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3Smprrt'aI 3iarltamrnt
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HOUSE OF LORDS— Fbjdat , Fsb . 2-L The Ear ] of MJXTO znored far returns respecting the present state of the cavy . He it quired « xp ana ? ions as to -srhy there tod been less ship-building last ytar than had been cunteEjpiaitrii , and wtij a rednoed vote was to be taitn for t £ s- pi- ^ nt year ? He inquired also the TearOT 3 of otbsr ivCn = ti : > rj , ? TSf Date of Wellimjto . n doubled the propriety of fnnHsni :: g the information asked for . Tbs Earl of HaDD 1 NGT 0 > ' -wished the Earl of Minto to positunt his qaasioiiS . and eive notice for another evesing , vhcn ht ; w nid bs better prepared . Tix- E ^ rl * f JliXTO ? "hen eaitrei ! into Tar ions det Jls respttfa ? tne pr < sstut condition of our dockyards , &c ., and moved for retnms relating to th ? in .
Thr Eni of HaD 1 > i : < gtO 3 exp . sAned , £ bat the reason whj Uiere -sras leas ship-Dnii-. iing last year tlu » n kid keen co : teiapiat ^ 4 . was , that it tras deemed more economical to t = * p Ytsseis already buiit ill good repair than 10 bdid sti ff cues . It had fee&n fouiid impractical ^ in Woolwich Diickyard to build the number of steamers required , and the reduced estimates for the prrs-nt y-sj had been adopted "With great reluctance , hat it tras fell that o-ying to the atat « of the nuances , jsoir . e recuctiois should be adopted . He concinded " with jiTine inf- 'ra-. atioa in reply to the Eiri of Mrnto . Lorxl asubukios expressed bis regret that the in-Ioti- ztion h& \ bren si Ten ,
The Dsie of TAELi-jnGTOS said he had given fcja op : a ..-a r-f the iei . t . pr-. rt } of furnishing the inforrr-aron , but his aovi ? was neglected , ana the rwo Noslc Lords , in ctfenw of thvir resptcti ~ e £ ov < rnEients , had publishr-d to the- ¦ wijwit ' voiid Ui&raratioi ] "wiricia shi . nld J ^ ev-j isa »« = been communicated , and winch in-giit jirvfc mischievous to the oounay . 2 , fi « r si-nii ! rnrther debate , in whieh Lords Minto and Ea- ^ ara ^ io i vi nnieated themstlves , and lh ? Date of "WVi . L-gtou remarks-: that he bad ul ^ ays < v . » couragtd such motions , th ? Earl of 53 into withdrew bis motion , and the House a- jeiiiE&A .
Mcsdat , Febbuabt 27 . Xord Gahpbsli . inovtd for and obtained copies of I / OTu EUei * : n ^ rough s proclamations , and gave notice , on the port of the 2 iarquis of Clsnricarde , of a motion on the Mibjtct , on tha 9 l& uf March . Lsrd > 1 osteagle . at the rtqutst cf the Date of " Wellington postponed his motion on the Corn Laws , on acc . 'TSQi of tne indispositioD of the E . rl of Rlpun . After forwarding some bTis the House adjourned .
