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Conclusion.

In the foregoing pages I have attempted to lay down the lines upon which the Poor Law should be reformed and have pointed out some of the changes which are possible under the existing law. By a stroke of the pen, as it were, the administration of the workhouse might be reformed, the General Order of 1847 might be revised in the light of modern knowledge and ideas, the work of inspection and supervision might be re-organized and rendered more efficient, the out-relief system might be humanized, and the treatment of the children put on a satisfactory basis.

But there is much that cannot be done without legislative sanction, and our politicians and statesmen will not set themselves to the task of Poor Law Reform unless it is forced on them from the outside by the general body of voters on whose support their position in Parliament depends. It is for the mass of the electors to impress on their members and thus on the legislature that the only satisfactory reform of the law will be that which is directed towards the abolition of the present workhouse system and the elimination of pauperism. The administration of the Poor Law should be coordinated with our system of local government, and Boards of Guardians should be transformed into committees of the ordinary municipal authorities. The chief needs are greater popular interest and greater uniformity in the administration of the law. In London the latter can only be obtained by the transfer of Poor Law administration to an enlarged County Council and the complete equalization of the Poor Rate in all the parishes. The latter reform is also required in many other large towns. Then, and not till then, will the rich parishes, which have rid themselves of their responsibilities by demolishing the dwellings of the poor, be made to pay in proportion to their wealth, and the poor parishes, which now pay in proportion to their poverty, be relieved from an unjust burden. In addition the contributions from the national exchequer should be increased and used as an incentive for the proper performance of their functions by the local authorities. Boards of Guardians are often obstructive of reforms authorized by the Local Government Board, dilatory in providing new buildings, etc., and could thus be forced into movement.

The

The Local Government Act of 1894 abolished property qualification, plural voting and ex-officio Guardianship, and thus made the Boards democratic bodies, so far as mere machinery goes. working classes, who make up four-fifths of the people, can control the elections if they will, and by their ignorance or inaction are mainly responsible for the persistence of the present state of things. The possibility of a humane administration of the law depends on the creation of an enlightened public opinion, which will sweep away the gentlemen of no occupation and the retired publicans, who, up to the present, have so often been elected to protect the rates and grind the poor, and the election of administrators, of whatever class or sex, on the ground of their knowledge and capacity.

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The expense of relieving the poor, who are not wilfully improvident, is part of the ransom that Property has to pay to Labor; and it is a ransom which is not begged as a charity but demanded as an instalment of justice. With the growth of enlightenment and the spread of humane ideas amongst all classes, and consequently greater intelligence amongst the mass of voters in the use of their political power, we shall have better laws better administered. The wornout, deserving worker will be maintained in self-respect in his old age; the temporarily disabled will be helped without pauperization; the children will be started in life without stigma; the professional shirker will be forced to earn his own living; the vicious and criminal will be put under restraint. Pauperism will be blotted out; Poverty will be a social disease; and Idleness will be a social crime. This may be to-day a fantastic dream, but the dreams of to-day will be the facts of to-morrow.

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The books on the Poor Law are numerous enough to form a considerable library. The following are amongst the more recent, accessible and useful:—

[Many authorities referred to in the

ASCHCROTT, P. F. (tr.). The English poor law.
index.] 1902, Knight, Second edition, 12s.
BOSANQUET, B. (editor). Aspects of the social problem, by various writers. 1895,
Macmillan, 2/6 n.

BOSANQUET, Mrs. B. Rich and poor. 1898, Macmillan, 3/6 n.
CHANCE, Sir W., Bt.

schein, 6s.

The better administration of the poor law. 1895, Sonnen

Children under the poor law. 1898, Sonnenschein, 7/6.
Our treatment of the poor. 1899, King, 2/6.

DEVINE, EDUARD. The principles of relief (in America and elsewhere). 1904, Macmillan, 8/6 n.

EDEN, Sir F. N. State of the poor. 3 vol. [Bibliography of early books on subject.] 1797, o.p.

