THE ENGLISH LABOURER. 
4-29 
this quarter; but I earnestly wish that those 
who are at all sceptical on the point would 
consult any of those persons who have allot- 
ments in this quarter ; and I am sure their 
testimony will pretty much accord with the 
following instance. I take Robert Jack- 
son, who, before the Allotment System was 
introduced, was alwa)'S backward in his rent, 
and receiving parish relief: — "I am a 
widower," he says, " with a large family. 
I receive no parish relief; if it had not been 
for my piece of land, I must have gone to the 
parish as before, or have put two or three of 
my children in the Union House. My allot- 
ment is a great stay to me: I have a good 
crop of wheat upon it — about six quarters to 
the acre — and I hope to get a prize for it from 
the Association." The Association here re- 
ferred to is a society of gentlemen who award 
premiums to those who distinguish themselves 
in their district for their good behaviour and 
industry, raising the largest quantity of wheat 
on a given space, &c. In this parish it is 
thought impolitic to question the holders as 
to the exact gain they make by their field- 
gardens, so that I asked no questions on this 
head : it is well known, however, that their 
returns are very great. 
It is my opinion, then, founded on long 
practice and observation, that no allotment on 
the joint principle, or along with ordinary 
employment, should much exceed the limits 
assigned to them in this quarter. No field 
garden should contain less than a quarter of 
an acre, or more than one acre. Half an acre 
is in general quite sufficient for a labouring 
man ; and I should be extremely unwilling to 
grant him any more. It is well to bear in 
mind, that an unsuccessful experiment will be 
always referred to. A labourer with an 
unusually large family of sons, so circum- 
stanced that their assistance could be com- 
manded freely, might with safety have three- 
fourths of an acre, or even a full acre, but 
this I should consider as a case but rarely 
occurring. 
With this view of allotments kept before 
us, I shall proceed to enumerate in what 
respects they affect the condition of the 
labourer. 
First, they are a source of hope to him. 
The hope which a labourer has of being pro- 
vided for in tl e workhouse is a mischievous 
idea, springing from a wrong source, and may 
be safely pronounced to be the most hopeless 
of all sentiments. The only hope worthy of 
encouragement arises from the labours of the 
poor man himself, not from the labours of 
Others, and inspires him in every industrial 
art — in digging, sowing, reaping, and in all 
other services, whether performed for himself 
or his employer ; because lie knows, that in 
either case, they invariably carry their reward 
with them. The hopes of the drone end in 
the workhouse — the allotment-holder, on the 
other hand, has a source of hope in every 
fresh field for exertion which he opens for 
himself. The one is sullen, discontented, and 
miserable ; we find the other singing amidst 
his toils, incessant and severe though they 
may be. " My allotment," says John Fenn, 
one of the Walsham allottees, " is a great 
comfort to me. I have an idiot son to main- 
tain, and were it not for my bit of land, my 
wife and family must go to the House." By 
the House is meant the Union House. 
Secondly. They call into exercise the virtue 
of prudence. Where no gain can be made, 
the labourer is too apt to settle down into a 
state of indifference. Is it likely that a man 
will care much about being industrious, when 
no one by his industry can avoid being a 
pauper ? once enable a man to save a few 
shillings, and a love of independence takes 
possession of him, and with that, an incite- 
ment to sober and frugal habits. 
Thirdly. Considered as a moral agent, the 
allotment system is active and powerful. It is 
well to dwell on this view of the subject. To 
have an industrious, contented, and happy 
population, is even more than can, at all 
times, be expected in our present state. This, 
however, the allotment system, when properly 
conducted, goes far to ensure. One of the 
most pleasing traits I have observed in con- 
nexion with it, throughout the East of Eng- 
land, is the strong link of good-will which it 
has been the means of forming between the 
clergyman and the poorer portions of his 
flock. Of the former, the holdings are in 
some cases held, and under all circumstances, 
the clergyman interests himself, more or less, 
in the working of their small occupations. He 
has thus the means of making himself familiar 
to them in the way which they like best — by 
making inquiries regarding their crops, and 
suggestions as to the best modes of tilling the 
land, &c. The consequence is, that a more 
regular attendance at church is secured, and 
this step is followed by their families, so that 
a more decent and orderly behaviour is thus 
introduced throughout the locality. Sharing, 
in some measure, the comforts which ore 
enjoyed by his richer neighbours, the poor 
man now lives in a state of contentment ; ami 
contrasting his present condition with what it 
was formerly, he becomes thankful, and free 
from the dangerous disquietude which formerly 
characterized him. I have many facts in my 
possession, relative to the social and moral 
condition of the labouring poor, which are 
fairly to be attributed to the allotments, on 
which it would be difficult to dwell too long- 
Orderly and industrious habits are now filling 
