,transcribed from the #ahde ,william    
,pickering edition by ,david ,price1    
email  ccx#jgdpglaf4org                 
,the ,claims of ,labour4                
,,an ,,essay ,,on ,,the                 
,,duties ,,of ,,the ,,employers         
,,to ,,the ,,employed4                  
,the ,second ,edition4                  
,,to ,,which ,,is ,,added1              
,,an ,,essay ,,on ,,the ,,means ,,of    
,,improving ,,the ,,health              
,,and ,,increasing ,,the ,,comfort ,,of 
,,the                                   
,,labouring ,,classes4                  
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,london                                
,,william ,,pickering                   
#ahde4        ,there is formed in every 
thing a double nature of good2 the one1 
as      every thing is a total or       
substantive in itself2 the other1 as it 
is      a part or member of a greater   
body2 whereof the latter is in degree   
the greater and the worthier1 because it
 tendeth to the conservation      of a  

more general form4  ,therefore we see   
the iron in particular      sympathy    
moveth to the loadstone2 but yet if it  
exceed a certain      quantity1 it      
forsaketh the affection to the          
loadstone1 and like a      good patriot 
moveth to the earth1 which is the region
 and country of      massy bodies4      
,this double nature of good1 and the    
comparative      thereof1 is much more  
engraven upon man1 if he degenerate not2
 unto      whom the conservation of duty
 to the public ought to be much more    
precious than the conservation of life  
and being3 according to that            
memorable speech of ,pompeius ,magnus1  
when being in commission of             
purveyance for a famine at ,rome1 and   
being dissuaded with great              
vehemency and instance by his friends   
about him1 that he should not           
hazard himself to sea in an extremity of
 weather1 he said only to      them1    
',necesse est ut eam1 non ut vivam4'    
,but it may be truly      affirmed that 

there was never any philosophy1         
religion1 or other      discipline1     
which did so plainly and highly exalt   
the good which is      communicative1   
and depress the good which is private   
and particular1      as the ,holy       
,faith2 well declaring1 that it was the 
same ,god that gave      the ,christian 
law to men1 who gave those laws of      
nature to inanimate      creatures that 
we spoke of before4                     
,bacon's ,advancement of ,learning4     
,and well may masters consider how easie
 a transposition it had been      for   
,god1 to have made him to mount into the
 saddle that holds the      stirrup2 and
 him to sit down at the table1 who      
stands by with a      trencher4         
,fuller's ,holy ,state4          ,,to   
,,henry ,,taylor1 ,,esq4      ,,my      
,,dear ,,taylor1    ,i have great       
pleasure in dedicating this book to you1
 as ,i know of no one  who1 both in his 
life and writings1 has shown a more     
profound and  delicate care for the     

duties of the ,employer to the          
,employed4  ,pardon me1  if following   
the practice of the world1 ,i see the   
author in his hero1 and  think ,i hear  
you speaking1 when ,van ,artevelde      
exclaims--        ,a serviceable1       
faithful1 thoughtful friend1      ,is   
old ,van ,ryk1 and of a humble nature1  
,and yet with faculties and gifts of    
sense1      ,which place him justly on  
no lowly level--      ,why should ,i say
 a lowlier than my own1      ,or        
otherwise than as an equal use him8     
,that with familiarity respect          
,doth slacken1 is a word of common use4 
,i never found it so4    ,i have had    
some peculiar advantages in writing upon
 this subject4  ,i  should have been    
unobservant indeed1 if1 with such       
masters as ,i have  served under1 ,i had
 not learnt something1 in regard to the 
duties of a  great employer of labour1  
from witnessing their ever-flowing      
courtesy2  their care for those who came
 within their sphere2 their anxiety1 as 

the  heads of departments1 to recognize 
every exertion on the part of their     
subordinates2 and their ready sympathy  
with the poor and the friendless1  a    
sympathy which the vexations and        
harassments of office1 and all those    
things that tend to turn a man's        
thoughts in upon himself1 could never   
subdue4    ,but1 happily1 it is not only
 amongst the high in office that such   
examples are to be found4  ,the spirit1 
and even some of the very modes of      
benevolent exertion which ,i have       
endeavoured to recommend1 have already  
been carried into practice1 and ,i trust
 may be frequently seen1 in the  conduct
 towards their dependents1 both of      
manufacturers and landed  proprietors4  
,i must also say how much ,i owe to the 
excellent ,reports which of late  years 
have been presented to ,parliament on   
subjects connected with the  welfare of 
the labouring classes4  ,it is to be    
regretted that these  reports are not   
better known4  ,i have made frequent use

 of them1 and hope  that the quotations 
,i have given may induce my readers to  
turn to the  original sources4    ,with 
regard to the subject generally1 it     
appears to me that knowledge of  the    
duties of an employer is every day      
becoming more important4  ,the  tendency
 of modern society is to draw the family
 circle within narrower  and narrower   
limits4  ,those amusements which used to
 be shared by all  classes are becoming 
less frequent3 the great lord has put   
away his crowd  of retainers3 the       
farmer1 in most cases1 does not live    
with his labouring  men3 and the master 
has less sympathy and social intercourse
 with his  domestics4  ,if this be so1  
if the family circle is thus becoming   
narrower1 the conduct of those in       
domestic authority1 having a more       
intense influence1 has the more need of 
being regulated by the highest  sense of
 duty3 and1 with respect to society in  
general1 if the old bonds  are loosened1
 other ties must be fostered in their   

place4    ,you will not be likely to    
mistake my meaning1 and to suppose that 
,i look  back with any fond regret at   
the departure of the feudal system1 or  
that  ,i should wish to bring the       
present generation under its influence4 
,mankind does not so retrace its steps4 
,but still1 though the course of  our   
race is onwards1 the nature of man does 
not change4  ,there is the  same need   
for protection and countenance on the   
one side1 and for  reverence and        
attachment on the other1 that there ever
 has been2 and the  fact that society is
 in many respects more disconnected than
 it used to  be1 renders it the more    
necessary to cultivate in the most      
watchful  manner every mode of          
strengthening the social intercourse    
between rich  and poor1 between master  
and servant1 between the employers and  
the  employed1 in whatever rank they may
 be4    ,i am afraid it may be said with
 justice1 that both this letter and the 
following ,essay are sermoni propiora1  

according to ,charles ,lamb's           
translation1 properer for a sermon3 but 
it is impossible to dwell long  on any  
such subject as the one which ,i have   
chosen1 without having to  appeal to the
 best motives of human endeavour2 and   
the shortest way even  to the good which
 is of a purely physical character lies 
often1 ,i  believe1 through the highest 
moral considerations4                   
,believe me1                            
,my dear ,taylor1                       
,most truly yours1                      
,,the ,,author4    ,london1 ,july #a1   
#ahdd4          ,,the ,,claims ,,of     
,,labour4      ,,chapter ,i4  ,,masters 
,,and ,,men4      ,it is a thing so     
common1 as almost to be ridiculous1 for 
a man to express  self-distrust at the  
commencement of any attempt in speech or
 writing4  ,and yet1 trite as this mode 
of beginning is1 its appropriateness    
makes  each one use it as heartily as if
 it were new and true for him1 though it
  might have been a common-place for    

others4  ,when he glances hurriedly     
across the wide extent of his subject1  
when he feels how inadequate his        
expression will be even to his          
conception1 and1 at the same time1 has a
  yearning desire to bring his audience 
into the same mind with himself1 it  is 
no wonder if he begins with a few1      
hesitating1 oft repeated1 words  about  
his own insufficiency compared with the 
greatness of his subject4    ,happily1  
,i have not occasion to dwell much upon 
the importance of the  subject to which 
,i am anxious to engage attention4  ,for
 a long time it  has been gradually     
emerging from the darkness in which it  
had been left4  ,the claims of labour   
and the rights of the humble and the    
poor have  necessarily gained more of   
the attention of mankind1 as            
,christianity has  developed itself4    
,that power was sure1 in its gradual    
encroachments upon  the evil nature of  
man1 to make its voice heard in this    
matter4  ,it is a  voice which may come 

out of strange bodies1 such as systems  
of ethics1 or  of politics2 but men may 
call it what they please1 it goes on    
doing its  appointed work1 conquering   
and to conquer4                         
99 99 99 99 99    ,persons of a         
thoughtful mind seeing closely the      
falsehood1 the folly1 and  the          
arrogance1 of the age in which they     
live1 are apt1 occasionally1 to  have a 
great contempt for it3 and ,i doubt not 
that many a man looks upon  the present 
time as one of feebleness and           
degeneracy4  ,there are1  however1 signs
 of an increased solicitude for the     
claims of labour1 which  of itself is a 
thing of the highest promise1 and more  
to be rejoiced over  than all the       
mechanical triumphs which both those who
 would magnify1 and  those who would    
depreciate1 the present age1 would be   
apt to point to as  containing its      
especial significance and merit4    ,but
 what do all these mechanical triumphs  
come to8  ,it is in vain that  you have 

learned to move with double or treble   
the velocity of your  immediate         
predecessors3 it is in vain that you can
 show new modes of  luxury1 or new      
resources in art4  ,the inquiring       
historian will give these  things their 
weight1 but will1 nevertheless1         
persevere in asking how the  great mass 
of the people were fed1 and clothed1 and
 taught3 and whether  the improvement in
 their condition corresponded at all    
with the  improvement of the condition  
of the middle and upper classes4  ,what 
a  sorry answer any one1 replying for   
this age1 would have to give him4  ,nor 
would it be enough1 indeed1 if we could 
make a satisfactory reply to his        
questions about the physical state of   
the people4  ,we ought to be able to    
say that the different orders of society
 were bound together by links of        
gratitude and regard3 that they were not
 like layers of various coloured  sand1 
but that they formed one solid whole of 
masonry1 each part having  its relation 

of use and beauty to all the others4    
,certainly1 if we look at the matter1 we
 have not much to say for  ourselves1   
unless it be in that dawning of good    
intentions which ,i have  alluded to    
before4  ,there is to be found in our   
metropolis1 in our great  towns1 and    
even in our rural districts1 an extent  
of squalid misery such  as we are almost
 afraid to give heed to1 and which we   
are glad to forget  as soon as we have  
read or heard of it4  ,it may be that   
our ancestors  endured1 it may be that  
many savage tribes still endure1 far    
more  privation than is to be found in  
the sufferings of our lowest class4     
,but  the mind refuses to consider the  
two states as analogous1 and insists    
upon thinking that the state of physical
 and moral degradation often  found     
amongst our working classes1 with the   
arabesque of splendour and  luxury which
 surrounds it1 is a more shocking thing 
to contemplate than a  pressing scarcity
 of provisions endured by a wandering   

horde of savage  men sunk in equal      
barbarism4  ,when we follow men home1   
who have been  cooperating with other   
civilized men in continuous labour      
throughout the  livelong day1 we should 
not1 without experience1 expect to find 
their  homes dreary1 comfortless1       
deformed with filth1 such homes as      
poverty  alone could not make4  ,still  
less1 when we gaze upon some pleasant   
looking village1 fair enough in outward 
seeming for poets' songs to  celebrate1 
should we expect to find scarcity of    
fuel1 scantiness of food1  prevalence of
 fever1 the healthy huddled together    
with the sick1 decency  outraged1 and   
self-respect all gone4  ,and yet such   
sights1 both in town  and country1 if   
not of habitual occurrence1 are at any  
rate sadly too  numerous for us to pass 
them by as rare and exceptional cases4  
,is this then the inevitable nature of  
things8  ,has the boasted  civilization 
of the world led only to this8  ,do we  
master the powers of  nature only to let

 forth a new and fierce torrent of      
social miseries upon  us8  ,let not such
 thoughts be ours4  ,pagans1 the slaves 
of destiny1 might  well have held them4 
,but we cannot doubt that the conditions
 of labour1  under which man holds the  
earth1 express the mercy and the        
goodness1 no  less than the judgment1 of
 ,god4                                  
99 99 99 99 99    ,many benevolent      
persons feel1 doubtless1 very           
sensitively for the sad  condition of   
the labouring classes1 and are anxiously
 looking about for  remedies to meet it4
  ,i would not speak slightingly of any 
attempt in  that direction4  ,there are 
problems in political economy1 in       
government1  and1 perhaps1 even in the  
adaptation of machinery1 which may be   
worked  out with signal service to the  
great cause of suffering humanity4  ,it 
is  not my intention1 however1 to dwell 
upon such topics4  ,my object is to     
show what can be done with the means    
that are at the present moment in  every

 body's power4  ,many a man1 who is     
looking about for some specific1  has in
 his hands the immediate means of doing 
great good1 which he would  be ready    
enough to employ1 if he had but         
imagination to perceive that he         
possessed them4  ,my endeavour then will
 simply be to show what can be  done by 
the employers of labour in their        
individual and private capacity4        
99 99 99 99 99    ,what an important    
relation is that of ,master and ,man6   
,how it pervades  the world2 ascending  
from the lowest gradation of planter and
 slave  through the states of master and
 servant1 landlord and labourer1        
manufacturer and artisan1 till it comes 
to the higher degrees of rule  which one
 cultivated man has to exercise over    
another in the performance  of the      
greatest functions4  ,see1 throughout1  
what difficulties and  temptations      
encumber this relation4  ,how boundless 
is the field of  thought which it opens 
to us1 how infinite the duties which it 

contains1  how complete an exercise it  
is for the whole faculties of man4      
,observe  what wretchedness is caused by
 a misunderstanding of this relation in 
domestic matters4  ,see the selfish     
carelessness about the happiness of     
those around them of men not            
ill-intentioned1 nor unkind1 perhaps1 in
  their dealings with the world in      
general1 but lamentably unfit for the   
management of a home4  ,then observe the
 effects of similar mismanagement  in   
dealing with a country4  ,look at the   
listless loiterers about an ,irish      
town3 you would naturally say to        
yourself1 ,surely this people have done 
all that there can be for them to do4   
,you walk out of the town1 and  find the
 adjacent fields as listless-looking1   
and neglected1 as the men  themselves4  
,think what a want there must be of     
masters of labour1 that  those hands and
 these weeds are not brought into closer
 contact4                               
99 99 99 99 99    ,it may be said that  

the distressed condition of the         
labouring classes is  owing to temporary
 causes1 and that good times1 by which  
is meant good  wages1 would remove a    
large part of the evil4  ,i confess it  
does not  appear to me that a good      
harvest or two1 or ready customers on   
the other  side of the ,atlantic1 or the
 home demand that may arise from        
exhausted  stocks1 or any other cause of
 that nature which is simply to end in  
better wages1 would of itself do all1 or
 even any considerable part1 of  what we
 should desire4  ,i do not1 for a       
moment1 mean to depreciate the  good    
effects that would flow from an increase
 of employment and better  wages4  ,but 
still ,i imagine that there are many    
cases in which1 if you  were1 in        
ordinary times1 to double the amount of 
wages1 a very inadequate  proportion of 
good would follow4  ,you have to teach  
these poor people how  to spend money3  
you have to give them the opportunities 
of doing so to  advantage3 you have to  

provide a system of education which     
shall not vary  with every fluctuation  
of trade3 and to adopt such methods of  
working as  shall make the least        
possible disturbance of domestic ties4  
,no sudden  influx of money will do all 
these things4  ,in fact1 whatever part  
of this  subject one takes up1 one is   
perpetually brought back to the         
conviction  of the necessity which      
exists for an earnest and practical     
application1  on the part of the        
employing class1 of thought and labour  
for the welfare  of those whom they     
employ4                                 
99 99 99 99 99    ,some of my readers   
may think that ,i have spoken of the    
distress of the  labouring population in
 exaggerated terms4  ,let them only read
 the  details of it in the ,report of   
#ahdb1 on the ,sanitary ,condition of   
the  labouring population1 or in the    
,report of last year1 on the condition  
of  the children and young persons      
employed in mines and manufactures4  ,i 

scarcely know what extracts to give of  
these direful reports1 that may  briefly
 convey the state of things to those who
 have not studied the  subject4  ,shall 
,i tell them of children ignorant who   
,jesus ,christ was2 or  of others who   
know no more of the ,lord's ,prayer than
 the first words1  ,our ,father3 and    
whose nightly prayers begin and end with
 those two  words8  ,shall ,i tell them 
of great towns in which one half at     
least of  the juvenile population is    
growing up without education of any kind
  whatever8  ,shall ,i show that working
 people are often permitted to pass     
their labour time1 the half of their    
lives1 in mines1 workshops1 and         
manufactories1 where an atmosphere of a 
deleterious kind prevails3 and  this1   
too1 not from any invincible evil in the
 nature of the employment1  but from a  
careless or penurious neglect on the    
part of their employers8  ,shall ,i go  
into a lengthened description of the    
habitations of the poor  which will show

 that they are often worse housed than  
beasts of burden8  ,or need ,i depict at
 large the dark stream of profligacy    
which overflows  and burns into those   
parts of the land where such ,want and  
,ignorance  prevail8    ,how many of    
these evils might have been mitigated1  
if not fully removed1  had each         
generation of masters done but a small  
part of its duty in the  way of         
amelioration4  ,but it was not of such  
things that they were  thinking4  ,the  
thoughtless cruelty in the world almost 
outweighs the  rest4    ,why vex me with
 these things8 exclaims the general     
reader4  ,have we  not enough of dismal 
stories8  ,it oppresses us to hear them4
  ,let us hope  that something will     
occur to prevent such things in future4 
,but ,i am not  a redresser of          
grievances4  ,let those who live by the 
manufacturing  system cure the evils    
incident to it4  ,oh that there had     
never been such  a thing as a           
manufacturing system6  ,with thoughts   

vague1 recriminatory1  and despondent1  
as the foregoing1 does many a man push  
from him all  consideration on the      
subject4  ,it is so easy to despair3 and
 the  largeness of a calamity is so     
ready a shelter for those who have not  
heart enough to adventure any opposition
 to it4    ,thus1 by dwelling upon the  
magnitude of the evils we long to       
lessen1 we  are frightened and soothed  
into letting our benevolent wishes      
remain as  wishes only4  ,but surely a  
man may find a sphere small enough1 as  
well as  large enough1 for him to act   
in4  ,in all other pursuits1 we are     
obliged  to limit the number and extent 
of our objects1 in order to give full   
effect to our endeavours3 and so it     
should be with benevolence4  ,the       
foolish sluggard stares hopelessly into 
the intricacies of the forest1  and     
thinks that it can never be reclaimed4  
,the wiser man1 the labourer1  begins at
 his corner of the wood1 and makes out a
 task for himself for  each day4  ,let  

not our imaginations be employed on one 
side only4  ,think1  that large as may  
appear the work to be done--so too the  
result of any  endeavour1 however small 
in itself1 may be of infinite extent in 
the  future4  ,nothing is lost4         
99 99 99 99 99    ,and why should we    
despair8  ,a great nation is never in   
extreme peril  until it has lost its    
hopeful spirit4  ,if1 at this moment1 a 
foreign  enemy were on the point of     
invading us1 how strenuous we should be3
 what  moral energy would instantly     
pervade us4  ,faster than the beacon    
lights  could give the intelligence from
 headland to headland2 from city to city
  would spread the national enthusiasm  
of a people that would never admit  the 
thought of being conquered4  ,trust me1 
these domestic evils are foes  not less 
worthy of our attention than any foreign
 invaders4  ,it seems to  me1 ,i must   
confess1 a thing far more to be dreaded1
 that any considerable  part of our     
population should be growing up in a    

state of absolute  ignorance1 than would
 be the danger1 not new to us1 of the   
combined  hostility of the civilized    
world4  ,our trials1 as a nation1 like  
our  individual ones1 are perpetually   
varied as the world progresses4         
,the old order changeth1 yielding place 
to new1      ,and ,god fulfils himself  
in many ways4    ,we have not the same  
evils to contend with as our ancestors  
had2 but we  need the same stoutness of 
heart that bore them through the        
contest4  ,the  sudden growth of things1
 excellent in themselves1 entangles the 
feet of  that generation amongst whom   
they spring up4  ,there may be          
something1  too1 in the progress of     
human affairs like the coming in of the 
tide1  which1 for each succeeding wave2 
often seems as much of a retreat as an  
advance3 but still the tide comes on4   
99 99 99 99 99    ,the settled state of 
things attendant upon peace1 and an     
unquestioned  dynasty1 is good1 as it   
enables men to look more to civil       

affairs2 but it  has1 perhaps1 a        
drawback in a certain apathy which is   
wont to accompany  it4  ,the ordinary   
arrangements of social life1 for a long 
time  uninterrupted by any large        
calamity1 appear to become hardened into
  certainties4  ,a similar course of    
argument would1 on a large scale1 apply 
not only to this country1 but to the    
world in general4  ,security is the     
chief end of civilization1 and as it    
progresses1 the fortunes of  individuals
 are1 upon the whole1 made less liable  
to derangement4  ,this  very security   
may tend to make men careless of the    
welfare of others1  and1 as ,bacon would
 express it1 may be noted as an         
impediment to  benevolence4  ,i have    
often thought1 whether in former times1 
when men  looked to those immediately   
around them as their body guard against 
sudden and violent attacks1 they        
ventured to show as much ill-temper to  
those they lived with as you sometimes  
see them do now1 when assistance  of all

 kinds is a purchasable commodity4      
,considerations of this nature  are     
particularly applicable when addressed  
to persons living in a great  capital   
like ,london4  ,all things that concern 
the nation1 its joys1 its  sorrows1 and 
its successes1 are transacted in this   
metropolis2 or1 as one  might more      
properly say1 are represented in        
transactions in this  metropolis4  ,but 
still this often happens in such a      
manner as would be  imperceptible even  
to people of vast experience and        
observation4  ,the  countless impulses  
which travel up from various directions 
to this  absorbing centre sometimes     
neutralize each other1 and leave a      
comparative  calm2 or they create so    
complex an agitation1 that it may be    
next to  impossible for us to discern   
and estimate the component forces4      
,hence  the metropolis may not at times 
be sufficiently susceptible in the case 
either of manufacturing or agricultural 
distress1 or of any colonial            

perturbation4  ,this metropolitan       
insensibility has some great advantages1
  but it is well for us to observe the  
corresponding evil1 and1 as far as  may 
be1 to guard our own hearts from being  
rendered apathetic by its  influence4   
,i do not seek to terrify any one into a
 care for the labouring classes1  by    
representing the danger to society of   
neglecting them4  ,it is  certainly a   
fearful thing to think of large masses  
of men being in that  state of want and 
misery which leaves them nothing to     
hazard2 and who are  likely to be       
without the slightest reverence or love 
for the institutions  around them4      
,still it is not to any fear1 grounded  
on such  considerations1 that ,i would  
appeal4  ,the flood-gates may be strong 
enough to keep out the torrent for our  
time4  ,these things are not in our     
reckonings4  ,occasionally the upheaving
 of the waves may frighten timid1       
selfish1 men into concessions which they
 would not otherwise have made2  but    

those whom ,i would seek to influence1  
are likely to court danger and          
difficulty rather than to shun it4  ,nor
 would ,i even care to disturb the      
purely selfish man by dwelling          
studiously on any social dangers around 
us1 or labouring to discern in present  
disturbance or distress the seeds  of   
inevitable revolution4  ,no1 ,i would   
say to him1 if it all ends here1        
,but here1 upon this bank and shoal of  
time1    you may have chosen wisely4    
,it is true1 there are sources of       
happiness  which you now know nothing   
of1 and which may be far beyond any     
selfish  gratification you have ever    
experienced4  ,indeed1 it may be1 that  
you  cannot enjoy the highest delights  
without sharing them1 that they are not 
things to be given out to each of us as 
individuals1 now to this man1  then to  
that1 but that they require a community 
of love4  ,but1 at any  rate1 ,i do not 
wish to scare you into active and useful
 exertion by  indicating that you are1  

otherwise1 in danger of losing any of   
the good  things of this world4    ,the 
great motive to appeal to1 is not a     
man's apprehension of personal  loss or 
suffering1 but his fear of neglecting a 
sacred duty4  ,and it will  be found    
here1 ,i believe1 as elsewhere1 that the
 highest motives are  those of the most 
sustained efficiency4    ,but little as 
,i would counsel despair1 or encourage  
apathy1 or seek to  influence by terror1
 it is not that ,i look to the course of
 events1 or  any other rounded          
collection of words1 to do anything for 
us4  ,what is  this course of events but
 the continuity of human endeavour8     
,and  giving all due weight to the      
influence of those general currents     
which  attend the progress of opinions  
and institutions1 we must still allow   
largely for the effect of individual    
character1 and individual exertions4    
,the main direction that the stream will
 take is manifest enough perhaps2  but  
it may come down upon long tracts of    

level ground which it will  overspread  
quietly1 or it may enter into some rocky
 channel which will  control it2 or it  
may meet with some ineffectual mud      
embankment which it  will overthrow with
 devastation4                           
99 99 99 99 99    ,putting aside then   
such phrases as course of events1 and   
the like1 let  us look to men4  ,and    
whom shall we look to first but the     
,masters of  ,thought8  ,surely the true
 poet will do something to lift the     
burden of  his own age4  ,what is the   
use of wondrous gifts of language1 if   
they are  employed to enervate1 and not 
to ennoble1 their hearers8  ,what avails
 it  to trim the lights of history1 if  
they are made to throw no brightness on 
the present1 or open no track into the  
future8  ,and to employ ,imagination    
only in the service of ,vanity1 or      
,gain1 is as if an astronomer were to   
use his telescope to magnify the        
potherbs in his kitchen garden4         
,think what a glorious power is that of 

expression3 and what  responsibility    
follows the man who possesses it4  ,that
 grace of language  which can make even 
commonplace things beautiful1 throwing  
robes of the  poorest texture into forms
 of all-attractive loveliness3 why does 
it not  expend its genius on materials  
that would be worthy of the artist8     
,the  great interests of ,man are before
 it1 are crying for it1 can absorb all  
its endeavour1 are1 indeed1 the noblest 
field for it4  ,think of  this--then    
think what a waste of high intellectual 
endowments there has  been in all ages  
from the meanest of motives4  ,but what 
wise man would  not rather have the     
harmless fame1 which youths1 on a       
holiday1 scratch  for themselves upon   
the leaden roof of some cathedral tower1
 than enjoy  the undeniable renown of   
those who1 with whatever power1 have    
written  from slight or unworthy motives
 what may prove a hindrance1 rather than
  an aid1 to the well-being of their    
fellow-men8                             

99 99 99 99 99    ,but1 passing from    
those who are often the real1 though    
unrecognized1  rulers of their own age1 
and the despots of the succeeding       
generation1  let us turn to the         
ostensible and immediate ruling powers4 
,assuredly the  government may do       
something towards removing part of the  
evils we have  been considering as      
connected with the system of labour4    
,it seems as if  there were a want of   
more departments2 and certainly of many 
more able  men4  ,the progress of any   
social improvement appears to depend too
 much  on chance and clamour4  ,i do not
 suppose1 for a moment1 that we can have
  the cut-and-dried executive1 or       
legislative1 arrangements that belong to
  despotic governments2 and it is1 in   
some respects1 a wholesome fear that  we
 have of the interference of government4
  ,still1 we may recollect that         
,england is not a small state1 nor an   
inactive one1 where the public  energies
 are likely to be deadened1 or          

overridden1 by activity on the  part of 
the government1 which might1 perhaps1   
with much safety undertake  more than it
 has been wont to do4  ,one thing is    
certain1 that it may do  great good1 if 
it would but look out for men of ability
 to fill the  offices at present in its 
gift4  ,no government need fear such a  
course as  destructive to its party     
interests4  ,in appointing and promoting
 the  fittest men1 you are likely to    
ensure more gratitude than if you       
selected  those1 who being the creatures
 of your kindness1 could never1 you     
imagine1 be otherwise than most grateful
 for it4  ,weak people are seldom  much 
given to gratitude3 and even if they    
were1 it is dearly that you  purchase   
their allegiance2 for there are few     
things which1 on the long  run1         
displease the public more than bad      
appointments4  ,but1 putting aside  the 
political expediency either way1 it is  
really a sacred duty in a  statesman to 
choose fit agents4  ,observe the        

whirlpool of folly that a  weak man     
contrives to create round him3 and see1 
on the other hand1 with  what small     
means1 a wise man manages to have       
influence and respect1 and  force1 in   
whatever may be his sphere4    ,i have  
thought1 for example1 with regard to the
 ,suppression of the ,slave  ,trade1    
that amongst all the devices that can be
 suggested1 one of the  first things    
would be to tempt very superior men1 by 
large inducements1  to take the judicial
 situations in the ,mixed ,commissions1 
or any other  appointments1 in          
slave-trading parts of the world4  ,we  
may expect great  results whenever real 
ability is brought into personal contact
 with the  evils we wish it to overcome4
    ,there is a matter connected with   
the functions of government which seems 
to be worthy of notice2 and that is1 the
 distribution of honours4  ,these       
honours are part of the resources of the
 state2 and it is a most  spendthrift   
thing to bestow them as they frequently 

are bestowed4  ,it is  not merely that  
government gives them unworthily3 it    
absolutely plays  with them2 gives them1
 as one might say1 for the drollery of  
the thing1  when it adds a title to some
 foolish person1 whose merits not even  
the  ,public ,orator at a university    
could discover4  ,it is idle to talk of 
such  things being customary4  ,a great 
minister would not recommend his        
sovereign to confer honours on such     
people2 and sensible men would be  glad 
to see that the resources of the state1 
in all ways1 were dealt with            
considerately4    ,the above reflections
 are not foreign to the main subject of 
this essay2  for a government1 having at
 heart the improvement of the labouring 
population1 or any other social matter1 
might direct the stream of  honours     
towards those who were of service to the
 state in this matter1  and so might    
make the civic crown what it was in     
ancient days4  ,not1  however1 that ,i  
mean to say that the best men are to be 

swayed by these  baubles4  ,the hope of 
reward is not the source of the highest 
endeavour4                              
99 99 99 99 99    ,there is a class of  
persons who interest themselves so far  
in the  condition of the labouring      
population1 as to bring forward sad     
instances  of suffering1 and then to    
say1 ,our rich men should look to these 
things4  ,this kind of benevolence      
delights to bring together1 in          
startling contrast1 the condition of    
different classes1 and then to  indulge 
in much moral reflection4  ,now riches  
are very potent in their  way2 but a    
great heart is often more wanted than a 
full purse4  ,i speak  it not in any    
disparagement of the rich or great1 when
 ,i say that we must  not trust to them 
alone4  ,amongst them are many who use  
their riches as  ,god's stewards2 but   
the evils which we have to contend      
against are to be  met by a general     
impulse in the right direction of people
 of all classes4  ,there are instances  

where a man's wealth enables him to set 
forth more  distinctly to the world's   
eye some work of benevolence1 even to be
 the  pioneer in improvements1 which    
persons of smaller fortunes could       
scarcely  have effected4  ,in such a    
case great indeed is the advantage of   
riches4  ,but do not let us accustom our
 minds to throw the burden of good works
 on  the shoulders of any particular    
class4  ,god has not given a monopoly of
  benevolence to the rich4    ,what ,i  
have just said about individual rich    
men1 applies in some measure  to        
associations for benevolent purposes4   
,they are to be looked upon as          
accessories--sometimes very useful      
ones--but they are not to be expected   
to supersede private enterprise4  ,a man
 should neither wait for them2  nor1    
when they exist1 should he try to throw 
his duties upon them1 and  indolently   
expect that they are to think and act in
 all cases for him4  ,wherever a strong 
feeling on any subject exists1 societies

 will naturally  spring up in connexion 
with it4  ,what such bodies have to do1 
is to  direct their energies to those   
parts of the matter in which it is      
especially difficult for private        
enterprise to succeed4  ,and private    
individuals should be cautious of       
slackening their endeavours in any good 
cause1 merely because they are aware    
that some society exists which has  the 
same object in view4                    
99 99 99 99 99    ,i come now to some   
member of that large class of persons   
who are not  rich1 nor great employers  
of labour1 nor in any station of        
peculiar  influence4  ,he shudders as he
 reads those startling instances of     
suffering or crime in which the distress
 and ignorance of the labouring         
population will1 occasionally1 break out
 into the notice of the world4  ,what   
can ,i do8 he exclaims4  ,i feel with   
intensity the horrors ,i read  of3 but  
what can one man do8  ,i only ask him to
 study what he feels4  ,he  is a        

citizen4  ,he cannot be such an isolated
 being as to have no  influence4  ,the  
conclusions which he comes to1 after    
mature reflection1  will not be without 
their weight4  ,if individual citizens  
were anxious to  form their opinions    
with care1 on those questions respecting
 which they  will have to vote and to   
act1 there would be little need of      
organized  bodies of men to carry great 
measures into effect4  ,the main current
 of  public opinion is made up of       
innumerable rills1 so small1 perhaps1   
that a  child might with its foot divert
 the course of any one of them3 but     
collected together they rush down with a
 force that is irresistible4  ,if  those
 who have actively to distribute the    
labour of the world knew that  you1 the 
great mass of private men1 regarded them
 not for their money1  but for their    
conduct to those in their employ1 not   
for the portion which  they may contrive
 to get for themselves1 but for the     
well-being which  they may give rise to1

 and regulate amongst others2 why then  
your  thoughts would be motives to them1
 urging them on in the right path4      
,besides1 you would not stop at         
thinking4  ,the man who gives time and  
thought to the welfare of others will   
seldom be found to grudge them  anything
 else4    ,again1 have not you1 though  
not manufacturers1 or master-workmen1 or
  owners of land1 have not you          
dependents1 in whose behalf you may find
  exercise for the principles to which  
,i am convinced that study in this      
matter will lead you8  ,your regard for 
servants is a case in point4  ,and1     
moreover1 you may show in your ordinary1
 every day1 dealings with the  employers
 of labour a considerateness for those  
under them1 which may  awaken the       
employers to a more lively care         
themselves4  ,only reflect on  the duty3
 opportunities of testing the strength  
of your resolves will not  be wanting4  
,we sometimes feel thoroughly impressed 
by some good thought1 or just  example1 

that we meet with in study or real life1
 but as if we had no  means of applying 
it4  ,we cannot at once shape for       
ourselves a course  that shall embrace  
this newly acquired wisdom4  ,often it  
seems too grand  for the occasions of   
ordinary life2 and we fear that we must 
keep it laid  up for some eventful day1 
as nice housewives their stateliest     
furniture4  ,however1 if we keep it     
close to the heart1 and make but the    
least  beginning with it1 our infant    
practice leads to something better1 or  
grows into something ampler4  ,in real  
life there are no isolated points4      
99 99 99 99 99    ,you1 who have but few
 dependents1 or1 perhaps1 but one drudge
 dependent  upon you1 whether as        
servant1 apprentice1 or hired labourer1 
do not think  that you have not an ample
 opportunity for exercising the duties  
of an  employer of labour4  ,do not     
suppose that these duties belong to the 
great  manufacturer with the population 
of a small town in his own factory1 or  

to the landlord with vast territorial   
possessions1 and that you have  nothing 
to do with them4  ,the ,searcher of all 
hearts may make as ample a  trial of you
 in your conduct to one poor dependent1 
as of the man who is  appointed to lead 
armies and administer provinces4  ,nay1 
your treatment  of some animal entrusted
 to your care may be a history as       
significant for  you1 as the chronicles 
of kings for them4  ,the moral          
experiments in the  world may be tried  
with the smallest quantities4    ,i     
cannot quit this part of the subject    
without alluding more directly to  the  
duties of the employers of domestic     
servants4  ,of course the  principles   
which should regulate the conduct of    
masters and mistresses  towards their   
servants1 are the same as those which   
should regulate the  employers of labour
 generally4  ,but there are some        
peculiar circumstances  which need to be
 noticed in the application of these    
principles4  ,that1  in this case1 the  

employers and the employed are members  
of one family1  is a circumstance which 
intensifies the relation4  ,it is a sad 
thing for  a man to pass the working    
part of his day with an exacting1       
unkind1  master3 but still1 if the      
workman returns at evening to a home    
that is  his own1 there is a sense of   
coming joy and freedom which may support
 him  throughout the weary hours of     
labour4  ,but think what it must be to  
share  one's home with one's oppressor2 
to have no recurring time when one is   
certain to be free from those harsh     
words1 and unjust censures1 which are   
almost more than blows1 aye even to     
those natures we are apt to fancy so    
hardened to rebuke4  ,imagine the       
deadness of heart that must prevail in  
that poor wretch who never hears the    
sweet words of praise or of             
encouragement4  ,many masters of        
families1 men living in the rapid       
current  of the world1 who are subject  
to a variety of impressions which1 in   

their  busy minds1 are made and effaced 
even in the course of a single day1 can 
with difficulty estimate the force of   
unkind words upon those whose           
monotonous life leaves few opportunities
 of effacing any unwelcome  impression4 
,there is nothing in which the aid of   
imagination1 that  handmaid of charity1 
may be more advantageously employed1    
than in  considering the condition of   
domestic servants4  ,let a man endeavour
 to  realize it to himself1 let him     
think of its narrow sphere1 of its      
unvarying nature1 and he will be careful
 not to throw in1 unnecessarily1  the   
trouble even of a single harsh word1    
which may make so large a  disturbance  
in the shallow current of a domestic's  
hopes and joys4  ,how  often1 on the    
contrary1 do you find that masters seem 
to have no  apprehension of the feelings
 of those under them1 no idea of any    
duties  on their side beyond cash       
payment1 whereas the good1 old1         
patriarchal  feeling towards your       

household is one which the mere         
introduction of  money wages has not by 
any means superseded1 and which cannot1 
in fact1  be superseded4  ,you would    
bear with lenity from a child many      
things1 for  which1 in a servant1 you   
can find nothing but the harshest names4
  ,yet  how often are these poor1       
uneducated1 creatures little better than
  children6  ,you talk1 too1 of         
ingratitude from them1 when1 if you     
reflected a little1 you would see that  
they do not understand your  benefits4  
,it is hard enough sometimes to make    
benefits sink into men's  hearts1 even  
when your good offices are illustrated  
by much kindness of  words and manner2  
but to expect that servants should at   
once appreciate  your care for them is  
surely most unreasonable1 especially if 
it is not  accompanied by a manifest    
regard and sympathy4  ,you would not    
expect it1  if you saw the child-like   
relation in which they stand to you4    
,another mode of viewing with charity   