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HOL ' SE OF CuMMOMS—TECfiiDAT , Feb . 23 fin a part of our last vreek ' s irrpression we gave a . very condensed acd imper : ect account ol the proceedings in the House of Commons on iht fafaj »« of 2 » ir . Wallers motion on the ! Ncw Pogt Li"sv . Oa accocat of its great importance we £ ive this Tve ; k a more expended report , particulsrfj of the speeches of Mr , Waiter and Mr Ferrand . l i
PBI ^ CIPLES OF THE XEW POOR LA W . ' Mr . "FTaiaeb then rose , and comTtDOfd his speech fey obscrrirp that he could haTe- -wished that it had fallen to the lot of some abler or more t-miuent member to fca-je krvoght forward the present snr-ject . far if the ' abilities of bim "who toroEgbt it frrward \ rere to be ' ireii . hed or messm-rd bj the Tast consfqieDres iBY&ived , ' he fesred risat he she-rid !> e fonnd great-y deficient . If , " indetd . he nsicht have had his -wish in : " u'ced , he shonM ' Esr ^ desired her Majrfty ' s ministers themEtlTf-a * ch 3 Te takta a ttore hirmaiie and constitution&i Tiew of the ' ¦ qcfstirn . fur h * cerHy dirt he Trish them to pur Qe sueh iu *< . Trres ss tr ' . n'd ^ rcare tbera the loTe of the people —fcc iE = 3 . n * of rbe people t ^ ken in the nisss ; and there
"Was do one m tnoii bj Trhitb tht-5 ccul' : so esstn'ialiy haTB eiio '* - ^ i » d then- > BlTea to tee vaj > V body of the country at kx ^ e as by flemeiishiD ^ , * bst he was sr-rry to szy had been initially , sad at second hand , theii "work . KimcJy—the 2 S ' ew Poor ~ Li \ r He -was » ..-o old to cozT -, lunch popni-Tity b'niErlf , and reidily wenld ke transfer "whaieTcr he mi ^ ht haTe ettaiced to tNK , e ¦ w huES geiiitral course of poiie 0 be Ujought most caiculated to appeast ) the djsatisfaetioii and rt « tore the prosperity oi the country . H- ¦ " onid ask ( hem -tbis guerrioi ) britfly—had thrre b > . « n any satisfaction , any goo-i ttmper , any a-ih-rc ^ ec of the humbler classes to their employers 2 inc ^ this ini-st unfeeling law had been invented ? Had thsre been anyxitiz-g ; n fact in the country bnt brocaxcg discostsnt , cTtr iva ^ y to brt&k oat
mto open Tioieace , or toayci . ee r . ielTby s . rrrtmisc ! iei ? He sai-3 none . Here they -spere in thfc nimh year since the first moTement aeainjjt tie old Poor Law of tie country originating ~ &i £ h one cf the greatest soTe-Telgas—a female , too—that the land eTer kaftr ; the Tery o > j _ ct of whose coble policy it w-j to tnstain the great niiSEss of the j * op ) = agiorst hnvditary uppr > =-sion and aristocrasic pride—par cere sidytctvi , ti debtl lore suprrbos ; aai -who , by tra : ting - herself and bethroEe to tie support of her people ^—not to inc-iy u .-flneTices or betas of ivtaincis—s . t tte wio ' . e w < rid at deEaace . That principle of her ' 3 the new law aid not Tcfoiin , did not restore , did uot rciDVigoratc—^ . ut lertrsc-d . It protee * trj , or aff ^ ted t » proteci . the great iaade" ! iut-rat * SjsL and ncX * the manE ' armrine
interfcsts , by the oppr . aricn . >> y the Ter ; Cfitracuon of thnse upon wLom it ™ & eleTst ^ d interests reste 4 ; acd by that sttecap * . to Of-str- ^ y t he T ^ ry basis of arl hcms » a B «> cisty , ie csnld t ^ R th ? m that tho « m * re elev ^ i d interests must uitiroaseiy sirk Evfiy other foundation > ntt ttst of the people- " » a » a sandy one . The winds rf dis £ fr = « tjo 3 _ irould bJuw—the teroptat of popular fury -would b ^ gin to ra ^ e—^^ nd down ¦ wo uld come their trrncture to the ground- H * hai calle-d this New Poor Law an iaTsntion . and aach U ^ eraUy it was . It ¦ was tbe -ainsi rfFurt of !« - ^ B : ati-n . -when , thronth Ehe Ispse of tme , old la « F 3 be ^ an to iiil - > f a ^ eir app ! :-ac'Ion , to improre snd adapt them anew—to cat off excrescences , and to iinigoTat * the impair » -d parts—to Testote , to reform , but not to
