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<DATE>2009-06-10</DATE>
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<NAME>Scott Lepisto</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
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<HEAD><HI>A LETTER FROM</HI> One in the Country, to a Member of Parliament, intreating this Se&s;&s;ion, may take to their Con&s;ideration, the Lament|able Condition of the Poor.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>SIR,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>However unconcerned the mo&s;t of Men may be, in what relates to the Good of a Society; Or that it may be nothing the Duty of &s;ome to Notice what is not within their private Station, yet this General and extreamly to be Lamented Inconveniency, from the Greivous Condition of the Poor, and the Unequal and little provident way of Supplying them, is a Calamity &s;o little Tolerable, as the almo&s;t alike Impul&s;e, that forced the Speechle&s;s Son to &s;peak for diverting an Imminent hazard to his Father, may put every one as they are able to Cry for Help in this Affair, and makes me by this Line, in &s;ome Mea&s;ure, to endeavour the laying before you your Duty as a Member of this en&s;uing Parlia|ment.</P>
<P>The way of Supplying the Poor of this Nation, and there being nece&s;&s;itat to beg through the Countrey, has &s;o many Palpable Inconveniencies attending it, as makes Obvious how equally Hurtful it is to Our Religious and Civil Inte|re&s;t; That way of Living giving occa&s;ion of what, to the Scandal Religion, is the greate&s;t Nur&s;ery of Sin and Wickedne&s;s; and &s;urely there is Apparent Nece&s;|&s;ity of appointing &s;uch Methods in this Affair, as may tend to the Competent Supply of the truely Poor, Unable to do for their own Sub&s;i&s;tance, and utterly Bani&s;h and put away that wicked Cu&s;tom of Begging by Sorners and Healthy Per&s;ons of both Sexes, who generally as Bea&s;ts live Promi&s;cuou&s;ly, without re&s;pect to Laws, either Dirine or Humane. I am &s;en&s;ible the Difficulties in finding what may Effectuat this, &s;o Great a Reformation, are near to being Un&s;uperable; yet the Laudable Practice of &s;ome other Nations, may per&s;wade of its being attain|able, and that we are unequal in Riches, to &s;uch as does &s;o provide for their Poor, is to me no Argument again&s;t, but for its being done, &s;ince Uncontravertedly the Nation would &s;ave by &s;o doing, and almo&s;t the half of what is now given, would competently Supply the truely Indigent, and to our Unexpre&s;&s;able Advan|tage, the many Vagrant and Idle Per&s;ons now in the Country, might be for their own and the Nations good, put to labour in &s;ome Manufactories fitted for them. And as it is Undubtedly our Nations Intere&s;t, we have a Foreign Plantation, which may not only to our Profit, take of the Native Product of our Country, but may be for Receiving, and competently Intertaining a great many People which may be &s;pared there from; So this Method, to the Unconeivable Advantage of &s;uch a Project, and to the Nations Good beyond Expre&s;&s;ion, would tend to the Furni&s;h|ing of Per&s;ons much fitted therefore. And as indeed the Advantages from &s;uch a regular method will be both Great and Numerous; So if there were no other then the Credit and Advantage the Nation, to both our Religious and Cilvil Intere&s;t will have by Taking and Keeping a very Great Number of Youths of both Sexes from this Mi&s;erable Cu&s;tom of Begging, which brings them to &s;uch a Habit of living Idlie, as renders them not only ab&s;olutely U&s;ele&s;s in, but a Plague to their Country. It might of it &s;elf be &s;ufficient to induce to what will overcome the Difficulties in this, &s;o de&s;ireable a Work. I have indeed &s;uch a Sen&s;e of the Frailty
<PB N="2" REF="2">in Man di&s;abling to the Rightly doing what is Good, as makes me &s;ee the Un|rea&s;onablene&s;s of that Popi&s;h Tenet anent Merit; Yet can I with Confidence &s;ay, who does Con&s;cienciou&s;ly concern them&s;elves in this &s;o plainly from the Word of GOD, the Duty of Mankind will not only to their Eternal Advantage, gain what in Compari&s;on is only de&s;irable, but they may thereby in things Temporal, draw down upon, and Rivet a Ble&s;&s;ing to them&s;elves and their Po&s;terity.</P>