the conduct of domestic servants1 is  to
 imagine what manner of servant you     
would make yourself1 or any one of      
those whom in your own rank you esteem  
and love4  ,do you not perceive1 in     
almost every character1 some element    
which would occasionally make its       
possessor fail in performing the duties 
of domestic service8  ,do you find  that
 faithfulness1 accuracy1 diligence1 and 
truth pervade the circle of  your equals
 in such abundance that you should be   
exorbitantly angry1 the  moment you     
perceive a deficiency in such qualities 
amongst those who have  been but        
indifferently brought up1 and who1      
perhaps1 have early imbibed  those vices
 of their class1 fear and falsehood2    
vices which their  employers can only   
hope to eradicate by a long course of   
considerate  kindness8                  
99 99 99 99 99    ,i do not speak of the
 conduct of masters and mistresses as an
 easy  matter3 on the contrary1 ,i      
believe that it is one of the most      

difficult  functions in life4  ,if1     
however1 men only saw the difficulty1   
they would  see the worthiness of trying
 to overcome it4  ,you observe a man    
becoming  day by day richer1 or         
advancing in station1 or increasing in  
professional  reputation1 and you set   
him down as a successful man in life4   
,but1 if  his home is an ill-regulated  
one1 where no links of affection extend 
throughout the family1 whose former     
domestics 7and he has had more of  them 
than he can well remember7 look back    
upon their sojourn with him as  one     
unblessed by kind words or deeds1 ,i    
contend that that man has not  been     
successful4  ,whatever good fortune he  
may have in the world1 it is  to be     
remembered that he has always left one  
important fortress untaken  behind him4 
,that man's life does not surely read   
well whose benevolence  has found no    
central home4  ,it may have sent forth  
rays in various  directions1 but there  
should have been a warm focus of        

love--that home  nest which is formed   
round a good man's heart4               
99 99 99 99 99    ,having spoken of some
 of the duties of private persons1 we   
come now to  the great employers of     
labour4  ,would that they all saw the   
greatness of  their position4  ,strange 
as it may sound1 they are the successors
 of the  feudal barons1 they it is who  
lead thousands to peaceful conquests1   
and  upon whom1 in great measure1       
depends the happiness of large masses of
  mankind4  ,as ,mr4 ,carlyle says1 ,the
 ,leaders of ,industry1 if ,industry is 
ever to be led1 are virtually the       
,captains of the ,world2 if there be no 
nobleness in them1 there will never be  
an ,aristocracy more4  ,can a man1  who 
has this destiny entrusted to him1      
imagine that his vocation consists      
merely in getting together a large lump 
of gold1 and then being off with  it1 to
 enjoy it1 as he fancies1 in some other 
place3 as if that which is  but a small 
part of his business in life1 were all  

in all to him2 as if  indeed1 the       
parable of the talents were to be taken 
literally1 and that a  man should think 
that he has done his part when he has   
made much gold and  silver out of       
little8  ,if these men saw their        
position rightly1 what  would be their  
objects1 what their pleasures8  ,their  
objects would not  consist in foolish   
vyings with each other about the        
grandeur or the  glitter of life4  ,but 
in directing the employment of labour1  
they would  find room for the exercise  
of all the powers of their minds1 of    
their  best affections1 and of whatever 
was worthy in their ambition4  ,their   
occupation1 so far from being a limited 
sphere of action1 is one which  may give
 scope to minds of the most various     
capacity4  ,while one man may  undertake
 those obvious labours of benevolent    
superintendence which are  of immediate 
and pressing necessity1 another may     
devote himself to more  remote and      
indirect methods of improving the       

condition of those about  him1 which are
 often not the less valuable because of 
their indirectness4  ,in short1 it is   
evident that to lead the labour of large
 masses of  people1 and to do that1 not 
merely with a view to the greatest      
product of  commodities1 but to the best
 interests of the producers1 is a matter
  which will sufficiently and worthily  
occupy men of the strongest minds  aided
 by all the attainments which           
cultivation can bestow4    ,i do not    
wish to assert a principle larger than  
the occasion demands3 and  ,i am1       
therefore unwilling to declare that we  
cannot justly enter into a  relation so 
meagre with our fellow-creatures1 as    
that of employing all  their labour1 and
 giving them nothing but money in       
return4  ,there might1  perhaps1 be a   
state of society in which such a        
relation would not be  culpable1 a state
 in which the great mass of the employed
 were cultivated  and considerate men2  
and where the common interests of master

 and man  were well understood4  ,but we
 have not to deal with any such         
imaginary  case4  ,so far from working  
men being the considerate creatures we  
have  just imagined them1 it is         
absolutely requisite to protect1 in the 
most  stringent manner1 the interests of
 the children against the parents1 who  
are often anxious to employ their little
 ones most immaturely4  ,nay  more--it  
is notorious that working men will      
frequently omit to take even  the       
slightest precaution in matters         
connected with the preservation of      
their own lives4  ,if these poor men do 
not demand from you as ,christians      
something more than mere money wages1   
what do the injunctions about  charity  
mean8  ,if those employed by you are not
 your neighbours1 who are8              
99 99 99 99 99    ,but1 some great      
employer may exclaim3 ,it is hard that  
we the agents  between the consumer and 
the producer should have all the        
sacrifices to  make1 should have all the

 labouring population thrown1 as it     
were1 on our  hands4  ,in reply1 ,i say 
that ,i have laid down no such doctrine4
  ,i have  urged the consumer to perform
 his duties1 and tried to point out to  
him  what some of those duties are4  ,as
 a citizen1 he may employ himself in    
understanding this subject1 and in      
directing others rightly2 he may1 in    
his capacity of voter1 or in his fair   
influence on voters1 urge upon the      
state its duty1 and show1 that as an    
individual1 he would gladly bear his    
share of any increased burdens which    
that duty might entail upon the  state4 
,he may prove in many ways1 as a mere   
purchaser1 his concern for  the         
interests of the producer4  ,and there  
are1 doubtless1 occasions on  which you1
 the great employers of labour1 may call
 upon him to make large  sacrifices of  
his money1 his time1 and his thoughts1  
for the welfare of  the labouring       
classes4  ,his example and his          
encouragement may cheer you  on2 and as 

a citizen1 as an instructor1 as a       
neighbour1 in all the  capacities of    
life1 he may act and speak in a way that
 may indirectly1 if  not directly1      
support your more manifest endeavours in
 the same good  cause4  ,it is to no one
 class that ,i speak4  ,we are all bound
 to do  something towards this good     
work4  ,if1 hereafter1 ,i go more into  
detail  as regards the especial methods 
of improving his work-people that a     
manufacturer might employ1 it is not    
that ,i wish to point out  manufacturers
 as a class especially deficient in     
right feelings towards  those under     
them4  ,far from it4  ,much of what ,i  
shall venture to suggest  has been      
learnt from what ,i have seen and heard1
 amongst the  manufacturers themselves4 
,,chapter ,,ii4  ,,social ,,government4 
,supposing1 reader1 that whether you are
 manufacturer1 master-workman1  owner of
 land1 or private individual1 you are   
now thoroughly impressed  with the duty 
of attending to the welfare of your     

dependants2 ,i proceed  to make some    
general reflections which may aid you in
 your outset1 or  sustain you in the    
progress1 of your endeavours4           
99 99 99 99 99    ,and1 first1 let me   
implore you not to delay that outset4   
,make a  beginning at once1 at least in 
investigating the matters to which ,i   
have  striven to draw your attention4   
,it is no curious work of art that you  
have to take up2 it requires no nicety  
of apprehension2 you can hardly  begin  
wrongly1 ,i do not say in action1 but in
 the preparation for action4  ,however  
little of each day you may be able to   
call your own for this  purpose1 it is  
better to begin with that little than to
 wait for some  signal time of leisure4 
,routine encumbers us2 our days are     
frittered  away by most minute          
employments that we cannot control2 and1
 when spare  moments do occur1 we are   
mostly unprepared with any pursuits of  
our own  to go on with4  ,hence it is1  
that the most obvious evils go on1      

generation after generation1 people not 
having time1 as they would say1  to     
interfere4  ,men are for ever putting   
off the concerns which should be        
dearest to them to a more convenient    
season1 when1 as they hope1 there  may  
be fewer trifles to distract their      
attention3 but a great work1 which  is  
to commence in the heart1 requires not  
to have the first stone laid  for it1   
with pomp1 upon some holiday4  ,it4 is  
good to have made a  beginning upon it  
at any time4    ,the wisdom1 or the     
folly1 of delay is in most instances    
like that of a  traveller coming to a   
stream1 and wishing to ford it1 yet     
continuing his  journey along its banks3
 and whether this is wise1 or not1      
depends mainly  on the simple fact1 of  
whether he is walking up to the source1 
or down to  the fall4  ,the latter is   
apt to be the direction in the case of  
our  generous resolves3 their difficulty
 widens as ,i we delay to act upon      
them4                                   

99 99 99 99 99    ,throughout the       
progress of your work1 there is nothing 
that you will have  more frequently to  
be mindful of than your views with      
respect to  self-advancement4  ,to take 
one form of it1 the acquisition of      
money4  ,money1 as ,charles ,lamb1 a    
great despiser of cant1 observed1 is not
 dross1  but books1 pictures1 wines1 and
 many pleasant things4  ,still ,i       
suspect  that money is more sought after
 to gratify vanity1 than to possess the 
means of enjoying any of the above named
 pleasant things4  ,money is so  much   
desired1 because it is a measure of     
success2 so much regretted1  because we 
fancy the loss of it leaves us powerless
 and contemptible4  ,that kind of       
satire1 therefore1 which delights to    
dwell upon the general  subserviency to 
wealth is not likely to make men less   
desirous of riches4  ,but a man would be
 likely to estimate more reasonably the 
possession of  money and of all kinds of
 self-advancement1 if he did but        

perceive1 that  even a man's worldly    
success is not to be measured by his    
success for  himself alone1 but by the  
result of his endeavours for the great  
family  of man4    ,there is a source of
 contemplation which nature affords us1 
one1 too1  that is open to the dweller  
in crowded cities as well as to the     
shepherd  on ,salisbury plain1 and which
 might sometimes suggest the foolishness
 of  an inordinate love of money4       
,consider the prospect which each       
unveiled  night affords us1 telling of  
wonders such as we have hardly the units
 of  measurement to estimate2 and then  
think how strange it is that we should  
ever allow our petty personal           
possessions of to-day to render us blind
 to  the duties1 which1 alone1 are the  
great realities of life4  ,there was    
some excuse1 perhaps1 for the men of    
olden time1 who looked upon this  earth1
 the birth-place of their gods1 as no   
mean territory4  ,that they  should dote
 upon terrestrial things was not to be  

wondered at4  ,but what  is to be said  
for us who know that this small planet  
is but a speck1 as  it were1 from which 
we look out upon the profusion of       
immensity4  ,to  think that a man1 who  
knows this1 should nevertheless not     
hesitate to  soil his soul1 lying here1 
cringing there1 pursuing tortuous       
schemes of  most corrupt policy2 or that
 he should ever suffer himself to be    
immersed1 innocently1 if it may be so1  
in selfish1 worldly pursuits1  forgetful
 of all else2 when1 at the best1 it is  
but to win some acres of  this          
transitory earth1 or to be noted as one 
who has been successful for  himself4   
,the folly of the gambling savage1 who  
stakes his liberty  against a handful of
 cowrie shells is nothing to it4        
99 99 99 99 99    ,perhaps the next     
thing that is likely to divert you from 
useful  endeavours for the benefit of   
others is fear of criticism3 you do not 
know what the world will say3 indeed1   
they may pronounce you an  enthusiast1  

which word1 of itself1 is an icy blast  
of ridicule to a timid  mind4  ,you     
shudder at doing anything unusual1 and  
even hear by  anticipation the laugh of 
your particular friends4  ,you are      
especially  ashamed at appearing to care
 for what those about you do not care   
for4  ,a  laugh at your humanity1 or    
your theories1 would disconcert you4    
,you  are fearfully anxious that any    
project of benevolence you undertake    
should succeed1 not altogether on its   
own account1 but because your  sagacity 
is embarked in it1 and plentiful will be
 the gibes at its  failure1 if it should
 fail4  ,put these fears aside4  ,all   
that is  prominent1 all that acts1 must 
lay itself open to shallow criticism4   
,it  has been said that in no case of   
old age1 however extreme1 has the       
faculty for giving advice been known to 
decay2 depend upon it1 that of          
criticism flourishes in the most        
indolent1 the most feeble1 the most     
doting minds4  ,let not the wheels of   

your endeavour be stayed by  accumulated
 rubbish of this kind4  ,we are afraid  
of responsibility1  afraid of what      
people may say of us1 afraid of being   
alone in doing  right3 in short1 the    
courage which is allied to no           
passion--,christian  courage as it may  
be called--is in all ages and amongst   
all people1 one  of the rarest          
possessions4    ,the fear of ridicule is
 the effeminacy of the soul4    ,great  
enterprises--and for you this attempt to
 make your working men  happier is a    
great enterprise--great enterprises     
demand an habitual  self-sacrifice in   
little things3 and1 hard as it may be to
 keep fully in  mind the enterprise     
itself1 it is often harder still to     
maintain a just  sense of the connection
 between it and these said trifling     
points of  conduct1 which1 perhaps1 in  
any single instance1 seem so slightly   
and so  remotely connected with it4     
,but remember it is not always over     
great  impediments that men are liable  

to stumble most fatally4                
99 99 99 99 99    ,you must not expect  
immediate and obvious gratitude to crown
 your  exertions4  ,the benevolence that
 has not duty for its stem1 but merely  
springs from some affectionateness of   
nature1 must often languish1 ,i  fear1  
when it comes to count up its returns in
 the way of grateful  affection from    
those whom it has toiled for4  ,and yet 
the fault is often  as much in the      
impatience and unreasonable expectation 
of the  benefactors1 as in any          
ingratitude on the part of the persons  
benefited4  ,if you must look for       
gratitude1 at any rate consider whether 
your  exertions are likely to be fully  
understood at present by those whom you 
have served2 and whether it is not a    
reversion1 rather than an immediate     
return1 that you should look for--a     
reversion1 too1 in many cases to be     
realized only on the death of the       
benefactor4  ,moreover1 it is useless   
and unreasonable to expect that any     

motives of gratitude will uniformly     
modify for you the peculiar tempers and 
dispositions of those whom you  have    
served4  ,your benefits did not         
represent a permanent state of mind3    
neither will their gratitude4  ,the     
sense of obligation1 even in most       
faithful hearts1 is often dormant2 but  
evil tempers answer quickly to the      
lightest summons4                       
99 99 99 99 99    ,in all your projects 
for the good of others1 beware lest your
 benevolence  should have too much of a 
spirit of interference4  ,consider what 
it is  you want to produce4  ,not an    
outward1 passive1 conformity to your    
wishes1  but something vital which shall
 generate the feelings and habits you   
long  to see manifested4  ,you can clip 
a tree into any form you please1 but if 
you wish it to bear fruit when it has   
been barren1 you must attend to  what is
 beneath the surface1 you must feed the 
roots4  ,you must furnish  it with that 
nutriment1 you must supply it with those

 opportunities of  sunshine1 which will 
enable it to use its own energies4  ,see
 how the  general course of the world is
 governed4  ,how slowly are those great 
improvements matured which our impatient
 nature might expect to have been       
effected at a single stroke4  ,what     
tyrannies have been under the sun1      
things which we can hardly read of      
without longing for some direct divine  
interference to have taken place4       
,indeed1 if other testimony were        
wanting1 the cruelties permitted on     
earth present an awful idea of the      
general freedom of action entrusted to  
mankind4  ,and can you think that  it is
 left for you to drill men suddenly into
 your notions1 or to produce  moral ends
 by mere mechanical means8  ,you will   
avoid much of this foolish  spirit if   
you are really unselfish in your        
purposes2 if1 in dealing with  those    
whom you would benefit1 you refer your  
operations to them as the  centre1 and  
not to yourself1 and the successes of   

your plans4  ,there is a  noble passage 
in the history of the first great       
,douglas1 the good ,lord  ,james1 who1  
just before the battle of ,bannockburn1 
seeing ,randolph1 his  rival in arms1   
with a small body of men1 contending    
against a much  superior ,english force1
 rushed to his aid4  ,the little body of
  ,randolph1 says ,sir ,walter ,scott1  
was seen emerging like a rock in the    
waves1 from which the ,english cavalry  
were retreating on every side with      
broken ranks1 like a repelled tide4     
',hold and halt6' said the ,douglas to  
his followers2 'we are come too late to 
aid them2 let us not lessen the  victory
 they have won by affecting to claim a  
share in it4'  ,it is the  self-denying 
nature of this chivalrous deed that ,i  
would apply to far  other circumstances4
  ,the interfering spirit1 which ,i     
deprecate1 would  come1 not to          
consummate the victory1 but to hinder   
it4    ,for similar reasons ,i would    
have you take care that you do not adopt

 mere  rules1 and seek to impress them  
rigidly upon others1 as if they were    
general principles1 which must at once  
be suitable to all mankind4  ,do  not   
imagine that your individual threads of 
experience form a woven  garment of     
prudence1 capable of fitting with       
exactness any member of the  whole human
 family4                                
99 99 99 99 99    ,there are several    
ungenerous motives1 of some subtlety1   
which hide in the  dark corners of the  
heart1 and stand in the way of          
benevolence4  ,for  instance1 even in   
good minds1 there is apt to lurk some   
tinge of fear1 or  of dislike1 at the   
prospect of an undoubted amelioration of
 the lot of  others coming too fast1 as 
these good people would say4  ,indeed1  
some  persons find it hard to reconcile 
themselves to the idea of others'       
burdens being readily removed1 even when
 they themselves are making  exertions  
to remove them4    ,another feeling to  
beware of1 is that of envy1 which1      

strange as it  seems1 may sometimes     
arise upon the view of that very        
prosperity1 which  the person1 feeling  
envy1 has helped to create4  ,the truth 
is1 it is  comparatively easy to avoid  
being envious of the good fortune which 
was  established before our time1 or    
which is out of our own sphere3 but to  
be  quite pleased with the good fortune 
of those whom we recollect in other     
circumstances1 and who1 perhaps1 have   
been accustomed to ask advice or        
assistance from us--that is the trial4  
,another ungenerous sentiment1 similar  
to the foregoing1 and likely at  times  
to prove a hindrance to benevolent      
exertion1 arises from the  comparison of
 our own past lot with that of the      
persons whose condition  is sought to be
 improved4  ,most of us have a little   
tendency to grudge  them this           
amelioration4  ,we should shudder at the
 brutality of one1 who1  having attained
 to power1 is more cruel because he has 
suffered much  himself1 7eo immitior    

quia toleraverat72 but are we not of a  
like  spirit1 if any dissatisfaction    
steals over our minds at seeing others  
exempt from those sufferings1 which in  
our own career fell heavily upon  us4   
,it is difficult to dislodge this kind  
of selfishness from the heart4  ,indeed1
 there can hardly be a surer symptom of 
sound benevolence in a  man1 than his   
taking pleasure in those paths being    
smoothened which he  will never have to 
traverse again3 ,i do not say in making 
them  smoother--it is much easier to    
reconcile himself to that--but in their 
being made so without his interference4 
,it would be well1 indeed1 if           
selfishness came into play on those     
occasions only where self is really     
concerned4                              
99 99 99 99 99    ,there is nothing     
which a wise employer will have more at 
heart than to  gain the confidence of   
those under him4  ,the essential        
requisites on his  part are truth and   
kindness4  ,these qualities may1        

however1 belong in a  high degree to    
persons who fail to gain the confidence 
of their  dependents4  ,in domestic     
life1 confidence may be prevented by    
fits of  capricious passion on the part 
of the ruling powers2 and a man who1 in 
all important matters1 acts justly and  
kindly towards his family1 may be       
deprived of their confidence by his     
weakness of temper in little things4    
,for instance1 you meet with persons who
 fall into a violent way of  talking    
about all that offends them in their    
dependents2 and who express  themselves 
with as much anger about trivial        
inadvertencies as about  serious moral  
offences4  ,in the course of the same   
day that they have  given way to some   
outbreak of temper1 they may act with   
great self-denial  and watchful         
kindness2 but they can hardly expect    
their subordinates to  be at ease with  
them4  ,another defect which prevents   
confidence1 is a  certain sterility of  
character1 which does not allow of      

sympathy with  other people's fancies   
and pursuits4  ,a man of this character 
does not  understand any likings but his
 own4  ,he will be kind to you1 if you  
will  be happy in his way2 but he has   
nothing but ridicule or coldness for any
  thing which does not suit him4  ,this 
imperfection of sympathy1 which         
prevents an equal from becoming a       
friend1 may easily make a superior into 
a despot4  ,indeed1 ,i almost doubt     
whether the head of a family does not   
do more mischief if he is unsympathetic1
 than even if he were unjust4  ,the     
triumph of domestic rule is for the     
master's presence not to be felt  as a  
restraint4    ,in a larger sphere than  
the domestic one1 such as amongst the   
employers  of labour and their men1 the 
same elements are required on the part  
of  the masters to produce confidence4  
,much frankness also and decisiveness   
are required4  ,the more uneducated     
people are1 the more suspicious they    
are likely to be3 and the best way of   

meeting this suspiciousness is to  have 
as few concealments as possible2 for    
instance1 not to omit stating  any      
motives relating to your own interest as
 master1 which may influence  your      
conduct towards your men4    ,there is a
 class of persons brought into contact  
with the employers of  labour and their 
men1 who might often do good service to 
both1 by  endeavouring1 when it is      
deserved1 to inspire the men with       
confidence in  the kindly intentions of 
their masters4  ,this is a duty which   
belongs to  the clergy and professional 
men in manufacturing towns4  ,there are 
many  things which a man cannot say for 
himself2 and1 as ,bacon has observed1 it
  is one of the advantages of           
friendship1 that it provides some person
 to  say these things for one4  ,so1 in 
this case1 it must often have a very    
good effect1 when a bystander1 as it    
were1 explains to the men the kind      
wishes and endeavours of a master       
manufacturer1 which explanation would   

come with much less force and grace from
 the master himself4    ,i now come to a
 subject bordering on the former1       
namely1 the political  confidence of the
 operatives4  ,i am afraid1 that1 at    
present1 there is a  great distrust     
amongst them of public men4  ,this is   
not to be wondered  at4  ,their distrust
 is much fostered by the practice of    
imputing bad  motives1 and calling ill  
names1 so much the fashion in political 
writing  of all kinds4  ,it is not a    
vice peculiar to this age3 indeed1 ,i   
question  whether political writing has 
ever1 upon the whole1 been more         
well-bred  and considerate than it is   
now4  ,but at all times the abusive     
style is  the easiest mode of writing1  
and the surest of sympathy4  ,the skill 
to  make1 and that to cure1 a wound are 
different things2 but the former is  the
 one which belongs to most people1 and  
often attracts most attention  and      
encouragement4  ,this1 then1 is one     
cause of the distrust of the  working   

classes1 which will only be mitigated by
 a higher tone of moral  feeling on the 
part of the people generally4  ,another 
cause is to be  found in the unwise1 if 
not dishonest1 conduct of public men4   
,look at  the mode of proceeding at     
elections4  ,i put aside bribery1       
intimidation1  and the like1 the        
wrongfulness of which ,i hope we are all
 agreed upon2  and ,i come to the       
intellectual part of the business4      
,extreme opinions  are put forth by the 
candidates1 often in violent and        
injurious language4  ,each strives to   
keep studiously in the background any   
points of  difference between himself   
and the electing body4  ,electors are   
not  treated as rational beings2 their  
prejudices and their antipathies are    
petted as if they belonged to some      
despot whom it was treason to           
contradict4  ,whereas1 if ever there is 
a time in his life when a man  should   
weigh his words well1 and when he should
 gird himself up to speak  with truth   

and courage1 it is when he is soliciting
 the suffrages of an  electoral body4   
,that is the way to anticipate          
inconsistency2 the crime  of which is   
more often in the hastiness of the      
first-formed opinion1 than  in the      
change from it4  ,what is called the    
inconsistency1 may be the  redeeming    
part of the transaction4  ,the candidate
 is naturally tempted to  fall in with  
the exact opinions that are likely to   
ensure success1 and to  express them    
without modification--in fact1 for the  
sake of his present  purpose1 to leave  
as little room for the exercise of his  
discretion as  possible4  ,it is easy   
for him to make unconditional           
assertions1 when  nothing is to be done 
upon them1 but it is another thing when 
he has to  bring them into action4  ,the
 direction which he may wish to give to 
public affairs is likely to be met by   
many other impulses2 and then he  may   
have to remain consistent and useless1  
or to link himself to some  friendly    

impulse which brings him1 however1 into 
opposition to some of  his former broad 
and careless declarations4  ,he has left
 himself no room  for using his         
judgment4  ,indeed1 one does not see    
very clearly why he  takes his seat     
amongst men who are met to deliberate4  
,the evils that  must arise from rash   
promises at elections are so great1 that
 it is  fortunate when the topics mooted
 on those occasions1 form but a small   
part of those which ultimately come     
under the consideration of the person   
elected2 and1 as often happens1 that    
important public matters come to be     
discussed1 which were not seen on the   
political horizon at the election  time4
    ,in addition to the distrust of     
individual legislators1 which is1       
probably1 frequent amongst the poorer   
classes1 there is also1 ,i suspect1  a  
great distrust amongst them of the      
leading parties in the state4  ,they    
perceive the evils of party1 and see    
nothing on the other side4  ,the        

meaning and intent of party1 the way in 
which by its means social good is  often
 worked out in a manner less harsh and  
abrupt1 perhaps1 than by any  other     
means that has hitherto been devised1   
are considerations probably  unknown to 
them4  ,to address them upon such       
matters would be thought  absurd4  ,it  
would be said1 that philosophical       
disquisitions on government  are for the
 closet of the studious man1 but not for
 common people coming  to perform a     
plain1 practical1 duty4  ,great         
principles1 however1 are at  the        
foundation of all good action4  ,look to
 the divine teaching4  ,see how  the    
highest things are addressed to all     
classes4  ,there is no esoteric         
philosophy there--one thing to the      
initiated1 and another to the outer     
populace4  ,and so ,i am persuaded in   
addressing the great masses of  mankind 
on other subjects1 you can hardly be too
 profound1 if you  contrive to express  
yourself without pedantry2 you can      

hardly put motives  of too much         
generosity before them1 if you do so    
with complete sincerity  and            
earnestness4  ,all this is very         
difficult1 but what social remedies  are
 not8  ,they are things to be toiled and
 bled for2 and what is far  more1 you   
must run the risk of ridicule1 endure   
want of sympathy1 have  the courage to  
utter unpalatable truths1 and not       
unfrequently resist the  temptation of  
saying such things as are sure to elicit
 immediate and  hearty approbation4     
,when a statesman has a craving for     
present applause1  it is an evil spirit 
always by his side1 but which springs up
 to its  utmost height1 and overshadows 
him with its most baneful influence1 at 
some of the most critical periods of his
 career4    ,but1 in addition to the    
want of confidence in public men caused 
by  malicious writing1 or by their      
injudicious or dishonest conduct as     
candidates1 or by the ignorance amongst 
the operatives of the good uses  of     

party2 is there not also a just want of 
confidence arising from the  mode in    
which party warfare has sometimes been  
carried on in the  legislative body8    
,remember that it is possible to        
intrigue with  interests1 as we call    
them1 as well as with private persons4  
,the nice  morality which would shudder 
at the revelations of petty intrigue    
disclosed by the diary of a ,bubb       
,doddington1 may urge on1 and ride      
triumphantly1 some popular cry1 the     
justice of which it has never paused  to
 examine4  ,there are also such things  
as a factious opposition to the         
,government1 a selfish desertion from   
it1 or a slavish obedience to it2  which
 things1 the people in general1 are not 
slow to note1 and often  prone to       
attribute1 even when there is no        
sufficient cause for  attributing them4 
,but of all the things which tend to    
separate the  operatives from the       
governing classes1 the most effectual1  
perhaps1 is  the suspicion 7oh1 that we 

could say that it was altogether an     
unjust  one67 that laws are framed1 or  
maintained1 which benefit those classes 
at  the expense of their poorer         
brethren4  ,we think it a marvellous act
 of  malversation in a trustee1 to      
benefit himself unjustly out of the     
funds  entrusted to his care4  ,wrongs  
of this kind may appear to be diluted   
when  the national prosperity is the    
trust-fund1 and the legislative body is 
the trustee4  ,the largeness1 however1  
of the transaction1 does not  diminish  
the injustice of it1 although it may    
soothe the conscience1 or  partially    
excuse the conduct of any individual    
member of the governing  class4  ,by    
governing class1 ,i do not merely mean  
the legislative bodies1  but ,i include 
the electing body1 who are of course    
equally guilty when  they clamour for   
what they deem their own peculiar       
interest1 instead of  calling for just  
laws4  ,and they may be sure1 that when 
once the great  mass of the people are  

persuaded that the injustice which ,i   
have spoken  of1 is a ruling principle  
in any government2 that government1 if  
it  lives1 is henceforth based upon     
fear1 and not upon affection4           
99 99 99 99 99    ,i shall now put down 
a few points of practice1 which1 though 
they are  classed together1 have no     
other link than that they all relate to 
our  conduct in a family and towards    
dependents4                             
99 99 99 99 99    ,in social government1
 no less than in legislating for a      
state1 there  should be constant        
reference to great principles1 if only  
from the  exceeding difficulty of       
foreseeing1 or appreciating1 the results
 in  detail of any measure4             
99 99 99 99 99    ,it is a foolish thing
 when a man so guides himself1 that it  
is generally  supposed in his family1   
and among his dependents1 that no       
arguments of  theirs are likely to      
persuade him to alter his views4  ,such 
a one may  fancy that what he calls his 

firmness is the main stay of his        
authority3  but the obstinacy1 which    
never listens1 is not less fatal than   
the  facility which never listens but to
 yield4  ,if your rule has the          
reputation of not being amenable to     
reason1 it is liable to sudden          
convulsions and headstrong distempers1  
or to unreasonable cringings1 in  which 
your welfare1 and that of those whom you
 rule1 are sacrificed to  the           
apprehension of provoking your          
self-will4  ,moreover1 the fear of      
irrational opposition on your part1     
often tempts those about you into       
taking up courses1 which1 otherwise1    
they might have thrown aside upon       
reflection1 or after reasonable converse
 with you on the subject4  ,you  may    
have1 in the end1 to oppose yourself    
sternly to the wishes of those  whom you
 would guide wisely2 but at any rate    
give yourself the chance of  having1 in 
the first instance1 the full effect of  
any forces in their own  minds which may

 be on your side4  ,you cannot expect to
 have these useful  allies1 if your wont
 is to be blindly obstinate1 and to     
carry things1 on  all occasions1 by     
heavy-handed authority4  ,the way in    
which expected  opposition acts in      
determining the mind1 is not always by  
creating  immediate wilfulness3 but a   
man1 knowing that there is sure to be   
objection made1 in any particular       
quarter1 to his taking a course1        
respecting which he has not made up his 
own mind1 sets to work to put  aside    
that contingent obstacle to his freedom 
of action4  ,in doing this1  however1 he
 generates1 as it were1 a force in the  
opposite direction3 in  arguing against 
contingent opposition1 he is led to make
 assertions which  he is ashamed to draw
 back from2 and so1 in the end1 he fails
 to exercise  an unbiassed judgment4  ,i
 have gone minutely into this matter2   
but it  cannot be unimportant for those 
who rule1 to consider well the latent   
sources of human motive4                

99 99 99 99 99    ,in addressing persons
 of inferior station1 do not be prone to
 suppose  that there is much occasion   
for intellectual condescension on your  
part3  at any rate do not be careless in
 what you say1 as if any thing would do 
for them4  ,observe the almost infinite 
fleetness of your own powers of         
thought1 and then consider whether it is
 likely that education has much  to do  
with this4  ,use simple language1 but do
 not fear to put substance  in it3      
choose1 if you like1 common materials1  
but make the best structure  that you   
can of them3 and be assured that method 
and logical order are  not thrown away  
upon any one4  ,the rudest audience1 as 
well as the most  refined1 soon grows   
weary1 ,i suspect1 of protracted1       
driftless1  tautology4                  
99 99 99 99 99    ,do not dwell more    
than you can help1 upon the differences 
of nature  between yourself and those   
with whom you live4  ,consider whether  
your own  vanity is not too requiring4  

,see that others have not the same      
complaint  to make of your              
uncongeniality1 that you are1 perhaps1  
prone to make of  theirs4  ,if you are1 
indeed1 superior1 reckon it as your     
constant duty1  to try and sympathize   
with those beneath you2 to mix with     
their pursuits1  as far as you can1 and 
thus1 insensibly1 to elevate them4      
,perhaps there  is no mind that will not
 yield some return for your labour3 it  
seems the  dullest1 bleakest1 rock1 not 
earth enough to feed a nettle2 yet up   
grows1  with culture1 the majestic pine4
    ,a want of sympathy leads to the    
greatest ignorance in the intellect as  
well as in the heart4                   
99 99 99 99 99    ,remember that your   
dependents have seldom a full power of  
replying to  you2 and let the           
recollection of that make you especially
 considerate in  your dealings with     
them4                                   
99 99 99 99 99    ,when you find a lack 
of truth in those about you1 consider   

whether it may  not arise from the      
furiousness of your own temper which    
scares truth away  from you3 and reflect
 how fearful a part the angry man may   
have in the  sin of those falsehoods    
which immoderate fear of him gives rise 
to4  ,such1 ,i am afraid1 is the        
tyrannous nature of the human heart that
 we not  only show1 but really feel1    
more anger at offence given us by those 
under  our power1 than at any other     
cause whatever4                         
99 99 99 99 99    ,it is a mistake to   
suppose that we necessarily become      
indifferent to the  faults and foibles  
of those with whom we live3 on the      
contrary1 we  sometimes grow more and   
more alive to them3 they seem1 as it    
were1 to  create a corresponding        
soreness in ourselves3 and1 knowing that
 they  exist in the character1 we are   
apt to fancy that we perceive them even 
on  occasions when they are not in the  
least brought into play4                
99 99 99 99 99    ,do not be fond of the

 display of authority1 or think that    
there is  anything grand in being obeyed
 with abject fear4  ,one certainly meets
  with persons who are vain of their    
ill-temper1 and of seeing how it keeps  
the people about them in order2 a       
species of vanity which they might      
share with any wild animal at large4    
99 99 99 99 99    ,in reasoning with    
your dependants1 do not allow yourself  
to make broad  assertions and careless  
conclusions1 merely because you are     
addressing  inferiors4  ,the ,courts of 
,reason recognise no difference of      
persons4  ,and when you wish to disabuse
 the minds of those entrusted to your   
guidance of any thing which you are     
convinced is erroneous1 do not  attempt 
to do so by unmeasured condemnation4    
,it is seldom that a secure  answer is  
given to any theory1 or system1 except  
by one who exhausts1 and  lays before   
you1 the good in it4                    
99 99 99 99 99    ,let not your         
forgiveness be of that kind which may   

almost be set down as  forgetfulness4   
99 99 99 99 99    ,you must not always  
expect to hear a good explanation of a  
man's reason  for his conduct4  ,in the 
first place1 he does not carry such     
things about  with him in a producible  
shape2 some of them he has probably     
forgotten1  although their influence may
 still remain strongly upon his mind2   
and  such as he does give1 are likely to
 be those which he thinks will have     
most weight with the person to whom he  
is speaking4                            
99 99 99 99 99    ,in giving way to     
selfish persons1 remember that you      
cannot sacrifice  yourself alone4  ,any 
relation in which you may be placed to  
them1  especially if you are the        
superior1 is not a thing that concerns  
you  only2 but is1 as it were1 a trust  
for society in general4                 
99 99 99 99 99    ,it is hard to judge  
about quarrels1 for the points on which 
they openly  break out have often no    
more to do with the real grounds of     

difference  than the place of a battle  
with the cause of the war4  ,many a     
quarrel1  after running for a long time 
under ground1 gushes forth with a       
vehemence  which seems unaccountable2   
and it is difficult to divine what lands
 it  has passed through in its hidden   
course4  ,any particular outbreak cannot
  safely be taken as an index of the    
general conduct of the parties towards  
each other4                             
99 99 99 99 99    ,playfulness is a good
 means of softening social distances4   
,a stiff1  grave1 man is always in      
danger of being feared too much4  ,on   
the other  hand1 as the self-love of    
many people is suspicious in the        
extreme1 you  must expect that your most
 innocent playfulness will often be     
mistaken  for ridicule4                 
99 99 99 99 99    ,it is a duty not to  
allow yourself to think of any living   
man1 still less  to treat him1 as if    
your hopes of his amendment were utterly
 dead and  gone4                        

