The History Of The Poor: Their Rights, Duties, And The Laws Respecting Them. In A Series Of Letters - Softcover

Thomas Ruggles

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0371707749 ISBN 13: 9780371707746

Publisher: HardPress, 2021

Synopsis

The History Of The Poor: Their Rights, Duties, And The Laws Respecting Them. In A Series Of Letters, by Thomas Ruggles, is an 18th?century British policy analysis exploring England and Wales' Poor Laws and their administration. Through a sequence of letters, the work traces reforms from medieval times to late?eighteenth?century proposals, focusing on parish relief, the poor-rate, and workhouses, and arguing that data collection and piecemeal legislation have yielded limited, unstable reform. It critiques the balance between private charity and statutory relief, emphasizes the moral and religious responsibilities of clergy and magistrates in directing relief, and analyzes rising poor-rates driven by prices, enclosure, and macroeconomic change rather than unemployment alone. The text surveys reform ideas such as parish unions, district committees, schools of industry, and changes to tithes, weighing centralization against local control and drawing on economic thought (Adam Smith) about wages and cost of living. The author advocates a humane, practically grounded path: streamlined administration, stronger clerical involvement, transparent accounts, and targeted safeguards to curb mismanagement while preserving civil liberties. Dated May 11, 1797; a policy?oriented, evidence?based guide for reform.

Edition details

• Publisher: HardPress
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0371707749
• ISBN 13: 9780371707746
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 472