294 



NEW ENGLAND FAUiMER, 



Aprils, 1930 



ilie )iraCi is liealcd. This cflect is soriictimea ]iro- 

 liiccit in the vessel of wafer, but rarely. 



Jlf the Mock ; a, tongue. 



£, Scion ; b, tongue. 



C, the Scion and Stock united. 



P, Vessel of wiler, with the end of the scion in it. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



BOSTON, FllIDAY, APRIL 2, 1830. 



CAUSES, CONSE({UEKCES AND COKE OF PAUPERISM. 



Concluded from page 28C. 



In our last we adverted to some of the more 

 cotniiioii causes of extreme poverty ; and now 

 propose to iiiaiie a few remarks on its coiiseqiicii- 

 ceB. The philosophers of antiquity, especially 

 those ofwimt was called the Stoic School, pre- 

 tended to believe that poverty as well as pain, was 

 no evil ; and Diogenes in his tub, was as proud 

 of his pequry, as Plato was of his philosophy, or 

 .Mcxander of his victories. But the truth is, as 

 stated by Count Rumford in one of his Essays, 

 ' That degree of poverty which involves in it the 

 inability to procure the necessaries of life without 

 the charitable assistance of the public, is, doubt- 

 less, the heaviest of all misfortunes ; as it uot 

 only brings along with it the greatest physical 

 evils, pain and disease, but is attended by the most 

 irioriifyiiig humiliation, and hopeless despoijilency. 

 It is, moreover, too often an incurable evil ; and 

 is rather irritated than alleviated, by the remedies 

 coiniiiotdy applied to remove it. Tlie only alle- 

 viation of whicli it IS capable, must be derived from 

 the kind and soothing attentions of tho truly be- 

 nevolent This is the oidy balm which can miti- 

 gate the nnguish of a wounded heart, or allay the 

 agitations of a mind irritatcil by disappointment, 

 and rendereil ferocious by despair. 



'There is scarcely a greater plague that con in- 

 fect society, than swarm.H of beggars; and even 

 in coimtrics where the ^loor do not make a prac- 

 tice of begging, a knowledge of their suflerings 

 must bo painful to every benevolent mind ; anri 

 there is no person I would liope so callous lo the 

 feelings of humanity, as tiot to rejoice most sin- 

 cerely when efli.'ctual relii;f ia nffordeil. 



''I'hosc who now extort liirir subsistence by 

 begging ami stealing, arc Id Cn-t alrnady main- 

 tained by tho public. But this is not all : they ore 

 maintained in a manner the most cxjicnsivc and 

 troublesome to tliemNclvua uiul the public, that 



can be conceived ; and that may be saiil of all 

 the jioor in general.' 



We will no«v speak of the remedies or uallia- 

 tives for the evils which nlllict the indigent. Em- 

 ployment is the great antidote to poverty as well 

 as vice. It it is a wise saying, the substance of 

 which has been imputed to one of the Emperors 

 of China, that 'every human being capable of la- 

 bor, mental or copon-al, whether rich or poor, 

 ought to work ; for if an individual is idle, that 

 person or some other must sufter want.' And it 

 has been comfiuted by political economists, that 

 if every human being, capable of labor was to 

 pursue some useful manual occupation four hours 

 in every twentyfoiir, the product of such labor 

 would be sufficient for the comfortable support of 

 the whole human race ; and the remaining twenty 

 hours might bo devoted to the acquisition of 

 knowledge, rest, amusement, or the cultivation of 

 those arts and .sciences, which, being rather orna- 

 mental than useful, may be styled the decorations 

 of man's sublunary existence. Even those, whose 

 circumstances place them above the necessity of 

 manual occupation, or whose business it is to em- 

 ploy their heads rather than their hands, cannot 

 enjoy health without exercise ; and if they were 

 to devote, suppose two hours every day, lo some 

 profitable handiwork, the avails of which should 

 be set apart to relieve the necessities of the needy, 

 they would at once benefit themselves, and enjoy 

 the consciousness of having promoted tho ■.velfare 

 of their fellow creatures. 



With all the care and precaution, however, 

 which can bo reasonably anticipated, or perhaps, 

 will ever be realized, in the most improved state 

 of society, cases of pauperism and consequent suf- 

 fering will occur, which, not to relieve if in our 

 power, would be cruelty, scarcely inferior to that 

 of inflicting the sufferings we refuse to alleviate. 

 But tho mode of relief is a subject of dispute. 

