The articles bound together in this book all address the issue of poor relief and its reform. The Tracts on PauperismTracts on Pauperism were published as a reprint of articles originally published in the Edinburgh ReviewEdinburgh Review in 1817 and 1818. The two remaining pamphlets relate to the debate about the future of poor relief in Scotland. Chalmers' publication On the Sufficiency of a Parochial SystemOn the Sufficiency of a Parochial System reasserts his belief in a voluntary system of dealing with pauperism, which he had championed in theory and in practice for so long. Alison considered Chalmers' belief in responsible communities to be utopian and pushed for a system of assessment-based relief.
Thomas Chalmers, was a Scottish minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Church of Scotland and of the Free Church of Scotland. He has been called "Scotland's greatest nineteenth-century churchman".
... Show more