<P>I &s;hall not Undervalue what this Se&s;&s;ion of Parliament has the Pro&s;pect of doing for the Good of the Nation; and I Cheerfully wi&s;h they &s;ucceed in their Endea|vours, yet I do &s;ay, all under their Condition comes not near to what may Un|doubtedly be the Nations Intere&s;t from &s;o de&s;irable an Act, which will Eternize the Memory of this Se&s;&s;ion, as it will be to the Unconceivable Reputation and Honour of His Maje&s;ty's Commi&s;&s;ioner; Yea after Ages, &s;peaking of the Reign of Our pre&s;ent Soveraign will not do it under the Denomination of King <HI>William</HI> the 2.<HI>d.</HI> but King <HI>William</HI> in who&s;e Reign the Act effectually regulating the Poor, was made and duely Execute.</P>
<P>Surely if my Pen were able to expre&s;s what my Heart conceives of the Cala|mitous Condition of the Poor, and the Advantages that will occur from their be|ing &s;utably relieved, I think I could give Arguments moving the harde&s;t of hearts in the mo&s;t unconcerned of Mankind, to endeavour it: But I know ye may ju&s;t|ly &s;ay, the Difficulty lyes not in enforcing what is &s;o obvious to the lea&s;t think|ing of Per&s;ons, but in propo&s;ing the Remedy.</P>
<P>I am &s;en&s;ible it were Arrogance almo&s;t altogether unju&s;tifiable, my pretending to direct in &s;o great a Matter, and where there are &s;o great and knowing Per&s;ons, who upon &s;edate Con&s;ideration will &s;ee unto the Means for accompli&s;hing this &s;o de&s;irable and undoubtedly excelling a Reformation; Yet I do hereby pre&s;ume to &s;ay, that no Act that can be conceived, relating to this Affair, will take effect, unle&s;s the Execution thereof be otherways directed than has been hitherto. And I truly conceive, would it plea&s;e the Parliament, to name &s;ome con&s;iderable number of the mo&s;t Con&s;cientious Nobility, Gentry and Burge&s;&s;es, e&s;pecially in or near about <HI>Edinburgh, Gla&s;gow,</HI> or other Places of greate&s;t Re&s;ort within the Kingdom, who by a Law might be Erected into a Society or Company, having Power to e&s;tabli&s;h their Rules for Management, into who&s;e hands the Ex|ecution of the Law for Regulating the Poor might be Committed, there may be a Competent Number of &s;uch Conde&s;cended upon, as will chearfully from Con|&s;cience underly the Trouble: I &s;hall again &s;ay, it were Impertinent in me to pro|po&s;e what is nece&s;&s;ar to come under Con&s;ideration in a Method of this Kind; but &s;urely as the Burrows now appointed to put up hou&s;es for receiving Vagrant Per&s;ons, are unable to the doing thereof, &s;o much le&s;s do they know how profi|tably to provide for and imploy them in Work. And as there mu&s;t be Rules laid down to know what Super-numerary Poor are in Pari&s;hes throughout the King|dom, beyond their Power to mantain, and how and where the&s;e are to be man|tain'd; &s;o at <HI>Edinburgh,</HI> and other fit Places, there would be Manufactories for re|ceiving Young ones and others, not knowing how, or unwilling to imploy them|&s;elves in &s;ome Work &s;uteable to their Capacity. I freely grant you, the View of the Difficulties occurring is indeed great, yet undoubtedly they are &s;uperable, and the Advantages accre&s;cing from the Work done, will unconceivably overballance them. Indeed there could be no Thought of any rea&s;onable Acting in this Affair, without putting into the Tru&s;t of the Society &s;o Erected, a Competent Stock enabling to the Mantainance of the &s;uper-numerary Poor, that Pari&s;hes are not able to mantain, and &s;etting up at <HI>Edinburgh,</HI> and &s;ome other Places, Manufactor|ies for putting to Work Young Ones and others, that may otherwayes want the Occa&s;ion, or be unwilling to Imploy them&s;elves: And I verily think a Stock of near Twenty Thou&s;and Pound <HI>Sterling</HI> imployed by the Publick for that U&s;e, would be Money &s;o profitably di&s;po&s;ed of, as never had the Country Occa&s;ion more chearfully to give; And I conceive the Society might be &s;o Con&s;titute, as there would be more than probable Grounds it would not fail by Mi&s;management. The Money may be &s;o &s;oon needful, as will at lea&s;t require a Months Ce&s;s yearly whil&s;t it were compleated. I &s;hall readily grant, that what the Parliament may