con-Tulse or destroy—pi ? ar . hear . ) Bat "what bad been the course pursued in this most ominous afisir ? A ¦ ne'w in- » ectioii bs-w to history as to the people , Traa struck cut Principles and detdls . man and machinery , ¦ were alike displaced . That das ? of men -srho acted as parochial officers of their parishes , and as jurors in their courts oi la-sr . -were cast *< -ide . A term of bnt modern inrention -spas adopted , or rather filched frnm a more respectable instirudon—that of " guardians " . And " guardians "—^ what were *• tuardians '" nndt-r this new set ? 3 ir . Sberidaa hsd d = nB « Ki the effisc of a similar protector , appointed , as he said , to ext-rt over the unhappy PeruTiacs " such gnardiLjiship aa the eagit afforded She lamb . coTering ¦ while it devoured its prty " —tEEST . bear . i Such , hs had eTcr said , was the
character of fids ne-w poor la"sr , and he fead since become possessed of a document ¦ winch justified hiai in a&swtinfi th&t such "was tbe actual oi-ject of those SFho bron ^ rtt it farB-srd—( hear , hear . ) He would co ^ - read to tbe House a passage from that report : — " That st any imi after the passing of this act the Boar 4 of Cjntro ) shall baTe power , by an order , -wiib such txeeption as shall fee thought necessary , to disallow tba continuance of lelief to the indigent , the aged , and the impotent , in xny other mode than in a "wotfchcase , regulated in such Pinr . r > er as hj the alores = aid Board « f Control shall be determined . The power of the CoTimissi ners irould be to rednee allo's ^ ajces , but sot to eiilarse them . ATzei this has been accompiished , orders may be sent forth directing that after » urfi a d ^ y all out-door relief should be given partly in kina ; after another period it should be . - vsnoHy in kiu ^
that afUr such anottsr perioii it should be jrradu ^ ly diminisbed in qcvnlity , nntfl tint mode cf relief was extinguished— -. hear , hear . ) Frem the first th « relief should fee altered in qnality—ihear , ^ ar . i— coarse liroira bread b ? ir- £ substituted for Sne whil ^; and ccncuireutly tnth these measures as to tbe out-do- ^ r poor , a gradnaj reduction shonld be made in tbe - iet ot iht in-Qoor poor , and 2 triet reguJitioDs enforced "—ihear , hear . ) These were the ¦ weeds of the earL « t report placed la the hands of the late ministers , and winch the RAjjM Hon Gentleman had termed " confidential , " the authors being afrdid , as h ^ ' > lr . " Waller ) Teri ] y hclit = TE
empiwtrsd to fix a max-nium ef lbs contnm ; . « ion per he ^ fi witian the workL- use . lea-nn ? to tte local ufEceTs the liberty of lerineing it b- ^ low th » ^ maxl-unm , if they coald Barely do bo - —( bear , bt « r . i " Dc it safrtyr ' How , tiist ae thcng&z horriole e ^^ ug ^; bat yet not so oSt-si-vely glaring as ; he confidt-DLial coiumnEicat : on ^ sfcif . F . jhs tjj at Qaxi ^ jg mysterious ficurcs sprung the fiist avowed report tX the crna-ai biard of p-oor-la y 1 eoinmttaoners ; not . f that exwtitg body someUDies canedihe triuB-n ! a t ^ . bat of ib ^ eiqht commi ^ ionera . —aiB B ^ pj o j L ^ . n ^ n and ui 3 a ! lfi , j m * . Stnrgi 8 . „^ - ^ f ' Md fo « other persons of less cote I ¦^ n ^ Ti 7 , WfSr * P 1 *^ ^? « to work to cor . eost i BB ^ r ? ss- ^ « £ s = mk ^ se ; kss ? s fact , the futare eommiaionerB- ^ triumvirate-took
? = H ~ SSS origin and U * obje cte-to-I flict progressly tr £ bS to j «« e a ^ ystera of suffering upon otr poor ^ falloV CMataHa whichwaUy out-Heroded all tha OiscoTeries that had been made respecting the treatment of the negro see , in their a * kidnappiEg and sabscq ^ ent tansmWto tbeW ^ tocHe , £ tito floatingtmionbou 8 e » ofthe ^ Te « aderS-, hear , hear ) . erett stress was laid on the fabrication ^ this . central commission Bponthe amerted fact ; thai . it * amprised men of all partiea , who -were peteUy unpryna « B ( i-. Ihear , hear ) Hec <« aabATB ^ lshe * aiiit they liati had some natural prejudiesS ^ riMDg 'ffom humane considtaations ; but he belieTOQ thai Jh ^ & -i ? as not a momber of that comnris-Bion ' whQaB-i ^ ina'sra&iiot-inade up , before a single witness i"wa » r examined ; to : reconinieiid or iutroaace sams .
