Chapter 12

As the only effectual means of putting an end to the sufferings of the Poor is the introduction of a spirit of industry among them, individuals should never lose sight of that great and important object, in all the measures they may adopt to relieve them.--But in endeavouring to make the Poor industrious, the utmost caution will be necessary to prevent their being disgusted.--Their minds are commonly in a state of great irritation, the natural consequences of their sufferings, and of their hopeless situation; and their suspicions of every body about them, and particularly of those who are set over them, are so deeply rooted that it is sometimes extremely difficult to sooth and calm the agitation of their minds, and gain their confidence. --This can be soonest and most effectually done by kind and gentle usage; and I am clearly of opinion that no other means should ever be used, except it be with such hardened and incorrigible wretches as are not to be reclaimed by any means; but of these, I believe, there are very few indeed.--I have never yet found one, in all the course of my experience in taking care of the Poor.

We have sometimes been obliged to threaten the most idle and profligate with the house of correction; but these threats, added to the fear of being banished from the House of Industry, which has always been held up and considered as the greatest punishment, have commonly been sufficient for keeping the unruly in order.

If the force of example is irresistible in debauching men's minds, and leading them into profligate and vicious courses, it is not less so in reclaiming them, and rendering them orderly, docile, and industrious; and hence the infinite importance of collecting the Poor together in Public Establishments, where every thing about them is animated by unaffected cheerfulness, and by that pleasing gaiety, and air of content and satisfaction, which always enliven the busy scenes of useful industry.

I do not believe it would be possible for any person to be idle in the House of Industry at Munich. I never saw any one idle; often as I have passed through the working-rooms; nor did I ever see any one to whom the employments of industry seemed to be painful or irksome.

Those who are collected together in the public rooms destined for the reception and accommodation of the Poor in the day-time, will not need to be forced, nor even urged to work;--if there are in the room several persons who are busily employed in the cheerful occupations of industry, and if implements and materials for working are at hand, all the others present will not fail to be soon drawn into the vortex, and joining with alacrity in the active scene, their dislike to labour will be forgotten, and they will become by habit truly and permanently industrious.

Such is the irresistible power of example!--Those who know how to manage this mighty engine and have opportunities of employing it with effect, may produce the most miraculous changes, in the manners, disposition, and character, even of whole nations.

In furnishing raw materials to the Poor to work, it will be necessary to use many precautions to prevent frauds and abuses, not only on the part of the Poor, who are often but too much disposed to cheat and deceive whenever they find opportunities, but also on the part of those employed in the details of this business:--but the fullest information having already been given in my First Essay, of all the various precautions it had been found necessary to take for the purposes in question in the House of Industry at Munich, it is not necessary for me to enlarge upon the subject in this place, or to repeat what has already been said upon it elsewhere.

With regard to the manner in which good and wholesome food for feeding the Poor may be prepared in a public kitchen, at a cheap rate, I must refer my reader to my Essay on Food; where he will find all the information on that subject which he can require. --In my Essay on Clothing, he will see how good and comfortable clothing may be furnished to the Poor at a very moderate expence; and in that on the Management of Heat, he will find particular directions for the Poor for saving fuel.

I cannot finish this Essay, without taking notice of a difficulty which frequently occur in giving employment to the Poor, that of disposing to advantage of the produce of their labour:--This is in all cases a very important object; and too much attention cannot be paid to it.--A spirit of industry cannot be kept up by making it advantageous to individuals to be industrious; but where the wages which the labourer has a right to expect are refused, it will not be possible to prevent his being discouraged and disgusted.--He may perhaps be forced for a certain time to work for small wages, to prevent starving, if he has not the resource of throwing himself upon the parish, which he most probably would prefer doing, should it be in his option; but he will infallibly conceive such a thorough dislike to labour, that he will become idle and vicious, and a permanent and heavy burden on the public.

If "a labourer is worthy of his hire," he is peculiarly so, where that labourer is a poor person, who, with all his exertions, can barely procure the first necessaries of life; and whose hard lot renders him an object of pity and compassion.

