Essays; Political, Economical, and Philosophical Part 10

A secondary object in forming this Establishment, and which will be attended to as soon as the measures for feeding the Poor, and giving them employment, are carried into execution, is the forming of a grand repository of all kinds of USEFUL MECHANICAL INVENTIONS, and particularly of such as relate to the furnishing of houses, and are calculated to promote domestic comfort and economy.

Such a repository will not only be highly interesting, considered as an object of public curiosity, but it will be really useful, and will doubtless contribute very powerfully to the introduction of many essential improvements.

To render this part of the Establishment still more complete, rooms will be set apart for receiving, and exposing to public view, all such new and useful inventions as shall, from time to time, be made, in this, or in any other country, and sent to the inst.i.tution; and a written account, containing the name of the inventor,--the place where the article may be bought,--and the price of it, will be attached to each article, for the information of those who may be desirous of knowing any of these particulars.

If the amount of the subscriptions should be sufficient to defray the additional expence which such an arrangement would require, models will be prepared, upon a reduced scale, for showing the improvements which may be made in the construction of the coppers, or boilers, used by brewers, and distillers, as also of their fire-places; with a view both to the economy of the fuel, and to convenience.

Complete kitchens will likewise be constructed, of the full size, with all their utensils, as models for private families.-- And that these kitchens may not be useless, eating rooms may be fitted up adjoining to them, and cooks engaged to furnish to gentlemen, subscribers, or others, to whom subscribers may delegate that right, good dinners, at the prime cost of the victuals, and the expense of cooking, which together certainly would not exceed ONE SHILLING A HEAD.

The public kitchen from whence the Poor will be fed will be so constructed as to serve as a model for hospitals, and for other great Establishments of similar nature.

The expense of feeding the Poor will be provided for by selling the portions of Food delivered from the public kitchen at such a price, that those expenses shall be just covered, and no more:-- so that the Establishment, when once completed, will be made to support itself.

Tickets for Food (which may be considered as drafts upon the public kitchen, payable at sight) will be furnished to all persons who apply for them, in as far as it shall be possible to supply the demands; but care will be taken to provide, first, for the Poor who frequent regularly the working rooms belonging to the Establishment; and secondly, to pay attention to the recommendations of subscribers, by furnishing Food immediately, or with the least possible delay, to those who come with subscribers' tickets.

As soon as the Establishment shall be completed, every subscriber will be furnished gratis with tickets for Food, to the amount of ten per cent. of his subscription; the value of the tickets being reckoned at what the portions of Food really cost, which will be delivered to those who produce the tickets at the public kitchen.--At the end of six months, tickets to the amount of ten per cent. more, and so on, at the end of every six succeeding months, tickets to the amount of ten per cent. of the sum subscribed will be delivered to each subscriber till he shall actually have received in tickets for Food, or drafts upon the public kitchen, to the full amount of ONE HALF of his original subscription.--And as the price at which this Food will be charged, will be at the most moderate computation, at least FIFTY PER CENT. cheaper than it would cost any where else, the subscribers will in fact receive in these tickets the full value of the sums they will have subscribed; so that in the end, the whole advance will be repaid, and a most interesting, and most useful public inst.i.tution will be completely established WITHOUT ANY EXPENSE TO ANYBODY--And the Author of these Proposals will think himself most amply repaid for any trouble he may have in the execution of this scheme, by the heartfelt satisfaction he will enjoy in the reflection of having been instrumental in doing essential service to mankind.

It is hardly necessary to add, that although the subscribers will receive in return for their subscriptions the full value of them, in tickets, or orders upon the public kitchen, for Food, yet the property of the Whole Establishment, with all its appurtenances, will nevertheless remain vested solely and entirely in the subscribers, and their lawful heirs; and that they will have power to dispose of it in any way they may think proper, as also to give orders and directions for its future management.

(Signed) "A. B."

London, 1st January 1796.

These Proposals, which should be printed, and distributed gratis, in great abundance, should be accompanied with subscription-lists which should be printed on fine writing-paper; and to save trouble to the subscribers, might be of a peculiar form.--Upon the top of a half-sheet of folio writing-paper might be printed, the following Head of t.i.tle, and the remainder of that side of the half-sheet, below this Head, might be formed into different columns, thus:

SUBSCRIPTIONS,

For carrying into execution the scheme for forming an Establishment for feeding the Poor from a Public KITCHEN, and giving them useful employment, etc. proposed by A. B.

and particularly described in the printed paper, dated London, 1st January 1796, which accompanies this Subscription List.