thing of s ^ iHOSt jeru ^^ Bd-O |» prfcssi * e . Mr . Bowep , ofBiJdgewat « r , liaa pronounced this mv a bill ofSndictment Sgahftt ' ail tha poor of ths country . Tne coBiEiLEKuiaErflifiijd , inthpi ars . rryyr-., ' it uj >'
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I supporting parents and children in old age a d infirmity I is so strongly enforced by our natural feelings , that it is ' . often well performed even among savages , and almost I a . ways so in a nation deserving the name of civiliZ-d . , We believe that England io the only European country , in wbich St is neglected "—( hea ., hear ) . . . "Iftne deficitncib 3 of parental and filial affection are to be ! supplied by the parish , and the natural motives to the -exercise of those vittnea » Te tliUB to bo withdrawn , it iniy be proper to endeavour to Teplace them , however j imperfectly , by artificial stimulants , and to make fines . distress-warrants , or impriso ; , meDt act as substitutes : for srratitude or lova" Whiio the lower classes of
people were thus libelled , d . d no recollection occur to those who libelled them of a &reat txampie once afforded by buth Houses of Parliament , * ife . o thought it neceisary to stimuhte the namral afivctions here fpoken of , not by piina and penalties , bnt fy the large allowance pf £ 10 000 a-year for the trouWe of visitinK an iffi-. ct ? d iattier once a week?—theai hear . ) Kow let th * House contrast this character * f the people so blackiy drawn by t e commissiontrs wit ; , other t-escriptiOL > a of the same peopir , and nj > on that snbjbct he hud particular pieasure in qnoting a passage frmn a letter of the EitI of Ripon to one of onr coionial governors — " The naiue of p 3 uper" ( said ifeat N » b ; e Lorii ) *• by no means implies , as stems to have been euppuseiJ , a man unable or unwilling to work—one whose infirmity
or whose idleness would dsqualify him from becoming an useful settler . On the contrary , the whole of the married labourers in many of the par shea if tnt- Smith of EusHnd may be com-ctly i ! i-scribed as paupprs , inasmuch as the ¦ want of employment bas < iti > re > sed wages 10 a rate at which it is inipussih . e fur » man , however industrious , to maintain a family , without receiving parochial relief * * It has V-et-n found tbat the idle ncd 'worthless paup * -T » baTe frtqHently been refler *! « a by the hopsl ^ Bsat-is of tbeii situation ; and wh-n tr ^ Med to find constant jjmp . oymei't . at fair wages , a sr-at change has almost invariably taken place in thrir conduct "— ( hear , hear } . L ^ t the Honae cnntras ; it . too . nith the picture dra ^ n , not m > lonn since by the Member for Sheffield from his own t-xperience of
i thi Euglish poor . That-Honourable Menit > er had told ' that House , that" one-third of tbe workiiie men in that , town and neighbourhood were < ut of etuplvj . A gr > at , proportion of the remainder were fcTi > pi .. jed ouly thr ^ e d ^ ys in the week , and in censHjuenco tbe RrextfSt distreis prevailed . Those at work subscribe .: bomothin « , from their wretched pittance to relievt the distn = ss zmd ' ke ^ p o ff the parish others who had no work at aU" — ( hear , htarj . Could the Honourable Member , if he had i ran ? aci ^ d every stort-houMj of eloqutnee . h : ive fund j w « sriia bttter calculated to damage tne Nt-w Poor Law I in the estimation of every man of c » nimon humanity I than the plain sentence which he ( Vr . Walttr ) bnd just r * a « 3 to them ? Men steeped in poverty and mi 8 * -r > to tbe V' -ry lipa were yet no iaipresg'd with th « horrurs
of imvrisonment in the workhouse , that rather than their ytarvimj brethren should undergo them , they made tfe--5 r bttle pittance lesB , by subscribing to k- * ep them off ths parish . Bui it was not for th- « s purpose that ' K-aui'nced this passage . He wi ^ b-tl now to a > k , had thro- ? nisn earned the character which the comu-. UBioneis h&- ' attempted to &fSx upon them ? Did they dt « erve to he lt-jjislated against in Ir . e manui-r tbe pre ^ eDt t » ili leEisi = i * rd aeainrt them ? And siill Ei'Te ought tb « y to be « i W « : ted to that ever-increasing sole of cruelty prescril't'd and lsid down by the private report of the ei ght co-Timissioners—that private report from which tbe present bill , with its triumvirate at Somerset-house , originated—ihear , hear , hean * How the principle of successive report * waB carried out be
