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A HISTORY
OF THE
IRISH POOR LAW,
“Let every man be occupied, and occupied in the highest employment ofwhich his nature is capable, and die with the consciousness that he has donehis best.”—Sydney Smith
DEDICATION.
To the Ex-officio and Elected Members of the Boardsof Guardians in Ireland, in the hope that it may be of useto them in the performance of their important Duties, thisHistory of the Irish Poor Law is dedicated,
November 1856.
PREFACE.
The Irish Poor Law was in its origin no more thana branch or offshoot of the English law, but it is ameasure of so much importance, and has so close abearing upon the social well-being of the Irish people,that it seems to be entitled to a separate consideration.The severe trials moreover to which the law has beenexposed, and the changes that have been made in itsorganization and executive, have given to it a new anddistinctive character, on which account also a separatedesc