Originally published in 1929, this volume discusses the early effects of the industrial revolution - the condition of the cotton spinners, the hardships for labouring children, the overcrowded prisons and other brutal punishments. At this time the principal branch of local government was the Poor Law and this book discusses how, in the monumental task of providing workhouses for the destitute, the England of the eighteenth century had completely failed. As well as social history, the book also covers military and political history.