had plenty of instances to lay before 'fee Hou ? a Take this , for tximple , from -Cirenceater ; the late memt « r for thai bcrough said , in his place in that Huase , that " be was chairman cf a board of jjuardiars . Both in his own district , and in others with which he was acqusin-eu , the measure bad acquired an immense pi ! pa ' an : y . He thought the country was under the greatest obligation to those ¦ who bad brought it forward . The bill worked wdl in the district with which br ttss cosn «? cted . He hoped there would be no vrt-- » l Rlti-iAtion of a mt-asuw abieh had WAri ^ d t *> the t-ntire fiati ? fai Uou of tbe vsist majority cf tbi > pe-ple . A « to 'it-t . the complaint was tl ^ t the intaatcj of thf workhonse liv-. d too well . " ( Hear . brar . > He'Mr . Waiter ) he . d in his hand tbe dittarj of the C » encr&u : r Union ,
prescribKl by the Pooi-Liw C'immjss'riDers , in which thi-rc was not one onnoe of frfsh animai food f ; f > m year's end to year ' s end—( hear , hear)—but only five ocr . c . -s of ^ alt bac'in f ^ r the Sunday of t-aeh week—( ttfar . hear )—and that dietary , be it ol ' -sfcrved , the giisjdians c-jnld not go beyond , thon ^ h tbt-y Were to be in ' . uk-ed with the txvjuus power of reducing it , " if tbi-y coald safely rto so . " ( Hear , bpar . ) He cou ; rl add many tait-s of similar crueiry on the part of boards of guardians . Most peruons know the difficulty of dealing vith bodies of men . A bi > - * y coiporate , in fact , had no spcl . The indrvidu » l « might hnve their separate feelinc . % % ut the whole body had none such . ( Hear , hear .: A man might be personally humane and charitable , but . wheai actire vdth othrrs , thi « Christian
feelirg evaporated &n > i vanished . He woulfi men ion oce c * , which ocenrred cot very lonj ? a o in his own immediate neighbourhoi-d . He was not a frequenter of boards of gnaroSans , fcsvinj ; no irreat r- ^ pect for the institution iis © f . ( Hear , ht-ar , hear 1 He < Mt Waiter ) was . however , particularly requested : _ o attend a n-eeti :-. jj , far the purj » i > ae of frul . avr . uT' 12 . 3 to obtain « nt-doo » r » Htf for aii unhappy ai : d affliclr-j "Tjwt . with a wife and fivi ? chiloren , who bad been ord-ral into the wt . rkhou *? , but after a eg ?"' * trial of his ab-de there , -srent out Dtxt mon . iuK- He ( Mr . Waiter ) had been desired to urge this man ' s title to out-door reHwf before the board . The alit ^ d grouiid of their n-fusal waa , that hi * Vrift hid pracii > ed some imposition upon a beneT' . ient laay , and thertfore tbe husband and whole faiuly were to be punifehtd TVith B-. mt- riimculry tbe Imtbinn was admitted to 16 " boaTd's v-rf ^ nce . and he ( Mr Walter ) thf-n ascertaiutd ,
by the acknowledgment of both the tue ^ ical officers that he laboured nndtr an incurable pnlmonary compluiiit . de produced a good character from a highly rfcepecis . ~ -le master . On questioinns him , a dr . Dbt nrr . se in his ( >! T . " Waiter ' s ; miud whether the man ' s wife b < . d really brtn guilty of the alleged Improj . riity . and . to afford t = TBe for inquiry , a week's ( u :-door allowance was aceorfivd to him , and the boar-. ! was to mt-et in the week following . He iMr . Walter ) received a tno » t coaipV . le and satisfactory answer from the lady whom the W' -man 'as supposed to have defrauded , assuring him that no such circumstances had taken place ; and . forltSfd with this denial , he went to the next board meeting , in full confidence that the guariian <; f the parish who bad brought forward the false charge would at least aid his efforts to relieve this family from the dreaded infliction of the workhtu 3 e . Tbat guardian was if possible , more callous than tbe rest The first order murf be maintained , because they had made it
Into the workhause were the family again sent ; tbourfi nitiintittly , after seme 'Weeks' deiay , out-door relief was aff JTGed . It was in vain to urge to these guardinns that ever if the poor man had been guilty of the offence of having an indiscreet wife , he was not to blame , anrt tbat if he wt-nt into the workhouse , there h »» would certaitiy die ; if they had no consideration for the poor man Lims-lf . why should the inmates of the workhouse have their feelings harrowed up by tbe transportation cf a dying man into the midst of th' m —( bcaT , hear »? But all his representations had been in vain ; the cry was .
