Lord Brougham and the New Poor Laws,

ROBERTS (Samuel 1763-1848)

About this Item

First Edition, 72pp octavo, very good copy, later yellow wrappers, London, 1838. * Samuel Roberts was a dominant figure in the Sheffield silver trade. He was a close friend of James Montgomery and a highly-principled radical known as the "Pauper's Advocate", writing on such topics as the slave trade, capital punishment and child labour. Goldsmiths'-Kress library of economic literature ; no. 30646. Scarce; COPAC records only the London University copy. Brougham, as Lord Chancellor, was a key politician enabling the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act whilst Roberts' leading motive as a radical writer was benevolence, particularly towards the poor. He was the author of an immense number of books, pamphlets, broadsheets, and contributions to the press, dealing with such subjects as war, capital punishment, game laws, slave trade, lotteries, drunkenness, poor laws, child labour, chartism, and all that he thought unjust or tyrannical. Roberts's chief works are: 1. 'Tales of the Poor, or Infant Sufferings,' 1813; 'Blind Man and his Son,' &c., 1816; 'Defence of the Poor Laws,' 1819; 'Negro's Friend, or the Sheffield Antislavery Album,' 1826; 'World of Children,' 1829; 'Lessons for Statesmen,' 1846. * The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, amending what was known as the 'Old Poor Law' and reflecting concerns about the burden of a growing population and a spiralling cost of poor relief under the Old Poor Law, was arguably one of the most important and draconian pieces of legislation of the time; definitely a measure of tough love. It adopted an approach that was to make poverty less attractive. Conversely those in power would, as can be seen today, have seen it as an important incentive not to be in poverty at all but to be gainfully employed. Relief was restricted largely to administration via entry into the Workhouses, what had been known as 'Outdoor Relief' was now severely restricted. Even entry into the Workhouse was subject to a form of means testing that only allowed the severest of cases to be admitted. Seller Inventory # 25332

Bibliographic Details

Title: Lord Brougham and the New Poor Laws,