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The lord advocate's speech on introducing the bill 'for the Amendment
and better Administration of the Laws relating to the Relief of the Poor
in Scotland' — Summary of the Act — The board of supervision constituted
--- Its first, second, and third Reports.
Tim' commissioners'
Report, of which a summary is given in the last chapter, together with
the appended dissent of one of their number, must be presumed to have
received from the government all the consideration which the importance
of the subject demanded; and in the following session (1845) a bill for
I the Amendment and better Administration of the Laws relating to the
Relief of the Poor in Scotland' was introduced by the lord advocate, who
in an able speech very clearly explained the existing state of the law,
the mode of its administration, and the defects which the bill was
intended to remedy. In doing this, he relied almost exclusively on the
commissioners' Report, which he highly commended as comprising all the
information that could be desired on the subject, and on which the bill
was accordingly founded. The dissent appended to the Report was not once
noticed, and little weight appears to have been attached to its
representations in framing the measure.
The several portions of
the subject were discussed by the lord advocate in the same order in
which they stand in the Report. They were likewise handled in the same
spirit. He made the same admissions as to the defects, and the same
assertions as to the merits of the existing system; and he also proposed
the same remedies for the one, and the same means for extending and
perpetuating the other. His speech was in short little more than a lucid
summary of the Report itself; and it is therefore not necessary, as it
else might have been, to go through it in detail, or to do more than
extract the sketch which he gave towards the conclusion of his address,
of what was intended to be the operation of the measure. He believed, he
said, that the leading benefits it was calculated to confer on the poor,
were-
The bill for effecting
these several objects, was introduced on the 2nd of April, and after
considerable discussion was read a second time and committed on the 12th
of June. It was considered in committee and various amendments were made
on the 3rd, 11th, 17th, and 21st of July, on the last of which days it
was read a third time and passed. On the 28th of July the amended bill
was, on the motion of the duke of Buccleugh, considered and read a
second time in the Lords, and on the following day it was read a third
time and passed without further amendment. On the 4th of August the bill
received the royal assent, and became law, under the title of ' An Act
for the Amendment and better Administration of the Laws relating to the
Relief of the Poor in Scotland' (8th and 9th Vict. cap. 83.)
This Act, like the English Poor Law
Amendment Act of 1834, was founded on the recommendations of a
commission, specially appointed to inquire into and report upon the
subject in all its details; and it would seem impossible to devise a
better mode of procedure for effecting the object, or one less open to
objection. The chief difference between the circumstances into which the
two commissions had to inquire was, that in one case there had been a
profuse and lavish administration of relief, whilst in the other relief
had been insufficiently administered, or altogether withheld; and
against these opposite defects of stringency and laxity, of parsimony
and profusion, it became in each case the commissioners' duty to devise
a remedy. In the case of England, what was done in the way of amendment
has already been shown ;b and with regard to Scotland, it is now in the
first place proposed to give a summary of the new Act (in framing which
the Irish Poor Relief Act was obviously kept in view), and then to
describe the steps taken for carrying its provisions into effect,
together with a detail of the results from year to year down to the end
of 1852-3. Summary
of the 8th and 9th Victoria, cap. 83, (4th August 1845,)
For the Amendment and better Administration
of the Laws relating to the Relief of the Poor in Scotland.
Section 1.---Contains the preamble,
declaring it to be "expedient that the laws relating to the relief of
the poor in Scotland should be amended, and that provision should be
made for the better administration thereof;" and also the interpretation
of certain words and expressions used in the Act.
Section 2.—Appoints a "Board of Supervision
for Relief of the Poor in Scotland," consisting of the lord provost of
Edinburgh, the lord provost of Glasgow, the solicitor-general of
Scotland, the sheriffs depute of the counties of Perth Renfrew Ross and
Cromarty, together with three other persons to be appointed by the
crown. Sections 3,
4.—Provide that one member of the board of supervision, to be named by
the crown, shall be paid a salary, and likewise the secretary ; but that
all the other members are to act gratuitously.
Sections 5, 6.—The board of supervision are
to hold two general meetings in each year, on the first Wednesday in
February and August respectively, and may adjourn and hold meetings from
time to time as they shall see fit, three constituting a quorum. The
board may also appoint two or more of their number as a committee for
the purposes of the Act. The paid member is not only to attend the
general and special meetings, but is also "to give regular attendance
for the purpose of conducting the business of the board."
Sections 7, 8.—The board may, subject to the
approval of one of her Majesty's principal secretaries of state, make
general rules and regulations for conducting the business, and for
exercising the powers and authorities thereof: A record of all their
proceedings is to be kept, and once in every year they are to submit a
general report, to be laid before parliament, containing "a full
statement as to the condition and management of the poor throughout
Scotland, and the funds raised for their relief."
Sections 9, 10, 11.—The board are empowered
"to inquire into the management of the poor in every parish or burgh in
Scotland," and to require answers and returns on all matters connected
with or relating to the same ; and also to summon and examine upon oath
such persons as they think fit, "and to enforce the production of all
books, contracts, agreements, accounts, and writings in any wise
relating to any such question or matter." The board may appoint one of
its members to conduct any special inquiry, with power to summon and
examine witnesses on oath, and may likewise with consent or by direction
of a secretary of state or the lord advocate for the time being, appoint
one or more persons (not being members of the board), "to act as
commissioners for conducting any special inquiry, for a period not
exceeding forty days;" and may delegate to the persons so appointed,
such powers as the board shall deem necessary.
Sections 12,. 13, 14.—The board may allow
such expenses of witnesses,, and with regard to the production of books
&c., as they think reasonable. Persons giving false evidence are to be
deemed guilty of perjury; and any person who shall refuse to produce
books &c., or shall disobey any summons or order, "or be guilty of any
contempt of the said board or committee or member or commissioner," is
for the first offence liable to forfeit 51., and for the second and
every subsequent offence will be liable to forfeit not exceeding 201,
nor less than 51.—The board are moreover empowered to appoint "such
clerks messengers and officers as they shall deem necessary," the
salaries being regulated by the treasury.
Section 15.—The members of the board and the
secretary are authorised to attend the meetings of parochial boards for
the management of the poor, and to take part in the discussions, but not
to vote; and the same privilege is extended to any clerk or officer of
the board duly authorised by them for the purpose.
Section 16.—Where the parochial boards of
two or more parishes deem it expedient to combine for the administration
of the laws for the relief of the poor, and where the board of
supervision is satisfied of the expediency, the board are empowered "to
resolve and declare that such parishes shall thenceforward be combined,
and shall be considered as one parish, so far as regards the support and
management of the poor, and all matters connected therewith." But it is
provided that any adjacent parish may, upon application, be added
thereto, if the board of supervision see fit, "due regard being had to
the circumstances of the case."
Sections 17, 18.—In every burghal parish or
combination of parishes, there is to be a parochial board of managers of
the poor, in whom the whole administration of the laws for the relief of
the poor is to be vested, and on whom is devolved all the powers and
authorities in this respect hitherto exercised by magistrates or other
functionaries. The managers are to be elected by the persons assessed to
the relief of the poor, and the parochial boards are to consist of such
number of managers not exceeding thirty, and possessing such
qualifications, "as the board of supervision, having due regard to the
population and other circumstances, may from time to time fix, such
qualification being in no case fixed at a higher annual value than 501."
The magistrates of the burgle, and the kirk session of each combined
parish, are likewise severally empowered to nominate four persons to be
members of the parochial board. The board of supervision are to fix a
day for the election of managers, and are also to fix the time for the
magistrates and the kirk sessions "to nominate the persons to be by them
respectively nominated to be members of the parochial board," all of
whom "shall be entitled to act for the period of one year, and may be
re-elected or re-appointed."
Section 19.—At the election of managers of
the poor, the votes are to be taken in such manner as the board of
supervision may direct, every person assessed for the support of the
poor being "entitled to vote, whether such assessment be made in respect
of ownership or occupancy of lands and heritages, or in respect of
means, and substance." The number of votes is regulated according to the
following scale-
Persons assessed as the occupants of lands
and heritages, or assessed on means and substance, are each to have the
same number of votes as an owner of lands and heritages assessed to the
same amount would have. Where an occupant is also the owner, and
assessed in both capacities, he will be entitled to vote as well in
respect of his ownership as of his occupancy; and so likewise where a
person is assessed on his means and substance, if he be also assessed as
an owner of lands and heritages, lie will be entitled to vote in respect
of both—provided that no person shall have more than six votes, and that
no one shall be entitled to vote who has been exempted from the payment
of his rates, or who shall not have paid the rates clue from him at the
time of voting.
Sections 20, 21.—The board of supervision are empowered to divide a
burghal parish or combination into wards, for the election of managers
and to apportion the number of managers to be elected by each ward,
"having due regard to the population and the value of property therein."
But residents only are entitled to vote for managers in the ward, or
have a right to vote in respect of ownership or occupancy of lands and
hereditaments within it—neither shall "any person give in the whole of
the wards into which a, parish may be divided, a greater number of votes
than he would be entitled to give if the parish had not been so
divided." The books of the collector of the assessment for the poor are
to be taken as evidence for ascertaining the number of votes to which
each person is entitled.
Sections 22, 23, 24.—Parochial boards for
the management of the poor, are also to be constituted in the parishes
which are not burghal or in combination. Where no assessment has been
made, the parochial board is "to consist of the persons who, if this Act
had not been passed, would have been entitled to administer the laws for
relief of the poor in such parish." Where an assessment has been made,
the parochial board is to consist of the owners of lands and heritages
of the yearly value of 20l. and upwards, and the provost and
bailies of the royal burgh, if any, and if assessed in such parish, and
the kirk session of the parish (not exceeding six)) together with a
certain number of elected members. All persons who are assessed in the
parish, and who are not members of the parochial board, are to elect so
many of their own number to be members thereof as shall " be. regulated
and fixed from time to time by the board of supervision, due regard
being had to the amount of the population, the number and residence of
the other members of the parochial board, and the special wants and
circumstances of each particular parish." The scale of voting is the
same as prescribed in Section 19.
Sections 25, 26.—Corporations and joint
stock companies may vote by their officer, or one of their body
nominated for the purpose. Any member of the parochial board, being a
heritor, may appoint another to act and vote for him in his absence, and
husbands are entitled to act and vote in right of their wives.