N.B. No part of the money subscribed will be called for, unless it be found that the amount of the subscriptions will be quite sufficient to carry the scheme proposed into complete execution without troubling the subscribers a second time for further a.s.sistance.

----------------------------------------------------------- Subscribers Names. I Place of Abode. I Sums subscribed.

----------------------------------------------------------- I I pound. s. d.

I I I I I I I I I I I I

that this list is authentic, and that the persons mentioned in it have agreed to subscribe the sums placed against their names, is attested by [ ]. The person who is so good as to take charge of this list, is requested to authenticate it by signing the above certificate, and then to seal it up and send it according to the printed address on the back of it.

The address upon the back of the subscription lists, (which may be that of the author of the Proposal, or of any other person he may appoint to receive these lists,) should be printed in such a manner that, when the list is folded up in the form of a letter, the address may be in its proper place. This will save trouble to those who take charge of these lists; and too much pains cannot be taken to give as little trouble as possible to persons who are solicited to contribute IN MONEY towards carrying into execution schemes of public utility.

As a public Establishment like that here proposed would be highly interesting, even were it to be considered in no other light than merely as an object of curiosity, there is no doubt but it would be much frequented; and it is possible that this concourse of people might be so great as to render it necessary to make some regulations in regard to admittance: but, whatever measures might be adopted with respect to others, SUBSCRIBERS ought certainly to have free admittance at all times to every part of the Establishment,--They should even have a right individually to examine all the details of its administration, and to require from those employed as overseers, or managers, any information or explanation they might want.--They ought likewise to be at liberty to take drawings, or to have them taken by others, (at their expense,) for themselves or for their friends, of the kitchen, stoves, grates, furniture, etc. and in general of every part of the machinery belonging to the Establishment.

In forming the Establishment, and providing the various machinery, care should be taken to employ the most ingenious and most respectable tradesmen; and if the name of the maker, and the place of his abode were to be engraved or written on each article, this, no doubt, would tend to excite emulation among the artizans, and induce them to furnish goods of the best quality, and at as low a price as possible.--It is even possible, that in a great and opulent city like London, and where public spirit and zeal for improvement pervade all ranks of society, many respectable tradesmen in easy circ.u.mstances might be found, who would have real pleasure in furnishing gratis such of the articles wanted as are in their line of business: and the advantages which might, with proper management, be derived from this source, would most probably be very considerable.

With regard to the management of the Poor who might be collected together for the purpose of being fed and furnished with employment, in a Public Establishment like that here recommended, I cannot do better than refer my reader to the account already published (in my First Essay) of the manner in which the Poor at Munich were treated in the house of industry established in that city, and the means that were used to render them comfortable, HAPPY, and industrious.

As soon as the scheme here recommended is carried into execution, and measures are effectually taken for feeding the Poor at a cheap rate, and giving them useful employment, no farther difficulties will then remain, at least none certainly that are insurmountable, to prevent the introduction of a general plan for providing for all the Poor, founded upon the principles explained and recommended in the preceding Chapters of this Essay.

CHAPTER. V.

Of the Means which may be used by Individuals in affluent Circ.u.mstances for the Relief of the Poor in their Neighbourhood.

As nothing tends more powerfully to encourage idleness and immorality among the Poor, and consequently to perpetuate all the evils to society which arise from the prevalence of poverty and mendicity, than injudicious distributions of alms; individuals must be very cautious in bestowing their private charities, and in forming schemes for giving a.s.sistance to the distressed; otherwise they will most certainly do more harm than good.-- The evil tendency of giving alms indiscriminately to beggars is universally acknowledged; but it is not, I believe, so generally known how much harm is done by what are called the PRIVATE CHARITIES of individuals.--Far be it from me to wish to discourage private charities; I am only anxious that they should be better applied.

Without taking up time in a.n.a.lyzing the different motives by which persons of various character are induced to give alms to the Poor, or of showing the consequences of their injudicious or careless donations; which would be an unprofitable as well as a disagreeable investigation; I shall briefly point out what appear to me to be the most effectual means which individuals in affluent circ.u.mstances can employ for the a.s.sistance of the Poor in their neighbourhood.

