On this page
- Departments (1)
-
Text (4)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
HEmpm'al ^arltamrnt
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
HOUSE OF LORDS—Fbjdat , Feb . 10 . A question from the Marquis of Cianricarde brought on a convejxatuin , in -wiich tb * Date of Wellington explained that the motion of which be had given Df-tice had no reference to political matters , and -would involve no discussion , except as to the merits and ser-Ticeg of the military force employed in the recent events . Every paper should be prth-ncsd , from the breaking oat of the insurrection to the latest proceedings of tie army of Afghanistan . Mosdat , Fkb , 13 . The Ihike of Wellington , in pressing the papers respetfinf ; our military opera ? ions in AnghanistaB , postponed his motion for thanks to the troops employed there rrom Tnnrsday tatii Monday next .
The Noble Dake also , in reply to Lord MosrEAGLS stated , that it was not the intention of Government to introduce any mea ^ nre ior the alteration of ] he Hank charier , 01 on the subject of banking , daring the presanfc sesdon . A continuation of the act bj which the operation of the usury laws vr&a relaxed as $ o bills of three months' ca ^ e was , however , contemplated . Lord Camp 3 eix then , according to notice , moved that aselec ; cumsutteehe appointed ? o consider the law of defamation aad libel . He explained the extreme deficiency of the present law . iis exemption
from improTe-neni , while boih the commercial and ths criminal code had been rendered more nni-ple and hnniase , aiid the anamoly it presented as to ifae pmnshm ^ -jn , adjudged to wriit ^ u is com parison wilt spoken li !> cis . He proposed the appr hnrrjent of a commiitee cnlj in Gifnd-nee of his own opinions , bet TFa ? convinced iha : private character would be best protected , the liberty of the press secured , and its lipeunons 3 iiS 3 retrained , by rendering the law mere humi ^ e , more certiJi , and more in accordance wiih prevailing oi'ition . Lord Ba ^ csHiM seconded ihe motion .
The Lord Chascellcb also regretted that the rearms and araen-inieB ; . intended io be effected had e « i been embodied in 2 . ^ prcific nrssure bni nekher hi nor Lord De > tia . > opposed ths appointment of a committee , and the motion was accordingly a ^ rci-d to . The Attornies aud S .-licitors' Bill was then read a second lime : and the K&use adjourned .
Untitled Article
HOUSE OF COMMONS , Fhidat , Feb . W . Sir . SLiKNBES SlTTTON moved for leave to introduce a bDl amending the Jaw which relates lo turnpike-trusts sadmoitgsi ^ s -thereon . After some conversation , in Vhieh Mi E-ifiA , Mi . Mackinnon , and iix . Fox Maale i look part , themofcon w _ s granted . * j ilr . Liddsll 4 esired leave to bring in a bill foT the ; purpose of preventing personation of Totes at elections . : Some mal-practie = £ , he said , h = d been removed by the Reform Bill ; but Users wera other evils -which that i bii ) hsd increased ; among TFhich were hri ?» ery aad the offence be now sought to prevent . In particular , at the i Elections in 1 S 1 L for tbecount . v of Dr ? by , and Ior the ! town of Belfast , personation bad be-. * n committed to a ! grt&t extent , and had b = en proved in due coarse of law . j 3 $ y the 5 Slh section of the Kt-iorm Act , it is sufficient that the person cisiiuimj to voter make answer to the
qBPsrk > iath £ repifc ! vcr > bsd , wbicii questions if he answer i in the affirmative , his vote must be reHstered . He j pr- > posed , that if a certain numoa of the bystanders i offer to make oath that the Tote is not the per .: son he assumes to be . the retumingM-Jficer shall i love power—iiot to refuse the voter But—after recording it , to sfra the voter forthwith into the custody of an & * t « 3 dar . t policeman , to be taken before two magistrates , am ! bcund over to take his trial at the next sssizes . To protect the oosu Jide voter , the magistrates shoDid have power of imposing a fine in- stanisr on any cat fsiEely imputing personation . He "Wished hs could s-cura tbs punishment likewise of the tempters procuring these personations ; but for this brascit of the mischief be conid not perceive any adeqtmt » remsdy . This -was no party propssal , an 3 he should gladiy receive su ^ eestiens from any quarter .. ¦
Mr . BOSS , the il ^ mhtv for Belfast , vindicated his own committee from any connexion with tlie alleged personation at the election for that plsce . After a word or t-sro of approval from Mr * BB 0 THKRtox , leave was grrtn to intrcdnce the bill ; and the Eocse adjourned . MoSDAT , FZBBFXET 13 . The Honse w .-nt into Committee on the" r abj ^ ct of the forged Exchtqor-r-bills , and Mr . Gotjlbcen rose to annonnce ths Tiesra of Government ie » pecpng fijeia . Ee i-aic , thai the objections which he had originally enteriaiced a ^ ajnst compensation had been materially diminished by ths report , of the Gommisaonrrs tppoinied last y ? ar to mvestigaie the case . They " had divided the bi l-holder 3 into
four clasps : tts iirsi comprisiug the great bulk of ' the claimants , who had become possessors of 4 he bills in tha CDnnaoa eour ? e of business , and witboni I blam » . The amoant el&imed by these " was £ 187 , 0001 and this amount it seemed fitting tha-t the public should make gooo . Tie second and third classes [ had become holders nuder circnms : arice 3 ef less ' ] cauuaTL , bat net cirfeji 32 = tar-ces nnd ^ r which the GoT * rnEjeBi wos ' d tbiak it rigbt to wiihoid the ; c-3 n }? en 3 sdon . Wuh re :--pt ? cl to the fourth class the , ea « e itas ' diffgrcu- : Ripa ^ lo and Sobiri , nnaided , cc « ld-a ? TerliaTe ; 5 " -cted rhdrfeads apon this great sc 3 ; fc . They had placed bills to the amount of many htiiidrf ds of tfccu > sr > d 5 of p-ounds in the haods of TAoTg&Ti i aad as much zaora in the hands of Mariner . Theam- > nm iisel : was a circumstance of ?
ufpicien : = toil mcr- £ Bspiciou 5 was it that they would Dot permit thesa ' e o ? " any one of tho = e blls . The general Tesnli would be , that of the £ 377 , 000 found in circulation , tre public might properly be called on to make good an amcuist oi £ 25 " 2 . 000 . He had , of ct-BT ^ e . been xmnTllia ^ 'o throtv such a bnrden on the couEfry ; hut be diu Jeei , though this was not a case where any strict irgal right exieted , that it wa * one ic which the ciicnm ^ iauces were peculiar , the person "who cemmitted tt- ? f'jri : ery taring be < -n then high in a GoveriimeEt tf 5 _ e , and intrasttd by Government itself-with the pupr-T . xhe seal , and all the other materials and facilities which had enabled him to effect the decepticn ,
Mr . " Wxixl&sl ; co-rspkined that the Commis ? icii ( -r 3 had Ta . Vf . Ti the er ; . e 2 M in an imperfect aad unsatisfaeicry way ; aii-i Le ihought tha . t want of due caution was imputajj . e somore oi ihe parties than the one class wfi « -ai the- GuTernment now proposed to exclnde irom the eorapeusatioa . Colonel SiBTHOwP ihcngnt the los = ? ought to fall upon Lord Monxeaglk . and recoramended an address to thfc CrowB for TemsTing him from his situation . iir- HcHji wish ^ d u > know whether Goven > ment had not obtained scn ? o iniormation from Rapailo w ' aiea had nui b en oomninniested , but which pointed at other par ies as having shared with Beaumont Smith , or ciutriba ' td Jo ihe loss by their connivance or nfcfcl gri , ce ? of
Mr . KdxBrcK mo ^ red whether £ reat part the loss had not bttn menrred during a s-ix mouths ' absence of the CottrolloT ; asd referred to ths word 3 of the Act of Pariismenl regulating his dnties , which authorises only such abst-nce as 13 occasions- ! and ntcescary . 31 x . Jajtes b ? £ x . 'sd to kcow if precauiiens had been taken to preJ-mt Juture losses ? _ i > li . GouLBTras di-l noi ksow at what points of time the losses had tak «] place , nor what had bten the periods of ihe Controller ' s absence . An Act of Par ^ aaent had poised 10 ^ sard against such losseo in future . Sir J . Duke ? r . _ £ ~? ted , that official persons , like Brauraoni Smith , ought not to be Permitted by Government to co ^ ueei ibemseives iviih cny transactioi , 3 at all .