Sections 27, 28, 29.—All disputes touching
the election of a member of the parochial board are to be determined by
the sheriff of the county, and pending such decision the person returned
is entitled to act. A returning officer wilfully making a false return,
is liable to a penalty of 50l.
Sections 30, 31, 32.—Parochial boards are to
fix certain (lays and places for holding general. meetings, and may
adjourn such meetings as they think fit; but two general meetings at
least must be held yearly, one on the first Tuesday of February, and the
other on the first Tuesday of August, or as soon thereafter as may be,
"or at, such other stated times as may be approved by the board of
supervision." Special meetings may also be held, and power is given to
appoint committees to act on behalf of the whole board. A chairman is to
he elected annually, and is to have both an original and a casting vote
in case of equality. "A roll of the poor persons claiming and by law
entitled to relief, and of the amount of relief given or to be given to
each," is to be made by every parochial board. These boards are also t.o
appoint inspectors of the poor, and fix the amount of their
remuneration, and report the same to the board of supervision.
Sections 33, 34, 35.—Parochial boards may,
after due notice, resolve that the funds required for relief of the poor
shall be raised by assessment, reporting the same to the board of
supervision ; and thereafter "it shall not be lawful to alter or depart
from such resolution without the consent and authority of the board of
supervision." The parochial board may resolve that the assessment shall
be imposed half upon the owners and half upon the tenants or occupiers
within the parish, or one half upon the owners and the other half upon
the whole inhabitants according to their means and substance —or may
resolve that the "assessment shall be imposed as an equal percentage
upon the annual value of all lands and heritages within the parish, and
upon the estimated annual income of the whole inhabitants from means and
substance;" and in either case the resolution is forthwith to be
reported to the board of supervision for approval. If the same be
disapproved, the parochial board are "to meet and resolve upon another
mode of assessment consistent with the law," and report as before; and
if the board of supervision shall then approve, the resolution is to be
acted upon, and not thereafter altered or departed from without the
board's consent. If the assessments have hitherto been imposed under any
local Act, "or according to any established usage," the parochial board
may resolve that the same shall continue, subject in like manner to the
approval of the board of supervision.
Sections 36, 37.—The parochial board, with
consent of the board of supervision, may classify lands according to the
purposes for which they are used, and may fix such rate of assessment
upon each class respectively as seems just and equitable.
In estimating the annual value of lands and
heritages, the same shall be taken to be the rent at which, one year
with another, such lands and heritages might in their actual state be
reasonably expected to 'let from year to year, under deduction of the
probable annual average cost of the repairs, insurance, and other
expenses, if any, necessary to maintain such lands and heritages in
their actual state, and all rates taxes and public charges payable in
respect of the same."
Sections 38, 39,
40.—Where assessment is adopted, the parochial board is to cause a book
to be made up "containing a roll of the persons liable to payment of
such assessment, and of the sums to be levied from each of such persons,
distinguishing the sums assessed in respect of ownership or occupancy,
or means and substance; and the book or roll so made up shall be the
rule for levying the assessment for the year or half-year then ensuing."
The parochial board is also to appoint a collector or collectors, and
fix the amount of remuneration; and the same person who is an inspector
of the poor may likewise be appointed collector of the assessments.
After the assessment roll is made up, the collector is to intimate to
each person the amount to be levied from him, and the time when the same
is payable. Parochial boards may correct any error or omission in the
assessment, and persons aggrieved may obtain remedy by law, as before
the passing of the present Act.
Sections 41, 42, 43, 44.—If the assessment
in any year or half-year proves insufficient, the parochial board may
impose such further assessment as is necessary; and they may exempt from
payment of the assessment, or any part thereof, "to such extent as may
seem proper and reasonable, any person or class of persons on the ground
of inability." Where half the assessment is imposed on the owners and
half on the tenants, the collector may levy the whole from the latter,
"who shall be entitled to recover one half thereof from the owners, or
to retain the same out of their rents." And where houses have been built
under a building lease, the tenant is to be deemed the owner.
Sections 45, 46, 47, 48, 49.—Where a canal
or railway is situate in more than one parish, the value on which
assessment is to be made "shall be according to the number of miles or
distance which such canal or railway passes through or is situated in
each parish, in proportion to the whole length." The same property is
not liable to assessment in more than one parish. Where an assessment is
imposed on means and substance, individuals or companies carrying on
business in a parish, are liable to be assessed on their means and
substance derived from such business, although none of them may be
actually resident in the parish; but they are not liable to be assessed
upon the same means and substance in any other parish; and if any person
shall be liable to be assessed as an inhabitant of more than one parish,
he may determine in which he will be assessed on his means and substance
derivable elsewhere. No person is liable to be assessed on means and
substance, unless the estimated annual value thereof exceeds 30l
; and clergymen are not liable to be assessed in respect of their
stipends. Sections
50, 51.—The privilege of exemption from assessment heretofore enjoyed by
the members of the college of justice, and the officers of the queen's
household in Edinburgh, is not to apply to assessments under the present
Act; and no assessment is to be rendered void by "any mistake or
variance in the naive or designation of the person chargeable
therewith."
Sections 52, 53, 54.—Parish property of every description, whether
heritable or moveable, "or under any law or usage, or in virtue of gift,
grant, bequest or otherwise, for the use or benefit of the poor," is to
become vested in the new parochial boards, and be by them administered
for behoof of the poor of the respective parishes. All sums of money or
other funds given, mortified, or bequeathed for the use of the poor, if
not specially directed otherwise, are to be lodged in a chartered bank,
or placed at interest on government or heritable security; and the board
of supervision may require returns from time to time as to all such
money or funds. But all moneys arising from ordinary church collections
in a parish, whenever an assessment has been imposed, are to be at the
disposal of the kirk session, who are however "bound.to report annually
or oftener if required to the board of supervision, as to the
application of the moneys arising from church collections."
Sections 55, 56, 57, 58.—The inspector of
the poor is to have the custody of all books writings accounts and other
documents relating to the management or relief of the poor, and is to
make himself acquainted with the circumstances of each of the poor
persons receiving relief, and keep a register of such persons and of the
sums paid to them, and of all persons who have applied for and been
refused relief, with the grounds of refusal; and he is to visit and
inspect personally, "at least twice in the year (or oftener if
required), at their places of residence, all the poor persons belonging
to the parish in receipt of parochial relief—provided that such poor
persons be resident within five miles of any part of such parish." But
in populous and extensive parishes, the duties of inspecting and
visiting the poor may be performed by assistant inspectors, for whose
conduct and accuracy the inspector of the poor is nevertheless
responsible to the board of supervision, who may suspend or dismiss any
inspector deemed by them to be incompetent. An action may be brought,
and may also be defended, on behalf of a parish by the inspector of the
poor, and actions brought by or against any inspector of the poor in his
official character, are to be continued by or against his successors in
office. Section
59.—The inspectors of the poor are required to report to the board of
supervision all cases of insane or fatuous persons chargeable as
paupers, who are to be conveyed to and dodged in some establishment
legally authorised to receive lunatic patients ; and if this be not done
within fourteen days, the board of supervision are empowered to take
measures for effecting the same, and to recover the whole expense from
the parochial board.
Section G0, 61, 62, 63.—"For the more
effectually administering to the wants of the aged and other friendless
impotent poor, and also providing for those poor persons who from
weakness or facility of mind, or by reason of dissipated and improvident
habits, are unable or unfit to take charge of their own affairs" —it is
enacted, that whenever the inhabitants exceed 5000, the parochial board
may, subject to the approval of the board of supervision, erect a new or
enlarge an existing poorhouse. And with the concurrence of the board of
supervision, two or more contiguous parishes may unite in building a
common poorhouse, the expense to be borne proportionally, as shall be
agreed upon. The parochial boards are likewise empowered to borrow money
for building and enlarging such poorhouses, and to charge the future
assessments with the amount; but the principal sum so borrowed is in no
case to exceed three times the amount of the assessment raised for the
relief of the poor during the year preceding, and the loan borrowed is
to be " repaid by annual instalments of not less in any one year than
one-tenth of the sum borrowed, exclusive of the payment of the interest
on the same." But no poorhouse is to be built, altered, or enlarged, nor
money borrowed for such purpose, unless the plans be approved by the
board of supervision.
Sections 64,. 65.—The parochial boards are
required to frame rules and regulations for the management of the
poorhouses, for the discipline and treatment of the inmates, and for
affording them religious assistance, such rules and regulations being
subject to the approval of the board of supervision. Poor persons of one
parish may be accommodated in the poorhouse of another, on payment of
such a rate of maintenance as the beard of supervision approve.
Sections 66, 67.—The parochial board are to
appoint a properly qualified medical man to attend the inmates of the
poorhouse, and assign him a reasonable salary; and are to make
arrangements for dispensing and supplying medicines to the sick poor,
under regulations to be approved by the board of supervision, who are
moreover empowered to suspend or remove any medical man that appears to
be "unfit or incompetent, or neglects his duty." Parochial boards may
likewise subscribe such sums as to them may seem reasonable or
expedient, "to any public infirmary dispensary or lying-in hospital, or
to any lunatic asylum or asylum for the blind or deaf or dumb."
Sections 68, 69.—All assessments levied for
relief of the poor, are applicable to the relief of occasional as well
as permanent poor—"provided that nothing herein contained shall be held
to confer a right to demand relief on able-bodied persons out of
employment." The parochial boards are required "to provide for
medicines, medical attendance, nutritious diet, cordials and clothing
for such poor, in such manner and to such extent as may seem equitable
and expedient." They are also empowered "to make provision for the
education of poor children, who are themselves or whose parents are
objects of parochial relief."
Sections 70, 71, 72, 73.—Inspectors of the
poor are bound to furnish applicints for relief who are legally entitled
thereto, but who have not a settlement in the parish, with sufficient
means of subsistence until the next meeting of the parochial board, and
such interim maintenance as may be adjudged necessary is to be
continued, until the parish to which the poor person belongs is
ascertained, or until he is removed. The amount disbursed on behalf of
such poor persons is recoverable from the parish of their settlement,
provided it do not exceed the rate expended for relief of the poor in
the relieving parish. If relief be refused, application may be made to
the sheriff, who if he consider the poor person "legally entitled to
relief," may make an order upon the inspector of the poor, directing him
to afford relief until he have stated in writing why the relief was
refused, and until such statement be answered on behalf of the
applicant. But the sheriff has no power "to determine on the adequacy of
the relief afforded, or to interfere in respect of the amount of relief
in any individual case."
