THE ENGLISH RURAL LABORER

Evening Star, Issue 15480, 30 April 1914, Page 7

THE ENGLISH RURAL LABORER

Landless, homeless, helpless, hopeless, Gapping still for bread and breath, To their graves by hunger haunted Albion's helots toil till "death.

Mr E. N. Beunett, M-A-, contributes a volume entitled 'Problems of Village Life' to the "Home University Library of Modern Knowledge." Each book in this concise 'and excellent series hs& been prepared by a recognised authority on its subject. Mr Bennett is a Fellow.of Hertford College (Oxford) and late M.P. for the Woodstock Division of Oxfordshire. Straight from the press and eminently up to date, his contribution may be accepted as an indication of forward Liberal thought on the problems of rural life. On the whole, the picture drawn of the English village is a grey and depressing one. Progress in reform of the laborers' grievances has hardly begun, and this little book gives an idea of the almost superhuman task confronting the reformer.

—History of the Agricultural Laborer. — In the opening chapter Mr Bennett rapidly reviews the history of the agricultural laborer. The leading features oi Ullage life to-day—the hopelessness, the landkssnese—are the direct outcome of the Feudal System, the Enclosure Acts, and the many Acts of regulation and repres sion which a fraction of the nation have succeeded in placing upon the Statute Book of the realm. In the ' Colloquy of Aelfric,' the ploughman serf says: " I work hard. I go out at daybreak, driving tine oxen to the field, and I yoke them to the plough. Be it never so stark winter, I dare not linger at home for awe of my lord- . . . I have a boy driving the oxen with a goad iron, who is hoarse with cold and shouting. . . . Mighty hard work it is, for I am not free." From several causey, the bondsman gradually improved their position j but the fact that one of tbe demands in Kett's rebellion (1548) was the abolition of serfdom is proof of the slow and protracted nature of the process cf emancipation. In the fourteenth century the cry of the poor found an utterance in the words of John Ball. "The mgtd priest of Kept,'' as he was called, tells how "in the Eastern counties men in four walla of wattled reeds and mud, *and the northeast wind from off the Fen whistles through them: the poor they be to the letter: and there him whom the lord spareth the bailiff squeezeth, and him whom the bailiff forgatteth the Easterling chapman sheareth-" While their brethren in other lands gained partial or complete successes, the English peasants failed utterly and completely. "Good men and true" like Tyler, Ball, and Kett died in the midst of manifest failure. Contemporary chroniclers combined to misrepresent and calumniate the peasants and their leaders, "and nowadays the children of laborers in village schools are taught in current text books to ignore or condemn the men who died in a vain attempt to secure justice for the oppressed forefathers of the hamlet." Never once in the whole course of English history did the monarch Come forward to espouse the just rights of the poor villager*. From tha sixteenth to the eighteenth century the Law, the Church, and social influences seemed to combine in order to crush out every spark of independence and every hope of advancement amongst the peasants. By one enactment after another the villager was robbed of his Common rights, cheated of his wages, tied to the soil, denied all education, and deprived of all hope. From the seventeenth century onwards, "the Houses of Parliament, the centre Executive, and the local bodies of administration all worked together towards a common end—the advancement of the interests of a great commercial and land-owning aristrocracy ... contemptuous of any opposition . . . and disregardful of any distress their conduct might cause." In the great "Sutherland clearings" of 1814-1820 some 3,000 families were expelled from their holdings and 800,0 CO acres of clan property annexed to the ducal domain. At the close of the eighteenth century the English laborer reached the low-water mark in the sad history of his organised degradation. The subsidising of cheap labor from the rates enabled the farmer to pay sweated wages from the pockets of the general public, whether employers or not. The agricultural laborer became a pauper by law. It was in 1822 that a glimmer of light began to appear, and the laws directed for five ceoturies against the right of combination were finally abolished. Nevertheless, the ialwers who* took part in tho riots of 1830 were described by "The Tmies' as "industrious, kind-hearted, but broken-hearted beings, exasperated into madness by insufficient food and clothing." They were treated with a harshness which 83 years afterwards is scarcely conceivable. The extension of the franchise in 186? encouraged the laborers to make another effort in the days of Joseph Arch and the Union, but by the end of the nineteenth century they had generally relapsed into apathy and hopelessness. They turned their thoughts more and more to the* towns, and "that rural exodus commenced which continues to this day, and has drained away the best and most active, life of our countrysides." —Tha Rural Exodus.— It is admitted that the condition of the agricultural laborer has improved considerably during the nineteenth century, But granted that milk and groceries, and sometimes butcher's meat, are found nowadays on his table, this is not enough to induce him to fitay on the soil. Since 1851 there has been an alarming decrease in the numbers of the rural population.. There are whole stretches of territory in Great Britain where alert youths of sound intelligence are the exception rather than the rule. The great majority of these find their way into the towns, but an increasing stream of emigrants leaves the villages for Canada, Australasia, and the United States.

