, to the
himself, and then say, whether this feeling of mine was not
" enzploying of bludgeon-men, Capt. Colquitt might not just and proper.
feel i t r i g h t to make some explanation of the offensive 22. There was, a t the election, a Dr. CROMPTON, who
a words he had used ;"that is to say, whether, after Wood
was so constantly with Wood, on the hustings and every
had protested his innocence, Colquitt might not consent to where else, that he was called Wood'fi dry-nurse ;" but
unsay the charge of" treachery and cowa~~dice."Colquitt
the people, when they gave the Doctor this name, could
positively refused to do this: he, in the ~rtcstmanly manner, hardly be aware how very apt it would finally appear to be.
said, that he had accused Wood of treachery aqd cowar- I t is the business of a dry-nurse to keep the child from harm,
[lice, and that he would give no explanation a t all, and from harm of all sorts, and especially from bodily harm.
would yetract nothing; that is to say, that he would abide T h e Doctor, therefore, at midjzight, on the Saturday, taking
by what he had said; namely, that Wood had been guilty one CHARLES H O W A R D (another companion of Wood)
of a treachery and cowardice." along with him, went to the Mayor's house; and, having
20. Now, then, to be sure, there must be a $fight, espe- called him up, brought forward H o w A R D , who S W O R E ,
cially as the '' nlan of honouq" Taylor, the newspaper-man that "he believed that a duel was about to take place
fiorn Msnchester, had the " honour," of Wood in his keep-
between Mr. Wood and Capt. Colquitt." Then Dr. Cromp-
ing. I t was i~ripossiblefor Wood to avoid fighting, unless he,
ton demanded from the Mayor a WARRANT for the
a t once, gave lip all pretensions to being a " man of ho-
taking of Wood and Colquitt into custody, in order that
s o ~ ~ r . "Here was a man who had called him " trailor and
they might be bound to keep the peace : that is to say,
coward," and who stood to his words. So that he must,
bound not to fight ! This was done accordillgly ; Wood
according to the law of "honour," $ght the accuser, or
entered iuto a bond of 2,0001. to keep the peace for two
 MAN'SFRIEND.
THE POOR [LETTER.
years, with two sureties in 1,0001. each; but, i t is curious (though, aa he says, " a gentleman"), and Wood himself;
to observe, that the Capt. was (as this Taylor acknowledges) if they were all to make their several voices into one, and if
suffered to go a t large upon his word, without being bound with that one voice, they were to take a n oath, that the
at all, though he, on the Saturday, had (as this Taylor DRY-NURSE and H O W A R Ddid not go to the Mayor and
says) actually sent Wood a threatening message on another get the warrant with Wood's knou-ledge and wish ; if they
gubject. were all to swear this, till they were hoarse, is there one
23. This newspaper-man, Taylor, would have his readers single man of you that would believe i t ?
believe, that neither he nor Wood knew that the good and 24. But, whatever we may think of this affair, it is no-
kind and watchful D R Y - N U R S E was going to the Mayor. H e thing, when compared with the affairs with BARRIEand
would have us believe, that the Doctor went to the Mayor POLHILL. COLQUITTfinding, on the Saturday afternoon,
and got Wood taken up and bound over in 2,0001. for two that his charge of " treachery and cowardice" produced
years ; and all this sorely against the w i l l of Wood, who no efect, sent a real challenge to Wood. " Gent?emanl'
was (Taylor would have 11s believe) a s eager for Jight a s Taylor the newspaper-man, gives this challenge (of which
one of Lord Derby's cocks ! A h ! " gcntleman" Taylor, Capt. M'QUHAEwas the bearer) in the following words :
the newspaper-man, you cannot gull us in this way; for, if " Captain M'Quhae is instructed by Captain Colquite to

the D R Y - N U R S E had acted contrary to Wood's wishes, c r demand from Mr. Wood immediate satisfaction for
how came Wood, the next morning, to have the said DRY- having stated, in one of his speeches from Croft's Inn,
N U R S E for one of H I S B A I L ? And, hoq- came he to be, 'I that the Eritish colo~irswere disgraced by being followed

on the day after, sitting, a t the hustings, under the wing by such a man a s Captain Barrie ; Mr. Wood's commu-
of the D R Y - N U R S E , like a frightened chicken under the '6 nication to be full and in writing.-Saturday, 24th June,
protection of an old h e n ? O h ! no, "gentleman" Taylor, 1826.v NOW, " immediate satiufactiou" means un-
the nem-spaper-man of Manchester, we are not to be induced saying what you said, or fighting the party. You will
to swallow this. W h a t ! Did Dr. CROMPTONgo to the observe that COLQUITTdoes not ask for explanation, as
Mayor without Wood's Knowledge? Did lie go, and in- Wood did ; but that he " demands satisfaction," and
form against Wood; and get a w a r r a n t to take him u p ; c( immediate" satisfaction too !
and then get him bound over for two years, in the sum of 25. Now mark. This T A Y L O R ,the ('gentlemala"
2000 pounds : did the doctor do all this against, Wood's newspaper-man, says, upon this, " that he, finding, from
wish ; and was Wood not a n g r y with the Doctor ! And, " conversation with W O O D , that W O O D had never made
if Be were arLgry with the Doctor, how came he, on the " use of a n y such language about BAK R I E j and, being
Sunday, to have the Doctor for one of his bail, and, on the himself quite sure, that WOOD never had made use of
Monday, to be again sitting cuddled u p under his wing a t " any such language about B a R R I E," he, the gentleman
the hustings? W h a t ! DOCTORCROMPTONgo and in- newspaper-man, being quile sure that W O O D had never
form against a man, get a warrant to take the man up, cause made use of any such language, said that there could be
the man to be seized by a constable and led prisoner before no objectzon to a n explicit disavowal of it." And this
a magistrate ; the Doctor do all this, a.nd then go with the was the answer that a " man of hoizour," that a fighting
prisoner, and B E H I S BAIL! Why, my friends of Pres- gentleman newspaper-man gave to so peremptory, and,
ton, if Charles Howard, Dr. Crompton, Newspaper raylor indeed, so insolent a demand as that of COLQUITX'! But,
 1.1 THEPOORMAW'S FRIEND.
the gentleman newspaper-man went a great deal further same time, a is t h a t true?" T o which Wood, to the asto-
tllan this; for he gave Colquitt's messenger the following nishment of his own people, answered, " N O : IT IS
written certificate :-" Mr. Taylor is requested, on the NOT." Still B A R R I E was unsatisfied ; and, still looking
" part of Mr. Rood, in reply to Captain M6Quhae's note, fiercely at Wood, said, " I must have that in writing." Upon
" explicitly to state, that he has never, a t any time during this WOOD immediately left his box, and went out to the
'' this election, asserted that 'the British colours were dis- hall a t the back of the hustings, where he, and the gentle-
c&graced by being followed by such a man as Captain man newspaper-man, got up the purgation note which I
'< Barrie,' o r made use of a n y words to thut efect.-Red have inserted at the close of the last paragraph.
Lion, Preston, June 24th, 1826, eleven o'clock, p. m. 9 , 28. Poor fellow ! W h a t a hunting they gave him ! I t is
26. The men of war finding that all these efforts had notorious that he did say these words, or words to this
failed, Capt. BARRIE,himself, tried his hand upon WOOD, effect. This is known to hundreds aed hundreds of persons
o n the Monday, qpon the hustings, by sending a message a t Preston. T h e Reporter of the Morning Herald still
to him to know, whether he, WOOD,had made use of the insists that he heard the words. The Editors of the Preston
following words, which words had appeared in the Preston papers say as much for themselves. Could all these people
Chronicle of the Saturday : " Let him (Captain Barrie) be deceived? After I left Preston, I read, with great sur-
" bear the national flag against the foe if he will : but if h e prise, the above account in the Manchester Guardian.
&' were here I would tell him this, that the nutional Jug Several people a t Preston had told me that W O O Dhad, in
" was never more disgraced then it is by being borne i n his speeches a t the inn, accused Barrie of bribery; I, there-
" a procession of men, who a r e brought u p to vote against fore, wrote back to my son, who was still a t Preston, t o
'' their consciences by the price of bribery."-WOOD, make strict inquiries into the matter ; and to send me such
after conrulting, as man-of-honour T A Y L O Rtells us, wrote evidence as would enable me to speak positively upon the
and sent to Captain BARRIE the following words : " I a m subject. My son found that there were many of our own
" not answerable for newspaper reports, but I have no friends who heard W O O Dutter the words : but, in choosing
hesitatiou in saying, that the report of my speech is a person to give evidence on the subject, he thought i t best
" inaccurate in many important points, and t h a t I d i d not to take one of Woor)'s own friends, great numbers of whom
" u t t e r the words a s above quoted by the Chronicle ; and had heard the words uttered, had approved of the words,
" I have further no hesitation in saying, t h a t I never suid, and had felt most indignant a t WOOD, for having, in so
'L o r meant to imply, t h a t Captain B a r r i e h a d in a n y shocking a manner, eaten those words. M y son, therefore,
cc way whatever disgraced the nationalJay; o r t h a t he inquired for some friend of W O O D who had heard these
(Cup fain Barrie) h a d brought up his men to vote words ; and he found T H O M A SLEE, who had, observe,
8c nguinst their consciences, by the p r i c e o f bribery,- voted a plumper for WOOD,and who made the following
'' JOIIN WOOD." affidavit :-
27. This is gentleman TAYLOR'Saccount of this transac-
tion; hut it was a great deal more humiliating to W O O D Thomas Lee, of No 3, High-street, in the parish of Preston, in
the county of Lancaster, Weaver, maketh oath and saith, that on
than this; for BARILIEread the offensive passage in the Monday the 19th day of June last, after the close of the poll on
Preston Chronicle to W O O Dupon the hustings ; and then, that day, he attended with a great number of other persons to hear
turning to \?'ood, he said, looking fiercely at him, at the Mr. Wood speak from the window of his inn ; that this deponent
stood on the edge of the pavement, at about four yards distant from and as 1 believe, that these marks of hatred bestowed upon
t h e house and nearly directly under the window from which Mr. &e little Captain, were bestdwed UPOn him by good fellows7
'Wood spoke ; that he, so situated, heard the whole of Mr. Wood's who were wearing y, colours, and not WOOD'S,and who
speech very distinctly ; that he has a clear recollection of all that had been disamed by the soldiers on the Friday. Never-
Mr. Wood said, so that if the report of Mr. Wood's speech were
read to him, he could, if any word were stated in such report which theless, the little Captain, wishing to have an apology
had not been delivered by Mr. Wood on the occasion aforesaid, from son~ebody, and thinking i t not very likely that he
immediately point it out ; he further saith that the report, which should get one from me, was resolved to have one from poor
appeared in the Preston Chroriicle, of the 24th of June last, beinga WOOD! Accordingly when WOODhad concluded his last
report of the said speech of Mr. Wood, has been read to him, this speech, a t the hustings, this POLIIILL, who was standing irl
deponent; and he further saith, that with respect to the wordsfol-
lowing, to wit .-" Let him (meaning Captain Barr~e)bear them the Mayor's box, called out to WOOD,in a n authoritatire
(meaning the national colours) against the foe if he will, but if tone, to make the acknowledgment; that is to say, to dis-
he were here 1 would tell him this, that the national flag was never claim the men, who, as he, POLIIILL, asserted, had i~lsulted
more disgraced than it is by being borne i n a procession of men him! Monstrously impudent as this was, coming from a
who are brought up to vote against their consciences by the priceof p a i d soldier, to a man who was now a Member of P a r l i a -
bribery ;" that with respect to these words he did distinctly hear ment; monstrously impudent as this was, the poor thing,
them, or words to the same effect, uttered by Mr. Wood in the
course of his speech zforesaid; and this deponent moreover saith, WOOD,with the '' man-of-honouru-newspaper-man on one
that when these words were uttered there was great applause from side of him, and with the dry-nurse, Doctor CROMPTON,
the persons assembled, in which applause he believes that no one on the other side of him, first wanted to be allowed t o

>
joined more heartily than himself. make the disclaimer from the window of his inn ; but the

Preston, this sixth day of July, in

t h e year our of Lord one thousand THOMAS
eight hundred and twenty-six.
+
Sworn hefore me, at my office in The mark of
LEE.
noble Captain insisted upon his doing i t on the spot !
H e submitted; and, he was proceeding to say, that, '' the
" gentleman who was insulted, was an officer in the King's

EWD.RISHTON, " Guards"; but here he was interrupted by POLHILL

3 Master Extraordinary in Chancery. (who is not half so big as himself), crying out, 'L The King's
29. There needs no other remark upon this, than that, Dragoon Guards!" and WOOD, just like a boy, standing
even this is not more than we might reasonably expect from before his master at school, resumed : " the King's Dragoogr
the man who could bring forward, and appear to believe in, Guards." After this he went on to disclaim all connesion
the BOOK OF W O N D E R S . and acquaintanceship with, all friendship for, all mercy to-
30. We.now come to the third antagonist ; namely, little wards, those who had been so dreadfully wicked as to insult
Captain POLIIII~L. This Captain was the Commander of this great little Captain ! Is there a man, or a boy ? no,
the horse soldiers that were brought into the town, during nor a woman, nor a girl, amongst the radicals of Preston,
the election. H e had, i t seems, been attacked, by hooting, who would have done such a thing as this !
or in some such way, by people, as he asserted, wearing 31. So much for the election that we have had : now, for
green ribbons. And he took it into his head, that W O O D that which we shall have next spring. BARRIEsaid that he
should muke a n apology for this to him; though it was would petition. I do not believe that h e will do it. I think
not done in Wood's presence, nor within half a mile of the that those whom he will listen to, will bid him be p i e t ;
spot where WOODwas a t the time. The fact is, as I heard, will tell him, that they like Wood and Slanley very well;
that these are two men that will do no harm ; that Cohbett t h e whole country will be fixed upon this Committee ; I
has been kept out ; and that, the hbles being both shut now have no scruple to say, that there must be something very
against Cobbett, it would not be wise to open them again. much like a n end of all law and of all government, before
1 dare say, that, if the Captain really have set his heart fifteen members of the House can be found to declare upon
upon a seat, he will find some good-natured gem1sman to their oaths, that the election ought not to be set aside.
give him one, rather than Eee him upon the holes again a t 32. This being the case, you may confidently look for-
Preston. Therefore I do not think that Barrie will petition ; ward to another election in the course of about eight or
but, I know t h a t I shall ; and that, unless all law and nine months; and if I be ulive a t the time, I will be a
all justice, and even all pretence to law and justice, be candidate. I make, observe, life the only condition. If I
abandoned, I shall set aside the election. WOOD,I hear, be ill, I will send somebody to canvass and to speak for me.
comforts himself with the hope, that I shall not venture to I may possibly be elected for some other place, before that
encounter the g r e a t expense of a petition. The same time; but that shall not prevent me from standing for Preston.
thoughts are, I dare say, passing in the mind of the spitten- I n short, there is nothing but death itself that shall prevent
rlpon STANLEY.TO their mortification be it known, that my being a candidate a t the next election for Preston. W e
this expense, whatever i t may be, will be borne by others shall have one thing, a t least, quite new, a t another election ;
and not by me, who, however, will take special care that i t that is to say, we shall see no more TALLY TRAPS.
shall amount to but very little. Not so will it be on their There will be a model of our late traps exhibited to t h e
part. They have not the knowledge, the talent, the zeal, Committee of the House of Commons; and you may b e
t h e labour, for such an undertaking. They must BUY them well assured that even yoar children's children will never
all. Every thing must be bought by them. Hardly any see another TALLY TRAP. 1 think, too, that the Master
thing need be bought by me ; and there is one thing, that Manufacturers will, before the next election, have found
we shall have the eyes of the whole country upon the out q d e s t ~ j i c i e h reasons,
t for not attempting to bribe, to
Preston Election Committee. I n Lancashire you are prone bias, or to sway their men; and, in short, for not doing any
to think (and God knows with but too much reason), that of those things, which many of them have heretofore done,
there is no justice for auy body that the Government does not i n order to induce their men to vote contrary to their incli-
like. However, there are, except in Lancashire, certain nations, or to withhold their votes contrary to their incli-
bovnds to be thought of in matters of this sort. The mode nations. I am very much of the opinion that these masters
of forming the Committee,.or Court, for trying an Election, will never play, nor attempt to play, these tricks again.
i a perfectly fair. T h e members are all upon their oatlrs ; 33. I a m decidedly of opinion, that things are now so
the witnesses are upon their oaths; the evidence is taken working together as to cause the next Election for Preston
down in short-hand ; the trial is open; the puties are to be something like free. I n the meanwhile, let me advise
heard by themselves or counsel; I shall plead my own you all to promise nobody your votes until you see all the
cause; I shall examine my own witnesses; I shall cross- candidates before you. You cannot know what will happen
examine the witnesses of WOOD and STASLEY ; I shall before the election takes place; and therefore it will be best to
draw up my own petition; I shall frame my own charges ; promise nobody, and then nobody can complain of breach of
and I have no scruple to say, that, fieeing the great interest pronlise; this complaint was, in the last instance, a t once
that will be excited by the trial, and seeing that the eyes of most impudent and most ridiculous. However, i t is as well
to make no promise, and then no such complaint can be now I beg you to mark well what I say), if civil society
hatched up. get, no matter by what means, into such a state, that men
34. Having now said what is necessary relative to the cannot, by their labour, provide themselves and families
Election, I should proceed, if I had room, to give you my with a sufficiency of food and of raiment; if, a t the same
best advice, with respect to the line of conduct which you time, there be no Magistrate, or other person, having autho-
ought to pursue amidst the troubles and the sufferings that rity to take from the rich and to give to the suffering poor,
now exist in the country, and amidst those greater troubles a sufficiency to preserve them against the natural effects of
and greater sufferings that are a t hand. When I had the hunger and of cold : if (mark well what I say) civil society
11onour to address you, for the first time, I told you that get into this state, then the ldw of nature, a s f a r a s re-
these sufferings were but beginjtir~g. You have found them g a r d s the destitute person, returns i n its full force. My
increase daily and hourly; and I give it you as my decided loaf is no longer exclusively mine: i t is yours, as much as
opinion, that they will continue to increase; and that there it is mine ; and you, if you be amongst the destitute per-
\\.ill be no efficient relief until there be a .Reform of the sons, are held to have a r i g h t to take as much of my loaf
Parliament. But, ivi the meanwhile, the people must a s you want to relieve yourself, so that you do not expose
not starve : it is no man's duty to lie down a n d die m e to suffer from want.
with hunger. This is what no Government lias a right 35. Now, my kind and good friends of Preston, while I
to deunand of any man. The lam of Nature, the law of most earnestly pray God that our country may never wit-
God, and the law of England, say that no ma:] shall starve ness a state of things that shall make this doctrine of
while there is food in the land. In countries, on the Con- practical application; and while I most anxiously and
tinent, where there are no Poor-rates, it is not theft to earnestly hope that you And your families will be preserved
TAKE food, if it be necessary to preserve life, whether of a from this scourge; while these are my prayers and my
man's self, his wife, or his children. Pilen are held to have hopes, such are my fears with regard to the evils which
u right to preserve life by taking food belonging to others, this system is calculated to bring upon the kingdom, that
~ ~ n l ethere
s s be an Overseer, or Magistrate, or somebody to I thi~ikit my bounden duty to discuss the doctrine con-
cause sufficient relief to be given to the person who is in talned in the foregoing paragraph. However that doc-
danger of perishing of hunger. According to the laws of trine may appear to hardened ruffians, who can talk so
nature, a l l things belong to a l l men. Men possess things calmly about the "thinning of the population," I re-
i n common. There is, according to the law of nature, no peat, that if civil society get into such a state that men
private property. My loaf is a s much your loaf as it is callnot, by their labour, provide themselves and families
mine, and it is more yours than i t is mine, if you *ant i t with a bare sufficiency of food and of raiment ; and if, a t
more than I do. Thie is the law of nature. When men the same time, there be no Magistrate, or other person, to
entered into civil society, they gave up this law, and they supply the destitute with a sufficiency to preserve them
established the law of rights, or of private property. Aly a ~ a i n s tthe natural effects of hunger and of cold; then I
loaf is now, therefore, exclusively mine, and you have no say, that i t is our duty to inquire, whether, according to tho
r i g h t to have even a slice of it. Thus, one man be- law of nature and the law of God, and according to the
comes rich, while other men remain poor; distinctions, civil law and the law of England ; according to all these,
of which the law of nature knows nothing. But (and whether it be THEFT for destitute persons to TAKE,
without payment and without leave, food and raiment,
which are the property of other people ; provided they d o
not take more than enough to relieve their necessities ; and,
provided also, they do not, by their taking, leave in want
those persons from whom tbey take.
36. As long as our humaue aud excellent Poor-laws
shall be duly executed, we never can be exposed to this
Useful Infi~rmntionand Advice for tha Working Classca
dreadful alternative ; but, to hear what the law says on the
in a Series of Letters, addressed to the Worltiug Classes
subject, and to discuss that subject ; these are ,necessary, i n
of Preston.
order to show the excellence of our own Poor-laws, to in- 1.OHDO)r':
duce the people to appeal to and rely upon them, and to Printed and Plrb?ishcd by W.Coeocl'r, No. 18:1, Fleet-Street.
induce the Overseers and the Magistrates promptly to obey
them, in order that, in the perilona times that are apparently
approaching, we may, a t any rate, avoid those violences,
which must add to the misery already existing. This duty
LETTER 11.
I shall, therefore, endeavour to perform in my next Number. --
TO T11E
W O R K I N G C L A S S E S O F P,RESTON.
Your faithful friend and most obedient servant,
BurghcIrrr, IlawpsAtrr, 2dnd August, 1824,
W x . COBBETT. M Y EXCELLENT FRIEND^,
37. A ~ o w o all s ~ the ne\v, the strange, tht- unnatural,
the monstrous things that mark the present times, or, raihel.,
that have grown out of the present system of governing this
country, there is, in my opinion, hardly any thing more
mon~trous,or even so monstrous, as the language that is nolv
hecome fashionable, relative t o the condition and the treat-
ment of that part of the community, which are usually de-
n o m i ~ a t e dthe P O O R ; by which word I mean to designate
the ptusons who, from age, illlirmity, helplessness, or from
want of the means of gaining any thing by labour, beco~rie
destitute of a sufficiency of food, or of raiment, and are in
danger of perishing if they be not relieved. Such are the
persons that me mean, wh-n we talk of THE P O O R ; and,
I repeat, that, amongst all the monstrous things of these
monstrous days, nothing is, in my opinion, so monstrous, as
 TIIEPOORMAN'S PRIEKD. [L~TT~R
the langaage which tvc noup constantly hear, relative to the other master-manufacturers ascribe it to a want afpaper.
condition and treatment of this part of the community. money," or, to the Corn-Bill; others ascribe the calamity
38. Nothing can he more common than to read, in the to the taxes. These last are right ; but, what have these
newspapers, descriptions the most horrible of the sufferings things to do with the treatment of the poor ? What have
of the Poor, in various parts of England, but particularly these things to do with tlle horrid facta relative to the con-
i n the Korth. It is related of them, that they eat horse-flesh, dition and starvation of English people ? It is very true,
grains, and have been detected in eating out of pig-troughs. that the enormons taxes which we pay on account of loans
In short, they are represented as being far worse fed and made to carry on the late unjust wars, on account of a great
worse lodged, than the greater part of the pigs. These standing arniy in time of peace, on account of pensions,
statements of the nczuspapers may be false, or, at least, only einecures and grants, and on account of a Churclr, which,
partially true; but, at a public meeting of rate-payers, at besides, swallows up so large a part of the produce of the
Manchester, on the 17th of Augnst, Mr. B A X T E R ,the land and the labour; it is very true, that these enormous
Chairman, said, that some of the POOR had been stnrced taxes, co-operating with the paper-money and its innumer-
to death, and that tens of thousa~zdstoere upon thepoint of able monopolies ; it is very true, that these enormous tares,
starving; and, a t the same meeting, Mr. POTTER gave a thus associated, have produced the ruin in trade, manufac-
detail, which showed, that Mr. I ~ A S T E R ' Sgeneral descrip- t u r e ~and commerce, and have, of course, produced the OW
tion was true. Other accounts, very nearly official, and, a t wages and the want of e?nploynzent: this is very true ;but,
any rate, being of unquestionable authenticity, concurso fully it is not less true, that, be wages or employfnent as they
with the statements made a t the NanchesterMeeting, that it may, the poor are not to perish with hunger, or with cold,
5, impossible not to believe, that a great number of thou- while the rest of the community have food and raiment more
sands of persons are now on the point of perishing for want than the latter want for their own sustenance. The LAW
of food, and that man? have a c t ~ ~ a lperished
ly from that OF ENGLAND says, that there shall be no person to suf-
cause ; and that this has taken place, and is taking place, fer from want of food and raiment. It has placed oflcers
I N ENGLAND. in every parish to see that no person suffer from this sort of
39. There is, then, no doubt of the existence of the dig- want; and, lest these officersshould not do their duty, it
graceful and horrid facts; but, that which is as horrid as commands all the magistrates to hear the complaints of
are the facts themselves, and even more horrid than those the poor, and to compel the officers to do their duty. The
facts, is the cool and z~nrese?ztfuZlanguage and manner, in LAW O F ENGLAND has provided ample means of relief
which the facts are usually spoken of. Those who write for the poor ; for, it has authorized the officers, or overseers,
about the misery and starvation, in Lancashire and York- to get from the rich inhabitants of the parish as much
shire, never appear to think that any body is to blame, money as is wanted for the purpose, without any limit as t0
even when the poor die with hunger. The Minifiters ascribe amount; and, in order, that the overseers may have no
the calamity to oz~es~tradbg";the cotton and cloth and excuse of inability to make people pay, the law ha$ armed
 IT.] Ttre POORMAN'SFRIEND.
them with powers of a nature the most efficacious and the Hampshire, what would you say? S a y ! Why, you would
most efficient and most prompt in their operation. In short, Bay, to be sure, " Where is the L A W ; where are the con-
the language of the L<AW, to the overseer, is this : " Take " stables, the justices, the juries, the judges, the sherigs and