Mr . F . 3 aB . ixg risdirated Lord iioE ' . eagle from the impQtaUou cf j . r ^ lisent absence . He approved the prudple on w ... j % lr . Gonlbum had acted , and tip hz : ~ h& had < iri-rn tetween those who were and those Wiio were v *>\ ro re serve c-ajpensanon . Cclcir ?! SiBTHni . p insi-red upon the great amount of the bills siguea auris ^ the ab ? ei , ce of Lord > 1 ost-1 H . GLE . Afitia few wofs fr- m Mr . Taniar , Mr . Escorr expressed Ms tv ^ t--i ibat saeb a Toie of pubDc money etould beaskto , v , ' -ile n siiJl was left a matter ot obscurity wht : brr - < - ab = « Dc& of a high public oSicer , Curing which tne losses haa taken place , vas a culpable one or not .
_ Sr T . "Wiide ? n aed , that there was no r . ne particular period u > - - - } - . en ibc mischief was referable ; the forgEiies hau 1-j . iien place from time to time , Whenever the ex' ^ ---ie » of the conspirators required as-upply . He MMv « d ins compensation ; the pnbiic could no : ha ^ pr ^ i-ecicd themselves by ' acj TigilsEce Ti ^ e ¦ ¦« .-s . was -l 0 tTeat t v . ^ ^ ^ would only k ^ re had 10 show his ow . ride afw tC ^ -nr ^ S . ? 1 * 06 > io t 3 le Excheqner had drawn ^ W ^ ' ° W > u > hzve an opportuuuv . Arded t orfSST " ^ lh £ 1 T *«» JM « - » « ^ capaam ^ iA ^ ° ^^ - ^ totho ^ e Medici L ^ ariiies Bffl was read a second THE DISTRESS OF THE COUNTRY WiCK of
v ^ ? S Jnowd t " ° mtch » « P «* ch of ier Wyesty at tbe opening of the present session of filament asreftrrtdto tbe depression of the manufacturing industry of the couairy , shouli be read by the clerk at the tables ' The following p ^ ragrapha were then read : ' " 34 yLorda and Genflemen : —Her Majesty regrets to dixnJniihBd receipt from aoae or the ordinsry Bourcsa of revenue . " Her Majesty fears that it mast be in part attributed to ttie redaoed eoneumpfion of many articles , caused by that depression of the manufacturing , indostry of « heeonnta 7 -which has mo long prevailed , and which her Majesty has so deeply lamented . " LordJJowice again n » e and said : Mr . Speaker , I rise fox tbe purpose of calling the attention of tbe Ht * se to that passage of Imt Majesiy * * speech which ta « just been read , and io move that the HeUbe do sow
Untitled Article
: esolve itself into a commHtee of the whole house to take that passage of the Ryyal Speech into consideration . My object in making this motion is , to call upon the honse to prononnce a decided opinion , whether the distress under which the country now nnhappily labours it not of such a character as to impose upon Parliament theaSnty * f some immediate interference upon the snbject—( hear , hear ) His " Lordship , after stating that be believed he was taking the regular and parliamentary mode of brnging the suVject forward , and disclaiming fill hostility to the govemmfcnt . yroceeded as follows : —I am aware that the more difficult part of tbe task I have undertaken will be to make out the second part of my case , namely , that the causes of the distress are not altogether beyond the reach of
legislative interference . Indeed , as to the first part of my case—the « n = » tence of distress—this is so severe acd general , almost beyond all former example , that I may content myself with resting the matfc-r simply upon its notoriety , and upon the admission of the facts which her Majesty was advised to make In that part of the speech wbich has just been rcad at the table . I shall , therefore , pass over this part of my subject as bru-ily as possible ; and will merely state to ycu—1 hops at no great length—what is at this moment tbe actual condition of the country . Let me , then , remind yon that time is now to be reckoned not by months but by years —( hear , hear>—during which tbe manufacturing and commercial interests of the country ( to use her Majesty ' s own wordsl have been in a state
of great depression— : ( hear , hear ) That distress which , in the first instance , aflvcted oi , ly one great branch of our national industry , has lately—as must always , in my opinion , be the case—( hear , bear )—extended to all the other great interests of tbe * tate . I bel'tve Hon . G * stlemen opposite will not contest tbe truth of what J am now stating , that the pn-wnt condition of the agricultural interest is odb cf great depression and distress—{ htar , hear ) . It is suff-r * : ig from a depression of prices , arising from a diminished consumption of some of the most important articles of our nianfacturing produce . —( Hear , hear , hear . ) The ccnsMjntaice is , that the farmers are evtrywbere exposed to great difficulties , and in many parts of tbe country those difficulties extend from th < m to the ai-ricuitural
labourers , tie reduction of whose -wages , in various parts of the country , we must all have seen announced in the newgpapt-ra . And even where wages have not been rednced , I believe there has bt * n almost an universal scarcity of employmrnt , and which bus been too often seriously aggravated by the return to the rural districts of numbers of men , who for many years have obtained ample employment from the great seats of our manufacturing industry—( h&ai , bear . ) The mining anil shipping interests of the couatrv have more than participated in tbe general pressure—( hear , hear ) They fe « l more > ti » n their share of the general distress ; while the Tetail tradesmen and shopkeepers in the metropolis , and the towns throughout the kingdom , are in a similar condition—( hear , hear ) They are al » nce
exposed to the difficulties arising from an increasing wpight of poors * rate , and a diminution of consumption . In the course of last summer , it becatuu a matter of no inconsiderable difficulty in many towns to collect the poor-rates , owing to the frightful diminution of business , a diminution wbich naturally follows from the reduced earnings of the working classes , and also from the reduced income * of prisons in the higher and among the more wealthy classes- Because a large proportion of the more wealthy classes eithtr directly or indirectly derive their incomes from the prosperity of the national industry , they , also , are now b-ginningand I am afraid they are only beginning—to feel the effect of the present state of thine 8 . And even those whose incomes have not been at once anVcted byftbe
! j i i 1 ' : general distress have been exposed , in common with others , to that reduction of their property by i the new and direct demand made upon them ' to meet the exigency of the publio aervice . Th « consequence of all which has been , that , whither in tbe , lower or the higher ranks there is hardly an individual ; who has not been compelled to TttrencQ some natural expense , and give up some luxury to which he has been ; accustomed . This is necessarily felt by the tradesmen , , tae artisa s , and the shopkeepers by whom the consumption is supplied—( bear . hsar ) . Such , I believe , . to be a most unex -ggerated statement of the actual con' difion of tks country—( hear , hear ) . I do not wish to I go into details ; 1 shall therefore avoid them as far as practicable . I will sot state any local circumstances .
