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Article AGRICULTURAL LIFE. ← Page 2 of 3 →
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Agricultural Life.
But few cases connected with the social condition of farm labourers have of late years attracted so much attention as that of John Cross , AVIIO worked in Dorsetshire , and Avho , for stealing a hurdle , Avas sentenced to fourteen days imprisonment by the Wimborne Magistracyand on this
, case Ave IIOAV propose making a few analytical remarks , taking the information supplied from various sources , so as , if possible , to do justice to all persons concerned , Avithout prejudice to any of them .
If Avrong is done to any one , ancl it becomes knoAvn to the public , it is immediately magnified , and articles based upon the facts , but adorned with " gushing" rhetoric , help to heighten the . general enthusiasm felt on behalf of the injured person ; but it certainlbehoves usand the more
y , especially as the representative of the Craft , to consider the matter impartially , to uphold the laAv , but still to bear in mind that it is good to temper justice Avith mercy . Let us first turn our attention to the relative
positions of John Cross , and his employer , Mr . Eartlett . Cross's average Aveekly earnings appear from Mr . Bartlett ' s statement subsequent to the man ' s trial , to have been about 12 s . —little enough as far as we can judge , but from all accounts fair in comparison with the rate of wages
in the district . The employer must not be judged from the result of a series of accidents , in many of which he Avas in no Avay concerned . A point has been made of the length of time during whicli Cross had been in Mr . Bartlett ' s employment— - twenty-five years—and that was assumed as a reason why he should receive higher Avages . B oAVever , cool consideration will SIIOAV that increase of
wages cannot be expected to accrue from len gth of service only : it requires , in order to be remunerative , that the recipient shall have improved and gained experience , so as to be able to do a higher class of work than at first , and that there shall be for him a A'acancy in some position Avhere that
higher class of Avork is required , or else that , by long practice he shall be able to get through more work in a given time . In payment for manual labour the nature and quantity of Avork done can alone be taken into consideration . As to the rapidity of working , John Cross would in some cases
have the benefit ofhis improvement in that respect , as he occupied part of his time on " piece-work . " Before passing from Mr . Bartlett , it is only right to mention that , according to his statement , he had frequently considered Cross ' s embarrassed condition , and had afforded him relief , AAdiich Ave . consider Avas as much as he could be expected to do under the circumstances .
We now come to the question of the cause of Cross's committing the theft of Avhich he is convicted , and here be it understood Ave wish to deal Avith in the most merciful manner , and to make every alknvance for an act which certainly appears to us to have been most severely and unduly
punished . Undoubtedly he was driven to take the hurdle by the state of abject poverty in which his unfortunate family then Avas , ancl that in itself is a very passable excuse for so trifling an offence , an offence whicli certainly might have been passed over with a caution not to repeat it .
Cross appears to have acted Avith great imprudence in some of his matrimonial arrangements , his first marriage Ave have nothing to say about beyond observin g that it blessed him Avith six children , but the care of these does not appear to have been sufficient to occupy all his parental
heart , for about ten years since , ( Avhen he would have been about fifteen years with Mr . Bartlett , ancl ought therefore to have been able to judge of his position and prospects ) he married a widoAV who hez-self had five children , thus suddenly very nearly doubling his family ; since that time , six more children have beenborn , Avhich facts Ave agree
Avith Mr . Bartlett in thinking , " -will explain the man ' s statement that he Avas badly off . " The conclusion IIOAV arrived at , is that Cross ' s imprudence caused his poverty , and his poverty caused the offence for Avhich he has so dearly paid , and Avhich Avas probably committed Avithout any
thought of Avrong ; a man AVIIO for ten years had honestly battled Avith ovei-Avhelming difficulties Ai'onlcl not be very likely to be at heart viciously disposed , but unfortunately he Avas legally wrong , ancl that cannot be escaped from , though it may sometimes excite peculiar ideas as to law and
justice . We believe anyone may Avith impunity pull a turnip ancl eat it in the field , where it grew , though if he carries it out he is liable to be punished for stealing it , the spirit of this statute is clear enough , but it would be rather aAvakward at times , if country magistrates made a point of actingupon the letter of it .
It appears that Mr . Martin , the oivner of the hurdle purloined , kneAV nothing of the affair until Cross Avas in the custody of the policeman AA'ho detected the theft , so he is not so much to be taxed Avith severity as the constable on being over zealous . Why did he not take the offender
to Mr . Martin , ancl learn his pleasure in the matter ? It is to be presumed , from his anxiety to make knoAvn that he was not acquainted . vith the arrest of Cross , that he would not have pushed the matter to the extremity to Avhich it Avas carried by those AVIIO seem so carefully to have Avatched
over his interests . The Wimborne magistracy seem much to blame for their rigour . Surely a tAventy-five years' good character , preserved through bitter trials ancl temptations , ought to have some weight ; let us hope at all events that the Rev . Mr . Glyn Avas not in
accord AA'ith his felloAV magistrates , for he , as the representative of that Church Avhich points the road to salvation " not by our own Avorks but through the mercy and love of Christ , " should be the first to advocate leniency in dealing Avith one who did Avrong in dire distress , Avhen it could ( as
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Agricultural Life.
