( G3 ) 



CHAP. V. 



Of Poor-Laws. 



To remedy the frequent distresses of the poor, 

 laws to enforce their relief have been instituted ; 

 and in the establishment of a general system of 

 this kind England has particularly distinguished 

 herself. But it is to be feared, that, though it may 

 have alleviated a little the intensity of individual 

 misfortune, it has spread the evil over a much 

 larger surface. 



It is a subject often started in conversation, and 

 mentioned always as a matter of great surprise, 

 that, notwithstanding the immense sum which is 

 annually collected for the poor in this country, 

 there is still so much distress among them. Some 

 think that the money must be embezzled for 

 private use ; others, that the churchwardens and 

 overseers consume the greatest part of it in feast- 

 ing. All agree that somehow or other it must be 

 very ill managed. In short, the fact, that even 

 before the late scarcities three millions were col- 

 lected annually for the poor, and yet that their 

 distresses were not removed, is the subject of 

 continual astonishment. But a man who looks a 

 little below the surface of things would be much 

 more astonished, if the fact were otherwise than 

 it is observed to be ; or even if a collection uni- 