iue causes of this depopulation are I varied and coirplex. The most powerful j is poverty. The agricultural laborer may be described as a poor man living in a poor home on poor food, isixtv p«r cent. of the ordinary agricultural laborers in England receive wages of less than IBs a week, all included When overtime and "special allowances" are left out, the normal weekly wages in the worst-paid counties sink to as low- a 6 13s. The methods of augmenting inadequate cash wages are thoroughly i.nsatisfactbry, for they virtually represent a system of doles which tends to destroy the just indepen- j dence of the laborer, nor would they be tolerated by any well-organised body of British workmen. Agricultural wages are cruelly inadequate. "It's not living," said a villager's wife: " it's only pinching and starving." The cottage question is another powerful factor in driving townward the population of the villages. A large proportion of the rural cottages are, in the words of a Royal Commission's report, "vile and deplorable dwellings." The picturesque exteriors of so many country cottages lead visitors to ignore the existence of the damp and squalid accommodation within. Far more attention is bestowed in some places on healthy accommodation for horses and dogs than on that required for the families of the laborers. And there is a i positive dearth even of such dwellingSouses. Another salient evil in connection | with rural housing is this: the cottages j are becoming " tied " to the farms. Such I dwellings are occupied on the most pre- i carious tenure, ana if a man displeases his master he runs the risk of losing not only his job but his home. There are other reasons for the decline in the rural population. One is the dullness of village life. There is little to refine tie mind or cheer the soul in rural England. A striking feature of all outdoc* sport and pastimes in the normal English village to-day is the lack of spontaneity amongst the poor themselves in the way of Organised effort. "Reading! rooms" and " institutes" are a failure. j The sole "opportunity for social gocd-fel- : Ipwebig ia furnished by the bar parlor. In sharp contrast to the grinding poverty and dull monotony of the village, a vivid impression of urban comforts and pleasures is conveyed to the rustic mind by the visits of country folks who have, migrated to the cities. The self-confidence, general smartness, and superior clothes of tho visitors form a powerful 6timulus to» the j

young men and women of the village to try their luck a}so in an area of better payand bigger opportunities. The "inevitable replacement of human labor by the usa of machinery has- furnished another cause of the exodus from the country; and yet another is the unattractive character of the career open to a class of men underpaid, overworked, and for the most part absolutely cut off from any share in the land they help to cultivate. Englishmen are only beginning to regard with vague and undefined dread the peril of the rural exodus.

—Rural Education.— One of the most depressing features- in the rural life of England is the general unpopularity of education. The farmers are almost solidly opposed to any extension of the school age, and many go so far as to distrust education altogether. "Over-education of the laborers' children " is a phrase constantly on the lips of rural education and discontent go hand in hand. The argument rests on the assumption that the village child is predestined to live and die as a qnasi-serf on jaw wages. But this glib talk of ovey-edupating the rural children " comes largely from ignorant and biased people. The education we give is not too much, but too little. . . • There should be compulsory continuation schools I ,* a certain standard of education is reached.'

—Village Politics.— In politics many of the rural electors consistently follow the lead of the squire. Large tracts of rural England are not satisfied with Liberalism. A lady canvasser in Oxfordshire was recently informed: " Oh, it's no good your corning here, miss. Mrs K. (the"Tory Lady of the Manor) arranges our politics for us." The control of village charities, the practical monopoly, in some cases, of the hcuse supply, the degrading patronage too often associated with private cnarity—all these factors tell against the fortunes of rural Liberalism. To a very large extent the English laborer has been disappointed and disillusioned in his political hopes. Home Rule. Welsh Disestablishment, Redistribution, Parish and District Councils, Education Bills, and the like have left men and women cold who were struggling to ktep the together on 13s a weekand Morals.— Mr' Bennett proceeds to deplore the decadence of religious faith apd practice ni rural England. In Oxfordshire, a purely agricultural county, he estimates that between 25 and 35 per cent, of the adult population attend church and chapel. Religion in rural England is more alive in the Nonconformist chapel than m the Established Church. " The face of a loving Deity is obscured by the mists which have settled on lives of ceaseless toil and miserable penury. One old man I knew used to sit beside the tiny fireplace Ui his cottage, his limbs twisted and gnarled_ by rheumatism—a worn-out toiler who had brought up a large family to the best ot his ability; and often as he sat there gazing into theSfeeble embers, a tear would roll down bis cheek, and he would exclaim, haif to himself, 'I wonder what it all means.'" The rural clergy are usually generous and kindly men, who subscribe largely to " charity." " Nevertheless, they have in this matter thoroughly confuted the issues. It is not personal charity which the neglected laborer primarily requires, but social justice. The clergy are ready enough to give alms, but they do not challenge the vicious system of inadequate wages eked out by charity. (< This serious indictment follows : i>° fairminded «ritic of our social 1* can avoid the conclusion that the standard ot sexual morality is extraordinarily low in many parts of rural England . - • Nevertheless, for the stains on the lite or our countryside, for the mental and moral foulness due to the gang systems of the past, to drink, to over-crowding, others than the actual offenders must bear a large share of responsibility before the judgment seat of Heaven. Those who monopolised the land, resisted education, set their faces, like flint against ■ temperance reform, and-refused to build decent houses because they wanted bigger interest than 2£ per cent.—though kennels and stables are built at a loss—men andwomen, who have talked of the rights ot property and forgotten its duties, it is these who through the centuries have helped to put stumbling-blocks in the way of the poor villagers and caused Christ s little ones to offend." and Insurance.—