99 99 99 99 99    ,you must not be much 
surprised at the ingratitude of those to
 whom you  have given nothing but money4
                                    99  
99 99 99 99    ,once give your mind to  
suspicion1 and there will be sure to be 
food  enough for it4  ,in the stillest  
night1 the air is filled with sounds for
  the wakeful ear that is resolved to   
listen4                                 
99 99 99 99 99    ,a misproud man       
resolves to abide by the evil words     
which he has spoken in  anger4  ,this   
freezing of foam is wilfully unnatural2 
and turns a brief  madness into a       
settled insanity4                       
99 99 99 99 99    ,a man of any wisdom1 
in domestic authority1 so far from      
making large  claims to the love of     
those whom he rules1 and exacting all   
manner of  observance as his due1 will  
often think with fear how unworthy he is
 of  the affection even of the dullest  
and least-gifted creature about him4    
99 99 99 99 99    ,in commenting on any 

error of an agent or dependant1 beware  
of making  your own vexation1 and not   
the real offence1 the measure of your   
blame4  ,this is a most frequent source 
of injustice1 and one1 moreover1 which  
tends to prevent anything like          
consistent training4                    
99 99 99 99 99    ,the poor1 the humble1
 and your dependants1 will often be     
afraid to ask  their due from you3 be   
the more mindful of it yourself4        
99 99 99 99 99    ,with what degree of  
satisfaction do you feel that you could 
meet those  persons in a future state   
over whom you have any influence now8   
,your  heart's answer to this question  
is somewhat of a test of your behaviour 
towards them4                           
99 99 99 99 99    ,how ready we should  
often be to forgive those who are angry 
with us1 if  we could only see how much 
of their anger arises from vexation with
  themselves for having begun to be     
angry at all4                           
99 99 99 99 99    ,i am not sorry to    

introduce a maxim1 like the above1 which
 relates1  perhaps1 rather more to      
dependants than to those in authority1  
and which  claims a place among precepts
 on social government1 only as it may   
tend  to promote social harmony and     
peace4  ,i have not attempted1          
throughout1  to give any account of the 
duties of dependants1 which1 however1   
are  easily inferred as supplementary to
 the duties of masters4  ,it is not to  
be supposed that any relation in life is
 one-sided1 that kindness is to  be met 
by indifference1 or that loyalty to     
those who lead us is not a  duty of the 
highest order4  ,but1 fortunately1 the  
proneness of men to  regard with favour 
those put in authority over them is very
 strong2 and ,i  have but little fear of
 finding any large body of thoughtful   
and kind  masters suffering from        
permanent indifference1 or ingratitude1 
on the  part of their dependants4       
99 99 99 99 99    ,i cannot close the   
chapter better than by entreating those1

 who are  endeavouring to carry on any  
system of benevolence1 to be very       
watchful  in the management of details1 
and to strengthen themselves against any
  feelings of disgust and weariness     
which may encroach upon them1 when      
their undertaking has lost the          
attraction of novelty4  ,details are    
like  the fibres at the root of a tree3 
without their aid the tree would have   
but little hold against the wind3 they  
are the channels for its  terrestrial   
nutriment2 they are its ties to earth1  
its home and  birth-place2 and1         
insignificant as they seem1 it could    
live almost better  without light than  
without them4  ,here it is that         
practical wisdom comes  in--that        
faculty1 without which1 the greatest    
gifts may serve to make a  noise and a  
flame1 and nothing more4  ,it holds its 
object neither too  near1 nor too far   
off2 without exaggerating trifles1 it   
can see that  small things may be       
essential to the successful application 

of great  principles2 it is moderate in 
its expectations2 does not imagine that 
all  men must be full of its projects2  
and holds its course with calmness1     
with hope1 and with humility4    ,you   
must not enter upon a career of         
usefulness without expecting            
innumerable vexations and crosses to    
affect the details of any project or    
system you may undertake4  ,and when the
 novelty of your purpose has  somewhat  
worn off1 and you have to meet with the 
honest opposition of  other minds1 as   
well as to contend against their vanity1
 their  selfishness1 and their          
unreasonableness1 it requires a high and
 full  source for your benevolence to   
flow from1 if it would bear down these  
annoyances4  ,even when they cannot dry 
up the stream1 or change its  current1  
if you are not watchful over yourself1  
they may make it flow  more feebly4     
,the very prospect of success is to some
 minds a great  temptation to make them 
slacken their efforts4  ,throughout the 

course of  our pursuit1 we are never1   
perhaps1 so prone to be weary and to    
repine1  as when we begin to feel sure  
of ultimate success1 but at the same    
time  to perceive1 that a long and      
definite period must elapse before the  
completion of our undertaking4          
,against the many temptations that beset
 a man in such a career1 ,i do not      
believe that any good feeling1 which    
stands upon no other than mere human    
relations1 will be found a sufficient   
support4  ,no sentimental  benevolence  
will do2 nor even1 at all times1 a warm 
and earnest  philanthropy3 there must be
 the inexorable sense of duty arising   
from a  man's apprehension1 if but in a 
feeble degree1 of his relation towards  
,god1 as well as to his fellow man4     
,,chapter ,,iii4  ,,labour ,,in         
,,factories4      ,the two former       
chapters have been given to the         
consideration of the  relation between  
the employer of labour and the labouring
 man1 and to  general reflections upon  

the duties arising from that relation4  
,let us  now take a particular instance1
 the employment of labour in            
manufactures  for example1 and go       
through some of the more obvious points 
to which the  master might in that case 
direct his attention beneficially4      
#a4  ,,the ,,mill4      ,it would seem  
an obvious thing enough1 that when a man
 collects a number  of his fellow-men   
together to work for him1 it would be   
right to provide  a sufficient supply of
 air for them4  ,but this does not      
appear to have  been considered as an   
axiom2 and1 in truth1 we cannot much    
wonder at this  neglect1 when we find   
that those who have to provide for the  
amusement of  men1 and who would be     
likely1 therefore to consult the health 
and  convenience of those whom they     
bring together1 should sedulously shut  
out  the pure air1 as if they disliked  
letting anything in that did not pay    
for admission4  ,in most grievances1 the
 people aggrieved are very  sensible at 

the time of the evil they are           
undergoing2 which is not1  however1 the 
case with those who suffer from an      
impure atmosphere4  ,they  are1 in      
general1 almost unconscious of what they
 are enduring4  ,this  makes it the more
 desirable1 in the case we are          
considering1 that the  manufacturer     
himself1 or the government1 or the      
community at large1  should be alive to 
the mischief arising from want of       
ventilation in these  crowded           
assemblages of men1 and to the absolute 
necessity of providing  remedies for it4
    ,this will not be an inappropriate  
place for saying something about the    
non-interference principle4  ,there is  
no doubt that interference has  often   
been most tyrannous and absurd1 that our
 ancestors1 for instance1  sometimes    
interfered only to insist upon          
impossibilities1 and that we may        
occasionally do the same4  ,but1 on the 
other hand1 the let-alone  principle    
proceeds upon the supposition1 not only 

that every body knows  his own interest 
best1 or if not1 that his freedom of    
action is of more  importance than his  
acting wisely1 which is often true2 but 
it also goes  on to assume that every   
body knows and will take just care of   
the welfare  of others4  ,push either   
principle to any great length2 and you  
will find  yourself in the land of      
confusion and absurdity4  ,in truth1 ,i 
should  seldom like to say anything     
about the wisdom1 or the folly1 of      
interference1 until ,i knew exactly what
 it was about1 and how far you  intended
 to interfere4  ,it is one of those     
matters in which it is  especially      
desirable to keep in mind those maxims  
of prudence1 respecting  the application
 of general rules to moral questions1   
which ,burke has  handled so admirably4 
,nothing universal1 he observes1 can be 
rationally affirmed on any moral1 or any
 political subject4  ,pure  metaphysical
 abstraction does not belong to these   
matters4  ,the lines of  morality are   

not like ideal lines of mathematicks4   
,they are broad and  deep as well as    
long4  ,they admit of exceptions2 they  
demand  modifications4  ,these          
exceptions and modifications are not    
made by the  process of logic1 but by   
the rules of prudence4  ,prudence is not
 only the  first in rank of the virtues 
political and moral1 but she is the     
director1 the regulator1 the standard of
 them all4  ,to take a particular       
instance of legislative interference1   
namely1 the enactments about  building  
party-walls1 can any one doubt that this
 interference has been  most beneficial8
  ,does any one suppose that1 without   
it1 the same good  results would have   
been gained8  ,would the prudence of    
private  individuals ever have          
accomplished it8  ,besides1 ,i think it 
can hardly be  denied that a state      
should have a degree of providence for  
the general  body1 not to be expected   
from private individuals1 and which     
might compel  them to do things that    

would not consort with their interest   
even upon  the most enlarged views which
 they could take of it4  ,the financial 
affairs of the nation are conducted with
 no slight apparatus of intrusion  and  
vexation4  ,we endure this patiently3   
indeed1 in many cases1 it is  difficult 
to see how it could be obviated4        
,surely we may submit to some  simple   
sanitary regulations1 especially of that
 kind which may be  compared to indirect
 taxation1 requiring to be attended to  
only by a  certain class of persons of  
daily experience in the matter4  ,such  
are  regulations with respect to        
building1 which need to be looked to in 
the  first instance2 and then the       
results of them remain for ever         
afterwards a  great gain to public      
health and morals4  ,i am speaking now  
rather of the  question of annoyance1   
than of loss1 from legislative          
interference4  ,of  course1 in this     
matter of building1 it is easy to       
perceive that limits  must carefully be 

put to the extent of interference with a
 view to  keeping down the expense4  ,if
 this is not done1 the whole purpose of 
the  regulations may be defeated4  ,but 
even in this1 it is possible to be too  
nice with respect to interfering with   
what are called the rights of  property1
 or too much afraid of creating an      
artificial dearness by  regulations1    
many of which will in the end be found  
to be a great saving4    ,but to resume 
the subject of the ,mill4  ,each branch 
of manufactures has  its peculiar       
dangers and disadvantages2 and it       
behoves the master to be  frequently    
directing his attention to remedy the   
peculiar evils of his  manufacture4  ,he
 is to be the pioneer to find out for   
his men ways of  avoiding these evils4  
,it cannot be his duty to study only how
 to make  his fabric cheaper1 and not to
 take any pains to see how it can be    
made  to cost less of human life4       
,however1 if a man has once got a just  
view  of his position as an employer of 

labour1 he will not need to be urged in 
this matter1 but must see at once that  
the health of his men is one of  the    
first things for him to look to4  ,what 
would you think of a commander  who was 
careless of the health of his army1     
merely because he had an  indefinite    
power of recruiting8  ,in a             
thickly-peopled country like this1  an  
employer of labour1 if his work does not
 require much skill1 can  generally get 
any number of men to serve him1 which   
would be a strange  reason1 however1 for
 making the health of anyone amongst    
those whom he  does employ less precious
 in his eyes4  ,human labour may be ever
 so  abundant1 but human life cannot be 
cheap4    ,while we are talking of the  
,mill1 it may be well to observe that   
the  system of piecework1 when it is    
done by a man with children under him1  
is  likely to be made too severe work   
for them4  ,it is a hard fate1 indeed1  
for children to be always under the eye 
of one whose interest it is to  get as  

much work out of them as possible4  ,the
 above remarks1 however1  apply even    
more to piece-work done at home than at 
the mill4    ,the next thing to be      
mentioned in connexion with the ,mill is
 the time of  labour4  ,this is a great 
question1 embracing many considerations 
which it  would be quite foreign to my  
purpose to enter upon here4  ,but ,i may
  observe that there is much in this    
matter which might be done by the       
masters1 individually1 and collectively4
  ,they have to consider how the  time  
that they may get for the recreation of 
their men is to be  apportioned4  ,for  
instance1 whether it is better to give  
it in whole  days1 or by half-days1 or  
to spread it over the ordinary days of  
work4  ,these are questions that cannot 
be answered without much thought and    
knowledge respecting the social habits  
of the labouring people4    ,all that we
 have addressed to the manufacturer on  
the subject of his  ,mill1 applies even 
more cogently to the minor              

superintendent of labour  and his       
workshop4  ,there1 the evils complained 
of are often far greater4  ,ventilation 
is less attended to2 less pains are     
taken to diminish the  peculiar dangers 
of the craft2 the hours of labour are   
more numerous2 and  the children        
sometimes exposed to cruelties utterly  
unheard of in  factories4  ,read the    
evidence respecting the employment of   
milliners1 and  you will wish that      
dresses could be made up1 as well as the
 materials  made for them1 in factories4
  ,alas6 what a striking instance the   
treatment of these poor milliner girls  
is of the neglect of duty on the  part  
of employers3 ,i mean of those who      
immediately superintend this  branch of 
labour1 and of those who cause it4  ,had
 the former been the  least aware of    
their responsibility1 would they have   
hesitated to  remonstrate against the   
unreasonable orders of their customers8 
,and1 as  for the latter1 for the ladies
 who expect such orders to be complied  

with1 how sublimely inconsiderate of the
 comfort of those beneath them  they    
must have become4  ,i repeat it again3  
the careless cruelty in the  world      
almost outweighs the rest4      #b4     
,,the ,,school-,,room4      ,some       
manufacturer may think that this branch 
of the matter does not  belong to him1  
as he does not employ children of the   
age which makes it  incumbent upon him  
by law to have anything to do with their
 schooling4  ,but ,i would venture to   
suggest that it is a matter which       
belongs to all  of us1 and1 especially1 
to those who are able to pay attention  
to the  habits of large masses of       
people1 put1 as it were1 under their    
care4  ,suppose that there had been no  
such thing in the world's history as a  
decline and fall of the ,roman ,empire4 
,in the course of time1 though we       
should probably have had our ,domitians 
and our ,neros1 we might have  delighted
 in a modern ,trajan or an ,antonine4   
,under such a man1 the  progress of     

letters1 having proceeded in any thing  
like the manner that  it has done1 we   
should have had some general system of  
national  education1 which1 after the   
,roman fashion of completeness1 would   
have  traversed the state1 with iron    
step1 doubtless even to the remote ends 
of  barbarian ,britain4  ,to say that   
this would not have been a signal       
benefit  to mankind would be idle3 what 
we have to say against the despotic     
system  is1 that it absorbs private     
virtue1 and suppresses private          
endeavour2  that though it may create   
better machines1 it certainly makes     
worse men4  ,now then to bring these    
imaginings home2 for they do concern us 
closely4  ,my readers are1 to a certain 
extent1 educated2 they will have gained 
by  living in a free state2 but if they 
continue to neglect the welfare of  the 
great mass1 in respect of education1 can
 they say that this1 the  first layer of
 the nation1 the turba ,remi1 might not 
almost wish1 if  they could comprehend  

the question1 to live under a despot who
 would  educate them1 rather than with  
free men who do not8  ,are we to enjoy  
the  singular freedom of speech and     
action1 which we do enjoy in this       
country1  and to expect to have no      
sacrifice to make for it8  ,is liberty1 
the first  of possessions1 to have no   
duties corresponding to its invaluable  
rights8  ,and1 in fine1 ought it not to 
be some drawback on the enjoyment of our
  own freedom1 if a doubt can come      
across our minds whether a vast mass of 
our fellow citizens might not be the    
better for living under a despotic      
government8  ,these are very serious    
questions2 and the sooner we are  able1 
with a good conscience1 to give a       
satisfactory answer to them1 the        
better4  ,till that time1 let no man in 
this country say that the  education of 
the people is nothing to him4    ,but   
how strange it is that men should       
require to be urged to this good  work  
of education4  ,the causing children to 

be taught is a thing so full  of joy1 of
 love1 of hope1 that one wonders how    
such a gladsome path of  benevolence    
could ever have been unfrequented4  ,the
 delight of educating  is like that of  
cultivating near the fruitful ,nile1    
where seed time and  harvest come so    
close together4  ,and when one looks    
forward to the  indefinite extension    
that any efforts in this direction may  
probably  enjoy1 one is apt to feel as  
if nothing else were important1 and to  
be  inclined to expend all one's        
energies in this one course4  ,indeed1  
it is  hard to estimate the enormous    
benefit of enabling a man to commune    
with  the most exalted minds of all     
time1 to read the most significant      
records  of all ages1 to find that      
others have felt and seen and suffered  
as  himself1 to extend his sympathy with
 his brother-man1 his insight into      
nature1 his knowledge of the ways of    
,god4  ,now the above is but a poor     
description of what the humblest        

education offers4    ,let us now        
consider the subject of the school-room 
more in detail4  ,and1 the first remark 
,i have to make1 is1 that we should     
perpetually  recal to mind the nature of
 our own thoughts1 and sensations1 at   
the  early periods of life in which     
those are whom we are trying to educate4
  ,this will make us careful not to     
weary children with those things which  
we long to impress most upon them4  ,the
 repetition of words1 whatever  they may
 contain1 is often like the succession  
of waves in a receding  tide1 which     
makes less of an inroad at each         
pulsation4  ,it is different  when an   
idea1 or state of feeling1 is repeated  
by conduct of various  kinds3 that is   
most impressive4  ,if a child1 for      
instance1 is brought up  where there is 
a pervading idea of any kind1 manifested
 as it will be in  many ways1 the idea  
is introduced again and again without   
wearisomeness1  and the child imbibes it
 unconsciously4  ,but mere maxims1      

embracing this  idea1 would very likely 
have gained no additional influence with
 him from  being constantly repeated3   
that is1 at the time2 for1 in after     
years1 the  maxims may1 perhaps1 fasten 
upon his mind with a peculiar strength1 
simply from their having been often     
repeated to him at an early period of   
his life4  ,but at present this         
repetition may be of immense disservice4
  ,you cannot continue to produce the   
same effect by words1 that you did on   
first using them2 and often you go on   
hammering about a thing until you       
loosen what was fast in the first       
instance4  ,it is well to keep such     
reflections steadily in mind as regards 
religious instruction for the  young1   
and1 especially1 as regards religious   
services for them4  ,go back  to your   
own youth1 and recollect how little     
command of attention you had  yourself1 
how volatile you were1 how anxious to   
escape all tedium1 how  weary of words1 
how apt to dislike routine4  ,then see  

whether you make  sufficient allowance  
for these feelings in dealing with the  
young2 and  whether it might not be     
possible to give them the same holy     
precepts1 to  communicate the same      
extent1 or nearly so1 of religious      
instruction1 and  yet to ensure their   
love for the times1 and places1 and     
circumstances1 of  this communication4  
,you must allow that you do a very      
dangerous thing  indeed1 when you make  
that wearisome which you wish to be most
 loved4  ,i  must confess that it has   
often struck me1 that we insist upon too
 much  religious attendance from        
children of a tender age2 and1          
considering what  we know of the        
impatience of the human mind1 ,i cannot 
but think that such  a system is often  
most prejudicial4  ,i say these things  
with much  hesitation1 and some fear of 
being misunderstood2 and ,i do not      
venture to  enter into details1 or to   
presume to say what should be the exact 
course  in so difficult a question4     

,what ,i wish1 is to draw the attention 
of  those engaged in instruction to a   
point of view which may sometimes       
escape them1 or which they may be       
tempted to neglect for the sake of      
appearances1 the household gods of this 
generation4                             
99 99 99 99 99    ,there is one maxim   
which those who superintend schools     
should ponder  well2 and that is1 that  
the best things to be learnt are those  
which the  children cannot be examined  
upon4  ,one cannot but fear that the    
masters  will be apt to think           
school-proficiency all in all2 and that 
the founders  and supporters of schools 
will1 occasionally1 be tempted by vanity
 to  take most interest in those things 
which give most opportunity for         
display4  ,yet the slightest inferiority
 of moral tone in a school would  be ill
 compensated for by an expertness1      
almost marvellous1 in dealing  with     
figures2 or a knowledge of names1       
things1 and places1 which may well      

confound the grown-up bystander4  ,that 
school would in reality be the one  to  
be proud of1 where order was thoroughly 
maintained with the least  admixture of 
fear2 where you would have most chance  
of meeting with  truthful replies from  
the children in a matter where such     
replies would  criminate themselves3 and
 where you would find the most kindly   
feeling to  each other prevalent        
throughout4  ,yet these are things not  
to be seen on  show days1 that cannot be
 got up for exhibition1 that require    
unwearied  supervision on the part of   
masters and benefactors1 that will never
 be  attempted but by those who1        
themselves1 feel deeply the superiority 
of  moral excellence to all else4  ,such
 teachers will see how the kindness of  
children to each other may be           
encouraged4  ,they will take more notice
 of  a good-natured thing than a clever 
one4  ,they will show1 how much1 even   
in the minutest trifles1 truth and      
fortitude weigh with them4  ,they will  

be careful not to stimulate an          
unwholesome craving for praise in their 
pupils4  ,they will look not only to the
 thing done1 but also to the mode  and  
spirit of doing it4  ,that this spirit  
and mode may be the means of  generating
 and guiding future endeavour will be a 
main object with such  instructors4     
,the dignity of labour1 the independence
 of thrift1 the  greatness of           
contentment1 will be themes dwelt upon  
by them1 in their  loving foresight for 
the future welfare of the infant        
labourers entrusted  to their care4  ,to
 endear holy things to these little ones
 would delight  such teachers far more  
than to instil the utmost proficiency in
 any  critical or historical knowledge  
of the sacred writings4  ,not that the  
two things are in the least degree      
incompatible4  ,far from it1 indeed6    
,all ,i mean to insist on is1 that such 
teachers will perceive what are the     
great objects of culture3 and how       
subservient even the best knowledge is  

to the apprehension of duty4  ,they will
 see1 too1 more clearly the  necessity  
of bearing in mind the pre-eminence of  
moral and religious  culture1 when they 
reflect that many of their pupils come  
from places  which cannot be called     
homes1 where scarcely anything like     
parental love  sustains or informs them1
 and where1 perhaps1 confusion1         
discontent1 and  domestic turbulence    
prevail4    ,we may remark1 as bearing  
upon this subject1 that singing lessons 
should  be greatly encouraged in        
schools4  ,there are several merits     
connected  with this mode of            
instruction4  ,it employs many together1
 and gives a  feeling of communion2 it  
is not much mixed up with emulation2 the
  tenderest and highest sentiments may  
be unostentatiously impressed by its    
means1 for you can introduce in songs   
such things as you could not  lecture   
upon2 then it gives somewhat of a       
cultivated taste1 and an  additional    
topic of social interest1 even to those 

who do not make much  proficiency2 while
 to others1 who have a natural ability  
for it1 it may  form an innocent and    
engaging pursuit throughout their lives4
    ,with respect to the intellectual   
part of teaching1 ,i have not much to   
say3 and it is a branch of the subject  
which has engaged1 and is  engaging1 the
 attention of men who are much more     
capable of speaking  about it than ,i   
am4  ,the only thing which it occurs to 
me to mention is1  that one would like  
to see a great deal of manual teaching1 
with a view  not only to the future     
profit1 but also to the future pleasure 
and  instruction of the children4  ,when
 you think that many of them will be    
artisans1 whose only occupation1        
perhaps1 will be to perform some one    
process of manufactures1 requiring next 
to no thought or skill1 it  becomes the 
more necessary to educate their hands as
 well as their heads4  ,man is an animal
 very fond of construction of any sort2 
and a wise  teacher1 knowing the        

happiness that flows from handiwork1    
will seize upon  opportunities for      
teaching even the most trivial          
accomplishments of a  manual kind4      
,they will come in1 hereafter1 to       
embellish a man's home1  and to endear  
it to him4  ,they will occupy time that 
would1 otherwise1 be  ill spent4  ,and1 
besides1 there are many persons whose   
cleverness lies  only in this way2 and  
you have to teach them this or nothing4 
#c4  ,,the ,,playground4      ,this is a
 place quite as important as the        
school-room4  ,here it is1 that  a large
 part of the moral cultivation may be   
carried on4  ,it is a great  object to  
humanize the conduct of children to each
 other at play times  without           
interfering with them1 or controlling   
them1 too much4  ,but we  have1 before1 
gone over the motives which should      
actuate a teacher in his  moral         
guidance2 and it needs only to remark1  
that the playground is a  place where   
that guidance is eminently required2 and

 where the exigencies  for it are most  
easily discerned4    ,those games should
 not be overlooked which are of a manly 
kind1 and  likely to be continued in    
after life4  ,this brings us naturally  
to think  of the playgrounds for        
children of a larger growth4  ,hitherto 
there has  been a sad deficiency in this
 matter in our manufacturing towns1 and 
almost everywhere else4  ,can any thing 
be more lamentable to contemplate  than 
a dull1 grim1 and vicious population1   
whose only amusement is  sensuality8    
,yet1 what can we expect1 if we provide 
no means whatever of  recreation2 if we 
never share our own pleasures with our  
poorer brethren2  and if the public     
buildings which invite them in their    
brief hours of  leisure are chiefly gin 
palaces8  ,as for our cathedrals and    
great  churches1 we mostly have them    
well locked up1 for fear any one should 
steal in and say a prayer1 or           
contemplate a noble work of art1 without
  paying for it3 and we shut people up  

by thousands in dense towns with no     
outlets to the country1 but those which 
are guarded on each side by dusty       
hedges4  ,now an open space near a town 
is one of nature's churches3 and  it is 
an imperative duty to provide such      
things4  ,nor1 indeed1 should we  stop  
at giving breathing places to crowded   
multitudes in great towns4  ,to  provide
 cheap locomotion1 as a means of social 
improvement1 should be  ever in the     
minds of legislators and other          
influential persons4  ,blunders  in     
legislating about railroads1 and absurd 
expenditure in making them1  are a far  
greater public detriment than they may  
seem at first sight4  ,again1 without   
interfering too much1 or attempting to  
force a ,book of  ,sports upon the      
people1 who in that case1 would be      
resolutely dull and  lugubrious1 the    
benevolent employer of labour might     
exert himself in many  ways to encourage
 healthful and instructive amusements   
amongst his men4  ,he might give prizes 

for athletic excellence or skill4  ,he  
might aid in  establishing zoological   
gardens1 or music-meetings1 or          
exhibitions of  pictures1 or mechanics' 
institutes4  ,these are things in which 
some of  the great employers of labour  
have already set him the example4  ,let 
him  remember how much his workpeople   
are deprived of by being almost confined
  to one spot2 and let him be the more  
anxious to enlarge their minds by       
inducing them to take interest in any   
thing which may prevent the  ignorant   
present1 and its low cares1 from        
absorbing all their  attention4  ,he has
 very likely some pursuit1 or some art1 
in which he  takes especial pleasure    
himself1 and which gives to his leisure1
 perhaps1  its greatest charm3 he may be
 sure that there are many of his people 
who  could be made to share in some     
degree that pleasure1 or pursuit1 with  
him4  ,it is a large1 a sure1 and       
certainly a most pleasurable            
beneficence1 to provide for the poor    

such opportunities of recreation1 or    
means of amusement1 as ,i have mentioned
 above4  ,neither can it be set  down as
 at all a trifling matter4  ,depend upon
 it1 that man has not made  any great   
progress in humanity who does not care  
for the leisure hours  and amusements of
 his fellow-men4    ,while we are upon  
this matter1 ,i will mention something  
which borders  closely upon it1 though  
it applies to the consumer rather than  
the  manufacturer4  ,most men would     
think it much1 if it were brought home  
to  them1 that from any carelessness of 
theirs1 some person had suffered        
unnecessary imprisonment1 if only for a 
day4  ,and yet any one1 who  encourages 
unreasonably late hours of business1    
does what he can to  uphold a system of 
needless confinement1 depriving         
thousands of that  healthful change of  
pursuit which is one of the main        
aliments both for  body and soul1 and   
leaving little time or opportunity for  
any thing to  grow up in their minds    

beyond the rudest and most trivial cares
 and  objects4      #d4  ,,the          
,,workman',s ,,home4      ,that the     
workman should have a home1 which1      
however humble it may be1  should yet   
afford room and scope for the decencies1
 if not for some of  the comforts and   
refinements of civilized life1 is       
manifestly essential1  if we wish to    
preserve the great body of the people   
from a state of  savageness4  ,there is 
an important and original remark on this
 subject in  the ,hand ,loom ,weavers   
,report of #ahda3        ,the man who   
dines for #f;d4 and clothes himself     
during the year for #e      pounds is   
probably as healthily fed1 and as       
healthily clad1 as if his      dinner   
cost two guineas a day1 and his dress   
#bjj pounds a year4  ,but      this is  
not the case with respect to habitation4
  ,every increase of      accommodation1
 from the corner of a cellar to a       
mansion1 renders the      dwelling more 
healthy1 and1 to a considerable extent1 

the size and      goodness of the       
dwelling tends to render its inmates    
more civilized4    ,indeed1 if          
civilization does not show itself in a  
man's home1 where else  is it likely to 
take much root with him8  ,make his home
 comfortable1 and  you do more towards  
making him a steady and careful citizen1
 than you  could by any other means4    
,now only look around1 and see how      
entirely  this has been neglected1 at   
least1 until within a recent date4  ,our
  workers are toiling all day long1 or1 
if they have leisure1 it is mostly      
accompanied by pecuniary distress3 and  
can you expect in either case that  they
 will busy themselves about those       
primary structural arrangements  without
 which it is scarcely possible to have a
 comfortable home8  ,many  of the       
things1 too1 which are needful for this 
end1 require capital1 or1  at least1    
such conjoint enterprise as can hardly  
be expected from the  poor4  ,take any  
individual workman4  ,suppose there is  

defective drainage  in his street1 or1  
as often happens1 no drainage at all1   
what can one  such man do1 even if at   
all alive to the evil8  ,when you       
consider the  dependent condition of the
 labouring classes1 and how little time 
they  have for domestic arrangements of 
any kind1 does it not behove the        
employer of labour to endeavour that his
 workmen should have  opportunities of  
getting places to live in1 fit for human
 beings in a  civilized country8  ,i use
 the phrase employer of labour1 in its  
widest  sense2 and at once say1 that    
there are many things bearing upon the  
comfort of the habitations of the poor1 
which both the local authorities  and   
the imperial government ought to look   
to4  ,is there not a strange  mockery in
 the fact1 stated in the ,sanitary      
,report1 that the annual  slaughter in  
,england and ,wales from preventible    
causes of typhus which  attacks persons 
in the vigour of life1 appears to be    
double the amount of  what was suffered 

by the allied armies in the battle of   
,waterloo8  ,must  we not say again that
 the careless cruelty of the world      
almost outweighs  the rest8    ,i have  
hitherto abstained from vexing my       
readers with details2 nor do ,i  wish   
now to do more than draw their attention
 to a few extracts from  public         
documents respecting the habitations of 
the poor4  ,i take the  following from  
the ,hand ,loom ,weavers' ,report in    
#ahda4        ,the ,first ,annual       
,report of the ,registrar-,general1     
showed for the      year #ahch a        
variation of the annual mortality in    
different districts      of the         
metropolis1 amounting to #ajj per cent42
 a difference nearly      equal to that 
which exists between the most healthy   
and the least      healthy portions of  
the world4  ,the inquiries instituted at
 the same      time by the ,poor ,law   
,commissioners into the physical causes 
of fever      in the metropolis1 have   
traced the comparative mortality of the 

unhealthy districts principally to the  
presence of impurities1 the      want of
 ventilation1 and the bad construction  
of houses4        ,the following        
extracts from ,dr4 ,southwood ,smith's  
,report on ,bethnal      ,green and     
,whitechapel1 show both the causes and  
the intensity of the      evil4         
',it appears1' says ,dr4 ,southwood     
,smith1 'that in many parts of          
,bethnal ,green and ,whitechapel1 fever 
of a malignant and fatal      character 
is always more or less prevalent4  ,in  
some streets it has      recently       
prevailed in almost every house2 in some
 courts in every      house2 and in some
 few instances in every room in every   
house4  ,cases      are recorded in     
which every member of a family has been 
attacked in      succession1 of whom in 
every such case several have died2 some 
whole      families have been swept     
away4  ,instances are detailed in which 
there      have been found in one small 
room six persons lying ill of fever     

together2 ,i have myself seen this1 four
 in one bed1 and two in      another4   
99 99 99 99 99        ',the room of a   
fever patient in a small and heated     
apartment in      ,london1 with no      
perflation of fresh air1 is perfectly   
analogous to a      standing pool in    
,ethiopia full of bodies of dead        
locusts4  ,the poison      generated in 
both cases is the same2 the difference  
is merely in the      degree of its     
potency4  ,nature with her burning sun1 
her stilled and      pent up wind1 her  
stagnant and teeming marsh1 manufactures
 plague on      a large and fearful     
scale4  ,poverty in her hut1 covered    
with her      rags1 surrounded with her 
filth1 striving with all her might to   
keep      out the pure air and to       
increase the heat1 imitates nature but  
too      successfully3 the process and  
the product are the same2 the only      
difference is in the magnitude of the   
result4        ',but the magnitude of   
the result in ,london1 if that magnitude

 be      estimated by the numbers       
attacked1 is not slight4  ,from returns 
received from the ,bethnal ,green and   
,whitechapel ,unions it appears         
that during the last year there occurred
 of fever cases1    ,in the ,bethnal    
,green ,union       #b1jhd    ,in the   
,whitechapel ,union         #b1eeg      
,total  #d1fda    ,the state of things  
described above by ,dr4 ,southwood      
,smith is by no means  confined to the  
metropolis2 nor1 even1 is it to be seen 
in its worst form  there4  ,mr4         
,chadwick says1 the most wretched of the
 stationary  population of which ,i have
 been able to obtain any account1 or    
that ,i  have ever seen1 was that which 
,i saw in company with ,dr4 ,arnott1 and
  others1 in the wynds of ,edinburgh and
 ,glasgow4  ,i forbear to add their     
detailed report1 which1 as regards      
,glasgow especially1 represents a       
loathsome state of filth and            
wretchedness4  ,if we go now to the     
manufacturing towns of ,england1 the    

evidence is of a similar character4     
,the following extract1 says the        
,sanitary ,report1 is descriptive of the
  condition of large classes of         
tenements in the manufacturing towns of 
,lancashire4  ,it is from the report of 
,mr4 ,pearson1 the medical officer of   
the ,wigan ,union4        ,from the few 
observations which ,i have been enabled 
to make      respecting the causes of   
fever during the two months which ,i    
have      held the situation of         
house-surgeon to the ,dispensary1 ,i am 
inclined      to consider the filthy    
condition of the town as being the most 
prominent source4  ,many of the streets 
are unpaved and almost covered      with
 stagnant water1 which lodges in        
numerous large holes which exist        
upon their surface1 and into which the  
inhabitants throw all kinds of          
rejected animal and vegetable matters1  
which then undergo decay and      emit  
the most poisonous exhalations4  ,these 
matters are often      allowed1 from the

 filthy habits of the inhabitants of    
these      districts1 many of whom1     
especially the poor ,irish1 are utterly 
regardless both of personal and domestic
 cleanliness1 to accumulate      to an  
immense extent1 and thus become prolific
 sources of malaria1      rendering the 
atmosphere an active poison4    ,dr4    
,edward ,knight1 speaking of some parts 
of the town of ,stafford1 says1         
,these parts of the town are without    
drainage1 the houses1 which are         
private property1 are built without any 
regard to situation or      ventilation1
 and constructed in a manner to ensure  
the greatest      return at the least   
possible outlay4  ,the accommodation in 
them does      not extend beyond two    
rooms2 these are small1 and1 for the    
most part1      the families work in the
 day-time in the same room in which they
      sleep1 to save fuel4        ,there
 is not any provision made for refuse   
dirt1 which1 as the least      trouble1 
is thrown down in front of the houses1  

and there left to      putrefy4    ,mr4 
,william ,rayner1 the medical officer of
 the ,heaton ,norris district of  the   
,stockport ,union1 thus describes a part
 of that town3        ,there are        
forty-four houses in the two rows1 and  
twenty-two cellars1      all of the same
 size4  ,the cellars are let off as     
separate dwellings2      these are dark1
 damp1 and very low1 not more that six  
feet between      the ceiling and floor4
  ,the street between the two rows is   
seven      yards wide1 in the centre of 
which is the common gutter1 or more     
properly sink1 into which all sorts of  
refuse is thrown2 it is a foot      in  
depth4  ,thus there is always a quantity
 of putrefying matter      contaminating
 the air4  ,at the end of the rows is a 
pool of water      very shallow and     
stagnant1 and a few yards further1 a    
part of the      town's gas works4  ,in 
many of these dwellings there are four  
persons      in one bed4    ,we might   
have hoped that country districts at    

least would have been free  from the    
evils occasioned by contracted building1
 want of ventilation1  want of drainage1
 and the like2 but this is far indeed   
from being the  case4  ,the following is
 from the report of ,mr4 ,aaron ,little1
 the medical  officer of the ,chippenham
 ,union3        ,the parish of ,colerne1
 which1 upon a cursory view1 any person 
7unacquainted with its peculiarities7   
would pronounce to be the most          
healthy village in ,england1 is in fact 
the most unhealthy4  ,from its          
commanding position 7being situated upon
 a high hill7 it has an      appearance 
of health and cheerfulness which        
delights the eye of the      traveller1 
who commands a view of it from the      
,great ,western road2 but      this     
impression is immediately removed on    
entering at any point of      the town4 
,the filth1 the dilapidated buildings1  
the squalid      appearance of the      
majority of the lower orders1 have a    
sickening      effect upon the stranger 

who first visits this place4  ,during   
three      years' attendance on the poor
 of this district1 ,i have never known  
the small pox1 scarlatina1 or the typhus
 fever to be absent4  ,the              
situation is damp1 and the buildings    
unhealthy1 and the inhabitants          
themselves inclined to be of dirty      
habits4  ,there is also a great         
want of drainage4    ,mr4 ,john ,fox1   
the medical officer of the ,cerne       
,union1 ,dorsetshire1 gives  the        
following evidence3        ,in many of  
the cottages1 where synochus prevailed1 
the beds stood on      the ground-floor1
 which was damp three parts of the year2
 scarcely      one had a fire place in  
the bed-room1 and one had a single small
 pane      of glass stuck in the mud    
wall as its only window1 with a large   
heap      of wet and dirty potatoes in  
one corner4  ,persons living in such    
cottages are generally very poor1 very  
dirty1 and usually in rags2      living 
almost wholly on bread and potatoes1    

scarcely ever tasting      animal food1 
and consequently highly susceptible of  
disease and very      unable to contend 
with it4  ,i am quite sure if such      
persons were      placed in good1       
comfortable1 clean cottages1 the        
improvement in      themselves and      
children would soon be visible1 and the 
exceptions      would only be found in a
 few of the poorest and most wretched1  
who      perhaps had been born in a mud 
hovel1 and had lived in one the first   
thirty years of their lives4    ,mr4    
,james ,gane1 the medical officer of the
 ,uxbridge ,union1 says1        ,i      
attribute the prevalence of diseases of 
an epidemic character1      which exists
 so much more among the poor than among 
the rich1 to be1      from the want of  
better accommodation as residence1      
7their dwellings      instead of being  
built of solid materials are complete   
shells of mud      on a spot of waste   
land the most swampy in the parish2 this
 is to be      met with almost          

everywhere in rural districts7 to the   
want of better      clothing1 being     
better fed1 more attention paid to the  
cleanliness of      their dwellings1 and
 less congregated together4    ,mr4     
,thomas ,h4 ,smith1 the medical officer 
of the ,bromley ,union1 states3         
,my attention was first directed to the 
sources of malaria in this      district
 and neighbourhood when cholera became  
epidemic4  ,i then      partially       
inspected the dwellings of the poor1 and
 have recently      completed the       
survey4  ,it is almost incredible that  
so many sources      of malaria should  
exist in a rural district4  ,a total    
absence of all      provisions for      
effectual drainage around cottages is   
the most      prominent source of       
malaria2 throughout the whole district  
there is      scarcely an attempt at it4
  ,the refuse vegetable and animal      
matters      are also thrown by the     
cottagers in heaps near their dwellings 
to      decompose2 are sometimes not    

removed1 except at very long intervals2 
and are always permitted to remain      
sufficiently long to accumulate in      
some quantity4  ,pigsties are generally 
near the dwellings1 and are      always 
surrounded by decomposing matters4      
,these constitute some of      the many 
sources of malaria1 and peculiarly      
deserve attention as      being easily  
remedied1 and yet1 as it were1          
cherished4  ,the effects      of malaria
 are strikingly exemplified in parts of 
this district4      ,there are          
localities from which fever is seldom   
long absent2 and ,i      find spots     
where the spasmodic cholera located     
itself are also the      chosen resorts 
of continued fever4    ,it appears from 
the ,sanitary ,report1 from which ,i    
have made the above  extracts1 and which
 was presented to ,parliament in #ahdb1 
that there were  then #hjjj inhabited   
cellars at ,liverpool2 and that the     
occupants were  estimated at from       
#ce1jjj to #dj1jjj4  ,liverpool is      

called a prosperous  town4  ,people     
point with admiration to its docks1 and 
its warehouses1 and  speak of its wealth
 and grandeur in high terms4  ,but such 
prosperity1  like the victory of        
,pyrrhus1 is apt to suggest the idea of 
ruin4  ,thirty-five thousand people     
living in cellars6  ,surely such things 
as  these demonstrate the necessity     
there is for making great exertions to  
provide fit habitations for the poor4   
,each year there is required in  ,great 
,britain1 according to the ,sanitary    
,report1 an increase of #ei1jjj  new    
tenements1 a number equal to that of two
 new towns such as  ,manchester proper1 
which has #cb1caj houses1 and           
,birmingham1 which has  #bg1bfh houses4 
,in these large increments of building1 
is it not  essential that there should  
be some care for the health and the     
morals of  the people8  ,is it not a    
question which even in a selfish point  
of view  affects the whole empire8      
99 99 99 99 99    ,i am aware that there

 are great difficulties in the way of   
any general  measure for regulating     
buildings4  ,the first difficulty which 
occurs1 one  which1 of itself1 forms a  
limit to building regulations1 is1 that 
if you  carry them beyond a certain     
extent1 the poorer classes are driven1  
by the  increased expense1 from the     
occupation of cottages to that of rooms1
  which would be anything but a gain4   
,besides1 it is obvious1 on other       
accounts1 that any regulations with     
respect to building must be  introduced 
with great care1 especially in an old   
country1 and where the  buildings1 which
 you would be most anxious to modify1   
are those which  will be erected in the 
immediate vicinity of ground already    
densely  covered with houses4  ,the     
,liverpool ,improvement ,act affords a  
curious  instance of1 what appears to   
me1 absurd and impatient legislation on 
the  subject of building4  ,by some of  
its provisions a certain description of 
cellar in that town will be thrown out  

of occupation on a given day4  ,now1    
where are the inhabitants of these      
cellars to go to8  ,you might as  well  
legislate that no food except of a      
certain quality should be sold2  but it 
does not seem likely that this would    
secure the maintenance of the           
population so legislated upon4          
,inconsiderate measures of this kind    
occasionally put even wise interference 
out of countenance4  ,still1 ,i  must   
contend that much good may be done by   
some simple building  regulations of a  
sanitary nature4  ,much may be done     
indirectly1 all of  which is nearly sure
 to be good4  ,for instance1 it is very 
desirable to  lower the taxation upon   
building materials4  ,then1 again1      
wherever the  window-tax can be         
modified1 with a view to benefit the    
dwellings of the  poor1 it should be    
done4  ,mr4 ,biers1 a witness examined  
before the ,select  ,committee in #ahdb 
on ,building ,regulations1 says1        
,the preamble of this ,act 7the ,bill1  