tbat having once given their order , it should not be rescLnried . He lived only a few months afterwards , and « ied in his own hahi-ation , the guardian Wmpelf being cailed to his account flrsl —; heaT . hear . ) Was it to be borne that against such treatment as th ; it the poor man should have no conrt of appeal , save only that of the triumvirate of Somerset House , in which the harshest principles of the whole system were represented and concentrated t It "v ? ere endless to repeat all the cases—Wfclj-vuthentieated cases , too—of unnatural severity inflicted by the operation of that law—( hear , hear i
He aid not know a single crime that had not been multiplied through that operation , or a single 8 uflvring which humanity was heir to that had not been aggravated and mnldpii ^ d slso through that law—ihear . l Farther than that assertion , which he coald substantiate by the most irrefragable evidence , he would not at present trouble the House , but pass to another practical difficulty , which , let them enact the law as unanimously as they pSeased , they would never be able te ovweome . How long wonld they get guardians to perform such labiurious duties , and at a distance from their own home 3 of perhaps fifteen or twenty miles ? Indeed , at that moment , he knew a parish in which the parishioners were obliged to club a sum of money to pay tbe guardian they depute
only five miles distant . The office was there b » id to bs anything but honourable or respectable . Lor-ls an ^ country gentlemen might endeavomr to give it eclat at ita beginning , but that z ? al had much cooled , as well it m-tht . and these offices were left to b « performed by those who could ill brook to throw away th ir tims f _ > r nothing . He had alluded , when this most ui . fortunate bill was passed , to the manner 1 a which tbt-y wonld be overwhelmed by reports , amendment acis , acts explanatory , with every trash of that description . Why , no human powers of either body or mind could comprehend or carry all that had been written and printed , at the expence of thic deluded country , in support of tbat measure , by its privuo agents —( hear , bear ) . They were ertcting a Nelson
monument of vast altitude . TLey might also erect a Poor Law monument of equal height , though of more corrup-able materials , of the reports of those Cammissioners Tht > y sought to destroy their enemies , not as Oliver Cromwell said , with paper bullets , but with paper bulwarks and artificial mountains . At the time that ht > first attacked that monstrous law , he estimated that the paper defences would soon reach up to their table . At present they would overtop the chair . He had already got npon the English Poor Law upwards of 20 , 000 pagea ; and it was ia Tain to make an estimate of the Irish , since the first appendix to a report itself weighed * £ lba . Considering their bulk , no two
porters oonld cany them , the Englhh Poor Law papers weighing upwards of twelve stone . The expense of printing them -wonld support the poor of many parishes for h ? kaew not how many years . But there waa one high authority against him , to which be should not have ventured to allnde , had it not been frequently cited against him , and that authority he hoped that he should weat with proper respect . Wh 6 n he heard the greatest hero of his age say , I "know something of Governors-General , and I know something of war and its dificultffcs also , " that man who should not bow » o such authority would be msh and i- discreet to the ¦¦ - nr .--. si ^ et ; of icdism t . oa and rastaas : but K- must
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humbly contend that his Grace had not had that experience of ths internal affairs of this country which other men of humbler general talents might and must have had ; and that ereat man was not , therefore , such overpowering authority upon these anbjeeta as upon those on which his capacious mind had been , he might : almost say , exclusively employed . But there was one fatality alwayB attending the errora of great men , if such they were—that they carried an overwhelming weight with them , which the mistakes of others were not liable to . Would , indeed , that thair opinions were always enunciated with proportionate caution , and never , as be contended in the present case , before the subject could have been fully examined and considered . Tru-y wero informed in the Divina records of their religion , that " when a great man speaketh every maw t > oldeth his tongue , and a look , what he s ^ yeth , they ex ' -iJ it to the clouds ; but , if tbe poor man vpeak . they fcay , what ft iiow is this ? " But if he | Mr . Waiter ) had
met , wi . h opposition en the one hand , ho had likewise met with oncnurogeme-nt on the other , and that from the most honourable and excellent class of men—the clerjty . of tbe established church—a class , also , the individuals t-f which , he would venture to assert , were , ge . erally speaking , quite as competent to deliver their opinions 011 the subject before the House as the imnior > Ul Du' -e was upon that of war ; for they lived with tte poor , in the midst of them , much more even than ha had been in fie midst of his soldiers ; they knew their wanu , moral and pbys c . i ] , and from tbat class of ni « n ho had also received the most useful information , as wtil a * ilie moat strenuous and undaunted support , though means were insidi .-nt-ly taken at first to pruvenft their interference by inserting tbe names of two prelates in the original centra ! c > mmission—( hear , hear ) Ho wouid not , bowevt-r . troubla the House with many of their statements , bnt , he mast be allowed to read ODB from a CtnU ^ niUll mft-vioP to nuns in hi « a ^ nred
order m ptt ^ y intelligence , and who was well known to many Members of tLat House : — " Knowmij that you are aVmt again to bring before the House of C-iwnnma the workhouse system ; is adnnn'stered u . ^ der tho present Poor Law , I think it may not be without aonie usi , if I state to you the result of my own observation of that syst ni , not in all nor many of its btjarings , but simp ' -y in its moral action upon those ' who come under it To myseif this is a painful though voluntnry task ; for v shuws me the error of my own anticipations , and reminds rue of the fault of once dbH-n'iiiig as right wtut I now regret as wrong arid per !; icii > uf > .
