ABSTRACT
In London at the start of the nineteenth century the problem of casual pauperism and begging came to dominate debates about poor relief. Although some individuals, such as the magistrate Sir Nathanial Conant, cast doubt on whether or not the number of beggars was rising, the general view was that the problem appeared to be growing. Counting the cost of poor relief and the number of paupers was and to some extent still is an inexact science. Systematic evidence of pauper numbers and poor law expenditure was rare and it proved difficult for contemporaries to draw firm conclusions about trends in pauperism. Regional differences in the rates of pauperism were mirrored by patterns of expenditure. Although variations in relief existed depending on the policies of individual parishes, local studies have shown that the value of poor law pensions in northern and some midland parishes was about half that of those in the south and east.