,i believe1 then under                  
consideration7 sets out that it is for  
the purpose of preventing      disease  
and giving better ventilation2 now1 it  
would much increase      the advantages 
of poor people if a rider or addition   
was made to the      #agth section1 for 
the purpose of giving a better          
ventilation without      being liable to
 the tax-gatherer4  ,i have added to    
this section1      ',and1 for the       
purpose of promoting health and better  
ventilation1 it      is provided1 that  
all window-lights or casements1 not     
being between      the outside brick or 
stone reveals of greater dimensions than
 one      foot wide and three feet high1
 shall not be assessed to the window    
duties1 whether the same be glazed or   
not1 provided the room or               
appurtenance is not used for a sleeping 
or dwelling apartment4'        ,viscount
 ,sandon4  ,this is not for inhabited   
cellars8  ,no1 it is to      promote the
 ventilation of any part that is not an 

inhabited room2      larders and cellars
 and out-appurtenances of houses4  ,i   
used to put      in the buildings ,i am 
now erecting what are termed lancet     
lights1 for      the ventilating the    
cellars1 larders1 c42 and1 previous to  
the late      survey1 these lancet      
lights were never taken2 but so         
stringent were      the orders from the 
tax-board on the late survey1 that if   
they found      a gimlet-hole they would
 take it4        ,chairman4  ,were they 
glazed8--,yes4        ,if they were not 
glazed1 but made of wire1 how would that
 be8--,then      they can take them1    
unless the word ',dairy' or             
',cheese-room' is      written over     
them2 ,i have now been obliged to reduce
 three of those      lancet lights1 and 
do not get the ventilation4  ,it is as  
much or more      concern to the poor   
than it is to the rich1 that they should
 have a      proper ventilation2 and    
there have been many windows stopped up 
7which ought not to have been taken7 in 

consequence of the recent      survey1  
and which ,i am sure the ,legislature   
never intended should be      taken4    
,but1 in addition to these indirect     
methods for improving buildings1 it is  
surely not beyond our legislative       
ability to devise some very simple      
regulations1 at least of that kind which
 are to have a prospective  application4
  ,i do not like to speak confidently   
about the merits of the  ,government    
,bill1 introduced this session1 because 
it requires so much  technical knowledge
 to judge of these matters2 but the main
 provisions  for back-yards or open     
spaces attached to dwelling houses1 and 
for the  areas to lowermost rooms1      
appear to me well considered4  ,this    
,bill  applies only to the metropolis4  
,the working1 however1 of local         
improvement ,acts may afford the best   
kind of evidence to prepare a  general  
measure upon4  ,when the subject was    
considered in ,committee in  #ahdb1 the 
,corporation of ,london sent a witness  

who showed that if a  certain           
regulation1 embodied in the ,bill they  
were then considering1 were  carried    
into effect1 it would1 in some          
instances1 not only injure  property1   
but prevent improvement4  ,partial      
objections of this nature1  which after 
all may be very slight things1 often    
prevent most useful  measures from being
 carried4  ,but why should there not be 
a discretionary  power vested somewhere 
to relax any provision which1 in        
particular cases1  might be found harsh 
or inapplicable8  ,this power might be  
given to a  central office1 or to local 
boards of health4  ,any suggestion of   
this  kind is liable to objections2 and 
the truth is1 that to introduce         
sanitary provisions into a state of     
things not prepared for them1 must at   
first be a matter cumbered with         
difficulties2 but1 as ,lord ,lyndhurst  
has  said1 a difficulty is a thing to be
 overcome4  ,mr4 ,carlyle has pointed   
out what a wonderful production a       

soldier is1 still more a body of them1  
and all the apparatus by which they are 
kept in working order4  ,and1 as  he    
goes on to argue1 governments could not 
exist if this human fighting  machine   
were not in good keeping1 and1          
therefore1 it is well cared for at  all 
times4  ,now if governments did but     
perceive the importance of some         
regulation for the dwellings of the     
poor1 if they looked at it only as a    
matter of finance 7for1 eventually1 the 
state pays for all disease and          
distress71 it is probable they would put
 their shoulders to the wheel1  and get 
it out of the difficulty1 at least as   
far as their fair share of  the matter  
goes4    ,again1 the more difficulty    
there is in legislating on this subject1
 and  especially if it can be shown that
 there is difficulty connected with it  
of a kind almost insuperable by mere    
legislative efforts1 the more there     
remains for private individuals to do4  
,i cannot believe but that human        

ingenuity1 in some form or other1 will  
be able to surmount the evil in         
question4  ,the difference of expense in
 building a row of small cottages1  back
 to back1 which it will be hard to      
ventilate1 and which must be  without   
the most obvious household requisites1  
and that of building a row  of cottages 
each of which shall have a yard at the  
back1 will be about #bb  per cent4 upon 
the outlay4  ,where one would cost #ajj 
pounds1 which is a  good price for the  
lowest class cottages1 the other would  
cost #abb  pounds4  ,this calculation is
 independent of the cost of the         
additional  land which would be         
required4  ,it is melancholy to think   
that this #bb  pounds1 and the price of 
the additional land must1 in thousands  
of cases1  have determined the health   
and morality of the inmates4  ,i do not 
mean to  say that this pecuniary        
difference is a slight matter1 but still
 ,i do  think it is somehow or other to 
be provided for4  ,there is always this 

to  be considered1 that the better the  
tenement1 the more it will be cared     
for4  ,in the same ,committee ,i have   
mentioned before1 the ,town ,clerk of   
,leeds is asked3        ,would not the  
building of the better kind of cottages 
always secure      the best             
tenants8--,unquestionably4        ,and  
the person who invested the property in 
buildings of that kind      would rather
 take six per cent4 of good tenants than
 seven per cent4      of bad            
ones8--,yes2 we have a number of        
instances in ,leeds4  ,there is      a  
gentleman named ,croysdill1 who has #bjj
 or #cjj cottages2 he receives      the 
lowest rents on an average of any large 
proprietor of cottages1      and they   
are unquestionably the most comfortable 
dwellings1 and the      best occupied4  
,it may be a strong thing to say1 but ,i
 can conceive it possible1 in a         
,christian country1 for a man to        
restrain himself from making the utmost 
profit out of his possessions4  ,i can  

imagine1 for instance1 an owner of  land
 in a town being unwilling to demand    
such a price for it1 as would  prevent  
the cottages of the labouring people    
from being built with those  comforts   
and conveniences upon which civilization
 may almost be said to  depend4  ,a man 
may think that there is some            
responsibility attached to  ownership2  
and he may not like to be in any way    
accessory to the building  of such      
habitations for the poor as he          
thoroughly disapproves of4  ,and if  the
 owner of land feels this1 still more   
may the capitalist who  undertakes to   
build upon it4  ,it may be a            
satisfactory thing to collect  in any   
way much money2 but ,i think1 on the    
other hand1 that most men have  a great 
pleasure in doing anything well1 in a   
workmanlike and stable  manner4  ,and1  
strange as it may seem1 it is very      
possible that motives of  profit and    
loss may not be the only ones which have
 led to such miserable  building1 as is 

often to be seen in the houses of the   
poor4  ,people have  not thought about  
the matter4  ,if they had seen the merit
 of building  good houses of a small    
kind1 ,i think that in many cases1 the  
additional  money required would not    
have stood in the way4  ,in the ,select 
,committee  of #ahdb1 the following     
questions are asked of a witness from   
,liverpool3        ,is ,liverpool a town
 which has a considerable quantity of   
land which      may be made available   
for the purpose of erecting             
houses8--,there is a      good deal of  
land in the suburbs4        ,the        
corporation possess a good deal of      
land8--,they do4                        
99 99 99 99 99        ,have you had     
under your consideration the provisions 
of what is      called ,lord ,normanby's
 ,act1 by which it is forbidden to build
 houses      back to back8--,yes4       
,what were the reasons which induced the
 ,corporation of ,liverpool not      to 
object to houses being so built8--,if   

houses were not to be built      back to
 back there would be a great sacrifice  
of land4    ,i do not bring this        
evidence forward to censure that        
corporation1 but  rather to excuse      
private persons in some measure1 by     
showing the general  unconcern and      
ignorance about the subject4  ,it       
appears that even a  corporate body1 who
 might be expected to discern the value 
of public  health and morals1 and not to
 be subdued by the prospect of immediate
 and  apparent gain1 have at least not  
made any endeavour to introduce a good  
system of building cottages for the poor
 of their own town4  ,not that  they1   
probably1 were in the slightest degree1 
more mercenary than other  men2 but it  
is only an instance to show how little  
attention has hitherto  been given to   
this subject4    ,there is at present in
 the metropolis1 a ,society for         
improving the  dwellings of the         
industrious classes2 but what is one    
society8  ,this is  a matter which ought

 to interest the owners of property1 and
 the  employers of labour1 throughout   
the country4  ,such a society as the one
  named may do great good by building   
model houses1 making scientific         
investigations1 and frequently laying   
before the public information on  the   
subject4  ,but the proper division of   
labour1 as it seems to me1 would  be    
that the state should give every        
legislative facility for contemplated   
improvements in the way of building1    
should encourage all researches into    
the subject1 and be ready to enforce by 
law such regulations as1 without  any   
great intrusion upon private property1  
might secure for small houses  those    
primary requisites without which it     
cannot be expected that they  will be   
anything but nests of disease4  ,in fact
 the state might1  eventually1 so order 
the matter that builders should not     
merely build  such houses as the poor   
would take1 for there is nothing in the 
way of a  shelter which they will refuse

 to occupy1 but such as ought to be let 
to  them1 with due care at least for the
 public health4  ,the local  authorities
 should take upon themselves1 the       
lighting1 cleansing1 paving1  supplying 
with water1 and the like4  ,for private 
individuals there  remains the most     
important part of the task1 namely1 the 
building of an  improved class of small 
houses4  ,in this good work the         
employers of  labour may be expected to 
come prominently forward4  ,many a man  
will  speculate in all kinds of remote  
undertakings2 and it will never occur to
  him that one of the most admirable    
uses to which he might put his spare    
capital1 would be to provide fit        
dwelling places for the labouring       
population around him4  ,he is not asked
 to build alms houses4  ,on the         
contrary1 let him take care to ensure1  
as far as he can1 a good return  for the
 outlay1 in order to avoid what may1    
possibly1 be an unjust  interference    
with other men's property2 and also1 and

 chiefly1 that his  building for the    
poor may not end in an isolated act of  
benevolence1 but  may indicate a mode of
 employing capital likely to be followed
 by others4  ,in the present state of   
things1 the rents of small houses are   
disproportionately high because of the  
difficulty and uncertainty of           
collecting the rents for them2 but by   
any improvement you introduce into  the 
habits of the occupiers of such houses1 
you make this difficulty and            
uncertainty less2 and thereby diminish  
rents4  ,and thus1 in this case1 as  in 
many others1 physical and moral         
improvement go on acting and reacting   
upon each other4  ,it is likely1 too1   
that these poor people will pay with    
readiness and punctuality even a higher 
rent1 if it be for a really good        
tenement1 than a small one for a place  
which they must inhabit in the  midst of
 filth1 discomfort1 and disease1 and    
therefore with carelessness  and penury4
  ,besides2 the rents they pay now1 will

 be found1 ,i believe1  sufficient to   
reimburse the capitalist for an outlay  
which would suffice  to build tenements 
of a superior description to the present
 ones4    ,i do not mean to say that the
 beginners of such a system of employing
  capital might not have a great deal to
 contend with3 and it is to their       
benevolence1 and not to any money       
motives1 that ,i would mainly appeal4   
,the devout feeling which in former days
 raised august cathedrals  throughout   
the land1 might find an employment to   
the full as religious in  building a    
humble row of cottages1 if they tell of 
honour to the great  ,creator1 in care  
for those whom he has bidden us to care 
for1 and are  thus silently dedicated1  
as it were1 to ,his name4               
99 99 99 99 99    ,the allotment system 
has not hitherto1 ,i believe1 been tried
 to any  extent in the manufacturing    
districts4  ,mr4 ,james ,marshall1 and  
,mr4 ,gott1  of ,leeds have begun to try
 it2 but ,i think it is but recently2   

and that  there has not yet been time to
 ascertain the result of the system4  ,i
  cannot but think1 however1 that it    
will be found more beneficial in        
manufacturing1 than even in rural1      
districts4  ,let us enumerate some of   
the probable advantages4  ,it would form
 an additional means of  support--it    
would tend to endear home to the working
 man--it would  provide a pleasing      
change of employment for him in good    
times--it would  render him not so      
listless when out of work--and it would 
give him  knowledge1 an additional topic
 of conversation1 and an interest in    
various things which he might never1    
otherwise1 have felt the least  concern 
for4  ,moreover1 it amuses and occupies 
the little ones in a  family2 and it    
leaves less temptation for parents to   
employ children too  early1 in factories
 or workshops1 when they can find       
something else for  them to do which may
 be profitable4  ,in this respect1      
indeed1 any  improvement in domestic    

comfort1 or any additional domestic     
pursuit1 is  likely to be beneficial1 as
 it enlarges the sphere of household    
duties1  and creates more reasons for   
the wife and children being left at     
home4  ,again1 as there is hard labour  
to be done in a garden1 this allotment  
system might occasionally prevent the   
sense of an almost unnatural  dependence
 being so much exhibited1 or felt1 when 
the children are  employed in some      
factory1 and the grown up people are    
not4  ,this is one  of the greatest     
evils that at present attend the state  
of manufactures4  ,some of the          
advantages which ,i have reckoned above1
 as likely to be  connected with the    
allotment system1 are trifling things2  
but small  impulses1 all tending one    
way1 may lead to great results4  ,the   
main  objection which1 ,i suppose1 will 
be taken1 is that to make allotments in 
crowded districts is scarcely           
practicable4  ,some beginning1 however1 
has  been made at a place so crowded as 

,leeds1 and at any rate1 in any future  
building arrangements1 room might be    
left for allotments of land1 which      
would also secure many advantages with  
respect to the sanitary condition  of   
the people4  ,it may be remarked1 too1  
that any manufacturer1 who  possessed   
cottages with allotments to them1 would 
have an easy mode of  rewarding good    
behaviour4  ,such cottages would be     
eagerly sought after by  the men1 and   
might be given1 in preference1 to those 
of good character4    ,is all this      
romantic8  ,is it inevitable that the   
suburbs of a  manufacturing town must   
consist of dense masses of squalid      
habitations1  unblest by a proper supply
 of air1 light1 or water2 undrained1    
uncleansed1 and unswept2 enjoying only  
that portion of civilization which  the 
presence of the police declares2 and    
presenting a scene which the  better    
orders hurry by with disgust8  ,or1 on  
the contrary may we not1  without giving
 ourselves up to ,utopian dreams1       

imagine that we might  enter the busy   
resorts of traffic through extensive    
suburbs consisting of  cottages with    
their bits of land2 and see1 as we came 
along1 symptoms  everywhere around of   
housewifely occupations1 and of homes   
which their  humble owners might often  
think of with pleasure during their     
day's  labour1 looking forward to their 
return at evening with delight4  ,the   
richer classes1 even those low down in  
the scale of wealth1 mostly  struggle to
 secure some portion of country air for 
themselves3 surely  they might do their 
best to provide for the working man     
something like a  change from the       
atmosphere of the factory1 or workshop1 
in which he must  pass the greatest part
 of his day throughout the whole year4  
,against what ,i have said above1 it may
 be urged that it would prevent the     
workman from living near his work4  ,in 
many cases this may be an               
inconvenience2 but ,i do not imagine    
that1 in general1 it can be proved to   

be an insurmountable1 or even a very    
serious objection4  ,turning again to   
the evidence of the ,town ,clerk of     
,leeds before the ,building ,committee1 
,i  find the following3        ,lord    
,ashley4  ,i have been told by several  
builders in ,london1 that      in       
consequence of the improvements in the  
metropolis1 great numbers      of people
 have been driven to the out-skirts of  
the town2 but they      found in the    
out-skirts of the town an excellent     
house for less money      than when they
 lived in miserable lodgings in the     
heart of the town2      is this         
consistent with your experience in      
,leeds8--,quite consistent4        ,and 
no hardship to themselves8--,the        
distance of going to work is the        
objection2 but we find the poor people  
will for twenty years walk two      or  
three miles in a morning to their work  
at six o'clock1 and seem no      worse  
for it4        ,v4  ,,the ,,town4       
,it will not be a matter unworthy the   

attention of a great employer of        
labour1 to improve and embellish the    
town where his work is carried on4  ,it 
is his duty to have some care for its   
public buildings1 and its  institutions4
  ,they are means for improving1        
sometimes by manifest  benefits1        
sometimes by silent influence1 the      
condition of his men4  ,surely if the   
employers of labour felt any thing like 
a home affection  for the towns where   
they live1 they could not leave them in 
the rude1  unadorned state in which so  
many of them are4  ,and where is a man's
 home1  if not where he can do most     
good2 where he spends the best part of  
his  life2 where he directs the labour1 
perhaps1 of thousands1 and absolutely   
by his own exertion may affect the      
condition of the rising generation8  ,if
 such a man could see the many links of 
duty done1 or duty disregarded1  that   
connect him with the spot where he      
works1 let it be ever so dark1  squalid1
 and repulsive1 he would still say that 

it was a great part of  his home1 and   
not indulge too fondly in the idea of   
sunny meadows and  beautiful villas1 to 
be enjoyed in some secure1 golden1      
retirement4  ,he  would take an interest
 in the erection of churches1 hospitals1
 buildings  for the display of art1 or  
indeed1 in any institutions that would  
further  his great work by elevating the
 sentiments1 or improving the physical  
condition1 of his men4  ,the            
establishment of public baths would be  
another matter worthy of his attention4 
,at these baths the poor might be       
admitted on payment of a small fee to   
cover the expense of attendants4  ,the  
,romans1 induced by social or political 
motives1 had their public  baths1 to    
which citizens were admitted2 who       
formed1 however1 but a small  part of   
their people3 surely higher motives     
might prevail with us to have  similar  
baths1 which should be open to all our  
population4  ,while we are  speaking of 
institutions of various kinds1 we must  

not omit ,monts de  ,piete1 or ,loan    
,societies1 which may enable the poor   
man to get small  advances on reasonable
 terms4  ,it will not be enough to      
establish such  things as we have spoken
 of3 there is yet harder work to be done
 in the  management of them4  ,all      
charitable institutions require vigorous
  attention2 and the better kind of men 
must not shrink from the public         
business which they are the fittest to  
transact4  ,if founders or  benefactors 
were the only people needed1 one        
generation might monopolize  the        
beneficence of all time2 but charitable 
institutions require for ever  duty to  
be done by living men4  ,and1 as ,i have
 intimated before1 it is in  giving     
thought and labour1 that we may often   
make the greatest and the  most         
profitable sacrifices for the good of   
others4  ,but to go back to  mere       
embellishment--it is very apt to go hand
 in hand with material  improvements4   
,besides1 it raises a higher standard4  

,it declares that  there is something   
besides food and clothing4  ,it may     
create1 perhaps1  the love of beauty and
 order in minds that now seem sunk in   
sense4  ,at  any rate it may do so in a 
coming generation4  ,and it is not a    
little  matter if it attach the         
wealthier classes to these towns4  ,this
 naturally  brings me to a subject of   
which ,i think the reader will1 on      
consideration1 see the importance4  ,i  
have heard it said1 and thought1 it  a  
far-seeing remark1 that one of the      
greatest benefits which could be        
conferred on manufacturing towns1 would 
be to purify them from smoke1 on  the   
ground that the wealthier classes would 
then have less objection to  reside in  
their vicinity3 and1 especially1 that   
those who constitute the  natural       
aristocracy of the place1 would not be  
so much tempted to remove  themselves   
from the spot where their fortunes had  
grown up4    ,dr4 ,cooke ,taylor1 in his
 letters to the ,archbishop of ,dublin1 

speaking of  the parts of ,manchester   
which have been abandoned to the poorest
 grade  of all1 says1        ,your      
,grace is aware that to some extent     
,dublin is similarly divided      into  
the city of the rich and the city of the
 poor2 but ,i know that      many       
respectable and wealthy manufacturers   
reside in the liberties of      ,dublin1
 while the smoke-nuisance drives every  
body from the township      of          
,manchester who can possibly find means 
of renting a house      elsewhere4      
,now is the doing away of this smoke a  
sort of chimerical and ,quixotic        
undertaking8  ,not in the least4  ,the  
experiments appear to be decisive  upon 
this point2 and had there been a        
reasonable care for the health1  beauty1
 and cleanliness of the towns where     
their work is carried on1 the           
manufacturers would long ago have       
contrived1 ,i believe1 that there should
  be no such thing as opaque smoke      
issuing from their chimneys4  ,count    

,rumford says in his essays1        ,i  
never view from a distance1 as ,i come  
into town1 this black cloud      which  
hangs over ,london without wishing to be
 able to compute the      immense number
 of chaldrons of coals of which it is   
composed2 for      could this be        
ascertained1 ,i am persuaded so striking
 a fact would      awaken the curiosity1
 and excite the astonishment1 of all    
ranks of      the inhabitants1 and      
perhaps turn their minds to an object of
      economy to which they have        
hitherto paid little attention4    ,the 
essay from which this extract is made   
was published in #agif3 what  would the 
,count say now8  ,i believe the         
calculation which he was thinking  of   
has been made4  ,at any rate a near     
approximation might be2 for ,i am  told1
 on scientific authority1 that the      
actual quantity of smoke hanging  any   
day over ,london is the fourth part of  
the fuel consumed on that day4  ,mr4    
,cubitt1 the great builder1 in an       

examination before the ,house of        
,commons1 quoted by the ,sanitary       
,report1 thus expresses himself on this 
subject3        ,with respect to        
manufactories1 here are a great number  
driven by      competition to work in   
the cheapest way they can4  ,a man puts 
up a      steam-engine1 and sends out an
 immense quantity of smoke2 perhaps he  
creates a great deal of foul and bad    
gas2 that is all let loose4      ,where 
his returns are #ajjj pounds a month1 if
 he would spend #e pounds      a month  
more1 he would make that completely     
harmless2 but he says1 ',i      am not  
bound to do that1' and therefore he     
works as cheaply as he      can1 and the
 public suffer to an extent beyond all  
calculation4    ,to show how little loss
 is to be apprehended from regulations  
abating  this nuisance1 the ,sanitary   
,report cites the authority of          
,mr4 ,ewart1 the ,inspector of          
,machinery to the ,admiralty1 residing  
at      ,her ,majesty's ,dockyard at    

,woolwich1 where the chimney of the     
manufactory under his immediate         
superintendence1 regulated according    
to his directions1 offers an example of 
the little smoke that need be           
occasioned from steam-engine furnaces if
 care be exercised4  ,he      states    
that no peculiar machinery is used2 the 
stoker or fire-keeper      is only      
required to exercise care in not        
throwing on too much coal at      once1 
and to open the furnace door in such    
slight degree as to admit               
occasionally the small proportion of    
atmospheric air requisite to      effect
 complete combustion4  ,mr4 ,ewart also 
states that if the fire      be properly
 managed1 there will be a saving of     
fuel4  ,the extent of      smoke denotes
 the extent to which the combustion is  
incomplete4  ,the      chimney belonging
 to the manufactory of ,mr4 ,peter      
,fairbairn1 engineer      at ,leeds1    
also presents an example and a contrast 
to the chimneys of      nearly all the  

other manufactories which overcast that 
town4  ,on each      side of it is a    
chimney belonging to another            
manufactory1 pouring out      dense     
clouds of smoke2 whilst the chimney at  
,mr4 ,fairbairn's      manufactory      
presents the appearance of no greater   
quantity of smoke      than of some     
private houses4  ,mr4 ,fairbairn stated1
 in answer to      inquiries upon this  
subject1 that he uses what is called    
,stanley's      feeding machinery1 which
 graduates the supply of coal so as to  
produce nearly complete combustion4     
,after the fire is once lighted1        
little remains to the ignorance or the  
carelessness of the stoker4      ,mr4   
,fairbairn also states that his         
consumption of fuel in his              
steam-engine furnaces1 in comparison    
with that of his immediate              
neighbours1 is proportionately less4    
,the engine belonging to the            
cotton-mills of ,mr4 ,thomas ,ashton1 of
 ,hyde1 near ,stockport1 affords      to

 the people of that town an example of  
the extent to which1 by a      little   
care1 they might be relieved of the     
thick cloud of smoke by      which the  
district is oppressed4        ,at a     
meeting of manufacturers and others1    
held at ,leeds1 for the      suppression
 of the nuisance of the smoke of        
furnaces1 and to discuss      the       
various plans for abating it1 the       
resolution was unanimously      adopted1
 ',that in the opinion of this meeting  
the smoke arising from      steam-engine
 fires and furnaces can be consumed1 and
 that1 too1      without injury to the  
boilers1 and with a saving of fuel4     
,notice of      legal proceedings being 
given against ,messrs4 ,meux1 the       
brewers in      ,london1 for a nuisance 
arising from the chimneys of two        
furnaces1      they found that by using 
anthracite coal they abated the nuisance
 to      the neighbourhood1 and saved   
#bjj pounds per annum4  ,the ,west      
,middlesex ,water ,company1 by          

diminishing the smoke of their furnaces 
saved #ajjj per annum4    ,but1 putting 
aside the consideration of any pecuniary
 benefit to be  gained1 ,i think it     
would not be unreasonable to say that no
 considerate  owner of a factory would  
wait for public regulations in this     
matter1 but  would1 himself1 be anxious 
to prevent his occupation from being    
injurious  to his neighbours4  ,in a    
manufacturing town1 a man may find some 
excuse1  though a most futile one1 in   
the consideration that it would be of no
 use  for him alone to consume his      
smoke1 when there are hundreds of others
  over whom he has no influence to      
persuade them to follow his example4    
,but you sometimes see one of these     
foul-mouthed chimneys blackening a      
neighbourhood generally free from such  
things1 and it does not seem to  occur  
to the owner of the chimney that he is  
doing any thing wrong1  provided he is  
legally secure4  ,probably he gives away
 in the course of  the year such a sum  

as would put up an apparatus which would
 modify1 if  not altogether remove1 the 
smoke4  ,let him not think that charity 
consists only in giving away something3 
,i doubt whether he can find any  work  
of benevolence more useful to his       
neighbourhood and to society in         
general1 than putting a stop to this    
nuisance of his own creation4  ,i am    
not inclined to rest my case against it 
on the ground of health alone2  though  
,i believe1 with the ,sanitary          
,commissioners1 that it would be found  
much more injurious than is generally   
imagined4  ,when you find that  flowers 
and shrubs will not endure a certain    
atmosphere1 it is a very  significant   
hint to the human creature to remove out
 of that  neighbourhood4  ,but          
independently of the question of health1
 this  nuisance of smoke may be         
condemned simply on the ground of the   
waste and  injury which it occasions4   
,and what is to be said on the other    
side8  ,what can any man allege in its  

favour8  ,our ancestors1 who had        
glimmerings occasionally1 held that     
,si homme fait candells deins un vill1  
per qui il cause un noysom      sent al 
inhabitants1 uncore ceo nest ascun      
nusans car le needfulness      de eux   
dispensera ove le noisomness del smell4 
7#b ,rolls ,abr4 #aci47    ,this is     
quoted in a grave public document 7the  
,sanitary ,report73 had we  met with it 
elsewhere1 we might have concluded that 
it came from that  chronicle in which   
,mr4 ,sidney ,smith found the account   
which he gives of  the meeting of the   
clergy at ,dordrecht4  ,i quote it1     
however1 to show how  wisely our        
ancestors directed their attention in   
this instance4  ,if they  had been      
begrimed with smoke as we are1 and1 upon
 inquiry1 had found that  there was no  
needfulness to back the noisomeness1 it 
is probable they  would have dealt with 
it in their most summary manner4        
,whereas ,i fear  that ,mr4 ,mackinnon's
 ,smoke ,prohibition ,bill1 amidst the  

hubbub of  legislation1 has great       
difficulty in finding the attention     
which it  really deserves4  ,the truth  
is1 this smoke nuisance is one of the   
most  curious instances how little pains
 men will take to rid themselves from   
evils which attack them only indirectly4
  ,if the pecuniary injury done to  the 
inhabitants of great towns by smoke     
could only be put in the form of  a     
smoke rate1 what unwearied agitation    
there would be against it4  ,but  surely
 we ought not to view with less         
hostility1 because of its silent        
noxiousness1 a thing which injures the  
health of our children1 if not of       
people of all ages1 disfigures our      
public buildings1 creates  uncleanliness
 and gives an excuse for it1 affects in 
some degree the  spirits of all persons 
who live under it1 renders manufacturing
 towns  less welcome places of residence
 for the higher classes 7which is what  
brings it in connexion with the subject 
of this ,essay72 and is1 thereby1       

peculiarly injurious to the labouring   
population4  ,if these pages should     
survive to any future age1 it will      
excite a smile in some curious reader   
to see how urgent ,i have endeavoured to
 be about a matter which will then  be  
so obvious--,what strange barbarous     
times they must have been1 he  will say 
to himself3 wisdom of our ancestors1    
forsooth6  ,far-off  reader1 if there be
 such an entity1 do not presume3 thou   
hast thy smoke  too4                    
99 99 99 99 99    ,in connexion with the
 subject of the town1 it may be well to 
go a  little into the matter of         
sewerage1 which almost1 above all       
things1  demands the attention of those 
who care for the health of the labouring
  population1 indeed1 for the health of 
rich or poor4    ,this subject is       
admirably treated in a section of the   
,sanitary ,report of  #ahdb1 under the  
head of ,arrangements for public health1
 external to the  residences4  ,it is   
now almost a trite thing to show how    

closely  connected imperfect sewerage is
 with disease4  ,scientific men will    
tell  you that you may track a fever    
along the windings of an open drain4    
,the  ,sanitary ,report mentions that1  
,in the evidence given before the       
,committee of the ,house of ,commons1   
which received evidence on the subject  
in #ahcd1 one medical witness           
stated1 that of all cases of severe     
typhus that he had seen1                
eight-tenths were either in houses of   
which the drains from the      sewers   
were untrapped1 or which1 being trapped1
 were situated      opposite            
gully-holes2 and he mentioned instances 
where servants      sleeping in the     
lower rooms of houses were invariably   
attacked with      fever4    ,the above 
is a good instance to show how necessary
 it is to have some  general measures on
 these matters of building and drainage4
  ,the expense  of trapping a           
gully-drain is about #c pounds2 at least
 that is what1 ,i  understand1 the      

,commissioners of ,sewers are willing to
 do it for4  ,now is  it likely that any
 poor man1 having one of these nuisances
 before his  door1 will go to such an   
expense to have it prevented4  ,it is   
probable  that it would be very good    
economy for him to do so1 even if his   
whole  savings amounted only to #c      
pounds4  ,but we all know that few men  
are  far-thinking enough to invest much 
of their capital in a thing which  makes
 so little show as pure air4  ,what do  
you find amongst the rich8  ,go  through
 the great squares1 where1 in one night1
 a man will lavish on some              
entertainment what would almost purify  
his neighbourhood1 and you will  often  
find the same evils there1 though in a  
different degree1 that you  have met    
with in the most crowded parts of the   
town4  ,if the rich and  great have so  
little care about what comes            
,betwixt the wind and their nobility    
you can hardly expect persons1 whose    
perception in such matters is much  less

 nice1 to have any care at all4  ,it is 
evident that the health of  towns       
requires to be watched by scientific    
men1 and improvements  constantly urged 
on by persons who take an especial      
interest in the  subject4  ,if ,i were a
 despot1 ,i would soon have a band of   
,arnotts1  ,chadwicks1 ,southwood       
,smiths1 ,smiths of ,deanston1 ,joneses1
 and the like2  and one should have     
gratified a wiser ambition than         
,augustus if one could  say of any great
 town1 ,sordidam inveni1 purgatam       
reliqui4    ,the supply of water is of  
course one of the chief means for the   
purification of a town4  ,it is at      
present1 ,i fear1 grievously neglected  
throughout the country4  ,the ,sanitary 
,report draws attention to the mode  of 
supplying water to ,bath1 and gas to    
,manchester3 and adduces the latter  as 
an instance of the practicability of    
obtaining supplies for the  common      
benefit of a town without the agency of 
private companies4  ,and  ,mr4          