rscept in a few instances . I think I ousht so make good the geseral description I have given of tbe condition of the country , by referring very shortly to what I I have ascertaintd to be tbe present condition of tbe ' important town I have tbe honour of representing , and 1 the county with wbich 1 am eluaely connected . Since I gave notice of this motion , a great deal of informs' tion has been sent to me from various quarters . Accounts of distress fron one end cf tb « kingdom to the other , of the meat appalling character , feavebeen receivud by me ; but 1 think it better to leave it to other gentlemen to state the local circnmgtancea of the towns they rf-presert , and confine myself strictly to the large town I represent , and tbe county with which 1 am most closely connected . With respect , then , to the state of
tbe town of Sunderland , I have obtained information which I believe to be perfectly trustworthy . I need not tell Henourible Members that the town of Sunderland ia siaioly dependent upon those two grea » branches of out national inilostry—the coal trade and ahipping . The . bjaildixig aid navigation of ships , and the carriage of co ^ la have been the chief support of that tow ; n . In , the flrat piace , with respect to the coal trade , the statement I have received is , that tbe coal trade i » in a deplorable statf . When the present engagements ( which are for a year ) expire there must be a reduction both of the number of pitmen employed and of their wages . The pitmen , and all urdergTurmd workmen engaged in raising coalg , Bre generally hired by the year , which engagements will
terminate on the 5 th of April ; and unless some great cbanjje take place on the 5 th of April , there will be » considerable reduction bo % h in the number of men employed and in the amount of wages paid . Honourable gentlemen may not be aware , perhaps , that tbe eotiimon agreement at tbe collieries in the north of England Is , that eaeb rcstn shall have a certain number cf days' employment in a fortDiBbt . Now , tbe proprietors have already reduced their men to the minimum number of days which tbe agreement allows . Then , with respect to the work men employed above ground—vh © carpenters , blacksmiths , and all other persons employed about tbe collieries , all those were redueed from Saturday , the 4 th of tbe present month , > &th in the rate of wages paid , a&d tbe cumber of days of employment , they being now
employed ten days in a fortnight , instead of tbe full number of days . This , of course , made a serious reduction in the money received by these persons . There was no alternative . The proprietors could not possibly continue to them tbe same extent of work . They had the option either to turn off tbe onc-S'Xtb of their hands , or to make the reduction 1 have stated . It was considered mo 3 t to the interest of tbe persons employed that the reduction should be made . This info . motion I have derived from one veiy large establishment ; but my iniormunt tells me that the same thing has talen place in several other large establishments in the county of Durham , which ship their coals from the Wear , and that hu has reason to believe that it will ba very general throughout the coal districts . I now conic to another great branch of trade carried on at Sunderland . 1 am told that in 1840
ship carpenters received from thirty shillings to thirtytiuee shillings a-week . Those now employed r ective only from eighteen to twenty-one shillings a-week , and &eT&ral have left the town for royal or other ship-building establishments , Many have gone to sea , at sailors ' wages , whereas three years ago they could with difficulty be procured at twenty shillings a month infra than a common Failort pay . Tiie wages of Other classes in the towii have declined in the same proportion . Two years ago there were ninety chain makers in full work , now only thirty-one are employed , and these only two dayB a-weeK or one-third cf their time . It may fairly be said that oue-na , f to two-thirds less is paid in wages than two years ago—( bear , bear . ) It is impossible that the working classes can Buffer to such an extent VFithont
their employers m some degree Buffering also . The statement furnished to mo jkijs that , in the year 1839 there were eighty ship-builders in the port of Sunderlaud . of wbom thirty six have failed , to the ageregate amount of £ 320 , 000 ; five have declined business , leaving only thirty-nine out of the eighty who now c ^ iitinue that branch of trade—( hear , hear } . Twenty merchants and chain and anchor-smiths have fsilcri w tbe aggregate amount of £ 100 000 . A great number of grocers , publicans , and otDers have failed to a laTgf ? amount , of which no account can be obtained Tbi _ re are in the H : gh-steet alone from forty to fifty Ehops unoccupied , in coiist-. quence of the greatest part of the j . revious tenants having become insolvent To ibis staiement iB added a fact , whicn is very remarkable , as
Bh « 5 vring the manner in which this distress existing in larg .- towns seriously affects the agricuitura community . The quantity of meat fold , as gtattd by tbts hutcners , was not more tban one-half in 1842 , to what it was in 1841 —( hear , he-ir ) . Kow , let me confl . rn this representation by alluding to what is the present condition of Sunderla&d with respect to tbe poorrates . This subject was mentioned a few days ago by my Honourable Friend the member for North Durham ; and 1 believe what he then stated was pret y nearly accurate . The borough of Sunderland , consists of three parishes ; ths parish of Bishop Wearmoulb , end tbe parish of Monk Wearmouth . The first parish consists chiefly of the working classes , and the rates during the the last six months have been eighteen shillings per annum on two-thirds of the rack-rent , averaging for the whole year 37 s . 3 ^ 4 . In Bishop Wearmontb the inhabitants of which belong to the wealthy classes ,
the poor-rate has been only ia , 4 d . per annum on twothirds of the rack rent , while in Monk -Wearmoutb . the rate was 12 s . per annum on two-thirds rack-rent . Thia large amount of rating is in itself a very irightful state of tbingi . But I think a more correct view may be obtained of the destitution and misery existing in the town of Sunderland , by a statement of the sum actually expended for the relief of tfa » poor in different vests . 1 bare sneb a atetement before me , I find that the amoopt given for relief only { exclusive of all other charges ) in 1837 was £ . 7 , 035 j in 1838 the sum paid was £ SJ 2 O 5 ; in 1 * 39 , £ 9 . 872 ; in 1840 , £ 10 . 381 ; in 1841 , £ 11 , 721 ; and in 1842 the sum expended in relief alone for the tows or Sanderland was £ 14 , 232 , being somewhat more than double ths t > um w&ich only six years previously had beea expended for tbe poor . Bnt tiiis is not all . Even thia large « nm expended for relief has been found inadsqaato to meet the pressure of distress in that town , in consequence of which the more
Untitled Article
v :, y inhabitants , although not well able to afford it , h-d . _ iven compelled to subscribe a sum amounting to £ 2 , 192 , besides giving away frem 800 to 1 . 000 tons of coalB . to relieve the existing distress . Such is the atate of thtDgs in Sunderland ; but I believe that Sanderlaud affords by no means o ; e of the worst examples « f the suffering which now prevails . Instances of greater suffering and still more severe distress might , I believe , be produced from other parts of the country . Because , although undoubtedly Sunderland has complained of having been very Beriously affected by that most impolitic act which imposed a duty upon tbe export of coal , the mischievous consequences of which have exceeded all that were anticipated from it , although that measure has been to Sunderland a special aggravation of
the general distress existing there ; yet , on tbe other hand , it is true tbat the branch of industry in which the inhabitants are mainly engaged being the coal trade , and coal being almost an « c 68 s&Ty of Ufa , the demand for that article is not certainly affected tearly so soon as the demand for any other commodity , the distress therefore , in the north of England , did npl eommence so early as in some other parts of the country . At this monunt the consumption of coals in London has not materially fallen off ; and Sunderland producing the beet of coal , of ceurse tbat town is to & great extent exempt from the severe pressure which falls upon other places . But 1 think , even in Sunderland , I have made out a case of distress which is well worth tbe most serious consideration of this Houst—( hear , bear ) . Now ,