Sections 74, 75.--If any poor person
considers the relief granted him inadequate, he may lodge a complaint
with the board of supervision, who are required to investigate the case,
and if the complaint appears to be ;well founded, the board "shall by
minute declare that in the opinion of the board such poor. person has a
just cause of action against the parish from which he claims relief;"
and a copy of such minute being furnished to such poor person, will
entitle him "to the benefit of the poor's roll in the court of session."
But no court of law can entertain or decide any action relative to the
amounts of relief granted by parochial boards, "unless the board of
supervision shall previously have declared that there is just cause of
action, as hereinbefore provided."
Sections 76, 77, 78, 79.—No person is to be
held to have acquired a settlement by residence in any parish, unless he
has resided for five years continuously therein, and "have maintained
himself without having recourse to common begging, either by himself or
his family, and without having received or applied for parochial
relief." And a person who has acquired a settlement by residence in a
parish, "shall not be held to have retained such settlement, if during
any subsequent period of five years lie shall not have resided in such
parish for at least one year." Settlements acquired previous to the
passing of the Act, are specially exempted from its operation. Natives
of England, Ireland, or the Isle of Man, not having acquired a
settlement, and who are "in course of receiving relief in any parish in
Scotland," may upon complaint by the inspector of the poor, and after
examination before the sheriff or any two justices of peace, and by
order under their hands, be removed at the expense of the complaining
parish, to England Ireland or the Isle of Man respectively—a certificate
by a regular medical practitioner that the health of the parties will
admit of such removal being first obtained, and the removing officer is
to have the power of a constable whilst effecting the removal. If any
person who has been so removed return to Scotland, and apply for relief,
or again become chargeable, "such person shall be deemed to be a
vagabond under the provisions of the Act of 1579, cap. 74," and may be
apprehended and prosecuted criminally at the instance of the inspector
of the poor of the parish to which he shall have so applied or become
chargeable. Section
80.—Every husband or father who deserts, or neglects to maintain his
wife or children, being able so to do, and every mother and every
putative father of an illegitimate child, after the paternity has been
admitted or otherwise established, who refuses or neglects to maintain
such child, being able to do so, whereby such wife or child becomes
chargeable to any parish, "shall be deemed to be a vagabond under the
Scottish Act of 1579, cap. 74," and may be prosecuted criminally at the
instance of the inspector of the poor of such parish, and if convicted
is punishable by fine or imprisonment with or without hard labour, at
the discretion of the sheriff.
Sections 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86.—The
penalties imposed by this Act may be recovered by summary proceeding in
the name of the secretary to the board of supervision, or of any agent
appointed by the board. And the sheriff by whom any such penalty is
imposed, is to award the same to the poor of the parish where the
offence was committed, and order the amount to be paid over to the
inspector of the poor. Ratepayers are to be deemed competent witnesses
in any proceeding for the recovery of a penalty, and any person summoned
to give evidence in any matter under the provisions of this Act, who
neglects or refuses to attend, or to be examined on oath for that
purpose, is to forfeit a sum not exceeding 51. for every such offence.
No proceeding for recovery of penalties under this Act is to be set
aside for want of form, nor be removed by appeal or otherwise into any
superior court. Actions are to be brought within three months after the
fact committed, and at least one month's notice of action and the cause
thereof is to be given to the defender; and no pursuer is to recover in
any action for irregular or wrongful proceedings, if tender of
sufficient amends be made.
Section 87.—In case any parochial board
shall refuse or neglect to do what is by law required of then, or in
case any obstruction arises in the execution of this Act, the board of
supervision are empowered to apply by summary petition to the court of
session, or in its vacation to the lord ordinary, "which court and lord
ordinary are authorised and directed in such case to do therein, as to
such court or lord ordinary shall seem just and necessary."
Section 88.—All the powers and rights of
issuing summary warrants and proceedings, and all remedies and
provisions for collecting and recovering the land, assessed, and other
public taxes, are made applicable to assessments for the relief of the
poor; "and the sheriffs, magistrates, justices of peace and other
judges, may grant the like warrants for the recovery of all such
assessments in the same form, and under the same penalties, as is
provided in regard to such land, assessed, and other public taxes." In
cases of bankruptcy or insolvency, assessments for relief of the poor
are to be paid out of the first proceeds of the estate, in preference to
other debts of a private nature.
Section 89.—If any parochial board finds it
necessary to make disbursements for the relief of the poor, beyond the
amount received of the assessment for the year, or the half-year, the
board may borrow on security of such part as is still due, not exceeding
one half the amount of such part; and until this be repaid, no money is
to be borrowed on any future assessment.
Section 90.—In all cases where notice or
intimation is required to be given by this Act, without prescribing the
particular form, the board of supervision are empowered "from time to
time to fix the form of such notice or intimation, and the manner in
which the same is to be given."
Sections 91, 9.2.—All laws statutes and
usages, so far as they are at variance or inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act are repealed, but they are to continue in force
in all other respects. "The debt owing by the charity workhouse of the
city of Edinburgh" is exempted from the operation of the Act. And
section 92 provides that the Act may be renewed or repealed during the
present session.
The Act, of which the foregoing is a comprehensive summary, contains
many important provisions, and no doubt goes far to remove some of the
uncertainties, and to supply several of the deficiencies, which existed
under the old Scottish law with regard to the relief of the poor. By
establishing regularly constituted parochial boards of management, and a
board of general supervision, a machinery is moreover created competent
to the discharge of all the duties imposed by the Act, and of still more
extensive duties should such hereafter be required; whilst the power of
levying assessments, and of combining parishes for the erection of
poorhouses and providing medical relief, together with the appointment
of inspectors, and the more certain provision for relief of the lunatic
casual and unsettled poor, and for the purpose of education, are all
exceedingly valuable additions to the former system, and cannot fail of
being productive of much benefit.
The Act makes no change in the description
of persons legally entitled to relief under the old law. In England all
destitute persons are so entitled, but in Scotland the right is still,
in conformity with the recommendation of the commissioners of inquiry,
limited to the aged and infirm poor. The functions of the board of
supervision are chiefly suggestive or corrective —the commissioners may
inquire and call for returns, or may recommend a course of procedure,
but are not empowered to take the initiative. If invoked, they may
combine parishes- for providing a poorhouse; but unless applied to by
the local boards they have 'no power to direct this to be done, and can
only require them to meet and consider the question; and so in other
matters. Their usefulness in securing an effective administration of
relief, must therefore be necessarily less than it would be if they were
not so restricted, and the new law will perhaps work less efficiently in
consequence. With respect to the vexed question of settlement, the term
of residence for conferring a right, is fixed intermediately between the
three ,years of the former practice, and the seven recommended by the
inquiry commissioners; and the continuance of the right, is made to
depend upon the party not applying for relief or resorting to common
begging, and also on his residing in the parish continuously for one
year at least, during any subsequent five years.
No further observations appear to be at
present called for in regard to the provisions of this important Act,
and we will now therefore proceed to describe the steps which were taken
for carrying it into effect, and the general results attending its
application. The
'Act for the Amendment and better Administration of the Laws relating to
the Relief of the Poor in Scotland,' was passed on the 4th of August
1845; and on the 4th of September following the board of supervision
constituted under it met in Edinburgh for the transaction of business,
Sir Johan McNeill, G. C.B. being appointed the paid commissioner and
chairman of the board, and William Smythe Esq. secretary. At the end of
a year, that is in August 184G, the board, as required by the 8th
section of the Act, made their Report, in which they give a full
statement of the proceedings for bringing the law into operation. Of
this first Report, and of the others subsequently made in like manner,
it is proposed in the following pages to give a summary, omitting only
the merely technical and less important matters; but still affording
such explanations as will enable the reader to judge of the progress and
the effects of the new law.
One of the first duties required from the
board of supervision, was to afford assistance and information to the
several parishes in constituting the new parochial boards, and in
appointing inspectors of the poor, there being, it is said, "in many
parishes a misapprehension as to the objects of the legislature in
respect to these matters, and a diversity of opinion as to the mode of
proceeding to effect them."
The constitution of the parochial boards, on
whom the administration of relief to the poor exclusively devolved, was
no doubt an object of primary importance; and although provided for with
great minuteness in the 17th and following sections of the Act, there
were yet certain things left undetermined, and subject to the directions
of the board of supervision, who lost no time in preparing the necessary
instructions and regulations on every point requiring the exercise of
their authority. The board opened its communication with the several
parishes by addressing a letter to each, pointing out what was required
under the 32nd section of the Act, and advising the parish authorities
as to their holding meetings, making up a roll of the poor, appointing
inspectors, and settling the mode of raising the necessary funds. Most
of the persons named as inspectors, were necessarily unacquainted with
the duties of the office, and the system of management they were called
upon to carry out was new to then all." The commissioners therefore
framed rules for their guidance, and to which after being approved by a
secretary of state, the inspectors were bound to conform. At the end of
the first year, every parish-in Scotland had, we are told., named an
inspector ; and the commissioners observe, that due allowance being made
for inexperience, the duties have generally been well performed.
After making up the poor's roll, and
appointing an inspector, the parochial boards had next to determine
whether the funds required for the relief of the poor should be "raised
by voluntary contributions or by legal assessment." Both modes were
practised under the old law,.but the former was the one most generally
adopted. Out of the 878 parishes into which Scotland was then divided,
only about 230 were legally assessed in 1842-3. The number which
however, at the date of the commissioners' Report, had resolved to raise
the funds for relief of the poor by assessment, was increased to 448,
being something more than one half of the entire number.