,chadwick1 after a lengthened           
investigation into the subject which    
will well repay perusal1 thus concludes3
        ,i venture to add1 as the       
expression of an opinion founded on     
communications from all parts of the    
kingdom1 that as a highly      important
 sanitary measure connected with any    
general building      regulations1      
whether for villages or for any class of
 towns1      arrangements should be made
 for all houses to be supplied with good
      water1 and should be prescribed as
 being as essential to cleanliness      
and health as the possession of a roof  
or of due space2 that for this          
purpose1 and in places where the        
supplies are not at present             
satisfactory1 power should be vested in 
the most eligible local                 
administrative body1 which will         
generally be found to be that having    
charge of cleansing and structural      
arrangements1 to procure proper         
supplies for the cleansing of the       

streets1 for sewerage1 for              
protection against fires1 as well as for
 domestic use4    ,it is possible that  
some of my readers may think that the   
wretched state  of ventilation1         
drainage1 and building1 which ,i have   
been commenting  upon1 is mainly to be  
accounted for by poverty4  ,it belongs1 
they may  say1 to an old country2 it is 
the long accumulated neglect of ages2 it
  embodies the many vicissitudes of     
trade which ,great ,britain has felt2 it
  is a thing which the people would     
remedy for themselves1 if you could     
only give them more employment and      
better wages4  ,in answer to this ,i    
will refer to an authority quoted by    
,mr4 ,chadwick in his ,essay on the     
,pressure and ,progress of the ,causes  
of ,mortality1 read before the          
,statistical ,society in #ahdc4         
,in abundance of employment1 in high    
wages1 and the chief      circumstances 
commonly reputed as elements of         
prosperity of the      labouring        

classes1 the city of ,new ,york is      
deemed pre-eminent4  ,i      have been  
favoured with a copy of ',the ,annual   
,report of the      ,interments in the  
,city and ,county of ,new ,york for the 
,year #ahdb1'      presented to the     
,common ,council by ,dr4 ,john ,griscom1
 the city      inspector1 in which it   
may be seen how little those            
circumstances      have hitherto        
preserved large masses of people from   
physical      depression4  ,he has      
stepped out of the routine to examine on
 the spot      the circumstances        
attendant on the mortality which the    
figures      represent4  ,he finds that 
upwards of #cc1jjj of the population of 
that      city live in cellars1 courts1 
and alleys1 of which #ffah are dwellers 
in cellars4  ',many1' he states1 'of    
these back places are so                
constructed as to cut off all           
circulation of air1 the line of houses  
being across the entrance1 forming a cul
 de sac1 while those in      which the  

line is parallel with1 and at one side  
of the entrance1 are      rather more   
favourably situated1 but still excluded 
from any general      visitation of air 
in currents4  ,as to the influence of   
these      localities upon the health   
and lives of the inmates1 there is1 and 
can be1 no dispute2 but few are aware of
 the dreadful extent of the      disease
 and suffering to be found in them4  ,in
 the damp1 dark1 and      chilly        
cellars1 fevers1 rheumatism1 contagious 
and inflammatory      disorders1        
affections of the lungs1 skin1 and eyes1
 and numerous      others1 are rife1 and
 too often successfully combat the skill
 of the      physician and the          
benevolence of strangers4        ',i    
speak now of the influence of the       
locality merely4  ,the degraded         
habits of life1 the degenerate morals1  
the confined and crowded                
apartments1 and insufficient food1 of   
those who live in more elevated         
rooms1 comparatively beyond the reach of

 the exhalations of the soil1           
engender a different train of diseases1 
sufficiently distressing to             
contemplate2 but the addition to all    
these causes of the foul      influences
 of the incessant moisture and more     
confined air of      under-ground rooms1
 is productive of evils which humanity  
cannot      regard without shuddering4' 
,he gives instances where the cellar    
population had been ravaged by          
fever1 whilst the population occupying  
the upper apartments of the      same   
houses were untouched4  ,in respect to  
the condition of these      places1 he  
cites the testimony of a physician1 who 
states that1      'frequently in        
searching for a patient living in the   
same cellar1 my      attention has been 
attracted to the place by a peculiar and
 nauseous      effluvium issuing from   
the door1 indicative of the nature and  
condition of the inmates4'  ,a main     
cause of this is the filthy             
external state of the dwellings and     

defective street cleansing and          
defective supplies of water1 which1     
except that no provision is made        
for laying it on the houses of the      
poorer classes1 is about to be          
remedied by a superior public provision4
    ,after considering this account of  
the ,state of ,new ,york1 it will hardly
  do to say1 that1 even under favourable
 circumstances1 you can leave the  great
 mass of the people to take care of     
those structural arrangements  with     
regard to their habitations1 which only 
the scientific research of  modern times
 has taught any persons to regard with  
due attention4                          
99 99 99 99 99    ,we have now gone over
 some of the principal places where the 
employer of  labour may find scope for  
benevolent exertion4  ,it has been a    
most  inartificial division of the      
subject1 but still one that may be      
retained  in the memory1 which is a     
strange creature1 not always to be bound
 by  logic1 but led along by minute ties

 of association1 among which those of   
place are very strong and clinging4  ,i 
now venture to discuss a branch of  the 
subject which can hardly be referred to 
any particular spot1 unless1  indeed1 ,i
 were to name the manufacturer's own    
house as the fit ground for  it3 ,i mean
 the social intercourse between the     
employers and the employed4  ,some      
persons will1 perhaps1 be startled at   
the phrase2 hardly1 however1  those who 
have come thus far with me4  ,by social 
intercourse ,i do not  merely mean that 
which will naturally take place in the  
ordinary  charities1 such as visiting   
the sick1 managing clothing societies1  
and  the like3 but that intercourse     
which includes an interchange of        
thought1  an occasional community of    
pursuit1 and an opportunity of indirect 
instruction2 which may be frequent and  
extensive enough to avoid the evil      
effects of a sense of perpetual         
condescension on one side1 and timidity 
on the other2 and which may give the    

employer some chance at least of        
learning the general wants and wishes of
 his people1 and also of  appreciating  
their individual characters4    ,this   
matter is not an easy one4  ,it requires
 tact1 patience1 discretion1  and the   
application of several of the maxims    
mentioned in the preceding  chapter4  ,i
 am not sure however1 that it is any    
sacrifice whatever in the  way of       
pleasure4  ,the manufacturer's family   
who occasionally give an  evening to    
social intercourse with their people1   
will not1 perhaps1 find  that evening   
less amusing than many that they may    
pass with their equals4    ,the         
advantage1 to the rising generation of  
working people1 of some  intercourse    
with their betters1 would be very great4
  ,i must here quote  the authority of  
one who has fully expressed in action   
the benevolent  views which he has      
indicated in the following words4  ,no  
humble cottage  youth or maiden will    
ever acquire the charm of pleasing      

manners by rules1  or lectures1 or      
sermons1 or legislation1 or any other of
 those abortive  means by which we from 
time to time endeavour to change poor   
human  nature1 if they are not permitted
 to see what they are taught they       
should practise1 and to hold intercourse
 with those whose manners are  superior 
to their own4  ,this intercourse will   
probably lead to something  like        
accomplishments among the young people4 
,some of them will profit  more than    
others from the manners and             
accomplishments which they will         
observe4  ,and such differences will    
create a higher order of love among  the
 working people4  ,the manners of one   
sex will become different from  the     
manners of the other2 and the difference
 of individuals in each sex  will be    
brought into play4  ,all this is        
favourable to morality4  ,when  people  
work at the same kind of work1 have no  
different pursuits to call  out the     
different qualities of the two sexes1   

and have all of them  manners of the    
same rude stamp1 you can hardly expect  
that there will be  much to ennoble them
 in their affections4    ,but1 in       
themselves1 the accomplishments and     
acquirements1 which working  people may 
attain from social intercourse with     
their betters1 are great  things4  ,the 
same kind-hearted employer1 whom ,i have
 quoted before1  speaks thus upon the   
subject4  ,another point which has      
appeared to me of  great importance is  
to provide as many resources as possible
 of interest  and amusement for their   
leisure hours2 something to which they  
may return  with renewed relish when    
their daily work is done2 which may     
render their  homes cheerful and happy1 
and may afford subjects of thought1     
conversation and pursuit among them4    
,moreover1 a habit of attention1  and   
even scientific modes of thought1 are   
often called out in young  people when  
they are learning some game4  ,besides  
to do anything1 or know  anything1 which

 is harmless1 is beneficial4  ,a man    
will not be a worse  workman because he 
can play at cricket1 or at chess2 or    
because he is a  good draughtsman1 or   
can touch some musical instrument with  
skill4  ,he is  likely to have more     
self-respect1 and to be a better        
citizen4  ,he cannot  succeed in        
anything without attention and          
endurance4  ,and these are the          
qualities which will enable him to      
behave reasonably in the vicissitudes   
of trade1 or to prepare as much as      
possible against them4    ,in the       
,report on the condition of children and
 young persons employed in  ,mines and  
,manufactures1 there is some remarkable 
evidence given by a man  who had himself
 risen from the state of life which he  
describes4  ,it  leads us to perceive   
the great good which any improvement in 
the domestic  accomplishments of the    
women might be expected to produce4  ,he
 says1        ,children during their    
childhood toil throughout the day1      

acquiring      not the least domestic   
instruction to fit them for wives and   
mothers4      ,i will name one instance2
 and this applies to the general        
condition      of females doomed to1 and
 brought up amongst1 shop-work4  ,my    
mother      worked in a manufactory from
 a very early age4  ,she was clever and 
industrious2 and1 moreover1 she had the 
reputation of being virtuous4      ,she 
was regarded as an excellent match for a
 working man4  ,she was      married    
early4  ,she became the mother of eleven
 children3 ,i am the      eldest4  ,to  
the best of her ability she performed   
the important      duties of a wife and 
mother4  ,she was lamentably deficient  
in      domestic knowledge2 in that most
 important of all human instruction1    
how to make the home and the fireside to
 possess a charm for her      husband   
and children1 she had never received one
 single lesson4  ,she      had children 
apace4  ,as she recovered from her      
lying-in1 so she went      to work1 the 

babe being brought to her at stated     
times to receive      nourishment4  ,as 
the family increased1 so any thing like 
comfort      disappeared altogether4    
,the power to make home cheerful and    
comfortable was never given to her4     
,she knew not the value of              
cherishing in my father's mind a love of
 domestic objects4  ,not one            
moment's happiness did ,i ever see under
 my father's roof4  ,all this           
dismal state of things ,i can distinctly
 trace to the entire and      perfect   
absence of all training and instruction 
to my mother4  ,he      became          
intemperate2 and his intemperance made  
her necessitous4  ,she      made many   
efforts to abstain from shop-work2 but  
her pecuniary      necessities forced   
her back into the shop4  ,the family was
 large1 and      every moment was       
required at home4  ,i have known her1   
after the close      of a hard day's    
work1 sit up nearly all night for       
several nights      together washing and

 mending of clothes4  ,my father could  
have no      comfort here4  ,these      
domestic obligations1 which in a        
well-regulated      house 7even in that 
of a working man1 where there are       
prudence and      good management7 would
 be done so as not to annoy the husband1
 to my      father were a source of     
annoyance2 and he1 from an ignorant and 
mistaken notion1 sought comfort in an   
alehouse4        ,my mother's ignorance 
of household duties2 my father's        
consequent      irritability and        
intemperance2 the frightful poverty2 the
 constant      quarrelling2 the         
pernicious example to my brothers and   
sisters2 the      bad effect upon the   
future conduct of my brothers2 one and  
all of us      being forced out to work 
so young that our feeble earnings would 
produce only #as4 a-week2 cold and      
hunger1 and the innumerable             
sufferings of my childhood1 crowd upon  
my mind and overpower me4      ,they    
keep alive a deep anxiety for the       

emancipation of the thousands      of   
families in this great town and         
neighbourhood1 who are in a      similar
 state of horrible misery4  ,my own     
experience tells me that      the       
instruction of the females in the work  
of a house1 in teaching      them to    
produce cheerfulness and comfort at the 
fireside1 would      prevent a great    
amount of misery and crime4  ,there     
would be fewer      drunken husbands and
 disobedient children4  ,as a working   
man1 within      my own observation1    
female education is disgracefully       
neglected4  ,i      attach more         
importance to it than to any thing else4
    ,this evidence is the more          
significant1 because1 one sees that the 
poor  woman had the material of         
character out of which the most engaging
  qualities might have been formed4     
,let her have seen better things in     
early life1 and even if her schooling   
had been somewhat deficient1 had  she   
but enjoyed the advantage of such social

 intercourse with her betters  as we are
 now considering1 that poor woman might 
have been a source of  joy and hope to  
her family1 instead of a centre of      
repulsion4    ,dr4 ,cooke ,taylor1 in   
his ,tour in the ,manufacturing         
,districts1 has given  a table1 which ,i
 subjoin1 showing the degree of         
instruction1 age1 and  sex2 of the      
persons taken into custody1 summarily   
convicted1 or held to  bail1 and tried  
and convicted1 in ,manchester1 in the   
year #ahda4  ,the  table was formed on  
statistical details furnished by ,sir   
,charles ,shaw4  ,it shows a state of   
facts which has been deduced from other 
tables of a  like nature1 but the facts 
are of such moment1 that they can hardly
 be  kept too much in mind2 especially  
when we consider that there are large   
towns in which1 as ,i have said before1 
half at least of the juvenile           
population is growing up without        
education of any kind whatever4 #adg    
,if such are the favourable results even

 of that small and superficial          
education1 which by the way ,i would    
rather call instruction than  education1
 described in the second and third      
headings of the table1 what  may we not 
expect from a training where the youth  
or maiden finds in her  employers not   
only instructors1 but friends and       
occasional companions8  ,what store of  
labour on the part of judges1 jailors1  
and policemen1 must  be saved by even a 
few of such employers4                  
,,total ,,in ,,the ,,year #ahda4        
,degree of ,instruction                 
#a4  ,neither ,read nor     #b4  ,read  
only or      #c4  ,read and ,write      
#d4  ,superior                          
,write4              ,read  ,write      
well4              ,instruction4        
imperfectly4                            
,m4  ,f4     ,male4       ,fem4         
,male4       ,fem4       ,male4         
,fem4       ,male4       ,fem4          
,male4       ,fem4    #ast ,class       
,taken into          #accde        #iibe

       #cdbj        #dija       #bjgj   
#cidd       #abah         #hgc          
#aai         #bjg         #ac           
,custody    #bnd ,class     ,summarily  
#bach        #affa        #ddg          
#gie        #bfe         #ffj           
#aih         #aic         #ad           
#ac        4 4                ,convicted
 or                held to ,bail    #crd
 ,class     ,tried and              #bd 
#fde        #agi         #bgg           
#ajj         #bgf         #gb           
#hb          #g          #aj        4 4 
,convicted                              
,,ages4            ,under #aj        #aj
 ,years1      #ae ,years1      #bj      
,years1      #be ,years1      #cj       
,years1      #dj ,years1      #ej ,years
       #fj ,years1           ,years of  
age4   under #ae4       under #bj4      
under #be4       under #cj4       under 
#dj4       under #ej4       under #fj4  
upwards4            ,male4    ,fem4     
,male4    ,fem4   ,male4    ,fem4       
,male4    ,fem4   ,male4    ,fem4       

,male4    ,fem4   ,male4    ,fem4       
,male4    ,fem4   ,male4    ,fem4       
#ast         #fb       #f     #fha      
#hc    #aeha     #fef    #bdbe     #iji 
#ahje     #gee    #agge     #ehb        
#ajah     #bhd     #dbb      #he        
#aef      #fj  ,class    #bnd           
#d     4 4     #aea      #ag     #cjb   
#hd     #dah     #aej     #bfd      #ic 
#cbg      #ge     #abi      #ci      #di
      #ad      #ag       #e  ,class     
#crd        4 4     4 4      #cj        
#b     #aej      #ed     #aif      #fa  
#ig      #ba     #aji      #be      #dc 
#aa      #ae       #c       #e       #b 
,class      ,some persons may object to 
encouraging anything like refinement    
amongst  the operatives2 and others1 who
 would hardly object in open terms1 find
  it difficult to reconcile themselves  
to the idea of it4  ,whatever there  is 
in this repugnance that arises from any 
selfish motive should be  instantly cast
 aside4  ,do not let us be meanly afraid
 that the classes  below us will tread  

too closely on our heels4  ,what a      
disgrace it is1 if1  with our much      
larger opportunities of leisure1 with   
professions that  demand a perpetual    
exercise of the intellectual faculties1 
we cannot  preserve1 on the average1 an 
intellectual superiority fully          
equivalent to  the difference of rank   
and station4  ,let the vast tracts now  
left barren  smile with cultivation3 the
 happier lands1 which the rivers of     
civilization have enriched for ages1    
will still maintain their supremacy4    
,and remember this1 that every insight  
you give the humbler classes into  the  
vast expanse of knowledge1 you give them
 the means of estimating with  a        
deference founded on reason1 those      
persons who do possess knowledge of  any
 kind4  ,let us have faith that         
knowledge must in the long run lead to  
good2 and let us not fancy that our     
prosperity as a class depends upon  the 
ignorance of those beneath us4  ,has not
 our partial enlightenment  taught us in

 some measure to be reconciled to the   
fact of there being  classes above us8  
,and why should we fear that knowledge1 
which smoothes  so many of the rugged   
things in life1 should be found         
unavailing to  soften the inequalities  
of social distinction8  ,it is the      
ignorant  barbarians who can pluck the  
,roman ,senate by the beard2 and who1 in
 the  depth of savageness1 can see      
nothing in sex1 age1 station1 or office1
 to  demand their veneration4  ,make the
 men around you more rational1 more     
instructed1 more helpful1 more hopeful  
creatures if you can2 above all  things 
treat them justly3 and ,i think you may 
put aside any apprehension  of          
disturbing the economy of the various   
orders of the state4  ,and if it  can be
 so disturbed1 let it be4    ,what ,i   
have said above is not drawn from airy  
fancies of my own4  ,such  things as ,i 
have suggested1 have been done4  ,i     
could mention one man1 who  might not1  
however1 thank me for naming him1 who   

has devoted himself to  the social      
improvement of his working people3 and1 
without such an  example1 ,i should     
never1 perhaps1 have thought of1 or     
ventured to put  forward1 the above     
suggestions with respect to the social  
intercourse  between masters and men4   
,it is the same benevolent manufacturer 
from  whose letters to ,mr4 ,horner ,i  
have made extracts before4  ,the general
  system on which he has acted may be   
best explained in his own words4  ,in   
all plans for the education of the      
labouring classes my object would be    
not to raise any individuals among them 
above their condition1 but to  elevate  
the condition itself4  ,for ,i am not   
one of those who think that  the highest
 ambition of a working man should be to 
rise above the station  in which        
,providence has placed him1 or that he  
should be taught to  believe that       
because the humblest1 it is therefore   
the least happy and  desirable condition
 of humanity4  ,this is1 indeed1 a very 

common notion  among the working classes
 of the people1 and a very natural one2 
and it  has been encouraged by many of  
their superiors1 who have interested    
themselves in the cause of popular      
improvement1 and have undertaken to     
direct and stimulate their exertions4   
,examples have constantly been held  up 
of men who by unusual ability and       
proficiency in some branch of  science  
had raised themselves above the         
condition of their birth1 and  risen to 
eminence and wealth2 and these instances
 have been dwelt upon  and repeated1 in 
a manner1 that1 whether intentionally or
 not1 produces  the impression that     
positive and scientific knowledge is the
 summum bonum  of human education1 and  
that to rise above our station in life1 
should be  the great object of our      
exertion4  ,this is not my creed4  ,i am
 satisfied  that it is an erroneous one1
 in any system of education for any     
class  of men4  ,our object ought to be1
 not to produce a few clever            

individuals1  distinguished above their 
fellows by their comparative            
superiority1 but  to make the great mass
 of individuals on whom we are          
operating1 virtuous1  sensible1         
well-informed1 and well-bred men4  ,and 
again he states that  his object is to  
show to his people and to others1 that  
there is nothing  in the nature of their
 employment1 or in the condition of     
their humble  lot1 that condemns them to
 be rough1 vulgar1 ignorant1 miserable1 
or  poor3--that there is nothing in     
either that forbids them to be          
well-bred--well-informed1               
well-mannered--and surrounded by every  
comfort  and enjoyment that can make    
life happy2--in short1 to ascertain and 
to  prove what the condition of this    
class of people might be made--what it  
ought to be made--what is the interest  
of all parties that it should  be made4 
99 99 99 99 99    ,before concluding    
this chapter1 ,i must say a few more    
words on the  general subject of        

interference4  ,no one can be more      
averse than ,i am to  unnecessary       
interference1 or more ready to perceive 
the many evils which  attend it4  ,there
 is1 however1 the danger of carrying    
non-interference  into inhumanity4      
,mankind are so accustomed to the idea  
that government  mainly consists in     
coercion1 that they sometimes find it   
difficult to  consider interference1    
even as applied to benevolent           
undertakings1 and  for social           
government1 in any other than a bad     
light4  ,but take the rule  of a father1
 which is the type of all good          
government1 that under which  the divine
 jurisdiction has been graciously       
expressed to us4  ,consider  how a wise 
father will act as regards interference4
  ,his anxiety will not  be to drag his 
child along1 undeviatingly1 in the wake 
of his own  experience2 but rather1 to  
endue him with that knowledge of the    
chart and  compass1 and that habitual   
observation of the stars1 which will    

enable  the child1 himself1 to steer    
safely over the great waters4  ,such a  
father  will not be unreasonably        
solicitous to assimilate his son's      
character or  purposes to his own4  ,he 
will not fall into the error of         
supposing that  experience is altogether
 a transferable commodity4  ,the        
greatest good  which he designs for his 
son will1 perhaps1 be that which he can 
give him  indirectly1 and which he may  
never speak to the youth about4  ,he    
will  seek to surround him with good    
opportunities and favourable means3 and 
even when he interferes more directly1  
he will endeavour1 in the first         
instance1 to lead rather than to compel1
 so that some room for choice may  still
 be left4  ,not thinking that his own   
power1 his own dignity1 his own         
advantage are the chief objects for him 
to look to1 his imagination will  often 
be with those whom he rules2 and he will
 thus be able to look at  his own       
conduct with their eyes1 not with his4  

,this1 alone1 will keep  him from a     
multiplicity of errors4  ,now the same  
principles1 actuated by  the same kind  
of love1 should be at the bottom of all 
social government4  ,i believe that we  
shall be better able in practice to     
place wise limits  to interference by   
regulating and enlightening the animus  
which prompts  it1 than by laying down  
rules for its action determined upon    
abstract  considerations4  ,the attempt 
to fix such rules is not to be despised2
 but  if the persons1 or society1 about 
to interfere on any occasion1 desired a 
good object from right motives1 ,i think
 they would have the best chance  of    
keeping themselves from using wrong     
means4  ,in many cases1 an unwise       
interference takes place from a partial 
apprehension of the good to be  aimed   
at3 enlarge and exalt the object2 let it
 not be one-sided2 and  probably the    
mode of attaining it will partake       
largely of the wisdom  shown in the     
choice of it4  ,if1 for instance1 a     

government saw that it  had to          
encourage1 not only judicious physical  
arrangements1 but mental  and moral     
development1 amongst those whom it      
governs1 it would be very  cautious of  
suppressing1 or interfering with1 any   
good thing which the  people would      
accomplish for themselves4  ,the same   
with a private  individual1 an employer 
of labour for instance1 if he values the
  independence of character and action  
in those whom he employs1 he will be    
careful in all his benevolent measures1 
to leave room for their energy to  work4
  ,what does he want to produce8        
,something vital1 not something         
mechanical4  ,it is often a deficiency  
of benevolence1 and not an  overflow1   
that makes people interfering in a bad  
sense4  ,frequently the  same spirit    
which would make a man a tyrant in      
government1 would make him  a busy-body1
 a meddler1 or a pedantic formalist1 in 
the relations of  ordinary life4  ,i    
have taken the instance of father and   

son1 which might  be supposed by many as
 one in which extreme interference was  
not only  justifiable1 but requisite4   
,in stating how necessary it is even    
there to  be very careful as regards the
 extent and mode of interference1 ,i    
leave  my readers to estimate how       
essential it must be in all other cases 
where  the relation is not of that      
closely connected character4  ,i believe
 that  the parental relation will be    
found the best model on which to form   
the  duties of the employer to the      
employed2 calling1 as it does1 for      
active  exertion1 requiring the most    
watchful tenderness1 and yet limited by 
the  strictest rules of prudence from   
intrenching on that freedom of thought  
and action which is necessary for all   
spontaneous development4                
,,chapter ,,iv4  ,,sources ,,of         
,,benevolence4      ,there is a common  
phrase which is likely to become a most 
powerful  antagonist to any arguments   
that have been put forward in the       

foregoing  pages3 and ,i think it would 
be good policy for me to commence the   
attack1  and endeavour to expose its    
weakness in the first instance4  ,if you
  propose any experiment for remedying  
an evil1 it is nearly sure to be        
observed that your plan is well enough  
in theory1 but that it is not           
practical4  ,under that insidious word  
practical lurk many meanings4  ,people  
are apt to think that a thing is not    
practical1 unless it has  been tried1 is
 immediate in its operation1 or has some
 selfish end in  view4  ,many who do not
 include1 either avowedly1 or really1   
the two  latter meanings1 incline1      
almost unconsciously perhaps1 to adopt  
the  former1 and think that a plan1 of  
which the effects are not foreknown1    
cannot be practical4  ,every new thing1 
from ,christianity downwards1 has  been 
suspected1 and slighted1 by such minds4 
,all that is greatest in  science1 art1 
or song1 has met with a chilling        
reception from them4  ,when  this       

apprehensive timidity of theirs is      
joined to a cold or selfish  spirit1 you
 can at best expect an ,epicurean       
deportment from them4  ,warming         
themselves in the sun of their own      
prosperity1 they soothe their           
consciences by saying how little can be 
done for the unfed1 shivering1          
multitude around them4  ,such men may   
think that it is practical wisdom to    
make life as palatable as it can be1    
taking no responsibility that can be    
avoided1 and shutting out assiduously   
the consideration of other men's        
troubles from their minds4  ,such1      
however1 is not the wisdom inculcated   
in that religion which1 as ,goethe well 
says1 is grounded on ,reverence  for    
what is under us1 and which teaches us  
to recognize humility and  poverty1     
mockery and despite1 disgrace and       
wretchedness1 suffering and  death1 as  
things divine4    ,there is a class of  
men utterly different from those above  
alluded to1  who1 far from entertaining 

any ,epicurean sentiments1 are prone to 
view  with fear the good things of this 
world4  ,and1 indeed1 seeing the        
multiform suffering which is intertwined
 with every variety of human  life1 a   
man in present ease and well-being may  
naturally feel as if he  had not his    
share of what is hard to be endured4    
,the fanatic may seek a  refuge from    
prosperity1 or strive to elevate his own
 nature1 by  self-inflicted tortures2   
but one1 who adds wisdom to sensibility1
 finds  in his own well-being an        
additional motive for benevolent        
exertions4  ,it  is surely bad          
management when a man does not make a   
large part of his  self-sacrifices      
subservient to the welfare of his       
fellow-men4  ,in active  life nothing   
avails more than self-denial2 and there 
its trials are  varying and             
multifarious3 but ascetics1 by placing  
their favourite virtue  in retirement1  
made it dwindle down into one form only 
of self-restraint4                      

99 99 99 99 99    ,i suppose there are  
few readers of history who have not     
occasionally  turned from its pages with
 disgust1 confusion1 a craving for any  
grounds  of disbelief1 and a melancholy 
darkness of soul4  ,it can hardly be    
otherwise1 when you read1 for instance1 
of the colossal brutalities of  the     
,roman ,emperors1 many of whom indulged 
in a sportive cruelty to their  fellow  
men1 which reminds one of children with 
insects4  ,when you find1  again1 some  
mighty ,master of the ,world1 renowned  
for valour1 and for  prudence1 one of   
those emphatically called the ,good     
,emperors1 kindly  presenting hundreds  
of men to kill each other for the       
amusement of the  ,roman multitude--when
 you are told that that multitude       
contained1 what  may have been for that 
age1 good men1 and gentle women--when1  
passing  lower down the turbid stream of
 the recorded past1 you read of ,popes  
and  ,cardinals1 ,inquisitors and       
,bishops1 men who must have heard from  

time to  time some portions of the holy 
words of mercy and of love1 when you    
find  them1 ,i say1 counselling and     
plotting and executing1 the foulest     
deeds of  blood--when1 descending lower 
still1 you approach those days when law 
became the tyrant's favourite scourge1  
and you find the legal slave  telling   
his master how he has interrogated some 
poor wretch in torture1  before torture1
 after torture1 and between             
torture--when you have some  insight    
into what that thing torture was1 by    
contrasting the hand-writing  of the    
distracted sufferer before and after his
 examination--when1 to  your surprise1  
you read that these very victims of     
persecution1 were  themselves restless  
and dissatisfied1 unless they could     
direct the arm of  power against another
 persecuted race--and when1 coming to   
your own day1  you find that men1       
separated from you by distance1 though  
not by time1  can show the utmost       
recklessness of human life1 if          

differently coloured  from their own4   
,pondering over these things1 your heart
 may well seek  comfort in the thought  
that these tyrants were1 or are1 rude   
men1 of iron  frame1 ready to inflict1  
ready themselves to suffer4  ,it is not 
so4  ,a  ,nero clings to his own life   
with abject solicitude4  ,a ,louis the  
,eleventh1 who could keep other men in  
cages1 wearies ,heaven with prayers1    
and ,earth with strange devices1 to     
preserve his own grotesque existence4   
,a ,james the ,first1 who can sanction  
at the least1 if not direct1 the        
torture to be applied to a poor1 old1   
clergyman1 was yet in the main a        
soft-hearted man1 can feel most tenderly
 for a broken limb of any  favourite1   
have an anxious affection for ,steenie  
and ,baby ,charles1 and  an undoubted1  
and provident1 regard for his own sacred
 person4  ,what  shall we say1 too1 of  
that ,chancellor of his1 a man1 like his
 master1 of  a soft heart1 full of the  
widest humanity1 and yet1 as far as we  

know1  unconscious of the horror of     
those ill doings transacted in his own  
great  presence8  ,why is it that ,i    
recall these things8  ,why do ,i bring  
forward  what many of us1 forgetting the
 iron weight with which the sentiments  
of  his age press down even upon the    
mightiest genius1 might look upon as a  
humiliating circumstance far greater    
than it is1 in the life of a man we     
ought all to love so much8  ,is history 
a thing done away with1 or is not  the  
past for ever in the present8  ,and is  
it not but too probable that we         
ourselves are occasionally guilty of    
things which1 for our lights1 are as    
sad aberrations as those which1 in      
reading of the past1 we have dwelt  upon
 with the profoundest pity1 and turned  
away from in overwhelming  amazement8   
,are we quite sure that none of the     
vices of tyranny rest with  us2 and that
 we individually1 or nationally1 have   
not to answer for any  carelessness of  
human life or for any indifference to   

human suffering8                        
99 99 99 99 99    ,what is it that has  
put a stop to many of the obvious       
atrocities ,i allude  to as disgracing  
the page of history8  ,the introduction 
of some great  idea1 the recognition1   
probably1 in some distinct form of the  
command to  do unto others as you would 
they should do unto you4  ,and this is  
what  is wanted with regard to the      
relation of the employer and employed4  
,once  let the minds even of a few men  
be imbued with an ampler view of this   
relation1 and it is scarcely possible to
 estimate the good that may  follow4    
,around that just idea what civilization
 may not grow up6  ,you  gaze at the    
lofty cathedral in the midst of narrow  
streets and squalid  buildings1 but all 
welcome to your sight as the places     
where miserable  men first found        
sanctuary2 you pass on and look with    
pleasure at the rich  shops and         
comfortable dwellings2 and then you find
 yourself amongst ample  streets1       

stately squares1 and the palaces of the 
great1 with their  columns and their    
statues3 and if then you turn your      
thoughts to the  complex varieties of   
modern life1 and the progress of        
civilization and  humanity1 may you not 
see the same thing there2 how all that  
is good1 and  merciful1 and holy1 is to 
be traced up to some cathedral truths1  
at first  little understood1 just       
restraining rude men from bloody deeds1 
and then  gradually extending into daily
 life1 being woven into our familiar    
thoughts1 and shedding light1 and       
security1 and sanctity1 around us8      
,and1 as the traveller's first impulse1 
when he rises in the morning after  his 
journey1 is to catch a glimpse of that  
famous building which must  ever be the 
thing most worthy of note in the city2  
so1 in your travels1  would you not look
 first for these cathedral truths1 and  
delight to  recognize their beneficent  
influence wherever you may meet with    
anything  that is good in man8          

99 99 99 99 99    ,and now1 reader1 ,i  
have come to the close of this ,essay4  
,i do not assert  that ,i have brought  
forward any specific1 or even any new   
remedy of a  partial nature1 for the    
evils ,i have enumerated4  ,indeed ,i   
have not  feared to reiterate hacknied  
truths4  ,but you may be sure1 that if  
you do  not find yourself recurring     
again and again to the most ordinary    
maxims1  you do not draw your           
observations from real life4  ,oh1 if we
 could but  begin by believing and      
acting upon some of the veriest common  
places6  ,but it is with pain and grief 
that we come to understand our first    
copy-book sentences4  ,as to the facts1 
too1 on which ,i have grounded my       
reasonings1 they are mostly well known1 
or might be so2 for ,i have been        
content to follow other men's steps1 and
 so assist in wearing a pathway  for the
 public mind4  ,i am well aware that ,i 
have left untouched many  matters       
bearing closely on the subject1 more    

closely1 perhaps1 some of my  readers   
will think1 than the topics ,i have     
taken4  ,in the fields1  however1 of    
politics1 and political economy1 there  
are many reapers3 and  the part of the  
subject which ,i have chosen seemed to  
me of sufficient  importance to be      
considered by itself4  ,i know that in  
much of what ,i  have said1 ,i have     
touched with an unpractised hand1 upon  
matters which  some of those who are    
great employers of labour will have     
examined and  mastered thoroughly4      
,still1 let them remember1 that it is   
one thing to  criticise1 and another to 
act4  ,their very familiarity with the  
subject  may render them dull to the    
means of doing good which their position
  affords them4  ,we pass much of our   
time in thinking what we might do if  we
 were somewhat different from what we   
are2 and the duties appropriate  to our 
present position invite our attention in
 vain4                                  
99 99 99 99 99    ,to others ,i may say1

 there is nothing in these pages1       
perhaps1 that will  exactly point out   
the path most fitting for you to take2  
still ,i cannot  but think that so many 
have been indicated1 that you will have 
no  difficulty in finding some one that 
may lead to the main object if your     
heart is set upon it4  ,if you throw but
 a mite into the treasury of good  will 
which ought to exist between the        
employers and the employed1 you do      
something towards relieving one of the  
great burdens of this age1  possibly of 
all ages2 you aid in cementing together 
the various orders of  the state2 you   
are one of those who anticipate         
revolutions by doing some  little part  
of their duty towards the men of their  
own time2 and1 if you  want any reward  
to allure you on1 you will find it in   
the increased  affection towards your   
fellows which you will always have1 when
 you have  endeavoured to be just to    
them4    ,but ,i would wish to put more 
solemn considerations before you4  ,ask 

yourself1 if making all allowance for   
the difference of times and  countries1 
you think that the payment of poor      
rates1 of itself1 fulfils  the command  
to visit the sick1 clothe the naked1 and
 feed the hungry4  ,depend upon it1 our 
duties1 however they may be varied by   
the different  circumstances of         
different periods1 cannot be satisfied  
by any thing that  the state demands of 
us1 or can do for us4  ,we have each1   
from the  highest to the lowest1 a      
circle of dependents4  ,we say that     
,kings are  ,god's ,vicegerents upon    
earth3 but almost every human being has 
at one  time or other of his life1 a    
portion of the happiness of those around
 him  in his power1 which might make him
 tremble1 if he did but see it in all   
its fullness4  ,but at any rate1 the    
relation of master and man is a  matter 
of manifest and large importance4  ,it  
pervades all societies1 and  affects the
 growth and security of states in the   
most remarkable and  pregnant manner2 it

 requires the nicest care2 gives        
exercise to the  highest moral          
qualities2 has a large part in civil    
life2 a larger part in  domestic life2  
and our conduct in it will surely be no 
mean portion of  the account which we   
shall have to render in the life that is
 to come4        ,,appendix4            
,according to tables of which ,mr4      
,grainger states that he has ascertained
  the general accuracy1 the             
proportionate numbers among the         
working-classes  in the ,birmingham     
district at present receiving education 
are as  follows3--,out of a population  
of #ahj1jjj persons1    #aj1ijb or #f4je
 per cent4 attend day or evening schools
 only2    #d1ada or #b4cj per cent4     
attend both day or evening and          
,sunday-schools2    #ab1faf or #g4ja per
 cent4 attend a ,sunday-school only2    
making a total  of    #bg1fei or #ae4cf 
per cent4 of the population attending   
schools of some  kind or other4    ,of  
this number--    #e1hce are under #e or 

above #ae years of age2 leaving         
#ba1hbd children between the ages of #e 
and #ae attending school in the  borough
 of ,birmingham at the time the schools 
were visited4    ,according to the      
population abstracts of #ahba and #ahca1
 one-fourth of the  total population    
consists of children between these ages4
  ,hence it would  appear1 that of the  
#de1jjj between the ages of #e and #ae  
in the borough of  ,birmingham--        
#ba1hbd or #dh4e per cent4 were         
receiving instruction in day and        
,sunday-schools2 and    #bc1agf or #ea4e
 per cent4 were not found receiving     
instruction in  either day or           
,sunday-schools within the borough of   
,birmingham4                            
7,grainger1 ,evidence3 ,app4  ,pt4 ,i41 
p4 f #ahe1 #a4 #ac47    ,in the         
,wolverhampton district1 including the  
neighbouring towns of  ,willenhall1     
,bilston1 ,wednesfield1 ,sedgley1       
,darlaston1 and also in the  towns of   
,dudley1 ,walsall1 ,wednesbury1 and     

,stourbridge1 though there are  many    
day-schools1 yet the chief means relied 
on for the education of the  working    
classes are ,sunday-schools4  ,in the   
,collegiate ,church district in  the    
town of ,wolverhampton1 containing a    
population of from #af1jjj to  #bj1jjj  
persons1 there is no ,national or       
,british ,school4  ,there is not a      
single school1 reading-room1 or lending 
library attached to any of the          
manufactories1 foundries1 or other      
works1 with one exception near          
,wednesbury2 there are no               
evening-schools1 and there is only one  
industrial school in these districts1   
namely1 at ,wednesbury4  ,it is  stated 
in evidence that the great majority of  
the children receive no  education at   
all2 that not one half of them go even  
to the  ,sunday-schools1 and that those 
who do go to these schools seldom attend
  them with regularity4  ,throughout the
 whole of these districts1 the          
proportion that can read is represented 

as being unusually small2 some  who     
stated that they could read1 when       
examined1 were found unable to read  a  
word2 and out of #da witnesses under    
eighteen years of age examined at       
,darlaston1 only four could write their 
names4  7,horne1 ,report3 ,app4 ,pt4    
,,ii41 p4 ,q #af1 ss4 #ahb et seq47     
,the number of children on the books at 
the different schools in  ,sheffield1   
comprising every description of schools1
 says ,mr4 ,symons1  was made the       
subject of minute and accurate inquiry  
in #ahch1 by the ,rev4  ,thomas ,sutton1
 the vicar2 and ,i have reason to       
believe that no material  difference has
 taken place in the amount of scholars  
taught at the  'common' and 'middling'  
private day-schools since ,mr4 ,sutton's
 census was  made4  ,from this census it
 appears that the maximum number of     
children  on the books of the different 
day-schools1 including the              
infant-schools1  is #hjj2 but on a      
personal examination of these schools by

 the  ,sub-,commissioner1 he states that
 a large proportion1 no less than #bf4dg
  per cent4 out of the total number on  
the books1 must be deducted as being    
continually absent4  ,assuming1         
therefore1 he continues1 that the       
schools thus estimated are a criterion  
of the rest 7and they are  certainly    
superior71 the number who attend the    
schools out of the #hjjj on  the books  
is only #ehfi4  ,of the number present  
at the schools visited1  when probably  
the least instructed were absent1 it    
appears that #de4hc per  cent4 were     
unable to read fairly1 and that #fc4dc  
per cent4 could not  write fairly4      
,taking this as an index to the         
education of the total  number on the   
books1 it results that1 of the whole    
#hjjj1 #dccc only can  read fairly1 and 
#bibe only can write fairly1 or1 in     
other terms1 have  attained an elemental
 education4    ,the population of       
,sheffield parish is computed to be     
#abc1jjj4  ,of this  number it is       

assumed that at least one-fifth will    
consist of children  between the ages of
 three and thirteen4  ,there will be    
therefore #bd1fjj4  ,of these more than 
two-thirds will be of the working       
classes3 at least  #af1ejj1 then1 of    
these classes are of an age at which    
they ought to be  receiving education at
 day-schools2 yet little more than      
one-third of  this number1 viz4 one only
 out of #b4h attend day-schools4  ,it is
  impossible to ascertain what          
proportion of those who do not attend   
day-schools can read or write2 but as it
 is certain that they are less          
instructed by at least one-half1 ,i have
 every reason to believe that1 out  of  
the total #af1ejj working class         
children1 not above #f1ejj can read     
fairly4  ,among the older youths there  
is still less education1 for they  have 
had more time to forget the little they 
were formerly taught4  ,this  estimate  
is so thoroughly corroborated by the    
most trustworthy evidence ,i  have      

received1 that ,i entertain the belief  
that two-thirds of the working  class   
children and young persons are growing  
up in a state of ignorance1  and are    
unable to read4  ,on the books of the   
,sunday-schools there were  during the  
last year #bbeh1 of which the average   
attendance was only #agjh4  ,from this  
it appears that #bd4dj per cent4 or     
nearly a quarter1 are absent  of the    
whole number on the books of the        
,sunday-schools4  7,report3 ,app4  ,pt4 
,i4 pp4 ,e #ah et seq4 ss4 #acf1 #ach1  
#add-adh1 #aej1 #aea47    ,in the       
returns from the ,warrington district it
 is stated that nearly  three-fourths of
 the children can read2 but the         
,sub-,commissioner reports  that of this
 number nine-tenths can only give the   
sound of a few  monosyllables2 that they
 have just acquired so much knowledge in
 the  ,sunday-schools1 and that they    
will probably attain to little more     
during  their lives4  7,austin1 ,report3
 ,app4  ,pt4  ,,ii4 p4  ,m #ai1 ss4 #abe

 et  seq47    ,report on the ,physical  
and ,moral ,condition of the ,children  
and young  ,persons employed in ,mines  
and ,manufactures4          ,,ii4  ,,an 
,,essay ,,on ,,the ,,means ,,of         
,,improving ,,the ,,health ,,and        
,,increasing ,,the  ,,comfort ,,of ,,the
 ,,labouring ,,classes4      ,this      
,essay is chiefly based on evidence     
respecting the condition of the         
labouring classes in towns4  ,it is not1
 however1 necessary1 on that  account1  
to consider the subject as applying to  
those classes only4  ,there is good     
reason to believe that the state of the 
agricultural  labourers does not differ 
much1 at least in kind1 from that of the
  working people in towns4  ,the        
remedies for the evils in both are of   
the  same nature2 and whatever results  
are arrived at with respect to the      
health of towns may generally be        
adapted1 without much difficulty1 to the
  wants of the rural population4        
,london1                                

