208 Anali/ses of Books, [March, 



— This paper is already printed in the Annals of P/ii/osophi/, 

 Tol. xiv. p. 344. 



XXII. An Inquiry into the Effects produced upon Societif by 

 the Poor Lows. By John Kennedy, Esq. — The object of this 

 ingenious paper is to defend the system of the poor laws as esta- 

 blished in England. The author ascribes to their agency the 

 spirit of independence, the superior comforts, and the uncomraon 

 industry, which distmguith the common people in England. 

 He thinks that if we take into view the difference in the value of 

 money and the great increase of the population, the poor rates 

 are not h'gher in England at present than they were 60 years 

 ago. He, therefore, conceives, that the poor rates, instead of 

 bemg injurious to England, have in reality been the means of 

 creating a spirit ot independence and industry, to which the 

 country has been indebted for its prosperity and power. I am 

 very willing to give the author full credit for the benevolence of 

 his views, and the goodness of his intentions ; but conceive that 

 his mode of estimating the advantages resulting from the poor 

 laws is in a great measure fallacious. The science of political 

 economy is much more complicated than any other. Hence it 

 is much more difBcult to draw the proper consequences from 

 facts in that science than in any other. That England, during 

 the last century, made prodigious advances in wealth and power 

 is admitted by every one. The question is to what are we to 

 ascribe these advances? Some have ascribed them to the free- 

 dom which the inhabitants of this island enjoyed ; some to the 

 successful wars which were carried on in the course of the 

 century, which enabled England to cripple, and even annihilate^ 

 some of the most lucrative branches of trade and manufactures^ 

 carried on by our rivals ; some to the erroneous policy and mis- 

 government of the other European states ; some have even 

 ascribed the progiess of England to the monopolizing laws esta- 

 blished by the influence of our manufacturers ; and some have 

 been bold enough to ascribe it to the increase of taxation ; but 

 our author, so far as I know, is the first person w ho has ascribed 

 it to the influence of the poor rates. 



He allows that the present system of poor laws is liable to 

 abuses that cannot be easily checked. This alone is an objec- 

 tion, which appears to me decisive. He thinks the poor in 

 England are better fed, and enjoy much greater comforts, than 

 the poor in Scotland. If by poor be meant those persons who 

 are supported by the parish, the statement, for any thing that I 

 know to the contrary, may be true ; but if by poor be meant, 

 according to the usual acceptation of the term, the class of 

 people who are obliged to labour for their maintenance, I have 

 some reasons for doubting the accuracy of the assertion^ The 

 expense of living is not greater in Scotland than in England, and 

 yet the wages of farmers' servants is considerably higher in Scot- 

 land than in England. A Scotch farraei's servant then has the 