FOWLE, Rev. T. W. The poor law. (English citizen series.) 1892, Macmillan, 2/6. LOCH, C. S. Charity organization. 1890, Sonnenschein, 2/6.

LONSDALE, SOPHIA. The English poor laws: their history, principles, and administration. 1897, King, Is. n.

LUBBOCK, GERTRUDE. Some poor relief questions. (Collection of arguments and quotations on both sides.) 1895, Murray, 7/6.

MACKAY, T. The English poor. 1889, Murray, 7/6.

History of the English poor law. Supplementary vol. to Nicholls' history (below). 1899, King, 7/6 n.

MACKENZIE, W. W. The powers and duties of poor law guardians. 4th edn. 1895, Shaw, 7/6.

NICHOLLS, Sir G. History of the English poor law. 2 vols. New edn. (See also
MACKAY, T.) 1898, King, 10/6 n.

RIBTON TURNER, C. J. History of vagrancy and vagrants. 1887, Chapman, o.p.
ROGERS, FREDERICK. The care of the aged poor in other countries and in England.
1905, Co-operative Printing Society, Tudor-street, E.C., etc., Id.
SELLERS, EDITH. The Danish poor relief system: an example for England.

King, 2s. n.

1904,

TREVELYAN, Rev. W. P. Poor law children (The boarding-out system). King, 2s. n. TWINING, L. Workhouses and pauperism and women's work in the administration of the poor law. 1898, Methuen, 2/6.

Local Government Board. Annual report for England. [Parl. Paper.] King; about 5s. Poor law commission, 1834 (reprinted 1885). King, 2/9.

Poor law conferences. Annual bound vol. of central and district conferences; with index. King, 12s. Annual central conference, Is. District conferences, Is. each.

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PARISH AND DISTRICT COUNCILS:

What they are and what they can do.

The Allotments and Small Holdings Act of 1907 has altered the law as set out on pages 10 and 11, which are therefore no longer correct. Particulars of the law as amended are given in the Fabian Leaflet No. 134, "Small Holdings, Allotments, and Common Pastures.

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PARISH AND DISTRICT COUNCILS :

What they are and what they can do.

With a Postscript embodying recent alterations in the Law.

THE public affairs of every Parish, Town and Poor Law Union in England and Wales are now managed by Meetings and popularly elected Councils or Boards. Almost all adult men and most women who are householders are electors for these bodies, and are therefore responsible for their doings; and every man and woman and child in the kingdom is to a greater or less degree affected by the manner in which they do their work. This tract does not deal with London* nor with County and Town Councils. It treats of the following local governing bodies created or affected by the Local Government Act of 1894, namely:

1. Parish Councils, together with Parish Meetings in the larger Parishes.

2. Parish Meetings without Parish Councils in the smaller Parishes.

3. Urban District Councils in smaller towns and thickly populated districts.

4.

Rural District Councils, which have control in all places where there are no Town Councils nor Urban District Councils. 5. Boards of Guardians which cover the whole of England and Wales.t

The powers and duties of these bodies, and the rules governing their election and proceedings, are far from simple, and many people do not yet fully understand them. This tract is intended as an attempt to explain them as clearly as possible to working men and women. But space does not allow everything to be stated as fully as might be desirable, and a large number of details have been put

* For London Local Government see Fabian Tracts No. 61, "The London County Council," Id., and No. 100, "Metropolitan Borough Councils," Id.

Many handbooks to the Act have been published. Among the cheaper of these may be mentioned the Practical Guide to the Parish Councils Act (Ward and Lock), price Is.; and the Ready Reference Guide to the Parish Councils Act (G. Philip and Son), price 6s.; an excellent larger book is Haddon's Handbook (Haddon, Best & Co.), price 9s.

This tract does not deal with the Poor Law, but only with the manner of electing Boards of Guardians, and such of their duties as are not connected with the Relief of the Poor. See Fabian Tracts No. 54, "Humanizing of the Poor Law," and No. 127 "Abolition of Poor Law Guardians.'

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