The workhouse as a mode of relief for widows and orphans

Abstract

The principles on which the Irish Poor Law is to be administered for the future must be learned not from the traditions of the changes introduced in England in 1834, nor from the idle theories prevalent in Ireland in 1838, but from a careful consideration of the present state of the poor and of the country in which they are to pass their lives. The changes which I have recommended are of general application, but they are specially required for the widows and orphans of soldiers. The Patriotic Fund supplies only support but not control; the guardianship of each orphan family is entirely unprovided for. The consideration of the questions which I have raised ought not therefore to be postponed until the termination of the war. If the policy recommended is worthy of adoption, it is right that it should be introduced without delay.