" care that no person suffer from hunger, or from cold ; and, '' the hangmen? Where can that Hampshire b e ? It,
that you may be sure not to fail of the means of obeying " surely, ever can be in Old England ! I t must be some

'' this my command, I give you, as far as shall be neces- " savage country, where such enormities can be commitred,

" sary for this purpose, full power over all the lands, all " and where eren those, ~ ~ talk h oof and who lament the
'' the houses, all the goods, and all the cattle, in your '' evils, never utter one word in the way of blame of the
" parish." To the Justices of the Peace .the LAW says : " perpetrators." And, if you were called upon to pay taxes,
" Lest the overseer should neglect his duty; lest, in spite or to make subscriptiows in money, to furnish the means of
" of my command to him, any one s h o ~ ~ suffer
ld from hun- protection to the unfortunate rich people in Hampshire,
" ger or cold, I command you to be ready to hear the com- would you not say, and with good reason, " No: what
" plaint of every sufferer from such neglect ; I command " should we do this for? The people of Hampshire have
a you to summon the offending overseer, and to compel him '' the SAME L A W that we have; they are under t h e
g L to do his duty." " same Government; let them duly enforce that l a w ;
40. Such being the language of the LAW, is i t not a " and, then, they will stand in no need of money f r ~ m us
monstrous state of things, when we hear i t commonly and " to provide for their protection."

coolly stated, that many thousands of persons, in England, 41. This is what common sense says would be your lan-
a r e upon the point of starvation; that thousands will die guage in such a case ; and, does not common sense say, that
of hunger und cold next winter ; that many have already the people of Hampshire, and of every other part of Eng-
died of hunger; and, when we hear all this, unaccom- land, will thus think, when they are told of the sufferings,
panied with one word of complaint agaiqst any ovemeer, and the starvation, in Lancashire and Yorkshire ? T h e
or any justice of the peace ! l a not this state of things report of the Manchester ley-payers, which took place on
perfectly monstrous? A state of things, in which it appeam the 17th of August, reached me in a friend's house, in this
to be taken for granted, that the LAW is nothing, when i t little village ; and, when another friend, who was present,
is intended to operate as a protection to the poor! Law is read, in the fipeeches of Mr. BAXTEHand Mr. POTTER,
always law :if one part of the lam may be, with impunity, set that tens of thousands of Lancashire people were on the
a t defiance, why not another and every otherpart of thelaw '! point of starvation, and that many had already actualby
If the law, which provides for the succour of the poor, for the died from starvation; and when he perceived, that even
preservation of their lives, may be, rvith impunity, set a t those gentlemen uttered not a word of complaint against
defiance, why should there not be impunity for setting a t either overseer or justices of the peace, he exclaimed:
defiance the law, which provides for the security of the pro- " What! are there no poor-laws in Lancashire! Where,
perty and the lives of the rich? I f you, in Lancashire, " amidst all this starvation, is the overseer ? Where is the
were to read, in a n account of a meeting in Hampshire, justice of the peace ? Surely that Lancashire can never
that, here, the farmers and gentlemen were constantly and " be in England !"
openly robbed ; that the poor were daily breaking into their 42. The observations of this gentleman are those which
houses, and knocking their brains out; and that it was ex- occur to every man of sense; when he hears the horrid
pected, that great part of them would be killed very soon : accounts of the sufferings in the manufacturing districts;
if you, in Lancashire, were to hear this said of the state of for, though vre are all well aware, that the burden of the
 11.1 Tire ISoolt MAN'SE'~ra?cu.
poor-rates presses, a t this time, with peculiar weight on tlle so effectual, is this, the very best of all our good old laws !
landowners and occupiers, and on owners and occupiers of This law, or rather code of laws, distinguishes England
other real property, in those districts, we are equally well from all the other countries in the world, except the United
aware, that those owners and occupiers have derived g r e a t States of America, where, while hundreds of other English
lenefits from that vast population that now presses upon statutes have been abolishetl, this law has always remained
them. There is land, in the parish in which I am now in full force, this great law of mercy and humanity, which
writing, and belonging to the farm in the house of which I says, that no hunzan being t h a t trends E ~ i g l i s hground
am, ahichland would not let for 20s. a statute acre ; while s h a l l perish for want of food a n d ~ a i ~ n e n t .For such
land, not so good, would let, i n any part of Lancashire, poor persons as a:.c unable lo ~corl; the law provides food
near to the manufactories, a t 60s. or 80s. a statute acre. and clotlling ; and it comrnands that work shall be provided
The same may be said with regard to houses. And, pray, are for such a s are able to work, and cctnnot otherwise get em-
the owners and occupiers, who have gained so largely by the ploymeuf. This law was passed more than two hundred
manufacturing works being near their lands and houses; are years ago. Many attempts have been made to chip it
they, now, to complain, if the vicinage of these same works away, and some 1ia1.e been made to destroy i t altogether ;
causes a charge of rates there, heavier than exists here? but it still exists, and every nlan who does not wish to see
Are the owners and occupiers of Lancashire to enjoy a n a g e general desolation take place, will do his best to cause it t a
of a d v ~ n t a g e sfrom the labours of the spinners and the be duly and conscientiously executed.
weavers ; and are they, when a reverse comes, to bear none 44. Having now, my friends of Preston, stated what the
of the disadvantages ? Are they to make no sacrifices, in law is, and also the reasons for its honest enforcement in the
order to save from perishing those industrious and ever- particular case immediately before us, I will next endeavour
toiling creatures, by the labours of whom their land and to show you that it is founded in the law of nature, and that,
houses have been augmented in value, three, five, or perhaps, were it not for the provisions of this lam, people would, ac-
tenfold? None but the n no st unjust of mankind can answer cording to the opinions of the greatest lawyers, have a r i g h t
these questions in the affirmative. to take food and raiment sufficient to preserve them from
43. But, as greediness is never at a loss for excuses for perishing; and that such ta4ing would be neither felony
the hard-heartedness that it is always ready to practise, i t nor larceny. This is a matter of the greatest importaqce ;
is said, that the whole of the rents of the land and the it is a most monlentous question ; for if i t be settled in the
houses would not suffice for the purpose ; that is to say, that affirmative-if it be settled that i t is not felonp, nor lar-
if the poor-rates were to be made so high as to leave the cetzy, to take other men's goods without their assent, and even
tenant no means of paying rent, even then, soille of the against their will, when such taking is absolutely necessary
poor must go without a sufficiency of food. I have no to the preservation of life, how great, how imperative, is t h e
dnubt that, in particular instances, this would be the case. duty of affording, if possible, that relief which tcill pre-
But for cases like this the LAW has amply provided ; for, vent such necessity ! In other words, hcw imperative i t is
in every case of this sort, a d j o i n i ~ gparishes may be made on all overseers and jilstices to obey the law with alacrity ;
to assist the hard-pressed parish ; and if the pressure be- and how weak are those persons who look to "grants" and
come severe on these adjoining parishes, those next adjoin- " subscriptions," to supply the place of the execution of this,
i n g them may be made to assist : and thus the call upon the most important of all the laws that constitute the basis
adjoining parishes may be extended till i t reach a l l over the of English society ! And if this question be settled in the
c w t j y . So good, eo benignant, so wise, so foreseeing, and affirmative; if we find the most learned of lawyers and most
 wise of men, maintaining the affirmative of this proposition; were called THEIRS; the words MINE and THINE,
if we find them maintnining, that it is neither felony nor which mean my own and thy own, were invented to desig-
larceny to take focd, in case of extreme necessity, though nate what we now call a property in things. The law ne-
without the assent, and even against the will of the owner. cessarily made i t criminal in one man to take away, or to
what are we to think of those, (and they are not few in injure, the property of another man. I t was, you will ob-
ilurnber, nor weak in power), who, animated with the savage serve, even i n this state of nature, always a crime to d o
bou1 of the Scotch feelosop/~crs, would ~vhollyabolish the certain things against our neighbour. T o kill hinr, to wound
poor-laws, or, at least, render t11em of little enhct, and him, to slander him, to expose him to suffer from the want
there5y constantly keep thousands exposed to this dire of food, or raiment, or shelter. These, and many others,
~ieccssity! were crimes in the eye of the law of nature; but, to take
45. In order to do jxstice to this great suhject : in order share of a man's victuals or clothing; to go and insist upon
tb treat it with perfect fairness, and in a manner becoming sharing a part of any of the good things that he happened
of mc and of you, I milst take the authorities on both sides. to hare in his possession, could be no crime, because there
There are sonle great lawyers who have contended that the was no property in any thing, except in man's body itself.
starving man is still guilty of felony or larceny, if he take Now, civil society was formed for the benejt of the whole.
food to satisfy his hunger ; but there are a great number of The whole gave up their natural rights, in order that every
r~ther,and still greater, lawyels, who maintain the contrary. one might, for the future, enjoy his life in greater security.
The general doctrine of those who maintain the right to This civil society was intended to change the state of man
take, is founded on the law of nature; and it is a saying ae for the better. Before this state of civil society, the
old as the hills ; a saying in every language in the world ; starving, the hungry, the naked man, had a right to go and
that '' serf-preserz~ution is the j i r s t law of nature." Tlie provide himself with necessaries wherever h e could find
law of nature teaches every creature to prefer the preserva- them. There would be sure to be some such necessitous
tion of its own lifc to all other thinqs. But, in o r d ~ to
r hare persons in a state of civil society. Therefore, when civil
a fair view of tlie matter before us, me ought to inquire how society was established, i t is impossible to believe that i t
it came to pass, that l a w were ever made to punish men as had ?tot i n view some provision for these destdtute persons.
crinlinals, for taking the victuals, drink, or clothing, that It would be monstrous to suppose the contrary. The con-
they might stand in need of. W e must recollect, then, trary supposition would argue, that fraud was committed
that there was a time when no such laws existed; when npon the mass of the people in forming this civil society ;
men, like the wild animals in the fields, took what they were for, as the sparks fly upwards, so will there always be desti-
able to take, if they wanted it. In this state of things, all tute persons, to some extent or other, in every community,
the land and all the ~ r o d u c ebelonged to all the people in and such there are now to a considerable extent, even in the
cosurnon. Thus were men situated when they lived under UNITEDSTATESO F AMERICA ; therefore, the formation
what is called the law oj'nature; when every one provided, of the civil society must have been fraudulent or tyrannical
a b he could, for his self-preservation.
upon any other supposition than that it made provision, i n
46. A t length this state of things became changed: men some way or other, for destitute persons; that is to say, for
entered into society; they made laws to restrain individuals persons unable, from some cause or other, to provide for
from follorving, in certain cases, the dictates of their own themselves the food and raiment sufficient to preserve them
will ; they protected the weak against the strong ; the law# from perishing. Indeed, a provision for the destitute seems
secured lnen in possession of lands, houses, and goods, that essential to the lawfulness of civil society; and this ap-
pears to have been the opinion of BLACKSTONE, when, in society itself, in so far as that wretched person was con-
the first Book and first Chapter of his Commentaries on the cerned, ceased to h a r e a legal existence. I t had, as far a s
Lawa of England, he says, " the law not only regards life related to him, forfeited its charactei of legality. I t h a d
" and mender, and protects every man in the enjoyment of no longer any claim to his submission to its laws. His rights
'(them, but also furnishes him wilh every thing necessary of nature returned : a s far as related to him, the law of na-
"for their support. For there is no man so indigent or ture revived in all its force : that state of things, in which
" wretched, but he may demand a supply suficient for all all men enjoyed all things in conzlnon, was revieed with re-
" the necessaries of life from the more opulent part of the gard to him ; and he took, and 1:e had a right to take, food
" community, by means of the several statutes enacted for and raiment, or, as Blackstone expresses it, " a supply suffi-
< ( the relief of the poor ; a humane provision dictated by cient for all the necessities of life." For, if it be true, a s
the principles of society." laid down by this English lawyer, that the principles of
47. No man will contend, that the main body of the peo- society; if it be true, that the very principles, or founda-
ple, in any country upon earth, and, of course, in England, tions of society dictate, thzt the acstitute person shall have
would have consented to abandon the rights of nature; to a legal demand for a supply fr0111 the rich, sufficient for all
give up their right to enjoy all things in common ; no lnan the necessities of life; if this be tlue, and true it certainly is,
will believe, that the main body of the people would ever i t follows of course that the principles, that is, the base, or
have given their assent to the establishing of a state of foundation, of society, is subrertcd, is gone; and that
things which should make all the lands, and all the trees, society is, in fact, no longer what it was intended to be,
a n d all the goods and cattle of every sort, private property; when the indigent, when the person in a state of extreme
which should have shut out a large part of the people from necess~ty,cannot, a t once, obtain from the rich such eu6-
Saving such property, and which should, a t the same time, cient supply: in phort, we need go no fiirther than this pas-
not have provided the means of preventing those of them, sage of B L A C K S T O Nto E ,show, tliat civil society is subverted,
who might fall into indigence, from being actually starved and that there is, in fact, nothing legitimate in it, when the
to death l It is imposeible to believe this. Men never gave destitute and wretched have no certain and legal resource.
their assent to enter into society on terms like these. One 49. But, this is so important a matter, and there have
part of the condition upon which men entered into society been such n~onstrousdoctrines and projects put forth by
war, that care should be taken that no human being should M A L T I ~ U theS , ~E ~D I X B U R G IREVIEIF
I E R S , by L A W Y E R
perish from want. When they agreed to enter into that SCARLETT, by L A I V Y E RN O L A X by , S T U R G E SB O U R K E ,
atate of things, which would necessarily cause 6ome men to and by a n innumeyable sn-arm of persons, ~ v h ohave been
be rich and Rome men to be poor; when they gave up that giving before the House of Commons what they call
right, which God had given them, to live as well as they "evidence ": there have been s ~ c hmonstrous doctrines
could, and to take the means wherever they found them, and projects, put forward by these and other persons ; and
the condition clearly was ; the " principle of society " there seems to be such a lurking d ~ s i r eto carry the hostility
dearly was, as Blackstone defines it, that the indigent and to the working classes still further, that I thinlr it necessary,
wretched should have a right to " demand from the rich d in order to s h ~ wthat these English poor-laws, which have
supply sujicient for all the necessities of life." been so much calumniated by so many greedy proprietors of
48. If the society did not take care to act upon this prin. land ; I think it necessary to show, that these poor-laws
ciple; if i t neglected to secure the legal means of pre- are the things which men of property, above all others,
serving the life oE the indigent and wretched; then th: ought to wish to see ntaitttnined, seeing, that, according
to the opinions of the greatest and the wisest of men, they 6' the first share for the building and ornaments of the
lnust suiier most in consequence of the abolition of those " church ; let them distribute the second to the poor a n d
laws; because, by the abolition of those laci.e, the right " strangers, with their own hands, i n nzercy a n d humi-
given by the laws of nature wouldyevive, and the destitute d l i t y ; and let them reserve the third part for themselves."

