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During the Great Famine (1845–51) hundreds of thousands of Irish refugees fled to Britain, escaping the hunger and disease afflicting their homeland. Many made new lives there, but others were subsequently shipped back to Ireland by poor law authorities under the laws of Settlement and Removal. This article explores the coping strategies of the Famine Irish in Britain, and the responses of poor law authorities to the inflow of refugees with a particular focus on their use of removal. We argue that British poor law unions in areas heavily affected by the refugee crisis adopted rigorous removal policies, and that the non-settled Irish were consequently deeply reluctant to apply for poor relief, doing so only when alternative sources of support were unavailable. Thus, the true scale of Irish hardship was hidden from the official record. The article also explores, for the first time, the experiences of those sent back to Ireland, a country suffering from the devastating effects of Famine. The combination of heavy Irish immigration to Britain and large-scale removals back to Ireland created distrust between the authorities at British and Irish port towns, as both sides felt aggrieved by the inflow of destitute Irish arriving on their shores. At the centre of all this were the Irish poor themselves. Uncertainty, dislocation and hardship were often their experience, and we argue that this endured long after the Famine had ended; that the events of the late 1840s, indeed, created a new reality for the Irish in Britain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to establishment and work of Imperial Mercy Fund in the first years of its existence. This Fund was one of the hugest charity organization in Europe in 19th century. The paper attempts to trace the development of Russian public consciousness in the early 19th century in relation to poor people. Traditionally, the problem of the relationship between society and power, which are considered in the study, is relevant. Based on historical sources, the general nature of the Fund's activity at the beginning of its foundation is presented, the data on the funds allocated from the state treasury for the needs of the poor Russian population. There is the number of people who received assistance; the number of open houses of charity are exist in the article. The paper describes the creation of the Medical and Philanthropic Committee, its activities, sources of funding and effectiveness. Special attention is paid to the establishment of hospitals for the poor people -- dispensaries, that provided assistance to people who have suffered an accident, the disabled, deaf and pregnant women. A list of doctors and their addresses to which the reception of poor patients was conducted. The committees (departments) of the Mercy Fund are listed, and their functions are described. The article particularly covers the structure of the Committee on education, whose tasks included the development of projects, translation of books, publication of newspapers and magazines promoting the idea of charity in Russia, maintaining relations with other Russian and foreign charity societies. Particular attention is paid to the description of the Institute of the Blind -- Russia's first medical school for blind children (homeless or children from poor families), as well as the establishment of the House of Education for poor boys and orphans. The content of the curriculum, the structure of education, the amount of funding are described in the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Great Famine (1845–51) hundreds of thousands of Irish refugees fled to Britain, escaping the hunger and disease afflicting their homeland. Many made new lives there, but others were subsequently shipped back to Ireland by poor law authorities under the laws of Settlement and Removal. This article explores the coping strategies of the Famine Irish in Britain, and the responses of poor law authorities to the inflow of refugees with a particular focus on their use of removal. We argue that British poor law unions in areas heavily affected by the refugee crisis adopted rigorous removal policies, and that the non-settled Irish were consequently deeply reluctant to apply for poor relief, doing so only when alternative sources of support were unavailable. Thus, the true scale of Irish hardship was hidden from the official record. The article also explores, for the first time, the experiences of those sent back to Ireland, a country suffering from the devastating effects of Famine. The combination of heavy Irish immigration to Britain and large-scale removals back to Ireland created distrust between the authorities at British and Irish port towns, as both sides felt aggrieved by the inflow of destitute Irish arriving on their shores. At the centre of all this were the Irish poor themselves. Uncertainty, dislocation and hardship were often their experience, and we argue that this endured long after the Famine had ended; that the events of the late 1840s, indeed, created a new reality for the Irish in Britain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the New Poor Law was passed by the Westminster Parliament, it was implemented at the most local level through newly established parochial boards. By tracing the case of a Paisley widow in need of poor relief through the changing landscape of the Scottish Poor Law in the 1850s, this article analyses the changing interpretation of the law regarding widows' settlements and highlights the interplay between local bodies and higher courts in interpreting the law. Individual experience and practice in localities worked together to create a national system that reflected Scottish understandings of gender, marriage, and independence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses 30 accounts of income and expenditure left by Collectors for the Poor in Elizabethan England, before the period known as the old poor law. Collectors were appointed by parishes and incorporated boroughs in accordance with the poor laws of 1552 and 1563, but few of their fragile records survive. The accounts examined here document early use of compulsory rates to provide income, but several features of the distribution of relief differ from patterns common in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Adult male recipients outnumbered women in many of the parishes; children were frequently helped directly; and cities and towns assisted a smaller fraction of their total populations than did villages but awarded larger per capita payments. Accounts from the 10 villages and small towns analysed most fully show that Elizabethan Collectors were moving away from the late medieval practice of providing only occasional aid; increasingly they awarded regular payments to a selected subset of the local poor. Comparison with the early seventeenth century suggests that the poor laws of 1598 and 1601 contributed to a transition that was already underway but did not create a new system of relief. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an outline of the development of the English almshouse across the second millennium, and its place within the broader spectrum of social welfare. It discusses the evolution of the almshouse into its modern form, as privately endowed housing dedicated to the elderly poor. It presents the results of new research that provides a firmer quantitative foundation for consideration of the role of the almshouse in welfare history and revisits the issue of the mixed economy of welfare to demonstrate the complex relationship between public and private provision. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article examines social welfare in the mining communities of Virginia City and Madison County in Montana Territory during the 1860s. According to the author, these communities were unable to sustain organized welfare programs when mining operations failed and their populations decreased. It is suggested that the uncertainties inherent in mining towns had discouraged investments in long-term projects such as hospitals and homes for the poor which would have benefited the indigent in these communities. Topics discussed include laws concerning the care and burial of the poor, medical practitioners, taxation, and the transportation of the sick and indigent from the territory.

