A History of the Irish Poor Law in Connexion With the Condition With the Condition of the People: In Connexion With the Condition of the People

Reprint of the sole edition. Nicholls [1781-1865] was a pioneering
poor-law reformer and administrator. While Great Britain's Poor Law
Commissioner he drafted the Irish Poor-Law Act (1832). One of the
first to assert that relief bred a culture of dependency and a
resistance to work, he advocated the abolition of relief except as a
last resort. Includes sections on urban poor, workhouses, housing
conditions, child labor, vagabonds etc. In addition to the present
study, he wrote A History of the English Poor Law (1854) and A History
of the Scotch Poor Law (1856). Like his other studies, this one
relates the evolution of poor laws since the medieval era to economic,
social and political history. Notably sophisticated works, they were
held in high regard by Sir Leslie Stephen and F.W. Maitland.