II.] POOR MAN'S FRIEND. 43 



pretended that they did not embrace a most dreadful 

 departure from the ancient laws of the land. In an- 

 swer to LORD HOLLAND, who had dwelt forcibly on 

 this departure from the ancient law, the Lord Chan- 

 cellor, unable to contradict LORD HOLLAND, exclaim- 

 ed, " Solus populi suprema lex," that is to say " The 

 salvation of the people is the first law" Well, then, 

 if the salvation of the people be the first law, the sal- 

 vation of life is really and bona fide the salvation of 

 the people ; and, if the ordinary laws may be dis- 

 pensed with, in order to obviate a possible and specu- 

 lative danger, surely they may be dispensed with, in 

 cases where to dispense with them is visibly, demon- 

 strably, notoriously, necessary to the salvation of the 

 lives of the people: surely, bread is as necessary to 

 the lips of the starving man, as a new law could be 

 necessary to prevent either house of parliament from 

 being brought into contempt; and surely, therefore, 

 tSalus populi suprema lea: may come from the lips of 

 the famishing people with as much propriety as they 

 came from those of the Lord Chancellor! 



53. Again, however, I observe, and with this I con- 

 clude, that we have nothing to do but to adhere to 

 the poor-laws which we have ; that the poor have 

 nothing to do, but to apply to the overseer, or to ap- 

 peal from him to the magistrate ; that the magistrate 

 has nothing to do but duly to enforce the law ; and that 

 the government has nothing to do, in order to secure 

 the peace of the country, amidst all the difficulties 

 that are approaching, great and numerous as they are; 

 that it has nothing to do, but to enjoin on the magis- 

 trates to do their duty according to our excellent law; 

 and, at the same time, the government ought to dis- 

 courage, by all the means in their power, all projects 

 for maintaining the poor by any other than legal 

 means; to discourage all begging-box affairs; all 

 miserable expedients ; and also to discourage, and, 

 where it is possible, fix its mark of reprobation upon 

 all those detestable projectors, who are hatching 

 schemes for what is called, in the blasphemous slang 

 of the day, " checking the surplus population" 



