Welsh Journals

CEREDIGION CYLCHGRAWN CYMDEITHAS HYNAFIAETHWYR CEREDIGION JOURNAL OF THE CEREDIGION ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY CYFROL (VOLUME) VIII 1978 RHIFYN (NUMBER) 3 THE NEW POOR LAW IN A RURAL AREA, 1834­1850 The extension of the New Poor Law to Cardiganshire in 1837 was not greeted by any sort of violent movement of protest. On the one hand the administrative structure of the new laws was imposed on the inhabitants and in general society accepted the change without demur. On the other hand, central government failed to abolish many of the abuses of the Old Poor Law system such as the granting of outdoor relief to the able-bodied poor in kind and in money, the payment of rents, and the exemption of rates. "The battle against the New Poor Law in the 1830's together with the opposition that continued in the 1840's provides the classic instance of the resistance of local govern- ment to the new central administration. It also reveals the defects characteristic of local government stubborn local pride, propensity to jobbing and party politics, fear of heavy expenditure and high rates, unwillingness to resist special interests, and a mentality too often a compound of prejudice, misinformation, complacency, and conservatism".1 It is the purpose of this article to examine the progress of the New Poor Law in Cardiganshire to the year 1850. "An Act for the Amendment and better Administration of the Laws relating to the Poor in England and Wales" (4 and 5 William IV, c. 76) was passed on 14 August* 1834. A central board was set up consisting of three Commissioners known as the "Poor Law Commissioners for England and Wales" to execute the act. The Commissioners were accountable to the Secretary of State although they were granted powers to summon and examine witnesses and to make enquiries. From and after the enactment the administration of relief throughout England and Wales was under their control. Their terms of reference were "to make and issue all such Rules, Orders, and Regulations for the Management of the Poor, for the Government of Workhouses and