This article examines the poor relief system in South East England from 1790 to 1834. If an economic explanation can be sustained, a key obstacle to understanding the Old Poor Law may be surmounted: the idea that the Speenhamland system was the major determinant of high relief costs would be thus relegated to history's boneyard of non-facts, and the probably unanswerable question of whether and when the country was going on or off such a system would be viewed as fundamentally irrelevant. Because relief under the Old Poor Law was administered and paid for in the parish, and because relief policy was shaped by local traditions and interests, there is no administrative impediment to explaining patterns of expenditure in terms of economic conditions. The Speenhamland system did not matter much at any time, either during or after the war. What mattered was the shape of the poverty problem, and that shape changed. During the war some rural parishes of southeastern England adopted bread scales when harvests failed, but there were many other remedies and scaled allowances did not become the determinant of policy. After the war family allowances were commonplace, and scales appear to have been as much in use as ever.

The article presents information on the modern concept of fund-raising for the care of the poor, disabled, and disadvantaged in the community. Also, the article presents a description of the common chest concept in Germany. This chest or fund was the hallmark of the Protestant poor relief reform. There are several regulations of particular interest in the chest ordinance. Specific provision was made for "hausarmer leute" which could also be equated with the English system of outdoor relief. The physical characteristics of the "common chest" are of interest because the compositions of contents are so varied. Furthermore, the article gives a description of contributions made by different researchers like Harold J. Luther, Carter Lindberg, and Martin Luther to poor relief reform. Luther's contribution to poor relief reform in the sixteenth century is documented most succinctly through his concept of the common chest, which is exemplified by the ordinance established by the Town of Leisnig in 1523, entitled "Gemeinen Kasten." Although measures to localize poor relief had already been initiated before Luther's efforts, much credit is given to Luther and the Reformation Movement for progress in this direction.

The article presents an examination of the public poor relief statistics of Pennsylvania, since 1875, which is interesting from a number of angles. The present paper is concerned with only one of these, namely, the relationships found between various indices of business conditions and the poor relief series. The study confined itself largely to three series of yearly figures, total outdoor relief expenditures, total "almshouse" expenditures, total number of "inmates" remaining in the almshouses at the end of the fiscal year. Representative coefficients of correlation with probable errors are given in the accompanying tables. The very small coefficients are recorded to aid the reader in forming a comprehensive view of the relationships. Through a visual comparison of deviations from trends it was evident in many instances that no correlation existed and the coefficients were not computed. There is a considerable degree of negative correlation shown for several of the series. Highest correlations are shown for outdoor relief and lowest for number of almshouse inmates.

The article focuses on a study of a number of county homes in North Carolina under the direction of the Commissioner of Public Welfare. The study presents the number of indoor poor supported by the various counties of the state, and their distribution among ninety-four county homes. It attempts to interpret this distribution in terms of cost to the taxpayer on the one hand and of adequate care of the poor on the other. From an analysis of the various phases of the problem of poor-relief, the study arrives at the conclusion that the number of inmates in the typical county home in the state is so small that it is not economical to maintain them in a well kept institution at the expense of the county. The ratio of indoor paupers in the typical county is decreasing. The class of inmates is such as to require a type of institution widely different from the present county home, and a type of supervision vastly superior to the present type of supervision. The average county does not feel able to maintain an institution of the type needed.