~ o u l dtake, n1:ere they now si~nplydelnand (as B L A C K - This passage is taken from the canons of ELFRIC,
S T O N E expresses it) in the name of the law. There has canon 24th. At a later period, when the tithes had, in
been some difference of opinion as to the question, whether some places, been appropriated to convents, acts of Par-
i t be theft, or no theft; or, rather, whether it be a criniinal liament were past, compelling the impropriators to leave, in
act, or not a criminalact, for a person, in a case of extreme the hands of their vicar, a suficiency for the maintenance
necessity from want of food, to take food aithout the assent, of the poor. There were two or three acts of this sort
and even against the will, of the owner. W e have, amongst passed, one particularly in the twelfth year of RICJIARD
our great lawyers, S r n M A T T H E WH A L Eand S I RWII.- the Second, chapter 7 th. So that, here we have the moat
LIAM BLACKSTONC who
, contend (though, as me shall ancient book on the Common Law; we have the canons of
see, with much feebleness, hesitation, and reservation,) that the church a t a later period ; we have acts of P a r l i a m e ~ ~ t
i t is theft, notwithstanding the extremity of the want; a t a time when the power and glory of England were a t
but, there are many, and much higher authorities, foreign their very highest point; we have all these to tell us, that
a s well as English, on the other side. Before, however, I in England, from the very time that the country took the
proceed to the hearing of these authorities, let me take r name, there was always a legal a n d secure provision for
bllort view of the origin of the poor-laws in E?cgland; the poor, so t h a t no person, however aged, i n j r m , un-
for that view will convince us, that, though the present law fortunate, o r destitute, should sufer from want.
was passed but a little Inore than two hundred years ago, 51. But, my friends, a time came when the provision
there had been solnething to effect the same purpose, ever made by the Common Law, by the Canons of the Church,
since England had been called England. and by the Acts of the Parliament coming in aid of those
50. According to the Common Law of England, as re- canons; a time arrived, when all these were rendered null
corded in tho M I R R O U Ro r JUSTICES, a took which was by what is called the PROTESTANT REFORMATION.Thia
written before the Norman Conquest; a book in as high '& Reformation," as it is called, sweeped away the convents,

reputation, as a law-book, as any one in England ; accord- gave a large part of the tithes to greedy courtiers, put par-
ing to this book, CIIAP.I.ER 1st. SECTION 3d., which treats sons with wives and children into the livings, and, left the
of the " First constitutions made by the antient kings"; poor wichout any resource whatsoever. This terrible event
according to this work, provision was made for the suste- which deprived England of the last of her possessions on the
nance of the poor. The words are these : " I t was ordained, continent of' Europe, reduced the people of England to the
" that the poor should be sustained by parsons, by rectors most horrible misery; from the happiest and best fed and
" of the church, and by the parishioners, so that none of best clad people in the \vorld, i t made them the most mi-
" them die .for want o f suste~la~zce." Several hundred serable, the most wretched and ragged of creatures. A t last,
ycars later, the canons of the church show, that, when the it was seen, that, in spite of the most horrible tyranny that
cl~urch had become rich, i t took upon itself the whole of ever was exercised in the world, in spite of the racks and
the care and expense attending the relieving of the poor. the gibbets and the martial law of Q U E E N ELIZABETH,
These canons, in setting forth the manner in which the those who had amassed to themselves that property out of
tithes should be disposed of, say, " Lot the priests set apart which the p o r had been formerly fed, were compelled to
 pass a law to raise money, way of tax, fur relieving Qr be not, theft, to take, without his consent and against
the necessities of the poor. They had passed many acts his will, the victuals of another, in order to prevent the
before the F O R T Y - T I I I R D year of the reign of this Queen taker from s t a r v i ~ ~ g .S r n M a ~ ~ n cHwA L E and S I R
Elizabeth ; but these acts were all found to be ineffectual, W I L L I A ~B~L A C K S T O N Esay that i t is theft. I am
till at last, in the forty-third gear of the reign of this ty- now going to quote the several authorities on both sides,
rannical Queen, and in the year of our Lord 1601, that and i t will be necessary for me to indic,ate the works
famous act was passed, which has been in force ulitil this which I quo& from by the words, letters, and figures which
day; and which, as I said before, is still in force, notwitb- are usually made use of in quoting from these works.
standing all the various attempts of folly and cruelty to get Some part of what I shall quote will be in Latin; but I
rid of it. shall put nothing in that language of which I will not give
52. Thus, then, the present poor-laws, are a o nezu thing.. you the translation. I beg yon to read these quotations
They are no gift to the working people. You hear the with the greatest attention ; for, you will find, a t the end
greedy landowners everlastingly complaining against this of your reading, that you hare obtained great knowledge
law of Q U E E N ELIZABETH. They pretend that i t was trl~onthe subject, and knowledge, too, which will not soon
an uvforful~ate law. They affect to regard it as a great depart from your minds.
INNOVATION, seeing that no such law existed before ; 54. I begin with S I R MATTIIZWH A L E (a Chief Jus-
but, as I have shown, a better law existed before, having tice of the Court of King's Bench in the reign of Charles the
the same object in view. I have shown, that the " Re- Second) who, in his PLEAS OF TIIE C R O W N ,CIIAP. IX.,
formation," as it is called, had sweeped away that which has the following passage, which I put in distinct para-
had been secured to the poor by the Conimon Lam, by the graphs, and mark A, Byand C.
Canons of the Church, and by ancient Acts of Parliament. 55. A. " Some of the casuists, and particularly COVAR-
There was nothing nezo, then, in the way of benevolence " KUVIUS, Tom. I. D e f u r t i e t r a p i n e restitutione,
towards the people, in this celebrated Act of Parliament of 5 3, 4, p. 453. and GROTIUS, tle j u r e belli a c pacis,
the reign of QUEEN E L I Z . ~ B E T Hand, ; the landowners 6 L lib. 11. cap. 2. 5 6, tell us, that in case of extreme neces-

would act wisely by holding their t o ~ ~ g u upone s the subject; " sity, either of hunger or clothing, the civil distributions
or, if they be too noisy, one may look into their GRANTS, of property cease, and by a kind of tacit condition the
and see if we cannot find something THERE to keep out " j r s t comn~unitydoth return, and upon this those com-
the present parochial assessments. " mon assertions are grounded : ' Quicqz~idnecessitas
53. Having now seen the origin of the present poor- cogit, defendit.' [Whatever necessity calls for, it jus-
laws, and rhe justice of their due execution, let us return to '' tifies.] ' Necessitns est lax tentporis et loci.' [Neces-
those authorities, of which I was speaking but now, and, a n " sity is the law of time and place.] ' I n cnsu e x t r e ~ n s
examination into which will show the extreme danger of " necessitatis omnia sunt communia.' [In case of extreme

listening to those projectors who would abolish the poor- " necessity, all things are i n comnzon] ; and, therefore, in

laws ; that is to say, who would &weepaway that provision, " such case theft is no theft, or a t least not punishable as
which was established in the reign of Q U E E NELIZAEETII, " theft; and some eveh of our own lawyers have asserted
from a conviction that i t was absolutely necessary to pre- " the same; and very bad use hath been made of this
serve the peace of the country and the lives of the people. " concession by some of the Jesziitical casuists of France,
I observed before, that there has bee11 some difference of " who have thereupon advised apprentices and servants, t o

opinion amongst lawyers, as to the question, whether it be " mb their masters, where they have been indeed them-
 selves in want of necessaries, of clothes or victuals; (' to gather and eat without carrying away. Deut.
" whereof, they tell them, they themselves are the competent " xxiii. 24, 25. SECOXD, By the Rlbodimz law, and the
U judges ; and by this means let loose, a s much as they c' comnron maritime custom, if the comaon provision for the
L' can, by their doctrine of probability, dl the ligaments of ship's company fail, the master may, under certain tem-
'L property and civil society." L L peraments, break open the private chests o f the mariners
56. B. " I do, therefore, take it, that, where persons live I' o r passengers, and make a distribution of that particular

'Lunder the same civil government, a s here i n England, '' and private provision for the preservation of the ship's
that rule, a t least by the laws of England, is false ; and, d'company." V i d e C o l v s o ~ a ~DoE L MAIL^, cap. 256. LE
therefore, if a person being under necessity for w a n t of " CUSTOJIrS D E L A BIEKE. P. 77.
" victuals, or clothes, shall, upon t h a t account, clandes- 58. S r ~ rW I L L I A ~BLACKSTONE
I agrees, in substance
" tinely, and ' aninto furandi,' [with i n t e ~ to~ t steal,] steal with H A L E ; but he is, as we shall presently see, much
g c another man's goods, it is felony, and a crime by the laws of nlore eager to establish his dgctrine ; and, we shall see be-
LA England, punishable with death ; although the judge-be- sidefi, that he has not scrupled to be guilty of misquoting,
'4 fore whom the trial is, in this case (as in other cases of ex- and of veryshamefully garbliug, the Scripture, in order to
d C tremity) be by the laws of E n g l a n d intrusted with a power establish his point. W e shall find him flatly contradicting
d' to reprieve the offender, before or after judgment in order to the laws of England ; but, he might have spared the Holy
the obtaining the King's mercy. For, lst, men's proper- Scriptures, which, however, he has not done.
" ties would be under a strange insecurity, being laid open 59. To return to HALE, YOU see he is compelled to begin
" to other men's necessities, whereof no man can possibly with acknowledging that there are great authorities against
" judge, but the party himself. And, 2d, Because by the him ; and he could not say that GROTIUSwas not one of
" laws of this kingdom [here he refers to the 43 Eliz. cap. 2.1 the most virtuous as well as one of the most learned of
I' sufficient provision is made for the s ~ ~ p p of l y such neces- mankind. H A L E does not know very well what to do with
" sities by collections for the poor, and by the power of the those old sayings about the justification which hard neces-
" civil Magistrate. Consonant hereunto seems to be t h e sity gives: he does not know what to do with the maxim,
law even among the Jews ; if we may believe the wisest that " in case of extreme necessity all things a r e owned i n
of kings. Proverbs vi. 30, 31. ' M e n d o not despise a common." I-Ie is exceedingly puzzled with these ancient
rc thief, zf he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry ; autliorities, and flies off into prattle rather than argument,
but zf he be found, he shall restore seven-fold, he slraIl and tells us a story about "jeszcitical" casuists in France,
" yivc all the subrtance of his house.' I t is true, d e a t h who advised apprentices and servants to rob their masters,
" among them was not the penalty of theft, yet his necea- and that they thus " let loose the ligaments of property and
" sity gave him no erceplion from the ordinary punishment civil society." I fancy that it mould require a pretty large
" inflicted by their law upon that offence." portion of that sort of faith which induced this Protestant
57. C. " Indeed this rule, ' i n casu extreme necessitatis judge to send witches and wizards to the gallows ; a pretty
" o ~ n n i asunt communia,' does hold, in some measure, in large portion of this sort of faith, to make us believe, that
" some particular cases, where, by the tacit consent of na- the " casuists of France," who, doubtless, h a d servants of
" tions, or of some particular countries or societies, i t hath their own, would teach servants to rob their masters! In
" obtained. First, among the Jews, i t was lawful in case short, this prattle of the judge seems to have been nothing
" of hunger to pull ears of standing corn, and eat, Matt. more than one of those Protestant effusions, which were too
" xii. 1. and for one to pass through a vineyard, or olive- much in fashion at the time when he wrote.
 60. He begins his second paragraph, or paragraph B., and to ascertain whether tire extreme necessity existed or
by saying, that he " takes i t " to be so and so ; and then 72ot ?
comes another qualified expression ; he tallrs of civil gorern- 62. Aye, says Judge HALE;but I have another reason,\a
ment " a s here in Ewglawd." Then he says, that the rule devilish deal better than this, " and that is, the act of the
of G n o ~ r u sand others, against which he has been con.. 43d year of the reign of QUEEN ELIZAIICTII!" Aye,
tending, l' he takes to be fklse, a t least," says he, L L by the my old boy, that is a thumping reason ! '' Suflcient pro-
Ears of England." After he has made all these qualifica- vision is made for the supply of such necessities by col-
tions, he then proceeds to sag that such takiny is theft; 6' lections for the poor, and by the power of the civil
that it is felon? ; that i t is a criine wllich tlie Inu-s of Eng- 6: nzagistrute." Aye, aye ! that is the reason ; and, Mr.
land punish with death ! But, as if stricken with ren~orsc SIR MJLTTIIEWH A L E ,there is 910 other reason, say what
a t putting the frightful words upon paper ; as if feeling shame you will about'the matter. There stand the overseer and
for the law and for England itself, he instantly begins to tell the civil magistrate to take care that such necessities be
us, that the judge who presides at the trial is intrusted, '4 bg provided for ; and if they did not stand there for that pur-
the laws of England," with power to reprisue the offender, pose, the law of nature would be revived in behalf of the
in order to the obtaining of tlic Ki~zg'sntqrcy ! Thus he suffering creature.
softens it down. H e will have it to b e LAW to put a man 63. H A L E ,not content, ho\vever, wit11 this act of Q U E E N
to death in such a wase ; but he is ashamed to leave his ELI Z ABETIS, and still hankering after this hard doctrine,
readers to believe, that an English judge and an English furbishes up a bit of Scripture, and calls Solomon the wisest
king WOULD OBEY THIS LAW! of kings on account of these two verses which h e has
6 1. Let us now hear the reasons which he gives for this taken. H A L E observes, indeed, that t h e Jews did not pu
which he pretends to be law. His first reason is, that there thieves to death; but, to restore seven-fold was the ordz-
would be no security for property, if it were laid open to the nary punishment, inflicted by their law, for theft ; and
necessities of the indigent, of wl~ichnecessities no ?nun but here, says he, we see, that the extreme necessity gave no
the takers themselves cozild be the judge. H e talks of a exentption This was a piece of such flagrant sophistry on
"strange insecurity ;" but, upon my word, no insecurity the part of H A L E ,that he could not find in his heart to send
could be half so strange as this assertion of his own. it forth to the world without a qualifying observation ; but,
BLACKSTONE has just the same argument. Nobody," even this qualifying observation left the sophistry still so
says he, " would be a judge of the wants of tl:e taker, but shameful, that his editor, Mr. EML Y N , who published the
,the taker himself"; and B L A C K ~ ~ C OcopjingN E , the very work under authority of the House of Commofis, did not
words of H A L E ,talks of the "strange insecurity " arising think i t consistent with his reputation to suffer this passage
from this cause. Now, then, suppose a man to come into to go forth unaccompanied with the following remark:
my house, and to take away a bit of bacon. Suppose me to " but, their (the Jews') ordinary punishment being entirely
pursue him and seize him. ISe would tell me that he was " pecuniary, could affect him, only when he was found in
shrving for want of food. I hope that the bare statement " a condition to anszqer i t ; and therefore, the same: rea-
would induce me, or any man in the world that I do call or " sons, which would justify that, can, by no means, be ex-
ever have called my friend, to let him go without farther in- " tended to a corporal, much less to a capital punishment."
quiry; but, if I chose to push the matter fi~rther, there Certainly : and this is the fair interpretation of these two
would be the magistrate. If 11e chose to conlmit the man, verses of the Proverbs. P U F F E N D O R F , one of the greatest
would there not be a j u r y and a judge to receive evidence, authoritierj that tlie world k n o w any thing of, observes,
 upon the argument built upon this text of Scripture, " I t the text, h e could never succeed in making his teadors'
" may be objected, that, in Proverbs, chap. vi. verses 30,31, believe that a man ought to be hanged for taking food to
" he is called a thief, and pronounced obnoxious to the save his life. H e clearly Raw that he could n o t make men
penalty of theft, who steals to satisfy his hunger; but believe that God h a d said tliis, unless he could, some how
" whoever closely views and considers that text will find that or other, get rid of those words about N O T D E S P I S I N G
" the thief, there censured, is neither in such extreme ne- the thief that took victuals when he was hungry. Being,
'' cessity, as we are now supposing, nor seems to have fallen therefore, very much pestered and annoyed by these words
'' into his needy condition merely by ill fortune, without his about N O T D E S P I S I N G , what does he do but failly leuve
('own idleness or default: for the context implies, that h e them out ! And not only leave them out, but leave out e
'' had a house und goods suflcient to make seven-fold res- part of both the verses, keeping in that part of each that
" titution ; which he might have either sold or pawned ; a suited him, and no more; nay, further, leaving out one
" chapman or creditor being easily to b e met with in times word, and putting in another, giving a sense to the w h o b
" of plenty and peace ; for we have no grounds to think, which he knew well never was intended. h e atates t h e
that the fact there mentioned is supposed to be committed, passage to be this : " if a thief steal to satisfy his soul when
" either in the time of war, o r upon account of the extraor- " he is hungry, hc shall restore seven-fold, a n d shall give

" dinary price of provisions." " all the subsiance of his house." No broom-stick t h a t
64. Besides this, I think it is clear, that these two verses ever was handled would have been too heavy or too roriglr
of the Proverbs do not apply to one a n d the same person ; for the shoulders of this dirty-souled man. H A L E ,with all
for, in the first verse i t is said, that men do not despise a his desire to make out a case in favour of severity, has giveu
thief, if h e steal to satisfy .his soul when he is hungry. us the words fairly :but this shuffling fellow ;this smooth-
How, then, are we to reconcile this with morulity ? Are spoken and mean wretch, who is himself thief enough, God
we not to despise a thief? I t is clear that the word thief knows, if stealing other men's thoughts and words constitute
does not apply to the first case; but to the second case theft ; this intolerably mean reptile has, in the first place,
only; and that the distinction was here made for the left out the words " men do not despise :" then he h a s
express purpose of preventing the man who took food to left ont the words a t the beginning of the next text, '' but
relieve his hunger from being confounded with the thiej. if he he found." Then, in place of the " he," which
Upon any other interpretation, it makes the passage con- comes before the words " shall give," he puts the word
tain nonsense and immorality; and, indeed, G R O T I U Ssays " a n d ; " and thus he rnakes the whole apply to the poor
that the latter text does not apply to the person mentioned creature that takes to satisfy his soul when he is hungry !
i n the former. The latter text could not mean a man taking H e leaves out every mitigating word of the Scripture ; and,
food from necessity. I t is impossible that it Can mean in his reference, he represents the passage to be in one
that ; because the man who was starving for want of food verse ! Perhaps, even in the history of the conduct of
could not have sevenfold ;could not have any substance in crown-lawyers, there is not to be found mention of a n a c t
his house. But, what are we to think of J U D GBLACK- E so coolly bloody-minded as this. I t has often been said of
STOXE, who, in his Book IV. chap. 2., really garbles this BLACKSTONE, that he not only lied himself, but made
these texts of Scripture. H e clearly saw the effect of the others lie : he has here made, as far as he was able, a liar
expression, " M E N D O N O T D E S P I S E ;" lie saw what of King Solomon himself: he has wilfully garbled the Holy
a n awkward figure these words made. coming before the Scripture ; and that, too, for the manifest purpose of justify-
''
words A TI-IIEF;" h e saw that, with these wwda in ing criielty in courts and judges ; for the manifest purpose
ofjustifying the most swage oppression of the poor.
 11.1 Trre Poon MAN'SFRIEND.
65. After all, H A L Ehas not the courage to send forth of D ~ u ~ c n o x o h r r .ZIe represents the matter thus :that,
this doctrine of his, without allowing that the case of if you be passing through s vineyard or nn olive-yard
extreme necessity does, " in some nzeastwc," and " in you may gather and eat, without heing deemed a thief.
particzclar cases," and, "-by the tacit or silent consent of This interpretation u-ould make a n Englishman believe, that
nations," hold good! W h a t a crolvd of qualifications are the Scripture allowed of this talting and eating, only where
here ! With what reluctance he confesses that which all there was a lawf~il foot-zcciy through the vineyard. This
tho world knows to he true, that the disciples of JESUS is a very gross misrepresentation of the matter; for, if you
CIIRISTpulled off, without leave, the ears of standing corn, look a t tile two texts, you will find, that they say that,
and ate them " being nn hzingred." And here are two " when thou contest into ;" that is to Fay, when thou
things to observe upon. In the first place this corn was not enterest, or goest into, " thy neighbour's vineyard, then
what we call corn here in England, or else it would have " thou mayest cat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure, but
been very droll sort of stuff to crop off a n d eat. I t was " thou shalt not put any in thy vessel ; " that is to say, that
what the Americans call Indian born, what the French call you should not go and make wine in his vineyard and carry
Turkish corn, and what is called corn (as being far sur- i t away. Then ip case of the corn, precisely the same law
passing all other in excellence) in the Eastern countries, is laid down. You may pluck with your hand; but not use
where the Scriptures mere written. About four or five ears the hook or a sickle. Notking can be plainer than this : no
of this cbrn, of which you strip all the hush off i n a minute, distinction can be wiser, nola more just. H A L Esaw the
are enough for a man's breakfast or dinner ; and by about force of it ; and therefore, asthese texts made very strongly
the middle of August this corn is just as wholesome and as against him, he does not give them a t full length, but gives
efficient as bread. So that, this was sometl~ingto take and us a misrepiesenting abbreviation.
eat without the owner's leave; it was something of value ; 67. H e had, however, too much regard for his reputation
and observe, that the Pharisees, though so strongly disposed to conclude without acknowledging the right of seizing on
to find fault with every thing that was done. by Jesus Christ the provisions of others a t sect. H e allows that private
hnd his disciples, did not find fault of their taking the corn chests may Le broken open to prevent men from dying with
to eat ;did not call them thieves ; did not propose to punish hunger a t sea. H e does not stop to tell us, why men's lives
them for theft; but found fault of them only for having a r e more precioz~s on sea than on Innd. H e does not
plzicked the corn on the S a b b a t l ~dny ! T o pluck the corn attempt to reconcile these liberties given by the Scripture,
was to do work, arid these severe critics found fault of this and by the maritime laws, with his own hard doctrine. I n
working on the Sabbath day. Then, out comes another short, he brings us to this a t last: that he will not acknow-
fact, which H A L Emight have noticed if he had chosen it ; ledge, that it is not theft to take another man's goods, with-
namely, that our Saviour reminds the Pharisees that out his co:lsent, under any circumstances; but, while he
6' D A V I D and his companions, being a n hungred, entered will not acknowledge this, he plainly leaves us to conclude,
into the House of God, and did eat the shear-bread, to eat that no English judge and no English king will ever punish
66 which was unlawful in any body but the priests." Thus, B poor creature that takes victuals to save himself from
that which would have been sacrilege, under any other cir- perishing; and, he plainly leaves us to conclude, that it is
cumstances ; that which would have been one of the most the poor laws of England ; that it is their existence and
horrible of crimes against the law 6f God, became no their due ereczttion, which deprive every body in England
crime a t all when committed by a person pressed by of the right to take food and raiment in case of extreme
hunger, necessity,
s HALEfairty interpreted the Lvo venee
66, Nor h ~ Judge
 68. Here I agree with him most cordially; and i t is
because I agree with him in this, that I deprecate the
abominable projects of those who would arlnihilate the
poor-laws, seeing that i t is those very poor-laws which give,
under all circumstanccs, really legal security to property.
COBSETT'S
Without them, cases must frequently arise, which would, P O O R MAN'S FRIEND:
according to the lam of nature, according to the law of God, OR,

and, as we shall see before b e have done, accozding to the Useful Information and Advice for the Working Classes ;
l a w of England, bring us into a state, or, a t least, bring in a Series of Letters, addressed to the Working Classes
particular persons into a state, which, as far a9 related to of Preston.
LONDON :
them, would cause the l a x of nature to revive, and to make
Printed and Published by W.C o e a e ~ r ,No. 183, Fleet-Street.
all tltings to be owned in common. T o adhere, then, to -
these poor-laws; to cause them to be duly executed, to P R I C E TWO-PENCE.
prevent every encroachment upon thcm, to preserve them an
t h e apple of our eye, are the duty of every Englishman, as
far as he has capacity so to do. L E T T E R 111.
69. 1 have, my friends, cited, as yet, authorities only oa
one side of this great subject, which i t was my wish to TO T H E

discuss in this one Number. I find that to be impossible, W O R K I N G CLASSES O F PRESTON.