The deplorable situation of a poor family, struggling with poverty and want,--deprived of all the comforts and conveniences of life--deprived even of hope; and suffering at the same time from hunger, disease, and mortifying and cruel disappointment, is seldom considered with that attention which it deserves, by those who have never felt these distresses, and who are not in danger of being exposed to them. My reader must pardon me, if I frequently recall his attention to these scenes of misery and wretchedness. He must be made acquainted with the real situation of the Poor--with the extent and magnitude of their misfortunes and sufferings, before it can be expected that he should enter warmly into measures calculated for their relief. In forming Establishments, public or private, for giving employment to the Poor, it will always be indispensably necessary to make such arrangements as will secure to them a fair price for all the labour they perform. They should not be OVER-PAID, for that would be opening a door for abuse;--but they ought to be generously paid for their work; and, above all, they ought never to be allowed to be idle for the want of employment. The kind of employment it may be proper to give them will depend much on local circumstances. It will depend on the habits of the Poor;-- the kinds of work they are acquainted with;--and the facility with which the articles they can manufacture may be disposed of at a good price.

In very extensive Establishments, there will be little difficulty in finding useful employment for the Poor; for where the number of persons to be employed is very great, a great variety of different manufactures may be carried on with advantage, and all the articles manufactured, or prepared to be employed in the manufactures, may be turned to a good account.

In a small Establishment, circumscribed and confined to the limits of a single village or parish, it might perhaps be difficult to find a good market for the yarn spun by the Poor; but in a general Establishment, extending over a whole country, or large city, as the quantity of yarn spun by all the Poor within the extensive limits of the institution will be sufficient to employ constantly a number of weavers of different kinds of cloth and stuff, the market for all the various kinds of yarn the Poor may spin will always be certain. The same reasoning will hold with regard to various other articles used in great manufactories, upon which the Poor might be very usefully employed; and hence the great advantage of making Establishments for giving employment to the Poor as extensive as possible. It is what I have often insisted on, and what I cannot too strongly recommend to all those who engage in forming such Establishments.

Although I certainly should not propose to BRING TOGETHER, under one roof, all the Poor of a whole kingdom, as, by the inscription over the entrance into a vast hospital began, but not finished, at Naples, it would appear was once the intention of the government in that country; yet I am clearly of opinion that an institution for GIVING EMPLOYMENT TO THE POOR can hardly be too extensive.

But to return to the subject to which this Chapter was more particularly appropriated, the relief that may be afforded by private individuals to the Poor in their neighbourhood; in case it should not be possible to get over all the difficulties that may be in the way to prevent the forming of a general Establishment for the benefit of the Poor, individuals must content themselves with making such private arrangements for that purpose as they may be able, WITH SUCH ASSISTANCE AS THEY CAN COMMAND, to carry into execution.

The most simple, and least expensive measure that can be adopted for the assistance of the Poor will be that of furnishing them with raw materials for working. Flax, hemp, or wool, for instance, for spinning; and paying them in money, at the market price, for the yarn spun. This yarn may afterwards be sent to weavers to be manufactured into cloth, or may be sent to some good market and sold. The details of these mercantile transactions will be neither complicated nor troublesome, and might easily be managed by a steward of house-keeper; particularly if the printed tickets, and tables, I have so often had occasion to recommend, are used.

The flax, hemp, or wool, as soon as it is purchased, should be weighed out into bundles of one or two pounds each, and lodged in a store-room; and when one of these bundles is delivered out to a poor person to be spun, it should be accompanied with a printed spin-ticket, and entered in a table to be kept for that purpose; and when it is returned spun, an abstract of the spin-ticket itself, should be bound up with the bundle of yarn, in order that any frauds committed by the spinner, in reeling, or in any other way, which may be discovered upon winding off the yarn, may be brought home to the person who committed them. When it is known that such effectual precautions to detect frauds are used, no farther attempts will be made to defraud; and a most important point indeed will be gained, and one which will most powerfully tend to mend the morals of the Poor, and restore peace to their minds. When, by rendering it evidently impossible for them to escape detection, they are brought to give up all thoughts of cheating and deceiving; they will then be capable of application, and of enjoying real happiness, and, with open and placid countenances, will look every one full in the face who accosts them: but as long as they are under the influence of temptation --as long as their minds are degraded by conscious guilt, and continually agitated by schemes of prosecuting their fraudulent practices, they are as incapable of enjoying peace or contentment, as they are of being useful members of society.

Hence the extreme cruelty of an ill-judged appearance of confidence, or careless neglect of precautions, in regard to those employed in places of trust, who may be exposed to temptations to defraud.

That prayer, which cannot be enough admired, or too often repeated, "LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION," was certainly dictated by infinite wisdom and goodness; and it should ever be borne in mind by those who are placed in stations of power and authority, and whose measures must necessarily have much influence on the happiness or misery of great numbers of people.

Honest men may be found in all countries; but I am sorry to say, that the result of all my experience and observation has tended invariably to prove, (what has often been remarked,) that it is extremely difficult to KEEP THOSE HONEST who are exposed to continual and great temptations.