,feb4 #f1 #ahde4        ,,chap4  ,i4    
,,distress ,,amongst ,,the ,,labouring  
,,classes4      ,knowing that there is  
an element of decay in any              
over-statement1 ,i was  very anxious1 in
 the former ,essay1 to avoid even the   
least exaggeration  in describing the   
distressed state of the labouring       
people4  ,this anxiety  was1 in that    
case1 needless4  ,an elaborate ,report  
has since been  published by the ,health
 of ,towns ,commission2 and the evidence
 there given  more than bears out the   
statements which ,i then made4          
,indeed1 the condition of a large part  
of the labouring classes1 as seen  in   
this ,report1 is evidently one which    
endangers the existence amongst  them of
 economy1 decency1 or morality4  ,you   
may there see how more than  savage is  
savage life led in a great city4  ,dr4  
,southwood ,smith in his  evidence says1
        ,the experiment has been long   
tried on a large scale with a dreadful  
success1 affording the demonstration    

that if1 from early infancy1 you        
allow human beings to live like brutes1 
you can degrade them down to      their 
level1 leaving them scarcely more       
intellect1 and no feelings      and     
affections proper to human minds and    
hearts4    ,he mentions that it has     
happened to him1 in his visits to the   
poor1 as  ,physician to the ,eastern    
,dispensary1 to be unable to stay in the
 room1  even to write the prescription4 
,what must it be1 he adds1 to live in   
such an atmosphere1 and to go           
through the process of disease in it8   
,in another place he says1        ,you  
cannot in fact cure4  ,as long as the   
poor remain in the      situations which
 produce their disease1 the proper      
remedies for such      disease cannot be
 applied to them4    ,this state of     
things1 too1 according to the same      
authority1 is advancing  on us3         
,whatever may be the cause1 the fact is 
certain1 that at the present      time  
an epidemic is prevailing1 which lays   

prostrate the powers of      life more  
rapidly and completely than any other   
epidemic that has      appeared for a   
long series of years4    ,the           
experienced student of history1 reading 
of long wars1 looks for their           
consummation in the coming pestilence4  
,gathering itself up1 now from the      
ravaged territory1 now from the         
beleaguered town1 now from the carnage  
of  the battle field1 this awful form   
arises at last in its full strength1    
and rushing over the world1 leaves far  
behind man's puny efforts at            
extermination4  ,we have a domestic     
pestilence1 it seems1 dwelling with  us2
 and if we look into the causes of that1
 shall we find less to blame1  or less  
to mourn over1 than in the insane wars  
which are the more  acknowledged heralds
 of this swift destruction8  ,but1 to   
return to  detail4  ,mr4 ,toynbee1 one  
of the surgeons of the ,st4 ,george's   
and the ,st4  ,james's ,dispensary1     
tells us3        ,in the class of       

patients to our dispensary1 nearly all  
the families      have but a single room
 each1 and a very great number have only
 one      bed to each family4  ,the     
state of things in respect to morals1 as
      well as health1 ,i sometimes find 
to be terrible4  ,i am now attending    
one family1 where the father1 about #ej1
 the mother about the same      age1 a  
grown up son about #bj1 in a            
consumption1 and a daughter about       
#ag1 who has scrofulous affection of the
 jaw and throat1 for which ,i      am   
attending her1 and a child1 all sleep in
 the same bed in a room      where the  
father and three or four other men work 
during the day as      tailors1 and they
 frequently work there late at night    
with candles4      ,i am also treating1 
at this present time1 a woman with      
paralysis of      the lower extremities1
 the wife of the assistant to a         
stable-keeper1      whose eldest son1   
the son by a former wife1 and a girl of 
#aa or #ab      years of age1 all sleep 

in the same bed6  ,in another case which
 ,i am      attending in one room1 there
 are a man and his wife1 a grown up     
daughter1 a boy of #af1 and a girl of   
#ac2 the boy has scrofulous      ulcers 
in the neck2 the father1 though only of 
the age of #di1 suffers      from       
extreme debility and a broken           
constitution4    ,the medical officer of
 the ,whitechapel ,union says1        ,i
 know of few instances where there is   
more than one room to a      family4    
,mr4 ,austin1 an architect1 gives us the
 following description of ,snow's       
,rents1 ,westminster1 which is but one  
instance among many worse1 of the  state
 of things produced simply by the want1 
as he expresses it1 of  proper          
structural arrangement and control4     
,this court is of considerable width1   
upwards of #bj feet1 but the      houses
 are mostly without yards1 and the      
refuse1 when become      intolerable    
inside the houses1 is deposited in the  
court itself1 the      whole centre     

being a pool of black stagnant filth1   
that accumulates      from time to time1
 and is left to decompose and infect the
 whole      neighbourhood4              
,ventilation1 or rather a healthy state 
of the      atmosphere is impossible4   
,what little disturbance of the air does
      take place1 would appear only to  
render its state more intolerable4      
,being asked what the condition of this 
court is with regard to drainage  and   
the supply of water1 he says1           
,there are none whatever there4  ,in wet
 weather1 when the water      attains a 
certain height ,in the court1 it finds  
its way into an open1      black1       
pestilence-breathing ditch in a         
neighbouring court2 but in the          
ordinary state of things the whole      
centre of this place is one mass      of
 wet decomposing filth1 that lies       
undisturbed for weeks1 from      which1 
so dreadful is the effluvia at times    
arising1 that in the      tenants' own  
words1 'they are often ready to faint1  

it's so bad6'      ,the supply of water 
consists in this3 that #af houses are   
accommodated      with one stand pipe in
 the court6  ,on the principal cleaning 
day1      ,sunday1 the water is on for  
about five minutes1 and it is on also   
for      three days in the week for one 
half hour1 and so great is the rush to  
obtain a modicum before it is turned    
off1 that perpetual quarrelling      and
 disturbance is the result4    ,if we go
 now from the ,metropolis to some of the
 great towns1 we find1  substantially1  
the same account1 varied by the special 
circumstances of  each place4           
,liverpool1 which we will look at next1 
is probably the  worst4  ,an official   
enumeration of the court and cellar     
population of  that town was made two   
years ago1 from which it appeared that  
#ee1ecd  persons1 more than one-third of
 the working classes1 inhabited courts2 
and #bj1afh persons lived in cellars4   
,there are also cellars in the  courts  
containing probably #bjjj inhabitants4  

,with regard to the character of these  
courts1 #fbi1 or nearly      one-third1 
were closed at both ends2 #hge1 or less 
than one-half1 were      open at one    
end2 and only #dgh1 or less than        
one-fourth1 open at both      ends4     
,the cellars are #aj or #ab feet square2
 generally flagged1--but      frequently
 having only the bare earth for a       
floor1--and sometimes      less than six
 feet in height4  ,there is frequently  
no window1 so that      light and air   
can gain access to the cellar only by   
the door1 the top      of which is often
 not higher than the level of the       
street4  ,in such      cellars1         
ventilation is out of the question4     
,they are of course      dark2 and from 
the defective drainage1 they are also   
very generally      damp4  ,there is    
sometimes a back-cellar1 used as a      
sleeping      apartment1 having no      
direct communication with the external  
atmosphere1 and deriving its scanty     
supply of light and air solely      from

 the front apartment4    ,the above     
extract1 and the numbers of the court   
and cellar population1  are taken from  
,dr4 ,duncan's evidence4  ,he thinks1   
from extensive data in  his possession1 
that the numbers1 as given in this      
enumeration1 are under  the mark4  ,and 
it is suggested that1 possibly1 casual  
lodgers have been  omitted4  ,dr4       
,duncan then gives some further details 
which enable us more  fully to          
understand what dog-holes these cellars 
are4        ,of the entire number of    
cellars1 #afag have the back apartment  
,i have      mentioned2 while of #ebig  
whose measurements are given1 #agga1 or 
one-third1 are from five to six feet    
deep1--#bcbd are from four to      five 
feet1 and #abjb from three to four feet 
below the level of the      street3     
#ebgc1 or more than five-sixths1 have no
 windows to the front2      and #bdbi1  
or about #dd per cent4 are reported as  
being either damp or      wet4    ,in   
cellars of this kind there are sometimes

 #cj human beings1 sometimes  more1     
furnished1 as ,dr4 ,duncan tells us1    
with a supply of air  sufficient for the
 wants of only seven4  ,occasionally1 in
 this ,report1  there are scenes        
described in a circumstantial1          
,dutch-picture way which  the most      
vigorous imagination1 priding itself on 
its ingenuity in  depicting             
wretchedness1 would hardly have         
conceived4  ,take the following         
instance from the evidence of ,mr4      
,holme of ,liverpool4        ,some time 
ago ,i visited a poor woman in distress1
 the wife of a      labouring man4  ,she
 had been confined only a few days1 and 
herself      and infant were lying on   
straw in a vault through the outer      
cellar1      with a clay floor1         
impervious to water4  ,there was no     
light nor      ventilation in it1 and   
the air was dreadful4  ,i had to walk on
      bricks across the floor to reach  
her bed-side1 as the floor itself       
was flooded with stagnant water4  ,this 

is by no means an      extraordinary    
case1 for ,i have witnessed scenes      
equally wretched2 and      it is only   
necessary to go into ,crosby-street1    
,freemason's row1 and      many cross   
streets out of ,vauxhall-road1 to find  
hordes of poor      creatures living in 
cellars1 which are almost as bad and    
offensive as      charnel houses4  ,in  
,freemason's-row ,i found1 about two    
years ago1 a      court of houses1 the  
floors of which were below the public   
street1      and the area of the whole  
court was a floating mass of putrefied  
animal and vegetable matter1 so         
dreadfully offensive that ,i was        
obliged to make a precipitate retreat4  
,yet the whole of the houses      were  
inhabited6    ,think what materials for 
every species of comfort and luxury1 are
  perpetually circulating through       
,liverpool4  ,if there had not been1 for
  many a day1 a sad neglect of          
supervision on the part of the          
employers1  and great improvidence on   

that of the employed1 we should not see 
the  third part of the working          
population of such a town immersed in   
the most  abject wretchedness1 and all  
this wealth passing through and leaving 
so  little of the comforts of life in   
the active hands through which it has   
passed4  ,it may be said1 however1 that 
a considerable part of the  population  
of ,liverpool is immigrant1 and ,irish4 
,turn then to  ,nottingham1 or ,york1 or
 ,preston1 it is the same story4  ,mr4  
,hawksley1 the  engineer1 says of       
,nottingham3        ,with few exceptions
 the houses of ,nottingham and its      
vicinity are      laid out either in    
narrow streets1 or more commonly are    
built in      confined courts and       
alleys1 the entrance to which is usually
 through      a tunnel from #cj to #cf  
inches wide1 about #h feet high1 and    
from #be to      #cj feet long1 so that 
purification by the direct action of the
 air      and solar light is in the     
great majority of these cases perfectly 

impracticable4  ,upwards of #gjjj houses
 are erected back to back and      side 
to side1 and are of course by this      
injurious arrangement      deprived of  
the means of adequate ventilation and   
decent privacy4    ,dr4 ,laycock says of
 ,york1        ,from these inquiries it 
appears that in the parish of ,st4      
,dennis1 in      which strict accuracy  
was observed1 from #h to #aa persons    
slept in one      room in #d4e per cent4
 of the families resident there2 in #g4e
 per      cent4 from #f to #h persons   
slept in one room2 of the total #baie   
families visited by the district        
visitors1 #bf per cent4 had one room    
only for all purposes4    ,the ,rev4    
,mr4 ,clay gives an account of an       
examination of a part of  ,preston1     
,the streets1 courts1 and yards examined
 contain about #dbb dwellings1          
inhabited at the time of the inquiry by 
#bdjj persons sleeping in #heb          
beds1 i4e4 an average of #e4fh          
inhabitants to each house1 and #b4h     

persons to each bed4        ,in #hd     
cases #d persons slept in the same bed4 
11 #bh 11 #e      11 #ac 11 #f      11  
#c 11 #g      11 #a 11 #h        ,and1  
in addition1 a family of #h on bed      
stocks covered with a little      straw4
    ,the results of statistical         
investigations1 with respect to the     
duration  of life1 are in unison with   
the inferences that we should naturally 
make  from the facts before us4  ,dr4   
,laycock shows us that in ,york1 in the 
best  drained parishes1 where the       
population to the square rood is #bg1   
and the  mean altitude above the sea in 
feet is #ej1 the mean age at death is   
#ce4cb2 in intermediate parishes1 where 
the population is denser and the        
altitude less1 the mean age at death is 
#bg4bi2 in the worst drained1  worst    
ventilated1 and lowest situated         
parishes1 the mean age at death is      
#bb4eg4  ,he mentions a fact well worth 
noticing1 that the cholera in #ahcb     
broke out in the court called the       

,hagworm's nest1 which is in the same   
spot where the pestilences of #aeea and 
#afjd had dwelt4  ,surely1 in these     
last two hundred years1 we might have   
drained and ventilated a locality  which
 experience had shown to be so          
attractive to epidemics4  ,the ,rev4    
,mr4 ,clay has furnished a table1       
subjoined in the ,appendix1 showing the 
progressive diminution of vitality in   
the respective classes of gentry1       
tradesmen1 and operatives1 at ,preston4 
,dr4 ,duncan says respecting the        
mortality of ,liverpool1        ,while  
in ,rodney ,street and ,abercromby      
,wards1 with upwards of #cj1jjj         
inhabitants1 the mortality is below that
 of ,birmingham--the most      favoured 
in this respect of the large towns in   
,england--in ,vauxhall      ,ward1 with 
a nearly equal amount of population1 the
 mortality exceeds      that which      
prevails in tropical regions4 99 99 99  
99 99 #agg persons die      annually in 
,vauxhall ,ward for every #ajj dying out

 of an equal amount      of population  
in ,rodney ,street and ,abercromby      
,wards4    ,vauxhall ,ward is where the 
greater number of inhabitants dwell in  
cellars4  ,well may ,dr4 ,duncan1 in    
commenting on this difference of        
mortality in ,vauxhall ,ward and ,rodney
 ,street1 declare that it is a fact     
sufficient to arouse the attention and  
stimulate the exertions of the  most    
indifferent4                            
99 99 99 99 99    ,the average age at   
death in the following classes is made  
out from all  the deaths which took     
place in the ,suburban1 the ,rural1 and 
the ,town  districts of ,sheffield in   
the three years1 #ahci1 #ahdj1 and      
#ahda3    ,gentry1 professional persons1
 and their families            #dg4ba   
,tradesmen and their families           
#bg4ah                   ,artisans1     
,labourers1 and their families    ,a4   
,employed in different kinds of trade   
and handicraft     #ba4eg  common to all
 places    ,b4  ,employed in the various

 descriptions of manufacture     #ai4cd 
pursued in ,sheffield and its           
neighbourhood    ,persons whose         
condition in life is undescribed        
#ae4jd    ,paupers in the ,workhouse    
#be4ea    ,farmers and their families   
#cg4fd    ,agricultural ,labourers and  
their families                   #cj4hi 
,in considering such statistics1 the    
premature death of these poor people  is
 not the saddest thing which presents   
itself to us1 but the unhealthy1        
ineffectual1 uncared-for1 uncaring life 
which is the necessary  concommitant of 
such a rapid rate of mortality4         
99 99 99 99 99    ,since the publication
 of the preceding ,essay1 ,mr4 ,pusey's 
,poor in  ,scotland1 an abstract which  
has brought the evidence taken before   
the  ,scotch ,poor ,law ,commission     
within short compass1 has been          
published4  ,this evidence is of a      
nature that cannot be passed by4  ,we   
may think that  such details are        
wearisome1 but we must listen to them1  

if we would learn  the magnitude of the 
evil4  ,it is no use proceeding without 
a sufficient  substratum of facts4      
,turning then to this abstract1 we find 
one minister  in ,edinburgh saying1     
,i visited a part of my parish on       
,friday last1 and in all the houses     
,i found persons destitute of food1 and 
completely destitute of fuel2           
without an article of furniture2 without
 beds or bedding1 the inmates      lying
 on straw4    ,another tells the        
,commissioners1        the allowance    
generally made1 is not sufficient to    
keep them 7the      outdoor pensioners7 
in existence at the lowest possible rate
 of      living4    ,a third says       
,i have often trembled when ,i have gone
 at the call of duty to visit      the  
receptacles of wretchedness1 because ,i 
felt that ,i could not      relieve the 
misery which ,i must look upon2 and in  
such cases1 nothing      but a sense of 
duty could compel me to go and visit the
 poor4    ,and a fourth minister        

mentions that his poor parishioners had 
stated to  him        that they regarded
 themselves as outcasts from the        
sympathy of their      fellow-men4      
,it also appears from ,dr4 ,alison's    
evidence that this distress is          
increasing4  ,you read of ,glasgow1     
always fruitful in extreme instances of 
misery1 that in one of the private      
poor-houses1 #bb children were found1   
all afflicted with fever1 and occupying 
a room about fourteen feet  square4     
,the ,superintendent of the ,glasgow    
,police1 speaking of a  district in the 
centre of the town1 says        ,these  
places are filled by a population of    
many thousands of      miserable        
creatures4  ,the houses in which they   
live are altogether      unfit for human
 beings1 and every apartment is filled  
with a      promiscuous crowd of men1   
women and children1 in a state of filth 
and      misery4  ,in many of the houses
 there is scarcely any ventilation4     
,dunghills lie in the vicinity of the   

dwellings1 and from the      extremely  
defective sewerage1 filth of every kind 
constantly      accumulates4            
,touching the immediate object of the   
enquiry1 the relief of paupers1 we  find
 that ,humanity having gone with cold   
and cautious steps 7giving #ds4  a      
month1 sometimes1 to fathers and mothers
 of families7 through the  ,southern and
 middle regions of ,scotland1 becomes in
 the ,highlands nearly  petrified3 at   
the utmost is only able to divide       
amongst the impotent  poor about #cs4   
#f;d4 a-head for the whole year4  ,i    
dare say many  things may be urged      
against this1 as against all other      
evidence--a bit  picked off here1       
another pruned off there--this statement
 modified1 that  a little explained4    
,do what you will3 this evidence1 like  
that of the  ,health of ,towns          
,commission1 remains a sad memorial of  
negligence on the  part of the governing
 and employing classes4    ,it may be   
said that the improvidence of the       

labouring people themselves  is a large 
item in the account of the causes of    
their distress4  ,i do not  contend that
 it is not1 nor even that it is not the 
largest2 and1 indeed1  it would be very 
rash to assert that this class has1     
alone1 been innocent  of the causes of  
its own distress4  ,but whatever part of
 their  improvidence is something in    
addition to the improvidence of ordinary
  mortals1 belongs1 ,i believe1 to their
 want of education and of guidance4  ,it
 is1 therefore1 only putting the matter 
one step further off1 to say  that their
 distress is mainly caused by their     
improvidence1 when so much  of their    
improvidence is the fruit of their      
unguided ignorance4  ,however  true it  
may be1 that moral remedies are the most
 wanted1 we must not  forget that such  
remedies can only be worked out by      
living men2 and that  it is to the most 
educated in heart and mind that we must 
turn first1 to  elicit and to spread any
 moral regeneration4  ,besides1 there is

 a state  of physical degradation1 not  
unfrequent in our lowest classes1 where1
 if  moral good were sown1 it could     
hardly be expected to grow1 or even to  
maintain its existence4                 
99 99 99 99 99    ,the extracts given in
 the foregoing pages present some of the
 salient  points which these new        
materials afford of the distressed state
 of the  labouring classes4  ,it is a   
part of the subject requiring to be     
dwelt  upon2 for ,i believe there are   
many persons in this country who1       
however  cultivated in other respects1  
are totally unaware of the condition of 
that first material of a state1 the     
labouring population1 aye even of  that 
portion of it within a few streets of   
their own residences4    ,indeed1       
everybody is likely at some time or     
other to have great doubts  about this  
distress which is so much talked of4    
,we walk through the  metropolis in the 
midst of activity and splendour3 we go  
into the country  and see there a       

healthful and happy appearance as we    
pass briskly along3  and we naturally   
think that there must be great          
exaggeration in what we  have heard     
about the distressed condition of the   
people4  ,but we forget  that ,misery is
 a most shrinking unobtrusive creature4 
,it cowers out of  sight4  ,we may walk 
along the great thoroughfares of life   
without seeing  more than the distorted 
shadow of it which mendicancy indicates4
  ,a  little thought1 however1 will soon
 bring the matter home to us4  ,it has  
been remarked of some great town1 that  
there are as many people living  there  
in courts and cellars1 or at least in   
the state of destitution  which that    
mode of life would represent1 as the    
whole adult male  population of ,london1
 above the rank of labourers1 artisans1 
and  tradesmen4  ,probably we should    
form the most inadequate estimate of    
this  court and cellar population1 even 
after a long sojourn in the town4  ,now 
ponder over the fact4  ,think of all the

 persons in ,london coming within  the  
above description whom you know by      
sight4  ,think how small a part  that is
 of the class in question1 how you pass 
by throngs of men in that  rank every   
day without recognizing a single person4
  ,then reflect that a  number of people
 as great as the whole of this class may
 be found in one  town exhausting the   
dregs of destitution4  ,when we have    
once appreciated  the matter rightly1   
the difficulty of discerning1 from      
casual inspection1  the amount of       
distress1 will only seem to us an       
additional element of  misfortune4  ,we 
shall perceive in this quiescence and   
obscurity only  another cause of regret 
and another incitement to exertion4     
,,chap4 ,,ii4  ,,remedies ,,and         
,,reflections ,,suggested ,,by ,,the    
,,health ,,of ,,towns ,,report4         
,having now made ourselves to some      
extent aware of the distress existing   
amongst the labouring classes1 we will  
consider the main branches of  physical 

improvement discussed in the ,health of 
,towns ,report4      #a4  ,,ventilation4
      ,i put this first1 being convinced
 that it is the most essential4  ,it is 
but recently that any of us have        
approximated to a right appreciation of 
the value of pure air4  ,but look for a 
moment at one of those great  forest    
trees2 and then reflect that all that   
knotted and gnarled bulk has  been      
mainly formed out of air4  ,we1 in our  
gross conceptions1 were wont  to think  
that the fatness of the earth was the   
tree's chief source of  nourishment4    
,but it is not so4  ,in some cases this 
is almost perceptible  to the eye1 for  
we see the towering pine springing from 
a soil manifestly  of the scantiest     
nutritive power4  ,when we once         
apprehend how large a  constituent part1
 air is1 of bodies inanimate and        
animate1 of our own for  instance1 we   
shall be more easily convinced of the   
danger of living in an  impure          
atmosphere4    ,and whether it agree    

with our preconceived notions or not1   
the evidence  on this point is quite    
conclusive4  ,the volumes of the ,health
 of ,towns  ,report teem with instances 
of the mischief of insufficient         
ventilation4  ,it is one body of facts  
moving in one uniform direction4  ,dr4  
,guy noticed  that1 in a building where 
there was a communication between the   
stories1  disease increased in regular  
gradations1 floor by floor1 as the air  
was  more and more vitiated1 the        
employment of the men being the same4   
,but it  is needless to quote instances 
of what is so evident4  ,with respect to
  the remedies1 these are as simple as  
the evils to be cured are great4  ,for  
instance1 there was a lodging house in  
,glasgow where fever resided2  but by   
making an opening from the top of each  
room1 through a channel of              
communication to an air pump1 common to 
all the channels1 the disease           
disappeared altogether4  ,other modes of
 ventilation are suggested in the       

,report2 and one very simple device     
introduced by ,mr4 ,toynbee1 a          
perforated zinc plate fixed in the      
window-pane furthest from the fire or   
the bed1 has been found of signal       
benefit4  ,i shall take another         
opportunity of saying more upon the     
subject of ventilation4  ,of all the    
sanitary remedies1 it is the most in our
 power4  ,and ,i am inclined to  believe
 that half per cent4 of the annual      
outlay of ,london1 that is ten          
shillings in every hundred pounds1 spent
 only for one year in  improvements     
connected with ventilation1 would       
diminish the sickness of  ,london by one
 fourth4      #b4  ,,sewerage4          
,melancholy as the state of this        
department is shown to be2 destructive  
annually1 ,i fear1 of thousands of      
lives2 it is almost impossible not to   
be amused at the grotesque absurdity    
with which it has been managed4  ,one   
can imagine how ,swift might have       
introduced the subject in ,grildrig's   

conversations with the ,king of         
,brobdingnag4  ,the ,king asked me more 
about our 'dots' of houses1 as his      
,majesty was pleased to call them2 and  
how we removed the scum and filth from  
those little 'ant-heaps' which we       
called great towns4  ,i answered that   
our custom was to have a long brick     
tube1 which we called a sewer1 in the   
middle of our streets1 where we  kept a 
sufficient supply of filth till it      
fermented1 and the foul air was  then   
distributed by gratings at short        
intervals all over the town4 #bjb  ,i   
also told his ,majesty1 that to         
superintend these tubes1 we chose men   
not from any particular knowledge of the
 subject1 which was extremely           
difficult1 but impartially1 as one may  
say2 and that the opinions of  these men
 were final1 and the laws by which they 
acted irrevocable4  ,i  also added that 
if we had adopted the mode of making    
these tubes which  our philosophers     
would have recommended1 7but that we    

were a practical  people7 we might have 
saved in a few years a quarter of a     
million of our  golden coins4           
',spangles1' said ,his ,majesty1 who had
 lately seen me  weighing one of the    
golden likenesses of our beloved ,queen 
against a  ,brobdingnag spangle that had
 fallen from the dress of some maid of  
honour4  ,spangles or not1 ,i replied1  
they were very dear to us1 dearer  than 
body and soul to some1 so that we were  
wont to say when a man died1  that he   
died 'worth so much1' by which we meant 
so many gold coins or  spangles1 at     
which ,his ,majesty laughed heartily4   
,i then went on to tell  the ,king1 of  
our river ,thames1 that it was wider    
than ,his ,majesty could  stride1 that  
we were very proud of it1 and drank from
 it1 and that all  these tubes led into 
it1 and their contents were washed to   
and fro by the  tide before the city2   
and1 then1 my good ,glumdalclitch seeing
 that ,i had  talked a long time and was
 much wearied1 took me up and put me    

into my  box and carried me away4  ,but 
not before ,i had heard the ,king speak 
of my  dear country in a way which gave 
me great pain4  ',insufferable little   
wretches1' ,his ,majesty was pleased to 
say1 'as foolish when they are  living  
at peace at home as when they are going 
out to kill other little  creatures     
abroad1' with more that was like this1  
and not fit for me to  repeat4    ,in   
sober seriousness1 this subject of      
sewerage has been most absurdly         
neglected4  ,i do not blame any         
particular class or body of men4        
,parliament has been repeatedly applied 
to in the matter1 but nothing has  been 
done1 as it was a subject of no public  
interest1 though it is  probable1 if the
 truth were known1 that in those        
,sessions in which the  subject was     
mooted1 there were few questions of     
equal significance before  the ,house4  
,there are excellent suggestions in the 
,health of ,towns ,report  for          
improvement in the original construction

 of sewers1 for their  ventilation1 for 
their being flushed1 for making the     
curves at which the  side sewers ought  
to be connected with the main trunks1   
for a better  system of house drainage1 
respecting which ,mr4 ,dyce ,guthrie has
 given  most valuable evidence1 for the 
doing away with unnecessary gully       
drains1  and for conducting all the     
contents of these sewers1 not into our  
much  loved river1 but far away from the
 town1 where they can do no mischief1   
and will be of some use4  ,this is not a
 simple matter like ventilation2  and   
what is proposed involves large         
undertakings4  ,still it is of immense  
and growing importance1 and should be   
resolutely begun at once1 seeing  that  
every day adds to the difficulty which  
will have to be overcome4      #c4      
,,supply ,,of ,,water4      ,this is an 
essential part of any large system of   
sanitary improvement1  and one that does
 not present very great difficulty4     
,the principal facts  which ,i collect  

from the ,report are1 that the expense  
of transmission is  inconsiderable1 and 
consequently that we may have water from
 a distant  source2 that the plan of    
constant supply seems to be the best2   
that this  constant supply1 under a high
 pressure1 could be thrown over the     
highest  buildings in case of fire1 that
 it could be used for baths1 public     
fountains1 and watering and cleansing   
streets2 that it could be supplied  at  
#a;d4 or #a4e;d4 a week to the houses of
 the poor1 and for this that  they might
 have any quantity they chose to take4  
,at present the labour  of bringing     
water entirely prevents cleanliness in  
many of the more  squalid parts of the  
town3 and the advantage of a constant   
and unlimited  supply would be almost   
incalculable4  ,there appears to be some
 difficulty  in applying the principle  
of competition to the supply of water2  
for the  multiplication of water        
companies has in some instances only    
produced  mischief to the public4  ,i   

would suggest to the political economist
  whether there may not be some spheres 
too limited for competition4  ,but      
these are questions which ,i cannot     
afford at present to dwell upon4        
#d4  ,,building ,,of ,,houses4      ,in 
considering this branch of the subject1 
the first thing that occurs is  the     
absolute necessity of getting sufficient
 space to build upon4  ,other           
improvements may follow2 but almost all 
of them will be defective1 if  this     
primary requisite be wanting4  ,hence it
 is of such importance to  combat the   
notion that people must live near their 
work4  ,it is a great  convenience1 no  
doubt4  ,but the question is not of     
living near their  work1 but of dying1  
or being perpetually ill1 near it4  ,mr4
 ,holland has  made a calculation from  
which it appears1 that in some parts of 
the town  of ,chorlton-upon-,medlock1 in
 a family of five individuals1 there    
will be  on the average about #ej days a
 year more sickness due to the          

insalubrity  of the dwellings4  ,to     
avoid this additional illness1 it is    
surely worth  while for working men to  
live even at a considerable distance    
from their  work4  ,indeed ,i think two 
or three miles is not such a distance as
 should  prevent them4  ,besides1 is it 
not probable that1 in many instances1   
the  work would come to them8           
,supposing that new building takes      
place1 whether from the poorer classes  
tending more to the suburban districts1 
or from the dense parts of towns  being 
rebuilt1 much might be done by          
modifying1 if not repealing1 the  window
 tax and the tax on bricks4    ,with    
respect to the next point1 the laying   
out of the ground1 there are  most      
valuable suggestions given by ,mr4      
,austin in the ,health of ,towns        
,report4  ,the result of his evidence   
is1 that the average rental paid now  in
 ,snow's ,fields1 a place which ,i have 
endeavoured to make the reader          
acquainted with before1 would return    

upwards of #aj per cent4 upon money     
laid out in making a substantial set of 
buildings to occupy the place of  the   
present hovels2 and that these new      
houses should have every  structural    
arrangement requisite to render them    
healthy and comfortable  dwellings4  ,i 
have only to add on this subject1 that  
it would be of the  utmost advantage in 
any new buildings1 and especially for   
small houses1  likely to be built by    
small capitalists1 that there should be 
a survey  made of every town1 and its   
suburbs1 with 'contours of equal        
altitude4'  #bji  ,as things are managed
 at present1 people building without any
  reference to a general scale1 or any  
connexion with each other 7the          
non-interference principle carried to   
its utmost length7 the greatest         
difficulties in the way of sanitary     
improvement are introduced where  there 
need have been none4                    
99 99 99 99 99    ,the main branches of 
sanitary improvement touched upon by the

 ,report are  enumerated above4  ,there 
are1 however1 some general results and  
principles which demand our especial    
attention4    ,in the first place it    
seems to be universally true that       
economy goes hand  in hand with sanitary
 improvement4  ,so beneficently is the  
physical world  constructed1 that our   
labour for sanitary ends is eminently   
productive4  ,the order of ,providence  
points out that men should live in      
cleanliness  and comfort which we       
laboriously and expensively contravene4 
,in the  ,appendix ,i subjoin a table   
drawn up by ,mr4 ,clay1 showing in      
detail the  saving produced by sanitary 
measures4  ,i may notice1 as bearing on 
the  point of economy1 that there is    
concurrent evidence showing an excessive
  rate of mortality to be accompanied by
 excessive reproduction4  ,consequently1
 the result of the present defective    
state of sanitary  arrangements is1 that
 a disproportionate number of sickly and
 helpless  persons of all ages1 but     

chiefly children1 are thrown upon the   
state to  be provided for4  ,if this    
were to occur in a small community it   
would be  fatal4  ,in a great state it  
is not more felt than a calamitous war1 
or an  adverse commercial treaty4  ,but 
it requires a continued attention as    
great as that which those more noisy    
calamities are able to ensure for       
themselves while they are in immediate  
agitation4    ,secondly1 it is stated   
that the seats of disease are the seats 
of crime1  a result that we should      
naturally expect4                       
99 99 99 99 99    ,again1 it appears    
from many instances that what we are    
wont to call the  improvements in great 
towns are apt to be attended by an      
increase of  discomfort to the poor4    
,to them1 the opening of thoroughfares  
through  densely crowded districts1 in  
the displacement which it creates1 is an
  immediate aggravation of distress4    
,considering this1 ought we not to      
endeavour that improvements for the rich

 and the poor should go on              
simultaneously8  ,it is a hard measure  
to destroy any considerable  quantity of
 house property appropriated to the     
working classes1 and  thereby to raise  
their rents and densify their           
population1 without making  any attempt 
to supply the vacuum thus created in    
that market4                            
99 99 99 99 99    ,it is stated by ,dr4 
,arnott that nearly half of the         
accidental illnesses  that occur among  
the lower classes might be prevented by 
proper public  management3 a statement  
which the general body of evidence1 ,i  
think1  confirms4  ,now1 consider this  
result4  ,think what one night of high  
fever  is3 then think that numbers      
around you are nightly suffering this1  
from  causes which the most simple      
sanitary regulations would obviate at   
once4  ,when you are wearied with       
statistical details1 vexed with the     
difficulty  of trying to make men do any
 thing for themselves1 disgusted with   

demagogues playing upon the wretchedness
 of the poor1 then think of some  such  
signal fact as this2 and you will       
cheerfully1 again1 gird up  yourself to 
fight1 as heretofore1 against evils     
which are not to be  conquered without  
many kinds of endurance as well as many 
forms of  endeavour4    ,i do not wish  
to raise a senseless moan over human    
suffering4  ,pain is to  be borne       
stoutly1 nor always looked on with      
unfriendly eye4  ,but surely  we need   
not create it in this wholesale fashion2
 and then say that that  which is a     
warning and a penalty1 is but wholesome 
discipline1 to be  regarded with        
,mussulman indifference4                
99 99 99 99 99    ,i come now to what   
seems to me the most important result   
obtained in the  whole course of the    
elaborate evidence taken before the     
,health of ,towns  ,commission4  ,it    
appears not only that distress can exist
 with a high rate  of wages1 without    
apparently any fault on the part of the 

sufferers2  #bad;a but1 actually1 that  
in some instances1 there is an increase 
of  sickness with an increase of wages4 
#bad;b  ,the medical officer of the     
,spitalfields' ,district states that the
 weavers have generally less fever  when
 they are out of work4  ,this statement 
is confirmed by testimony of a  like    
nature from ,paisley1 ,glasgow1 and     
,manchester4  ,it is one of the most    
significant facts that has struggled    
into upper air4  ,we talk of the        
increase of the wealth of nations--it   
may be attended by an increase of       
misery and mortality1 and the production
 of additional thousands of  unhealthy1 
parentless1 neglected human beings4  ,it
 may only lead to a  larger growth of   
human weeds4  ,the explanation of the   
matter is simple4  ,dr4 ,southwood      
,smith tells us that ,fever is the      
disease of adolescence  and manhood4    
,now1 wretched as the dwelling houses of
 the poor are1  their places of work are
 frequently still worse4 #bae;a         

