Cottage Economy Part 13

72. But, at any rate, is the salary of the "a.s.sISTANT OVERSEER" necessary?

Cannot that be dispensed with? Must he have as much as _all the widows_, or _all the old men_? And his salary, together with the charge for _printing_ and other his various expenses, will come to a great deal more _than go to all the widows and old men too_! Why not, then, do without him, and double the allowance to these poor old women, or poor old men, who have spent their strength in raising crops in the parish? I went to see with my own eyes some of the "_parish houses_," as they are called; that is to say, the places where the select vestry put the poor people into to live. Never did my eyes before alight on such scenes of wretchedness! There was one place, about 18 feet long and 10 wide, in which I found the wife of ISAAC HOLDEN, which, when all were at home, had to contain _nineteen persons_; and into which, I solemnly declare, I would not put 19 pigs, even if well-bedded with straw. Another place was shown me by JOB WALDRON'S daughter; another by Thomas Carey's wife. The _bare ground_, and that in holes too, was the floor in both these places. The windows broken, and the holes stuffed with rags, or covered with rotten bits of board. Great openings in the walls, parts of which were fallen down, and the places stopped with hurdles and straw. The thatch rotten, the chimneys leaning, the doors but bits of doors, the sleeping holes shocking both to sight and smell; and, indeed, every-thing seeming to say: "_These_ are the abodes of wretchedness, which, to be believed possible, must be seen and felt: _these_ are the abodes of the descendants of those amongst whom _beef_, _pork_, _mutton_ and _veal_ were the food of the poorer sort; to _this are come, at last_, the descendants of those common people of England, who, FORTESCUE tells us, were clothed throughout in good woollens, whose bedding, and other furniture in their houses, were of wool, and that in great store, and who were well provided with all sorts of household goods, every one having all things that conduce to make life easy and happy!"

73. I have now, my friends of Preston, amply proved, that what I have stated relative to the present state of, and allowances to, the labourers is TRUE. And now we are to do all we can to remove the evil; for, removed the evil must be, or England must be sunk for ages; and, never will the evil be removed, until its causes, remote as well as near, be all clearly ascertained. With my best wishes for the health and happiness of you all,

I remain, Your faithful friend, and most obedient servant, WM. COBBETT.

THE END.

Footnotes:

[1] 4s. 6d. English, equal to one dollar.

[2] 2d. English, equal to four cents, nearly.

[3] The above items may be converted into United States' money by reckoning 4s. 6d. to the dollar: Thus As 4_s._ 6_d._ : 1 dollar :: 11_l._ 7_s._ 2_d._ : 50 dollars 48 cents.

[4] To convert these sums into United States' money, see page 16.

[5] All the calculations in this work, it must be remembered, are in English money but may be turned into United States' money as before directed, page 16.

[6] Be sure, now, _before you go any further_, to go to the end of the book, and there read about MANGLE WURZLE. Be _sure_ to do this. And there read also about COBBETT'S CORN. Be sure to do this before you go any further.

[7] To me the following has happened within the last year. A young man, in the country, had agreed to be my servant; but it was found _that he could not milk_; and the bargain was set aside. About a month afterwards a young man, who said he was _a farmer's son_, and who came from Herefords.h.i.+re, offered himself to me at Kensington. "_Can you milk?_" He could not; but _would learn_! Ay, but in the learning, he might _dry up my cows_! What a shame to the _parents_ of these young men! Both of them were in _want of employment_. The latter had come more than a hundred miles in _search of work_; and here he was left to hunger still, and to be exposed to all sorts of ills, because he _could not milk_.

[8] London

[9] The father of the present Sir Robert Peel, who gained his fortune as a cotton weaver by the help of machinery.

[10] Editors of the London Times Newspaper.