without leaving undone much more than half my work. I
a m extremely anxious to cause this matter to be well under- Bollilree Castle, Her~fordshire,24 Srpt. 1896.
stood, not only by the working classes, but by the owners 06 M Y EXCELLENT FRIENDS,
the land and the magistrates. I deem it to be of the greatest 70. In the last Number, paragraph 69, I told you, that I
possible importance; and, while writing on it, I address
myself to you, because I n~ostsincerely declare that I have would, in the present Number, conclude the discussion of
a greater respect for you than for any other body of persons the great question of theft, or no theft, in a case of taking
t h a t I know any thing of. The next Number will conclude another's goods, without his consent, or against his will, the
d ~ ediscussion of the subject. 'The whole will lie in a
very small compass. Fourpence only will be the cost I laid before
taker being pressed by extreme necessity.
of it. I t will creep about, by degrees, over the whole HALE'Sdoctrine upon
you, in the last Number, J U D G E
of !his kingdom. All the authorities, all the arguments,
the subject; and I there mentioned the foul conduct of
will be brought into this small compass; and, I do flatter
myself, that many months w.ill not pass over our heads, BLACKSTONE,
the author of the " Commentaries on the
before all but misers and madmen will be ashamed to talk Laws of England." I will not treat this unprincipled law-
of abolishing the poor-rates and of supporting the needy by yer; this shocking court sycophant; I will not treat him as
grants and subscriptions.
I am,
Your faithful friend, arid most obedient servant,
WM. COBBETT.
h e has treated King Solomon and the Holy Scriptures; I L6 cornmodam ferendnm est, potius quam de alteriua com-
will not garble, mis-quote and belie him, as he has garbled, " modis detrahendum ;' but also to the Jewish law, as cer-
mis-quoted, and belied them; I will give the whole of the " tified by king Solomon himself: 'if a thief steal to satisfy
passage, to which I allude, and which my readers may find " his soul when he is hungry, he shall restore sevenfold,
in the Fourth Book of his Commentaries. I request you to " and shall give all the substance of his house :' which
read it with very great attention ; and to compare it, very " was the ordinary punishment for theft in that king-
carefully, with the passage that I have quoted from SIR " dom. And this is founded upon the highest reason:
MATTIIEW HALE, which you will find in paragraphs from " for men's properties would be under a strange insecurity,
55 to 57 inclusive. The passage from Blackstone is as " if liable to be invaded according to the wants of others ;
follows : " of which wants no man can possibly be an ade-
71. Cc There is yet another case of necessity, which has " quate judge, but the party himself who plmds them.
d' occasioned great speculation among the writers upon ge- " In this country especially, there would be a peculiar im-
re neral law; viz., whether a man in extreme want of food re propriety in admitting so dubious an excuse : for by our
66 or dothing may justify stealing either, to relieve his pre- laws such sufficient provision is made for the poor by the
sent necessities. And this both GROTIUSand PUFFEN- " power of the civil magistrate, that i t is impossible that the
rc DORY, together with many other of the foreign jurists, most needy atranger should ever be reduced to the neces-
6' hold in the affirmative; maintaining by many ingenious, " sity of thieving to support nature. This case of a stranger,
humane, and reasons, that in such cases the " is, by the way, the strongest instance put by baron Puf-
6; conlmunity of goods by a kind of tacit concession of so- fendorf, and whereon he builds his principal arguments :
re ciety is revived. And some even of our own lawyen, which, however they may hold upon the continent, where
hare held the same ; though it seems to be an unwarranted the parsimo~~ious
industry of the natire; orders every one
(( doc-trine, borrowed from the notions of some civilians : a t to workor starve, yet must lose all the'r weight and effica-
rc least it isnow antiquated, the In::, of En~1;lr.ncladmitting no " cy in England, where c h a ~ i fis
y reduced to a system, and
such excuse at present. And this its doctrine is agreeable '( interwove~t in our very cottstitution. Therefore, our
(6 not only to the serrtiments of many of the risest antients, (6 laws ought by no means to be taxed with being unmerci-
particclnrIy C r c ~ n o v:ho
, holds that ' snurn cuiqi~ein- "ful, for denying this privilege to the necessitous; especi-
6' ally when we consider, that the king, on the representa- that, if the Constitution h a d not provided this effectual
d L tion of his ministers of justice, hath a power to soften the relief for the necessitous, then the laws would have bean
" law, and to extend mercy in cases of peculiar hardship. unmerciful in deeming the necessitous taker a thief.
b L An advantage which is wanting in many states, particu- 73. But, now let us hear what that G R ~ T I Uand S that
larly those which are democratical: and these have in PUPFENDORF say; let us hear what these great writers on
" its stead introduced and adopted, in the body of the law the law of nature and of nations say upon this subject.
" itself, a nrultitude of circumstances tending to alleviate ita BLACKSTONE has mentioned the names of them both ; but
rigour. But the founders of our constitution thought it h e has not thought proper to notice their arguments, much
better to vest in the crown the power of pardoning peculiar less has he attempted to answer them. They are two of the
b b objects of compassion, than to countenance and establish most celebrated men that ever wrote; and their writings
4 c theft by one general undistinguishing law." are referred to as high authority, with regard to all the sub-
72. First of all, I beg you to observe, that this passage ie jects of which they have treated. The following is the pas-
merely a P a g r a n t a c t of theft, committed upon JUDGE sage from GROTIUS,on War aud Peace, Book 11. Chap. 11.
H A L E ;next, you perceive, that which 1 noticed in para- '14. " Let us see, further, what common right there ap-
graph 64, a most base and impudent garbling of the scrip- " pertains to men in those things which have already -be-

tures. Next, you see, that BLACKSTONE,like HALE, " come the property of individuals. Some persons, per-
comes, a t last, to the poor laws; and tells us that to take " chance, may consider it strange to question this, as pro-

other men's gaods without leave, is theft, because " charity " prietorship seems to have absorbed all that right which

('is here reduced to a system, and interwoven in our very arose out of a state of things in common. But i t is not
6 6 constitution." That is to say, to relieve the necessitous; " so. For, it is to be considered, w h a t w a s the intention
to prevent their suffering from want; completely to render " of those who j i r s t introduced p r i v a t e property, wliich
starvation impossible, makes a part of our very constitution. '' we may suppose to have been such, as to deviate as little
T H E R E F O R E , our laws ought by no means to be taxed " as possible from n a t u r a l equity. For if even written lauqs
with being unmerciful for denying this privilege to the " are to be construed in that sense as far as i t is practicab!e,
a necessitous." Pray mark the word therefore. You see, " n ~ u c hmore so are customs, which are not fettered by the
our laws, he says, are not to be taxed with being unmerci- chains of writers.-Hence i t follows, first, that, in cise
ful in deeming the necessitous taker a thief. And wh9 " of extreme necessity, thepristine r i g h t of using things re-

are they not to be deemed ~inn~erciful?B E C A U S E the " vives, as much asif they had remained in common; because,

" in all human laws, as well as in the law of private property,

laws provide effectual relief for the necessitous. It follows,
then, of course, even according to BLACKSTONE himself, " this case of e x t ~ e m enecessity appears to have been ex-
'' cepted.-So, if the means of sustenance, as in case of a sea- shall dig in his own well in search of water as far as the
" voyage, should chance to fail, that which any individual may chalk : and SOI.ON, that he shall dig in his own well as far
" have, should be shared in common. And thus, a fire having as forty cubits. Upon which PLUTARCII add^; that he
" broken out, I am justified in destroying the house of my "judged t h a t necessity w a s to be relieved, not laziness to
" neiqhbour, in order to preserve my own house; and I may " be encourc~ged."

"cut in two the ropes or cords amongst which any ship is 76. Such is the doctrine of this celebrated civilian. Letus
" driven, if it cannot be otherwise disentangled. All which n o w h e a r P r J ~ r ~ N and,
~ 0 ~youwill
~; please to bear in mind,
" exceptions are not made in the written law, but are pre- t h a t both these writers are of the greatest authority upon all
" sumed.-For, the opinion has been acknowledged amongst subjects connected withthelawsof natnre and of nations. W e
" Divines, that, if any one, in such case of necessity, take read in their works the result of an age of study : they have
" from another person what is requisite for the preservation of been two of thegreat guides of mankind ever since they wrote;
" his life, he does not commit a theft. The meaning of and, we are not to throw them aside, in order to llsten exclu-
" which definition is not, as many contend, that the pro- sively to parson H A Y ,to HULTOXOF H U L T O N , ONICIIO-
~~O
'' prietor of the thing be bound tq give to the needy upon the L A S GRIBISIIAW. They tell us what they, and what other

'' principle of charity ; but, that all things distinctly vested wise men, deemed to be right ; and, as we shall by and by
in proprietors ought to be regarded as such with a certain see, the laws of England, so justly boasted of by our ances-
" benign acknowledgment of the primitive right. For if tors, hold precisely the same language with these celebrated
" the original distributors of things were questioned, as to men. After the following passage from PUFFCN DORF, I

'' what they thought about this matter, they would reply what shall show you what our own lawyers say upon the suLject;
a I have said. Necessity, says Father SENECA, the g r e a t but I request you to read the following passage with the
a excuse for human weakness, breaks every law ;that is to greatest attention.
'(say, human law, or law made after the manner of man. 77. '' Let us inquire i n the next place, whether the ne-
75. But cautions ought to be had, for fear this license '' cessity of preserving our life can give us any right over
should be abused :of which the principal is, to try, in every " other men's goods, so as to make i t allowable for us to
" way, whether the necessity can be avoided by any other " seize on them for our relief, either secretly, or by open

" means; for instance, by making application to the magis- " force, against the owner's consent. For the more clear
" trate, or even by trying whether the use of the thing can, by " and solid determination of which point, we think it neces-
" entreaties, be obtained from the proprietor. PLATO permits " sary to hint in short on the causes upon which distinct
'' water to be fetched from the well of a neighbour upon this " Properties were first introduced in the world ; designing

" condition alone, that the person asking for such permission s' to examine them more a t large in their proper place.
" Now the main reasons on which Properties are founded, " property doth not reach so far as that the things may not
" we take to be these two ; that the feuds and quarrels " be taken away without the owner's consent, either by the
" might be appeased which arose in the primitive commu- " authority of the Magistrate in Civil Communities, or in
" nion of things, and that men might be put under a kind " a s t a t e of N u t w e , by violence and hostile force. And
" of necessity of being industrious, every one being to get " though, in regard to bare Natural Right, for a man to re-

" his maintenance by his own application and labour. This '' lieve another in extremity with his goods, for which he
" division, therefore, of goods was not made, that every " himself hath not so much occasion, be a duty obliging
" person should sit idly brooding over the share of wealth " only imperfectly, and not in the manner of a debt, since
" he had got, without assisting or serving his fellows ;
" i t arises wholly from the virtue of humajl.ity ; yet there
" but that any one might dispose of his things how h e '< seems to be no reason why, by the additional force of a
" pleased ; and if he thought fit to communicate them to " civil ordinance, i t may not be turned into a strict and
" others, he might, at least, be thus furnished with an op-
" perfect obligation. And this, Selden observes to have
" portunity of laying obligations on the rest of mankind. been done among the J e w s ; who, upon a man's refusing
" Hence, when properties were once established, men ob-
" to givesuch alms a s were proper for him, could force
" tained a power, not only of exercising conlmerce, to their " him to i t by a n uction a t law. It is no wonder, there-
" mutual advantage and gain, but likewise of dispensing
" fore, that they should forbid their poor, on any account,
" more largely in the works of humanity and beneficence ;
'' to seize on the goods of others, enjoioing them to take only
whence their diligence had procured them a greater share '' what private persons, or the Public Officers, or Stewards
'Lof goods than others : whereas before, when all things " of Alms, should give them on their petition. Whence the
" lay in common, men could lend one another no assistance, " stealing of what was another's, though upon extreme ne-
'' but what was supplied by their corporal ability, and could " cessity, passed in that state for theft or rapine. But now
'' be charitable of nothing but of their stl.ength. Farther, '' supposing under another Government the likc good pro-
6 L such is the force of property, that the proprietor hat11 a " vision i s not made for persons in want, supposing like-
" right of delivering his goods with his own hands ; even " wise that the covetous temper of men of sub&:lnce cannot

' ' such as he is obliged to give to others. Whence it fol- c L be prevailed on to give relief, and that the needy creature
" lows, that when one man has any thing owing from " is not able, either by his work or service, or by making

" another, he is not presently to seize on it at a venture, but GL sale of any thing that he possesses, to assist his present

" ought to apply himself to the owner, desiring to receive it '< necessity, must he, therefore perish with famine? Or
" from his disposal. Yet in case the other party refuse thus can a n y human Institution bind me with such a force,
" t o make good his obligation, the power and privilege of that, in case another man neglects his duty towards me,
" I must rather die, tAm recede a little from the otdi-
'(of nature itself, that inferior things should be designed and
'' nary a n d regular way of acting ? W e conceive, there-
" directed to serve the necessities of men. Wherefore the
" fare, that such a person doth not contract the gaitkof
" division of goods, afterwards introduced into the world
" theft, who-happening, not through his own fault, to be i
" doth not derogate from that precept of natural reason,
'.' extreme want, either of necessary food, or of clothe8 to
'' which suggests, that the extreme wants of manki7zd may
" preserve him from the violence of the weather, and car'- '' be in any manner removed by the use of temporal pos-
" not obtain them from the voluntary gift of the rich, either
session~." PUFFENDORF tells us, that PEBESIUS
" by urgent entreaties, or by offering somewhat equivalent in "

maintains, that, in case of extreme necessity, a man is com-

<' price, or by engaging to work i t out, shall either for-
pelled to the action, by a force wllich he cannot resist; and
6,cibly or privily relieve himself out of their abundance ;
then, that the owner's consent may be presumed on, because
" especially if he do i t with full intention to pay the value
humanity obliges him to succour those who are in distress.
" of them, whenever his better fortune gives him ability.
The same writer cites a passage from St. A ~ I B R O S Eone
, of
" Some men deny that such a case of wcessity, as we
the FATHERS of the church, which alleges that (in case of
" speak of, can possibly happen. But what if a man should
refu~ingto give to persons in extreme necessity) it is the per-
xc wander in a foreign land, unknown, friendless, and in
son who retains the goods who is guilty of the act of wrong
want, spoiled of all he had by shipwreck, or by robbers,
doing, f ~ St.
. AMRROSEsays: " i t is the bread of the
or having lost by some casualty whatever he wae worth
" hungry which you detain: i t is the raiment of the
" in his own country ; should none be found willing either
a naked which you lock up."
" to relieve his distress, or to hire his service, or should they 79. Before I come to the English authorities on the same
*' rather (as it commonly happens), seeing him in a good
side, let me again notice the foul dealing of Blackstone ;let
" garb, suspect him to beg without reason, must the poor
me point out another instance or two of the insi~lcerityof this
creature starve in this miserable condition ? "
English court-sycophant, who was, let it be noted, Solicitor-
78. Many other great foreign authorities might be re-
general to the queen of the '' good old King." You have
ferred to, aud I cannot help mentioning C O V A R R U V I U ~ ,
seen, in 64, a most flagrant instance of his per-
who is spoken of by JUDGE HALE,and who expresses him-
version of the Scriptures. H e garbles the word of God, and
self upon the subject in these words: " the rearaon why a
prefaces the garbling by calling it a thing ': certijed by
man in extreme necessity may, withozct incutring the
king Solomon himself ;" and this word, certz$ed, he makes
('guilt of theft or rapine, forcibly t&e the goods of otbels use of just when he is about to begin the scandalous falsifi-
' C for his present relief, is, became his condition renders a l l
cation of the text, which he is referring to. Never was ally
" things common. For it is the ordinance and inetitwtion
thing more base. But, the whole extent of the basene~swe
hare not yet seen; fo:., B L A C K S T O KhadE read HALE,who phant, and turn to other law authorities of our own country.
had quoted the two verses fairly ; but besides this, he had The ilfirrour of Justices (quoted by me in the last Number,
read PUFFENDORF, who had noticed very fully this text of paragraph 50,) Chap. 4, Section 16, on the subject of
Scripture, and who had shown very clearly that it did not arrest of judgment of death, has this passage. Judgment
a t all make in favour of the doctrine of Blackstone. Black- is to be staid in seven cases here specified ; and the seventh
stone ought to have given the argument of PUFFENDORF ; is t h ~ :s " in P O V E R T Y , in which case you are to distin-
h e ought to h a ~ given
e the whole of his argument; but par- " giiish of the poverty of the offender, or of things; for if

ticularly he ought to hare given this explanation of the pas- " poor people, to avoid funzine, take victzcals to stistain

sage in the PROVERBS, which explanation I have iuserted " their lives, o r clothes thcit they die not of cold (so that
in paragraph 63 of the last Number. I t was also the height " they perish if they keep not themselves from death), they

of insincerity in B L A C K S T O N to
E , pretend that the passage " a r e not lo be adjudged to death, if it were not in their

from C r c ~ n ohad any thing at all to do with the matter. " power to have bought t l ~ e i rvictlcals o r clothes ; for a s
H e knew well that it had not; he knew that CICEROcon- '' much a? they a r e w a r r a n t e d so to do by the lalo of na-
templated no case of extreme necessity for want of food or ' L ttire." Now, my friends, you will observe, that 1take t h i ~
clothing; but, he had read PUFFENDORF, and P U P F E N - from a book which n ~ a yallnost be called the BIBLE of the
D O R F had told him, that CICERO'Swas a quesC.~nof the law There is no lawyer who will deny the goodness of
mere conveniences and inconveziences of life in general ; this authority ;or who will attempt to say, that this was not
and not a question of pinching hunger or shivering naked- always the law of England.
N E seen this fallacy exposed by PUF-
ness. B L A C I ~ S T O had 8 1. Our next autl~orityis one quite as authentic, and al-
FCFDOILF ; he had seen the mis-application of this passage most as ancient. The book goes by the name of BRITTON,
of CICEROfully exposed by PUFFENDORP; and yet the which was the name of a Bishop of Hereford, who edited it,
base court-sycophant trumped it up again, without mention- in the famous reign of E D W A R DT H E FIRST. The book
ing PUFFENDORF'S exposure of the fallacy! In short, does, in fact, contain the laws of the kingdom as they existed
this BLACKSTONE, upon this occasion, as upon almost all a t that time. It may be called therecord of the lawsofEdward
others, has gone all lengths ; has set detection and reproof the First. I t begins thus, " Edward, by the grace of God,
a t defiance, for the sake of niaking his court to the govern- a King of England and Lord of Ireland, to all his liege sub-
ment by inculcating harshness in the application of the ' L jects, peace, and grace of salvation." The preamble goes
law, and by giving to the law such a n interpretation as on to state, that people cannot be happy without good laws ;
would naturally tend to justify that harshness. that even goori laws are of no use unless they be known and
80. Let us now cast away from us this insincere syco- understood ; and that, therefore, the King has ordered the
 THE P o o n MAN'S FBIEPI'D. [LETTER
laws of England thus to be written and recorded. This book a man fo: stealing the value of a RABBIT, and which
isvery well k~lownto be of the greatest authority amongst formerly did not hang him till he stole thevalue of an OX!
lawyers, and in Chap. 10. of this book, in which the law de- Curious enough, but still more scandalous, that we should
scribes what constitutes a BURGLAR, or house-breaker, have the impudence to talk of our humanity, and our civili-
and the punishment that he shall suffer (which is that of zation, and of the barbarousness of our forefathers. But, if
death) there is this passage :" those ?re to be deemed burg- a p a r t of the ancient law remain, shall not the whole of i t
" lars, who feloniously, in time of peace, break into churches remain ? If we hang the thief, still hang the thief for steal-
t L or houses, or through walls or doors of our cities, or o w ing to the value of twelve pence; though the twelve pence
" boroughs ; with exception of children under age, and of now represents a rabbit instead of an ox ; if we still do this,
" poor people, who, for hunger, enter to take any sort of would BLACKSTON E take away the benefit of the ancient

'' victuals of less value t l ~ a ntwelve pence ;and except aw from the starving man ? The passage that I have quoted
idiots and mad people, and others that calinot commit s of such great importance as to this question, that I think
'' felony!' Thus, you see, this agrees with the MIRROUR i t necessary to add, here, a copy of the original, which is in
O F JUSTICES,and with all that we have read before from the old Norman-French, of which I have given the trans-
these numerous high authorities. But this, taken in its full lation above. " Sunt tenus burgessours trestous ceux, que
latitude, goee a great length indeed; for a burglar is a '' felonisement en temps de pees debrusent esglises ou auter
breaker in by night. So that this is not only a taking ;but a mesons, ou murs, ou portes de nos cytes, ou de nos
breaking into a house in order to take ! And obseive, it is borghes; hors pris enfauntz dedans age, et poures, que,
taking to the value of twelve pence ;and, twelve pence then " pur feyn, entr&tpur ascun vitaille de meindre value q' de
was the price of a couple of sheep, and of fine fat sheep too; " xii deners, et hors pris fous nastres, et gens arrages, e t
nay, twelve pence was the price of a n ox, in this very reign a autres que seuent nule felonie faire."

