Benefits

[Ocean1]

In 1860 there was a benevolent system that catered for those less fortunate, particularly the youth. This had nothing to do with modern manufacturing techniques but was part of the social structure.
This was in the earlier days of the city of Auckland, and included the princely sum of 200 pounds. Interestingly the churches were seen as the mechanism best suited to deal with the downtrodden and unfortunate, and not the government.

200 Pounds? Per person/PA? At a time when there was no such thing as income tax? Interesting, there must have been, oh a dozen beneficiaries or more, comparatively wealthy ones at that.

But you're right insomuch that there’s always been charity. It’s built into us. The benefits due a 17th century serf were limited to throwing himself “on the parish”, from which he could expect a set portion of the collection plate, and whatever he could gather from the Lord’s waste, (“the common”) by way of firewood and building materials for his hovel.

In NZ last century, (edit: the one before) a widower otherwise unsupported (my grandmother, for one) was entitled to consideration for support from the Mayoral relief fund. It amounted to a bag of coal and a sack of spuds a couple of times a year.

It was the charity these societies could afford. Damage our society beyond an ability to subsidise modern housing and health systems (by constitutional right) and that’ll again be what we can afford.

[Swoop]

200 Pounds? Per person/PA?

Not quite. That amount was from "officialdom" to be used to aid many individuals.