. produced by the Poor Laws. 439 
laws. By those laws, the lower orders have 
been prevented, under adverse circumstances, 
from falling into that lethargy so fatal to in- 
dustry, which seems to have seized the people 
of other countries where no adequate provi- 
sion is made for the indigent. And the energy, 
thus excited and cherished, has amply repaid 
the middle and higher classes, by extending 
itself to them, and even to the government of 
the country. 
Of the utility of the poor laws, in 
abating the calamities that must occasion- 
ally visit manufacturing countries, and in 
enabling the poor to wait patiently for better 
times, we had not long ago a striking instance 
in this district. At the period,alluded to, our 
commercial channels were in an instant stop- 
ped, and it became necessary to discover new 
outlets for the produce of our industry. To 
accomplish this, a considerable time was re- 
quisite, and whilst the proper arrangements 
were in progress, an unavoidable stagnation 
in trade ensued, causing a scarcity of em- 
ployment, by which misery threatened to be- 
come almost universal among our labouring 
poor. During this change, the middle and 
higher orders maintained their situation on 
the scale, without much apparent privation. 
But the poor, who have only their hands to 