having tic en one large ti-wn ei-gaged in and mainly dependent upon our shipping and mining industry , I now wish to refer to the state of a great agricultural county . I have written to a gentleman in the couuty of Northumberland , to ascertain what the real state of things is in that county ; and I am free to eay that , upon the whole of his statement , things are much Icbs unfavourable there than what I have seen them in country papers stated to be in other parts of England . Tbe statement I have received is , that tbo farmers an , beginning to be very seriously disti eased ; that the low price of meat affects them very seriously . But I was attempting to give an account of the actual state of the county of Northumberland . Hitherto the pressure of distress has not fallen much upjo the working classes . Work
is somewhat scarcer now tban it usnaliy is , hut there has not been any v «; y perceptible reduction in wages , except in a few instances . In a few instances I have heard that it baa bten tbe case , hut it hr . s not been &o generally . This may be accounted for from the fact , tbat large capitals have been vssted in farming in the county of NoMhumberlanri , and ihe cultivation of the land there has been carried on upon a gr > at scale for several years ; and the farmers being well ( iff , they are better able to bear tha first pressure without suspending employment , and thereby immediately visiting the consequences , of any unfavourable change upon the Working elapses . But symptoms are already apparent that the working Classes , among the agriculturists , cannot long escape from their share of tbe distresses of
the tiitirs . Tbe farmers are beginning to find d . faculty in hringing forward their spring rents , and it is impossible that the labourers should not suffer . Tbe wholesale bouses complain tbat they cannot obtain payment as formerly from the small shopkeepers , and the drapers and others in country towns have experienced a very perceptible reduction of their , busines 3 . I am a ' . ao told that although the labourer h . 18 not yet actually suffered , yet tbat all the artizins and handicrafts connected with agriculture have sevwely felt the depression—blacksmiths , carpenters , wheelwrights , mnsuns , plasterers , and others , have found greater Baircity uf employment than hitherta . This painful state of things has been much aggravated in various localities by the number of workmen who have returned to rural
districts , having been no longer able to find occupation in the towns—( hear , hear , hear . ; The increase in the number of casual poor seems a remarkable symptom of prevalent distress . I bav& described Northumberland as in a better conditior than some other counties , and it ought to follow tbat we feel tbe evil of casual poor proportionably less than elsewhere ; but such does not appear to be tha case . At Aluwick there baa been a large increase of tbo casual poor who have bei > n relieved , and I wish especially to call the attention of the House to this startling facttbat in 1841 tbe number of casual poor relieved was 1 , 826 , wnile in tbe year just closed tbe number amounted to no fewer than 3 . , or double what it hud been in 1831—( cheers . ) I am sorry to add , that the
evil , instead of diminishing , seems at this moment to be on tbe increase : in thu current quarter , tbe number of eases of casual poor relieved , exceeds that of any former qnarter , even of the year which , as I have said , presented double the number of cases of tbe year 1841—{ hear , hear . ) When only half the quarter has expired , 730 casual poor have been relieved , while the heavies * , quarter of the year 1841 was dily 941 ; if the second half of the quarter be in proportion to the first , tbe increase , as the House will perceive , will be enormous . Having thug t ken one ( jr » -a * town and one agricultural county , I think I am justified in saying , tbat tbe distress lamented in the speeeh from the Throne , and which we might thence be led to infcr was confined to tbe manufacturing portion of tbe kingdom , is wide
spread and almost universal . I say that I am justified in assuming this fact , and the more so when l look at the falling off in tbe revenue , to wbich the Government Las thought it right , in the exercise of what I consider a sound discretion , to direct the attention of Parliament . I do tiot feel equal to engage in any minute examination of the state of tbe revenue , but I may notice one branch which has always been -eos ' bUlered an indication of tbe condition of ihe the working part of tbe population . Of course 1 nllmie to the excite ; and I fled that in the year erdirg the 5 h < f January last , as compared with the year ending tbe 5 th of January , 1842 , there was a > falling iff of not less , in round uaoiberB , than £ 1 . 173 , 000 . —( Hear , bear . ) In tbe last quarter , as compared with tbe corresponding quarter of the former year , the deficiency was £ 717 , 800 . I know that an attempt has been made to exoiai'i tbia state of
thingB in two ways . It has been said that a considerable * ffurt was made at tbe close of 1841 to diminish the balance in the hands of tbe collectors of the excise , .-ind that tbe revenue of that year was therefore apparently swelled : it web argut rt from hence that it was not fair to make a comparison bttween tbe excise revenue of a year so artificially augmerttd , and tbat of a year ween only the ordinary receipt was in contemplation . I am unable to say how far thia txp ' vanfttion may ot may not be just ; and the best test may therefore be obtained by going b > ck to a yp&r farther , and by ascertaining what waa the amount of revenue in the year ending tbe 5 th January , 1841 . The sum then received was £ 4 , 016 , 000 . while the amount in tbe year enfiing 5 th January , IS 43 . was only £ 3 022 000 , showing a deficiency of near . y & million , or £ 994 000—( cheers ) . The other circumstance adduced to account for the
deficiency is that which waa mentioned by thu ripht honourable baronet ( Sir Robert ft _ el | on a former night . He- said that the bailey in 1811 was deficient , particularly in quality , and tbat it had occasioned a cui . did arable defalcation in the revenue derived from malt . But make whatever allowance you will on this account , still I think the house will agree with me in saying , that in two years , in spite of an increasing population , and nut including Ireland , which waa not affected by tbe new taxes , and when the temptrance system waa in progress in Great Britain , only in two s ears there has bsen a failing off of nearly one quarter of the whole amount . ( revenue depending on the consumption , by tbe great body of tbe people , of articles which are to be considered more the necessaries than the comforts of life— ( bear , hear ) . Let
me ask , then , whether this is not a fearful proof of the extent to which misery and destitution must have prevailed , when we see sucn forced economy , not in the luxuries , but in tbe mereneceaaariesof existence—( heiir . hear , ? Let me ask the House to rt fl ct on tbe degteo of suffering which must have been ensured before such an effect was produced ? A forced economy is painful in every rank of society ; even the wealthier classes , us every body must perceive , have retrenched in consequence 0 / the diminution of their means ; it has been some degree of snffering to them to forego wha * .. were avowedly luxuries and indulgences to wbich tbey bad long been accustomed ; but how keenly most tbe poor man havu felt , when they were compelled by circumstances to dispense , not with luxuries—not even with comforts—but
with the absolute necessaries of life—( cheers ) ? What the higher orders felt is only incosvenience : whit the lower orders felt is absolute deprivation and destitution —( bear , hear ) . The working umn , who before obtained merely what would scantily maintain himself and family , saw himself under tbe painful necessity of abridging even tbat , and by dtgrees he has been compelled to relinquish not only his tobacco and his beer , bnt his butter , his sugar , his coff-e , and his tea—( cheers ) . These articles no longer furni part of his daily meal—ev * n bread ia becuminit a luxury—( hear , heir ); and it is gradually , but Inevitably , giving way to aoiue coarser and cheaper substitute—( cheers ) . He- eaw his wife and children reduced from comparative neatness to rags and beggaiy ; he was reduced by toil , dispirited
