Lords deliver lydeum lectures; ladies patronize
ragged schools; committees of duchesses meliorate the condition of
needlewomen. In short, the great ship of the world has tacked, and
stands on another course.
The beginning of this great humanitarian movement in England was
undoubtedly the struggle of Clarkson, Wilberforce, and their
associates, for the overthrow of the slave trade. In that struggle the
religious democratic element was brought to bear for years upon the
mind of Parliament. The negro, most degraded of men, was taken up, and
for years made to agitate British society on the simple ground that he
had a human soul.
Of course the religious obligations of society to _every_ human
soul were involved in the discussion. It educated Parliament, it
educated the community. Parliament became accustomed to hearing the
simple principles of the gospel asserted in its halls as of binding
force. The community were trained in habits of efficient benevolent
action, which they have never lost. The use of tracts, of committees,
of female cooperation, of voluntary association, and all the
appliances of organized reform were discovered and successfully
developed. The triumphant victory then achieved, moreover, became the
pledge of future conquests in every department of reform. Concerning
the movements for the elevation of the masses, Lord Shaftesbury has
kindly furnished me with a few brief memoranda, set down as nearly as
possible in chronological order.
In the first place, there has been reform of the poor laws. So corrupt
had this system become, that a distinct caste had well nigh sprung
into permanent existence, families having been known to subsist in
idleness for five generations solely by means of skilful appropriation
of public and private charities.
The law giving to paupers the preference in all cases where any public
work was to be done, operated badly. Good workmen might starve for
want of work: by declaring themselves paupers they obtained
employment. Thus, virtually, a bounty was offered to pauperism. His
lordship remarks, -
"There have been sad defects, no doubt, and some harshness, under the
new system; but the general result has been excellent; and, in many
instances, the system has been reduced to practice in a truly
patriarchal spirit. The great difficulty and the great failure are
found in the right and safe occupation of children who are trained in
these workhouses, of which so much has been said."
In the second place, the treatment of the insane has received a
thorough investigation. This began, in 1828, by a committee of
inquiry, moved for by Mr. Gordon.
An almost incredible amount of suffering and horrible barbarity was
thus brought to light. For the most part it appeared that the
treatment of the insane had been conducted on the old, absurd idea
which cuts them off from humanity, and reduces them below the level of
the brutes. The regimen in private madhouses was such that Lord
Shaftesbury remarked of them, in a speech on the subject, "I have said
before, and now say again, that should it please God to visit me with
such an affliction, I would greatly prefer the treatment of paupers,
in an establishment like that of the Surrey Asylum, to the treatment
of the rich in almost any one of these receptacles."
Instances are recorded of individuals who were exhumed from cells
where they had existed without clothing or cleansing, as was
ascertained, _for years after they had entirely recovered the
exercise of sound reason_. Lord Shaftesbury procured the passage of
bills securing the thorough supervision of these institutions by
competent visiting committees, and the seasonable dismissal of all who
were pronounced cured; and the adoption for the pauper insane of a
judicious course of remedial treatment.
The third step was the passage of the ten hour factory bill. This took
nearly eighteen years of labor and unceasing activity in Parliament
and in the provinces. Its operation affects full half a million of
actual workers, and, if the families be included, nearly two millions
of persons, young and old. Two thirds as many as the southern slaves.
It is needless to enlarge on the horrible disclosures in reference to
the factory operatives, made during this investigation. England never
shuddered with a deeper thrill at the unveiling of American slavery
than did all America at this unveiling of the white-labor slavery of
England. In reading the speeches of Lord Shaftesbury, one sees, that,
in presenting this subject, he had to encounter the same opposition
and obloquy which now beset those in America who seek the abolition of
slavery.
In the beginning of one of his speeches, his lordship says, "Nearly
eleven years have now elapsed since I first made the proposition to
the house which I shall renew this night. Never, at any time, have I
felt greater apprehension, or even anxiety. Not through any fear of
personal defeat; for disappointment is 'the badge of our tribe;' but
because I know well the hostility that I have aroused, and the certain
issues of indiscretion on my part affecting the welfare of those who
have so long confided their hopes and interests to my charge." One may
justly wonder on what conceivable grounds any could possibly oppose
the advocate of a measure like this. He was opposed on the same ground
that Clarkson was resisted in seeking the abolition of the slave
trade. As Boswell said that "to abolish the slave trade would be to
shut the gates of mercy on mankind," so the advocates of eighteen
hours labor in factories said that the ten hour system would diminish
produce, lower wages, and bring starvation on the workmen. His
lordship was denounced as an incendiary, a meddling fanatic,
interfering with the rights of masters, and desiring to exalt his own
order by destroying the prosperity of the manufacturers.
