Parliamentary reports have again and again revealed to us the miseries
endured by certain portions of our working population. They have
described the people employed in factories, workshops, mines, and
brickfields, as well as in the pursuits of country life. We have tried
to grapple with the evils of their condition by legislation, but it
seems to mock us. Those who sink into poverty are fed, but they remain
paupers. Those who feed them, feel no compassion; and those who are fed,
return no gratitude. There is no bond of sympathy between the givers and
the receivers. Thus the Haves and the Have-nots, the opulent and the
indigent, stand at the two extremes of the social scale, and a wide gulf
is fixed between them.
Among rude and savage people, the condition of poverty is uniform.
Provided the bare appetites are satisfied, suffering is scarcely felt.
Where slavery exists, indigence is little known; for it is the master's
interest to keep the slave in a condition fit for labour, and the
employer generally takes care to supply the animal wants of the
employed. It is only when society becomes civilized and free, and man
enters into competition with his fellows, that he becomes exposed to
indigence, and experiences social misery. Where civilization, as in this
country, has reached its highest point, and where large accumulations of
wealth have been made, the misery of the indigent classes is only
rendered more acute by the comfort and luxury with which it is placed in
immediate contrast.
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