On pauperism, its cure : and the land question / by J. Mackenzie.

Date:
1870
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On pauperism, its cure : and the land question / by J. Mackenzie. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    insane, unchristian endeavour to compel all to obey their laws. And, when they succeed in destroying a branch of trade any- where, their only other resource is the emigration agent, who ships them off to governments wise enough to know, *' 111 fares the land, to coming grief a prey. Where wealth accumulates, and men decay. Again, nothing is more common than a very high value being placed on our ho7ne trade in manufactures, as compared with \kvQforeig7i demand. Yet the public is not generally aware that m 1866-67-68, while our manufacturers supplied the foreigner with ;j^42,695,000 worth of goods more than he bought in 1859-60-61, the home trade, in spite of an increased popula- tion, has in the latter three years fallen off by ;^3,474,ooo ! These figures indicate merely useful articles of manufacture, as cotton goods and the like, required for the comfort and wel- fare of civilised, self-respecting people. And those who merely take a surface view of matters, believe that this greatly dimi- nished home trade is caused by mere poverty, until, turning over another page of the Parliamentary returns, we find that the very people who are unable to buy the necessaries of life, have found no difficulty whatever in purchasing in 1866-67-68 no less than ^51,822,209 more of exciseable liquors than they bought in 1859-60-61. In these figures, you have matter for serious reflection, as to the folly, or worse, of a Government that licenses, and thus encourages, such a 7mste of our national resources, more especially when alcohol is without doubt the chief cause of our crime, and shame, and sorrow. We should also remember that to produce this destroyer of our national peace and happiness, this stopper of our useful manufactures, more sound, wholesome, God-given grain is all but utterly destroyed yearly in Britain, than the whole corn that grows yearly in Scotland ! So that, were a wise Govern- met to stop brewing and distilling in Britain, every corn-yard in Scotland might be burnt to ashes yearly, without in the slightest degree affecting the amount of bread now used by