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B6 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, December 6, 1994 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" HISTORICAL Sketches of Scugog Sketches of Scugog is a historical column written by local resident and historian Paul Arculus and published in the Port Perry Star the first issue of each month. [J J [ J Peter Perry and Charles Dickens Once again, accolades are due to the merchants of Port Perry for their "Dickens of a Christmas." The downtown area is always interesting but the decorations and events of the Dickens theme make it even more appealing than ever. The associations that Port Perry has with Charles Dickens probably seem remote at best, however there are some facts which | will place Dickens \ closer to this com- \ \ munity, or more accu- rately to Peter Perry, than most realize. Charles Dickens was the most prolific literary genius of the 19th Century. In his nov- els, "Oliver Twist," "Pickwick Papers" and "A Christmas Carol," he brought to a focus the customs which we enjoy at Christmas. In so doing he rein- forced them and established them as part of the tradition of Christmas. The idea of giving gifts at a particular time of year probably has its beginnings in antiquity, but the idea of giving gifts at Christmas appears to have been intro- duced through Matthew's story in the New Testament, of the three wisemen bringing the symbolic gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the Christ Child 2000 years ago. It is clearly obvious that by the time Charles Dickens wrote his works, the traditions of giving gifts, dancing, and stuffing ourselves with turkey (or goose in Dickens' case) was firmly established among all who could afford it. Even poor Bob Cratchit and his wife had prepared the best meal possible before Ebenezer Scrooge presented them with the huge goose, Dickens reinforced these -- people \¢# by Paul Arculus = WW : =) traditions. In his novels, particularly in "Oliver Twist," Dickens depicted a period in history which was one of extremes. As we watch television today, we are con- fronted with images of abject poverty of children from Somalia, Ethiopia, Rowanda and Rio de Janero. These images of bloated bellies and emaciated faces stir our con- sciences particularly at this time of year. It should come as no sur- prise to realize that Dickens himself wit- nessed similar scenes. On the streets of London with which he was so familiar, Dickens witnessed depraved crime and that same soul-destroying poverty and the accompanying sense of hopeless- ness. When he describes the lives of hundreds of children robbing and stealing just in order to survive, he is merely giving an account of his time. As the Industrial Age gained momentum, London and other large cities became the gathering place for the poor. Children became the victims of pover- ty. Parents died of starvation, leaving their offspring to fend for themselves. Some abandoned their children simply because they could not afford to feed and clothe them. Other children ran away from abusive or otherwise selfish adults. Many joined the pitiful hoards of children who roamed the city and thus became the subjects of Dickens' pen 150 years ago. He himself had experienced many of their emotions. His father, John Dickens had been sent to prison for the simple crime of owing money. He was sent to the Debtors' Prison in Southwark. John's wife and the young- er children had to go live in the prison too. At the age of 11, Charles had gone to work in a factory and, since he had a job, he was sent to live with a friend of PART ONE OF TWO PARTS the family for the four months that his father was incarcerated. Thus he was spared the humiliation of having to live with his family in the jail. But Dickens had shared his family's degradation when he visited them. John Dickens' incarceration left per- manent emotional scars on the the young Charles. In his later novels he wrote clearly, emotionally and with heart-rending appeal of the prisons and prisoners and the appalling circum- stances which he had witnessed as an 11-year-old boy. In 1827, young Charles became a clerk-messenger for a law firm in Central London and the following year he became a Court and Parliamentary reporter for the "Morning Herald," a popular London daily newspaper. It was at this time, far away in Upper Canada that Peter Perry was beginning his political career. Charles Dickens had been born in 1812. Peter Perry was born 20 years earlier, but they both began their public careers at about the same time. Dickens roamed the streets of London and stirred the 4 consciences of his read- A ers. In 1825, Peter Perry in the town of York had entered the / Legislature intent on § bringing about dramatic changes in | the social and politi- fj cal life of his world. | Dickens writings depicted his period and became an influential part of the great humanitari- an movement which was sweeping through Britain during the 19th Century. It was a most dramatic period of social and political upheaval. As the industrial revolution NS created new wealth, it also gave opportunities for the unscrupulous to exploit those less fortunate than themselves. Fortunately this era was highlighted by a great humanitarian movement led largely by those motivated by Christian principles. In 1829 Robert Peel, a man idolized by Peter Perry, created the Metropolitan Police (the "Bobbies" or "Peelers") a 3,000 strong force instructed to prevent crime in London. Peel also had many of the savage laws of punish- ment abolished; the use of stocks and whipping posts and other forms of public humiliation. In 1833, William Wilberforce succeed- ed in pushing through legislation to abolish slavery in all British posses- sions. The Factory Act forbidding factory owners to have children under the age of 13 work for more than nine hours a day, was passed the same year. Shortly after that, the Mines Act for- bidding children and women from work- ing in the mines was passed, and then the Ten Hours Act making it illegal for any employer to have anyone work for more than 10 hours per day. This became law in 1847. It was also the age of dramatic politi- cal reform beginning with the Great Reform Bill of 1832. It was alse the beginning of the era of the Christmas card, for England was the first country to introduce post- age stamps with the pen- ny post in 1839 and that immediately gave rise to the Christmas card. \ In York, which became Toronto in E\ 1834, Peter Perry immersed himself | in the job of lead- | ing the Reform '| movement in Upper Canada. He had won his seat in the 1824 'election and took his seat in January 1825. He imme- diately sprang into action to fulfill his campaign promises. He is recorded as speaking to the Assembly almost every day. In fact there were many weeks, even months, in which he did speak on some issue literally every single day. It should be noted that the legislature was no different from any other business in those days in that it conducted its affairs six days a week including Christmas Day! 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