466 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1816. 



to cottagers having already a set- 

 tlement. 



The same mischievous result of 

 that decision is noticed by a Lin- 

 colnshire correspondent, Mr. Par- 

 kinson, Avho laments tlie effects 

 which have flowed from it. 



Mr. Gregory, of Harlaxton, in 

 the same county, says, " I have 

 several cottages, with land sufii- 

 cient to keep two cows annexed 

 to them ; the cottagers who oc- 

 cupy them live comfortably, and 

 are industrious, useful labourers, 

 and appear to be contented with 

 their situation." 



In the same county, Mr. Bar- 

 ker, steward to Sir Robert Shef- 

 field, has the remarkable decla- 

 ration, that tliere can scarcely be 

 said to be any poor in that coun- 

 try, because they all have cows, 

 by means of which tliey are in a 

 comfortable state, and are very 

 generally equally sober, honest, 

 and industrious. 



Mr. Goulton, o?the same comi- 

 ty, also connnends this system, 

 as productive of much comfort 

 amongst the poor in this period 

 of distress. 



The Rev. John Gwillim, of the 

 same county : " All that have 

 cows do well, so that we have 

 scarcely apaujier." 



The Rev. John Shinglar, also 

 of the same county : " The poor, 

 though their employment is les- 

 sened by the distress of the 

 farmers, have ncrt been burthen - 

 some ; and the reason is, their 

 keeping cows." 



The Rev. Henry Basset, of the 

 same county, reports the state of 

 the poor in his paiish to be very 

 comfortable, as they generally 

 keep one or more cows. 



The foUowine; is the extract of 



a letter received from Earl Brown- 

 low : 



" The subject of cottagers' 

 cows, is one in which I have ever 

 taken a deep interest, and I 

 have invariably continued on my 

 estates, the system which my 

 father had established, of attach- 

 ing land to cottiiges, to enable 

 the poor to keep cows : I have no 

 hesitatiom in saying, that very es- 

 sential benefit has been derived 

 from this practice during the pre- 

 sent period of general distress, 

 inasmuch as scarcely any poor 

 family so circumstanced, (not 

 more, I should think, than, one in 

 ticenty at the most), has become 

 at all burthensome to the parish ; 

 while, on the other hand, I ha\e 

 reason to believe, that the labour- 

 ing poor have suffered great dis • 

 tress, and \\a.\e vmiversally be- 

 come objects of parochial relief in 

 those places where no system of 

 this sort has been established. 



" I cannot help adding, that 

 in a moral point of view, the 

 system of attaching a moderate 

 ])ortion of land to cottages, ap- 

 pears to me highly worthy of en- 

 couragement ; as the poor obtain 

 thus, if I may use the expression, 

 a capital in their labour ; thty 

 have an incitement to good con- 

 duct, and acquire for the most 

 pait habits of decency and in- 

 dustry, which parochial relief has 

 of late years so much tended to 

 eradicate from the minds' of the 

 lower orders of the community." 



Itdeser\es notice, that although 

 the cottage cow system is very in- 

 complete in Northumberland and 

 Scotland, still the mere circum- 

 stances of a cow forming a part 

 of the wages of the hibouring 

 poor, they are stated to have suf- 

 fered 



i 