Under the old law, all the inhabitants of
purely burghal parishes were assessed "according to the estimation of
their means and substance," in terms of the statute of 1579; but in
landward parishes "half the burden was laid on the owners of lands and
heritages within the parish, and the other half on the whole inhabitants
according to their means and substance." By the new Act three modes of
assessment are provided, and it is left to each parochial board to adopt
whichever of the three may be considered best suited to the
circumstances of the parish. Half the assessment may be imposed upon the
owners, and half upon the occupiers; or one half upon the owners, and
the other half upon the whole inhabitants, according to their means and
substance; or the whole may be imposed as an equal percentage on the
annual income derived from both sources indifferently. Whenever the
first mode is adopted, the 36th section empowers the parochial board "to
distinguish lands and heritages into two or more classes according to
the purposes for which they are used or occupied, and to fix such
different rates of assessment on the tenants and occupants of each class
as may seem just and equitable." In all these modes, the commissioners
remark, "that which may be regarded as the national principle, that each
man shall be assessed in proportion to his means, has in effect been
preserved." And they further add, that "none of the modes established by
usage are opposed to the principle of the old law under which they were
adopted, neither are any of the local Acts at variance with the
principle on which the law was founded."
In determining the mode in which a parish
should be assessed, the parochial board had not therefore to consider
the principle as to whether each man should be assessed according to his
means, but whether the assessment should be imposed directly upon his
estimated means and substance, or indirectly by assuming that the house
or lands occupied by him represented his means and substance
proportionally with the other ratepayers. In a great majority of
parishes, the commissioners say, the indirect mode of estimating means
and substance, by taking annual value or rent as the criterion, has been
preferred, the numbers being 379 for that mode of assessment, and 66 for
the other modes; and they "think it not very unlikely that the second
and third modes of assessment mentioned in the Act, may gradually be
abandoned, and the first mode, with or without classification, adopted
by all or nearly all the parishes in Scotland."
At the date of the Report., all the parishes
in Scotland bad either by assessment, church collections, contributions,
or other means, provided the funds required for the relief of the poor,
and it is satisfactory to find that in no case had the commissioners
found it necessary to avail themselves of the power given them by the
87th section, of applying by summary petition to the court of session in
case of refusal or neglect in doing what the law requires.
The 16th section of the Act empowers the
board of supervision, either on application or otherwise, to require the
parochial boards of two or more adjoining parishes to meet and consider
the expediency of their combining for the management of their poor, and
if it be resolved that it is expedient and proper for them so to
combine, the board of supervision may declare such parishes to be
thenceforward combined accordingly. It appears however that only two
applications had yet been made for this purpose, and that the
commissioners were enabled to exercise the power confided to them in one
only of these, by combining the three parishes of the island of Islay
which belonged almost exclusively to one proprietor. The requisite
consent of all the parishes was not given in the other case.
The practice of giving passes to poor
persons, authorising them to ask relief in the places through which they
passed in their way to their own parish, had long prevailed under
sanction of the Act of 1579. But there was no certainty that the person
receiving the pass had a settlement in the parish to which he
represented himself to belong, and the pass often became a cover to
fraud, and a warrant for mendicancy. A poor person legally entitled to
relief has, under the new law, a right to claim such relief in any
parish where he may apply for it;'` and the relief is to be continued
until the parish of his settlement be ascertained, by which parish the
cost of such interim relief, and the expense of the pauper's removal, is
to be borne. The ground for granting such passes therefore no longer
existed, and steps were taken for putting an end to the practice. The
commissioners say that the rule they endeavoured to enforce was, "that a
poor person, who has applied for relief in any parish, is not to be
removed, or provided with the means of -removal, to any other parish in
Scotland than that which has been ascertained to be the parish of his
settlement." English and Irish paupers will, they add, under this rule,
"be removed from the parish in which they may apply for relief, to their
native country, instead of being passed on as heretofore from parish to
parish." But to protect English and Irish paupers from unnecessary
hardship in their removal, a letter was addressed to the inspectors of
the poor of the parochial boards, recommending attention to the health,,
and comfort of all such paupers, and also recommending that those who
are to be removed by sea, should be conveyed to a port with which there
is such regular communication as may afford the greatest likelihood of
their speedily reaching the place of their destination.
The facility of obtaining relief under the
new law by persons legally entitled to it, elsewhere than in the parish
of their settlement, is said thus early to have considerably increased
the charge of the casual poor. The cost of the relief afforded to
non-settled Scottish paupers, is recoverable from the parishes to which
they belong. The number of English paupers is noticed as being
comparatively small. "But the number of natives of Ireland, or of their
families, who receive casual relief, and who are removed to Ireland at
the cost of the different parishes in Scotland, especially Glasgow and
other towns on the `vest coast, is very considerable." A table in the
appendix to the Report shows the number of persons so removed from
Glasgow, between August 1845 and 25th July 1846, to have been 1949, at a
cost of 133l. 16s. 9d.
With respect to the important question of
poorhouses, the erection and management of which are provided for by the
60th and four following sections of the new Act, it is stated that
several parishes, either singly or conjointly with contiguous parishes,
have taken into consideration the expediency of erecting poorhouses; but
hitherto, the commissioners say, "no resolution to erect a poorhouse has
been transmitted to us by any parochial board." It appears however that
certain parishes in the counties of Caithness and Ross proposed to erect
poorhouses, if the commissioners were prepared to admit the right of the
parochial boards to refuse relief to any poor person who might refuse to
enter the poorhouse. But the commissioners were of opinion, that they
"had no power to sanction the abolition of out-door relief in any
parish, and that they must judge of the propriety of refusing to relieve
a pauper otherwise than by admitting him into the poorhouse, with
reference to the circumstances of each case." The question whether a
parochial board could legally refuse relief except in the poorhouse
might, the commissioners believed, come to be decided in a court of law,
and therefore it would be wrong in them to give an opinion with regard
to it. [A case involving this question did in fact subsequently arise at
Glasgow, —a person entitled to relief was offered admission to the
poorhouse, and was refused other relief. An action was brought against
the parish for illegally refusing relief, but the sheriff held that the
parish had not acted illegally in the matter, and dismissed the case. It
appears therefore, as the commissioners remarked at the time, that the
only question the sheriff has to decide is, whether the claimant is or
is not entitled to relief—he is not empowered to judge of its adequacy
or fitness.] Some communications which had taken place with certain
parochial boards on the subject of poorhouses are then noticed, after
which the commissioners conclude this head of their Report by declaring,
that although they have been strongly impressed with the advantages
which both the poor and the ratepayers in many parishes would derive
from the erection of poorhouses, they have nevertheless abstained from
pressing this opinion on any parochial board—"We do not," they say,
"doubt that experience will lead them to the same convictions that have
forced themselves upon our minds, and in any event we are satisfied that
it is more advisable to leave them to pursue the course that may to them
appear the most expedient, than to press upon them measures involving a
considerable present expenditure, to remedy evils which they have either
not yet experienced or not fully appreciated, and for which. it will not
be too late to provide a remedy when they have become urgent."
By the 69th section of the new Act,
parochial boards are required to provide medicines, medical attendance,
nutritious diet, cordials, and clothing for the sick poor, "in such
manner and to such extent as may seem equitable and expedient." Before
this there was no provision for medical relief, and the assistance the
sick poor received, was for the most part afforded gratuitously by the
resident practitioners in the several parishes. The commissioners very
early called the attention of parochial boards to this section of the
Act, and they likewise, in framing the rules for the inspectors of the
poor, made it their duty "in all cases of sickness or accident befalling
persons entitled to relief," and also "in every case of sickness or
accident of any person in receipt of parochial relief," not only to take
measures for procuring without delay such medical aid as can be
obtained, but as soon as may be, and from time to time afterwards, "to
visit the home of such sick person, and supply him with such articles as
may seem necessary, until the case shall have been reported at the next
meeting of the parochial board." This was probably, under the
circumstances, all that the commissioners could directly do towards
securing needful relief for the sick poor, although their influence
would no doubt be still further exerted in forwarding that object. It
appears that in a large majority of the parishes, no salary had yet been
assigned to a medical officer. In a considerable number this had however
been done, and in some instances parishes situated near towns in which
there were hospitals or dispensaries, had subscribed thereto on behalf
of their sick poor. The commissioners are, as was to be expected, far
from thinking "that the medical relief afforded to the poor in Scotland,
more especially in the rural and remote parishes, is on a satisfactory
footing." In some of the town parishes, and in a few of the rural
parishes, medical relief is, they say, adequately provided for; but in a
great majority of parishes much yet remains to be done. They hopefully
add however, that "the intention of government to contribute from the
public funds a considerable sum towards defraying the cost of medical
relief in Scotland, will afford an opportunity of revising the whole
system, and of placing it on a much more satisfactory footing than it
has hitherto been."
Parochial boards are required by the 59th
section of the Act, to remove all insane or fatuous paupers to an
asylum, unless the board of supervision, under special circumstances,
dispense with such removal, in which case the paupers are to be provided
for in such manner as the board of supervision shall approve. By returns
which the commissioners obtained, it appears that the number of lunatic
paupers not accommodated in any asylum, amounted to 1621, whilst
according to another return, there was only available accommodation for
82 in public asylums, and for 52 in private establishments, making
together 134 vacancies; so that not even a tenth part oft the entire
number of pauper lunatics could be dealt with as required by the Act.
The cominissioners therefore insisted on the removal of such only, as
they had reason to believe from the reports of the medical men were
likely to be benefited by being sent to an asylum, or who might become
dangerous or offensive to decency; and they expressed their regret "that
the accommodation in Scotland for lunatics generally is so limited, and
that the existing asylums are for the most part filled with incurable
patients, to the exclusion of recent cases, many of which are curable."
It is impossible not to participate in the
regret here expressed. The state of the lunatic asylums is everywhere
the same. In England and in Ireland, as well as in Scotland, they are
not only insufficient in number, but those which exist are clogged with
incurable cases, to the exclusion of numbers who by suitable treatment
in a well-managed asylum might be restored to health, and again become
useful members of society. The obvious if not the only remedy for this
state of things, would be, to establish subsidiary asylums for chronic
and incurable cases, in connexion with the ordinary asylums, which would
then be left free for the treatment of the curable, and for the
application of whatever medical science could devise in mitigation of
one of the heaviest afflictions with which humanity is visited.
If in any case the relief afforded to a poor
person is deemed by him to be inadequate, the 74th section of the Act
provides that he may "lodge or cause to be lodged a complaint with the
board of supervision," which is without delay to investigate the same;
and if the complaint appears well founded, the board is to record, a
minute declaratory of its opinion that such poor person has a just cause
of action against his parish, which will entitle him without further
proceedings "to the benefit of the poor's roll in the court of session."