There is, however, one most effectual way, not only of keeping those honest who are so already, but also of making those honest who are not so; and that is, by taking such precautions as will render it EVIDENTLY impossible for those who commit frauds to escape detection and punishment: and these precautions are never impossible, and seldom difficult; and with a little address, they may always be so taken as to be in nowise offensive to those who are the objects of them.

It is evident that the maxims and measures here recommended are not applicable merely to the Poor, but also, and more especially, to those who may be employed in the details of relieving them.

But to return once more to the subject more immediately under consideration.--If individuals should extend their liberality so far as to establish public kitchens for feeding the Poor, (which is a measure I cannot too often, or too forcibly recommend,) it would be a great pity not to go one easy step further, and fit up a few rooms adjoining to the kitchen, where the Poor may be permitted to assemble to work for their own emoluments, and where schools for instructing the children of the Poor in working, and in reading and writing, may be established. Neither the fitting up, or warming and lighting of these rooms, will be attended with any considerable expense; while the advantages which will be derived from such an Establishment for encouraging industry, and contributing to the comfort of the Poor, will be most important; and from their peculiar nature, and tendency, will be most highly interesting to every benevolent mind.

END OF ESSAY TWO.

Footnotes for Essay II.

[1] This English Reader is desired to bear in mind, that the Author of this Essay, though an Englishman, is resident in Germany; and that his connections with that country render it necessary for him to pay particular attention to its circumstances, in treating a subject which he is desirous of rendering generally useful. These is still another reason, which renders it necessary for him to have continually in view, in the Treatise, the situation of the Poor upon the Continent, and that it is an engagement which he has laid himself under to write upon that subject.

[2] The only step which, in my opinion, it would be either, necessary, or prudent, for the legislature to take in any country where an Establishment for the Poor is to be formed, is to RECOMMEND to the Public a good plan for such an Establishment, and repeal, or alter all such of the existing laws as might render the introduction of it difficult or impossible.

[3] This is an object of the utmost importance, and the success of the undertaking will depend in a great measure on the attention that is paid to it.

[4] This measure has been followed by the most salutary effects at Munich. The commissaries of districts flattered by this distinction have exerted themselves with uncommon zeal and assiduity in the discharge of the important duties of their office. And very important indeed is the office of a commissary of a district in the Establishment for the Poor at Munich.

[5] It will be best, if it be possible, to mention and describe the place, in the Proposals.

CONTENTS of ESSAY III.

of FOOD and particularly of FEEDING the POOR

Introduction.

CHAPTER. I. Great importance of the subject under consideration. Probability that water acts a much more important part in nutrition than has hitherto been generally imagined. Surprisingly small quantity of solid food necessary, when properly prepared, for all the purposes of nutrition. Great importance of the art of cookery. Barley remarkably nutritive when properly prepared. The importance of culinary processes for preparing food shown from the known utility of a practice common in some parts of Germany of cooking for cattle. Difficulty of introducing a charge of cookery into common use. Means that may be employed for that purpose.

CHAPTER. II. Of the pleasure of eating, and of the means that may be employed for increasing it.

CHAPTER. III. Of the different kinds of food furnished to the poor in the house of industry at Munich, with an account of the cost of them. Of the Expense of providing the same kinds of food in Great Britain, as well at the present high prices of provisions, as at the ordinary prices of them. Of the various improvements of which these different kinds of cheap food are capable.

CHAPTER. IV. Of the small expense at which the Bavarian soldiers are fed. Details of their housekeeping, founded on actual experiment. An account of the fuel expended by them in cooking.

CHAPTER. V. Of the great importance of making soldiers eat together in regular messes. The influence of such economical arrangements extends even to the moral character of those who are the objects of them. Of the expence of feeding soldiers in messes. Of the surprising smallness of the expence of feeding the poor at Munich. Specific proposals respecting the feeding of the poor in Great Britain, with calculations of the expense, at the present prices of provisions.

CHAPTER. VI. Of INDIAN CORN. It affords the cheapest and most nourishing food known. Proofs that it is more nourishing than rice. Different ways of preparing or cooking it. Computation of the expense of feeding a person with it, founded on experiment. Approved Receipt for making an INDIAN PUDDING.

CHAPTER. VII. Receipts for preparing various Kinds of cheap Food. Of MACCARONI. Of POTATOES. Approved receipts for boiling potatoes. Of potatoe puddings. Of potatoe dumplings. Of boiled potatoes with a sauce. Of potatoe salad. Of BARLEY Is much more nutritious than wheat. Barley meal, a good substitute for pearl barley, for making soups. General directions for preparing cheap soups. Receipt for the cheapest soup that can be made. Of SAMP Method of preparing it Is an excellent Substitute for Bread. Of brown Soup. Of RYE BREAD.