The article presents books related to pauperism, charities, and relief measures. The book "Mothers' Allowance Legislation in Canada," by J.L. Cohen presents a description of legislation in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan with comparisons as to qualifying disabilities of child or guardian, status of guardian to whom the allowance may be paid, residence qualifications and inter-provincial cooperation, citizenship, dependents and financial position of applicant; amount of allowance and extent of operation. The book "The Dependent Aged in San Francisco" describes the San Francisco relief home in the discussion of methods of caring for aged dependents and the out-relief work of eleven private agencies is briefly set forth. The book "Some American Almshouses: A Study," presents a study of 75 almshouses located in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. It is recommended that the county be made the smallest unit of administration, both in respect to almshouses and to other forms of poor relief.

The article presents information on several books related to pauperism, charities, and relief measures. The book "The Charity Organization Movement in the United States," by Frank D. Watson, has given people a very able presentation of the charity organization movement. He begins in an orthodox way with the roots of the developments as they appear in foreign countries. He outlines the Hamburg and Elberfield plans of charitable relief and briefly characterizes the original program of the London Charity Organization Society. In discussing American antecedents he stresses in particular the work of the associations for improving the conditions of the poor. The functions of the Charity Organization Society are discussed under three heads, family rehabilitation, education of the community in correct principles of relief, and aid in eliminating the causes of poverty. The author says that the efficiency of the society rests on the quality of its case work. In addition to that, the article presents information on various other developments.

In a curious fashion, the debate about income maintenance has led the social work profession, at least, to focus on social services as an independent subject. Unfortunately, one is burdened with a variety of definitions of social services reflecting, in addition to loose thinking, quite different views of what ought to be encompassed. It may be useful to list some definitions implicit in current discussion and to note their implications. The Professional Definition states that social services are services rendered or controlled by social workers. The Imperialistic Definition states that social services are services one should like to have rendered or controlled by social workers. The Paternalistic Definition states that social services are services rendered to the poor or disadvantaged in order to compensate for their disadvantage or to rehabilitate them. It tends to define social services in terms of an ideology that, even though still practiced, is no longer acceptable. The problems is to develop a definition that is logical and suited to the present times and problems.

Social commentators in the early decades of the nineteenth century considered the 'poor classes' to be a homogenous sub-group of society dependent on parish poor relief. Whilst in recent decades studies of the Old Poor Law have added much to our understandings of the complexity of poor relief practices, the concept of dependency has proved remarkably durable. This article challenges this central assumption by focusing upon the very individuals who constituted this supposedly homogenous dependent group. The relief histories of eight individuals from two cohorts who resided in the Dorset parish of Motcombe are (re)constructed and linked to demographic data to produce detailed biographies. On the basis of these biographies it is argued that even in north Dorset, where opportunities for employment and alternative forms of subsistence were few, 'the poor' experienced complex fluctuations of dependence on, and independence from, poor relief. It is also shown that traditional assumptions about the factors prompting relief, including the expansion of the family, did not have a uniform impact on all individuals. Such a methodology also makes it possible to explore how the parish managed to respond to the differing and similar needs of individuals. It is thus stressed that instead of following one policy for all, parish officials applied and tailored relief to suit each individual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the book Overcoming Welfare: Expecting More From the Poor--And From Ourselves, by James L. Payne. This book argues that sympathetic giving-something-for-nothing-is an unsound approach to social assistance and that the way to help those in need is expectant giving-asking the recipient to make some positive, constructive step in response to aid. It describes how the United States ended up with a policy of handouts. The book sets out basic principles for helping those in need. It presents an alternative theory of charity developed by the nineteenth-century charity workers, which was directed at improving the character of the recipient. The article describes the current U.S. welfare system. It critically examines the views of today's social workers about the treatment of poverty. The book surveys the varieties of expectant giving, discussing the hiring of underclass workers by temporary labor firms; examples of charitable capitalism; programs in which prospective aid recipients sign a contract to follow certain rules and take steps of self-help; and mentoring.

This article presents information on books on pauperism, charities and relief measures. Some of the books are "Who Takes Care of the Dependents," by F. Bardwell, "Mothers' Allowance legislation in Canada," by J.L Cohen, "Public Assistance: Its principles and Practice," by T.W.W. Newman, "The Hamilton County Home: A Social Survey of the Almshouse in Cincinnati," by E.L. Remelin, "Proceedings of the National Conference of School Work at the 54th Annual Session Held in Des Moines, Iowa, May 11-18, 1927, "Some American Almshouses. A Study," and "Study of a Group of Almshouses in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania."

A list of doctoral dissertations related to pauperism, charities and relief measures is presented. The doctoral dissertations include "The Malavites: A Study of Poverty," by Warren Ensign Gettys "The Contribution of the Quakers to Philantrophy," by Lester M. Jones and "Development of Poor Relief Legislation in Minnesota," by George A. Lundberg.