The Old Age Pensions Act came.as a veritable blessing to tha poor toilers^ of the village. One indirect result has brought much happiness to the parents of married sons and daughters.: These old folk have been enabled in many instances by their possession of 5s a week to find a place at the fireside of their children, who otherwise could not have borne the additional expense, but are glad to receive their parents under the changed conditions. National Insurance, though at first misunderstood and mistrusted by the laborer, will probably establish itself firmly in thp goodwill of the village. To go no further, it frees the country cottage from doctors' bills. Three doctor's visits at 2s 6d, apart altogether from loss of work, would bring many families to the brink of temporary starvation and destitution. —Urgently-needed Reforms.—

Two obvious and primary items in any scheme of rural reform are the erection of decent -cottages and an increase in wages. Various attempts have been made to meet the former need, but in most cases the rents have proved quite beyond the mean.' of the laborers. Mr Bennett consider? that the general revenues of the State may well be drawn upon for special grants to heal a special malady in the body politic. The princinal cause of the evils endure; by the rural laborers, he continues, i simply the payment of low wages. For 4' years wages 'have been practionally sttionary, while at the same time the cop of living has increased. 'Hundreds e Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire la boers go home at the week-end durin the xvinter months with only 8s for t!v week." The whole wage system is va_" areas of rural England, where no outsit competition is met with from neighboring fnrfriri«!s mines, docks, sea fisheries, etc.. I

is largely determined by mere usage and local precendents. And it is simply due to the lack of organisation and combination amongst the farm laborers that the wretched wages have persisted so long. Amongst the regularly employed workmen in the Kingdom the agricultural laborer has been for centuries by common consent the most neglected. For generations he has been more or less inarticulate. His individualism, his failure to combine with his fellows for the common good, is an almost inevitable outcome of his age-long environment. A sense of helplessness is engendered by the social surroundings of the village and his crippling.poverty, and so he endures his lot with that amazing patience which is his mental heritage from centuries of neglsct and oppression. —The Land Must Become Public Property.—

Mr Bennett discusses many other matters of vital importance to Tural life, such as small holdings, co-operation, Protection, r.tting on unimproved land values, and land nationalisation, and concludes thus : "I am writing these concluding paragraphs- on a hillside in Buckinghamshire, surrounded by those delights of an English landscape which charm the eye but p.adden the heart of all who really know the inner life of our villages. The very scenes which find special favor in the sight of the sportsman or the tourist bring-thoughts.-of pity and regret to those who look for truth and reality beneath the pleasant surface of the view. The hill on which I write is covered by thin, worthless grass and short shrub—useless, amid utter neglect, for man or beast. Below, some 40 acres of good pasttjre land are reserved for golf. On every side trees grow singly, in most haphazard fashion. Further away compact woods form coverts for thousands of pheasants, and in the distance lies the beautiful vale of Aylesbury, controlled by a great landlord. The eye may range for miles with_ scarcely the sight of a human habitation, and the' chief'relaxation of the ill-paid laborer is apparently to witness the pursuit of a tame stag by persons- who spend far more on ope day's run than his entire weekly wages- ifow long will England tolerate such, rnisise of her fertile soil? The life of the few in such an environment as that which lies around me is full of pleasant things; the truer life of the country—that of those who till the soil and feed the moribund. Who shall deliver us from the body of this death? The splendid ideals of Liberalism are too often neutralised by the personal wealth or selfish ambition of its representatives; the cautious concessions of Toryism have no more effect on the maladies of our land system than a gift of flo-wars..in a cholera camp; the Labor party has no foothold in the average village. When in the fulness of time some great statesman comes forward armed with full power and authority to demand a surrender of their stewardship from those who_ have misused their trust, great will be hjs opportunity and great his reward. Few can suppose that a system so deeply embedded in our history and traditions ean be hastily up* rooted; but, on the other hand, few impartial students of our rural conditions can avoid the conclusion that the day for palliatives is drawing to a close, and that private control of land is our Carthage to be destroyed. Public ownership is, indeed, the only policy which will finally and completely cleanse that Augean stable, our present land system, of the feudal arr rogance, privilege, intimidation, and selfish greed which have shaped the cruel history of rural England. So, for the time being, let every opportunity be taken to extend the principle of collective ownership, timidly put foi-ward in the Small Holdings Act, until the broad and fertile acres of our country are wholly used in the best interests of the nation which owns them."