<PB N="3" REF="2">at this time &s;ee otherways needful, will render any thought of further impo&s;ing upon the Country grievous; but &s;urely upon Con&s;ideration, any Impo&s;ition to this Effect can never be con&s;idered a Burden; for it is but putting the Country to give in a Regular Method what they otherways mu&s;t, and does give to a greater quan|tity and le&s;s profitably.</P>
<P>Sir, I acknowledge this Repre&s;ented may be by many con&s;idered, but an impra|cticable Notion, and what will have but the Effect of other Endeavours hitherto made, in Regulating what relates to the Poor; and it &s;hall be well &s;atisfieing to me if it &s;hall only put you and others of the Members of Parliament, to think upon what may be practicable. In my Conver&s;e through the Country, I find &s;ome of con&s;iderable Intere&s;t partly unconcerned in the Poor, and without Bowels of Compa&s;&s;ion towards them, and willing to proceed in any Method ea&s;eful to them|&s;elves, albeit having the Pro&s;pect of a direful Calamity to the Generality of the of the Poor throughout the Kingdom; Others do not Comprehend how, albeit they be willing in their Stations &s;uteably to Act in this Affair: And &s;urely, if there be from the Word of GOD a Tye upon Chri&s;tians to a po&s;itive Duty, it is to that of Charity; and is it po&s;&s;ible for your great Meeting more truly to evince the Sen&s;e of their Obligation thereto, than by doing what is not only &s;o much the Nation's Civil Intere&s;t, but will be Charitable to a very high Degree. I do remember to have read a Sermon upon that Subject, Preached by Dr. <HI>Barrow</HI> u|pon a Ho&s;pital day, before the Mayor of <HI>London,</HI> which if peru&s;ed by you and your Fellow-Commi&s;&s;ioners would per&s;wade, that than Charity to the Poor, there is no Duty more peremptorly commanded; But that Sermon being long and now &s;o much out of Print, as it may not come to your hand, it is like you may if you call at Mrs. <HI>Og&s;ton</HI> or <HI>John Mackie</HI> their Shops, have a kind of Abridge|ment thereof, but in two or three Sheets as may &s;atisfie; Ye cannot to greater Ad|vantage for your Countrey or your Self imploy the utmo&s;t of your Endeavours, than in doing for the Good of the Poor, what After-Ages may Rejoice in; And that GOD may put into your hearts &s;uteably to endeavour it, and Ble&s;s the &s;amen with Succe&s;s, is, and &s;hall be the hearts De&s;ire of</P>
<CLOSER><SALUTE>SIR,</SALUTE> <SIGNED>Your Affectionat and humble Servant.</SIGNED>
<DATE>10 <HI>May</HI> 1700.</DATE>
<POSTSCRIPT>
<P><HI>P. S.</HI> I am &s;o &s;atisfied of that Method appointing each Paroch to mantain their own Poor, as I wi&s;h it were put in Execution; but &s;urely, its being duely done needs much to be enquired into, and it were a Calamity very Intolerable, if by its not being General, and every One, Great and Mean put to their Duty there|in; the Poor in &s;ome Places &s;hould be hindred to Beg, yet be in a &s;traitned and &s;tarving Condition, where-from will ari&s;e no &s;mall part of the Work of the Society burdened to &s;ee to the Execution of the&s;e Laws. And as it might not be Impro|per, to give &s;ome General Directions to the Paroches, as to the Method of their Acting; So if it be worth your Peru&s;al, I &s;end you under-written what was intended to be the Rule for proceeding in this Affair by a Paroch Neighbouring to your &s;elf.</P>
<P>The&s;e within the Paroch of  <GAP DESC="blank">  in Obedience to the Acts for regu|lar Mantenance of the Poor, and as being fully &s;en&s;ible of the many and Great Inconveniencies from Begging, both to the Receivers and Givers of Charity do re&s;olve.</P>
<P N="1">1. To make an exact Li&s;t of all &s;uch within the Paroch, as cannot of them&s;elves Sub&s;i&s;t.</P>
<P N="2">2. As being Con&s;cious of the po&s;itive and plain Command of GOD, that the Poor have Liberal and Comfortable Mantenance, they will allot to the&s;e, as can noways contribute to their own Sub&s;i&s;tance, One Peck of Oat-Meal Weekly, and One Shilling <HI>Scots</HI> each Day in Money,.</P>
<PB N="4" REF="3">
<P N="3">3. The&s;e Needy and Impotent Per&s;ons being reduced out of the Li&s;t, they will allow to the Remander &s;uch a Proportion of Meal or Money, as with what they &s;hall be able to gain by their own Labour, may be the Mean of their comfort|able Sub&s;i&s;tance.</P>
