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It was very naughty of the editor thus to add irony to insult, but the injured little man soon forgot and forgave the offence; and, so far as I know, there was perfect friendliness between the two ever after. It only remains for me to say that Jerry was a man of thrift, and was therefore not a spendthrift. He managed to accumulate some property, and though he lived not always in single blessedness, he had enough and to spare, and when he had put off this mortal coil it was found that he had made several bequests to the public institutions of the borough.

At one period of his life Little Jerry went to sea in a collier, and it was a standing joke that though he went to sea he could not see the sea; that is, he could not look over the bulwarks when standing on deck. On one or two occasions, when his vessel was in the north, it became necessary to lock him up in the cabin to prevent his being carried off for exhibition in a travelling van.

More of the Poor Law Act of 1834

My musings on the early association of the Hastings Union-house having led me to intimate an intention of further gossiping on the Poor-law Act of 1834, I don’t know that I can do so better than by going into a little person history of a family - one only of several families - whose large and long enduring calls on the ratepayers of St. Mary Magdalen under the old system of administering parochial relief, will indubitably show, howsoever quaintly, the great necessity that existed for the change. I shall have to go a rather long way back, and shall therefore somewhat digress, as I have before done, from the limits of the St. Leonards History as the matter is new and the associations are not irrelevant, the disgression may not be altogether an infliction on my readers’ patience. “The family that I select to illustrate the comments that I may have to make on the ancient and modern systems of parochial relief is that name of Whyborn - not the farmers of that name already treated of, - but one that must have existed in the parish before the latter’s arrival from Westfield.

The Whyborn family. A family of paupers

In 1779 the parish gave a Mr. Wybon 5/- to “berry his gal,” after which there was no relief dispensed to any person of that name for eight years; but during the next seven years (1787-93) the overseers were called upon to pay “Old Wybon” 47/6 for “releaf,” £14 17s for “logeings,” 16/- for poor tax and “hiway tax,” 33/- for 11 weeks “board” with Mr. Rockett, 3/- for “moveing him from the Tobaker house to Hastings”, £3 9s 6d to Satterly for “dokters” bill, 14/- to Knight for a coffin, and 6/6 to Crouch for “berreal.” During the same period, various sums were paid for lodgings and relief, together with 3/- for a “Sitfic” (certificate) on behalf of the Whybon family; and that the name might be well remembered for the next forty years, a Thomas Wybon and his wife then commenced drawing upon the four or five occupiers of land who constituted the whole of the ratepayers, and were less in number than the recipients of relief. From 1794 to 1796 it appears that a Thomas Wibon and his wife were found in house-rent at a cost of £99 10s, but in the last-named year the husband was laid down with small-pox (probably from inoculation, as the practice was being revived at that time), a disease which caused his death. Besides the sums of relief that were given him, I find that 3/- was paid to Mr. Scrivens for a “botel” of wine, 11/8 to Ellen Briger for waiting upon Wibon, 5/6 to Cossum for a shroud, 6/- for laying him “fourth”, 10/- got “berreing” him, 1/- for Affedavid (certificate), and 2/1 for beer at the “berreal.” From this date there seems to have been a new point of departure, in which the principal actors were a John Wybon and the widow Wybon, and her children. I may have some doubt as to whether the name is orthographically correct, but I give it as I find it. The relief given to John from 1791 to 1829 amounted to £84 15s; but this included £2 12s 6d rent, £1 spent in the purchase of clothes for his wife, £6 for nursing her in illness, and £2 8s 6d for her funeral, which took place in 1814. It will be seen that John continued to receive parish relief for some fifteen years after the death of his wife; and it is conjectured that in one form or another it was extended to him even after the parish of St. Mary Magdalen became incorporated with the township of St. Leonards. But of this there are no records to show; and although I knew the man perfectly well as clean-looking quiet, yet sometimes facetious, “Old Jan,” I cannot tell to what age he lived. Reverting to the case of Mrs. Wybon who died of small-pox, I find that she also received parish relief in various forms from the time of her husband’s death, in 1796, until after 1829, when, as in the case of “Old Jan,” owing to the parochial records being missing for several years, there is nothing to show when the relief really ceased.I find, however, that in 32 years there was contributed towards the maintenance of "Dame Wybon" no less a sum than £337 15s; and this was exclusive of the sums paid to her husband before his death, and to those paid out for her children. It was also irrespective of the amounts paid to the Hastings tradesmen and surgeons, whose bills for boots, drapery, medicine, &c., were discharged in lump sums, and contained items of goods supplied to the poor of the parish generally. It was stated in the newspaper a few years ago that widow Fitzgerald, who died in the Union-house, had cost the ratepayers £400. This calculation was based upon the assumption that she had been an inmate of the Union-house for 44 years. But this, as I undertook to show, was an error, the period being less than was stated by 20 years. Compare widow Wybon's case with that of widow Fitzgerald, and it will be found that the duration and amount of relief afforded to the former were nearly twice the length and amount of those which apply to the latter. Consider, too, that instead of such relief being contributed by hundreds of ratepayers, as in Fitzgerald's case, the maintenance of "Dame Wybon" had to be borne by only half-a-dozen persons. And let me say that hers was n ot the most expensive charity with which the ratepayers of St. Mary Magdalen had to deal in pre-Union days. Strange to say, in those times when the laws of health were but little understood and sanitation was hardly thought of, the inhabitants - and especially the poor inhabitants - would occasionally persist in lengthening out their days to a very full period of longevity at other people's expense. I could mention the names of one or two families towards whose maintenance the small army of ratepayers contributed even more largely than they did to the "Wybon" family; but I am almost forgetting to convey to my reader the information that besides the relief in money - which varied from 8/- to 2/6 per week - Mrs. Wybon and her children were recipients of other commodities than even those already mentioned as raiment and medicine. I find, for instance, such items as these:- paid Dame Wybon for washing cloase (clothes) 16s; paid for her "logeing" washing and mending for a parish boy 2s a week; paid Burchett a bill for Dame wybon £1 9s 9d; one hundred faggots to Dame Wybon £1 4s 0d; one chaldern coals £1 16s; etc. These additional charities, as well as the larger weekly payments were in the earlier part of her widowhood when she had the care of her children: but provision had to be made even for the children as soon as they were able to leave home. Hence, I find that in 1801 (about five years after his father's death) the boy Thomas was placed out at service, and 2s per week paid towards his maintenance. In about three years these payments amounted to £12 4s. The boy then appears to have gone home again for a couple of years, after which he was again put to work for another three years - 1806-8 - and one shilling a week paid towards his keep. This latter term cost the parish £8 11s 0d exclusive of sundry small amounts paid for clothes, and some three or four pounds to Dame Fowler for his washing and mending. After this, it would appear that Tom was able to get his living without parochial assistance, as his name never appeared again in the overseers' account. But the Boy Arthur had grown up sufficiently take his brother's place in that particular, and hence I find that in 1808 there was an entry of £10 8s for two years' keep of the latter boy, and a second entry of £2 2s 3d to "Dame Dabner" for washing and making "cloase" for Arthur Wybon. For the next eight or nine years, I suppose Arthur was striving to become a man without parochial assistance; but he did not quite achieve his object; for, although no further sums were dispensed for his food, there were some rather considerable items against him for his raiment and find linen. Two "shurts" I see cost 13s 1 1/2d,and a pair of "britches" cost 18s. Perhaps these were his Sunday shirts and breeches. Then there was a shoe bill of £4 10s 10d paid to Mr. Burchatt (afterwards Burchatt and Wingfield) of Hastings, who used to make shoes for St. Leonardensis in his young days, and (like shoe-maker Wrenn, of Battle) made it a practice to visit his clients on Sunday mornings, ere they had spent their Saturday's wages, and whilst some of his less industrious neighbours ensconced within their high-built pews at church, refreshed themselves with sleep, even under the eloquence of a Webster Whistler and the stentorian responses of a James Cox. Among the other tradesmen who helped to supply Arthur's wants, were Mr. Robinson, the hatter; "Old George English," - father of the "Old George" - who used to nail and pelt his boots; and Mr. Cossum, a draper, whose establishment was the house in High Street now occupied by Mr. Ashenden.

