of the new power he has acquired.
Shall the bitterness of the workhouse at last pass away? Let us hope
so let us be thankful indeed if the franchise leads to the downfall
of those cruel walls. Yet what is the cruelty of cold walls to the
cruelty of 'system'? A workhouse in the country is usually situated
as nearly as possible in the centre of the Union, it may be miles
from the outlying parishes. Thither the worn-out cottager is borne
away from the fields, his cronies, his little helps to old age such
as the corner where the sun shines, the friend who allows little
amenities, to dwindle and die. The workhouse bureau extends its
unfeeling hands into every detail of cottage life. No wonder the
labourer does not deny himself to save money in order to settle
where these things are done. A happy day it will be when the
workhouse door is shut and the building sold for materials. A
gentleman not long since wrote to me a vindication of his
workhouse--I cannot at the moment place my hand on the figures he
sent me, but I grant that they were conclusive from his point of
view; they were not extravagant, the administration appeared
correct. But this is not my point of view at all. Figures are not
humanity. The workhouse and the poor-law system are inhuman,
debasing, and injurious to the whole country, and the better they
are administered, the worse it really is, since it affords a
specious pretext for their continuance. What would be the use of a
captain assuring his passengers that the ship was well found, plenty
of coal in the bunkers, the engines oiled and working smoothly, when
they did not want to go to the port for which he was steering? An
exact dose of poison may be administered, but what comfort is it to
the victim to assure him that it was accurately measured to a minim?
What is the value of informing me that the 'paupers' are properly
looked after when I do not want any 'paupers'?

But how manage without the poor-law system? There are several ways.
There is the insurance method: space will not permit of discussion
in this paper, but one fact which speaks volumes may be alluded to.
Two large societies exist in this country called the 'Oddfellows'
and the 'Foresters'; they number their members by the million; they
assist their members not only at home, but all over the world (which
is what no poor-law has ever done); they govern themselves by their
own laws, and they prosper exceedingly--an honour to the nation.
They hav