<P N="4">4. Where Parents are Burdened with Children beyond their Ability to Mantain, they are to be Ranked in two &s;orts, and either con&s;idered as Children of Parents, who albeit Indigent, are Sober and Willing to endeavour their Chri&s;tian Education, or that they are Children of Prophane and Carele&s;s Parents, who&s;e example may, yea does draw their Children to almo&s;t every evil, and in the fir&s;t ca&s;e does re|&s;olve an&s;werable to the number and need of &s;uch Children, to give to the Parents what may enable them to their Childrens mantainance; and encourage their endeavours in their &s;utable Education: And in the Second, do re&s;olve to take from Prophane and Carele&s;s Parents, &s;uch Children as they are not able to man|tain, and di&s;po&s;e of them in Familys, where they may by Precept and Example have the Means of Knowledge, and a Chri&s;tian Education; They are at School or otherways, to be taught at lea&s;t to Read the Word of GOD, and, as according to their Ability and their Learning to Read will allow, they are to be Serviceable in any Employment within their power, &s;o the Pari&s;h is to give to the Ma&s;ter of that Family in which they are, &s;o much, as their giving the Young One <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ither Meat, Cloaths or Learning, &s;hall not be their Burden.</P>
<P N="5">5. Such as are without Parents and indigent, are to be di&s;po&s;ed of as the Chil|dren of the Profane and carele&s;s, and it's hoped every hone&s;t Man will be &s;en&s;i|ble of their having Credit, yea even Advantage in their Educating a poor one, who is in a &s;pecial manner owned of God, &s;o as with confidence may be expect|ed the repayment of what is rightly done to them.</P>
<P N="6">6. This divi&s;ion being made, and a true Computation of what the whole will amount to, there is to be cho&s;en &s;ix or more hone&s;t Men within the Pari&s;h, who are to Stent all the inhabitants, Ma&s;ters of Familys and others according to their Ability, their income and way of living, in a Monthly Contribution; And as it is hoped every one but pretending to Con&s;cience, will be a&s;hamed to refu&s;e obe|dience to &s;o laudable and Chri&s;tian a practi&s;e: So it were de&s;ireable that Autho|rity were applyed to, that, by &s;ome publick Act they would Authorize &s;uch Stent Ma&s;ters, as the Stent Rolls duly Sub&s;cribed, might at lea&s;t be ground of a Claim for obtaining the Sentence of a Judge for the due and ready payment thereof.</P>
<P N="7">7. Becau&s;e the circum&s;tances even of the givers of Charity may alter, the Stent Roll by new Stent-Ma&s;ters is to be renewed every Year, and if the Number and Circum&s;tances of the Poor do vary, &s;o as more yea even le&s;s may be required, the Roll is likeways in either of the&s;e Ca&s;es, to be altered, when ever they do occur.</P>
</POSTSCRIPT></CLOSER>
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<OPENER><SALUTE>SIR,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>IT is like it may be thought this weekly allowance may be too large, but were I to Vote in this Affair, I would not be &s;o per&s;waded, for a poor Man or Woman having their health, yet unable to do any thing for their own Sub&s;i&s;tance, could not well be maintained with Le&s;s, and if their Inclination to meat, through &s;ickne&s;s, age or any accedent, &s;hould be le&s;&s;ned, they will need to as great an Expen&s;e under the&s;e circum&s;tances to be &s;upply'd. And when it &s;hall plea&s;e God to bring Victual to the u&s;ual Price, this allowance for the Poor will extend to no great Matter. It may be rea&s;oned the conveniency of appointing what the Par|liament intends for this u&s;e its being uplifted by Pole, &s;ince otherways many en|abled to the giving in Charity may be mi&s;&s;ed, but what is appointed by Pole, or any other Method, then what is the u&s;ual way of uplifting in this Kingdom, coming &s;o little to An&s;wer what is expected therefrom; I conceive the u&s;ual way will uncontravertedly be mo&s;t effectual, and the Mannagers in giving their Di|rections to the Paroches, as to their Stenting, may &s;o order it, as they have a Particular re&s;pect to Servants and all others, as they may be able to give, and e|&s;pecially &s;uch as by the u&s;ual way of paying publick burdens are exempted there|from.</P>
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