s of the monk, and charity being
consonant to the profession of that order, the weight of the poor
chiefly lay upon the religious houses; this was the general mark for the
indigent, the idle, and the impostor, who carried meanness in their
aspect, and the words _Christ Jesus_ in their mouth. Hence arise the
epithets of stroller, vagrant, and sturdy beggar, with which modern law
is intimately acquainted.

It was too frequently observed, that there was but a slender barrier
between begging and stealing, that necessity seldom marks the limits of
honesty, and that a country abounding with beggars, abounds also with
plunderers. A remnant of this urgent race, so justly complained of,
which disgrace society, and lay the country under contribution, are
still suffered, by the supineness of the magistrate.

When the religious houses, and all their property, in 1536, fell a
sacrifice to the vindictive wrath of Henry the Eighth, the poor lost
their dependence, and as want knows no law, robbery became frequent;
justice called loudly for punishment, and the hungry for bread; which
gave rise, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, to that most excellent
institution, of erecting every parish into a distinct fraternity, and
obliging them to support their own members; therefore, it is difficult
to assign a reason, why the blind should go abroad to _see_ fresh
countries, or the man _without feet to travel_.

Though the poor were nursed by parochial law, yet workhouses did not
become general 'till 1730: that of Birmingham was erected in 1733, at
the expence of 1173_l_. 3s. 5d. and which, the stranger would rather
suppose, was the residence of a gentleman, than that of four hundred
paupers. The left wing, called the infirmary, was added in 1766, at the
charge of 400_l_. and the right, a place for labour, in 1779, at the
expence of 700_l_. more.

Let us a second time, consider the 50,000 people who occupy this _grand
toy shop of Europe_[6] as one great family, where, though the property
of individuals is ascertained and secured, yet a close and beneficial
compact subsists. We behold the members of this vast family marked with
every style of character. Forlorn infancy, accidental calamity, casual
sickness, old age, and even inadvertent distress, all find support from
that charitable fund erected by industry. No part of the family is
neglected: he that cannot find bread for himself, finds a ready supply;
he that can, ought to do so. By cultivati