The board of supervision is thus made the channel through which the
person complaining of inadequate relief has to seek redress, and it
became the duty of the commissioners therefore to afford every facility
for the transmission and adjudication of such complaints. Forms of
application were accordingly prepared, and placed in the hands of the
inspectors of the poor, with directions to deliver one to every poor
person on the parish roll who might demand it, and also if required to
fill up the form in any terms the applicant might desire. After the form
has been filled yip with the statement of the applicant, it is to be
delivered open to the inspector for him to insert such remarks thereon
in the way of explanation as he may think fit, and it is then to be
transmitted to the board of supervision for decision or further inquiry
as may be judged expedient.
When the information thus obtained led the
commissioners to consider that the relief complained of was inadequate,
the case was remitted to the parochial board for reconsideration.' If
the relief was then adequately increased, the ground of complaint was
held to be removed; but if the relief was not increased, or was not
adequately increased, the parochial board was then called upon to state
the grounds on which they held the relief to be adequate; and if they
failed to do this, or if the grounds stated were deemed insufficient, it
was then intimated to them that unless the relief were adequately
increased, a minute declaratory of the board's view in the matter would
be recorded against them. In all the cases thus remitted to the
parochial boards, the commissioners have, they say, been satisfied by
the information furnished to them, that the relief complained of was
adequate, or that the additions subsequently made thereto were such as
to remove the grounds of complaint. It is ,then with great propriety
remarked, that these decisions on complaints of inadequate relief, not
only affect the comfort and well-being of the applicants, but must also
influence the scale of relief to the poor generally; and the
commissioners declare that they have felt the full weight of this
responsibility, and have given the most careful consideration to the
cases that have come before them. "To have sanctioned illusory or
inadequate relief, would (they say) have been unjust to the poor. To
have exacted more than needful sustentation, would have been unjust to
the ratepayers and to the independent labourers, and injurious to the
community." The
condition and habits of the people, and the cost of their ordinary
subsistence, are so different in different parts of Scotland, that no
unvarying rule could be laid down for adjusting the amount of relief. A
weekly allowance which would be fully adequate in the Highlands and
Islands, would be inadequate in the southern counties. Even in the same
parish, the commissioners observe, it rarely happens that any two cases
are precisely similar; and they are satisfied therefore, that the only
safe course is to consider each case with reference to its own peculiar
circumstances. But although it might be impossible to fix any one
standard of adequacy for the whole country, it was necessary to
endeavour to ascertain the cost of subsistence in the different
districts, so as to enable the commissioners to judge of the adequacy or
inadequacy of the allowances in case they should be complained of. After
much anxious deliberation and inquiry on this point, they have, they
say, "come to the conclusion that the safest guide to a right estimate
of what constitutes 'needful sustentation' in any parish, is to be
derived from a knowledge of the earnings on which industrious labourers
are able, in that parish, to maintain themselves and their families
without parochial aid;" and they add, "that it would be a fatal error,
even in Scotland, where such persons only as are incapacitated by
physical or mental disability from maintaining themselves are entitled
to parochial relief, to make the condition of the pauper more desirable
than that of the independent labourer"—a proposition which no one will
be disposed to controvert. The number of cases of paupers complaining of
inadequate relief which had come before the board of supervision, down
to the date of the Report, was 597,—of these 303 were dismissed on the
information contained in the schedules, and 94 after communication with
the parochial boards. In 182 cases remitted to the parochial boards, the
allowances were so far increased as to remove the ground of complaint;
and 18 cases remained undisposed of. The discontent which led to the
transmission of so many complaints was, the commissioners say, "not
caused by urgent destitution, and still less by any unfavourable change
in the complainants' condition since the new Act came into operation,
for their condition had been greatly improved; but was to be attributed
chiefly to the exertions of certain persons to excite discontent amongst
them, and to the extravagant expectations that had been raised of the
advantages which the Act provided for them."
According to a return of the applications
made by poor persons to the sheriffs in the several counties, under the
73rd section of the Act, on account of their being refused relief, it
appears that the entire number of such applications during the fifteen
months in which the new law had been in operation, amounted to 456, of
which 184 were from the counties of Ross, Sutherland, and Caithness.
Upon this the commissioners remark, that where the change was greatest,
the applications would necessarily be the most numerous, and the labours
of the sheriffs are said in some instances to have been very
considerably increased thereby. The duty of deciding moreover, the
commissioners observe, must often be painful and perplexing. Where the
applicant is both wholly disabled and wholly destitute, a parochial
board can hardly fail of at once affording the relief which there is
then no -ground for refusing. But it is in cases of doubt as to the
applicant's right to be placed on the roll, that the sheriff is likely
to be applied to, and these are generally cases of partial disability,
or partial destitution, in which it is obvious that questions of•
extreme nicety must occasionally arise, in ascertaining the precise
point at which an individual may have become entitled to relief. The
commissioners suggest what would seem the right method. of solving such
questions, by remarking, that "were poorhouses universally established,
they would afford a ready means of testing the exigency of such claims;"
and they support this suggestion by declaring that in parishes where
poorhouses exist, the same difficulties have not been experienced in
dealing with applicants of whose claims doubts were entertained by the
parochial board, an offer to receive an applicant into the poorhouse
having been held to be sufficient to justify the refusal of other
relief. This testimony as to the insufficiency of individual judgment,
and the importance of an established test, for determining the claims of
applicants for relief, is of great value, coming from such a quarter;
and we may presume, can hardly fail of leading eventually to an increase
in the number of poorhouses, the want of which thus appears to be
already felt.
Accuracy and uniformity had not yet been established in registering the
poor who were in receipt of relief, nor in the accounts of the
expenditure for that purpose; but according to the best returns which
the commissioners could obtain from the several parishes,
The shortness of the time since the new Act
came into operation, and especially since arrangements were made in
accordance with the 54th section, for placing certain funds at the
disposal of the kirk sessions, made it impossible to obtain separate
returns of the expenditure by that body, and the whole amount expended
on relief of the poor, from whatever source derived, is therefore
included in the above statement.
It appears from returns obtained in 1843,
that the money raised from all sources for the relief and management of
the poor in Scotland, amounted-
In February 1846 the amount expended is
above stated to have been 295,232l; but the amount raised in that
year was 306,044l, being, as compared with 1836, an increase in
ten years of 135,002l., or nearly 79 per cent., upwards of a
fourth part of which increase had, it is to be remarked, taken place in
the last year.
The annual value of real
property in Scotland, according to returns laid before parliament in
1843, was 9,320,794l.
The population of Scotland at the periods of
the census in 1831 and 1841 was-
Thus exhibiting an increase of population in
ten years equal to 10.7 per cent.
The number of poor on the rolls of all the
parishes for the year ending 1st February .1845, was 63,070, or about 1
in 42 of the population. For the year ending the 1st of February 1846,
the number on the rolls was 69,432, or about 1 in 38 of the population ;
but the imperfect mariner in which the parish rolls were kept, deprives
these numbers of any pretension to exactitude.
The commissioners conclude. this their,
first Report with the declaration, that they are deeply impressed with
the importance of the duties assigned to them, and the weight of the
responsibility involved in the administration of the Poor Law. They have
however, they say, felt that the responsibility did not rest with them
alone, but was shared by the parochial authorities of the country; and
they bear, testimony to the honourable and humane spirit in which the
heritors and parochial boards generally, have endeavoured to give effect
to the provisions of the 'Act for the Amendment and better
Administration of the Laws relating to the Relief of the Poor in
Scotland.' Such was
the first Report of the board of supervision, of which it has been here
endeavoured to give the condensed substance, and on all material points
as far as possible in the words of the Report itself; for it was felt to
be important that in a matter so peculiar and beset with so much
difficulty as the new Scottish Poor Law, the views of the commissioners
charged with the duty of superintending its introduction should be so
stated, as to leave no doubt of the grounds of their proceeding in any
case, or of their decision upon any point, whether of practice or
principle. The
first year's experience of the working of the new law, was generally
held to be satisfactory. The administration of relief was more orderly,
its amount approximated more nearly to the wants of the recipients, and
the charge was more equally spread over the whole community. The means
of further improvement had been provided for by the organisation of
parochial boards with inspectors of the poor, and by the various
regulations promulgated by the board of supervision—all tending to the
establishment of one comprehensive system throughout the country, varied
only in its application by the different circumstances of the districts
where it had to be applied. For the details of such application in
carrying out the law, and for the results which ensued, we must turn to
the second and subsequent Reports of the commissioners.
The second Report of the board of
supervision was made in August 1847. The period was one of much distress
and difficulty, owing to the almost universal failure of the potato
crop. Some details of this calamity, as it occurred in England and
Ireland, are given in the Histories of the English and Irish Poor Laws.
In Scotland the pressure caused thereby was exceedingly severe,
especially in the Western and Highland districts, which were again
reduced to a state similar to that which occurred in 1783. The Report
states that "the failure last year of the potato crop which had hitherto
furnished probably about two-sevenths of the food consumed by the
population of Scotland, and the high price of every description of
grain, demanded increased allowances to the poor." As soon therefore as
it was ascertained that the failure "had been almost universal and
complete," the commissioners called upon the parochial boards to
consider the propriety of increasing the allowances, and recommended
that the increase should be made in the form of a separate extraordinary
allowance in food, rather than an increased allowance in money. They
were aware, they say, that in certain of the poorer parishes, advantage
might be taken by dealers to exact exorbitant prices, or to adulterate
the food; and they therefore recommended the parochial boards of such
parishes to lay in stores of meal on their own account, from which the
extra allowances should be issued to the poor: but as the commissioners
had no means of ascertaining in what parishes a regular supply of food
at fair prices could be safely relied upon, they left each parochial
board to the exercise of its own discretion as to laying in stores, or
trusting to the ordinary course of trade for a supply.
