Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

11 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

I Guardians of the Poor. j

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

I Guardians of the Poor. j The Old and the New. (By Ap Sassenach.) its^o^0 ^rou^es about the Poor Law and furth°°m^ embodiment—the workhouse— keen1" t^lan to s*Sn over the rates, and Un/;i °n -^e suij-risen side of its walls? am a ^Ulte recently I did not, and, as I oils k av1era8e man., I hope that my numer- heroi,1-?! wil1 appreciate the effort recnm-1n ma^e to enlighten them. The a |L Guardians' election will also render of Qi account of the inception and growth «r „ ? 00r Law system acceptable to deader" readers. Ve Happie Old Paupers. then, that in the early days }l0l| J Shsh history, there were no work- The country was covered with diff reliSious houses^ of winch Car- Jriar uts sl?are i11 ^he Black and. Grey Unto S|i5 '8 ru"ls ^e former even unto JEroiiv^j being visible in the Castle ne„i. ?s* These establishments were ex- 0»ini«+ t0 l-,er^orm three duties—to ad- PeoDl the spiritual needs of the w} e' educate the children, and to tics e clothe the poor. The ecclesias- tics succeeded so well in the third require- terv +1 aroURd every important monas- Paun e swa.rmed a contented crowd of Yg Quaint old Fuller says of this; Whink' „ se abbeys did but maintain poor ey made." William of Normandy having co-n- intn 'Sland in 1066, divided his spoil Second 60 l?ortlons one for himself, the his nobles, who, in return, fju- tie 1 • witla money and troops, and Peet s'ice to: the monks, who were ex- year to do as I have indicated. 'As the SQ ? rolled on, beggars increased in num- ^'hiol!,lrmingly ^at a *aw was enacted by but stui'dy vagabonds; who could work whi were on a first offence. eroif^ i 011 a SGCOn^ had their ears Hrn anc^ ^or ^be third were hung! Wi'lv Would this tariff suit the Wearv es of the Pontypridd Union P "'0"" King Hal bluffed the Poor*. Et?.Ul^ng the Reformation upheaval King to, the VIII., alliteratively described BijJ ^y a Radical friend as Britain's y oflest, Blackguard," took the- opportunity caro annexing," or, to use, a, topical phrase, uee ^andeering most of the religious 11. oUse,s, and their property. In this man- i* Black and Grey Friars came into Bute family through the Herberts; aild T'intern Abbeys into private °Ut eiS^1P' The poor were thus tricked se_ °f their relief, and, the suffering con- ^iii y ensuin& was so awful that the *JJ Momentarily diverted his attention 0r i numerous matrimonial projects and voi^d the clergy to gather and procure pg ^tary alms of the: good Christian &erv uP°,n every possible occasion. Ob- i,ec dear Mr. "Leader reader, that the eeeive-rs of the stolen property were asked thc5l^e voluntary alms for the benefit of rightful owners. How sarkastik! tt%49;ish Working Men Slaves. Tb ^oi lri richer folk did not pay up as they it ea°h man thinking doubtlessly that j.1 as the other fellow'si duty and not his. ore ^ore, the office of overseer was a,|) in 1572 to superintend and gener- Wn the "collectors of alms." Stub- ^entleiiien were taken before a magis- Iggg fixed the amount for them. In th -King Charles the Second sanctioned Act >> .'us known as the "Settlement li}j which dealt a deadly blow at the ]>&ri if of the English labourer. Every overseer exerted boundless energy XlnS upon every possible pretext- the not ^Ojent in his parish of persons who did a house of £ 10 yearly and up- Sl a sum equal to £ 20 at least of our "0y& money. Even in apprenticeing oth Masters were eagerly sought for in a r parishes) so: as to get the lad into T Pa"s^ the right of settlement in forty days If a man obtained work li6 u^ew district for I ess than that period, ov€ «* promptly senti back, and, as the tets eers of the new district arranged mat- cl^ ^^h the employers, the working Were to- all intents and purposes and tied to their parish. Even this in enough for the authorities, so Setti a law was enacted that intending ^hould apply to the new parish, a%o heir notice read in church, so that who cared could object. Where Coijjej^e. Old England for the labourer h in, passeth my comprehension. 4 Cow for every Poor Man. said Bristol is behind the times ? ^tab'l '111 it obtained a special Act and t<j tu the first workhouse. Prior (JOQJ. at the paupers were only given out- ^fcrli' re^e^- The experiment so pleased &t "that in 1723 every parish was Wperty to build its own workhouse, of 17 eOJUø now to a curious arrangement eara hy which a workman who failed to fa^ii e amount necessary to keep his should be paid the balance out of O.Ir rate. This made the unfortunate nxan a trifle- happier; but in the il)tr0(1lng ^ear an ever better proposal was Po°r u°ed into Parliament, that every > a Pig11 should be provided with, a cow, Ilial Or some other useful domestic ani- v This never passed. It may, how- a Wi f'Ve Proyided Pushful Joe with or his famous idea of Three acres Cow." lia,nl ()'I after the Battle of Waterloo, Par- kicking at the enormous Poor Law atice t Vre' practically stopped the allow- the man of inadequate wagQ, but Mn i Vestries to buy or lease land .^re'ag if able-bodied out of works ^W^ble wages, or to iet land to poor i a^, a reasonable rent; also money 9aned to suitable persons. This ^18, c legislation; was in 1818, not in 'J|lon Chaos to Ordei*> ^Gry^^ish workhouses did not prosper. tw' complaints were heard of their ■JWQj.agement. Out-door relief kRs Oaiseil parts where paupers' rent PaUperg by the parish, the "happy" lVed in unhealthy, ruinous ? had ?-V]?ed W the overseers." If faai^blP, iC^ets for goods, they were h ^0UR t>°5 at the overseers' shops. The g'^ted -reform Parliament of 1832 ap- Vs' TtoCOmmission to re-organise mat- ahAK°iye,ars later parish workhouses rjlon of nS .e(J' and a workhouse jor a is, 11 s substituted—Pontypridd Ai,?- i Use embracing six parishes, o»e- At this time! als0 the Snd overseers were happily swept of 0 e Present system adopted of a WR1* whi^if ans' elected by the rate- dift st-ill j1 Managed the whole- concern. hg.^eiLt R+ e, 0versoers. but of a totally toSW. and they are only ex- 0n^e iM, Bill was passed by 299 to 20. From 1834 until the present there ha,s been a gradual im- provement in the lob of paupers, un- doubtedly quickened by the scathing ex- posures by Charles Dickens in Oliver Twist." A Chance for the Children. Of recent years the children have re- ceived special attention, and as a conse- quence their lot has been vastly improved. In 1890 the Pontypridd Board of Guard- ians adopted the Scattered Homes system, and there are now eight real homes, ac- commodating 128 children, who are up- reared free from the debasing influences of the -Workhouse. An alternative is pro- posed in the. Boarding-out System, by which the children would be placed under the care of respectable working class people. The upholders of the latter sys- tem claim that the cost would be lessi per child per week, as compared with the cost to the ratepayers of the Scattered Homes principle.

Musical Festival at Cwmparc.

Rhondda Fach Jottings.

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Eisteddfod at Clydach Vale.

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Correspondence, I-

Sacred Concert at Tonypandy.

County Council Bye Election.

Magistrates take the Oatha

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