 Some contend that the town, parish, or other cor- 

 porate body to which paupers belong, or in which 

 they have legal settlements, slioulil be taxed for 

 their support. Others say that the poor ought to 

 be maintained by voluntary contrib\itions and 

 private bounty. Much has been, and much may 

 be saiil on both sides of this question. My oj)in- 

 ion is, that a sure, and [jcrmanent relief, should, 

 in all cases be made for tho.se, who are truly ne- 

 cessitous. If misconduct has been the cause of 

 a pauper's misfortunes, ho is scarcely the less to 

 be pitied; for he has remorse and self-reproach 

 to add to the weight of his calamities. Every 

 man who has a right to live, has consequently 

 a right to all that is necessary to the comfortable 

 support of life. Besides, if the victim of penury 

 has nothing to depend on for the pittance neces- 

 sary to support life, but private and casual charity, 

 his sufferings will be enhanced by the conscious- 

 ness of the prccariou.s tenure of the means of his 

 scanty subsistence. ,\nd indeed he may actually 

 freeze or starve before the hand of relief is ex- 

 tended ; cither bcrausc the charitably disposed are 

 ignorant of his claims, or may third< him not wor- 

 thy of their bounty. And this mode of proceeding 

 throws the whole burthen of supporting the poor, 

 not on those who |)osscss the mo.st properly, but 

 the most charity : two very di.stinct classes in 

 most commiinilies. 



On the other hand it is urged that if indolent 

 and improvident people know that tho town must 

 supporl them in case of their coming to want, 

 they will rrlnx their rtlorls lo obtain n livelibooil, 

 and be less industrious und less economical than if 



Irl 



they had no hope of such o staff to lean on 

 perhaps, this, as well as all other objections to I 

 certain, permanent provision for paui>ers, may 

 obviated by depriving establishments for suppc j 

 iiig the jmor.'of every attraction which can rciK 

 it a desirable object for the indolent and dissipa 

 to he placeil in poor-houses. If every alms-hoi 

 is likewise a farm-house, or at least a House i 

 Industry, where those who can work, and w> 

 work, shall be made to work ? spendthrifts, < 

 solute and lazy persons, and others, who willin 

 travel on the road to ruin, with a hope to piitu) 

 a poor-house at the end of their journey, may 

 induced to change their courses. They will i 

 nrally say to themselves, ' Why after all, a pi 

 ii a poor-house is not the best possible place 

 der government, especially if we must work 1 

 heavers for a bare living, without grog or tobai 

 If we must work, we may as well work for c 

 selves, and enjoy the fruits of our labors, as bcc( 

 I he slaves of L'ncle Sam, or brother JonatI 

 without a chance to lay up anything again 

 wet day.' In short, let every poor-house l)ecc 

 a work-shop, as well as an asylum for honest, 

 unfortunate industry; and none but those \ 

 merit its privilege will solicit them ; and the p 

 pect of its advantages will never be an encour; 

 mcnt to idleness and extravagance. 



The first volume of Count Rumford's Es.- 

 turnishes more useful hints and precepts on 

 subject of our discussion, than any and all 

 books we have ever seen. lie remarks thai 

 poor person, who lives i ; poverty and misery, 

 merely from hand to mouth, lin'-- not the powe 

 availing himself of any of tho- ; economical 

 rangemcnts in procuring th.- ii.cessaries of 

 which others, in more affluent circumstances, ^ 

 employ; and which may be employed with p 

 liar advantage in a public establishment. Ad 

 to this, the greater part of the poor, as )^ 

 those who make a profession of begging, asot 

 who do not, might be usefully employed in vai nji 

 kinds of labor; and supposing them, one 

 another, to be capable of earning one half as t 

 as is necessary to their subsistence, this w 

 reduce the present expense to the public for ; 

 maintenance at least one half; and this 

 might be reduced still much lower by a prope 

 tention to order and economy in providing 

 their subsistence.' 



At the celebrated establishment in Munich, 

 der the Count's auspices, the poor were 

 supported by the products of their labors in t 

 ning hemp, iiax, wool, iScc. But there were s rl: 

 difficulties inherent to this mode of proccec 

 It was necessary first, to procure tools, inacb: 

 ami raw materials ; make mechanics of awk\ 

 and shiftless vagrants, and then to dispose of 

 manufactured articles. Rut since that time, 

 chinery driven by steam and water power, 

 • Imost superseded and supplanted nil sorts of s 

 ning, weaving, &:c, where the original impi 

 are not given by tho.~o mighty laborers, steam 

 waler-falls. But we have not yet learned to \ 

 a hoc or a spade by steam ; nor to set n watci 

 to gather ami house our potatoes. Besides, n 

 of the mani|)ulations of tanning and garde 

 may be peilormeil by any hale liody, with 

 practice, and le.-s instriictiuii. Tho head « 

 or Rciontitic part of the busines.i, depends 

 getbcr on tho overseer. There is, likewis 

 dillicully in ilisposing of the products of cul 

 tion. .\ considerable part will bo consunu' 

 the inmates of the establishment, and the ovci 