The Appendix to the Report contains long and
minute statements made by officers whom the board of supervision, on the
failure of the potato crop, had sent to the distressed districts of the
western Highlands and Islands, with directions to visit the several
parishes, and examine into the condition of the poor; and it appears
from these statements, that although the labouring classes endured much
privation in most of the parishes, "the poor who were dependent on
parochial relief had been provided with the necessaries of life at least
as amply as in the most abundant of former years." The commissioners
also remark, that "taking into consideration the shortness of the time
that has elapsed since any systematic attempt has been made to give
effect to the legal provision for the poor in those districts, and the
very severe test to which the efficiency of the law and of the machinery
by which it is to be carried out have been exposed during the last year,
they think they are justified in expressing a confident hope that the
recent statute will be found adequate to accomplish the benevolent
objects contemplated by the legislature." They further express their
satisfaction at being able to state, "that after a careful investigation
they have been unable to discover any case in which it can be clearly
established that want of food was the immediate cause of death"
doubtless a subject of gratulation, as the reverse was to be expected
under the very trying circumstances of the period. But considerable
mortality did nevertheless ensue, want and disease having on this as on
other occasions maintained their accustomed relations of cause and
effect; and the commissioners express their regret at having "to report
the death of several very efficient inspectors and assistant-inspectors,
and more than one medical officer, from fever caught in discharge of
their duty amongst the poor."
The Scottish Poor Law, we have seen,
excluded able-bodied persons, that is in fact all the class of
labourers, from participating in its benefits, or availing themselves of
its protection in seasons like the present. It is true that famine, or a
failure in the usual supply of food, is an event so far exceptional as
scarcely to admit of being provided against by any description of Poor
Law; but like other visitations it has its degrees of severity, and the
sufferers under it have their different claims for sympathy and
assistance. To exclude formally and entirely, whatever might be the
circumstances, any one class or section of the people, whilst all
requisite support is furnished to another section, does not seem to be
consistent with justice, and can hardly be defended on the score of
policy. The failure
of the potato crop was known so early as the month of August in the
preceding year. The failure was very general, but in the western
Highlands and Islands where the potato constituted the chief food of the
people, it was nearly entire, and the distress was there proportionally
great. The board of supervision, as already stated, took steps for
securing a sufficient supply of food for those of the poor who were
legally entitled to relief ; but with regard to the rest, for all were
poor, assistance had to be sought elsewhere. Government was early
applied to, and an experienced cornmissionary was sent to ascertain the
state of things, in the western districts, and to organise the means for
supplying the wants of the population. Extensive inquiries were likewise
instituted into the state of the crops, and the condition of the people,
in other parts where a dearth of food was apprehended. The distress was
referred to with expressions of "the deepest concern" in the Royal
speech on the assembling of parliament, and in answer to inquiries
afterwards made, the home secretary stated that in order to mitigate the
distress, government had made advances under the Drainage Act of last
session (9th and 10th Viet. cap. 101), which in their results were
highly beneficial, increasing the value of the land to the proprietors,
and affording extensive relief to the distressed labourers. The
government had moreover, lie said, established depots for the sale of
food, one at Tobermory and one at Skye, in addition to which
commissariat officers had been sent in government steamers to make
inquiries, and to give such assistance as was necessary. These measures
had, he believed, been the means of supplying the people of those
districts with food, who otherwise would have been in want of the
necessaries of life. Grants had moreover been made in a few instances
"to meet local subscriptions, and to relieve distress, where the
Scottish poor law had been found to be inefficient; and lie hoped that
by these means the severity of the calamity in Scotland might not only
be mitigated, but that by the exertions of the landed proprietors, who
showed every disposition to meet the misfortune, Scotland would be
brought safely through the present crisis. [q See Sir George Grey's
speech on the 1st of February 1847, as given in Hansard. I have examined
the voluminous correspondence which took place at this time between the
government and various parties in Scotland, and extracts might be given
as in the case of 1783 (see ante, p. 117) showing the extent of the
distress, and the sad condition to which the people were reduced, in the
Highland districts especially; but all that is necessary for our present
purpose seems to be comprised in the speech of the home secretary, the
substance of which is here given. "The British Association " remitted
77,G831. for relief of the distress in Scotland, that being one-sixth of
the amount of subscriptions received by them. The other five-sixths were
appropriated to Ireland. The conduct of the landed proprietors of
Scotland on this occasion was generally admirable. They appeared to feel
the duties appertaining to their position, and promptly and liberally
responded to its claims.]
Of the 880 parishes existing in Scotland,
the number which, down to the end of June in the present year, had
resolved to raise the funds for relief of the poor by assessment was
558; of these 431 were assessed according to the first of the three
modes prescribed by the recent Act, 37 according to the second, 34
according to the third, and '6 according to local Acts or established
usage; whilst 76 of the parishes assessed according to the first mode,
had classified lands and heritages in the terns of the 36th section of
the statute. The commissioners had sanctioned changes in the mode of
assessment at first adopted in several of the parishes, and also in
regard to the classification; and on a review of the number of parishes
assessed according to the different modes, and of the changes from one
mode of assessment to another -which had been resolved upon by the
parochial boards, they are, they say, led to the conclusion, "that the
general feeling of the country is not yet favourable to the application
of one mode of assessment to all the parishes in Scotland."
In the great majority of the assessed
parishes the elections appear, notwithstanding the novelty of the
operation, to have been conducted in a satisfactory manner. The managers
were generally returned without opposition, and no instance of
irregularity or confusion was reported to the commissioners, who
moreover remark that "they have reason to believe the introduction of a
limited number of elected members into the parochial boards, has
afforded greater facilities for obtaining an accurate knowledge of the
condition of the poor, and has generally been conducive to the better
administration of the laws for their relief and management."
The inspectors of the poor are highly
important functionaries in Scotland, and on their zeal integrity and
efficiency the successful administration of the law must mainly depend.
The inspector has to perform the duties of the clerk, the relieving
officer, and indeed of all the other officials of the English unions,
for he is the sole executive of the parochial board. The commissioners
say that the inspectors have generally performed their duties in a
creditable manner, although there were some instances to the contrary.
Several of them had resigned, some on account of the onerous nature of
their duties, and some from impaired health or other causes. There was
however reason to believe that some of the inspectors were interested in
supplying provisions and other articles to the poor, and an order was
therefore issued, prohibiting these officers from deriving any profit or
emolument directly or indirectly from such dealings; and in transmitting
the order to the several parishes, the commissioners took advantage of
the opportunity to point out to the parochial boards "the very
questionable propriety of employing their own members to supply food or
other necessaries to the poor, or any articles to be paid for out of the
parochial funds of which they had the control." There could be no doubt
as to the impropriety of such a practice, and it might perhaps have been
better at once to prohibit it, as in the case of the inspectors; but the
commissioners seem to have been doubtful either of the power of
enforcing, or of the policy of issuing such an order with regard to the
members of parochial boards, and therefore only ventured to call
attention to what they designated the "questionable propriety" of the
practice. The
distress in the western Highlands engaged the commissioners' earnest
attention, and the inquiries which they instituted made them aware, that
in some of the more remote parishes and islands, the inspectors were not
only very imperfectly acquainted with the details of their duties, but
were also "under the impression that distance and the unfrequency of
intercourse placed them beyond the reach of observation." Yet the
commissioners declare their gratification at finding, that except in a
few of the more remote parishes, "the parochial boards and the
inspectors, in the midst of the distress and suffering with which they
were surrounded, and the difficulties attending the first introduction
of compulsory systematic relief to the poor, had discharged their duties
in a spirit that does them credit. The inquiries which had been made
however tended, the commissioners think, to establish greater regularity
in conducting the general business connected with the relief of the poor
than had before prevailed, and they are of opinion that it may be
necessary to institute similar inquiries from time to time in all parts
of the country. The
dearth of food in Ireland, and in some parts of Scotland, has this year
it is said "greatly increased the number of casual applicants for
relief; first in those towns on the west coast which have a regular
communication with Ireland, and next in almost every considerable town
in the country, as well as in some of the rural parishes, to which these
immigrants had proceeded in quest of work or alms." The sickness which
generally prevailed, particularly among the Irish labourers on some of
the lines of railway, had also caused a considerable increase of this
class of paupers in Edinburgh, and in most of the towns in the
neighbourhood of those lines, everywhere bringing an increased burden
upon the rates. The want of suitable accommodation for the casual sick
poor, is said to be a serious evil in many places. "The dread of
infection shuts against them the doors of those houses in which the
parochial officers have usually found temporary accommodation for the
casual poor, and hitherto few parishes have provided any separate house
for their reception." The consequence has been "that some have remained
in their huts by the railway, and some have unavoidably been lodged in
outhouses and other places unfavourable to their recovery, and from
which their condition made it impossible to remove them." The parochial
boards where these difficulties have occurred, ought not, the
commissioners think, to be blamed because they, were unprepared, for
such a state of things, although it is doubtless their duty to take
measures for preventing its continuance; and several parochial boards
had accordingly, on finding that they could not get the casual poor
accommodated, "applied for and obtained the commissioners' sanction for
the erection of a. building at the cost of the parish, in which this
class of paupers may be lodged and attended to."
The increase of the casual poor, almost
necessarily led to an increase of vagrancy. The commissioners say that
they have no means of ascertaining the number of vagrants in Scotland,
but they believe it to be large. It is only with those who are in
receipt of relief, that the poor-law authorities have any power to
interfere; and these will notwithstanding sometimes resort to vagrancy,
through early habit or immoral tendencies. In some of the remote
parishes also, where the Poor Law is imperfectly administered, begging
within the parish is said to be still sanctioned by the, parochial
boards; "but the great body of vagrants in all parts of Scotland, and
almost all those who pass from parish to parish, and county to county,
are not recipients of parochial relief." Where vagrancy occurs among
those who are in receipt of relief, it has, the commissioners say, been
found extremely difficult to put an end to the practice. Some parochial
boards have attempted to check it by diminishing the allowance, with a
promise of its being again restored when the pauper relinquished
begging; but the diminution was found only to give the pauper an
additional pretext for following the practice. Other parochial boards
proposed to withhold the allowance altogether, unless the pauper
desisted from mendicancy; and this course appears to be sanctioned by
the law, which makes provision for the poor in order that they may not
be driven to be But if the allowance be withheld, the pauper will'
necessarily be thrown upon the charity of the public, and he will thus
probably be enabled to indulge the inclination to vagrancy with a better
chance of making it a profitable occupation. To remove from the roll a
pauper who has a habit of begging, would therefore, it is said, "be in
many cases a reward rather than a punishment."