The name of Cossum, reminds me that Miss Winifred Cossum, an old Hastings benefactress, died on the 22nd of December, 1833. Her remains were interred at Fairlight; and, as a great friend to the poor, by whom she was greatly loved, her name deserves to be held in remembrance. Her residence was on the High pavement at the upper-part of High street, and the pathway in the rear which leads from the Croft to Torfield, used to be familiarly known by the two appellations of Love Lane, and Winny Cossum's Walk. The mention of George English, too, reminds me that he was one, who with Jesse Chapman and "Shop-Tom" Waters some fifty years ago, formed a party of hand-bell ringers, and, in the absence of church-bells at Hollington, rang out merry peals when marriages were solemnised - as they frequently were - at the Church-in-the-Wood. He was also the intermediate of three generations of George Englishes, the first of which three "jolly smiths," was one to whom was given the contract to furnish grates, coppers &c., at the Poorhouse in George Street, build in 1754 for three parishes.
Now I will hie me back to my subject, and thus forestall the question "Why all this digression?" It will be remembered that I left Arthur Wybon to grow into manhood; and upon the supposition that he had so grown when the year 1816 arrived, I will endeavour to follow his connection with the parish from that date. The weather of that remarkable year was very similar to the weather which the first half of 1879 brought forth. The winter and spring were very cold and were followed by extraordinarily dull and rainy weather from May to September. Much of the hay crop was almost nil; but where it was possible to gather in the latter, it was at a period of five weeks beyond the average time. Wheat was sold at £20 per load, and very many people living in Hastings and its neighbourhood were thankful if they could get only a small portion of wheaten flour to mix with ground barley and oats for their bread and puddings. It was therefore a bad year in which to marry and begin house-keeping. Yet, I suppose, it was what Arthur Wybon did; for I find that in 1816 a half-year's rent was paid on his behalf to a Mr. Sinnock and that to the same proprietor was paid eight guineas in 1818. From that date until 1829 - when the record ceases - a yearly rent of £9 10s was regularly paid by the parish on Wybon's account. And this was not all; for, the poor-rates were also paid for him, the whole of the rent and rates amounting to £132 9s 3d. Putting the numerous items together, I find that the ratepayers of St. Mary Magdalen contributed to this one family only a relief sum of more than £650.

Old-time system of relief

After the above ascertained fact, one ceases to wonder that under the old system of administering relief, the poor-rates ranged from five to twelve shillings in the pound, or that under such a condition of hardship to the ratepayers, the latter sought their own relief by an appeal to the Government for an alteration of the law.

Under the old system of administering parochial relief it was felt that the paying of rent and taxes for poor people so as to allow them to have free homesteads at the expense of other people - some of them even -