Bedfordshire Archives Service Catalogue
  • Reference
    R3/3655
  • Title
    Letter mainly regarding estate and agricultural employment, constables and damage to agricultural machinery
  • Date free text
    2 Dec 1830
  • Production date
    From: 1830 To: 1830
  • Scope and Content
    Reads- Crawley parish meeting; went with Tween & Crocker. Deducting men & boys with Duke, not more than necessary for farmers, yet they had 20 on the roads; we got them allotted & farmers present agreed to pay 10s. week, which I think will clear a good many names off the poor's book, as their plan was to pay them 7s. to 9s. week & send them to the overseer for 1s. or 2s. more. The farmers are a sad short-sighted class of people, & in parish matters require to be looked after; difficult to persuade; if it was not for disturbances elsewhere they would not have come in; but I fear they will not long agree, for the very next day Turney & Readman each refused taking one of the men sent to them; of course, the rest do not like this. If they persist in not employing their proper number of labourers, I am sure they are not worth keeping as tenants. The above arrangement cleared the roads of all but 4 old men. Difficult to get out of a bad system all at once. The plan of paying a married man more than a single one for the same work ought never to be permitted; inducement to early marriage. The great thing is profitable employment; get them off roads, gravelpits etc., where they do nothing & hatch mischief. Employment on draining; help by landlord. We had a strong force of constables sworn in yesterday here; I hope precautions of Lieutenant & Justice of the Peace will have desired effect. Yesterday 2 threshing & 1 hay machines broken at Brickhill (Lt.) in day; no one tried to stop them; cowardice emboldens the mob to proceed.
  • Level of description
    item
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