R4/608/36

Papers relating to roundsmen

1816 - 1819

From: 1816 To: 1819

Including notes of roundsmen and labourers employed by the Duke in the various parishes, 1816, 1818-19; minutes [unsigned] of a Ridgmont meeting - "Propositions for doing away the baneful detiorating System of Artificially forced Pauperism and for introducing a Stimulus to Industry and Morality amongst the Labourers and Peasantry of the Parish of Ridgmont" Each labourer is to be classified and be given a ticket or certificate of his class and no employer is to take on a labourer without a ticket nor pay him less than belongs to his class - the classes and wages for men with families are as follows - 1st class, 6 qualifications, "Able - Industrious - Sober - Moral - Faithful - literate", 14/- per week - 2nd class, 5 qualifications - first five above - 3rd class, 4 qualifications - first four above and so on until the 6th class is just "able" - the 2nd class is 12/- per week followed by a drop of 1/- per week in each succeeding class. For single men the qualifications are the same with the wages of the first class being 10/- dropping by 1/- per class to a minimum of 4/- for the sixth class, 1818; Resolutions of a Ridgmont parish meeting "to take into consideration the present state and better means of employing the Labourers of the Parish" - present situation of the Poor is unfortunate and distressing and is a national Calamity" - states the dangers from this situation - "in order to revive in the lower orders a laudable and emulating Spirit they should by their own Industry be enabled to support themselves and ... to make them depend on their Parishes for support is impolitic, unjust and cruel". - encouragement and rewards are better than threats and punishments of improving "the condition and Habits of the lower orders" - then goes on to classification system similar to above - attacks some employers who would rather pay lower rates for roundsmen than give fulltime employment to others. - the employment of superfluous horses "is a great evil not only robbing the Labourers of employment but also of their Food by devouring so much that would otherways be applied as food for Man - that we therefore will in every way possible substitute Men for Horses" - a parish mill to be worked by men, women and children would be an advantage, a Commitee of local landowners and employers is named, 1818; Salmon's notes employing roundsmen "or perhaps more Properly Home Pass Men or Gauntlet Men" - scathing remarks regarding the system - "this sort of Running the Gauntlet through the whole Parish", 1816; report and propositions of Committee appointed "for the better way of Employing the Labourers ... of Ridgmont, and for doing away the System of Roundsmen or letting of Men by Auction" - similar conclusions reached as in minutes above and employing a classification system for labourers - also agreement signed by fourteen employers in the parish "to take our Quota and such Men as are now apportioned to us", 1819 [This may have applied at Husborne Crawley as the original has been altered in pencil from Ridgmont to Crawley]

23 documents

item

Duke of Bedford,
Salmon, Robert

Roundsmen, labourer, estate labour, parish, RIDGMONT, POVERTY, class issues, FAMILY, estate wages, industry, morality, literacy, parish meeting, employment, horses, food, MILLS, AUCTION SALES, HUSBORNE CRAWLEY