388 Fundamental Prmciples of 



wages to prevent starving, if he has not the resource of 

 throwing himself upon the parish, which he most prob- 

 ably would prefer doing, should it be in his option ; but 

 he will infallibly conceive such a thorough dislike to 

 labour that he will become idle and vicious, and a per- 

 manent and heavy burden on the public. 



If " a labourer is worthy of his hire," he is peculiarly 

 so where the labourer is a poor person, who with all 

 his exertions can barely procure the first necessaries of 

 life, and whose hard lot renders him an object of pity 

 and compassion. 



The deplorable situation of a poor family struggling 

 with poverty and want, deprived of all the comforts and 

 conveniencies of life, deprived even of hope, and suf- 

 fering at the same time from hunger, disease, and 

 mortifying and cruel disappointment, is seldom con- 

 sidered with that attention which it deserves by those 

 who have never felt these distresses, and who are not 

 in danger of being exposed to them. My reader must 

 pardon me if I frequently recall his attention to these 

 scenes of misery and wretchedness. He must be made 

 acquainted with the real situation of the poor, with the 

 extent and magnitude of their misfortunes and suffer- 

 ings, before it can be expected that he should enter 

 warmly into measures calculated for their relief. 



In forming establishments, public or private, for giv- 

 ing employment to the poor, it will always be indispen- 

 sably necessary to make such arrangements as will 

 secure to them a fair price for all the labour they per- 

 form. They should not be overpaid, for that would be 

 opening a door for abuse ; but they ought to be gen- 

 erously paid for their work, and above all they ought 

 never to be allowed to be idle for the want of employ- 



