Beneath the Surface: A Country of Two Nations

Page 5 of 11

• 1. A country of two nations
• 2. Optimists and pessimists
• 3. The labouring poor
• 4. Rural and urban poverty
• 5. Official attitudes to the relief of poverty
• 6. Lowest standard of living
• 7. The workhouse
• 8. The Scottish Poor Law
• 9. Charity and self-help
• 10. Conclusion
• 11. Find out more
• Print entire article

Official attitudes to the relief of poverty

By 1832 the concern about the system of poor relief led to the setting up of a Royal Commission. At the same time principles and management of the old Poor Law were also challenged on the grounds both of mismanagement and inefficiency and its alleged cause of rapid population growth. The ideas of Malthus and Bentham had much influence on contemporary ideas. Malthus in his popular 'Essay on the Principles of Population' argued that agricultural production would be overtaken by demographic pressures, and that the only ways to check these were either by natural disasters to limit population or by individuals practising prudence and self-restraint.

'...the alleged generosity of outdoor relief benefited the feckless and reduced the resources available to the deserving poor.'

The practice of giving child allowances under the old Poor Law was seen as encouraging large families while the alleged generosity of outdoor relief was seen as benefiting the feckless and reducing the resources available to the deserving poor. Jeremy Bentham's philosophy of Utilitarianism advocated judgement by rational criteria, underpinned the principle of 'the greatest good of the greatest number'. Government action was to be based on careful study of the 'facts'.

It was the combination of these ideas and developments, which became the basis of the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 in England and Wales. The Act continued to rely on the parish rate and, set the principles of social policy for the rest of the century and beyond. It established the importance of local administration under centralised control and encouraged attitudes and images of poverty which dominated public perceptions in the 19th century.

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Published: 2001-01-01