Ireland In Official Print Culture, 1800-1850: A New Reading Of The Poor Inquiry University Press Scholarship Online

The decades after 1800 saw a fundamental redefinition of the role of the state in Ireland. Many of the most pervasive and enduring forms of official intervention and regulation date from this period, such as a permanent centralised police force, a system of elementary education, a network of small courts, and a national system of poor relief. Many of these were preceded by large-scale official investigations whose results were published as parliamentary reports, another novel aspect of state activity. Ireland in Official Print Culture, 1800-1850, analyses the construction and dissemination of an official image of Irish society in those reports. It takes as its principal example a state inquiry into poverty: the largest social survey of Ireland: lasting from 1833 to 1836, running to thousands of pages, and offering a unique insight into pre-famine society and official perceptions of it. This volume also illuminates two other contemporary aspects of the development of the state. The 1820s saw the beginning in Ireland of a comprehensive engagement with the parliamentary process by the population at large, with the appearance of the first mass electoral organisation in Europe, the Catholic Association. Finally, the Union of 1801 meant that Irish legislation was now discussed and enacted in Britain rather than in Ireland, and by a parliament and public newly informed by official reports on Ireland. This was therefore a crucial period in the construction of the public understanding of Ireland in both Britain and Ireland, a process in which the state and its publications played a fundamental role. Cover 1 Copyright 5 Acknowledgements 6 Contents 8 PART I INVESTIGATION 10 1 State Investigation, State Publication, and Ireland 12 The Influence of Official Information 14 The State and the Public Sphere 16 The State as a Commercial Publisher 19 ‘The Diffusion of Knowledge’ 20 Official Representations of Ireland 23 State Investigations and Travel Literature 24 Parliamentary Scrutiny of Ireland 29 The Nature of Parliamentary Scrutiny 32 2 The Poor Inquiry in Action: Questionnaires 35 Two Modes of Official Knowledge 35 Scope of the Poor Inquiry 37 Questionnaires and Respondents 39 Respondents to the Questionnaires: Local Elites in Early Nineteenth-Century Ireland 42 Local Elites and their Opinions 48 The Influence of Malthus 54 Politicized statistics 57 3 The Poor Inquiry in Action: Oral Evidence 60 The Originality of the Oral Evidence 61 Division and Consensus 66 Listening like a State 74 The Dynamics of Oral Hearings 76 PART II POPULAR BELIEF AND THE POOR INQUIRY 80 4 ‘Lonesome without them’: Charity and Reciprocity in the Poor Inquiry 82 Methodology and Procedures 83 Context of Testimony 85 Charity and Reciprocity 88 Charity versus Taxation 91 Prayers and Curses 94 Elite Magic 96 Begging and the Irish 97 5 Beggars and Boccoughs 100 Literary Beggars 101 The Undeserving Poor 104 Boccoughs in Early Folklore 106 Boccoughs in the Irish Language 110 The Disappearing Beggar 113 6 The Catholic Church, the State, and Poor Relief 117 Catholic Clergy as Parliamentary Witnesses 120 The Catholic Clergy as an Information Network 121 The Church’s own Information 124 Interdenominational Tension 126 Clerical Attitudes to Almsgiving 127 Alms and the ‘Big Beggarman’ 130 A State within a State 133 PART III DISSEMINATION 136 7 Circulation and Reception 138 The Printed Reports 140 Wider Circulation: Digests, Newspapers, Almanacs 143 Limits to Circulation 150 The Poor Inquiry: Production and Publication 153 The Poor Inquiry in Parliamentary Debate and State Policy 157 The Poor Inquiry Evidence in Public Discourse 160 Echoes of the Poor Inquiry 164 The Poor Inquiry in Historiography 166 Parliamentary Reports in the Historiography of Ireland 168 Conclusion The Poor Inquiry, State Reports, and Ireland 171 Irish Speech 174 Ireland as ‘Indescribable’ 177 State Reports and Ireland 179 Bibliography 184 Index 198 The decades after 1800 saw a fundamental redefinition of the role of the state in Ireland. Many of the most pervasive and enduring forms of official intervention and regulation date from this period, such as a permanent centralized police force, a system of elementary education, a network of small courts, and a national system of poor relief. Many of these were preceded by large-scale official investigations whose results were published as parliamentary reports, another novel aspect of state