Mary Wilden's letter provides a passionate critique of the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, which allowed the government to cut relief for the poor. She highlights the horrific consequences of this law through the story of her own life and struggles. Samuel Roberts provides an introduction and notes contextualizing Wilden's story. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.