III.] POOR MAN'S FRIEND. 59 



the jails? Why, if they be CONVICTED FELONS, 

 they are, say the Berkshire jail-regulations, "to have 

 ONLY BREAD and water, with vegetables occasion- 

 ally from the garden." Here, then, they are already 

 better fed than the honest labouring man. Aye, and 

 this is not all ; for, this is only the week-day fare ; for, 

 they are to have, "on Sundays, SOME MEAT 

 and broth /" Good God ! And the honest working 

 man can never, never smell the smell of meat ! This is 

 " envy of surrounding nations" with the devil to it ! 

 This is a state of things for Burdett to applaud. 



63. But we are not even yet come to a sight of the 

 depth of our degradation. These Berkshire jail-regu- 

 lations make provision for setting the convicted pris- 

 oners, in certain cases, TO WORK, and, they say, 

 " if the surgeon think it necessary, the WORK- 

 ING PRISONERS may be allowed MEAT AND 

 BROTH ON WEEK-DAYS ;" and on Sundays, 

 of course ! There it is ! There is the " envy and 

 admiration !" There is the state to which Mr. Pros- 

 perity and Mr. Canning's best Parliament has brought 

 us. There is the result of " victories" and prize-mo- 

 ney and battles of Waterloo and of English ladies kiss- 

 ing, "Old Blucher." There is the fruit, the natural 

 fruit, of anti-jacobinism and battles on the Serpentine 

 River and jubilees and heaven-born ministers and 

 sinking-funds and " public credit" and army and na- 

 vy contracts. There is the fruit, the natural, the 

 nearly (but not quite) ripe fruit of it all : the CON- 

 VICTED FELON is, if he do not work at all, allow- 

 ed, on week-days, some vegetables in addition to his 

 bread, and, on Sundays, both meat and broth ; and, if 

 the CONVICTED FELON work, if he be a 

 WORKING convicted felon, he is allowed meat and 

 broth all the week round ; while, hear it Burdett, thou 

 Berkshire magistrate ! hear it, all ye base miscreants 

 who have persecuted men because they sought a re- 

 form ! The WORKING CONVICTED FELON is 

 allowed meat and broth every day in the year, while 

 the WORKING HONEST MAN is allowed nothing 

 but dry bread, and of that not half a belly-full ! And 

 19 



