One hundred years ago
THE riots have died away in London, under the pressure of opinion and the police; but they will revive again with the first appearance of continued frost. It would be well to take advantage of the lull to form volunteer conmmittees to work with the relieving officers, to settle decisively on some relaxation as to outdoor relief, and to remedy what we must say seems to us an abuse in the management of casual wards. Why should a man who wants a night's lodging be made to stop — that is, imprisoned — for thirty-six hours as a minimum? He should go when he has done his task, and his task should not be more than the value of his meals. Surely breaking seven hundredweight of gra- nite into bits that can be thrown through the wires of a trellised window is more than that.
The Spectator, 29 October 1887
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