activity, Ireland in Official Print Culture, 1800-1850 analyses the construction and dissemination of an official image of Irish society in those reports. It takes as its principal example a state inquiry into poverty: the largest social survey of 19th-century Ireland, lasting from 1833 to 1836, running to thousands of pages, and offering a unique insight into pre-famine society and official perceptions of it. This volume also illuminates two other contemporary aspects of the development of the state. The 1820s saw the beginning in Ireland of a comprehensive engagement with the parliamentary process by the population at large, with the appearance of the first mass electoral organisation in Europe, the Catholic Association. Finally, the Union of 1801 meant that Irish legislation was now discussed and enacted in Britain rather than in Ireland, and by a parliament and public newly informed by official reports on Ireland. This was therefore a crucial period in the construction of the public understanding of Ireland in both Britain and Ireland, a process in which the stare and its publications played a fundamental role. Book jacket The decades after 1800 saw a fundamental redefinition of the role of the state in Ireland. Many of the most pervasive and enduring forms of official intervention and regulation date from this period, such as a permanent centralised police force, a system of elementary education, a network of small courts, and a national system of poor relief. Many of these were preceded by large-scale official investigations whose results were published as parliamentary reports, another novel aspect of state activity. The book analyses the construction and dissemination of an official image of Irish society in those reports. It takes as its principal example a state inquiry into poverty: the largest social survey of Ireland: lasting from 1833 to 1836, running to thousands of pages, and offering a unique insight into pre-famine society and official perceptions of it. This volume also illuminates two other contemporary aspects of the development of the state. The 1820s saw the beginning in Ireland of a comprehensive engagement with the parliamentary process by the population at large, with the appearance of the first mass electoral organisation in Europe, the Catholic Association. Finally, the Union of 1801 meant that Irish legislation was now discussed and enacted in Britain rather than in Ireland, and by a parliament and public newly informed by official reports on Ireland. This was therefore a crucial period in the construction of the public understanding of Ireland in both Britain and Ireland, a process in which the state and its publications played a fundamental role. The Decades After 1800 Saw A Fundamental Redefinition Of The Role Of The State In Ireland. Many Of The Most Pervasive And Enduring Forms Of Official Intervention And Regulation Date From This Period, Such As A Permanent Centralised Police Force, A System Of Elementary Education, A Network Of Small Courts, And A National System Of Poor Relief. Many Of These Were Preceded By Large-scale Official Investigations Whose Results Were Published As Parliamentary Reports, Another Novel Aspect Of State Activity.talking About Beggars Analyses The Construction And Dissemination Of An Official Image Of Irish Society In Those Reports.--publishers Website State Investigation, State Publication, And Ireland -- The Poor Inquiry In Action: Questionnaires -- The Poor Inquiry In Action: Oral Evidence -- 'lonesome Without Them': Charity And Reciprocity In The Poor Inquiry -- Beggars And Boccoughs -- The Catholic Church, The State, And Poor Relief -- Circulation And Reception. Niall Ó Ciosáin. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [175]-187) And Index. "The decades after 1800 saw a fundamental redefinition of the role of the state in Ireland. Many of the most pervasive and enduring forms of official intervention and regulation date from this period, such as a permanent centralised police force, a system of elementary education, a network of small courts, and a national system of poor relief. Many of these were preceded by large-scale official investigations whose results were published as parliamentary reports, another novel aspect of state activity. Talking About Beggars analyses the construction and dissemination of an official image of Irish society in those reports."--Publishers website This volume analyses the construction and dissemination of the image conveyed of Irish society in the early 19th century