The most certain and efficacious relief that can be given to the Poor is that which would be afforded them by forming a general Establishment for giving them useful employment, and furnishing them with the necessaries of life at a cheap rate; in short, forming a Public Establishment similar in all respects to that already recommended, and making it as extensive as circ.u.mstances will permit.

An experiment might first be made in a single village, or in a single parish; a small house, or two or three rooms only, might be fitted up for the reception of the Poor, and particularly of the children of the Poor; and to prevent the bad impressions which are sometimes made by names which have been become odious, instead of calling it a Work-house, it might be called "A School of Industry," or, perhaps, Asylum would be a better name for it.--One of these rooms should be fitted up as a kitchen for cooking for the Poor; and a middle-aged women of respectable character, and above all of a gentle and humane disposition, should be placed at the head of this Establishment, and lodged in the house.--As she should serve at the same time as chief cook, and as steward of the inst.i.tution, it would be necessary that she should be able to write and keep accounts; and in cases where the business of superintending the various details of the Establishment would be too extensive to be performed by one person, one or more a.s.sistants may be given her.

In large Establishments it might, perhaps, be best to place a married couple, rather advanced in life, and without children, at the head of the inst.i.tution; but, whoever are employed in that situation, care should be taken that they should be persons of irreproachable character, and such as the Poor can have no reason to suspect of partiality.

As nothing would tend more effectually to ruin an Establishment of this kind, and prevent the good intended to be produced by it, than the personal dislikes of the Poor to those put over them, and more especially such dislikes as are founded on their suspicions of their partiality, the greatest caution in the choice of these persons will always be necessary: and in general it will be best not to take them from among the Poor, or at least not from among those of the neighbourhood, nor such as have relations, acquaintances, or other connexions among them.

Another point to be attended to in the choice of a person to be placed at the head of such an Establishment, (and it is a point of more importance than can well be imagined by those who have not considered the matter with some attention)-- is the looks or EXTERNAL APPEARANCE of the person destined for this employment.

All those who have studied human nature, or have taken notice of what pa.s.ses in themselves when they approach for the first time a person who has any thing very strongly marked in his countenance, will feel how very important it is that a person placed at the head of an asylum for the reception of the Poor and the unfortunate should have an open, pleasing countenance, such as inspires confidence and conciliates affection and esteem.

Those who are in distress, are apt to be fearful and apprehensive, and nothing would be so likely to intimidate and discourage them as the forbidding aspect of a stern and austere countenance in the person they were taught to look up to for a.s.sistance and protection.

The external appearance of those who are destined to command others is always a matter of real importance, but it is peculiarly so when those to be commanded and directed are objects of pity and commiseration.

Where there are several gentlemen who live in the neighbourhood of the same town or village where an Establishment, or Asylum, (as I would wish it might be called,) for the Poor is to be formed, they should all unite to form ONE ESTABLISHMENT, instead of each forming a separate one; and it will likewise be very useful in all cases to invite all ranks of people resident within the limits of the district in which an Establishment is formed, except those who are actually in need of a.s.sistance themselves, to contribute to carry into execution such a public undertaking; for though the sums the more indigent and necessitous of the inhabitants may be able to spare may be trifling, yet their being invited to take part in so laudable an undertaking will be flattering to them, and the sums they contribute, however small they may be, will give them a sort of property in the Establishment, and will effectually engage their good wishes at least, (which are of more importance in such cases than is generally imagined,) for its success.

How far the relief which the Poor would receive from the execution of a scheme like that here proposed ought to preclude them from a partic.i.p.ation of other public charities, (in the distribution of the sums levied upon the inhabitants in Poor's taxes, for instance, where such exist,) must be determined in each particular case according to the existing circ.u.mstances.

It will, however, always be indispensably necessary where the same poor person receives charitable a.s.sistance from two or more separate inst.i.tutions, or from two or more private individuals, at the same time, for each to know exactly the amount of what the others give, otherwise too much or too little may be given, and both tend to discourage INDUSTRY, the only source of effectual relief to the distresses and the misery of the Poor.--And hence may again be seen the great importance of what I have so often insisted on, the rendering of measures for the relief of the Poor as general as possible.