ESSAY III.

INTRODUCTION.

It is a common saying, that necessity is the mother of invention; and nothing is more strictly or more generally true. It may even be shown, that most of the successive improvements in the affairs of men in a state of civil society, of which we have any authentic records, have been made under the pressure of necessity; and it is no small consolation, in times of general alarm, to reflect upon the probability that, upon such occasions, useful discoveries will result from the united exertions of those who, either from motives of fear, or sentiments of benevolence, labour to avert the impending evil.

The alarm in this country at the present period[1], on account of the high price of corn, and the danger of a scarcity, has turned the attention of the Public to a very important subject, THE INVESTIGATION OF THE SCIENCE OF NUTRITION;--a subject so curious in itself, and so highly interesting to mankind, that it seems truly astonishing it should have been so long neglected:-- but in the manner in which it is now taken up, both by the House of Commons, and the Board of Agriculture, there is great reason to hope that it will receive a thorough scientific examination; and if this should be the case, I will venture to predict, that the important discoveries, and improvements, which must result from these enquiries, will render the alarms which gave rise to them for ever famous in the annals of civil society.

CHAPTER. I.

Great importance of the subject under consideration. Probability that water acts a much more important part in nutrition than has hitherto been generally imagined. Surprisingly small quantity of solid food necessary, when properly prepared, for all the purposes of nutrition. Great importance of the art of cookery. Barley remarkably nutritive when properly prepared. The importance of culinary processes for preparing food shown from the known utility of a practice common in some parts of Germany of cooking for cattle. Difficulty of introducing a charge of cookery into common use. Means that may be employed for that purpose.

There is, perhaps, no operation of Nature, which falls under the cognizance of our senses, more surprising, or more curious, than the nourishment and growth of plants, and animals; and there is certainly no subject of investigation more interesting to mankind.--As providing subsistence is, and ever must be, an object of the first concern in all countries, any discovery or improvement by which the procuring of good and wholesome food can be facilitated, must contribute very powerfully to increase the comforts, and promote the happiness of society.

That our knowledge in regard to the science of nutrition is still very imperfect, is certain; but, I think there is reason to believe, that we are upon the eve of some very important discoveries relative to that mysterious operation.

Since it has been known that Water is not a simple element, but a COMPOUND, and capable of being decomposed, much light has been thrown upon many operations of nature which formerly were wrapped up in obscurity. In vegetation, for instance, it has been rendered extremely probable, that water acts a much more important part than was formerly assigned to it by philosophers. --That it serves not merely as the VEHICLE of nourishment, but constitutes at least one part, and probably an essential part, of the FOOD of plants.--That it is decomposed by them, and contributes MATERIALLY to their growth;--and that manures serve rather to prepare the water for decomposition, than to form of themselves--substantially, and directly--the nourishment of the vegetables.

Now, a very clear analogy may be traced, between the vegetation and growth of plants, and the digestion and nourishment of animals; and as water is indispensably necessary in both processes, and as in one of them, (vegetation,) it appears evidently to serve as FOOD;--why should we not suppose it may serve as food in the other?--There is, in my opinion, abundant reason to suspect that this is really the case; and I shall now briefly state the grounds upon which this opinion is founded.-- Having been engaged for a considerable length of time in providing Food for the Poor at Munich, I was naturally led, as well by curiosity as motives of economy, to make a great variety of experiments upon that subject; and I had not proceeded far in my operations, before I began to perceive that they were very important;--even much more so than I had imagined.

The difference in the apparent goodness, of the palatableness, and apparent nutritiousness of the same kinds of Food, when prepared of cooked in different ways, struck me very forcibly; and I constantly found that the richness or QUALITY of a soup depended more upon a proper choice of the ingredients, and a proper management of the fire in the combination of those ingredients, than upon the quantity of solid nutritious matter employed;--much more upon the art and skill of the cook, than upon the amount of the sums laid out in the market.

I found likewise, that the nutritious of a soup, or its power of satisfying hunger, and affording nourishment, appeared always to be in proportion to its apparent richness or palatableness.

But what surprised me not a little, was the discovery of the very small quantity of SOLID FOOD, which, when properly prepared, will suffice to satisfy hunger, and support life and health; and the very trifling expence at which the stoutest, and most laborious man may, in any country, be fed.