,consequently1  with an increase of     
work1 there comes an increase of fever  
from working  in ill-ventilated rooms1  
an increase of poor-rates1 #bae;b and an
  especial increase of orphanage and    
widowhood1 as the fever chiefly seizes  
upon persons in the prime of life4  ,and
 a large part of this increase is  thus 
distinctly brought home to neglect1 or  
ignorance1 on the part of the  employers
 of labour4  ,surely1 as soon as they   
are made cognizant of this  matter1 they
 will at once hasten to correct it4  ,in
 the appendix to this  work there is a  
letter from ,dr4 ,arnott1 giving an     
account of the causes  of defective     
ventilation1 and the remedies for it4   
,we can no longer say  that the evil is 
one which requires more knowledge than  
we possess to  master it4  ,science1    
which cannot hitherto be said to have   
done much for  the poor1 now comes to   
render them signal service4  ,it is for 
us to use  the knowledge1 thus adapted  
to our hands1 for a purpose which ,bacon

  describes as one of the highest ends  
of all knowledge1 the relief of  man's  
estate4  ,consider the awful possibility
 that we may at some future  time fully 
appreciate the results of our doings    
upon earth4  ,imagine an  employer of   
labour having before him1 in one picture
 as it were1 groups  of wretched beings1
 followed by a still more deteriorated  
race1 with  their vices and their       
sufferings expressed in some material1  
palpable  form--all his own handiwork in
 it brought out--and at the end1 to     
console  him1 some heaps of money4  ,if 
he had but a vision of these things by  
night1 while yet on earth1 such an      
all-embracing vision as comes upon a    
drowning man6  ,then imagine him to     
awake to life4  ,you would not then     
find that he knew methods of ensuring to
 his workmen fresh air1 but  lacked     
energy1 or care1 to adventure any thing 
for them4  ,talk not to me  of money1 he
 would say--,money-making may be one of 
the conditions of  continuance in this  

matter that ,i have taken in hand1 but  
on no account  the one great object4    
,indeed1 if a man cannot make some good 
fabric by  good means1 he would perform 
a nobler part1 as ,mr4 ,carlyle would   
tell us1  in retiring from the contest1 
and saying at once that the nature of   
things is too hard for him4  ,he is far1
 far1 better conquered in that  way1    
than obstructing the road by work badly 
done1 or adding to the  world's         
difficulties by inhumanity4    ,what ,i 
have given is but an outline of the     
,health of ,towns ,report2 and ,i  would
 fain persuade my readers to turn to the
 original itself4  ,some  delight in    
harrowing tales of fiction3 here are    
scenes indicated1 if not  absolutely    
depicted1 which may exercise the        
tenderest sympathies4  ,others  are ever
 bending over the pages of history3     
here1 in these descriptions  of the life
 of the poor1 are sources of information
 respecting the  well-being of nations1 
which history1 much given to tell only  

of the  doings of the great1 has been   
strangely silent upon4  ,for the man of 
science1 for the moral philosopher1 or  
even for the curious observer of  the   
ways of the world1 this ,report is full 
of interesting materials4  ,but  it is  
not as a source of pleasurable emotion  
that our attention should be  called to 
it4  ,it is because without the study of
 such works1 we cannot  be sure of doing
 good in the matter4  ,if there is      
anything that requires  thought and     
experience1 it is the exercise of       
,charity in such a  complicated system  
as modern life4  ,indeed1 there is      
scarcely anything to  be done wisely in 
it without knowledge4  ,and ,i believe  
it would be  better1 for instance1 that 
people should read this ,health of      
,towns  ,report1 than that they should  
subscribe liberally to carrying out even
  those suggestions which are           
recommended by men who have thought upon
  these subjects4  ,there is no end to  
the quickening power of knowledge2  but 

mere individual1 rootless acts of       
benevolence are soon added up4    ,there
 is not the less necessity for this     
knowledge1 because public  attention is 
in some measure awakened to the duties  
of the employers of  labour4  ,i do not 
know a more alarming sight than a number
 of people  rushing to be benevolent    
without thought4  ,in any general       
impulse1 there  are at least as many    
thoughtless as wise persons excited by  
it3 the  latter may be saved from doing 
very foolish things by an instinct of   
sagacity2 but for the great mass of     
mankind1 the facts require to be        
clearly stated and the inferences       
carefully drawn for them1 if they are   
to be prevented from wasting their      
benevolent impulses upon foolish or     
mischievous undertakings4        ,,chap4
 ,,iii4  ,,by ,,what ,,means ,,the      
,,remedies ,,may ,,be ,,effected4       
,certainly1 whether built upon          
sufficient information or not1 there is 
at  the present time a strong feeling   

that something must be done to improve  
the condition of the labouring classes4 
,the question is1 how to direct  this   
feeling--where to urge1 where to        
restrain it2 and to what to limit  its  
exertions4  ,an inane desire for        
originality in such matters is wholly   
to be discouraged4  ,people must not    
dislike taking up what others have      
begun4  ,of the various modes of        
improving the sanitary condition of the 
labouring classes1 each has some        
peculiar claim4  ,ventilation is so     
easy1  and at the same time so          
effective1 that it seems a pity not to  
begin at  once upon that4  ,again1      
structural arrangements connected with  
the  sewerage of great towns are        
pressing matters1 because1 like the     
purchase  of the ,sybil's books1 you    
have less for your money1 the longer you
 delay4  ,these two things and the      
supply of water seem to me the first    
points to  be attacked2 but a prudent   
man will endeavour to fall in with what 

others  are doing1 if it coincides with 
his direction1 and he can thereby hasten
  on1 not exactly his own methods1 but  
the main result which he has in  hand4  
,there is one conclusion which most     
persons who have thought on these       
subjects seem inclined to come          
to--namely1 that a ,department of       
,public  ,health is imperatively wanted1
 as the duties to be performed in this  
respect are greater than can be thrown  
upon the ,home ,secretary4  ,i  venture 
to suggest one or two things which it   
might be well to consider  in the       
formation of such a ,department4  ,it   
should not be a mere ,medical  ,board   
under one of the great branches of the  
,executive2 but an entirely  independent
 ,department4  ,it will thus have a much
 firmer voice in  ,parliament1 and      
elsewhere4  ,scientific knowledge1 as   
well as legal and  medical1 should be at
 its daily command4  ,i lay much stress 
upon the  first1 and for this reason4   
,medical men1 who are not especially    

scientific1 are apt1 ,i suspect1 to be  
shut up in measureless content  with the
 old ways of going on4  ,their knowledge
 becomes stereotyped4  ,and  as1 in such
 a ,department1 the aid of the latest   
discoveries is wanted1 it  is better to 
rely upon those whose especial business 
it is to be  acquainted with them4  ,all
 departments and institutions are liable
 to  become hardened1 and to lose their 
elasticity4  ,it is particularly        
desirable that this should be avoided in
 a ,department for the ,public  ,health2
 and1 therefore1 great care should be   
taken in the constitution of  it1 to    
ensure sufficient vitality1 and admit   
sufficient variety of  opinion1 or it   
would be better to trust to getting each
 special work done  by new hands4  ,the 
change of political chiefs1 a thing     
frequent enough in  modern times1 will  
ensure some of that diversity of mind   
which is one of  the main inducements   
for lodging power in a ,commission or a 
,board4    ,it is a great question what 

authority should be entrusted by this   
central  body to ,municipalities or     
local bodies4  ,they should certainly   
have the  utmost that can discreetly be 
given to them4  ,it does not do to say  
that1  hitherto1 they have been totally 
blind to their duty in this matter4  ,so
  have other people been4  ,the great   
principle of an admixture of            
centralization with local authority     
should not be lost sight of without     
urgent reasons4  ,that any reform should
 be undertaken in sanitary  measures    
betokens an improved state of moral     
feeling4  ,the feeling  amongst the most
 influential classes which produces the 
legislative  reform may be expected to  
go lower down--indeed1 the reform has   
already1  in all probability1 found some
 of its most useful supporters in a     
lower  class--and therefore we may      
expect to find fit persons to work in   
the  lower executive departments4  ,it  
is not fair to go back and assume that  
the old state of feeling exists--in     

fact1 that the parchment law is         
changed1 and not the people4  ,this     
might be so in a despotic government1   
but not here4  ,it is an oversight1     
when1 in such cases1 a general          
improvement is not calculated upon4     
,one of the first things that might be  
attempted in the legislative way is     
,smoke ,prohibition4  ,it is exactly a  
matter for the interference of the      
state4  ,the ,athenian in the comedy1   
wearied of war1 concludes a separate    
peace with the enemy for himself1 his   
wife1 his children1 and his  servant2   
and forthwith raises a jovial stave to  
,bacchus4  ,now all  sensible people    
would not only be glad to enter into    
amicable relations  with ,smoke1 but    
would even be content to pay a good sum 
for protection  against the incursions  
from factory chimnies and other         
nuisances in their  neighbourhood4  ,but
 there is no possibility of making such 
private  treaties4  ,the common         
undistinguishable air is vitiated3 and  

we ask the  ,state1 for the sake of the 
common weal1 to see this matter righted4
  ,it  has been long before the public2 
and there is sufficient evidence to     
legislate at once upon4  ,at any rate1  
if ,mr4 ,mackinnon's bill is referred   
to a ,committee1 it ought to be upon the
 understanding that the  suggestions of 
the ,committee shall be forthwith and   
earnestly considered1  with a view to   
instant legislation4  ,if the ,committee
 were to make an  excursion into the    
smoke-manufacturing parts of the        
,metropolis1 they  would see here and   
there factory chimnies from which less  
smoke issues  than from private houses4 
,this seems to be conclusive4  ,they    
will not  find1 ,i think1 that these    
smokeless chimnies belong to unimportant
  factories4  ,now1 if the nuisance can 
be cured in one case1 why not in  all8  
,here we have new and stately public    
buildings1 in the ,east and the  ,west  
of the town1 which only a few of us1 for
 a short time1 will see in  their       

pristine purity4  ,if we cannot         
appreciate the mischief which this      
smoke does to ourselves1 let us have    
some regard for the public  buildings4  
,consider1 too1 at what an immense      
outlay we purchase this  canopy of      
smoke4  ,certainly at hundreds of       
thousands a year in ,london  alone4  ,we
 have1 therefore1 made an investment in 
smoke of some millions  of money4  ,if  
we had but the resources to spend upon  
public improvements1  which have thus   
been worse than wasted1 we should need  
no other  contribution4  ,moreover1 the 
proposed restrictions in the case of    
smoke  would not only be beneficial to  
the public1 but profitable to the       
individual3 and the more one considers  
the subject1 the more astonished  one   
is1 that they should not long ago have  
been enacted4    ,but the truth is1 we  
are quite callous to nuisances4  ,a     
public prosecutor  of nuisances is more 
wanted than a public prosecutor of      
crime4  ,and this  is one of the things 

that would naturally come under the     
supervision of a  ,department of        
,health4  ,i find1 from the ,health of  
,towns ,report1 that it  is proposed to 
permit the continuance of sundry noxious
 trades in ,london  for thirty years1   
and then they are to be carried on under
 certain  restrictions4  ,it cannot be  
said that this is selfish legislation3  
the  present generation may inhale its  
fill of gas and vitriol2 but our        
grandchildren will imbibe under certain 
restrictions only that quantity  which  
is requisite to balance the pleasures of
 a city life4  ,at ,lyons  there is a   
long line of huge stumps of trees       
bordering on the river4  ,the           
traveller1 naturally enough1 supposes   
that this is the record of some  civil  
commotion2 but1 on inquiry1 he finds    
that the fumes of an adjacent  vitriol  
manufactory have in their silent way    
levelled these magnificent  trees as    
completely as if it had been done by the
 most effective  cannonade4  ,if we     

could but see in some such palpable     
manner how many  human beings are       
stunted by these nuisances1 we should   
proceed in their  expulsion with        
somewhat of the vigour which it         
deserves4  ,imagine1 if  only for one   
day1 we could enjoy a more than         
lynx-like faculty1 and could  see1 not  
merely through rocks1 but into air1 what
 an impressive sight it  would be in    
this ,metropolis4  ,here1 a heavy layer 
of carbonic acid gas  from our          
chimnies--there1 an uprising of         
sulphuretted hydrogen from our          
drains--and the noxious breath of many  
factories visible in all its  varieties 
of emanation4  ,after one such insight1 
we should need no more  ,sanitary       
,reports to stimulate our exertions4    
,but it is only our want of  imagination
 that prevents us from apprehending now 
the state of the  atmosphere4  ,science 
demonstrates the presence of all that ,i
 have  pictured1 and far more4    ,great
 resistance might1 perhaps1 be made1 if 

large measures were to be  taken for the
 removal of noxious trades from great   
towns4  ,in many cases1  where rapid    
measures would be harsh and unjust1 it  
would be well worth  while for the      
community to buy the absence of these   
unpleasant  neighbours1 resolutely      
shutting the gates against the incoming 
of any  similar nuisances for the       
future4  ,on the other hand1 mere       
clamour about  the rights of property   
and the injustice of interference must  
be firmly  resisted4  ,this clamour has 
been made in all times4  ,indeed1 men   
seldom  raise a more indignant outcry   
than when they are prevented from doing 
some injury to their neighbours4  ,how  
the feudal barons must have chafed1     
when deprived of the right of hanging in
 their own baronies3 how cruel it       
doubtless seemed to the monopolists of  
olden times1 when some factious  ,house 
of ,commons summoned to its bar the ,sir
 ,giles ,overreaches1 and made  them    
disgorge their plunder2 how planters in 

all climes storm1 if you but  touch the 
question of loosening the fetters of    
their slaves4  ,and so1 in  these minor 
matters1 when the community1 at last    
awake to its interest1  forbids some    
injurious practice to go on any longer1 
it is natural that  those who have      
profited by it1 and who1 blinded by     
self-interest1 still  share the former  
inertness of the public1 should find it 
hard to submit  quietly and             
good-naturedly to have any restrictive  
regulations put upon  their callings4   
,and where the public can smooth this in
 any way1 they  ought to do so2 not     
grudging even large outlay1 so that the 
nuisances in  question be speedily and  
effectually removed4  ,the money spent  
by the  community on sanitary purposes  
is likely to be the most reproductive   
part  of its expenditure1 and especially
 beneficial to the poorer classes who1  
for the most part1 live near these      
nuisances1 and have few means of        
resisting their noxious influence4      

99 99 99 99 99    ,after discussing what
 might be done by legislation1 we come  
naturally to  consider what might be    
done by ,associations for benevolent    
purposes4  ,however inadequate such     
,associations may be as an equivalent   
for  individual exertion1 there are1    
doubtless1 many occasions on which they 
may come in most effectively2 doing that
 which individuals can hardly           
undertake4  ,in ,london1 for instance1  
an association that would give us an    
elaborate ,survey of the town1 would    
accomplish a most benevolent purpose1   
and not be in any danger of interfering 
unwisely with social relations4  ,the   
same may be said of our other towns1    
for1 ,i believe1 there is not one  of   
them possessing a ,survey fit to be used
 for building and sanitary              
improvements4  ,again1 there are certain
 fields at ,battersea at present        
unbuilt upon1 close to the river1 one of
 those spots near the metropolis  that  
ought to be secured at once for purposes

 of public health and  amusement3 if a  
,society will do that for us1 they will 
accomplish a noble  work4  ,happily1 the
 necessity for public parks is beginning
 to be  appreciated4  ,these are the    
fortifications which we should make     
about our  towns4  ,would that1 on every
 side of the ,metropolis1 we could see  
such  scenes as this so touchingly      
described by ,goethe4        ,turn      
round1 and from this height look back   
upon      ,the town3 from its black     
dungeon gate forth pours1      ,in      
thousand parties1 the gay multitude1    
,all happy1 all indulging in the        
sunshine6      ,all celebrating the     
,lord's resurrection1      ,and in      
themselves exhibiting1 as 'twere      ,a
 resurrection too--so changed are they1 
,so raised above themselves4  ,from     
chambers damp      ,of poor mean        
houses--from consuming toil             
,laborious--from the work-yard and the  
shop--      ,from the imprisonment of   
walls and roofs1      ,and the          

oppression of confining streets1        
,and from the solemn twilight of dim    
churches--      ,all are abroad--all    
happy in the sun4                       
,anster's ,faust4    ,many other        
excellent enterprises might be suggested
 which societies are  peculiarly fitted 
to undertake4  ,i must own that ,i think
 they are best  occupied in such matters
 as will not require perpetual looking  
after1  which when they are once done   
are wholly done1 such as the formation  
of a  park1 the making of a survey1 the 
collection of materials for a           
legislative measure1 and the like4      
,these bodies are called in for an      
exigency1 and we should be able to      
contemplate a time when their  functions
 will cease2 or at least when their main
 work will be done4    ,other limits in 
their choice of objects might be        
suggested4  ,for  instance1 it is       
desirable that they should address      
themselves1 in  preference1 to such     
purposes as may benefit people          

indirectly2 or such as  concern the     
public as a body rather than distressed 
individuals of the  public2 or that aim 
at supplying wants which the people     
benefited are not  likely in the first  
instance to estimate themselves4  ,such 
is the supply  of air1 light1 and the   
means of cleanliness4  ,there is small  
danger of  corrupting industry by giving
 any extent of facilities for washing4  
#bcc    ,while we are on this subject1  
we must not pass over the societies     
which  have started up in connexion with
 our immediate object4  ,these ,baths   
and  ,washhouses for the ,poor are an   
admirable charity1 obvious to very      
little  of the danger which is apt to   
threaten benevolent undertakings4  ,it  
would1 however1 be a most serious       
drawback on their utility1 if they were 
to render people indifferent to the much
 greater scheme of giving a  constant   
supply of water at home4  ,with respect 
to the building  associations for the   
improvement of the houses of the poor1  

their  efforts1 as it seems to me1 will 
be most advantageously directed1 not in 
building houses1 but in buying and      
preparing ground1 and letting it out  to
 the individual builder upon conditions 
compelling the desired  structural      
arrangements4  ,in this way they may    
immensely extend the  sphere of their   
usefulness4  ,it is not by limiting     
their profit1 and so  insisting upon    
proving their benevolence1 but by giving
 birth to the  greatest amount of       
beneficial exertion on the part of      
individuals1 that  they may do most     
good4                                   
99 99 99 99 99    ,we come now to       
consider what may be done by individual 
exertion4  ,here it  is1 that by far the
 largest field is open for endeavour3   
here1 that  neglect is most injurious4  
,many a man who subscribes largely to   
charities1 has created more objects for 
them1 than he has furnished them  with  
means to relieve1 if he has neglected   
but a little his duties as an  employer 

of labour1 or an owner of property4     
,this mischief arises from  considering 
charity as something separated from the 
rest of our  transactions2 whereas a    
wise man weaves it in with them1 and    
finds the  first exercise for it in     
matters that grow out of his nearest    
social  relations1 as parent1 master of 
a household1 employer of labour1 and the
  like4    ,the more we look into the   
question1 the more weight1 ,i think1 we 
shall  attach to individual exertion4   
,take it in all its branches4  ,consider
  the most remarkable impulse ever given
 to the energies of ,europe--the        
,crusades4  ,it was an aggregate of     
individual impulses4  ,every strong and 
enterprising man felt that it was a     
matter which concerned his own soul4    
,it was not only that he was to cause   
something to be done for the great      
object1 but1 if possible1 he was to do  
it himself4  ,a ,crusade against        
,misery is called for now2 and it will  
only be carried on successfully by      

there being many persons who are ready  
to throw their own life and energy  into
 the enterprise4  ,mere mercenary aid   
alone will never do it4    ,look1       
moreover1 at what one man can do4  ,a   
,chatham springs into power1  and we are
 told that down to the lowest depths of 
office a pulsation is  felt which shows 
that there is a heart once more at the  
summit of  affairs4  ,the distant       
sentinel walks with a firmer tread on   
the banks of  the ,ebro1 having heard   
that the ,duke has arrived at head      
quarters4  ,so1  throughout4  ,every    
where you find individual energy the    
sustaining power4  ,see1 in public      
offices1 how it is the two or three     
efficient men who  carry on the         
business4  ,it is when some individuals 
subscribe largely in  time1 thought1 and
 energy1 to any benevolent association  
that it is most  like to prosper--for   
then it most resembles one powerful     
devoted man4  ,the adding up of many    
men's indolence will not do4  ,you      

think1 perhaps1  listless man of rank or
 wealth1 that your order sustains you4  
,short time  would it do so1 but for the
 worthy individuals who belong to it1   
and who1  at the full length of the     
lever1 are able to sustain a weight     
which would  throw the worthless1       
weightless men into air in a minute4    
,in the above cases it has been one man 
wielding much power2 but in the  efforts
 that are wanted to arrest the evils    
which we have been  considering1 the    
humblest amongst us has a large sphere  
of action4  ,a  provident labouring man1
 for example1 is a blessing to his      
family and to  his neighbours2 and is   
thus doing what he best can1 to relieve 
even  national distress4    ,it is a    
total mistake to bring1 as it were1 all 
the misery and misfortune  together1 and
 say1 now find me a remedy large as the 
evil1 to meet it4  ,resolve the evil    
into its original component parts4      
,imagine that there  had been no such   
thing as the squandering1 drinking1     

absentee ,irish  landlords we read of in
 the last generation--do you suppose    
that we  should have as many inhabitants
 in ,st4 ,giles's1 and the ,liverpool   
cellars1 to look after now8  ,so1 with  
the ,english landlords and              
manufacturers of that time1 see what a  
subtraction from the general mass  of   
difficult material there would have     
been1 if those men had done their  duty4
  ,but you will say we are still talking
 of bodies4  ,imagine1 then1  that      
during the last generation there had    
been the energetic efforts of           
individuals in these bodies1 that there 
are now1 directed to the welfare  of the
 people under them4  ,it would1 no      
doubt1 have been a great easement  of   
the present difficulty4  ,any body who  
does his duty to his dependents  keeps a
 certain number out of the vortex2 and  
his example is nearly sure  to be       
followed1 if he acts in an inoffensive1 
modest fashion4  ,dr4 ,arnott  has shown
 what great things may be done in the   

way of ventilation by  individual       
employers4  ,see what benefit would     
arise if only some few  builders1 taking
 to heart the present miserable         
accommodation for the  poor1 which few  
know better than they do1 would1 in     
their building  enterprises1 speculate  
also in houses of the smaller kind1 and 
take a  pride in doing the utmost for   
them4    ,one might easily multiply     
instances where individual exertion     
would come  in2 but each man must in    
some measure find out the fit sphere of 
action  for him4  ,the ,statesman tells 
us that the real wealth of a state is   
the  number of serviceable minds in it4 
,the object of a good citizen should  be
 to make himself part of this wealth4   
,let him aid where he can in  benevolent
 associations1 if well assured of their 
utility1 and at the  same time mindful  
of the duty of private endeavour2 but do
 not let him  think that he is to wait  
for the ,state's interference1 or for   
co-operation of any kind4  ,i do not say

 that such aids are to be  despised1 but
 that they are not to be waited for1 and
 that the means of  social improvement  
are in every body's hands4  ,for        
warfare1 men are  formed in masses1 and 
scientific arrangement is the soul of   
their  proceedings4  ,but industrial    
conquests and1 especially1 the conquests
 of  benevolence1 are often made1 here  
somewhat and there somewhat1 individual 
effort struggling up in a thousand free 
ways4                                   
99 99 99 99 99    ,the individual       
freedom which we possess is a great     
reason for individual  exertion4  ,how  
large that freedom is1 it needs but a   
slight acquaintance  with the past to   
estimate4  ,through what ages have we   
not toiled to the  conviction that      
people should not be burnt for their    
opinions4  ,the  lightest word about    
dignities1 the slightest claim to       
freedom of thought  or speech upon those
 matters which1 perhaps1 angelic natures
 would hardly  venture to pronounce     

upon1 even the wayward play of morbid   
imagination1  were not unlikely in      
former times to lead to signal          
punishments4  ,a man  might almost in   
his sleep commit treason1 or heresy1 or 
witchcraft4  ,the  most cautious1       
official-spoken man amongst us1 if      
carried back on a  sudden to the days of
 ,henry the ,eighth1 would1 at the end  
of the first  week1 be pursued by a     
general hue and cry from the            
authorities1 civil and  ecclesiastical1 
for his high and heinous words against  
,king1 ,church1 and  ,state4  ,while    
now1 ,alfred ,tennyson justly describes 
our country as        ,the land1 where  
girt with friends or foes1      ,a man  
may say the thing he will4    ,there is 
danger of our losing this freedom if we 
neglect the duties which  it imposes4   
,but ,i have resolved to avoid dwelling 
upon dangers1 and  would rather appeal  
to other motives4  ,the triumph for a   
nation so  individually free as ours1   
would be to show that the possible      

benefits of  despotism belonged to      
it--that there should be paternal       
government  without injurious           
control--that those things should       
ultimately be  attained by the exertions
 of many which a despot can devise and  
execute  at once1 but which his         
successor may1 with like facility1      
efface4  ,whereas what is gained for    
many by many1 is not easily got back4   
,it must  be vast embankments indeed    
which could compel that sea to give up  
its  conquests4                         
99 99 99 99 99    ,we have now gone     
through the principal means by which    
social remedies may  be effected3 there 
comes the consideration within what     
limits these means  should be applied4  
,the subject of interference is a most  
difficult one4  ,we are greatly         
mistaken1 however1 if we suppose that   
the difficulty is  confined to          
,government interference4  ,who does not
 know of extreme  mischief arising from 
over-guidance in social relations as    

well as in  state affairs8  ,the        
inherent difficulty with respect to any 
interference1  is a matter which we have
 to get over in innumerable transactions
  throughout our lives4  ,the way in    
which1 as before said1 it appears to me 
it should be met1 is principally by     
enlightenment as to the purposes of     
interference4  ,look at the causes which
 are so often found to render           
interference mischievous4  ,the         
governing power is anxious to exalt     
itself2 instead of giving life and      
energy1 wishes only to absorb them4  ,or
 it is bent upon having some outward    
thing done1 careless of the  principles 
on which it is done1 or of the mode and 
spirit of doing it4  ,hence1 in public  
affairs1 things may be carried which    
have only a show of  goodness1 but in   
reality are full of danger2 and in      
private life1 there  arise formality1   
hypocrisy1 and all kinds of surface     
actions4  ,or1 again1  the governing    
power is fond of much and minute        

interference1 instead of1  as ,burke    
advises1 employing means few1           
unfrequent1 and strong4  ,there  may    
also be another error1 when from        
over-tenderness1 or want of  knowledge1 
the authority in question suffers those 
under its influence to  lean on it1 when
 they are strong enough to walk by      
themselves4  ,all these  errors are     
general ones1 which require to be       
guarded against in the  education of a  
child1 as well as in the government of a
 state4  ,all of  them1 too1 have their 
root in an insufficient appreciation of 
the value  of free effort4  ,but when   
this is once attained1 the interfering  
party  will see that his efforts should 
mainly be enabling ones3 that he may    
come as an ally to those engaged in a   
contest too great for their  ability2   
but that he is not to weaken prowess by 
unneeded meddling4  ,it  may be said    
that this is vague4  ,i am content to be
 vague upon a point  where1 ,i believe1 
the greatest thinkers will be very      

cautious of laying  down precise rules4 
,look at what ,burke says with regard to
 state  interference--that it should    
confine itself to what is truly and     
properly publick1 to the publick peace1 
to the publick safety1 to the  publick  
order1 to the publick prosperity4  ,how 
large a scope do those  words publick   
prosperity afford4  ,besides1 the       
transactions1 in which  we want to      
ascertain just limits for our           
interference1 are so numerous1  and so  
various1 that they are not to be met but
 by an inconceivable  multiplicity of   
rules4  ,such rules may embody much     
experience1 but they  seldom exhaust the
 subject which they treat of2 and there 
is the danger  of our suffering them to 
enslave1 instead of merely to guide1 our
  judgments4  ,and then1 on some        
critical occasion1 when the exception1  
and  not the rule1 is in accordance with
 the principle on which the rule has    
been formed1 we may commit the greatest 
folly in keeping to what we fancy  the  

landmarks of sagacity and experience4   
,instead1 therefore1 of laying  down any
 abstract rules1 ,i will only observe   
that a prima facie  reluctance to all   
interference is most reasonable1 and    
perhaps as  necessary in the social     
world1 as friction is in the physical   
world1 in  order to prevent every       
unguided impulse from having its full   
mechanical  effect3 that1 nevertheless1 
interference must often be resorted to3 
and  that the best security for acting  
wisely in any particular case1 is not   
to suffer ourselves to be narrowly      
circumscribed by rules1 but at the  same
 time to be very cautious of attempting 
any mere present good1 of  getting      
notions of our own rapidly carried into 
action1 at the expense of  that freedom 
and moral effort which are the surest   
foundations of all  progress4           
99 99 99 99 99    ,we were considering1 
above1 the claim which our individual   
freedom makes  on our individual        
exertion for the good of others4  ,but  

this freedom must  in some degree be    
limited in order to produce its best    
results2 and  amongst them1 to secure   
the greatest amount of such individual  
exertion4  ,we know the restraint that  
must exist upon all1 if all are to enjoy
 equal  freedom4  ,the freedom of one is
 not to be a terror to another4  ,law is
  based upon this obvious principle4    
,but there are other circumstances      
also1 in which individuals will find    
support and comfort in the general      
freedom being circumscribed by some     
interference on the part of the state   
or other bodies4  ,such a case occurs   
when the great majority of some  class  
of private individuals would willingly  
submit to wise regulations  for the     
general good1 but cannot do so without  
great sacrifice1 because  of the selfish
 recusancy of some few amongst them4    
,here is a juncture at  which the ,state
 might interfere to enable individuals  
to carry out their  benevolent          
intentions4  ,but one of the main       

reasons for some degree of  interference
 from the ,state or other authorized    
bodies1 in matters  connected with our  
present subject1 is that1 otherwise1 the
  responsibilities of individuals would 
be left overwhelming4  ,it is to be     
remembered by those who would restrain  
such interference within the  narrowest 
possible bounds1 that they by so much   
increase individual  responsibility4    
,responsibility can1 happily1 by no     
scheme1 be made to  vanish4  ,wherever a
 signal evil exists1 a duty lies        
somewhere to attack  it4  ,suppose a    
district1 for instance1 in which the    
state of mortality is  excessive1 a     
mortality clearly traceable to the want 
of sanitary  regulations4  ,in a        
despotic government it may be enough to 
mention this  to the central body4  ,in 
a free state1 where the duties of a     
citizen come  in1 more is required from 
the individual2 and if there is no fit  
body of  any kind to appeal to in such a
 case1 the burden lies upon all men     

acquainted with the facts1 to endeavour 
conjointly1 or separately1 to  remove   
the evil4  ,while1 on the one hand1 we  
must beware of introducing  such        
interference1 whether coming from the   
,state or other bodies1 as  might       
paralyse individual exertion1 we must at
 the same time remember  that the weight
 to be removed may be left              
overwhelmingly disproportionate  to     
individual effort1 or even to conjoint  
effort1 if unauthorized1 both  of which 
may thus be stiffened by despair into   
inaction4    ,in the instance we have   
just been considering1 we must not say  
that the  people immediately interested 
in removing the evil will do so         
themselves4  ,it is part of the         
hypothesis that they will not4  ,ages   
have passed by1  and they have not4     
,they do not know what is evil4  ,it has
 been observed  that savages are rarely 
civilized by efforts of their own4  ,a  
vessel from  civilized parts comes and  
finds them savages4  ,a generation      

passes away4  ,another vessel comes1 how
 differently propelled1 how differently 
constructed2 manned by sailors who have 
different costume1 food1 ways of  speech
 and habits from the former ones2 but   
they are able to recognize at  once the 
savages described by their forefathers4 
,these have not changed4  ,the account  
of them is as exact as if it were       
written yesterday4  ,in such  a land1 we
 must not look for the germ of          
improvement amongst the  miserable      
inhabitants themselves4  ,it must come  
from without1 brought  thither by       
hopeful1 all-sympathizing enterprize4   
,,chap4  ,,iv4  ,,in ,,what ,,spirit    
,,the ,,remedies ,,are ,,to ,,be        
,,effected4      ,whenever the condition
 of the labouring people becomes a      
general topic1  some erroneous modes of 
discussing it arise which deserve       
notice4  ,in the  first place1 there is 
a matter which1 in all our friendly     
efforts for the  working classes1 we    
must not forget1 and that is1 to make   

these efforts  with kindliness to other 
classes4  ,the abuse of other people is 
an easy  mode of showing our own        
benevolence1 more easy than profitable4 
,to  alleviate the distress of the poor 
may be no gain1 if1 in the process1 we  
aggravate the envies and jealousies     
which may be their especial  temptation4
  ,the spirit to be wished for is       
sympathy2 and that will not  be produced
 by needless reproaches4  ,besides1 it  
is such foolish  injustice to lay the   
blame of the present state of things on 
any one  class4  ,it is unpractical1    
unphilosophical1 and inconsistent with  
history4  ,if we must select any class1 
do not let us turn to the wealthy1      
whom1 perhaps1 we think of first4  ,they
 have1 in no time that ,i am aware  of1 
been the pre-eminent rulers of the      
world4  ,the thinkers and writers1  they
 are the governing class4  ,there is no 
doubt that the rich and great  have in  
most cases a large sphere of usefulness 
open to them2 and they  are fatally     

blind1 if they neglect it4  ,that is1   
however1 rather a matter  for them to   
think of1 than for those who are under  
them4  ,and ,i feel  quite certain that 
the evils we are now1 as a nation1      
beginning to be  sensitive to1 are such 
as may be more fairly attributed to the 
nation1 in  its collective capacity1    
than to any one class1 or even to any   
one  generation4  ,i notice the error of
 the opposite opinion1 believing it to  
be a signal hindrance to improvement4   
,let us not begin a great work with     
bitterness4  ,i am not1 however1 for the
 slightest concealment of the  truth1   
and can well understand the righteous   
indignation that will break  out at     
witnessing the instances of careless    
cruelty to be seen daily4  ,still1 this 
is not to be done by a systematic and   
undistinguishing attack  upon any one   
class3 if it requires a bold hand1 it   
requires a just one  also1 under a      
reasonable restraint of humility4  ,i   
suspect that those  men1 if any1 who    

have a right to cast the first stone at 
their neighbour  in this matter will be 
among the last persons to do so4    ,it 
is a grievous thing to see literature   
made a vehicle for encouraging  the     
enmity of class to class4  ,yet this1   
unhappily1 is not unfrequent  now4      
,some great man summed up the nature of 
,french novels by calling  them the     
,literature of ,despair3 the kind of    
writing that ,i deprecate may  be called
 the ,literature of ,envy4  ,it would be
 extreme injustice to say  that the     
writers themselves are actuated by an   
envious or malignant  spirit4  ,it is   
often mere carelessness on their part1  
or ignorance of the  subject1 or a want 
of skill in representing what they do   
know4  ,you would  never imagine from   
their writings that some of the most    
self-denying  persons1 and of those who 
exert themselves most for the poor1 are 
to be  found amongst the rich and the   
well-born1 including of course the great
  ,employers of labour4  ,such writers  

like to throw their influence1 as they  
might say1 into the weaker scale4  ,but 
that is not the proper way of  looking  
at the matter4  ,their business is not  
to balance class against  class1 but to 
unite all classes into one harmonious   
whole4  ,i think if  they saw the       
ungenerous nature of their proceedings1 
that alone would  stop them4  ,they     
should recollect that literature may    
fawn upon the  masses as well as on the 
aristocracy3 and in these days the      
temptation is  in the former direction4 
,but what is most grievous in this kind 
of  writing1 is the mischief it may do  
to the working people themselves4  ,if  
you have their true welfare at heart1   
you will not only care for their  being 
fed and clothed2 but you will be anxious
 not to encourage  unreasonable         
expectations in them1 not to make them  
ungrateful or  greedy-minded4  ,above   
all1 you will be solicitous to preserve 
some  self-reliance in them4  ,you will 
be careful not to let them think that   

their condition can be wholly changed   
without exertion of their own4  ,you    
would not desire to have it so changed4 
,once elevate your ideal of what  you   
wish to happen amongst the labouring    
population2 and you will not  easily    
admit anything in your writings that may
 injure their moral or  their mental    
character1 even if you thought it might 
hasten some physical  benefit for them4 
,that is the way to make your genius    
most serviceable  to mankind4  ,depend  
upon it1 honest and bold things require 
to be said to  the lower as well as to  
the higher classes2 and the former are  
in these  times much less likely to have
 such things addressed to them4         
99 99 99 99 99    ,in the same way that 
we are fond of laying the neglect1 and  
the duty1 of  exertion upon some class1 
even on our own1 rather than on our     
especial  selves1 we are much given to  
look for something new which1 in a      
magical  manner1 is to settle the whole 
difficulty4  ,but when people look for a

  novelty of this kind1 what do they    
mean8  ,some moral novelty8  ,the       
,christian religion has been eighteen   
hundred years before the world1 and     
have we exhausted the morality in that8 
,some political novelty8  ,we are       
surely the nation1 whose constitution1  
whatever may be said against it1  has   
been most wrought and tempered by       
diverse thought and action4  ,some      
novelty in art or science8  ,where has  
man attained to a greater mastery  over 
matter than in this iron-shearing       
country8  ,the utmost that one age  can 
be expected to do in the way of         
discovery is but little2 and that       
little by few men4  ,let us sit down and
 make use of what we have4  ,the  stock 
out of which national welfare might be  
formed lies in huge1  unworked-up masses
 before us4  ,social improvement depends
 upon general  moral improvement4       
,moral improvement mostly comes1 and at 
least is most  safely looked for1 not in
 the way of acquisition but of          

development4  ,now1 as regards the      
conduct of the various classes of the   
state to each  other1 we do not want any
 new theory about it1 but only to       
develop that  kindly feeling which is   
already in the world between like and   
like1 which  makes a parent1 for        
instance1 so kind even to the faults of 
his children4  ,we want that feeling    
carried over all the obstructions of    
imperfect  sympathy which hedge it in   
now4  ,this will be done by both classes
  knowing more of each other4  ,one of  
the great reasons for the education  of 
the people is1 that even educating them 
a little enables rich and poor  to      
understand each other better--in fact1  
to live more harmoniously  together4    
,if our sympathies were duly enlightened
 and enlarged1 we  should find that we  
did not need one doctrine for our       
conduct to friends1  another for our    
conduct to dependents1 and another for  
our conduct to  neighbours4  ,one spirit
 would suffice to guide us rightly in   

all these  relations4  ,the uninstructed
 man looking around him on the universe1
 and  seeing a wonderful variety of     
appearances1 is inclined to imagine that
  there are numberless laws and         
substances essentially different1 little
  knowing from how few of either the    
profusion of beauty in the world is     
formed4  ,but the creative energy of    
what we call ,nature1 dealing with few  
substances1 breaks out into every form  
and colour of loveliness4  ,here1  we   
have the dainty floweret which ,i would 
compare to the graceful  kindnesses     
passing among equals2 there1 the rich   
corn-field like the  substantial        
benefits which the wise master-worker   
confers on those around  him2 here      
again1 the far-spreading oak which1 with
 its welcome depth of  shade1 may remind
 us of the duties of protection and     
favour due from the  great to the       
humble2 and there1 the marriage of the  
vine to the elm1 a  similitude for      
social and domestic affection4  ,the    

kindnesses to which ,i  have compared   
these various products of ,nature1 are  
also of one spirit1  and may be worked  
out with few materials4  ,indeed1 one   
man may in his  life manifest them all4 
,no new discovery1 no separate teaching1
 for each  branch of this divine        
knowledge1 is needed4    ,i do not say  
that there may not be physical          
discoveries1 or legislative  measures1  
which may greatly aid in improving the  
condition of the  labouring classes4    
,but1 if we observe how new things come1
 in our own  life for instance1 or in   
the course of history1 we shall find    
that they  seldom come in the direction 
in which we are looking out for them4   
,they  fall behind us2 and1 while we are
 gazing about for the novelty1 it has   
come down and has mingled with the crowd
 of old things1 and we did not  know it4
  ,let us begin working on the old and  
obvious foundations1 and we  shall be   
most ready to make use of what new aid  
may come1 if we do not  find an almost  

inexhaustible novelty in what we deemed 
so commonplace4  ,there is no way of    
burnishing up old truths like acting    
upon them4    ,you may rely upon it that
 it is one of the most unwholesome and  
unworkmanlike states of mind to be      
looking about for1 and relying upon1    
some great change which is all of a     
sudden to put you into a position to  do
 your duty in a signal manner4  ,duty is
 done upon truisms4    ,but let         
discoveries in morals or in physics have
 come2 suppose any extent  of political 
amelioration you please2 and grant that 
the more outward  evils have been       
conquered by combined effort4  ,let our 
drains flow like  rivulets1 and imagine 
that light and air permeate those       
dwellings which  now moulder in a       
loathsome obscurity4  ,let the poor be  
cared for in their  health1 their       
amusements1 their education1 and their  
labour4  ,still the  great work for an  
employer of labour remains for ever to  
be renewed2 that  which consists in the 

daily intercourse of life1 in that      
perpetual  exercise of care and kindness
 concerning those small things which1   
small  as they may be1 are nevertheless 
the chief part of men's lives4  ,perhaps
  the greatest possible amelioration of 
the human lot is to be found in the     
improvement of our notions of the duties
 of master to man4  ,it were hard  to   
say what could be named as an equivalent
 for even a slight improvement  in that 
respect1 seeing that there is no day in 
which millions upon  millions of        
transactions do not come within its     
limits4  ,if this relation  were but a  
little improved1 with what a different  
mind would the great  mass of men go to 
their work in the morning1 from the     
slave who toils  amid rice fields in    
,georgia to the serf in ,lithuanian     
forests4  ,nor would  those far above   
the extremes of serfdom fail to reap a  
large part of the  benefit4  ,it cannot 
be argued that civilization renders men 
independent3  it often fastens but more 

firmly the fetters of servitude--at     
least it  binds them upon limbs more    
easy to be galled4  ,its tendency is to 
give  harsh words the power of blows4   
,consider what a thing it is to be      
master4  ,to have the king-like         
privilege of addressing others first1 to
  comment for ever on their conduct1    
while you are free from any reciprocal  
animadversion4  ,think what an          
immeasurable difference it must make1   
whether your subordinate feels that all 
he does is sure to be taken for  the    
best1 that he will meet with continual  
graciousness1 that he has a  master who 
is good lord and brother to him3 or     
whether he lives in  constant doubt1    
timidity1 and discomfort1 with a        
restless desire of  escape ever         
uppermost in his mind4  ,i do not apply 
this only to the  ordinary relation of  
master and servant4  ,you sometimes see 
the most  cruel use made even of a      
slight social superiority1 where the    
cruelty is  enhanced by the education   

and other advantages of the suffering   
party4  ,to say nothing of              
,christianity1 there is the greatest    
want of chivalry in  such proceedings1  
in whatever rank they take place1       
whether from masters  to servants1      
employers to employed1 or in those more 
delicately  constituted relationships   
just alluded to4  ,in all our           
intercourse with  those who have not a  
full power of replying to us1 instead of
 being the  less restrained on this     
account1 which is the case with most of 
us1 the  weakness on the other side     
ought to be an irresistible claim to    
gentleness on ours4  ,the same applies  
when what is naturally the weaker1      
being guarded by social                 
conventionalities on its side1 is in    
reality the  stronger1 and is tempted   
into insolence1 thus abusing the        
humanity of the  world4  ,but1 let us   
turn from the abuse of power1 and see   
what it is when  wielded by discerning  
hands4  ,it is like a healthful         

atmosphere to all  within its           
boundaries4  ,other benefits come and   
go1 but this is inhaled  at every       
breath1 and forms the life of the man   
who lives under it4  ,it is  a perpetual
 harmony to him1 songs without words1   
while he is at his  work4  ,one of the  
most striking instances we have had in  
modern times of  this just temperament  
of a master was to be noted in ,sir     
,walter ,scott4  ,the people dependent  
upon him were happier1 ,i imagine1 than 
you could  have made them1 if you had   
made them independent4  ,if you could   
have  distributed1 as it were1 ,scott's 
worldly prosperity1 you cannot easily   
conceive that it would have produced    
more good than when it fell full on     
him1 and was forthwith radiated to all  
around him4  ,you may say that this  was
 partly the result of genius4  ,be it   
so4  ,genius is1 by the definition  of  
it1 one of the highest gifts4  ,if1 with
 humble means1 we can produce  some of  
its effects1 it is great gain4          

