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Sociology

Poverty - by James Platt

But the improvement cannot be effected without a less; the officials may buy up the land, but they cannot sell it at the same price they gave for it to any company or builder, to erect dwellings that would pay for the outlay, at the scale of rent the poor could afford to pay. And you may talk and write as much as you like, but unless you can show that the "building of better dwellings for the poor" will pay, the money will not be forthcoming; so it has been found that the various Acts since 1851 have been a dead letter, practically useless, except to show the people how absurd it is to trust to Acts of Parliament to do for them what they must do for themselves. To pay for a room 7s. 6d. instead of 5s., the working class must earn more money, and use more wisely what they receive; or the State must, as it has done with education, build the dwellings, and put the loss upon the rates.

The latter, I fear, is what will be done; but it is a mistaken policy; it is a mischievous interference; it is another nail in the coffin that has held in bondage so long our working class. It is degrading them to recipients of State bounty; it is fastening still tighter the bands of pauperism; it will crush still lower his already too weak feeling of manly independence. This must never be forgotten: the State cannot give one penny to any one of its subjects except by taking it from another; hence you see the absurdity of trusting for help to the State. It would be very unjust to put the cost of improving the dwellings of the poor, or keeping their dwellings in better sanitary condition, upon the local rates, or on any one class of the community.

The Government, for the sake of all, should so arrange that no house in the kingdom be in such a state as is likely to damage