by anxiety—even hope has forsaken him : week after week his condition is becoming worse ; he is already nearly destitute , and absolute starvation stares him in the face —( hear and cheers ) . Sufferings * uch as these ere felt by . thousauds of families who , nut long since , were well-lLd and well clothed , and whose industry rendered them the ccmfortuole , though still the working , portion of the community . These enjoyed little more than a sufficiency , tvtn in good times ; but in bad their &uff 3 rings must be indiscribably acute . That such a state of things exists we are told by the figures which inform us of the falling off in tbe revenue , and it is to this diminution that reference is : made in the speech from the Throne . I may , perhaps , be told , great as the distress is admitted to be on both sides of the House , that we ma ; now hope that we have passed tbe worst ; that some
symptoms of improvement are beginning to manifest themselves ,- that more cheerful prospects present ; themselves , and that we now behold the d&wn of more prosperous days . If I am not mistaken , since the commencement of the session the Right Honourable Baronet has expressed some opinion of the kind , and I most earnestly hope that that opinion -will be borne out by the result No wish is nearer my heart tban tbat hia happy anticipation should be realised ; bnt it is quite impossible for me to forget that towards the close of last session , when the subject of the distress of the country was , aa I think , most properly brought before the House by my Hon . Friend the Member f * r Green « ck ( Mr . Wallace )! the Right Hon . Baronet used precisely the same language —[ much cheering . ) I cannot forget the words he employed , founding his anticipations of improvement upon signs , I fear , no more certain or satisfactory than
Untitled Article
those which he may now agj . in tell ua he discover j . I cannot forg « t that , since the R gut Hon . Baronet used that language , in spite of the almost unexampled mildness of the season , which , in the present situation of the country , must be looked upon as a mercy for which we cannot be too thankful—( cheers ) . —since , had the winter keen severe , the misery must have been incalculably aggravated—( hear , hear)—in spite , I say , of that beneficent mildness of the season , the anticipation of the Right Hon . Baronet has not been realised—his hopes bave been disappointed , and the improvement has certainly not extended to the working classes —( cheers ) . The information I have given from Sunderland , be it remarked , is only ten days old , aud an additional reduction of the wages of tbe working
classes may be almost hourly expected . The dtatr ss , therefore , continues with unabated severity amo g the labouring classes , and I cannot avoid expressing my conviction tbat -we have no right to expect that there will be any permanent improvement in their condition , unless Patliament will , at length , consent to hiteifare and endeavour to remove some of the causes of distress . If there be not something amiss in the social organisation—something tbat jars and is out of order in the working of tbe political machine , why is such distress experienced ? Do we not possess all the advantages necessary to make us a happy aud prosperous country—( cheers ) ? Has our soil lost its fertility ? We have
hnti a season almost unexampled—a harvest wbich , at all events , her Majesty ' s Government consiileis one of more than ordinary abundance- ( hear , h ^ ari . Have we sacrificed the immense accumulation of fixed capital by which this country has been long so remarkably aud enviably distinguished ? Has our energy abated , or cur enterprise been destroyed—( hear , hoar ) ? Why , then , with all * be elements of wealth—with everything that should make a country prosperous—is every branch of industry labouring under difficulties , and suffering severely from distress—( cheers ) ? I answer , that there must be some reason for the unhealthy itate of affairs , and that it ought not to be beyond our reach to ascertain what that reason is —( hear . bean .
Lord Ho wick then went at great length to expound the causes which * bad been aasicaed for the perverted condition of affairs which be bad depicted . An inconvertible paper currency he said had been proposed , na a remedy ; but Sir Robert Peel bad ceuiolished that notion in a late remarkable correspondence-HeducfcioB of taxation bad been also proposed ; but . in proportion to its means , this ^ country was as Ikhtly tnxed ; as any country in Europe . OveT-specilation has been assigned as a cause of our distress ; but the Government , he was sure , we . e in possession of information which would keep them fruni piving : iny countenance to that idea . How could a nation suffer from an over-supply of every thing which its population required j The English Poor Law , too , hail Naen affirmed
to be a cause of the suffering of the ' working classes ; hut Scotland shared in the diawaa as weli as England . The real cause was the remarkable coincidence of a very iow rate of profit , anrt a low rate of wages , produced by intense competition , wbich again waa produced by the want , of an adequate field for the employment of capital and labour . To extend this field ought to be the great object of all our exertions ; tbe natural field for our industry was confined by barriers aDd restrictions ; there were laws on our btatuU-book which bad been passed for the express purpose of restricting our foreign trade , especially in the important article of the food of the people . That the removal of these restrictions wou d immediately contribute- to extend the demand for employment , bad
been proved by the Vice-President of the Board of Trade ( Mr . Gladstone ) , when defending tbe new tariff , with relation to tbe importation of cattle . Our ^ iport was measured by our import tTade , Happily / 'our internal trade had been practically but Jittfe hampered with restrictions , and the const quince was a degree of prosperity unknown in those countries where internal restrictions impeded intercourse , and this was a praotical confutation of those who . said that the removal of commercial restrictions was a theoretical idea . But this very policy of restriction rested on a theory now universally exploded ; aud he called upon them to abandon a policy whose fruits were a distressed people and an impoverished exchequer . Thu principles he
had advocated had been adopted and expounded by S r Robert Peel , when he said that we should "sell in tbe dearest and buy in the cheapest market ; " and if the Government were not prepared to cai ry out their principles , why bad they unsettled everything ? They should not , in tbe present condition of th . ' country , halt between two opinions . The Noble Lord concluded by moving , ' Thnt thia House do resolve into a committee of the whole House , to consider so much of her Majesty's speech , aa reft rs to that depression of the manufacturing interest of the country which has so long prevailed , and which her Maje » ty has bo deeply lamented ; " and resumed his seat amidst loud aud general cheering .
Mr , Gladstone admitted the fairness and temper which pervaded Lord Howick's speech . The Incometax had been aocused of adding to tbe existing din rtfs : hut it had this great merit , that it reached those- enormous accumulations of capital which could not otLcrwise be compelled to contribute to the expenses of the state It was the melancholy feature of thu condition of this country , that , coincidently with a diminution of the power of consumption amongst the working classes , there was an augmentation of tbo means of enjoyment , and an accumulation of capital amongst the upper classes . Lord Howick repudiated tbe idea of over-production and ove-r-speculatioil : but the shipping irtwrt st itself affwnlbd a most reinarkiU-le ( -xumj ^ e uf overtrading ; hnd it gone on as it had been doing , the