of Edward the First. So that, a hungry man might havea 82. After this, lazuyers, at any rate, will not attempt to
pretty good belly-full in those days without running the risk gainsay. If there should, however, remain any one to
of punishment. Observe, by-the-by, how time has hardened affect to doubt of the soundness of this doctrine, let them
the law. W e are told of the dark ages, of the barbarous take the following from him who is always called the
custonu, of our forefathers ; and we have a SIR J A M E S pride of' phi'losophy," the " pride of English learn-
MACKINTOSH to rnceive and to present petitions innumera- ing," and whom the poet POPEcalls " the greatest and
ble, from the most tender-hearted creatures in the world, wisest of mankind." I t is LORDB A C O Nof whom I a m
about " softening the criminal code"; but, not a word do speaking. H e was Lord High Chancellor in the reign of
theyever say about a softening of this law, which now hangs James the First; and, let it be observed, that he w r l e those
 a l a w tracts," from which I a m about to quote long after hearted ruffians that ever lived, will contend, or will dare to
the present poor laws had been established. H e says (Law think, that there ought to be any force under heaven to
Tracts, page 55,) " The law chargeth no man with default compel a man to lie down a t the door of a baker's and
" where the act is compulsory and not voluntary, and where butcher's shop, and expire with hunger ! The very nature
there is not cowent and election ;and, therefore, if either of man makes him shudder at the thought. There wants
" there be a n impossibility for a man to do otherwise, or so no authorities; no appeals to !aw books; no arguments; no
l1great a perturbation of the judgment and reason, as i n questions of right or wrong : that same humao nature that
presumption of law man's nature cannot overcome, such tells me that I am not to cut my neighbour's throat, and
necessity carrieth a privilege in itself.-Necessity is of drink his blood, tells me that I an] not to make him die a t
three sorts :necessity of conservation of life; necessity of my feet by keeping from him food or rriment of which I
" obedience; and necessity of the a c t of God or of a have more than I want for my own preservation.
stranger.-First, of conservation of life ; if a man s t e a l 84. Talk of barbarians, indeed ! Talk of '6 the d a r k
'6 viands (victuals) to satisfy his present hunger, this is and barbarous ages." Why, even in the days of the
a no felony nor larceny." DRUIDS, such barbarity as that of putting men to death or
83. If any man want more authority, his heart must be of pt~nishiug them for taking to relieve their hunger, was
hard indeed; he must have an uncommonly anxious desire never thought of. In the year 1811, the REV.PETER
t o take away by the halter the life that sought to preserve ROBERTS, A, M., published a book,entitled C O L L E C T A N E A
itself against hunger. But, after all, what need had we of CAMBRICA. In the first volume of that book, there is an
any authorities? W h a t need had we even of reason upon account of the laws of the ANCIENTBRITONS.Hume,
the subject? Who is there upon the face of the earth, and other Scotchmen, would have us believe, that the ancient
except the monsters that come from across the channel of inhabitants of this country were a set of savages, clothed in
S t . George ;who is there upon the face of the earth, except skins and the like The laws of this people were collected
those monsters, that have the brass, the hard hearta and the and put into writing, in the year 694 before Christ. The
brazen faces, which enable them coolly to talk of the folIowing extract from these laws shows, that the moment
c6 M E R I T " of the degraded creatures, who, amidst a n civil society began to exist, that moment the law took care
abundance of food, amidst a " superabundance of food," t h a t people should not be starved to death. T h a t m o m e ~ ~ t
lie quiet!y down and receive the extreme unction, a n d it took care, that provision should be made for the destitute,
expire with hunger? Who, upon the face of the whole or that, in cases of extreme necessity, men were to preserve
earth, except these monsters, these ruffians by way of excel- themselves from death by taking from those who had to
lence; who, except these, the most iusolent and hard- spare. The words of these laws (as applicable to our case)
given by Mr. ROBERTS,are as follows:-" There are three their zleighlours; their neighbours, that is to say, the
" distinct kinds of personal individual property, which can- parish, being bound to keep fhe family, if they be not
" not be shared with another or surrenderea iu payment of kept by the man's labour ; and, therefore, his not lahuring
" fine, viz., a wife, a child, and argyfrew. By the word ie a wrong done to the parish. The same may be said
'' argyfrew, is meant, clothes, arms, or the implements of with regard to the punishment for not maintaining bastard
" a lawfill calling. For without these a man has not the children. There is some reason for these laws, as long as
" means of support, and it would be unjust in the law to the poor laws are duly executed; as long as the poor are
" unman a man, or uncall a man as to his calling." T R I A D duly relieved according to law; but, unleas the poor-laws
53d.-" Three kinds of T H I E V E S are not to be punished exist; unless they be in full force ; unless they be duly
" with DEATH. 1. A wife, who joins with her husband in executed; unless efficient and' prompt relief be given to
" theft. 2. A youth under age. And 3. One, who, after necessitous persons, these acts, and niany others approach-
" he has asked, in vain, fdr support, in three towns, and ing to a similar description, are acts of barefaced and most
" a t nine hol~sosin each town." T R I A D137. abominable tyranny. I s h o d say that they would be acts
85. There were, then, houses and towns, it seems; and of such tyranny ; for generally speaking, the poor laws are,
the towns were pretty thickly spread too ; and, as to " civi- M yet, fairly executed, and efficierit as to their object.

lization," and ' b rejnement," let this law relative to a 17. The law of this country is, that every man, able to
youth under age, be compared with the new orchard awd caxry arms, is liable to be called on, to serve in the militia,
garden law, and with the tread-mill affair, and new t r e e or to serve as a soldier in some way or other, in order to
pass law ! defend the country. MThat, then, the man has no land ;
86. We have alaw, called the VAGRANT ACT, to punish he has no property beyond his mere body, and clothes, and
mew for begging. W e have a law to punish men for tools; he has nothing that an enemy can take away from
not working to Keep their families. Now, with what him. What justice is there, then, in calling upon this man
show of justice can thefie laws be maintained? They are to take up arms and risk his life in the defence of the
founded upon this; the first, that begging is disgraceful to land: what is the land to him ? I say, that it is something
the country ; that it is degrading to the character of man, to him ; I say, that he ought to be called forth to assist to
and, of course, to the character of an Englishman ; and, defend the land ; because, however poor he may be, he h a s
that there is no necessity for begging, because the law has a share in the land, through the poor rates; and if he be
made ample provision for every person in distress. The liable to be called forth to defend the land, the land is erl-
law for punishing men for not working to maintain their ways liable to be taxed for his support. This is what I
families is founded on thia, that they are doing wrong to say: my opinions are consistent with reason, with justice,
and with the law of the land : but, how can MALTHUSand dwelt forcibly on this departure from the ancient law, the
his silly and nasty disciples ; how can those who want to Lord Chancellor, unable to contradict LORD HOLLAND,
abolish the poor ratea or to prevent the poor from marrying; exclaimed " salus populi suprerna lex," that is to say,
how can this a t once stupid and conceited tribe look the " the salvation of the people is the j r s t law." Well,
labouring man in the face, while they call upon him to take then, if the salvation of the people be the first law, the
up arms, to risk his life, in defence of the land ? Grant that salvation of life is really and bonl fide the salvation of the
the poor laws are just ; grant that every necessitous creature people ;and, if the ordinary laws may be dispensed with, in
has a right to demand relief from some parish or other; order to obviate a possible and speculative danger, surely
grant that the law has most effectually provided that every they may be dispensed with, in cases where to dispense with
man shall be protected against the effects of hunger and of them is visibly, demonstrably, notoriously, necessary to the
cold : grant these, and then the law, which compels the man salvation of the lives of the people: surely, bread is a5
without house or land to take up arms and risk his life in de- necessary to the lips of the starving man, as a new law could
fence of the country, is a perfectly just law : but, deny b necessary to prevent either house of parliament from
to the necessitous that legal and certain relief of which I being brought into contempt; and surely, therefore, salus
have been speaking; abolish the poor laws ; and then this populi suprema lex may come from the lips of the famish-
military-service law becomes an act of a character such as I ing people with as much propriety as they came from those
defy any pen or tongue to describe. of the Lord Chancellor !
88. To say another word upon the subject is certainly 89. Again, however, 1 observe, and with this I conclude,
unnecessary; but we live in days when " stern necessity " that we have nothing to do but to adhere to the poor laws
has so often been leaded for most flagrant departures from which we have ; that the poor have nothing to do, but to
the law of the land, that one cannot help asking, whether apply to the overseer, or to appeal from him to the magis-
there were any greater necessity to justify ADDINGTON for trate; that the magistrate has nothing to do but duly to
his deeds of 1817 than there would be to justify a starving enforce the law ; and that the government has nothing to do,
man in taking a loaf? A D D I N G T Opleaded
N necessity, in order to secure the peace of the country, amidst all the
and he got a Bill of Indemnity. And, shall a starving man &&cutties that are approaching, great and numerous as they
be hanged, then, if he take a loaf to save himself from that it has nothing to do, but to enjoin on the magis-
dying? When SIXACTSwere before the Parliament, the trates to do their duty according to our excellent law ;and,
proposers and supporters of them never pretended that they a t the same time, the government ought to discourage, by
did not embrace a most dreadful departure from the ancient all the means in their power, all projects for maintaining
laws of the land. In answer to LORDH O L L A N Dwho , had the poor by any other than legal means ; to discourage all
begging-box affairs ;all miserable expedients; and also to dis- into an address, applauding the conduct of the Ministers !'
murage, and, where it is possible, fix its mark of reprobation What! Had the people of STOCKPORT
SO soon forgotten

who are hatching schemes

upon,allthosedetestabIepr~jectors, 16th of August! Had they so soon forgotten their towns-
for what is called, in the blasphenlous slang of the day, man, JOSEPH
S W A N! If they had, they would have de-
c'checking the surpluspopulation,"wl~o are hatching schemes served to perish to all eternity. Oh, no! It was a,
for p w e n t i n g the labouringpeople from having children; proposition very premature : it will be quite soon
who are spreading about their nasty beastly publications; enough for the good and sensible and spirited fellows of
who are hatching schemes of emigration ;and who, in short, STOCKPORT
; quite soon enough to address the Ministers,
seem to be doing every thing in their power to widen the when the Ministers shall have proposed a repeal of the
fearful breach that has already been made between the poor several Jubilee measures, called Ellenborough's law; the
and the rich. The government has nothing to do but to poacher-transporting law ; the sun-set and sun-rise trans-
cause the law to be honestly enforced ; and then we shall portation law ; the tread-mill law; the select-vestry law ;the
see no starvation, and none of those dreadful conflicts which Sunday-toll laws ; the new trespass law ; the new treason
the fear of want, as well as actual want, never fail to produce. law ; the seducing-soldier hanging law ; the new-apple
The bare thought of forced emigration to a foreign ~ t a t e , felony law ; the SIX ACTS ;and a great number of others,
including, as it must, a transfer of allegiance, which is passed in the reign of Jubilee. Quite soon enough to ap-
contrary to the fundamental laws of England ; or, exposing plaud, that is, for the sensible people of Stockport to ap-
every emigrating person to the danger of committing high plaud, the Ministers, when those Ministeis have proposed to
treason ;the very thought of such a measure having become repeal these laws, and, also, to repeal the malt-tax, and
necessary i n England, is enough to make an Englishman those other taxes, which take, even from the pauper, one
mad. But, of these projects, these scandalons nasty Least- half of what the parish gives him to keep the breath warm
ly and aliameless projects, we shall have time to speak here- in his body. Quite soon enough to applaud the Ministers,
after; and in the mean while, I take my leave of you, for when they have done these things ; and, when in addition
the present, by expressing my admiration of the sensible to all these, they shall have openly proposed a radical re-0
when an
and spirited conduct of the people of STOCI~PORT, form of the Commons' House of Parliament. Leaving
attempt was, on the 5th of September, made to cheat them
them to do this, as goon a s they like, and trusting, that you
will never, on any account, applaud them, until they do it,
I, expressing here my best thanks to Mr. B L A C K ~ ~ I A W ,
who defeated the slavish scheme at Stockport, remain, P O O R W A W S FIRZEN3B:
0%
Your faithful friend, Useful Information and Advice for the Working Classes ;
in a Series of Letters, addressed to the Working Classes
and most obedient servant,
of Preston.
LONDON :
Whr. COBBETT.
-
Printed and Published by W.CODDETT,
NO. 183, Fleet-Street.
PRICE TWO-PENCE.

LETTER IV.

T O THE

W O R K I N G C L A S S E S O F PRESTON.

Hurslbourne Torrnnt (eallrd Uf~hrrrband),

Rants, 13th Oct. 1826.
M Y EXCELLENT FRIENDS,
90. IN the foregoing Numbers, I have shown, that men
can never be so poor as to have no rights a t all; and that,
in England, they have a legal, as well as a natural, right
to be maintained, if they be destitute of other means, 0116 of
the lands, or other property, of the rich. But, it is an in-
teresting question : H O W T H E R E C A M E T O B E S O
MUCH P O V E R T Y AND M I S E R Y I N ENGLAND?
This is a very interesting question; for, though it is the.
doom of man, that he shall never be certain of any thing,
u ~ that
d he shall never be beyond the reach of calamity ;
though there always has been, and always will be, poor
people in every nation ; though this circumstance of poverty
is inseparable from the means which uphold communities of
men; though, without poverty, there could be no charity,
 IV.] MAN'S F ~ I E I D .
THEPOOR
and none of those feelings, those offices, those acts, and delivering their country, their parents, and all those wlionl
those relationships, which are connected with charity, and they 'love, from this state of increasing hunger, disgusting
which form a considerable portion of the cement of civil rags, misery, disgrace, and infamy.
society : yet, notwithstanding these things, there are bounds, 92. The proofs of the former happy state of the English
beyond which, t h e poverty of a people cannot go, without people I shall take, with very little abridgment, from the
becoming a thing to complain of, and to trace to the Go- XVIth No. of my" History of the Protestant Reformation."
vernment as a fault. Those bounds have been passed, in I could add other proofs, but they would be wholly unneces-
England, long and long ago. England was always famed sary. When 1 have given these proofs of the ancient good
for many things ; but especially for its good living ; that is living of the English, I shall show how fast the bad living,
t o say, for the plenty in which the whole of the people the misery, of the labouring people have been increasing,
lived ; for the abundance of good clothing and good food, how they have been regularly becoming more and more
which they had. I t was always, ever since it bore the name miserable during the l a s t j f t y or sixty years. And, when
of England, the richest and most powerful, and most ad- I have, thus, clearly proved, that the people were formerly
mired, country in Europe ; but, its good living, its supe- well fed and well clad, and have prqduced incontestable
riority in this particular respect, was proverbial amongst all proofs of their present wretchedness, in all parts of the
who knew, or who had heard talk of, the English nation. country ; when I have done this, [ shall go back, and show
Goad God ! How changed ! Now, the very worst fed and you, H O W T H E R E C A M E T O BE S O MUCH PO-
tvorst clad people upon the face of the earth, those of Ire- VERTY AND M I S E R Y I N ENGLAND. I begin,
land only excepted. Ilozu, then, d i d this horrible, this then, with my proofs of the ancient good living of the Eng-
disgraceful, this cruel poverty come zipon this once happy lish people, which I take from my History before men-
nation? This, my good friends of Preston, is, to us all, a tioned.
most important question; and, now let us endeavour to 93. POVERTY, however, is, after all, the great badge,
obtain a full and complete answer to it. the never-failing badge of slavery. Bare bones and rags
91. But, before we proceed to sllow how the nation has are the true marks of the real slave. What is the object
been impoverished, it is necessary to prove, to establish of Government? To cause' men to live huppily. They can-
beyond doubt, the fact, that, formerly, the people of Eng- not be happy without a sufficiency of food and of raiment.
l a n d were well fed, a n d well clad. This, therefore, is Good government means a state of things in which the main
w h a t I shall do, before 1 come to give an account of the body are well fed and well clothed. I t is the chief business
means, by which this once well fed and well clad people of a government to take care, that one part of the people do
have been reduced to their present skin and bone and mi- not cause the other part to lead miserable lives. There can
serable rags. And, though I have done i t on one or two be no morality, no virtue, no sincerity, no honesty, amongst
former occasions, it is necessary to do i t again here; for, a people continually suffering from want; and, it is cruel,
those who may read now, may not have read before; and, in the last degree, to punish such people for almost any sort
besides, boys are every day rising up to the a g e of thought; of crime, which is, in fact, not crime of the heart, not crime of
a n d in young men in particular, it is becoming to think the perpetrator, but the crime of his all-controlling necessi-
~eriouslyof these things, and to ponder on the means of ties.-TQ what degree the main body of the poople, in
 IV.] THEPOORMAN'SFRIEND.
England, a r e now poor and miserable; how deplorably the French people, and then by a description of the state
wretched they now are; this we know but too well; and of the English. His words, words that, as I transcribe
now, we will see what mas their state before this vaunted them, make my cheeks burn with shame, are as follows :
" R r r o R ~ I A T I ~ N . " 1 shall be very particular to cite my " Besides all this, the inhabitants of France give every
authorities here. I will infer nothing; I will give no " year to their King the fourth p a r t of all their wines, the
"estimate"; but, refer to authorities, such as no man can " growth of that year, every vintner gives the fourth penny
call in question, such as no man can deny to be proofs more " of what he makes of his wine by sale. And all the
cornplete than if founded on oaths of credible witnesses, " towns and boroughs pay to the King yearly great sums of
taken before a judge and jury. I shall begil; with the " money, which are assessed upon them, for t!?e expcr,ses
account which F o l ~ ~ ~ s c gives v r . of the state and man- " of his men at arms. So that the King's troops, which are
ner of living of the English, in the reign of Henry VI.; that " always considerable, are substituted and paid yearly by
is, in the 15th century, when the Catllolic Church was in " those common people, who live in the villages, boroug!is
the height of its glory. F o R T E S C U E was Lord Chief Jus- " and cities. Another grievance is, every village constantly
tice of England for nearly twenty years ; he was appointed " finds and maintains two cross-bow -)r,en, a t the least ;
Lord Iligh Chancellor by Henry VI. Being in exile, in " some find more, well arrayed in all their accoutrements,
France, in consequence of the wars between the Houses of " to serve the Icing in his wars, as often as he pleaseth to
York and Lancaster, and the Icing's son, Prince Edward, " call them out, which is frequently done. Without any
being also in exile with him, the Chancellor wrote a series " consideration had of these things, other very heavy taxes
of Letters, addressed to the Prince, to explain to him the " are assessed yearly upon every village within the kingiom,
nature and effects of the Lams of E n g l a ~ ~ dand , to induce " for the King's service; neither is t l ~ c r eever any i ~ ~ t e r -
him to study them and uphold them. This v;olk, which was " nrission o r abatement of taxes. Exposed to these and
written in Latin, is called D e Laudibus Legzim Anylice ; or " other calamities, the peasants live in great hardship and
PRAISE O F TIIC L ~ W O SF E N G L A N D . This book was, '' misery. Their constant clrink is water, neither do they
many years ago, translated into English, and it is a book of " taste, throughout the year, any other liquor, unless upon
Law-Authority, quoted frequently in our courts at this day. '' some extraordinary times, or festival days. Their cloth-
No man can doubt the truth of facts, related in such a " ing consists affrocks, or little short jerkins, made of can-
work. I t mas a work written by a famous lawyer for a " vas, no better than common sachcloth; they do not wear
Prince; it was intended to be read by other cotemporary " a n y woollens, except of the coarsest sort; and that only
lawyers, and also by all lawyers in future. The passage " in the garment under their frocks; nor do they wear any
that T am about to cluote, relating to the state of the Eng- '' trowse, but from the knees upwards; their legs being ex-
lish, was purely incidental; i t vias not intended to answer " posed and naked. The women go barefoot, except 011
any temporary purpose. I t must htave been a true account. " holidays. They do not e a t j e s h , except it be the fat of
-The Chancellor, after speaking generally of the '' bacon, and that i n very snzall quantities, with which
nature of the laws of England, and of the difference be- '& they make u sozip. Of other sorts, either boiled or
tween them and the laws of France, proceeds to show the " roasted, they do not so much as taste, unless it be of the
difference in their effects, by a description of the state of '' inwards and offals of sheep and bullocks, and the like,
 IV.]
#' which are killed for the nse of the better sort of people, -Go, and read this to the poor souls, who are now
'' a n d the merchants; for whom also quails, partridges, eating sea-weed in Ireland ; who are detected in robbing
" hares, and the like, a r e reserved, upon p a i n of the gal- the pig-troughs in Yorkshire ; who are eating horse-flesh and
s' lies ; as for their poultry, the soldiers consume them, sb grains (draff) in Lancashire and Cheshire ;who are harnessed
*' that scarce the eggs, slight as they are, are indulged them, like horses and drawing gravel in Hampshire and Sussex ;
" by way of a dainty. And if i t happen that a man is ob- who have 3d. a day allowed them by the Magistrates i n
" served to thrive in the world, and become rich, he is Norfolk ; who, all over England, worse fed tharl the felons
" presently assessed to the King's tax, proportionably in the gaols. Go, and tell them, when they raise their hands
" more than his poorer neighbours, whereby he is soon re- from the pig-trough, or from the grains-tub, and, with their
" duced to a level with the rest." Then comes his de- dirty tongues, cry " No Popery ";go, read to the degraded
scription of the ENGLISII, a t that same time ; those and deluded wretches, this account of the state of their
" priest-ridden " English, whom CIIALM EILS and H u n r ~ , Catholic forefathers, who lived 11nder what is impudently
and the rest of that tribe, would fain have us believe, were called " Popisli superstition a n d tyranny", and in those
a mere band of wretched beggars.-" The King of England times, which we have the audacity to call " the d a r k
s' cannot alter the laws, or make new ones, without the ex- ages."-Look a t the then picture of the French; and,
"press consent of the .tohole kingdom i n P a r l i a m e n t Protestant Englishmen, if you haire the capacity of blushing
" assembled. Every inhabitant is a t his liberty fully to use left, blush a t the thought of how precisely that picture fits
'' and enjoy whatever his farm produceth, the fruits of the the English now ! Look a t all t h e p a r t s of the picture,
" earth, the increase of his flock, and the like ; all the im- the food, the railpent, the game ! Good God ! If any one
" provenlents he makes, whether by his own proper industry, had told the old Chancellor, that the day would come, when
" or of those he retains in his service, are his own, to usa this picture, and even a picture more degrading to human
" and to enjoy, without the let, interruption or denial of any, nature, would fit his own boasted country, what would h e
t c If he be in any wise injured, or oppressed, he shall have have said ? W h a t would he have said, if he had been told,
" his amends and satisfactions against the party offending. that the time was to come, when the soldier, in England,
" Hence it is, that the inhabitants are rich in gold, silver, would have more than twice, nay, more than thrice, the sum
" and in all the necessaries and conveniences of life. They allowed to the day-labonring nlan ; when potatoes would be
" drink no water, unless at certain times, upon a religious carried to the field as the on!y food of the ploughman; when
" score, and by way of doing penance. They a r e fed, i n soup-shops would be opened to feed the Engiish ; and when
" g r e a t abundance, with a l l sorts of flesh and fish, of the Judges, sitting on that very Bench on which he himself
"which they have plenty every where ; they are clothed had sitten for twenty years, would (as in the case last year of
" throughout in good woollens ;their bedding and other the cornplaintagainst Magistratesat N O R T I I ~ L L E R T Ode- X)
furniture in their houses a r e of wool, and that in g r e a t clare that B R E A D A N D W A T E R were the general food ofwork-
" store. They are also well provided with all other sorts ing people in England ? W h a t would he have said ? Why, if
" of household goods and necessary implements for hus- he had been told, that there was to be a " REFORYATPON,"
bandry. Every one, according to his rank, hath a l l accompanied by a total devastation of Church and Poor
"'things which conduce to make life easy and happy." property, upheld by wars, creating an enormous Debt and
 enormous taxes, and requiring a constantly standing army ; B u t , let us come to Acts of Parliament, and, first, to
if he had been told this, he would have foreseen our present the Act above quoted, in paragraph 453, which see. T h a t
state, and would have wept for his country; but, if he had, Act fixes the price of meat. After naming the four sorts of
in addition, been told, that, even in the midst of all this suf- meat, lepJ pork, mutton and veal, the preamble has these
fering, we should still have the ingratitude and the baseness words : " These being T H E F O O D O F T H E P O O R E R
to cry " No Popery," and the injustice and the cruelty to SORT." This is conclusive. I t is an incidental mention
persecute those Englishmen and Irishmen, who adhered to of a fact. I t is in an Act of Parliament. I t must have
the faith of their pious, moral, brave, free and happy fathers, been true; and, it is a fact that we know well, that even t h e
he would have said, "God's wilI be done: let them suRer." Judges have declared from the Bench, that bread alone is
-But, it may be said, that it was not, then, the Catholic now tlie food of t'he poorer sort. W h a t do we want more
Church, but the Laws, that made the English so happy; than this to convince us, that the main body of the people
for, the French had that Church as well a s the English. have been impoverished by the " Reformation " ?-But,
Aye! But, in England, the Church was the very basis of I will prove, by other Acts of Parliament, this Act of Parlia-
the laws. The very first clause of MAGN A CHARTA pro- lrlent to have spoken truth. These Acts declare what the
vided for the stability of its property and rights. A provi- w q e s of workmen shall be. There are several such Acts,
sion for. the indigent, an effectual provision, uias made by but one or two may suffice. The Act of 23d of EDW.111.
the lrltos that related to the Church and its property ; and fixes the wages, without food, as follows. There are many
this was not the case in France ; and never was the case in othkr things mentioned, but the following will be enough for
any country but this : so that the English people lost more our purpow. s. d .
by a " Reformation " than any other people could have lost. A woman hay-making, or weeding corn, for the day, 0 1
-Fortescue's authority would, 'of itself, be enough; Areaper ... . ... . ..
, .
. . .. .. .. . .
A man filling dung-cart .. ..
0 34
0 4
but, I am not to stop with it. 'WIIITE,. the late Rector of Mowing an acre of grass . . .. .. .. .. .. ..
Threshing a quarter of wheat
.. .. 0 6
0 4
SELGOURNE, in Hanipshire, gives, in his History of that
once-farnous village, an estract from a record, stating, that, The price of shoes, cloth, and of provisions, throughout the
for disorderly conduct, men were punished, by being " com- time that this law continued in force was as follows :-
S. s. d. f. s. d.
pelled 'to fast a fortnight on bread a n d beer" ! This was ..
A pair of shoes . 0 0 4 A fat hog 2 years old
A fat goose . . .
0
0
3 4
0 21
about the year 1380, in the reign of R I C H A R D11. Oh ! Russet broad cloth the
yard. . .. . . 0 1 1 Ale, the gallon,' by
miserable " d a r k ages "! This fact must he true. WHITE .. ..
A stall-fed ox .
.. 010 1641 0 Proclamation . .
.
0 0 1
had no purpose to answer. His mention of the fact, or, ra-
ther, his transcript from the record, is purely incidejztal ;and
trifling as the fact is, it is conclusive as to the general mode
A grass-fed ox
A fat sheep unshorn
.
A f a t sheep shorn .0 1 1
O Wheat thequarter
8 White wine the gallon
2 Redairle .
These prices are taken from the PRECIOSUM
. . .
of BISIIOP
0 3 4
0 0 (i
0 0 4