To ill.u.s.trate in the clearest manner, and in as few words as possible, the plan I would recommend for forming an Establishment for the Poor on a small scale--such as any individual even of moderate property, might easily execute; I will suppose that a gentleman, resident in the country upon his own estate, has come to a resolution to form such an Establishment in a village near his house, and will endeavour briefly to point out the various steps he would probably find it necessary to take in the execution of this benevolent and most useful undertaking.

He would begin by calling together at his house the clergyman of the parish, overseers of the Poor, and other parish officers, to acquaint them with his intentions, and ask their a.s.sistance and friendly co-operation in the prosecution of the plan; the details of which he would communicate to them as far as he should think it prudent and necessary at the first outset to entrust them indiscriminately with that information.--The characters of the persons, and the private interest they might have to promote or oppose the measures intended to be pursued, would decide upon the degree of confidence which ought to be given them.

At this meeting, measures should be taken for forming the most complete and most accurate lists of all the Poor resident within the limits proposed to be given to the Establishment, with a detailed account of every circ.u.mstance, relative to their situation, and their wants.--Much time and trouble will be saved in making out these lists, by using printed forms or blanks similar to those made use of at Munich; and these printed forms will likewise contribute very essentially to preserve order and to facilitate business, in the management of a private as well as of a public charity;--as also to prevent the effects of misrepresentation and partiality on the part of those who must necessarily be employed in these details.

Convenient forms or models for these blanks will be given in the Appendix to this volume.

At this meeting, measures may be taken for numbering all the houses in the village or district, and for setting on foot private subscriptions among the inhabitants for carrying the proposed scheme into execution.

Those who are invited to subscribed should be made acquainted, by a printed address accompanying the subscription lists, with the nature, extent, and tendency of the measures adopted; and should be a.s.sured that, as soon as the undertaking shall be completed, the Poor will not only be relieved, and their situation made more comfortable, but mendicity will be effectually prevented, and at the same time the Poor's rates, or the expense to the public for the support of the Poor, very considerably lessened.

These a.s.surances, which will be the strongest inducements that can be used to prevail on the inhabitants of all descriptions to enter warmly into the scheme, and a.s.sist with alacrity in carrying it into execution, should be expressed in the strongest terms; and all persons of every denomination, young and old, and of both s.e.xes, (paupers only excepted,) should be invited to put down their names in the subscription lists, and this even, HOWEVER SMALL THE SUMS MAY BE WHICH THEY ARE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE.

--Although the sums which day-labourers, servants, and other in indigent circ.u.mstances may be able to contribute, may be very trifling, yet there is one important reason why they ought always to be engaged to put down their names upon the lists as subscribers, and that is the goods effects which their taking an active part in the undertaking will probably produce ON THEMSELVES.--Nothing tends more to mend the heart, and awaken in the mind a regard for character, than acts of charity and benevolence; and any person who has once felt that honest pride and satisfaction which result from a consciousness of having been instrumental in doing good by relieving the wants of the Poor, will be rendered doubly careful to avoid the humiliation of becoming himself an object of public charity.

It was a consideration of these salutary effects, which may always be expected to be produced upon the minds of those who take an active and VOLUNTARY part in the measures adopted for the relief of the Poor, that made me prefer voluntary subscriptions, to taxes, in raising the sums necessary for the support of the Poor, and all the experience I have had in these matters has tended to confirm me in the opinion I have always had of their superior utility,--Not only day-labourers and domestic servants, but their young children, and all the children of the n.o.bility and other inhabitants of Munich, and even the non-commissioned officers and private soldiers of the regiments in garrison in that city, were invited to contribute to the support of the inst.i.tution for the Poor; and there are very few indeed of any age or condition (paupers only excepted) whose names are not to be found on the lists of subscribers.

The subscriptions at Munich are by families, as has elsewhere been observed; and this method I would recommend in the case under consideration, and in all others.--The head of the family takes the trouble to collect all the sums subscribed upon his family list, and to pay them into the hands of those who (on the part of the inst.i.tution) are sent round on the first Sunday morning of every month to receive them; but the names of all the individuals who compose the family are entered on the list at full length, with the sum each contributes.

Two lists of the same tenor must be made out for each family; one of which must be kept by the head of the family for his information and direction, and the other sent in to those who have the general direction of the Establishment.

These subscription-lists should be printed; and they should be carried round and left with the heads of families, either by the person himself who undertakes to form the Establishment, (which will always be best,) or at least by his steward, or some other person of some consequence belonging to his household.