Inanotherpartoftheyardwasaricketylittlewoodenhouse，andwhenweopenedthedoorofit，wefounditfilledwithmenwhowerehuddledtogethershouldertoshoulderforthewarmthofoneanother’sbodiesandbreath。Theywerepickingoakumanddisputingthewhileastowhichcouldworkthelongestonagivenquantityoffood？forendurancewasthepointofhonour。Seventhousand……inthisoneworkhouse……wererecipientsofrelief……manyhundredsofthem……itappeared，were，sixoreightmonthsago，earningthehighestwagespaidtoartisans……Theirnumberwouldbemorethandoubledbythecountofthosewho，havingexhaustedalltheirsavings，stillrefusetoapplytotheparish，becausetheyhavealittlelefttopawn。Leavingtheworkhouse，Itookawalkthroughthestreets，mostlyoflittleone—storeyhouses，thataboundintheneighbourhoodofPoplar。MyguidewasamemberoftheCommitteeoftheUnemployed……
Myfirstcallwasonanironworkerwhohadbeensevenandtwentyweeksoutofemployment。Ifoundthemanwithhisfamilysittinginalittlebackroom。Theroomwasnotbareoffurniture，andtherewasafireinit。Thiswasnecessarytokeepthenakedfeetoftheyoungchildrenfromgettingfrostbitten，foritwasabitterlycoldday。Onatrayinfrontofthefirelayaquantityofoakum，whichthewifeandchildrenwerepickinginreturnfortheirallowancefromtheparish。Themanworkedinthestoneyardoftheworkhouseforacertainrationoffood，andthreepenceperday。Hehadnowcomehometodinnerquitehungry，ashetolduswithamelancholysmile，andhisdinnerconsistedofacoupleofslicesofbreadanddripping，andacupofmilklesstea……Thenextdooratwhichweknockedwasopenedbyamiddle—agedwoman，who，withoutsayingaword，ledusintoalittlebackparlour，inwhichsatallherfamily，silentandfixedlystaringatarapidlydyingfire。Suchdesolation，suchhopelessnesswasaboutthesepeopleandtheirlittleroom，asIshouldnotcaretowitnessagain。’Nothinghavetheydone，sir，’saidthewoman，pointingtoherboys，’forsixandtwentyweeks;andallourmoneygone？allthetwentypoundsthatmeandfathersavedwhentimeswerebetter，thinkingitwouldyieldalittletokeepuswhenwegotpastwork。Lookatit，’shesaid，almostfiercely，bringingoutabank—bookwithallitswellkeptentriesofmoneypaidin，andmoneytakenout，sothatwecouldseehowthelittlefortunehadbegunwiththefirstfiveshillingdeposit，andhadgrownbylittleandlittletobetwentypounds，andhowithadmelteddownagaintillthesuminhandgotfrompoundstoshillings，andthelastentrymadethebookasworthlessasablanksheet。Thisfamilyreceivedrelieffromtheworkhouse，anditfurnishedthemwithjustonescantymealperday……Ournextvisitwastoanironlabourer’swife，whosehusbandhadworkedintheyards。
Wefoundherillfromwantoffood，lyingonamattressinherclothes，andjustcoveredwithastripofcarpet，forallthebeddinghadbeenpawned。
Twowretchedchildrenweretendingher，themselveslookingasmuchinneedofnursingastheirmother。Nineteenweeksofenforcedidlenesshadbroughtthemtothispass，andwhilethemothertoldthehistoryofthatbitterpast，shemoanedasifallherfaithinafuturethatshouldatoneforitweredead……Ongettingoutsideayoungfellowcamerunningafterus，andaskedustostepinsidehishouseandseeifanythingcouldbedoneforhim。Ayoungwife，twoprettychildren，aclusterofpawn—tickets，andabareroomwereallhehadtoshow。\"
Ontheafterpainsofthecrisisof1866，thefollowingextractfromaTorynewspaper。ItmustnotbeforgottenthattheEast—endofLondon，whichisheredealtwith，isnotonlytheseatoftheironshipbuildingmentionedabove，。butalsoofaso—called\"home—industry\"alwaysunderpaid。