The Workhouse Test Act 1723
The laws relating to the Settlement, Employment and Relief of the Poor,
allowed the establishment of workhouses where poor relief would be
provided.
This could be done either by an individual parish or by combining
of a number of neighbouring parishes, which would share the cost.
Between 1723 and 1750, about 600 parish workhouses were established
in England and Wales.
The act also introduced the 'workhouse test' - that anyone who applied
for relief would have to enter the workhouse where he or she would
be obliged to undertake set work in return for relief.
The principle was
that entering the workhouse should be a deterrent to casual and
irresponsible claims on the poor rates.
Only the truly desperate
would apply to 'the house'.
...those who could not work should be allowed to fend for themselves - and starve if necessary.
This principle was continued in the 1834 Poor
Law Amendment Act
By 1776, there were about 2,000 workhouses, each with between 20
and 50 inmates. The cost of indoor relief was high; inefficient and
harsh workhouse management led to increased social pressure for more
sympathetic treatment of the poor.
However in 1776, Adam Smith published his 'Wealth of Nations' in which
he said that;
“The State should not interfere and supply relief,
but should let the laws of supply and demand operate freely. This
would mean that those who could not work should be allowed to fend for
themselves - and starve if necessary - rather than having the State
provide any form of relief. Further, men would work for any wage
rather than starve themselves and their families; lower wages would
benefit employers and reduce the price of food”.