Pandaemonium 1660–1886: The Coming of the Machine as Seen by Contemporary Observers

by Humphrey Jennings

But the sudden dissolution of a system which had grown up gradually in the preceding fifty years and had become an accredited part of the parochial arrangement, was impossible. The children could not be sent back to ill-constructed workhouses, often in unhealthy parts of London. Nor was there any other place ready to receive them. Some ameliorations could be effected. The number of children in certain establishments could be limited. The dietary could be improved. Means of cheerful recreation could be devised. The instruction in industry could be modified. But every change cost money. The contractors had friends on the board who could make a formidable resistance to improvements, however obvious, which involved a new and more costly contract. Consequently the ameliorations were imperfect. Even that which seemed imperative for the health of the children was obtained only with difficulty.