shipping of this country might have been doubled in ei ^ ht years ; and a great portion of this over trading was connected with tbe bo ough of Sunderland . The state of the Excise was not satisfactory ; but in afU ' . ucii g it as showing the privations of the people , Lord Huwu-k bad selected a quarter in which tbe riefloivney of the returns was greatly increased by a partitular circumstance . What was tbe cbjrct of tbe motion ? That tbe House should resolve itself into a comnVttee , to go into an inquiry which was to aqit . tte every interest , and once more disturb the entire commercial community . The tariff , during the last session , was a known measure , yet it bad disturbed , during its progress , all commercial transactions ; and this motion , having no known and definite object , would r . peat and
agur ; i-va . e fcimilar evils . Lord Howick should have c . me forward with a definite proposition . He , inoeed , askwi for an extension of tbe field fur the employment of cipital and labour , and he ( Mr . GladtUnt ) agreed with him . But the Noble Lord had not ventured to say to what extent he would go in tbe removal of restrictions ; he tnuuted riir Robert Peel with halting bttween two opinions , and was himself doing tbe same thing . What agreement was there between Lord Jtthn Russeil and bis friends , who advocated a fixed duty , and Mr . Villiers and the advocates of a totai rnpeal of the Coru Liiws ! The whole question was not aa to tho abstract impolicy of restrictions , fcr the commercial legislation of this country , Uuring ilie last twenty-five years , bad recognised the necessity of
their removal . But the question was srnipiy , wh ; it fire judicious relaxations ? The principle of the Go vtrntneut , in , their measures of last year , was to effect cha : > g .-s with tbe least shock to existing interests , ami tho smallest displacement of labour ; and both thu new tariff and the- new corn bill , while extending the means of employment for capital and lahour , bad not materially affected established interests . What was thu proposed substitute for the Corn Law ? A moderate fixed duty for pi otection or for revenue ? It was askt d why w ^ applied to corn a di fferent principle of legislation from that which was applied to other articlts ? Ttie answer was , that corn had b * en differently dealt with for ages ; und . under a system of long-continu ' ed protection , enormous investments of capital had taken
place , which it would be ruinous suddenly to disturb . It was true that corn and cattle should be similarly dealt with ; and in the revolution ot ag « s and if circumstarcts the time might coine wben tbey might be s ) treated . No commercial law can be permanent ; but th > t of protection to home agriculture -was so , uud he was not prepared to abandon it , so long as protection was applied to any interest . Ho agroed that an < xtenaion of the field of employment for capital and labour was the ate&t thing rtquirtd by this country ; but Burko had said that the statesman who legislated without refvTtnce to circucaatancea was " staik mad , metaphysically mad . " He did not argue tbat an adiiitit nal importation of foreign corn would displace British agricultural labour . But he was not prepared to sacufico a certain tmp . oymentof our labouring population tun speculative notion that an increase of our foreign trade ¦ wuuld necessarily follow the abandonment of our
cornlaw . He disclaimed the idea that host . le foreign tariffs could ultimately oppress the trade and commerce of this country . But the immediate etf-. ct of these anti-commercial measures was detrimental ; and were -we to go on without reference to the ccuTSr of other countries , in the vague hope that we will teach them , vkhen . instead of making our new tariff , they were t ikiug an opposite course ? The United States , for iustacca , were largely interested in the reductions and alterations wiiich we had effected ; yet , at the very time we had been opening our ports te their productions , they were raising to an enormous height their duties on our manufactures . The removal of restrictions iu our commercial code was a question of time aud degree , aiv 1 had been so considered by every G ' -ivernmeut in this country for the last twenty-five years . BuVhe resided the motion as one fraught with disaster to every established interest , and which wouid dieturo instead of
benefit cemint-rce . Mr . LaBOUCHERE admitted Mr . Gladstone ' s ability , which in the speech he had just spoken had been evinced by the dexterity with which be argued both sidea of tbe question . Had the measures of the late government been allowed to pass into law , the couu try would have been now in a very different condition . It was of importance that whatever Corn Law this country adopted should be permanent ; and the great objection to tbe Cain Law of last session was its instability . It was clear that Mr . Gladstone ' s candid and intelligent mind waa nude up
on the impolicy of tbe sliding scale ; and when he spoke of the probability of its attention in " the revolution of ages , " he must have meant in the course of a few sessions of Parliament . That the distress of the cosntry arose mainly from diminished power of consumption was evident ; and the session ought not to be allowed to pass away without devising measures of relief . But when it waa said that the question waa , in what degree the country could bear the application of commercial principles of legislation , the truu meaning was in what degree the country gentlemen would bear them . He
Untitled Article
called on them to support Lord Howick ' a motion , and go into and inquiry as to the meats to be adopted to save this great country from ruin Mr . Ferrand rose , and moved tbat the debate be adjourned , but was met with loud cries of " Go on , go on . " He bad moved tbe adjournment of the debate , because , in discharging the duty which he owed , not only to himself , bnt to those who bad sent him there , he would find it necessary to trouble them at some considerable length ] After the speeches of the Noble Member for Sunderland ( Lord Howlck ; and the Right Hon . Gentleman the V ice President of the Board of Trade , he was sure j the country would be firmly convinced tbat it was high time that the principles of free trade were laid aside , and that tbey should return
to the good old principles of their forefathers . Neither of them had attempted to grapple with the great question of what conduced to the prosperity of the agricultural , the commercial , and the labouring classes of the country . They had ! been given to understand that the measures of last session were intended for the welfare of the working classes ; but it was now admitted on all hands , that in no degree had they added to or in any way revived the commercial prosperity ; it was high time for them to consider whether the time bad not arrived when tbey should decide , not only on not going on further in tbe Bime course , but whether it would not be better for them to recede . The conclusion of the Bpaech of the Right Honourable Gentleman proved that they were in a { wrong course . He Bald that all the
attempts to induce other countries to adopt tbe doctrines of free trade had been failures ;—nay , more , he told the House that Amtrica , instead of relaxing her laws , had imposed additional restrictions upon our trade . During the recess he had thought it bis duty to inquire how far the measures of Government passed during the last session had tended to incre ; . Be the distress amongst the people , and from calculations which he had made at bicennial periods ! from 1800 he found , that whereas wheat in that year was at £ 5 13 s . per quarter , the wages of a woolcomber were £ 1 per week , and that then the average of ¦! prisoners in Wakefield prison was 607 . In 1810 the price of wheat per qnarter was £ 0 6 s . 2 d ., and the Swages of a weaver 16 s . to 17 s , and those of the woolcomber 19 s per week—the averaae of
prisoners at that period was 492 In 1820 tho price of wheat bad fallen toj . £ 3 7 a . lid . ; but to show tfcat this had no effect on wages be was prepared to prove tbat they were at that period higher thm before : the -woolcomber was then receiving 19 s . ; but in 1830 , when the Whigs first so ' zed tbe reins of government , when they came in on tke false principles of peace , retrenchment , and reform , iand then involved the country in most unjust and disaraceful wars , and had txtended a system of the utmost extravagance throughout the land . —at the time they entered efBce , when the country was in a state of prosperity —( criea of " Qii , oh n —• be repeated It , they found the country prosperous , contented , and I happy—( laughter )—they found an overflowing treasury , with a safe and steady revenue .
