ABSTRACT
Preserving the equilibrium between ratepayer income and relief expenditure depended on a variety of factors. A semblance of social balance in each district, economic growth commensurate with population increase and a means by which to redistribute the cost of relief for those without a legal settlement in a district. Deterrence through the imposition of a strict workhouse or labour test was one means by which parishes could try to limit the numbers of their own settled poor or encourage those without a settlement to seek relief elsewhere. The implementation of the Poor Removal Act, although initially surrounded by confusion about whether the five year clause applied retrospectively and if it included Scottish and Irish paupers, was accompanied by reductions in removals and a consequent rise in the numbers eligible for poor relief. The effective cessation of removals focused attention on alternative ways of equalising the burden of poor relief.