of living in those happy days. Go, tell the harnessed gravel- FLEET WOOD, who toolc them from the accounts kept by the
drawers, in Hampshire, to cry " No Popery"; for, that, if bursers of convents. All the world knows, that FLEET-
the Pope be not put down, he may, in time, compel them to WOOD'S book is of undoubted authority.-We may, then,
fast on bread a n d beer, instead of suffering them to conti- easily believe, that " beef, pork, mutton and veal," were
nue to regale themselves on nice potatoes and pure water. " the food of the poorer sort," when a dung-cartfiller had
 more than the price of a f a t goose and a half for a day's POFISH MAN. NO-POPERY MAN.
s. d. s. d.
work, and when a woman wae allowed, for a day's weeding, Mowing an acre of grass. ..
Thrash~nga quarter of wheat
0 6
0 4 2 '03
the price of a q u a r t of red wine ! Two yards of the cloth
made a coat for the sliepherd; and, as it cost 2s. Id., the Here are waust improvements, M a d m ! " But, now let us
reaper would earn it in 64 d a y s ; and, the dung-cart man look a t the relative price of the wheat, which the labourer
would earn very nearly a p a i r of sl~oesevery d a y ! This had to purchase with his wages. W e have seen, that the
dung-cart filler would earn u f a t shorn sheep in four days ; '< popish superstition slave" had to giveJivepence a bushel
h e mould earn a f a t hog, two years old, in twelve days; h e for his wheat, and the evidence of Mr. G E O R G Estates, that
would earn a grass-fed ox iu twenty days ; so that we may the 'L enlightened Protestant" had to give 1 0 shillinys a
eaaily believe, that '' beef, pork, and mutton," were " the bushel for his wheat; that is, 24 tinzes as much as the
food of the poorer sort." And, mind, this was '' apriest- popish fool," who suffered himself to be '' priest-ridden."
ridden people" ; a people '(buried in Popish superstition "! So that the '' enliyhtened " man, in order to make h i n ~as
I n our days of " Protestant light " and of" mental enjoy- well off as the " d a r k ages" man was, ought to receive
ment," the " poorer sort" are allowed by the Magistrates twelve shillings, instead of 3s. 72d. for mowing an acre of
of Norfolk, 3d. a day for a single man able to work. Thnt is grass; and he, in like manner, ought to receive, for thrash-
to say, a ha!fpenny less than the Catholic dung-cart man ing a quarter of wheat, eight shillinys, instead of the four
had ; and that 3d. will get the " No Popery " gentleman which he does receive. If we hod the records,
about six ounces of old ewe-mutton, while the Popish dung- we should, doubtless, find, that I R E L A N D was in the same
cart man got, for his day, rather more than the yuarter of a state.
f a t sheep.-But, the popish people might work harder 94. There ! That settles the matter a s to ancient good
than " enlightened Protestants." They might do more living. Now, as to the progress of poverty and misery,
work ill a day. This is contrary to all the assertions of the amongst the working people, during the last half century,
feelosofers; for they insist, that the Catholic religion made take these facts : in the year 1771, that is, 55 years ago,
people idle. But, to set this matter a t rest, let us look at the ARTIIURYOUNG,ufho u-as afterwards Secretary to the
price of the job-labour ; a t the mowing by the acre and a t Board of Agriculture, published a work o n the state of the
the thrashing of wheat by the gunrter ;and let us see how agriculture of the country, in which he gave the allowance
these wages a r e now, compared with the price of food. I for the keeping of a farm-labourer, h i s w q e a n d three
have noparliumentary authority since the year 1821, when children, which allowance, reckoning according to the
a report was ~ r i n t e dby order of the House of Commons, present money-price of the articles which he allows,
containing the evidence'of Mr. ELLMAN, of Susgex, as to amounted to 13s. Id. H e put the sum, a t what he deemed
wages, and of Mr G E O R G Eof , Norfolk, as to price of wheat. the lowest possible sum, on which the people could exist.
The report was dated 18th June, 1821. The accounts are Alas! we shall find, that they can be made to exist upon
for 2 0 years, on an average, from 1800 inclusive. W e will little more than one-lzalfof this sum !
now proceed to see how the " popish, priest-ridden" Eng- 95. This allowance of Mr. A U T a rr R Y O U N Gwas made,
lishman stands in compariwn with the " No P o p e r y " observe, in 1771, which was before the O l d American W a r
Englishman. took place. T h t war made some famous fortunes for admi-
 Iv.] TIIEPOORMAN'S FRIEND.
rals and commodores and contractors and pursers and gene- According to this scale, which was printed and published,
rals and commissaries; but, i t was not the Americans, the and also acted upon for years, the weekly allowance, for
French, nor the Dutch that gave the money to make these a man, his zuye a n d threechildren, was, according to pre-
fortunes. They came out of English taxes; and the hea- sent money-prices, 11s. 4d. Thus, it had, in the space of
viest part of those taxes fell upon the working people, who, twenty-four years, fell from 13s. Id. to 11s. 4d. Thus were
when they were boasting o f " victories" and rejoicing that the people brought to the pig-meat ! Food, fit for men,
the J A C K TARS"had got 5' prize-money," little dreamed, they could not have with 11s. 4d. a week for five persons.
that these victories were purchased by them, and that they 97. One would have thought, that to make a human
paid fifty pounds for every crown that sailors got in prize- being live upon 4d. a day, and find fuel, clothing, rent,
money I In short, this American war caused a great mass washing and bedding out of the 4d., besides eating and
of new taxes to be laid on, and the people of England be- drinking, was impossible ; and one would have thought i t
came a g r e a t dealpoorer than they ever had been before. iniposeible for any thing not of hellish birth and breeding,
During that war, they B E G A N T O E A T POTATOES, to entertain a wish to make poor creatures, and our neigh-
as something to " save bread." The poorest of the people, bours too, exist in such a state of horrible misery and de-
the very poorest of them, refused, for a long while, to use gradation as the labourers of England were condemned to
them in this way ; and even when I was ten years old, which by this scale of 1795. Alas! this was happiness and ho-
was just aboutjfty years ago; the poor people would not nour ; this was famous living ; this 1 1s. 4d. a week was
eat potatoes, except zcith meat, as they would cabbages, luxury and feasting, compared to what we N O W BE-
or carrots, or any other moist vegetable. But, by the end H O L D ! For now the allowance, according to present
of the American war, their stomachs had come to ! By money-prices, is 8s. a week for the man, his wife. and three
slow degrees, they had been reduced to smal!ow this pig- children; that is to say, 24d. In m r d s , TWO P E N C E
meat (and bad pig-meat too), not, indeed, without grum- AND F I V E S E V E N T H S O F A N O T H E R P E N N Y ,
bling; but, to swallow i t ; to be reduced, thus, many degrees F O R A DAY ! There, that is England now ! That is
in the scale of animals. what the base wretches, who are fattening upon the people's
96. At the end of twenty-four years from the date of labour, call " the envy of surrounding nations and the ad-
AILTH u R YOUNG'Sallowance, the poverty and degradation miration of the world." That is what SIR F R A N C I S
of the English people had made great strides. W e were B U R D E T Tapplauds ; and he applauds the mean and cruel
now in the year 1795, and a new war, and a new series of and dastardly ruffians, whom he calls, " the country-gentle-
" victories and prizes " had begun. But, who it was that men, of England," and whose generosity he cries up; while
sufered for these, out of whose blood and flesh and bones he well knows, t h a t i t is they (and he amo~igst the rest)
they came, the allowance now (in 1795) made to the poor who are the real and only cause of this devil-like barbarity,
labourers and their families will tell. There was, in that which (and he well knows that too) could not possibly be
year, a TABLE, or SCALE, of allowance, framed by the practised without the constant existence and occasional em-
Magistrates of Berkshire. This is, by no means, a halad ployment of that species of force, which is so abhorrent to
county; and, therefore, it is reasonable to suppose, that the laws of England, and of which this Burdett's son forms
this scale was as good a n one for the poor as any in England. a part. The poor creatures, if they complain ; if their
hunger make them cry out, are either punished by even
harder measures, or are slapped into prison. Alas! the opes air ; if the eminent surgeons of London deem six shil-
gaol is really become a place of relief, a scene of compara- lings and ninepence worth of victuals and drink, a week,
tive good living; hence the invention of the tread-mill ! necersary to such a patient ; if they think, that nature calls
What shall we see next ? Workhouses, badges, hundred- for 80 much in such a case ; what must that man be made
Rouses, select-vestries, tread-mills, gravel-carts a n d har- of, who can allow to a workiny man, a man fourteen hours,
Mess ! W h a t shall we see next ! And, what should we see every day, in the open air, one shilling and sevenpence
a t last, if this infernal T H I N G could continue for only a worth of victuals and d ~ i n kfor the week! Let me not, how-
few years longer ! ever, ask what '' that mun" can be made of; for it is a
98. In order to form a judgment of the cruelty of making monster and not a man: it is a murderer of men: not a
our working neighbours live upon 24d. a day; that is to murderer with the knife or the pistol, but with the more
say, 2d. and rather more than a halfpenny, let us see what cruel instrument of starvation. And yet, such monsters go
the surgeons allow in the hospitals, to patients with broken to church and to meeting; aye, and subscribe, the base
limbs, who, of course, have no work to do, and who cannot hypocrites, to circulate that Bible, which commands to d o
even take any exercise. I n GUY'SHOSPITAL,London, a s they wo~ildbe done by, and which, from the first chap-
the daily allowance to patients, having simple fractures, is ter to the last, menaces them with punishment, if they be
this : 6 ounces of meat; 12 ounces of bread ; 1 pint of hard to the poor, the fatherless, the widow, or the stranger!
broth ; 2 quarts of good beer. This is the daily allowance. 100. But, not only is the patient, in a hospital, thus 60
Then, in addition to this, the same patient has 12 ounces of much more amply fed than the working man ; the pri-
butter a week. These articles, for a week, amount to uot Sowers, zn the gaols ; aye, even the convicted felons, are
less, a t present retail ,prices (and those are the poor man's fed letter, and much better than the working men now are !
prices), than 6s. 9d. a week ; while the working man is al- Here is a fine " Old England"; that country of '' roast
lowed 1s. 7d. a week ! For, he cannot and he will not see beef and plumb pudding "; that, as the tax-eaters say it is,
his wife and children actually drop down dead with hun- " envy of surrounding nations and admiration of the world."

ger before his face ; and this is what he must see, if he take Aye ; the country W A S all these ; but, it is now precisely
to himself more thaq a j f t h of the allowance for the family. the reverse of them all. W e have just seen that the honest
99. Now, pray, observe, that surgeons, and particularly labouriag man is allowed 2 j d . a day; and that will buy
those eminent surgeons, who frame rules and regulations for him a pound a n d n half of good bread a day, and no
great establishments like that of Guy's Hospital, a r e com- more, not a single crumb more. This is all he has. Well
petent judges of what nature requires in the way of food enough might the Hampshire Baronet, SIRJ O IK~ POLLEN,
and of drink. They are, indeed, not only competent lately, a t a meeting a t Andover, call the labourers ''poor
judges, but they are the best of judges : they know pre- devils," and say, that they had " scarcely a r a g to cover
cisely what is necessary ; and having the power to order the thenr"! A pound and a half of hread a day, and nothing
proper allowance, they order it. If, then, they make a n more, and that, too, lo zuorh upon! Now, then, how fare
allowance like that, which we have seen, to a person who is the prisoliers in the gaols 'l Why, if they be C O N V I C T E D
under a regimen for a broken limb ; to a person who does no FELONS, they are, say the Berkshire gaol-regulations,
work, and who is, nine times out of ten, unable to take any " to have ONLY B R E A D and water, wit6 vegetables,

exercise at all, even that of walking about, at bstst in tbe wwionally, from the garden." Here, then, they are already
 IV.] TIIEPOORMAN'S F ~ I E N D .
better fed than the honest labouring man. Aye, and this than they like to work upon dry bread ! No wonder, that
is not all; for, this is only the week-day fare; for, they are new gaols arise. No wonder that there are now two or
to have, "on Sundays, S O M E MEAT and broth"! Good three or four or five gaols to one county, and that as much
God ! And the honest working man can never, never smell is now written upon "prison discipline" as upon almost
the smell of meat ! This is " envy of surrounding nations " any subject that is going. But, why so good, so generous,
with the devil to it ! This is a state of things for Burdett to F E L O N S ? The truth is, that they are not fcd too
to applaud ! well; for, to be starved is no part of their sentence; and,
101. But, we are not even yet come to a sight of the here are SURGEONS, who have something to say ! They
depth of our degradation. These Berkshire gaol-regulations know very well that a man may be murdered by keeping
make provision for setting the convicted prisoners, in certain necessary food from him. Felons are not apt to lie doum
cases, T O W O R K , and, they say, ' <if the surgeon think and die quietly for want of food. The gaols are in larye
it necessary, the W O R K I N G P R I S O N E R S may be towns, where the news of any cruelty soon gets about. So
<' allowed MEAT A N D B R O T H O N W E E K DAYS"; that the felons have many circumstances in their favour.
and of Sundays, of course! There it is! There is the I t is in the villages, the recluse villages, where the greatest
" envy and admiration "! There is the state, to which cruelties are committed.
Mr. Prosperity and Mr. Canning's best Parliament has 102. Here, then, in this contrast bet~veenthe treatment
brought us. There is the result of " victories " ax~dprize- of the WORICING F E L O N and that of the W O R K I N G
money and battles of Waterloo and of English ladies kiss- H O N E S T MAN, we hare a complete picture of the pre-
ing " Old Blucher." There is the fruit, the natural fruit, sent state of England ; that horrible state, to which, by
of anti-jacobinism and battles on the Serpentine River and slow degrees, this once happy country has been brought ;
jubilees and heaven-born ministers and sinking-funds and and, I should now proceed to show, as I proposed in the
" public credit" and army and navy contracts. There is first paragraph of this present Number, H O W T H E R E
t h e fruit, the natural, the nearly (but not quite) ripe fruit CAME T O B E S O &IUCH P O V E R T Y AND MI-
of it all: the C O N V I C T E D F E L O N is, if he do not S E R Y I N E N G L A N D ; for, this is the main thing, it
work a t all, allowed, on week-days, some vegetables in ad- being clear, that, if we do not see the real causes of our
dition to his bread, and, on Sundays, both meat a n d broth; misery, we shall be unlikely to adopt any effectual re-
and, if the C O N V I C T E D F E L O N work, if he be a niedy. But, before I enter on this part of my subject, let
W O R K I N G convicted felon, he is allowed meat a n d broth me prove, beyond all possibility of doubt, that what I say
all the week round; while, hear it Burdett, thou Berltshire relatively to the situation of, and the allowances to, the
magistrate! hear i t all ye base miscreants who have per- labourers and their families,. I S TRUE. The cause of
secuted men because they sought a reform! The UTORK- such situation and allowances I shall show hereafter; but,
I N G C O N V I C T E D F E L O N is allowed meat a n d broth let me first show, by a reference to indubitable facts, that
every day in the year, while the W O R K I N G H O N E S T the situation and allowances are such as, or worse than, I
M A N is allowed nothing but dry bread, and of that not have described them. T o do this, no way seems to me to
half a belly full! And yet you see people that seem sur- be so fair, so likely to be free from error. so likely to produce
prised that crimes increase ! Very strange, to be sure; a suitable impression on the minds of my readers, and so
that men should like to worh upon meat and broth better likely to lead to some useful practical result; no way seems
 l'V-1 Tae POORM.IN'S F R I E N ~ .
to me so well calculated to answer these purposes, as that of pensioners. So that, away g o the great t"lhes, not leaving
taking the very village, in which I, a t this moment, hap- a single wheat-ear to be apent in the parish. The S M A L L
pen to be, and to describe, with names and dates, the actual TITHES belong to a VICAR,who is one FISHEK, a nephew
state of its labouring people, as far as that state is con- of the late Bishop of Salisbury, who has not resided here
nected with steps taken under the poor-laws. for a long while ; and who has a curate, named JOIIN
103. This village was, in former times, a very consider- G A L E , who, being the son of a little farmer and shop-
able place, as is manifest from the size of the church as keeper, at B U R B A G ~E I Wiltshire,
I was, by a parson of the
well as ftom various other circumstar?ces. I t is now, as a name of BAILEY (very well known a n d remembered in
church living, united with an adjoining parish, called these parts), put to school ; and, in the fulness of time,
V E R N O ND E A N ,which also has its church, a t a distance became a curate. So that, away go also the small tithes
of about three miles from the church of this parish. Both (amounting to about 5002. or 6001. a year); and, out of the
parishes ,put together now contain only eleven hundred, large church revenues; or, rather, large church-and-poor
and a few odd, inhabitants, men, women, children and all; revenues, of these two parishes; out of the whole of them,
and yet, the g r e a t tithes are supposed to be worth two o r there remains only the amount of the curate, Mr. JOHN
three thousand pounds a year, and the smnn tithes about GALE'S, salary, which does not, perhaps, exceed seventy
s i x hundred pounds a year. Formerly, before the event or a hundred pounds, and a part of which, a t any rate, I
which is called '' THE REFORMATION," there were tzoo dare say, he does not expend in these parishes : away goes,
Roman Catholic priests living a t the parsonage houses in I say, all the rest of the small tithes, leaving not so much
these two parishes. They could not marry, and could, as a mess of milk or a dozen of eggs, much less a tithe-
therefore, have no wives and families to keep out of the pig, to be consumed in the parish.
tithes; and, W l T H P A R T O F T H O S E T I T H E S , 105. As to the poor, the parishes continue to be in two;
T H E Y , A S T H E L A W P R O V I D E D , MAINTAINED so that I am to be considered as speaking of the parish of
T H E P O O R O F T H E S E T W O P A R I S H E S ; and, the UPIIUSBANDonly. You are aware, that, amongst the last
canons of the church commanded them, to distribute the of the acts of the famous J UUILEE-REIGN, was an Act to
portion to the poor and the stranger, " w i t h their O W ~ L enable parishes to esfablish S E L E C T V E S T R I E S ; and
hands, in humzlity and melecy." one of these vestlies now exists in this parish. And nowr,
104. This, as to church and poor, was the state of these let me explain to you the nature and tendency of this Ju-
villages, in the " d a r k ages " of ' & Ronzish superstition." bilee-Act. Before this Act was passed, overseers of the
w h a t ! No poor-laws ? No poor-rates ? What horribly poor h a d full autliority to g r a n t relief a t their discretion.
unenlightened times! No select vestries? Dark ages Pray rnark that. Then again, before this Act was passed,
indeed ! But, how stand these matters now? Why, the a n y one justice of the peace might, on complaint of any
two parishes are moulded into one church living. Then poor person, order relief. Mark that. A select vestry is
the G R E A TTITHES(amounting to two or three thousand o to consist of the most considerable rate-payers. M a r t
year) belong to some part of the Chapter (as they call it) that. Then, mark these things : this Jubilee-Act forbids
of Salisbury. The Chapter leases them out, as they would the overseer to g r a n t any relief other than such as shall
a house or a farm, and they are now rented by JOIIN be ordered by the select vesfry : i t forbids ONE justice
KING, who is one of this happy nation's greatest and drdest to order relief, in any case, except a case of emergency :
 Iv.] .
THEPOORMAN'SFRIEND
i t forbids M O R E THAN ONE to order relief. except on . . . . . 2. . 8 d. E. S. d .
oath that the complainarlt has applied to the select vestry
Gilbert. Hannah
Marshall. Sarah
Smith. Mary
...... 8
. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1088
0
0
0
0
0
0
(~vherethere is one) and has been refused relief by i t ; and. Wrstrip. Jane 0 0
that. in no case. the justice's order shall be for more t h a i ~
Withers. Ann
Dance. Susan
.. .. .. .. .. .. 88 0
0 0
0