and they left both bankrupt—( eheers)—they thrust themselves upon the country , and by thair misrule , when tbey wore turned out of office , the wages of the weaver were reduced from 16 j . to 8 s ., and the wojIcomber suffered equally from their incapacity . Was the country prepared to i take their measures after thej were themselves driven frbm office by an indignant constitu-« ncy ? What was the conductor the Right Hon . Baronet previous te that ( period ? How was he spoken of by those connected with all the most valuable interests , in the country ? Why , at that time all of them joyfully hailed him as their leader . The present Premier had been lauded and toasted through Eugland as the conservator of all its best interests , ' and during tbat period the Right Hon . Baronet had made a speech which had
been published , corrected by himself , and in which ha said , " The principle of total repeal of the corn Jaws I fully understand . It is a magnificient scheme for introducing into our intercourse with foreign nations the principle which ought to regulate the commerce- of- a great country certainly within its own boundaries , but which I doubt tbe possibility of applying beneficially to its external commence , in a stutw of society so compii-01 ted , involving interests so enormous , and which have grown up" ( the Right Hon . Baronet went on to say ) " under a system of protection . I cannot' ( he added ) " relicquisb that principle , ¦ w hich bo waver theoretically defective has in practice allowed such an establishment of our power . ? ' After this came tbe gbneral election : and tbe great contest between the two parties had
been between the rival principles of free trade aud of restriction . This had been the question expressly brought before the electors of Yorkshire by Lird Morpeth : the band writing was said to b 8 on tbe wall , and it was for the electors of England to read it for or against protection . Thus it was that Sir Kobert Peel ob'nined office—pledged to protect the best interests of the country—( cheers from the Opposition benches !; but what bad the Right Honourable Baronet done ?—(• ' Hear , bear , ' from the same side . ) He had attacked those interests by undermining them through the principles of free ; trade . iCheers from the Opposition benches . ) The measures of the Right Hon . Baronet hxd given a great shock to the great interests of tho country : and it vas the luty of those
who had pledged ; themselves iu the most solemn manner to tbe ; r constituents to stand firm to their promises- ( hear , hear , from the Opposition benches ) . For himself he had ! avowed his resolution to regard no interests but those of his country , no motive but the general weal : and be would not—to support any party or any Government—a'lbtre to those who did not stand by the principles which had placed th ^ m in power —( loud cheers from the Opposition benches . ) Yet they had been itold recently by the Premier , that " no one had made such extensive changes in the commercial policy of tae country as be bad done , and that he was convinced of the soundness of the principles on which be had acted . " If that were so , how was it that the Vice President of the B > ard of Traile hail
admitted that , so far as the measures cf the Ministry hart hitherto worked , at all events , their effect bad been unfavourable to the various interests involved 1 Now , he wished just t » ' advert to some opiniona of Mp . Hutkisson , which had betn discovered by that states ,-man to be founded on errors of a similar nature to those which misled the present Government . Tha chairman of L ' . oya ' s , Mr . Robinsun , had lately published a pamphlet , in which was a passage to the effect tbut , if foreign countries saw us relieving public burdens , and exhibiting a prosperous Exxbequ r , they might become sincere in their assertion an * practice of free trade principles ; the fict , however , being , that we bad instead of an overflowing Exc ' -. equer an Income Txx in time ef peace . What , too ,
was the atate of foreign countries at this moment ? In a , pn-m nent paper , one of the ablest organs of free trade , appeared lately an account of not lebs than six hostile tariffs in ten months Again , from the report of a most important committee on this subject appeared statements of a very momentous character as to the progress made by foreign countries in manufactures . The Hon . ? . l < jinber proce < ded to read extracts , to the effect that European manufacturers wi re successfully underselling ours in the markets of tbe world . H : iving < stahli .-h : il to the H ^ use by satis * factory evidence that foreign countries are :: ot only manufacturing more goods tban ourselves , but underselling us , it was bis Uuty to call up-in the Government to make a s ^ and ; ibut if the slightest movement be
made it oukjht to be made sniuin to those principled which hod placed this country on so high a pinnacle of greatness as to justify the designation it once received of being called the workshop of the whole world . It was not his intention , as he had previously stated , to enter then upon tbe consideration of the question of free trade ; but there existed a party in thia country which had a right to call upon this House to take up the question . Thu party he referred to was the classesthat class which did not possess tbe power of seiulins ; MembeTB of that House . That class was now in a staivirg condition ^ and it became the dnty of that HoU ^ e to take the ir prestnt condition into its serrons consideration . The working classes bad beea in a gradual state of deiline for the last few yea ; a . The
Anti-Corn Law Leagua had mainly reduced the working classes to their ^ re -sent condition . He would call the attention of tbo Honse to the pamphlet of Mr . R . Greg , entitled " An Inquiry into the State of the Manufacturing Population . ' When speaking of the power-loom worker he ofcsi-r 7 es , " He has no time to be j wise , no leiauru to be aood ; he is sunken , debilitated , depressed , emasculated , unnerved for effort ^ incapable of virtue , u fit for everything hut the regular , hopeless , desponding , degrading variety of laborious vegetation , or shameless intemperance . " Again , when alluding to the hand-loom weavr-ra and combers , he ( Mr . Greg ) sajs , " from constitution and from principle , averse fr-Mii feeling or acting as alarmists , w « are ctrtain , in as far as reasoning from the past can
make us certain of Jbe future vhnt unless some cordial , faithful , vigorous , and uniibd tfl'ort is marie on tbe part of tho influential c ' . BBseBto stem that torrent of suffering and corruption which is fast sweeping away the comfort and morals of so large a portion of our poorer countrymen , and which , if not checked , ¦ w ill soun send them forth upon tbe world desperate , reckless , ruined menruined both in their fpeliiigs and their fortunes , —unless some snch effort is imade , aod that apeedily , there are silent but mighty instruments at work , lik « an evil that walktth in darkness , which e'er long will underiaine the system of boc ! 41 union , aud burst asunder tbo silken fe » nd 8 of amity which unite men to their kind . " Ic 1834 a select committee , lappeicted "to examine the petitions presented to the house fro in the hand-loom weavers , and to report their observations thereon , '' S 5 t for the first time on tbe 16 tb ofjJune . July 15 , Mr . Thomas Myerscough , manufacturer , of Bolton , was examined . Ha said , " I admit generally , there ia a good deal of distrt-es
in the country , and that the weaving body do look for some measure whjch will better tiieir condition , by raising their wages , or at least present their being still more depressed than they are now , which depression is said tobetosuch a point that these men are in tbe greatest state of poverty , unhappiness aad discontent" July 16 , Mr . John Makin manufacturer of Bolton , examined . H « declared "that the condition o ? the handloom weavers baa deteriorated so much , that ft Is in great danger of either extinguishing the trade altogether or of producing a rupture in soeuty . i July 17 . —He declared , thsir food ia chiefly oatmeal porridge , and potatoes , with occasiosaliy a small quantity of batcher ' s meat , which they oblatu once a week . " I bave made a calciv . afeion , by which I estimate that if a man has to support hioiserf , his wife , and five children , with the assistance of two children and his wife labouring with him , they will not be able to earn for food and olothing , more than 2 | 4 , per day , 1 cannot recollect aa iuswuee , bat one ,
Untitled Article
where any weaver of mine has bought a new jacket fn * many years . " " Then they are literally clothed in raral — lam only sorry I did not bring one or two jackets " to let the Committee see the average state in which the * are clothed . " " I have seen many bouses with onlv two or three legged stools , and some I hate seen with oat a stool or chair , with only a tea chest to kesp thei » clothes in , and to Bitnpon . " June 9 th , 1834—M ? Edmund A sk worth , brother and partner of Mr Henrv Ashwortb , who occupied the chair at the meeting of the League in Manchester , on the 1 st of this month thus addressed Mr . Chadwick . his letter being dated from Turton , near Bolton : — «• Fnll employment in every department was never more easily to be found than now , consequently wages have advanced ia most
operative employments , particularly so in the least skill fnl . Handloom weavers have been much wanted , an ( j their wages advanced on an average 10 per cent . ' Thi « bespeaks a scarcity of labourers here ; at the same time great complaints are made of the surplus population of the agricultural counties . I am most anxious that every facility be given to the removal of labourers ( by the Now Poor Law Bill ) from one county to another according to the demand for labour ; this would have a tendency to equalize wages , as well as prevent in a degree some of the turn-onts whifh have been of late so prevalent . " Sept 17 th , 1834 . —R . H . Greg said , ft must be looked upon as a happy coincidence , that at tho period of depriving or curtailing perhaps the faci . lities of gaining a livelihood to the people of one-half of
England , aud causing & fall in their present low wages and a scramble amongst them for employment , there should exist a difficulty in obtaining labourers at ex . travagant wages in these northern counties . This for . tuuate occurrence should be taken advantage of . Next year will , unless some ur . fureseen accident occurs , 09 naturally a year of increase in « ur manufacturers , build , ings , &c , and , should thia prove the caae , any further demand for labour would still further increase the unions , drunkenness , and high wages . Jur . e 27 th 1834 — H . T . E . Ash worth said " Nearly 20 000 persons would be required in tbe neighbourhood ef one of our seats of manufactures alone , that of Staleybrid ge . " g bad / Ira wn a melancholy picture of their condition . His opinion was , that unless some measures were . " -peedilv
adopted by the influential classes some mighty evU would result . He also found that the manufacturers had , to a great extent , introduced the system of apprenticesbip . At the Wilmslow Mills , in the city of Lancaster , the property of Mr . Gregg and partners , in 1637 , tbat sjstem was carried on with all its barbaritiea . The children were fetched from all parts of the country , and compelled to live in a house built for their acommodation ; tbey were delivered up to the tender mercies of a governor and a matron , whose hearts were steeled against them , and they worked them as long and . as severely as nature could endure , and paid them no waijea . Those children were collected from all tha foundling hospitals' h tbo country -, they knew nothing of their parentage , and bad do protection from tbe ft-.
