George IV Quotes
Imprisonment with hard labour for one month for idle and disorderly persons, including anyone who is able to maintain himself and his family entirely or partly by work or other means, and who willfully refuses or neglects to do so, so that he himself or a member of his family whom he is bound to support, becomes chargeable to the parish. This class includes any person wandering abroad, begging in public places, or employing children for that purpose
George IV, 1762-1830, King of England, Vagrants Act
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
This law had an interesting unanticipated effect. Since most prisoners were assigned work outside the jail in different locations, there were not enough guards to watch them all so most reported to their work assignments as if they were going to a job and returned to the jail after work. The prisoners were paid wages by private employers and the first dollar a day they earned went to the State for their expenses. However, the prisoners got to keep the rest. The system seemed to work very well, however the crimes were relatively minor ones. In modern times, as a practical matter, almost no one gets jailed for these offenses any more.
This appears to be one of the first expressions of the 'workfare' concept.
This quotation not only shows the conditions of the times, but illustrates that even in the middle of the 19th century the policy saw and appreciated the link between school, education, social class and juvenile delinquency. New York City became a national leader in terms of compulsory education and creating recreational opportunities for children.
CREEP in the Nixon Campaign. He was himself a convicted Watergate conspirator
“43 Elizabeth” referred to the 43rd Law of her Reign. She instituted this then radical reform.
George IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later. From 1811 until his accession, he served as regent during his father's final mental illness.
