THE MISSION OF CANON GIRDLESTONE. 231 



the burden fell largely upon themselves, nothing was done 

 by the guardians to improve the sanitary condition of the 

 place ; and hence the perpetuation of the serious evils 

 which have been enumerated^ Every labourer who was 

 a householder in Halberton was entitled to vote for the 

 election of guardians, waywardens, overseers, and vestry 

 men ; and thus had, it may be supposed, the power of 

 remedying the state of things from which he suffered. 

 But Canon Girdlestone stated that he never saw a labourer 

 at a vestry or other meeting. The men, he affirmed, 

 dared not go ! Insufficient wages were, however, supple- 

 mented out of the general rates, and though this method 

 of supplying, or helping to supply, the necessities of the 

 local peasantry was not pleasant or acceptable to these 

 ratepayers who did not employ labour, it was advan- 

 tageous to those who did ! Kind treatment, it might have 

 been hoped, would at least help to make some amends for 

 the lowness of the rate of wages prevailing in Halberton, 

 for the miserable dwellings of the peasantry, and for the 

 unhealthy surroundings of those dwellings. Such treat- 

 ment, however, was unhappily the exception and not the 

 rule, judging by the following illustrative cases : A carter 

 saved a valuable team for his master, a farmer, by rushing 

 at the horses' heads when the animals had one day taken 

 fright at something and were running away. The man 

 fell, in doing so, under one of the wheels of the waggon. 

 His ribs were broken, but his bravery saved the waggon 

 and team. For two months he was confined to his bed, 

 during the whole of which time the farmer, his master, 

 refused to give him one sixpence in wages, and the man 

 had nothing but what he got from the rates ! Canon 

 Girdlestone one day, during this labourer's illness, met the 

 master, and asked him to give the poor fellow a quart of 

 milk occasionally for his children whilst he remained unable 

 to work for him. The Canon reminded the farmer that this 

 labourer had been maimed in his, the farmer's, service, 

 and that he had saved him a valuable team of 

 horses, adding that the milk was a trifle that would not 

 be missed. Will it be credited ? The farmer, who was a 

 substantial yeoman, refused to give his injured servant 

 either the milk that he was asked to give, or anything else, 

 and he never even went to see him. Another carter in the 

 employ of a Halberton farmer was crushed by a restive 

 horse in his master's stable, through no fault of the man's. 

 Through his injury he was laid up, and his wages were im- 

 mediately stopped by his master, who refused to give him 

 any sort of assistance. This was not all. The man occupied 

 a cottage belonging to his master, and, being a carter, he 

 held this cottage rent free as part of his wages. During the 

 whole of the time he was disabled he was not merely refused 

 a single penny of his wages, but the rent of the cottage was 

 charged to him, and the amount was deducted each week 



