66 COBBETT'S [No. 



of woman ! Shall we not feel then for the poor 

 widow who, in her old age, is doomed to exist on 

 two shillings a week, or threepence halfpenny a day, 

 and to find herself clothes and washing and fuel and 

 bedding out of that ! And, the poor old men, the very 

 happiest of whom gets, you see, less than 7d. a day, 

 at the end of 70 or 80 years of a life, all but six of 

 which have been years of labour ! I have thought it 

 right to put blanks instead of the names, under the 

 second head. Men of less rigid morality, and less 

 free from all illicit intercourse, than the members of 

 the Select Vestry of Uphusband, would, instead of 

 the word bastard," have used the more amiable one 

 of "love-child;" and, it may not be wholly improper 

 to ask these rigid moralists, whether they be aware, 

 that they are guilty of LIBEL, aye, of real criminal 

 libel, in causing these poor girls' names to be printed 

 and published in this way. Let them remember, that 

 the greater the truth the greater the libel ; and, let 

 them remember, that the mothers and the children 

 too, may have memories! But, it is under the head 

 of c - FAMILIES" that we see that which is most 

 worthy of our attention. Observe, t\\&i. eight shil- 

 lings a week is the wages for a day labourer in the vil- 

 lage. And, you see, it is only when there are more 

 than four children that the family is allowed any- 

 thing at all. " LEVI COOK," for instance, has five 

 children, and he receives allowance for one child. 

 "JOSEPH WHITE" has eight children, and he receives 

 allowance for four. There are three widows undei 

 this head ; but, it is where there is a man, the father 

 of the family, that we ought to look with attention ; 

 and here we find, that nothing at all is allowed to a 

 family of a man, a wife, and four children, beyond 

 the bare eight shillings a week of wages ; and this 

 is even worse than the allowance which I contrasted 

 with that of the hospital patients and convicted fe- 

 lons ; for there I supposed the family to consist of a 

 man, his wife and three children. If I am told, that 

 the farmers, that the occupiers of houses and land, 

 are so poor that they cannot do more for their wretched 



