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36
THE UNEMPLOYED.
On the 15th of November, the Vestry, as the Sanitary Authority,
received from the Local Government Board the following letter:—
Pauperism and Distress.
Local Government Board,
Whitehall, S.W.,
14th November, 1892.
Sir,
From information which the Local Government Board have
received, it appears that there is at the present time a considerable
amount of distress in different parts of the country
occasioned by scarcity of employment, and it is probable that
this condition of things may become more general, and be
intensified in the course of the coming winter.
In the spring of 1886 the Local Government Board issued a
circular letter to local authorities indicating the course which
might with advantage be adopted for the provision of employment
for the unemployed of the class who do not ordinarily seek poor
law relief.
The following extracts from that circular appear to me to
deserve the immediate and careful consideration of the local
authorities, both in the metropolis and elsewhere :—
"The Local Government Board are convinced that in the ranks
of these who do not ordinarily seek parish relief there is evidence
of much and increased privation, and if the depression in trade
continues, it is to be feared that large numbers of persons usually
in regular employment will be reduced to the greatest straits.
"The spirit of independence which leads so many of the
working classes to make great personal sacrifices rather than
incur the stigma of pauperism, is one which deserves the greatest
sympathy and respect, and which it is the duty and interest of the
community to maintain by all the means at its disposal.