ranuy practised on them- Two of them , both girls of thirteen and fourteen years of nge , heard of th ai * parents ; they applied for leave of absence to ( jo md see their long lost earthly protectors ; their request vas refused . Their application was renewed at every paj . time , such as the holydays of Christmas , &c , but every time rejected for upwards of two years , until at length tbey determined to run away , which they did at tha Wilmslow ' wakes , ' on which occasion it was the custom to stop the mills for two days : they fuund their parents , the one in Liverpool and the other in Man . cheater . They were poor , but still loved their children , and kept them a day longer than the wakes . On their return they were thrown into a cell by the orders of Mr . Gregg and kept in soli .
tary confinement for six days upon short allowance of food without a bed to lie on . During the time of their confinement the matron of the apprentice house died very suddenly and was laid out in the next room to these two children , who were almost driven frantio with fright" Ha was prepared to prove all he asserted they denied what be asserted List session , but he called for a committee of the House , —obtained it , and proved every word he had said—( cries of " No , no . ") He culled upon the Hon . Member for Manchester , who threw out a hint the other evening that he ( Mr . Per . rand ) bad stated to the House what he could not prove , to say what that was—( cries of " Order , order" ); ind he would again assert that he was prepared to substantiate not by one witaesa only , but by many , what he had
now stated . He would also produce evidence to show tbat tbe hours of labour in some of the cotton-milk were excessive ; and he now held In his hand the names of four persons who within the last three werks had been compelled to work 32 hours with only 13 $ boats ' rest . The excuse of the mill-owner was , tbat he had got an order which he was obliged to send out to China , and if be bad not worked hla Is * bourers to that extent he would have lost several thousands of pounds . The Hon . Grantleman then complained of the evils of machinery , and read certain returns to show that since its introduction wage 3 had diminished and the poor rates had increased . Those who were employed in tke power-looms were chit fly women and children . The fathers were living
in idleness , unable to obtain employment—living , ha might say , on the murder of their offsprings , for it had been decided by the highest medical authorities that those young women and children could not continue to work at those power-looms without the sacrifice of their lives . Women frequently worked at them up to the very time of their being delivered , and after having been away for a short thneenly , were compelled by their husbands who had become hardened by drunkenness , to return to their work for tha purpose of earning them bread . Tbe consequence was that most of them came to a premature death , and were sacrificed to this baneful system . He . would ask the Heuse and the country to deciUe whether tho time had not now arrived when this awful evil should be grapp led with ? Ha hsd the authority of several of those who called themselves free
traders , for saying tbat it should . There was the floa and Learned Msmber for Bolton ( Dr . Bowring ) , and by the way that Hon . and Learned Member had lately turned poet . —( " Oh , oh , " and laughter . ) He assured ihe House tbat it was trua He had written some lines for circulation or sale at the Anti-Corn Law Baziar M it was called , though he ( Mr . Fsrrand ) feared their more immediate ¦ bject was to excite the working classes into rebellion—( Oh , oh . ) He would not take up the tune 01 tho House by reading the lines in question —( Cries of " Read , read , " and laughter . ) Real 1 oh , certainly , if the House wished it The lines were headed— " Died of Starvation . —Coroner ' s Inquest . ' And certainly they were not Inappropriate to tbe subject he had brought under notice . The Hon . Member then read as follows :
" I met Famine on my way " Prowling for her human prey , " Cl ^ g *\ l with flith and clad in rags , " Ugliest of all filthy hags . " Lo j a sceptre wreath'd of snakes "In her withered hands she shakes , *• And I beard the hag proclaim , " ' Bread Tax is my scepire's name . ' [ Bread Tax 1 said the hon . member , I would say—Power-loom ia my sceptre ' s name . ] ( Laughter . ) " Oa remorseless mission bent , " -Maiming , mnrd-.-riug as she went , " Spreading death from street to street , " Oh ! I hear the hag repeat , " iSbuddering while I beard aud saw ) " Mine is right and Might and law ! " Then to solitude 1 flaw , * ' Gracious Heav'n ! can this be true 1
" On Hiy trembling knees I fell , " God 1 thou God of mercy ! tell , — " Can the very fiends of hell " In thy name their pandects draw , " Ai ) d declare their license law ? ' Dare they , in Thy Holy eight , " T . ) Djoelaim their robb ' ry ri ^ hi ? " R . use Thee , raise Thine awful rod , "Lord , —how long ? How long , —O God ?" These were the Hon . Member for Baton ' s versiel es , and let him ask was he wrong in saying that they were ruo . * t applicable to the conviition of tbe people as ciuaed by the power-loom—tbat instrument with regara to wbich the writer of the lines frid himself decjarea that " the power-loom must cause tbe people to aao
hunger . " He thought he had now stated enougn w justify inquiry . If tbe Right Hon . Baronet was not prepare . ! to inquire into the effect of machinery upon tQe working classes , had be any remedy to propose for tne uvila they suffered from it ? He would put the question to the vote , and so teat the sincerity of those P "" ®! that were made by Members ou both sides of the House at tbe hustings , when they assHred the working clashes that although they were denied a voice in tne elect" ™ of representatives Parliament would care for their interests . The late outbreaks hid , he was prepared 10 affirm , originated with the Anti-Corn Law League . « an Inquiry were gons into , he ( Mr- Ferrand ) ^*^ prepared with evidence to prove that those outDrfca&i origina . ed with the L *> gue . The League &e ™ '' - " ought t » court an inquiry , and the aovernment . in jus . ito to all classes , should institute it . If such an WI * " ?
were ordered , and the working c asses came b 6 lorf i ^\ liament in all th « ir misery and wretchedness he 00 ^" , the House wvuld be-able to afford them redress . * fi » . Hon . Member concluded by moving as an amendment ¦ -. — " Thi t thia House do resolve itself into a commit ^ of the wfeoe House , to consider so . much or . cw Majesty ' s speech as rtfers to 'that depression oi W » manufacturing industry of the country which t ^™ long prevailed , and which her Majesty has bo deepi * lamented ; ' and also to inquire into the efiycts of machinery upon the moral and physical condition or tno industrious classes : And also , to Inquire into the oirfgW of the late outbreaks , which are thus aliuded . W ra her Majesty * Speech : Her Magaty regrets that in tte course of last year the public peace ^ « ome of the manufacturing districts was seriously disturbed « ia the lives » n Pr operty of h « MajestyV subjects were endangered by tumultuous assemblages and acrfi oI o ^ b
violence . .. The amendment having been seconded , Mr . Ewart moved tke adjournment of the deWW . Mr . Bboihebton seconded the motion , ana The debate was adjourned . ^ „ . „« n « j * red On the motion of Mr . French a return was owcrea specking the number , nam ., and ^ " ^ ^ each Union workhouse in Ireland which has not ^ m » iniLli any supply , or an insufficient « t ^ g ^ water ; and also , specifying those from vrbioU there none , or an insufficient sewerage . Th 3 House , a ' . 'journed at on a o ' cloos .
Hempm'al ^Arltamrnt
HEmpm ' al ^ arltamrnt
Untitled Article
P THE NORTHERN STAR .
-
-
Citation
-
Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 18, 1843, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1200/page/6/
-