Remember Oliver twist? I found something interesting.
[yt]S7JOAtF9CIg[/yt]
Quote from: Skm1091 on February 05, 2014, 12:20:02 AM
Remember Oliver twist? I found something interesting.
[yt]S7JOAtF9CIg[/yt]
Wha cha thinK?
Well, this one is probably a two way street. On one hand, there wasn't a Department of Agriculture or a Bureau of Prisons to over see this, so the recommended diet and the actual diet could have been two very different things. Most likely, some were better than others. Conditions and diet in the workhouses were strictly regulated, and almost all aspects of life were regulated by the Poor-House Guardians as defined in the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834.
Also, in order to make an assessment of the situation fully, we would also need to know a bit of what was considered a normal diet of the working class of that time. This is one of those situations where assigning our standards to what amounts to an entirely different culture could be misleading.
I didn't watch the video, but if the claim is that conditions in the work houses were poor, that was actually the idea. Their thinking was, make it dreadful enough so that only those in a desperate situation—those who really need it—would be working there, and take any other opportunity that presented itself. This was supposed to keep freeloaders who were perfectly capable of working elsewhere from living off the public purse.
With this in mind, this oft-misinterpreted passage from A Christmas Carol becomes more clear:
Quote"At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge," said the gentleman, taking up a pen, "it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and Destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir."
"Are there no prisons?" asked Scrooge.
"Plenty of prisons," said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.
"And the Union workhouses?" demanded Scrooge. "Are they still in operation?"
"They are. Still," returned the gentleman, "I wish I could say they were not."
"The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?" said Scrooge.
"Both very busy, sir."
"Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course," said Scrooge. "I'm very glad to hear it."
"Under the impression that they scarcely furnish Christian cheer of mind or body to the multitude," returned the gentleman, "a few of us are endeavouring to raise a fund to buy the Poor some meat and drink and means of warmth. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices. What shall I put you down for?"
"Nothing!" Scrooge replied.
"You wish to be anonymous?"
"I wish to be left alone," said Scrooge. "Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don't make merry myself at Christmas and I can't afford to make idle people merry. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned -- they cost enough; and those who are badly off must go there."
"Many can't go there; and many would rather die."
"If they would rather die," said Scrooge, "they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population."
Quote from: MrBogosity on February 05, 2014, 06:19:03 AM
I didn't watch the video, but if the claim is that conditions in the work houses were poor, that was actually the idea. Their thinking was, make it dreadful enough so that only those in a desperate situation—those who really need it—would be working there, and take any other opportunity that presented itself. This was supposed to keep freeloaders who were perfectly capable of working elsewhere from living off the public purse.
With this in mind, this oft-misinterpreted passage from A Christmas Carol becomes more clear:
The video shows that there were actually more to the diet than just the gruel. That's really about it.
Quote from: Skm1091 on February 05, 2014, 12:20:07 PM
The video shows that there were actually more to the diet than just the gruel. That's really about it.
Most of the sources I've found indicate that while the rations weren't all that interesting, they were generally adequate.