,without1 however1 wishing to           
depreciate the attaching influence of   
genius1 we must1 ,i think1 attribute    
much of this admirable bearing in ,scott
 to an essential kindliness of  nature  
and a deep sense of humanity4  ,if he   
had possessed no peculiar  gifts of     
expression or imagination1 and quietly  
followed the vocation of  his father1 a 
writer to the ,signet1 he would have    
been loved in his  office as he was on  
his estate2 and old clerks would have   
been ,laidlaws  and ,tom ,purdies to    
him4  ,scott would under any            
circumstances have  insisted on being   
loved3 he would have been a good lord   
and brother to  any man or set of men   
over whom he had the least control4     
,you cannot  make out that true         
graciousness of his to be a mere love of
 feudal  usages4  ,it is the best thing 
that remains of him1 better than all his
  writings1 if1 indeed1 it were not     
visible throughout them4    ,the duties 
of master to man are the more important1

 because1 however much  the relation may
 vary in its outward form1 it will not  
be mapped down as  in this or that      
latitude1 but remains as pervading as   
the air4  ,we may  have brought down the
 word charity to its most abject sense1 
considering  what is but the husk of it 
to be the innermost kernel4  ,mere      
symbols of  it may go on4  ,in times1   
when few things were further apart than 
charity  and papal sway1 the popes still
 went through the form of washing poor  
men's feet4  ,but that symbol has a     
wondrous significance--the depth of     
service which is due from all masters1  
the humble charity which should  ever   
accompany true lordship and dominion4   
99 99 99 99 99    ,when considering in  
what spirit our remedies should be      
attempted1 one of  the most important   
things to be urged is1 that it should be
 in a spirit  of hopefulness4    ,in one
 of ,dr4 ,arnold's letters there is the 
following passage4  ',too  late1'       
however1 are the words which ,i should  

be inclined to affix to  every plan for 
reforming society in ,england2 we are   
ingulfed1 ,i believe1  inevitably1 and  
must go down the cataract2 although     
ourselves1 i4e4 you  and ,i1 may be in  
,hezekiah's case1 and not live to see   
the catastrophe4  ,similar forebodings  
were uttered on other occasions by this 
eminently  good man in the latter years 
of his life4  ,i quote the passage to   
show  how deep must have been the       
apprehension of danger and distress     
which  could so depress him2 and1 more  
especially1 for the purpose of          
protesting  against any similar         
despondency which ,i fear to be very    
prevalent in  these times4  ,it mainly  
arises1 as it seems to me1 from a       
confusion  between the term of our own  
life and that of the state4  ,we see a  
cloud  which overshadows our own        
generation1 and we exclaim that the     
heavens and  earth are coming together4 
,how often1 in reading history1 does a  
similar  feeling occur to us4  ,we      

think1 how can the people we are reading
 of  revive after this whirlwind of     
destruction6  ,imagine how much more    
they  themselves must have felt         
despondency4  ,a ,northumbrian looking  
upon  ,william the ,conqueror's         
devastations--a monk considering the    
state of  things around him in the      
exterminating contest of ,stephen and   
,matilda1 or  the wars of the           
,roses--the remaining one of a family   
swept off by some of  those giant       
epidemics which desolated our towns in  
the fourteenth  century--a member of the
 defeated party in the struggles of the 
,reformation1 the ,rebellion1 or the    
,revolution--what would any such person 
have prophesied as to the fate of his   
country8  ,how little would he have     
foreseen the present plethoric1         
steam-driving1 world-conquering         
,england6  ,so with us4  ,we too have   
evils1 perhaps of as large dimension1   
though in  some respects of a totally   
different character from those which our

  forefathers endured--and did not sink 
under4  ,nothing is to be shunned  more 
than ,despair4  ,how profound is the    
wisdom which has placed ,hope in  the   
front rank of ,christian virtues4  ,for 
is it not the parent of  endeavour8     
,and in this particular matter1 the     
improvement of our social  condition1   
the more we examine it1 the more we     
shall discover cause for  hope4  ,the   
evils are so linked together that a     
shock given to any one  would electrify 
the whole mass of evil4  ,take an       
instance4  ,suppose that  those who have
 the means bestir themselves to improve 
the houses of the  poor4  ,see what good
 will flow from that4  ,physical        
suffering is  diminished2 but that is1  
perhaps1 the least thing4  ,cleanly and 
economical habits are formed2 domestic  
occupations are increased2 more  persons
 live through the working period of     
life2 and a class is formed  low down in
 the body politic who are attached to   
something1 for a man who  has the       

tenancy of a good house to lose1 is not 
altogether destitute4  ,and under what  
circumstances is all this done8  ,by the
 more influential  classes taking a     
kindly concern in a matter in which all 
are deeply  interested4  ,this is not   
the least part of the good4  ,indeed1   
without it1  all the rest1 however      
excellent in itself1 would lack its most
 engaging  features4  ,seeing then in   
one instance how much good may be done  
even  with slight efforts1 we may       
determine to resist despondency4  ,to   
yield to  it1 even but a little1 is to  
help in building up the trophy for the  
other  side4    ,although we must not   
listen to despondency1 we must not1 on  
the other  hand1 attempt to conceal from
 ourselves that this subject1 the       
condition  of ,england question as it   
has been called1 is oppressively large2 
or  suppose that it can be dealt with   
otherwise than by ever-growing vigour4  
,at the present moment public attention 
is unusually fixed upon it4  ,but  this 

may be of brief duration4  ,the public  
soon becomes satiated with any  subject4
  ,some foreign war1 or political       
contest1 may all at once turn  its looks
 in far other directions4  ,but the     
social remedies that we have  been      
talking of1 are not things to be        
finished by a single stroke4  ,we       
cannot expect to complete them just     
while the daylight of public opinion  is
 with us4  ,the evil to be struggled    
against is a thing entwined with  every 
fibre of the body politic4  ,it is      
enough to occupy the whole mind  of the 
age2 and demands the best energies of   
the best minds4  ,it should  be a       
,thirty years' war against sloth and    
neglect4  ,it requires men who  will    
persevere through public favour or      
disfavour1 who can subdue their  own    
fastidiousness1 be indifferent to       
ingratitude1 tolerant of folly1 who  can
 endure the extreme vexation of seeing  
their most highly prized  endeavours    
thwarted by well intentioned friends1   

and who are not  dependent for reward   
upon those things which are addressed to
 vanity or  to ambition4                
99 99 99 99 99    ,after a long fit of  
distress which1 for the poorer classes1 
may almost be  called a seven years'    
famine1 we are now apparently entering  
upon one of  our periodic times of      
prosperity4  ,you hear of thousands of  
additional  hands being wanted1 of new  
mills rising up1 and at last of a       
revival of  the home trade4  ,it is one 
of those breathing spaces in which we   
can  look back with less despondency1   
and forward with some deliberation4     
,each man's apprehensions for his own   
fortunes need no longer absorb his      
whole attention4  ,yet one cannot       
observe all this clashing and whizzing  
of machinery1 this crowding on our      
quays1 this contention of railway       
projects1 and the general life and hum  
of renewed activity1 without a  profound
 fear and sadness lest such things      
should pass on1 as their  predecessors  

have passed1 leaving only an increased  
bulk of unhandy  materials to be dealt  
with4  ,it is one of those periods upon 
which the  historian1 armed with all    
that wisdom which a knowledge of the    
result can  furnish him1 may thus dilate
 in measured sentences4  ,a time of     
nearly  seven years of steady distress  
had now elapsed2 nor can it be said1    
that  this distress had been lightly    
regarded by thoughtful minds1 or that   
its  salutary process had not commenced4
  ,the question of the condition of the 
labouring classes had in a measure      
become prominent4  ,the ,essayist       
moralized about it after his fashion2   
the lover of statistics arrayed his     
fearful lists of figures to show its    
nature and extent2 the writer of        
fiction wove it into his tale2 the      
journalist found it a topic not easily  
to be exhausted3 old men shook their    
heads over it2 and the young1 to the    
astonishment of the world1 began to talk
 of it as a matter of pressing  interest

 to them4  ,now was the time when ,great
 ,britain might have looked  into this  
question4  ,but a return of prosperity1 
which we must almost  call insidious1   
lulled attention4  ,sickness and        
adversity are soon  forgotten4  ,and    
this nation awoke as from a bad dream   
which it was by no  means desirous of   
recalling in its daylight reminiscences4
  ,my friends1  let us not give an      
opportunity to the historian to moralize
 upon us in  this manner4  ,if we are   
employers of labour1 let us bethink     
ourselves  that now is the time for     
persuading our men to do something for  
themselves2 now is the time for getting 
improvements made in our town and       
neighbourhood1 the public being in a    
cheerful mood2 now1 too1 we can         
ourselves adventure something for the   
good of those around us4  ,do not  let  
us be anxious to drain the cup of       
prosperity to its last drop1  holding it
 up so that we see nothing but it4  ,let
 us carry ourselves  forward in         

imagination1 and then look backward on  
what we are doing now4  ,that is the way
 to master the present1 for the best    
part of foresight is  in the reflex4    
,what matter is it how many thousands of
 pounds we make1  compared to how we    
make them8    ,yes1 some one will reply1
 the imaginary historian deserves to be 
heard4  ,this is the time for the nation
 to do something4  ,really a            
,government with a surplus should put   
all things to rights4  ,oh1 these       
unhappy collective nouns1 what have they
 not to answer for6  ,this word  nation1
 for instance3 we substitute it instead 
of writing down some  millions of names1
 a convenience not altogether to be     
despised4  ,but  yours1 my friend1 is   
there4  ,the word nation is not an      
abstract idea2 but  means an aggregate  
of human beings4  ,no individual man is 
eliminated by  this process of          
abbreviation4  ,your being one of a     
nation is to enrich  you with duties1   
not to deprive you of them4  ,but these 

large words often  soothe us into       
obliviousness4  ,it puts one in mind of 
long algebraical  operations in which   
the student has wholly lost sight of    
reality1 and is  driving on his symbols1
 quite unable to grasp their            
significance4  ,this  may be well enough
 for him1 for eventually some result    
comes out which  can be verified4  ,but 
if we1 in active life1 play with general
 terms1 we  do not come to such distinct
 results1 but only get into profound    
confusion1 as it will be in this case1  
if we expect great things to  happen    
from some combined effort in their      
corporate capacity of those  who1 as    
individuals1 are looking on4            
99 99 99 99 99    ,before we leave off1 
let us look at the subject in its full  
scope4  ,a  large portion of our fellow 
countrymen are living1 not in a passive 
state  of distress1 but in one which    
manufactures rapidly disease1 and       
poverty1  and crime4  ,i think it has   
been shown that it is in the power of   

other  classes to raise this condition4 
,at any rate it is in their power to    
make the attempt4  ,there is no occasion
 for waiting--each of us can do         
something to-day in this matter4  ,now  
consider what would be the effect  of   
success in these endeavours4  ,let us   
not take the other result as  probable2 
or1 even in hypothesis1 draw any picture
 that might make  despondency plausible4
  ,suppose1 then1 the success of        
individual1 or  united efforts1 in      
raising the condition of the labouring  
classes4  ,what  an undivided good it   
is4  ,has any man some particular reform
 at heart1  some especial hopes for his 
race8  ,where can he look for such a    
basis to  rest upon as in the improved  
condition of the largest layer of the   
people8  ,what a field it opens for     
science1 literature1 and art4  ,what    
freedom may it not give to the highest  
ranges of thought4    ,i cannot think   
the destinies of our race an unimproving
 matter of  contemplation1 and that it  

savours of presumption1 or of needless  
forelooking1 to reflect on these things4
  ,a notable portion of the great  human
 family utters every day a prayer in    
which the individual supplicant  asks1  
not for himself alone1 even those       
blessings which he can  individually    
enjoy1 but also1 and first1 implores    
those general blessings  which include  
the welfare of his own race at least4   
,what is the meaning  of this1 if we are
 to take no interest in the general     
welfare1 or not1 by  every means in our 
power1 to aid in it8    ,in the better  
order of men there is a desire for      
social improvement  totally independent 
of all thought of personal gain4        
,bishop ,butler saw  in the fact1 that  
there were persons who devoted          
themselves to a pursuit  so remote from 
worldly ends as astronomy1 a wonderful  
instance of the  innate consciousness in
 man of his high origin and destiny4    
,but an  earnest and unselfish love of  
social progress1 is a far more          

satisfying  sign that the impress of    
good is not altogether effaced1 and that
 men are  not wholly isolated by        
worldliness from the future and the     
past4              ,hence1 in a season  
of calm weather1            ,though     
inland far we be1      ,our souls have  
sight of that immortal sea              
,which brought us hither1               
,can in a moment travel thither1        
,and see the ,children sport upon the   
shore1      ,and hear the mighty waters 
rolling evermore4                       
,,finis4        ,,appendix4      ,the   
following table shows the progressive   
decrease in the sum of vitality  in the 
three classes of the inhabitants of     
,preston4  ,the calculations are        
founded on the ages at death for the six
 years ending ,june #cj1 #ahdc3--       
#a4  ,gentry4       #b4  ,tradesmen4    
#c4  ,operatives4    ,born              
#ajj               #ajj                 
#ajj    ,remaining at                   
#ij4h              #gi4f                

#fh4b  the end of #ast  year         11 
#bnd year              #hg4f            
#gc4e              #eg4e         11 #eth
 year              #hb4d                
#fa4h              #dd4f        11 #ajth
 year              #ha4a                
#ef4f              #ch4h       11  #bjth
 year              #gf4c                
#ea4f              #ca4e        11 #cjth
 year              #gb4c                
#de4i              #be4b        11 #djth
 year              #fc4d                
#cg4e              #bj4d        11 #ejth
 year               #ef4                
#bh4a              #ae4f        11 #fjth
 year              #de4a                
#bj4e              #aa4b        11 #gjth
 year              #be4d                
#ac4c               #f4a        11 #hjth
 year                #h4                
#d4e               #b4a        11 #ijth 
year               #a4c                 
4#h                4#b       11 #ajjth  
year               4 4               4 4
               4#jc                     

,terminates in     ,terminates in       
,terminates in                    the   
#ibnd year4    the #ifth year4    the   
#ajcrd year4            ,evidence of    
,rev4 ,j4 ,clay4  ,health of ,towns     
,report1 page #agd4    ,the following   
table shows the progressive decrease in 
the vitality of the  three classes from 
the age of #ba years3--                 
,gentry1 c4       ,tradesmen1 c4        
,operatives4    #ba years old           
#ajj               #ajj                 
#ajj    ,remaining at #cj               
#id4g              #hi4d                
#gi4g  years old     11 #dj years old   
#hc4b              #gc4b                
#fc4g     11 #ej years old              
#gc4d              #ee4j                
#dh4i     11 #fj years old              
#ei4a              #dj4d                
#cd4f     11 #gj years old              
#cc4d              #bf4e                
#ah4i     11 #hj years old              
#aj4h               #i4f                
#g4a     11 #ij years old               

#a4f               #a4e                 
#a4a        11 #ajj years               
4 4               4 4               #j4f
               old                      
,terminates at     ,terminates at       
,terminates at                    #ib   
years4         #if years4         #ajc  
years4            ,evidence of ,rev4 ,j4
 ,clay4  ,health of ,towns ,report1 page
 #age4    #a4  ,saving by one-third of  
the actual number of           #a1bdj   
pounds  ,deaths4  ,the expense of each  
being estimated at  #bl4 #ajs4    #b4   
,saving in the excess of ,births beyond 
#a in #dd           #hbg pounds  of the 
,population2 the expense of each ,birth 
being taken at #al4    #c4  ,saving in  
day's labour from sickness1             
#g1jdg pounds  estimating one-third of  
the cases out of the  expense4  #af1gaj 
,cases4    #d4  ,reduction by one-half  
of the existing expense           #eja  
pounds  of ,widowhood and ,orphanage1   
the amount taken from  the actual       
expenditure4    #e4  ,saving in the     

expense of ,insurance1 by               
#ae1jjj pounds  keeping the water on    
night and day1 so as to be  in readiness
 at one minute's notice4  ,estimated  on
 half the number of ,houses at #fs4 per 
,house4    #f4  ,saving of ,productive  
,manure estimated at             #be1jjj
 pounds  #ajs4 per head on the whole    
,population4  ,all  liquid and solid    
,manure and ,street ,sweepings  being   
carried out of ,town by the ,sewers4    
#g4  ,saving in ,washing1 c4 consequent 
on the             #aj1dej pounds       
burning of ,factory ,smoke4  ,estimated 
at #a;d4 per  head per week of the      
,population4    #h4  ,saving of outside 
painting of ,shops and                  
#a1bej pounds  ,houses2 estimating the  
cost per ,house at #bes4  and the saving
 at one-fourth of the sum4              
pounds     s4       d4    ,total annual 
saving to the town             #dg1hae  
#j          #j    ,total weekly saving  
to the town                #iai         
#aj          #d    ,total annual saving 

to each house                #d         
#ae          #g    ,total weekly saving 
to each house                #j         
#a         #aj    ,total annual saving  
to each                      #j         
#ai          #a  individual    ,total   
weekly saving to each                   
#j        #j       #d4be  individual    
,evidence of ,rev4 ,j4 ,clay4  ,health  
of ,towns ,report1 page #aig4           
,total                  ,a4             
,b4             ,c4                     
,d4                                     
,number of   ,cost per ,house for       
,capital4   ,rent per ,house4     ,total
        ,total ,increased ,rental       
,houses4                                
,outlay4       required defraying by    
,annual ,instalments of                 
,principal and ,interest of             
#bj ,years for the ,house               
cleansing and ,water                    
,apparatus1 and #cj ,years for          
,sewers and ,drains4                    
pounds     s4     d4     s4     d4      

pounds      pounds     s4     d4    #a4 
,in want of water               #e1jjj  
#j       #aj        #j        #j        
#f       #b1ejj         #bjj       #ae  
#j    #b4 4 4 4 main sewer              
#aj1jjj           #j        #e        #j
        #j        #b       #b1ejj       
#afb       #ab        #f    4 4 4       
secondary do4                #g1iai     
#b        #i        #f        #b        
#f      #ai1eii       #a1bgd       #ah  
#i    #c4 4 4 4 house-drains            
#aj1jjj           #j       #ae        #j
        #j        #i       #g1ejj       
#dhg       #ag        #i    #d4 4 4 4   
water closets            #aj1jjj        
#b        #j        #j        #b        
#j      #bj1jjj       #a1fjf        #a  
#j    #e4 4 4 4 ventilation             
#aj1jjj           #j       #ae        #j
        #j        #i       #g1ejj       
#fjb        #d        #f    #f4 4 4 4   
street-sweeping          #aj1jjj        
4 4 4                    #i        #c   
4 4           #d1fbe        #j        #j

                                        
pounds      s4         d4    ,total     
immediate expenditure of        #ea1eii 
#j                #j  capital required  
for the  improvement of the town        
,total increased rental                 
#h1iei        #i                #h      
7including the annual expense  of       
street-sweeping7    ,immediate          
expenditure for each             #e     
#ai                #c  house    ,total  
increased annual rent                #j 
#ae               #aa  for each house   
,total increased weekly rent            
#j        #j             #c4ge  for each
 house    ,immediate expenditure per    
head             #a        #c           
#i  of the population    ,annual        
expenditure per head of             #j  
#c              #f4e  the population    
,weekly expenditure per head of         
#j        #j       #j4ge #ad_/eb  the   
population            ,evidence of ,rev4
 ,j4 ,clay4  ,health of ,towns ,report1 
page #aif4        ,,dr4 ,,arnott ,,to   

,,the ,,author1 ,,on ,,the ,,subject    
,,of ,,ventilation4                     
,bedford ,square1 ,january1 #ahde4      
,,my ,,dear ,,sir1    ,to aid the memory
 of persons inquiring about the means of
 preserving  health1 ,i have elsewhere  
endeavoured to mark clearly1 that the   
four  things1 fit air1 temperature1     
aliment1 and exercise1 are all that     
need to be secured1 and the two things  
violence and poisons all that  need to  
be avoided1 by men of sound             
constitution1 that they may enjoy       
uninterrupted health and long life2--and
 consequently that the causes of  all   
other disease than the decay from age   
are to be looked for in errors          
committed in regard to these four       
necessaries1 or in the direct influence 
of these two kinds of noxious agents4   
,the tabular view on the opposite  page 
#bhb1 now to be examined1 exhibits the  
subject to the eye4                     
99 99 99 99 99    ,in some moderately   
warm and uniform climates of the earth1 

such as the  ,azores or ,western ,isles 
in the ,atlantic1 the two first         
mentioned  necessaries1 viz4 fit        
temperature and pure air1 are so        
constantly present  that the inhabitants
 no more think of them as necessaries to
 be laboured  for than they think of the
 gravitation which holds their bodies to
 the  earth as such a necessary4  ,but  
in colder1 or changing climates1 to     
procure house-shelter1 clothing1 and    
fuel1 for cold weather becomes a  very  
considerable part of the necessary      
business of life4  ,and where food  is  
dear1 that is to say1 obtainable only as
 the reward of much labour1 as  is true 
in ,england1 the amountof labour which  
individuals can perform  with safety to 
their health1 is often not sufficient to
 supply all the  urgent wants4          
,exposure to temperature lower than what
 suits the human constitution is  so    
severely felt1 that persons1 even before
 fixed disease has arisen as a          
consequence1 cannot remain indifferent  

to it2 and how little soever some  minds
 are disposed to reflect or speculate on
 such subjects1 there are  few who are  
not aware that all the diseases which in
 this and other  climates are called    
winter diseases1 as catarrhs1 quinsies1 
pleurisies1  croups1 rheumatisms1 c4 c4 
are consequences of error in regard to  
temperature4  ,but only persons whose   
attention has been specially  directed  
to the subject become fully aware of the
 fatal influence of that  want of fresh 
air which the closeness or otherwise    
faulty construction of  dwellings       
occasions4  ,the immediate effect is    
little felt1 although the  insidious    
enemy is unfailingly producing diseases 
perhaps more  destructive even than     
those from cold1 above enumerated4      
,impaired bodily  and mental vigour1 and
 the scrofulous constitution which      
renders persons  more liable to many    
diseases and among these to consumption1
 the  destroyer at present of about a   
sixth part of the inhabitants of        

,britain1  may be cited as part of the  
effects4    ,in ,england1 as yet1 many  
singular and hurtful misconceptions     
prevail on  the subjects of both warming
 and ventilating4  ,the object of a     
little  work which ,i published some    
time ago on these subjects1 was to      
substitute  for the misconceptions      
correct knowledge1 and to describe some 
new and  simple means of obtaining the  
objects sought4  ,a considerable change1
  however1 in common opinions and habits
 is not easily effected1 and the        
co-operation of many labourers will be  
required to accomplish all that is  here
 wanted4  ,in a new edition of the book1
 now in preparation1 ,i have  attempted 
to convert some remarkable errors that  
have been committed in  public          
situations into useful warnings or      
lessons for the future4  ,it is  but    
recently that even the members of our   
,houses of ,parliament became  aware    
that many of their body formerly had    
lost health1 and even life1  from want  

of a complete ventilation of the        
,houses1 easy to be effected4  ,and at  
present the havoc made in the crowded   
workrooms of milliners1  tailors1       
printers1 c4 and the injury done to     
young health in many  schools1 from     
similar want of knowledge1 are most     
painful to contemplate4  ,without the   
requisite knowledge very expensive      
attempts are made with  little or no    
benefit2 with that knowledge1 the       
desired ends may be  completely attained
 at little cost4    ,the great error    
committed in regard to ventilation has  
been the want of  an outlet in or near  
the cieling of rooms1 for the air       
rendered impure in  them by the         
breathing of inmates and the burning of 
candles1 lamps1 gas1  c4  ,at present   
the only outlet of ,english rooms is the
 fire place or  chimney opening near the
 floor4  ,but all the impurities above  
referred to  rise at once towards the   
cieling1 because of the lessened        
specific  gravity of air when heated1   

and there they would at once escape by a
 fit  opening4  ,where there is no such 
opening1 however1 they become diffused  
in the upper air of the room1 and can   
escape only slowly by diving under  the 
chimney-piece as that air is changed4   
,thus the air of a room above  the level
 of the fire-place1 whenever there are  
people or lights in the  room1 must     
always be loaded1 more or less1 with    
impurity4  ,the purest air  of the room 
is that near the floor1 being the last  
that entered1 and the  coolest1         
therefore and heaviest specifically2 and
 with this the fire is  fed1 while the  
hotter impure air remains almost        
stagnant above1 around  the heads and   
mouths of the company4  ,to remove the  
evil here referred  to1 ,i have shown1  
that even with an open fire1 if the     
throat of the  chimney be properly      
narrowed by a register flap1 an opening 
made near the  cieling into the chimney 
flue1 with a valve in it to allow air   
from the  room to enter the chimney1 but

 allowing no smoke to come out--will    
serve  very effectually2 and that where 
there is no open fire the ventilation   
can1 by the means described1 be made    
still more complete4    ,the great error
 with respect to warming in rooms for   
many inmates has  been to have all the  
heat radiating 7none being given off by 
contact7  from one focus or fire place1 
persons near to which consequently must 
receive too much1 and those far from    
which will receive too little2 while    
the supply of fresh air enters1 cold1 at
 a few openings chiefly1 and  pours     
dangerously on persons sitting near     
these4  ,in common rooms1 with  open    
fires1 the evils described may be       
lessened considerably by admitting      
fresh air through tubes or channels     
which open either near the fire1 or  all
 along the skirtings so that the fresh  
air is equally distributed over  the    
room and mixed with the mass of air     
previously in it3 but to have  what is  
desirable1 the air before distribution  

must be warmed by some of  the simple   
means now known1 as of warm channels in 
the brick work around  the fire1 or of  
the air being made to come into contact 
with the surface  of properly regulated 
stoves1 or tubes containing heated      
water4  ,i have  given detailed accounts
 of these means in the publication above
 referred  to2 and ,i have contrived and
 described various regulators applicable
 to  stoves and to the furnaces of      
hot-water apparatus1 which give complete
  command over the rate of combustion1  
and save nearly all the ordinary        
trouble of watching fires4    ,then1 to 
give complete efficiency to both the    
warming and ventilating  apparatus      
described1 ,i have had made a simple    
air-mover1 or ventilating  pump1 which  
may be worked by a weight1 like a       
kitchen jack1 or by a  treddle1 like a  
spinning-wheel or turning-lathe2 and    
which1 in all states  of wind and of    
temperature1 will deliver by measure any
 quantity of air  into or out of any    

inclosed space4    ,the means of        
ventilating and of warming now referred 
to1 may in different  cases be adopted  
in part or in whole4  ,in the dwellings 
of the poor of  cities1 where the same  
room serves for all purposes1--working  
at a trade1  sleeping1 cooking1 and is  
never unoccupied1 a brick taken out of  
the  wall1 from near the cieling1 over  
the fireplace1 so as to leave there an  
opening into the chimney-flue1 removes  
great part of the evil2 and if a  simple
 chimney-valve1 which ,i have described1
 allowing air freely to  enter the      
chimney1 but no smoke to return1 be     
added1 and there be an  additional      
opening made in some convenient part of 
the wall or window to  admit and        
distribute fresh air1 where air enough  
cannot enter by the  crevices and joints
 about the door and window1 the         
arrangement might be  deemed for such   
places complete4  ,even in a milliner's 
or tailor's  crowded work room a larger 
opening of this kind into the chimney1  

with  its balanced valve1 and with a    
branching tube having inverted funnel   
mouths over the gas lamps1 or other     
lights1 and conveying all the burned    
air to the valved opening #bhg in the   
chimney1 is so great an  improvement on 
present practice1 that many would deem  
it perfection4  ,to  this1 however1 may 
be added1 at little cost1 an opening for
 admitting1  and channels behind the    
skirting for distributing1 the fresh    
air2 and to  make the thing really      
complete1 there must be also the means1 
by a stove  or by hot water pipes1 of   
warming the air before its distribution2
 and  there must be the ventilating pump
 to inject and measure air when such    
action may be required4  ,during the    
winter1 in many cases the chimney       
draught would be sufficient to produce  
the desired currents of air  without the
 pump4    ,all the means here spoken of 
have already been and are in            
satisfactory  operation in various      
places4  ,the chimney-valves have been  

made by ,mr4  ,slater1 gas-fitter1 #bc1 
,denmark ,street1 ,soho1 and ,mr4       
,edwards1 #bj1 ,poland  ,street1 ,oxford
 ,street4  ,the pump by ,mr4 ,bowles1   
#eh1 ,great ,coram ,street1  and ,mr4   
,williams1 #be1 ,upper ,cleveland       
,street4  ,the stoves by ,mr4 ,edwards1 
,poland ,street1 ,messrs4 ,bramah and   
,co4 ,piccadilly1 ,messrs4 ,bailey1     
,holborn1 and others4                   
,i am1 my dear sir1                     
yours very truly1                       
,n4 ,,arnott4                           
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,charles ,,whittingham1 ,,chiswick4    
,,the ,,four ,,necessaries4       ,in   
fit ,kind and          ,in ,deficiency4 
,in ,excess4         ,degree4    #a4    
,,air                 ,suffocation      
,excess of ,oxygen4                     
,unchanged ,air4    #b4  ,,temperature  
,cold 7intense7          ,heat          
7intense47    #c4  ,,aliment3--         
,food                 ,hunger           
,gluttony1 or ,surfeit4       ,drink    

,thirst                  ,swilling      
water4    #d4  ,,exercise3--       ,of  
the body          ,inaction or          
,fatigue or                             
,exhaustion4       ,of the mind         
,ennui                   ,want of       
,sleep4                                 
,certain depressing      ,certain       
exciting                                
passions1 as fear1      passions1 as    
anger1                          sorrow1 
c4             jealousy1 c4       ,of   
the mixed         ,solitude             
,debauchery4  social aptitudes4    ,,the
 ,,two ,,noxious ,,agents4      #a4     
,,violence3--                           
,wounds1--,fractures1--,burns1          
c4--,lightning4    #i4  ,,poisons3--    
,animal1 ,mineral1 ,vegetable4          
,certain of these1 such as alcohol in   
its various forms1 opium1 tobacco1  c4  
which in large quantities kill          
instantly1 when they are taken in very  
moderate quantity can be borne with     
apparent impunity1 and are sometimes    

classed as articles of sustenance1 or   
they may be medicinal1 but if taken     
beyond such moderation1 they become to  
the majority of men destructive  slow   
poisons4    ,contagions1--as of plague1 
small-pox1 and measles4    ,malaria of  
marshes1 thickets1 and of filth4        
,footnotes3      #adg  ,see ,appendix4  
#bjb  ,there are several thousand       
gratings which are utterly useless on   
account of their position1 and          
positively injurious from their         
emanations4--,mr4 ,dyce ,guthrie4       
,health of ,towns ,report1 vol4 ii4 p4  
#bee4    #bji  ,to give an idea of the  
principle of contour lines1 we may      
suppose  a hill1 or any elevation of    
land covered with water1 and that we    
want to  trace the course of all the    
levels at every #d feet of vertical     
height2  suppose the water to subside #d
 feet at a time1 and that at each       
subsidence the line of the water's edge 
is marked on the hill2 when all  the    
water is withdrawn1 supposing the hill  

to be #bd feet high1 it will be  marked 
with a set of six lines1 denoting the   
contours of each of the  levels1 exactly
 #d feet above each other4--,mr4 ,butler
 ,williams's evidence  before the       
,health of ,towns ,commission4    #bad;a
  ,see ,mr4 ,toynbee's ,evidence4       
,health of ,towns ,report1 vol4 i4 pp4  
#hg1 #hh4    #bad;b  ,see ,dr4 ,arnott's
 ,evidence4  ,health of ,towns ,report1 
vol4 i4 pp4  #de1 #df4    #bae;a  ,see  
,dr4 ,guy's ,evidence4  ,health of      
,towns ,report1 vol4 i4 p4 #ib4         
#bae;b  ,in ,st4 ,george's1 ,southwark1 
out of #adfg persons who received       
parochial relief1 #abgf are reported to 
have been ill with fever4    #bcc  ,the 
mischief that may be done by            
associations for benevolent  purposes1  
when ill-directed1 is admirably shown in
 a pamphlet on the  subject of ,visiting
 ,societies by ,presbyter ,catholicus4  
,james ,darling1  ,little ,queen        
,street1 #ahdd4  ,one of the objects of 
this pamphlet is to  show that the      

command addressed to alms-givers not to 
let their left  hand know what their    
right hand doeth1 concerns the receiver 
as much as  the giver--that a man's alms
 will be converted into a source of     
almost  unmixed evil1 if their          
distribution become a subject of        
notoriety1 which  is the case in public 
charities4  ,this1 like most general    
propositions1  is not to be construed   
over strictly2 but there is much truth  
in it1  7especially if we take the word 
alms in its most restricted sense7 and  
it deserves to be weighed carefully by  
all who wish to render their            
benevolence most available4    #bhb     
,the tabular view has been moved to the 
end of the letter in this  ,project     
,gutenberg transcription4--,,dp4    #bhg
  ,the author of this book has tried one
 of these valved openings  recommended  
by ,dr4 ,arnott1 and has found it answer
 very well4