688 



FARMERS' R E G r S T E R , 



[No. 11 



this last potiif is earned, coriiliineci with the cheap- 

 ness of l:-ihr)r in Ireland, and the fertility of Irisji 

 soil, the growth of wheat upon the very light land 

 of lliis district must he abandoned, and it wdl re- 

 sutne its aneient state of down. 



The ffeneral complaints made aurainst the la- 

 borer are, his supineness, carelessm-ss and the 

 w ml of eiieriry. Such complaints are, perhaps, 

 in some ni'-asure, founded in truth. These defects 

 arise principally from his being aware of the con- 

 tracted limits within which he is, during the peiiod 

 of his existence, destined to move, and by liis 

 mind bejng rendered torpid by a dependence on 

 every occasion on the commands anci direction of 

 a master. He knows that the utmost exertion of 

 his talents and strength makes hut little difference 

 in the reward ; no real or deiusive pn)spects of 

 wealth, or ease, is opened to his hopes; nothing 

 is left to his ingenuity or invenlinn ; and he is ex- 

 cluded by his insulated station from any familiar 

 intercourse, with the means of acquiring know- 

 ledge, or enlarging liis views. But snch causes 

 will o|!erate equally unfavorably on every class of 

 mankind who are ex[iosed to similar disadvanta- 

 ges, :ind no peculiar i)laine attaches to the agri- 

 cultural laborer. 



Poor-laifs. 



The policy of the poor-laws has often been 

 questioned upon the ground that the laborers are 

 induced to rely upon ihein as a resource, and that 

 their provisions give encoihagement to idleness 

 and indulgence. That they produce this effect in 

 some degree cannot be denied ; and if the suffer- 

 ing of the laborers were to be wholly attributed to 

 their own misconduct and to the provisions these 

 laws contain, they should be repealed. But the 

 misfortunes of the laborers are often the conse- 

 quence of the errors of their rulers, and of con- 

 tinirencies which human reason can hardly foresee. 

 We are indebted to our forefathers for the balance 

 of good or evil of this system ; but interwoven as 

 it is in our political existence, humaniiy, policy, 

 and necessity, appear to forbid at present that it 

 should be abandoned. 



These laws are certainly capable of a better ad- 

 ministration, and the evils which result from them 

 admit of alleviation. The magistrates do not suf- 

 ficiently examine the circumstances of the case of 

 each individual and of eacli family ; they estab- 

 lish a general rule by which a certain sum per 

 head, including the amount of their wages, is al- 

 lowed, equal to the purchase of a gallon loaf each 

 week; and in some places 3d., and in others 6d. is 

 given for other contingent expenses. This rule is 

 rarely a fit measure of the wants of the persons 

 relieved, and it excludes the consideration of the 

 merits of the individuals, and a scrutiny as to the 

 causes of their wants — points which always 

 should weigh in the magistrate's determination, 

 as his power is discretionary. 



j^ssistant Overseer. — The parish in '.vhich this 

 farm is situated has derived great benefit from the 

 employment of a permanent assistant overseer, 

 who is paid for his trouble by a salary. It is his 

 duty to make himself intimately actjuainted with 

 the situation of every family or person who usu- 

 ally claims relief, with (he amount of his wages, 

 the persons by whom employed, the number in 

 each family, the ages of the children, their health 

 and various wants; and to be prepared at all times 



to giv^e every information concerning these objects 

 to the ve.~try or any of its members, without 

 whose consent anc' directions (except in cases of 

 necessity) no relief can he given. By these 

 mean? frauds and impositions are detected, and 

 such is the ditficuliy of practisinir them, that they 

 are not of:en attempted. Since this plan has beeti 

 adopt(>d, the amount of the poor-rates has been 

 gradually abating. 



The salary paid to an assistant overseer raised 

 at first great ptijection to the appointment, in the 

 miniis of the farmers of the parish, who saw 

 nothing in the project but an addition to the poor- 

 rate. They acquiesced with great reluctance in 

 the scheme; but the evident advantages resulting 

 from it, in the regidariiy, order, and satistaction of 

 the laborers, and the diminution of the rates, have 

 full}' recoticiled them to the experiment. 



The practice of appointing two litrmers of the 

 parish as overseers, without an assistant, is objec- 

 tionable. Such persons are io general sufficiently 

 occupied with their own business, and have 

 neither the time nor the inclination to examine at- 

 tentively the detailed concerns and conduct of 

 every (iimily claiming relief; they are apt to be 

 governed by partiality and prejudices in the ad- 

 ministration of the tiinds entrusted to their care; 

 and before they have acquired a competent know- 

 ledge of the state of the parishioners, the term of 

 their authority is expired. 



Characfer of the peasantry. 



In general, the opinions which exist in favor of 

 the poor-laws are more founded on conjmiscra- 

 tion and humanity, than on any deliberate and 

 deeply considered grounds of policy; and the la- 

 borers should not be deprived, by misrepresenta- 

 tion or unjust imputations on their habits and be- 

 haviour, of' the advantage they derive from such 

 feelings. 



We should be cautious in deciding on the gener- 

 al character of any class of society, from observa- 

 tions made on a few individuals belonging to it, 

 who attract attention by iheir conduct. Whenev- 

 er a person in the station of a laborer becomes re- 

 markable and generally known, it is usually by 

 some habits offensive to the community, and inju- 

 rious to himself and his family. It is not the 

 least of the evil consequences which result from 

 such behavior, that the whole body of the indivi- 

 duals of his own rank are involved in common 

 discredit with him. But the virtues of a laborer 

 rarely produce any conspicuous effect. His worth, 

 however considerable, is so darkened by the ob- 

 scurity which surrounds him, has so little inffuence 

 on the community, that it presents no prominent 

 feature from which any inlerence is ever drawn, 

 as to the qualities of his equals and companions. 

 It will not, however, escape those persons whom 

 either duty or inclination induces to examine with- 

 out prejudice the manners and dispositions of the 

 agricultural |;oor, that great variety of character 

 exists amongst them, and that the number of those 

 who are inclined to vice does not exceed llie pro- 

 portion included in more elevated classes. Their 

 defects are often compensated by the most signal 

 virtues which can adorn our nature; by an affec- 

 tionate attachment to their families and children, 

 by a humane and disinterested kindness to tiieir 

 relations and friends in sickness and distress. 

 They make sacrifices in the peilbrmance of those 