a ntoitth ; and. moreover. that. \vhen a poor person shall

appeal to justices fcorn a sclect vestry. the justices. in order- -- . . . . .
BASTARDS . .0- 4 3 G
7 0
ing relief. or refusing. shall have " regard to the conduct -- . . . . . .0 6 0
ajld C H A R A C T E R of the applicant !"
-
--- .. . .. .. . .. 00 7 0
2 cdildren .
6 0
.
106 From this Act. one would imaaine. that overseers -
--.- 2 children . 0
.
. 0
0
12
12
1)
and jtcstices were looked upon as being of too soft and
yielding a nature ; too good. too cltaritajle. too liberal to
- - . .
-- ...... . . . . 0
0
0
0
1 0
8
the poor ! In order that the select vestry rnay have an agent
-
--- .. .. .. .. .. .. 0 0 6

suited to the purposes that the Act maiaifestly has in vieto. -

- - . . . . . . O00
-. . . . . . .
0
0
O
8
8
G
the Act authorizes the select vestry to appoint what is called -.- . . . . . .
an " assistant overseer. " and to give Ainr a salary out of - - . . . . . . -.00 0
0
6
6
the poor.rates . Such is this Jubilee.Act. one of the last 5 8 0
OLD MEN .
Acts of the Jubilee.reign. that reign which gave birth to the Blake. John
Carlnon. John
. .. .. .. .. .. .. 00 1614 00
American war. to Pitt. to Perceval. Ellenl~orough. Sid-
mouth and Castlereagh. to a thousand milliorls of taxes
Cummir~s.Peter
Hopgood. John
.. .. .. .. .. .. 00 1616 00
and another thousand millio~~s of debt: such is the Select- Holden. William
Marshall. Charles
. .. .. .. .. 00 I(i6 00
.
Vestry Act ; and this now little trifling village of U ~ n u s - Nutley. George . . . . . .0 7 0
B A X D Itas a Select-Vestry ! Aye. and an " ASSISTAYT
FAMILIES .
-4 1 1 0
O V E I L S E E". ~too. with a salary of FIFTY P O U N D S A Bowley. Mary ...... O 4 0
YEAR. being. as you will presently fiee. about a S E V E N T H Haverstock. Elizabeth, 2 children 0 9 4
PART O F T H E WI-IOLE OF THE E X P E N D I T U R E
O N THE P O O R !
Cook. Levi
Knight. John
. . . .
Kingston. John . .
. . .
5 ditto
(;ditto
ti ditto
0
0
0
... 5 4
10 0
Id 0
.
107 T h e Overseers make out and cause to be printed Pain. Robert . .. ...
Newman, David . 5 ditto
5ditto ...
0
0
5 4
5 4
and publislted. a t the e r d af every four weeks. an account
. .
Synea. William G ditto
Smith Sarah (Moses) 1 ditto
0
.
O
10 0
4 8
... ...
of their disbursements I have one of these accounts now Studman. Sarah 2 ditto 0. 9 4
before me ; and I insert it here. word for word. as fol- White. Joseph 8 ditto O. 19 4
lows :- Wise. William
Waldren, Joh . . .
6 ditto
5 ditto
..
0
0
10 0
5 4
.
103 " The disbursenients of nfr . T . Child. and M r C . . .
Noyce, M .Batt, 7 do 6 weeks' pay 1
. .
Church. bread at I s. 2 d per gallon Sept . 25th. 1826 . -
.
2 O
G10 0
WIDOWS . .
£ . .
s. d E s. d . EXTRA 1N THIS MONTH
Thomas Farmer. ill 3 days . . 0 4 0
Blake. Ann ....... 0 8 0 Levi Cook. ill 4 weeks and 1 day 1 13 4
.. .. .. .. .. .. ..
. . .. ...
Bray. Mary 0 8 0 Joseph White's child. G weeks 0 7 0
Cook. Ann 0 7 6
Clark. Mary ........ 0 10 0
Jane\Vestriplsrent
William Fisher. 1 month ill
0
1
2 0
12 0
 TIIE POORMAN'SFRIEND. [LETTER IV.] TEIEPOORMAN'SFRSEND.
a. f. s. a.
Paidboy, 2daysill. . . .. .. 1 0
JamesOrchard, ill . . .
5. s.
0 0 8
4
rueeh is the wages for a day labourer in the village. And,

AddersantlSl~arrow~. . .
.0 2
James Orchard's daughter, ill
. 8 0 you see, it is only when there are more than four children
that the family is allowed any thing at all. " L E V I
. . .. ... 00 42
0 3i
Wicks for Carriage . 1 0
Paid Mary Hintoh . .. 0 0 COOK," ior instance, has jive chzldren, and he receives
Joseph Farmer, ill 3 days allowance for one child. " JOSEPII
Thon~asCummins . . . . ..
.
9
0 G 0
W I I I T E " has eight
children, and he receives allowance for four. There are
Sani11e1Day, and son, ill
- 0 8 2
611 4 three widows under this head ; but, it is where there is a
Total amount for the 4 seeks . . . 27 3 102 man, the father of tlie family, that we ought to look with
attention; and here ure find, that nothing a t all is allowed
109. Under the head of " W I D O W S " are, generally, to a family of a man, a wife and four children, beyond the
old women wholly unable to worli; and that of " O L D bare eight shil1ir.g~a week of wages ; and this is even worse
MEN" are men past all labour : in some of the instances than the allou~ancewliicli I contrasted with that of tlie
lodging places, in very poor and wretched houses, are found hospital patients and convicted felolis ; for there I supposed
these old people, and, in other instances, they have the bare tlie family to consist of a man, his wife and tllree children.
money; and, observe, that money is F O R F O U R W E E K S ! If I am told, that the farmers, that the occupiers of houses
Gracious G G! ~Have we had no mothers ourselves ! Were and land, are so poor that they cannot do more for their
we not born of woman! Shall are not feel then, for the wretched work-people and neighbours ; then, I answer and
poor widow who, in her old age, is doomed to exist on two say, what a selfish, what a dastardly wretch is he, who is
shillings a week, or threepence halfpenny a day, and to find not ready to do all he can to change this disgraceful, thie
herself clothes and washing and fuel and bedding out of horrible state of things !
that! And, the poor old men, the very happiest of whom 110. Rut, at any rate, is the salary of the " ASSISTANT
gets, you see, less than 7d. a day, at the end of 70 or 80 O V E R S E E"R necessary? Cannot that be dispensed with ?
years of a life, all but six of which have been years of Must he have as much as a l l the widozos, or a l l the old
labour ! I have thought it right to put blunks instead of men ? And, his salary, together with the charge for printing
the names, under the second head. Men of less rigid mora-
and other his various expenses, will come to a great deal
lity, and less free from all illicit intercourse, than the mem-
more than go to a l l the widows a n d old men too! W h y
bers of the Select Vestry of Uphusband, would, instead of not, then, do without him, and double the allowance to
the word " bastard," have used the more amiable one of these poor old women, or poor old men, who have spent
"love-child ";and,it may notbewholly improper to ask these their strength in raising crops in the parish ? I went to see
rigid moralists, whether they be aware, that they are guilty with my own eyes some of the " p a r i s h houses," as they
of LIBEL, aye, of real criminal libel, in causing these poor are called ; that is to say, the places, uyhere the select vestry
girls' names to beprinted and published in this way. Let
put the poor people into to lire. Never did my eyes before
them remember, that, the greater the truth the greater the alight on such scenes of wretchedness! There u7asone place,
libel; and, let them remember, that the mothers and the about 18 feet long and 10 wide, in which I found the wife
children too, may have memories! But, it is under the of ISAAC HOLDEN, which, when all were at home, had to
head of '' FAMILIES " that we see that which is most contain nineteen persons; and into which, I solemnly
worthy of our attention, Observe, that eight shillings a declare, I would not put 19 pigs, oven if well bedded with
straw. Another place was shown me by JOB WALDRON'S
daughter; another by Thomas Carey's wife. The bare
grottnd, and that in holes too, was the floor in both these
places. The windows broken, and the holes stuffed with
rags, or covered with rotten bits of board. Great openings
i n the v:alls, parts of which were fallen down, and the places
stopped with hurdles and straw. The thatch rotten, the Useful Information and Advice for the Working Classes ;
chimneys leaning, the doors but bits of doors, the sleeping in a Series of Letters, addressed to the Working Classes
holes shocking both to sight and smell; and, indeed, every of Preston.
LONDON :
thing seeming to say : " these are the abodes of wretched-
" ness, which, to be believed possible, must be seen and
Printed and Published by W.C~BBETT,
NO. 153, Fleet-Street.
'' felt; these are the abodes of the descendants of those PRICE TWO-PENCE.
" amongst whom beef, pork, ml~ttonand veal were the
" food of the poorer sort; to this a r e come, a t last, the
" descendants of those common people of England, who, LETTER V.
" FORTESCLTE tells US, were clothed throughout in good
" woollens, whose bedding, and other furniture in their TO THE
'' houses, were of wool, and that in great store, and who WORKING CLASSES OP PRESTON.
" were well provided with all sorts of household goods,
' L every one having all things .that conduce to make life

'' easy and happy ! " MYEXCELLENT

FRIENDS,
Barn-Elnr Gardens, 18th Oct. 11307.

11I. I have now, my friends of Preston, amply proved,

that, what I have stated, relative to the present state of, 112. WALKING
out in my gardens this morning, and see-
and allowances to, the labourers is T R U E ; and, in my next ing, amongst my brocoli plants, the devastationsof the devils
Number, I will, agreeably to my proposal, show you, H O W of caterpillars, put me in mind of what I told you about
T H E R E C A M E TO BE SO M U C H P O V E R T Y AND
MISERY I N ENGLAND; for, removed the evil must and WOOD; thus reminded of these gentlemen, I
STANLEY
be, or England must be sunk for ages; and, never will the thought of the place t h a t Staniey has lately got under the
evil be removed, until its causes, remote as well as near, be Government, and of some rumours (into the truth of which
all clearly ascertained. With my best wishes for the health
and happiness of you all, I will inquire) " respecting a certain appointment," under
I remain, LORDDERBY,which is said by these rumours, to have
Your faithful friend, and moat obedient servant, become the lot of the other lucky man. From the moment
W M , COBBET'S.
that STANLEY became a placeman, I Lceased
~ to be a Mem- dred and twecty pages, the price of which volume will be
ber of Parlinmcnt. You, therefore, have, now, but one One Shilling. I must stop here, to observe, that surely,
~ e r n b e rof Parliament. That one indeed, promised to the GovernAent and the loyal and charitable souls that
'' beard" Mr. C A N N I N G ;though, as I told him a t the appear to be so anxious for the education of the people, who
Crown and Anchor, where he was one of BURDETT'S have set up God knows how many thousand schools, for the
backers, arid where I drove him out, along with the rest, good of the people ; these loyal souls will surely applaud this
helter skelter, as sheep are driven out from a pen in a fair ; effort of mine to promote that " rnal*ctLox mind;' which was
though, as 1 told him upon this occasion, the only way in so much patronised by that formerly saucy and U O ~ Vdead

which he was likely to " bea~d?'C A N N I N Gwas

, to operate C A N N I N G ;who made a jest of OGDEN'Srupture, who
upon him as a barber; or, as the Chinese operate upon the called the Reformers a low degraded crew, and who gave a
beards of the Mandarins ;that is to say, to lick off from those place to your member S T A NLEY.
beards the parts of the victuals that adhere to the mouth and 114. This loyal and charitable and religious band must
chin, when the Mandarins dine. This, however, is the only surely applaud my efforts to spread light about, and you must
Member of Parliament which you now have, and for which have heard some of them, I dare say, remarking what a good
you may thauk God. You must have two indeed, before man I must be to spread abroad 80 many nice little books.
next spring, and now we shall see who is to be one of these Be that as it may, however, you have read the books, and I
two, I, WILLtAM COBBETT, O R STANLEY! defy the Devil himself to get the contents of them out of
113. There remains, in order to fulfil my promise to you, yaw heads or hearts. The former Numbers have related
a literary duty to perform now immediately, and that is, ohiefly to your RIGHTS : this concluding Number will
writing and sending to you, the Fifth and last Number of relate to your DUTIES ; or rather to your ONE G R E A T
the P O O R MAN'S FRIEND. Of the other Numbers I DUTY ; namely, to vote a t the next and a t every election,
have sent you, and paid for carrying to your houses, upwards according tu the dictates of your own consciences, proceed-
of three thousand copies, making in all twelve thousand lit& ing upon the precept contained in the question of the Apostle:

books. When this Number shall have been added to the " What advantageth it a man, if he gain the whole world,