The commissioners close this head of their
Report by declaring, that the only efficient means of checking vagrancy
in poor persons already on the roll of a parish, without the aid of the
police, would be to erect a poorhouse, in which habitual beggars amongst
the poor on the roll could be relieved, and restrained from wandering
through the country." But it is added, that as no parish whose
population does not exceed 5,000 can raise by assessment funds for the
erection of a poorhouse, unless in combination with some of the
adjoining parishes, there are "many cases in which the parochial
authorities cannot effectually check vagrancy even amongst the poor on
the roll." Such is no doubt the case, and where the want is so obvious,
and the remedy so easy, we must believe that sooner or later it cannot
fail of being applied; and that in Scotland as in England, parishes will
be united for effecting an object in common, which could not be so well
accomplished by them singly, or which might be too weighty for them
singly to undertake or sustain.
Some progress seems to have been made
towards a more efficient provision of medical relief for the poor,
although in most parishes it is said to be still very defective, whilst
in some of the remote parishes where there is no resident practitioner,
the means of affording medical relief do not exist. The amount expended
for medical relief had however increased from 4,055l. in 1846, to
12,879l. in 1847, thus showing that the want had to some extent
been supplied, and showing likewise how urgent it must previously have
been. The mode in
which the board of supervision dealt with complaints of inadequate
relief has been already explained. The number of such cornplaints in the
present year amounted to 673. Of these 226 had been dismissed on the
information contained in the schedules, and the commissioners state that
in 22 cases remitted by them to the parochial boards, the allowances had
been increased to such an extent as to remove the ground of complaint;
whilst in one case, the ground of complaint not having been so removed,
they had issued a minute declaring that the applicant had a just ground
of action against the parochial board. The matter was however
subsequently arranged without further proceedings, and the result of
these appeals seems on the whole to be satisfactory.
It appears that between the 1st of July
1846, and the 30th of June 1847, the number of applications at the
sheriffs' courts under the new law was 1043, of which 778 were so far
substantiated that an order for interim relief was made. In 305 of these
cases the order must have been acquiesced in, as in 473 only were
answers lodged by inspectors. In 287 the answers lodged were successful,
and in 174 the proceedings were either abandoned or no decision had been
pronounced. The commissioners here remark, "that although it cannot be
argued upon the data thus furnished, that there has been any unnecessary
opposition on the part of parochial boards or their officers to the
admission of claims, where the parties were justly entitled to parochial
relief, the results show that the provisions of the statute which confer
on sheriffs a power to give redress, and order immediate relief, are
neither injudicious nor unnecessary"—and it seems impossible not to
concur in the justice of this observation.
The commissioners express their satisfaction
at the effective working of the 80th section of the Act. The greater
number of the prosecutions under this section have, they say, been
instituted against the fathers of illegitimate children, and against
husbands for deserting their. wives and families, but chiefly the
former. Attempts were frequently made to throw the burden of maintaining
illegitimate children upon the parish, and if the parochial authorities
had not strenuously resisted these attempts, and enforced the law, the
evil might have grown to a serious amount. As it was, there appears
during the year ending on the 30th of June to have been 370
prosecutions, and 224 convictions. Both these numbers however fall short
of the actual number against whom proceedings in some shape were taken,
the parties having in many cases settled with the parish, either before
or immediately after the commencement of the prosecution; and the
commissioners declare their belief, "that the law has been brought to
bear upon offenders in even a more powerful and extensive manner than
the returns exhibit, and that the operation of this portion of the
statute has been highly beneficial."
In order to secure uniformity in the returns
connected with the relief of the poor, which is so essential for
affording accurate means of comparison, the commissioners issued minute
regulations on the subject, and directed that the returns should be made
up at Whitsunday, or the 15th of May in each year. The following
statement will therefore be for the year ending on the 14th of May 1847,
the interval between the 1st of February and the 15th of May 1846 being
on this occasion altogether omitted:-
Thus showing a continual increase both in
the actual and in the proportional amounts, an increase still however
falling short of what the necessities of the poor required, and the
order and social well-being of the community called for.
The church collections in assessed parishes
during the year ending 14th May 1847, amounted to 17,095l, one
half of which or 8,587l. is stated to have been expended on the
relief of the poor. In many parishes these funds were, it is said,
handed over to the parochial boards, although under the recent statute
the whole of the church collections are left at the disposal of the kirk
sessions, in parishes in which assessments are established. A portion of
the above 8,5871. must therefore be included in the amount of receipts
returned by the parochial boards; but the precise amount, or what was
the additional relief derived from church collections, there were no
means of ascertaining. —It is remarked however, that "the recipients
were probably for the most part not strictly speaking legal objects of
parochial relief."
In the latter year the number of casual
poor, or persons relieved by the inspectors without orders from the
parochial boards, was 60,399 ; but these were not cases of regular or
permanent relief, and therefore cannot be ranked with the above. It may
moreover be remarked, that the returns of the numbers relieved do not
appear to have been made with such exactitude as to entitle them to
implicit reliance, although they may be sufficient for the general
purposes of comparison.
In reference to the foregoing statements,
the commissioners observe that "the large increase in the amount
expended on the relief and management of the poor in Scotland, exhibited
in the returns for this year, may be regarded as sufficient evidence of
the readiness with which parochial boards generally have met the demands
caused by the failure of the potato crop and the high price of grain;"
and they further observe, that "after deducting the portion of this
increase which may fairly be attributed to the increased cost of food
during six months of the year, there will remain a large amount which
cannot be attributed to that cause, and which must be regarded as a
permanent addition to the sum annually expended on the relief and
management of the poor."
Such were the results at the end of the
second year of the new law. It is impossible to deny that it was put to
a severe trial by the scarcity which occurred, or that the credit
claimed for it by the commissioners of being successful within the
limited sphere of its operations is well founded; and for an account of
its further development and more effective working, we must continue our
examination of the reports annually made by the board of supervision,
the third being the next in order.
The commissioners' third Report is dated in
August 1848. In a great majority of the cases in which elections had
taken place in the past year, the parties nominated for managers of the
poor are said to have been unanimously elected. Some of the parishes had
been divided into wards for the purpose of election, and a more equal
representation of the ratepayers was thus obtamed, especially where one
estate happened to comprise a majority of the votes, or where the urban
ratepayers outnumbered the rural population, and excluded them from a
fair share in the management. The rapid increase of the expenditure for
relief of the poor is said to have raised the value, in the estimation
of the ratepayers, of their right to elect their own representatives;
and the commissioners express their conviction, "that the introduction
of a limited number of elected members into parochial boards, had been
conducive to the better administration of the law;" although the result
of their investigations in certain suburban parishes in Glasgow and
Edinburgh, satisfied them that it will be necessary to extend their
inquiries to other parishes similarly situated.
The inspectors are again reported to have
generally performed their duties in creditable manner although there
were some instances of misconduct and inefficiency. Of the many
complaints inspectors which the commissioners had been called upon to
investigate, the great majority proved to be unfounded, or to have
proceeded from misapprehension; and with great propriety it is observed,
that "in the difficult and often invidious position in which these
officers are sometimes placed, they require protection and support, as
well as control and supervision."
Since the date of the last Report, 44
parishes in which the funds for relief of the poor were raised by
voluntary contributions, had resolved to raise the money by assessment.
The number of parishes assessed was now 602, and the number unassessed
278. The parochial boards of 27 parishes had requested the commissioners
to sanction a change in the mode of assessment or of classification
previously adopted. In 15 of these cases the request was complied with,
and in 12 it was refused. The manner in which the funds for relief of
the poor were now raised in the different parishes, is stated to be as
follows--
The commissioners had approved the plans and
specifications for eight new poorhouses, to be erected for twenty-three
parishes singly or in combination, having an aggregate population of
175,065. The houses collectively were designed to accommodate 2,310
inmates, so that poorhouse accommodation would thus be provided for 1 in
75 of the population in these parishes. Plans and specifications were
likewise approved for adding to and enlarging poorhouses in Edinburgh
and Glasgow; and five other parishes containing a population of 20,986,
are also said to have resolved to erect poorhouses, but had not
transmitted their plans for approval at the date of the Report.
The want of suitable accommodation for the
casual sick poor, had been remarked upon in the last Report, and the
'ant was now more urgently felt on account of the spread of fever, the
invariable accompaniment of distress among the poor. The commissioners
therefore addressed a circular to the several parochial boards, calling
their attention to this particular portion of the Report, and pointing
out that poor persons disabled by sickness "cannot with propriety be
placed in common lodging-houses, where they rarely meet with the quiet
and attention their cases require; and that to place paupers suffering
from fever in a lodging occupied by the healthy poor, or by independent
labourers, would be altogether unjustifiable." The inspectors of the
poor were also at the same time directed to call the attention of the
parochial boards to the recent Act 9th and 10th Viet., cap. 96, for the
removal of nuisances, and to the duties required from them under its
provisions for preventing the spread of fever and other contagious
diseases. The
parliament had granted 10,000l. in aid of the medical relief of
the poor in Scotland, and it was important to make this grant as
conducive as possible to the improvement and extension of the existing
system of relief for the sick, which was admitted on all hands to be
faulty and insufficient. The commissioners accordingly prepared a scheme
for apportioning the grant, governed in some measure by the area and
population of the several parishes, but at the same time providing that
no parish should participate which had not expended in medical relief in
the past year, a sum at least equal to double the amount apportioned to
it from the grant; and if any parish declined to participate on these
terms, its share of the grant was to be distributed among the other
parishes in proportion to their actual expenditure. Another condition
was, that legally qualified medical officers, at fixed salaries, should
be appointed to attend the sick poor, and to vaccinate children, the
board of supervision retaining the power of dismissal in case of neglect
or incompetency. It appears that 494 parishes complied with these
conditions, and thus became entitled to receive their shares of the
grant respectively apportioned to them. From 240 parishes no intimation
had been received, and 146 parishes declined to comply with the
conditions. The commissioners had expected that some of the parishes
would so decline, as a participation in the grant would involve an
increased expenditure on medical relief in those parishes where the
relief was most defective. But the primary object being, they say, to
obtain adequate medical relief for the sick poor, "it appeared just and
reasonable that each parish should be required to expend from its own
funds, a sum at least equal to the share of the grant apportioned to
it." Meantime however, medical relief was, as appears by the returns,
rapidly extending—the amount expended on it for the year ending February
1846, was 4,055l. 17s.—for the year ending 14th May 1847, it was
12,879l. 9s., and in the present year ending 14th May 1848, the
expenditure on medical relief amounted to 30,33l. 12s. It is probable,
the commissioners observe, that nutritious diet and other things not
strictly chargeable as medical relief, may be included in this last
amount; but after making every allowance, there can, it is thought, be
no doubt that the supply of medical relief has been greatly improved.
