ABSTRACT
Before 1834, only relief expenditure is covered by a regular annual series. These statistics only yield significant information about relief practice if they are cross-referenced to the other available resources. Almost all the parishes in England and Wales returned replies to eight questions about pauper numbers and eight questions about cost of relief. In 1802–3 the crucial question inquired about the number of paupers who were aged and infirm. By a process of subtraction it is then possible to calculate the number of able-bodied men, women, and children. Replies to questions have here been distributed by county into the groups of agricultural and industrial counties. The city and county of York have been assigned to the industrial groups. Thus totals given for these groups combine and add together answers to different questions and different sets of questions.