other four, the whole will make a little volume of ane hun- and lose his own soul ?" And if a man violate his oath, he
 v.1 THE POOR
MAN'SFRIEND.
is guilty of a mockery of God ; and in this particular case, of excessively diffic~~lt
to destroy: lime will curl up slugs ; salt
treason against his neighbour. will kill worms; but these devils of the caterpillar kind,
115. I might have put off the writing of this Number a which are engendered by that polite, gay, and courtier-like
little longer, had it not been for an accidental occurrence, insect the butterfly; these voracious devils nothing will
which I will relate to you. I was, as I told you before, destroy, except actual removal by force and crushin,o under
walking out in the gardens this morning, and near to the foot. Now, the thing for you to consider i5 whether you
spot where the caterpillars were carrying on their devasta- have the power of assisting in rescuing your country from
tions. " Look you there," said I, " BOB," (speaking to a these insatiable devourers ;whether YOU have it in YOUR
Preston man, whose name is ROBERT BOWESS, who P O W E R to do any thing that shall prevent, or tend to
finds it much more pleasant to weave young trees and cab- prevent, you and your wives and children, and your neigh-
bage plants, with plenty of bacon, bread and beer, than to bours and theirkives and children, from continuing to
weave rotten cottons, with miserable potatoes, and not much resemble so nearly these devastated leaves of my brocoli
less miserable oatcakes); " look you there, BOB," said I, for, if you have thio power, and if you fail to exercise it,
pointing my finger to the green and grey devils that were never complain again of the ill-treatment by the Govern-
hard at work upon the bmcoli plants : " look you there, ment or by any body else. You are willing.elaves; and you
" BOB : see how those infernal vermin have stripped off all would deserve to be treated as slaves are treated. I shall,
" the rich and tender parts of the plants, leaving nothing by-and-by, enter more fully into these matters; but, first of
a but the middle stock of the leaf, and the tough lateral all, let me state to you my intentions, and describe to you
" branches ! One of those leaves now represents, with the manner in which I mean to perform my duty; I have
almost exact similarity, the back bone and ribs of an no doubt of your performing your duty with equal fidelity ;
Englishman, of each man of the millions who pay the but, nothing short of death or inability of body (and that un-
" taxes ; and the devouring reptiles that are curling them- equivocal too) shall prevent me from giving you a fair op-
'< selves round the bare branches of those miserable leaves, portunity of doing your duty.
" represent the tax-eaters." as I told YOU before, is no longer one of
117. STANLEY,
116. These reptiles nothing will satisfv ;and they are too your Members. You must have another election, unless the
law be openly, barefacedly, set a t defiance, which 1think is a t thing that the King and the Parliament have to bestow, I
this time not very probable. I hereby offer myself t o you would reject kith scorn. I hereby distinctly pledge myself,
a candidate ; and pledge myself (life and health being given that as I never have, in the whole course of my life, touched
me by God) to be with you some days a t least before the the public money in any shape, so I never ill, u~ilessin the
election, and to stand by you most faithfully to the last. way of bare payment of expenses for loss of time, that
Within a month from this time I shall send do\idnmy eldest might be due to me for services actually and personally ren-
son, or if he should not be able to go, some other gentle- dered to the country, the country having first a REFOIEM
man, to consult with friends a t Preston to make preparations in P A R L I A M E N T ! I go further than this : Ilabour ; I
for the struggle. practice frugality ; I rise early : I eat the bread of caleful-
118. I s h a l l have no subscription for this election; and ness; not for the sake of myself, however, b11t for the sake
I shall spend no money of my own. I want no place, as of others; my food and drink is very little other than that
STANLEY did and does; I want nothing from the taxes; of a ploughman in a good old-fashioned farm house : 110
1 am content with my own earnings; but I a m not content man exceeds me in anxiety to make suitable and con~fort-
to expend one farthing of those earnings upon persons who able provision for every one dependent upon me : I have ex-
mlill not perform their own duty; who will not do their ob- pended aconsiderable part of my earnings upon poor brothers
vious duty towards their wives, their childree, their neigh- and their children, and upon unfortunate labouring peoply,
bours, and their country, without being paid for it. I will whom I thought demanded this alienation from the stockof
be under no control of anybody; I will be a free repre- m y family. I have done all this with the greatest cheer-
sentative of free and honest men, or I will be no representa- fulness : I have had the greatest of pleasure in contemplat-
tive a t all. ing the prospect of seeing well off every one looking up to
119. I would have you see this matter, from the beginning the result of my labours : I have sons that I love as much
to the end, in its true light. I scorn the man, I despise the a s any man ever loved his children; but, I here most so-
man who imagines that I am in ~ u t s u i tof gain for myself lemnly declare, that if either of those sons should ever ac-
or for any of my family. W h a t d o I want? W h a t c a n cept any post of profit, or any distinction, commonly thought
this Government give me, King and all taken together? or called " honourable," under this Government, the Par-
Nothing, so help me God, that I would accept of. If there liament still remaining unreformed, that son never shollld
were a REFORM of the P A R L I A M E N T , I would give again be under the same roof with me if I could help it.
any assistance in my power to the King or his Council. I am cdnvinced that my country is ill-treated; I behold its
Without such reform, all the titles, all the wealth, every fallen state; I detest the wretch, be he who he may, who
can bellold the miseries of the people withoi~tf e e l i ~ g sof about the distance of three and a half miles from Kensing-
indignation : I see ruin and starvation spread over this once ton. These are all good houses, too : they are furnished
happy land; I feel all the disgrace of the projects of emi- with every necessary. At Barn Elm I have now a farm of
gration committees : I see the magistrates of New York in- nearly a hundred acres, the richest land I believe in this
flicting pu~lishmentson the mariners who, with English whole world, except those marshes which bring diseases
bribes in their pockets, have landed English paupers upon along with their riches. W h a t more than this can I want?
the American shore : and if I see and feel all this, I know I have horses a t my will : always not less than half a dozen
that it arises from a want of reform in the Parliament ; and men to start a t my call: I feed more hungry, meritorious
if a son of mine were to lend his hand to wield the scourge people than any lord in the kingdom : God has blessed me
upon my suffering country, he never should be again con- with health and strength very rare a t my age : I am enabled
sidered as my son; I should distinctly state to you that I do to set a great example of enterprise, industry, early rising,
not suspect and never have suspected (God forbid), that any perseverance, to all around me. W h a t more can I want ?
son of mine would be guilty of such baseness. O n the H a s ambition its calls upon me? W h a t can it suggest be-
contrary, I should not be afraid to pledge my life upon their yond the farm which I hare ; beyond the real power
faithful adherence to the principles of their father. But, which I possess of upholding my friends and beating down
young men get connected; and that, too, in a s a y , where my enemies? W h a t -can ambition suggest, beyond the cir-
t h e temptation may become very powerful. I have duIy cumstance of my very name exacting attention whenever i t
thought of all this matter. M y own sharacter ; my own is pronounced ; beyond that of the innumerable persons,
happiness; their happiness too, and, above.all thing, m y who testify their joy and even their gratitude a t being per-
duty to my country, call upon me to make this declaration, mitted to shake me by the hand ? W h a t can I want more
from which I never can flinch without being knocked on the than these? W h a t can the King of C A N N I N G and of
head with impunity by any two or three fellows that may STANLEY ; what can he who promoted these men, and who
choose to perform the just but disagreeable job. gave titles to WALTER SCOTT,COUTTS TROTTER,
120. Then, i t would be base and bootlessly base in me to CIIARLESLONG,and BATED U D L E Ywhat ; can he bestow
participate in any shape or manner in the taxes squeezed that would be accepted of by a man like me, who despises
out of the people. W h a t do I want in this world but the from the bottom of his soul what is called wealth: a man
things that I have ? I have a house a t Fleet street, I have in whom i t is no affectation to eat fat bacon and drink small
another a t Kensington, I have another a t Barn Elm, which beer a t seven o'clock in the morning for breakfast, and who
is only about half a mile over Hammersmith Bridge, and a t would not, if he could do it, even out of his onru resources,
makefiis children what is called rich, it being his firm con- lords, and H E R R I Ewill,
~ I dare say, be a lord in a year or
viction, grounded on long experience and observation, that two, if the concern should be thrifty. Nay, I should not
riches, especially great riches, produce misery in ten cases, wonder if young OTTIWELW O O Dwere to be half-peered,
where they produce happiness in one ? What has the King a t least. But, the name of William Cobbett would have
or any king to bestow upon such a man? I think much of been sunk; I should have been a poor thing compared to
the office of the King; I think much of my D U T Y towards what I am, and have been, like C A N N I N G forgotten
, before
him ; I have always inculcated due obedience to his autho- I was rotten. Now I shall be remembered for many an age
rity: but favours from him I want none; 1 set less value to come; I shall give delight and information to generations
upon them, and infinitely less value than upon a single plant not yet born ; and, which is a great deal more important i n
of five beds of sassafras trees which 1 now have growing in m y eyes, shall end my days with knowing that I have been
my garden a t Kensington. a great benefactor to my country; and that if I should not
121. I will talk to STANLEY when I have him face t o live to see a restoration to liberty and happiness completed,
face: I will then ask him how he came by his office, and I have sown the seeds, widely arid thickly sown the seeds of
will explain to you the nature of that office ; but I cannot such restoration.
refrain, even for the present, from observing to you, that i n 128. S o much for myself and nzy duty: now for you
t h a t very post in which STANLEY now is, I M I G H T HAVE and your duty. You know very well that the far greater
BEEN T W E N T Y - O N E Y E A R S A G O ; and that too,ohserve, in part of you do not receive a quarter part of the due compen-
time of war, when the o 6 c e is about a hundred times of sation for your labour : you know very well that you lead
as much importance as it nciw is. The office was offered to miserable lives, for the want of such compensation : you
me by the late M a . W I N D H A M i, n the month of February, know that in the heart of that Old England, that was famed
1806. This is very well known to several persons to whom throughout the world for good living, good dress, and good
MR. W I N D I I A ~ Ihimself told it. And, indeed, every one bedding, you hardly ever taste meat, seldom taste wheaten
who was well informed of the state of things a t that time, bread, live upon wretched potatoes and oats, are dressed i n
knew the fact perfectly well. Am I sorry that I did not the most ragged manner, and sleep in places afid with
accept of the office ? No, indeed; but congratulate myself covering, EO painful to behold, that one turns from the sight
that I did not ; for I should have been an underling of those with feelings of rage against those who are the cause of sxch
Boroughnrongers, to oppose whom, to the utmost of my deplorable misery, and that, too, amongst a people the most
power, was and is my duty. I might have been a lord by industrious and the most ingeniouk in the world: and in
this time; for CHARLESLONG and V A N S I T T A ~ a~rTe addition thereto, the most frank, sincere ancl honest.
 123. Virtue surely was never ~o ill requited before ! All your miseries, is the pressure of the taxes. I explained to
these facts you well know ; and it would be useless for you you, upon several occasions, how great this pressure was ;
to know them, and also useless for you to know the cause of that when you expended sixpence for beer, more than four-
them, if you had no power a t all in assisting to remove that pence of the money was demanded by the system of taxa-
cause. This cause I have, in general terms, explained to tion; and that this was merely a specimen of the effect of
you, in the former Numbers of this little work. You com- the taxes. Not only, howevei, by what you yourselves pay
plain of your employers; and tyrannical enough they, in are you affected, but by what other people pay also. If a
general, have been, with regard to the exercise of your rights farmer's family, for instance, had not these enormous taxes
a s voters a t elections. Their conduct (or a t least the con- t o pay, that family would have more money to lay out on
duct of some of them) has, in this respect, been truly the goods of your manufacture. I spin the twist as nicely
detestable ; but, as to your poverty and misery ; as to your as most men: buy no beer, no wine, and as little of every
sufferings in body and in mind, your masters are no more taxed article as I possibly can, considering the circumstances
the cause of these than I am. You are half starved, it is under which I am placed. I pay no t a x for flour that
true ; but, the luckiest of them are more than half ruined. comes to me in the shape of bread ; for, if I buy my bread
It is not their interest that you should be half starved. ready baked, I must help to pay the taxes of the baker.
There may, possibly, be particular instances in which ava- T h e same with regard to the butcher : I have no objection
rice in the master is so predominant as to make him not per- to his meat ;but I have great objection to share in the pay-
ceive, that he cannot gain in the end, by any pinching or ment of the taxes which he has to pay; and, yet, he must
grinding of his people; but, generally speaking, they well be repaid those taxes out of the amount of his meat, or h e
understand that i t is better for &em when your wages are must go to the workhouse. The thing that comes imme-
high, than when they are low. They are MY enemies in a diately from the land, pays taxes too ; but the sheep the
mass; but they cannot be your enemies without being drover buys of the fatmer, and that the butcher buys of the
enemies to themselves ; and that they will not be, except drover, come to the unfortunate eater, loaded with the taxes
when drunk or mad. The truth is, that they would, for of the drover and the butcher, as well as the taxes of the
their own sakes, be very glad to give you more wages than farmer. For these reasons, I jostle myself in as nearly a s
they do give you ; because, nothing is so clear as the fact, I possibly can to the land :I have my flour from the miller ;
that it is better for them to give you wages as weaveis and my mutton I meet half way between the farmer and the
spinners, than to give you pay as paupers. butcher, and my hogs, those blessed animals, which the
124. The cause of your bad living, your rags, and of all blaspheming Jews very naturally revile, I either breed in
my own ydrd, or purchase them at a very tender age ;and and to punish them for eelling bad ; and it appears to me,
these are the main stay : so that as little as possible goes that Englishmen in the days of "popery and slavely"
from me to fill that " crib," which BURDETT so reviled in would have chosen a hanging by the neck for an hour or
1821 ; and at which the newspapers told us that he mas two, rather than be driven to drink water. In those days of
ACTUALLY F E E D I N G in 1827; and that, too, observe, " superstitious darkness," it was tlie general practice for
when the '' crib" was kept, when the fodder was actually people in the country parts, not to buy their malt of the
put into it, by that very C A N N I N Gwhom,
, in 1821, he had maltsters, but send barley to the maltsters to be maltcd ;
reviled for partaking of the contents of that " crib." and for ages the custom was, for every bushel of barley to
125. Thus olosedo I spin the thread ;but, though I buy no bring back a bushel of malt, the payment of the maltster
beer, I must have beer ;and to have beer, I must have malt. being the increase in the bulk ; and thus no money passed
And to have malt I must pay the malt-tax, or run risks between tlie parties, and none was necessary. NOW,if there
which I do dot choose to run. Now, for the sake of expla- were no taxation upon malt, I should pay at,this time about
nation, to show you how you are affected by the weight of three shillings and nine pence a bufihel for my malt, and
other people's taxes, take my case. My malt comes to I do pay nine shillings. You will say that I ought to pay
about seventy pounds a-year ; more than the half of this but seven and sixpence; but, recollect, the maltster has t o
expense is caused by the taxes. In the days of "popery pay for his licence ;he has to pay taxes on the windows of
a n d slavery" Englishmen would have exterminated the his house ; he has to pay taxes on all he and his family con-
man that should have dared to propose to prevent people sumes ; a tax on the land where his house stands ; a tax on
from making their own malt. But, in these days, these the deed or the lease of his premises; a tax on the sale or
" enlightened days" of libetty of the press, and of absence purchase of every thing, or else he is insecure for want of a
of " popery and of slavery," ruin falls upon the man who stamp ; a thumping tax on any legacy which he may have
should dare to make his. own malt. In the days of our left him ; a tax on the horse which he rides to market; a tax
" ignorant" forefathers, who, God rest their souls, never on the iron and leather used on his carts; a tax even upon
had a dream about excise laws, nm about any of those polite his dog that guards his malt-house against pious Protestant
and sublime arts and mysteries which the infernal Scotch thieves ; none of which things were ever so much as thought
" intelligence " has introduced into England, there used, of in the days of our " benighted forefathers," who believed
indeed, to be maltsters by trade ; and the statute book con- in the Pope and the Cardinals most sincerely, but who
tains several acts relative to these maltsters ; but, the sole remained, nevertheless, most inflexibly attached to a tub of
purpose of the acts was to cause them to sell " good malt," good beer. Faith ! the " light" of Protestantism, together
with the march of mind," seems to have turned the beer c'to fast a fortnight ! " What ! a whole fortnight at once !
into water. What hard-hearted dogs these monks must have been!
126. The maltster has, then, eighteen pence a bushel of This mas s L Popery and slavery" with the Devil to it !
me, in the way of repayment to him, of my share of the Neither victuals and drink for a fortnight! Oh yes, the
taxes which he pays. I t follows, of course, that, if we had humble penitents were to have some little matters, '' but
the misery of being still in the " dark ages," I should have NOTHING more than Bread and Beer "! Fastiitg, in-
to pay for my year's malt twenty-six pounds instead of deed ! These s' popishers" called this fasting, did they?
seventy. It is a great deal less thzt I should have to pay, The present inhabitants of Selbourne, who are as Protestant
if I were to reckon my own taxes as a farmer; for in that as piety could pray for, would jump B I joy,~ I dare say, if
capacity I have another great blessing produced by the their parson w ~ u l dcompel them t a fast this way. In fact,
Protestant Reformation, and by that alone; namely, the our forefatllers were great humbugs with their fastings :their
POOR-RATES, of which, in the " dark ages," there were piety induced them even to pretend to fast, or " abstain,"
none ;and yet, my friends, bear in mind, that there were no as they called it, only on Fridays and Saturdays ; and then
beggars in those " dark ages." The popish priests kept the they crammed in as much as they could of fish, eggs, and
necessitous poor out of their tithes. There were N O P A U P E R S butter, never excepting the two standing dishes at Selbourne
in England ; so that this blessing of poor-rates was of pure of d L bread and beer." They talk of their piety, indeed!
Protestant origin. As a farmer, I have these rates to pay. " Abstain" only two days in the week, and cram in all
These rates, and the rest of niy taxes, add a t least two shil- these things at the same time on those two days; while we,
lings a bushel to the price of my barley. Take these two children of the " Evangel," imported to us pure from Scot-
shillings off, and then the malt would cost me eighteen land, " abstain " seven days in the week, touch little more
pounds a year instead of seventy ! And here we have a than cold potatoes and oatmeal, and think ourselves but too
pretty good means of judging of the relative effects on the happy if we can get a red herring to give a relish to the
belly of these two different religions; the Catholics are potatoes on the Sunday. Let us hear no more, then, of the
pretty fellows to talk about fasting and abstaining ! MR. " abstainings " of our popish forefathers.
WHITE, the Rector of the ancient village of Selbourne, in 127. Take, then, I eay, the two shillings off, and my
Hampshire, where there had been a convent existing in malt would cost me 181. a year instead of 701. : and here
former times, tells us that he found among the records of are$fty-two pounds a year to go from me to the tax-eaters.
that ancient religious establishment, that one of the punish- The MR. W H I T Ewho I have just mentioned, laz~ghsat
ments which the monks inflicted upon their penitents was, the queer regulation of the monks about fasting. With him,
who mas a fat rector of a parish, and who was giving the may talk and you may petition about Corn Bills a s long as
tithes to his wife and children (very naturally), instead of you please. These Corn Bills are most oppressive in them-
keeping the poor with them, as the monks had done in the selves ; but, then, they also are produced by the taxes.
times of '' darkness and slavery I'; with this gentleman, the Those who onrn the estates have the making of the laws ;
" bread and beer" regulation might serve for a jest; but they cannot keep the estates with the present taxes without
with us who have to keep the poor, and with them, poor Corn Bills, and hence the Corn Bills come from the taxes.
souls, who have to submit to such a degrading and miserable To take off the taxes, therefore, is the thing to relieve you
maintenance, i t is no laughing matter. I t is 110 laughing and to restore the country ; but, these taxes are necessary
matter to me, to be compelled to give 701. a year instead of to the support, in one shape or another, of the nobility, the
181. ;and far from a laughing matter to you, to have nothing gentry, as they are called, a i d the parsons. There is no
a t all a year to be laid out in your manufactures instead of place where a n advantageous attack can be made upon this
521. I t is true, I hope, that I should not lay the whole of it system, except in the House of Commons: there is no man
out in PEEL'S manufacture ;and, indeed, if I could have my in that House, no, not one, who is able and willing to make
own will, without taking a great deal of trouble, it is much that attack. There is some cause or another to prevent
more than probable, that the PEEL'S affair would get vecy any man of them from driving into the ribs of this system.
little of the 521. B u t my taste in dress is nothing. T h e T o attack i t boldly and with a fair chance of success, I a m
521. would get into hands, somehow or other, that wouM the man. I heed not care a straw whether there was another
lay it out wit11 you or some other manufacturer of some sort man to vote with me. The s j ,tern is now in such a state,
of thing. So that, a part of the fifty-two pounds would that it could not resist a series of well-directed, heartily-
reach you even a t Preston itself. And it is by taking the laid-on blows, and I am the man to lay on those blows.
taxes from us a t this rate ;by expending them on those who, This is a fact well known to the whole nation: enemies, a s
in many instances, carry them abroad ; by treating mono- lvell as friends, know it and acknowledge it ; and notorious
polies of the necessaries of life, by working in all sorts of it is, that the election for Preston, a t the last contest, ex-
ways to empty the pockets of the industrious people, that cited more interest than all the rest of the contests put
these taxes reduce them to misery, a n d pinch and destroy together. O n wliose account was the interest excited? Not
the manufacturers in particular. on account of either of the other three candidates, an in-
128. Here, then, is the cause of all your sufferings, all y w r terest for whom was felt only by a little Tory faction a t
degradation, and of every thing that has made your coun- , the monstruusly wise family of STANLEY,
P r e s t ~ n by and
the little selfish and crafty tribe of Unitarians a t Liverpool.
try the most miserable upon the face of the eaxth. You
Yet there was universal interest excited a t that election : about in the political kennel ; and, if he did like this him-
the eyes of the whole nation were fixed upon you, and your self, those that had the power of giving him the place, and
admirable conduct deserved all that attention : so much pub- have the power of turning him out, would not like it, so that
lic spirit as I saw displayed a t Preston, I gever before saw he cannot put that oath. I t is true that a n y two electors
displayed by any part of the people, Westmiuster not ex- may cause the oath to be put to any particular man; but
cepted. Very good were and are the main body of the then it must be done by the voters man by man ; a demand
electors of Westminster, but they never were so oppressed to this effect must be made on every elector,as he comes u p
as you have been, and never had such dangers to set a t to poll ; and, if there be different polling places, as there
defiance. must, there must be a brace of these ruffians stationed at
129. At the ensuing election we shall hare less dil~cultiee every polling place. I t would be difficult to find so many
to encounter. I n the first place, there shall be none of OLD determined ruffians in Preston. The place does not contain
NICK'S traps; none of his electing Members of Parlia- a dozen of blackguards, who have a t once the baseness and
ment by the means of deal boards and scqntlings; there the brute force sufficient to embolden them to go through such
shall be no TALLIES; and, in short, no obstruction to fair an undertaking. I am not a man to see double when diffi-
play, without the open, undisgui~ed and avowed employ- culties are the object: if numerous I like to see them one
ment af military force. I n the next place, there can be at a time, and face them one by one ; and not to array them
none of that ingenious work, that nice mode of defeating in battalio11, in order to affdrd me a n apology for decamping.
the will of the people from what is called the SPLITTING But, I do look a t every difficulty, and, having looked well a t
of VOTES, by which the man who has the most votes out them all, I see nothing but what may easily be overcome,
of three or four, may be set aside, and another two elected. if you have not lost that spirit that I wjtnessed in you
Now it will be only one to be elected. A l l must be only fifteen months ago. I will take charge of Stanley : give
plumpers; for no elector can vote for more than one man. yourselves no trouble about this understrapper of HUSK IS -

Next, STANLEY cannot cause the C A T I ~ O L IOATH

C to be SOX : let not naughty pretty little girls a t Preston take the

put. When I say that he cannot, I do not mean that the trouble to spit upon him again : leave STANLEY to me, and
law will forbid him to do it; nor do I mean that his own 1 will send him back to his clerkship as drubbed and as drag-
sense of honour or of any thing else could or m.ould prevent gled as ever was cat chased out of high grass on a dewy
him from doing it; but, there are other reasons to prevent morning. Leave him to y e , once more I say, and if I do
him. H e would not like to be universally thought, by not do him strict justice, then never forgive me.
friends as well as foes, the dirtiest fellow that ever trudged 130. But all depends upon YOU, the whole country will
be looking to you : stand you by your duty; take your own cumstsnces, am ready cheerfully to make these sacrifices
parts ; resent your own wrongs; and, there is not a man i n from a sense of duty to my country, is there a man of you
Engla~ldthat does not think that I shall stand firmly by you. who will not shudder a t the idea of shrinking from any in-
I t is impossible for me to describe to you the monsltrous in- conveniences which you can h a r e to encounter? I trust in
canvenience which three weeks' a1.,sence frum home will Cod, there is not such one man amongst you; and, if I were
occasion to me. I t is just the time ;probably just the middle to find any considerable number of such men, i t would be
of the time when I shall have a million of trees to have an assurance to me that England was doomed to utter de-
packed up and sent away : I have from fifty to a hundred gradation and that she merited her fate.
glazed lights, with seedlings under them, of various sorts ; 131. In the former Numbers of this little work, I have stated
I have a hot-house of considerable extent, besides wllich I your rights, and have boldly maintained them; hut, it is the
have a farm, entered on a t Michaelmas last, with all the office of t h e " POOR MAN'S FRIEND" to remind him of
objects of attention required in such a case ; a n d there is no his duties as well a s to urge him to the maintenance of his
one of these objects, leaving writing out of the question, t h a t rights. The far greater part of the people of England have
would not take u p almost the whole of the time of any other no opportunity of assisting in the restoration of the liberties
man. In such a case, there must be some loss, and there of your country. YOU HAVE such opportunity; and if
may be great loss from my absence. Taking into view also you neglect to use your power for the good of the country,
that those whom I most confide in hers must go with me to what must be your reflections, when you shall experience
Preston. Now, if I make a sacrifice like this ; if I, who a m oppression of any description. Your power of voting at elec-
three score and one years old ; if I quit all these concerns, tions, you hold in trust for your countrymen in general; to
to say nothing of Fleet Street and hook and seed selling; if betray that trust far the sake of handfuls of gold would be
all this be done by me, who work for my bread as well ati detestably wicked ; to betray it for the sake of food and drink
either of you ;if all this inconvenience, probable lose, certain would be to add meanness to the treason ; but, would by no
fatigue; to say nothing of the expenditure of a hundred means make it less an act of treason than it was before.
pounds that it must cost me, to go to Preston and back There is no apology for the taking of a bribe ; a bribe is not
again, and to remain there a fortnight or three weeks, to less a bribe from being small in value ; and the bribery when
which is to be added my share of the hustings and the poll communicated iil gold is not less wicked, the perjury not less
clerks; if I a m willing to encounter all this, and when I base, than when the bribe goes down the throat in victuals
have rendered it completely impossible for me ever to derive and drink.
any projt. from it whatsoever; if I, under dl these cir- 132. I address these observations, not to the People of
Prestorr in genwal; for I know they do not need them; but
there are some men in every community, who are too
thoughtless, or too intent upon immediate convenience or
gain to attend to their political duties, as they ought. I t
was my duty frankly to state my opinions to such men, if,
unhappily, such should be found amongst you. In the mean-
while I repeat to you my assurance, that I, life and health
permitting, will again meet STANLEYbefore you, face to
face; and, if you do your duty, the member that will next
return to Parliament will be,
Your faithful friend and most obedient servant,

THE END.