The commissioners say
that they have "completed their inquiries into the condition and
circurnstances of all the lunatic paupers in Scotland who were not in an
asylum, and whose cases had been reported, up to the 1st of July last."
The number of these cases is 2,003, in 1960 of which removal to an
asylum was dispensed with, and in 38 cases such removal was enforced.
The commissioners declare that they have not dispensed with removal to
an asylum in any case, in which it was not certified by a competent
medical authority that the lunatic was harmless, that his disease was
not likely to be aggravated thereby, that the accommodation was
suitable, and the attendance sufficient; and in all cases where lunatics
were not residing with relations, the allowance by the parish was
required to be sufficient for their subsistence, and for securing proper
treatment from the persons in whose charge they were. It is then
remarked, with a feeling that may well be envied, that "they have thus
endeavoured, not unsuccessfully, to improve the condition of this the
most helpless class of paupers, and hitherto in many cases the most
neglected." The deficiency of accommodation in asylums and licensed
houses, still however made it necessary to sanction the continuance of
very many lunatics in private residences, whose removal to an asylum
would on many accounts be preferable.
The number of complaints of inadequate
relief made to the board of supervision during the year, is stated to
have been 793; of these 297 were dismissed on the information contained
in the schedules, and 112 after reference. In 305 cases remitted to the
parochial boards, the ground of complaint is said to have been removed,
and in 8 cases, the ground of complaint not being removed, a minute was
issued declaring that the applicants had a just cause of action against
their parishes in the court of session. Fifteen cases of complaint
remained undisposed of.
The number of applications to the sheriffs
by persons refused relief, during the year ending 30th June 1848 was
1,334, being 291 in excess of the previous year. In 1,039 cases interim
relief was ordered to be given, and in only 582 of these did the parish
authorities lodge answers in contravention of the statements made by the
applicants. On this the commissioners remark—"We cannot but fear there
is too frequently on the part of inspectors of the poor, a delay or
refusal of relief which is not justified by the circumstances of the
cases, and that applicants are thus driven to seek the assistance of the
sheriff, in order to enforce their legal rights." It further appears
that in 261 cases in which the right to be admitted on the roll was
disputed, decisions had been pronounced in favour of the applicants,
while in 372 cases the right had not been affirmed. But in many cases,
it is observed, in consequence of arrangements between the parties, no
further proceedings are taken after the first or second stage, and the
final result of many of the applications is not therefore made known.
During the year, there had been 275 prosecutions, and 173 convictions,
under the 79th and 80th sections of the Act, and the commissioners
continue of opinion that these enactments are salutary, and their
operation generally satisfactory, notwithstanding the difficulties
frequently experienced by parochial boards in convicting and punishing
offenders under them.
The condition of the poor in the Shetland
Islands caused the commissioners much anxiety, and they deemed it
necessary to send one of their officers to inquire into the manner in
which the duties of inspection and relief were there conducted. A
summary of his journal is given in the appendix of the present Report,
and exhibits a state of things which, although not altogether
satisfactory, 11 yet leaves no reason to fear that. the distress presses
more severely upon the paupers, than upon the labouring population." It
appears that the relief of the poor in Shetland, is chiefly derived from
a system which is there known by the name of 'quartering.' A parish is
divided into a certain number of quarters or portions, and the poor
persons disabled by old age or infirmity are severally appointed to each
quarter,. and authorised to beg from the inhabitants, obtaining in this
way a supply of meal, wool, potatoes, fish, and other necessaries. Such
contributions in kind are less felt than money payments would be, the
inhabitants being generally occupiers of small portions of land, as well
as fishermen and owners of cattle. The town of Lerwick however differs
from the other parishes in Shetland, the poor being there relieved with
money. One class is paid 1s. to 2s. per week, another class is paid Is.
4d. to 2s. 8d. per month, and the third class is paid 2s. 6d. to 5s.
quarterly, but begging in the street is very common. The mode of relief
in the Orkney Islands does not differ materially from that practised in
Shetland, and the commissioners were assured " that the poor are there
well provided and cared for."
The persons thus "well provided and cared
for" in Orkney, are the aged and infirm poor. There is no care or
provision for the poor who are not aged and infirm, however urgent their
necessities may be. This was always, we have seen, the governing
principle of the Scottish Poor Law, and by way of making it more clear
and certain, the 68th section of the late statute expressly declares
"that nothing herein contained shall be held to confer a right to demand
relief on able-bodied persons out of employment." The prevalence of
distress through the failure of the potato, and from other causes, seems
now however to have raised doubts as to the possibility of maintaining
this principle in unmitigated strictness; and the commissioners, while
holding the opinion that able-bodied persons out of employment had no
right to demand relief, appeared to consider that the entire wording of
the 68th section "removed the doubts which had hitherto been
entertained, as to the legality of applying the funds raised by
assessment to the relief of the occasional as well as the permanent
poor; and that able-bodied persons out of employment might, if
destitute, come under the denomination of occasional poor, and might be
relieved out of the funds raised by assessment." This would, if it were
established, be an important advance in the way of amelioration ; and
the commissioners consulted the lord advocate and the dean of faculty on
the subject, who were of opinion "that the late Act 8th and 9th Vict.,
cap. 83, does not confer on or recognise in able-bodied persons out of
employment any right to demand relief, and that such persons are not
within the scope of the provisions for enforcing and rendering effectual
claims for parochial relief." But on the other hand, they were of
opinion—"that the statute removes all doubt as to the legality of
affording relief to occasional poor from the funds raised by assessment,
as well as from the collections at the church door;" and they were
further of opinion—" that able-bodied persons accidentally or
unavoidably thrown out of employment, and thereby reduced to immediate
want, may be regarded as occasional poor to whom temporary relief may
lawfully be given out of the funds raised by assessment, but that such
persons cannot be admitted on the roll of poor entitled to parochial
relief." Fortified
with this opinion, the commissioners now declared their understanding of
the law "as regards the relief of able-bodied persons to be, that while
they have not in any circumstances a right to demand relief, and cannot
therefore by any legal proceeding enforce that demand—parochial boards
may legally, when they think it advisable, apply the funds raised by
assessment to the temporary relief of destitute able-bodied persons who
are out of employment, and that half the collections at the church door
are applicable to the same purpose." And they further add, by way of
commentary—" to this unrestricted discretionary power conferred by
statute on the parochial boards, and to the voluntary contributions of
the public in extraordinary emergencies, is entrusted the relief of such
cases of destitution as may occur among the classes not by law entitled
to demand relief."
In connexion with the relief of the casual poor, the question as to the
consequences of relief when afforded to unemancipated children was now
also raised. It has been hitherto held that relief to a child was
equivalent to relief to the parent, who was thereupon bound by all the
conditions legally imposed upon recipients of relief, the same as if the
relief had been granted to himself. The obligation to support his
children naturally devolves upon the parent, and if his children were
relieved by the parish, the relief was held to be given to him for the
purpose of enabling him to fulfil this obligation. He was considered
chargeable to the parish, because he required aid from the parish for
enabling him to do that which he was legally and morally bound himself
to do. A decision however recently pronounced by the sheriff of
Lanarkshire, and which was supported on appeal before the lord ordinary,
went to enforce the legal right of children to be relieved independently
of the parents, "on the ground that being unable to do anything for
their own support because of their tender years, and being destitute by
reason of their father's destitution and inability to find employment,
they fell under the class of persons entitled by law to parochial aid."
The effect of this decision, it is said, would be, that children living
with their father might become chargeable, whilst their father himself
is neither chargeable nor subjected to the conditions imposed on the
recipients of relief; and as it is doubtful whether the children could
be separated from their father without his consent, the parish might
also, it is said, " be required to relieve the children in their
father's house."
The decision pronounced by the sheriff of Lanarkshire was carried before
the court of session, and pending any final adjudication thereon, and as
similar cases might arise, the commissioners deemed it right to address
a circular to the parochial boards informing them of the circumstances,
and recommending, in the event of their being so called upon to relieve
an able-bodied man, or the children of an able-bodied man on the ground
that he cannot find employment, that the ground of the claim should be
removed by providing employment for the parties. "The poorhouse," it is
said, "probably affords the only safe test in such cases," but as it is
not certain that a parochial board could require an able-bodied man who
thus obtained relief for his children to enter a poorhouse, and as
moreover many parishes are not provided with poorhouses, "the board of
supervision is of opinion, that for the present it would be advisable to
have recourse to a labour test, giving in return relief in food
sufficient for his and their subsistence, and where the necessary
arrangements can be made, cooked food ought to be preferred."
We here find indications of a nearer
approach to the principle of the English Poor Law, than has before
appeared in the administration of that of Scotland. It is true the
rig/it of the able-bodied to relief when destitute is still denied; but
a claim to relief on the ground of destitution is practically
recognised, and the necessity of some test for proving the existence of
the destitution, is also admitted. These constitute in fact the
foundations of the amended law in England, and if adopted in Scotland,
and acted upon with good faith and efficiency, there will be little to
complain of, even although the question of an absolute rig/it to relief
be left as at present.
The sum expended on the relief and
management of the poor for the year ending 14th May 1848, including
10,971l for erecting poorhouses and fever-hospitals, was 544,333l.
15s. 6d.—being an increase of 110,419l. as compared with the
expenditure of the previous year, and averaging 4s. 11d. per head on the
population at the period of the census in 1841, and equal to 5l.
14s. 4½d. per cent. on the annual value of real property in Scotland,
according to the returns laid before parliament in 1843. The number of
regular poor on the roll on the 14th of May 1848, was 77,732, equal to 1
in 33. of the population. The number of casual poor relieved in the
year, was 126,684. The casual poor relieved last year amounted to
60,399; and they have therefore more than doubled in the present year.
In Lanarkshire alone 81,938 persons were casually relieved. This
increase of the "casual poor" is attributed to three causes—first the
influx of destitute persons from Ireland, next the want of employment
through the general depression of trade, and lastly the suspension of
railway operations. The new law is therefore, we see, exposed to a
continuance of pressure and difficulty, which must be largely felt by
its administrators, as well as by the poor and the labouring classes
generally. |