But few cases connected with the social condition of farm labourers have of late years attracted so much attention as that of John Cross , AVIIO worked in Dorsetshire , and Avho , for stealing a hurdle , Avas sentenced to fourteen days imprisonment by the Wimborne Magistracyand on this
, case Ave IIOAV propose making a few analytical remarks , taking the information supplied from various sources , so as , if possible , to do justice to all persons concerned , Avithout prejudice to any of them .
If Avrong is done to any one , ancl it becomes knoAvn to the public , it is immediately magnified , and articles based upon the facts , but adorned with " gushing" rhetoric , help to heighten the . general enthusiasm felt on behalf of the injured person ; but it certainlbehoves usand the more
y , especially as the representative of the Craft , to consider the matter impartially , to uphold the laAv , but still to bear in mind that it is good to temper justice Avith mercy . Let us first turn our attention to the relative
positions of John Cross , and his employer , Mr . Eartlett . Cross's average Aveekly earnings appear from Mr . Bartlett ' s statement subsequent to the man ' s trial , to have been about 12 s . —little enough as far as we can judge , but from all accounts fair in comparison with the rate of wages
in the district . The employer must not be judged from the result of a series of accidents , in many of which he Avas in no Avay concerned . A point has been made of the length of time during whicli Cross had been in Mr . Bartlett ' s employment— - twenty-five years—and that was assumed as a reason why he should receive higher Avages . B oAVever , cool consideration will SIIOAV that increase of
wages cannot be expected to accrue from len gth of service only : it requires , in order to be remunerative , that the recipient shall have improved and gained experience , so as to be able to do a higher class of work than at first , and that there shall be for him a A'acancy in some position Avhere that
higher class of Avork is required , or else that , by long practice he shall be able to get through more work in a given time . In payment for manual labour the nature and quantity of Avork done can alone be taken into consideration . As to the rapidity of working , John Cross would in some cases
have the benefit ofhis improvement in that respect , as he occupied part of his time on " piece-work . " Before passing from Mr . Bartlett , it is only right to mention that , according to his statement , he had frequently considered Cross ' s embarrassed condition , and had afforded him relief , AAdiich Ave . consider Avas as much as he could be expected to do under the circumstances .
We now come to the question of the cause of Cross's committing the theft of Avhich he is convicted , and here be it understood Ave wish to deal Avith in the most merciful manner , and to make every alknvance for an act which certainly appears to us to have been most severely and unduly
punished . Undoubtedly he was driven to take the hurdle by the state of abject poverty in which his unfortunate family then Avas , ancl that in itself is a very passable excuse for so trifling an offence , an offence whicli certainly might have been passed over with a caution not to repeat it .
Cross appears to have acted Avith great imprudence in some of his matrimonial arrangements , his first marriage Ave have nothing to say about beyond observin g that it blessed him Avith six children , but the care of these does not appear to have been sufficient to occupy all his parental
heart , for about ten years since , ( Avhen he would have been about fifteen years with Mr . Bartlett , ancl ought therefore to have been able to judge of his position and prospects ) he married a widoAV who hez-self had five children , thus suddenly very nearly doubling his family ; since that time , six more children have beenborn , Avhich facts Ave agree
Avith Mr . Bartlett in thinking , " -will explain the man ' s statement that he Avas badly off . " The conclusion IIOAV arrived at , is that Cross ' s imprudence caused his poverty , and his poverty caused the offence for Avhich he has so dearly paid , and Avhich Avas probably committed Avithout any
thought of Avrong ; a man AVIIO for ten years had honestly battled Avith ovei-Avhelming difficulties Ai'onlcl not be very likely to be at heart viciously disposed , but unfortunately he Avas legally wrong , ancl that cannot be escaped from , though it may sometimes excite peculiar ideas as to law and
justice . We believe anyone may Avith impunity pull a turnip ancl eat it in the field , where it grew , though if he carries it out he is liable to be punished for stealing it , the spirit of this statute is clear enough , but it would be rather aAvakward at times , if country magistrates made a point of actingupon the letter of it .
It appears that Mr . Martin , the oivner of the hurdle purloined , kneAV nothing of the affair until Cross Avas in the custody of the policeman AA'ho detected the theft , so he is not so much to be taxed Avith severity as the constable on being over zealous . Why did he not take the offender
to Mr . Martin , ancl learn his pleasure in the matter ? It is to be presumed , from his anxiety to make knoAvn that he was not acquainted . vith the arrest of Cross , that he would not have pushed the matter to the extremity to Avhich it Avas carried by those AVIIO seem so carefully to have Avatched
over his interests . The Wimborne magistracy seem much to blame for their rigour . Surely a tAventy-five years' good character , preserved through bitter trials ancl temptations , ought to have some weight ; let us hope at all events that the Rev . Mr . Glyn Avas not in
accord AA'ith his felloAV magistrates , for he , as the representative of that Church Avhich points the road to salvation " not by our own Avorks but through the mercy and love of Christ , " should be the first to advocate leniency in dealing Avith one who did Avrong in dire distress , Avhen it could ( as