•¦ Leivnij , however , such personal considerations . Jet me briefly state to you the conviction to which I hiv « come on the subject , and the reasons \» hich buve bnai ^ bt rne to it . AJy conviction is , that whatever may bi the mal mies under which our social system is suffrr us in tli-i labouring part of it , tbe 'ivesent worfcbouso practice is not their remedy ; it is rather under tin- prumtad of present relief , an aggravation of the d's ^ ase . " I h-. iv seen the wo k ag of the system under , in rmiiy rcsptcr * , favouraM . * circura'tances I have uiarfc-d its cfi " -ct 8 with : \ ii iht clearness I could by pers nal ob * t < rv . ition in uui' » n huii ^ e * , especially In one with which I riaVM b <^ n nearly connected , and by personal inquiry among those who have been inmates of
those bouses ; and the result of both observation and inquiry has been the same . It is a demorai zing system , tenain *; to co nact poverty with licentiousness , and to gt-nerate pauperism and criintJ . 1 only state to jou V 7 hat 1 ku . > - -v to be li erail > true , when I say that in uuinn hpuhfssnppi M ) d to bn administered ;> s well as the system will permit , th' work of demoralization has been going on in evrry w : tru exept those of sickness unu old age . Among thj po » r unhappy children , among the adults o ! either sex , auii ' iig the able bodied , this pr - pajjat ' on of evil has is'uiie on . To particularise and cUabify its firms would be a rev » lting task . It wimld cumprefcemi the recital <» f some of the most disgusting practices t-f licr . utiousn ^ ss and many acts of crime . Pc-reons we !] known to me hi-vn nvowed , that many as were tli » - t > D . pfitiuns Vj md without those walls , thos « wjtbin wet * fjr nn-re nii . "> chitV' ; n . i and danger"U 8 . The
dai . yer mift s from thr constiiut infusion of fresli and v .: Tifcd intt !" . M » es to v ' . re , by those evil communications » li ! ch , in the world at large , are kept in check and weakened in power by many causes . The day of eatering thueo walls t ^ kes , even fn . m the man of fair character , tiincb of th * nonouribie senso of « hame which he had before ; and the bad man enters tl . ein to disdain , and ri » i > cule , and hate ail mural influence—to teuch mischief , tu make the tom-Ue acd ear and mind fauiuuu with those sins in the practice of which be has attained to tbe greatest pTofici » - tjcy . " It would require uome experience , or considerable imagination . to cou : preh ^ nd the extent of this mischief . It is a ntTrr-ce *? ib , ' a ^ e nt of evil , leaving its infection behind , when its actual ^ -reSHnce ia gone . A ward compai'atiVf . ly clear of it to-iiay may to-taorrow , with a fre » b inetntive , break out into every abomination that can pollute the tongue , or corrupt the heart .
" Now to omit , for thu present , all oth ^ r orjections to this system—to say nothinn about its trenchine hard np . - ; n thn fetillngs of humanity , or the laws of God— I would only a > k t « o qiu-stiors in regard to it . Can the L- gNlstaie be ju ^' itl-d in ii flionng on the po' . r a moral evil tbat , < part frum such legislation , has i » o nect-ssary connect ; . > r , with pr . vt : ty ? We know that in the cor-Ti-rtJ' -n "f crime this if rionu through necessity ; but that it is criinu , not poverty that 13 to be dealt with . Tfcu prison will always bt- a school . f moral e ^ il , as wt-il na a pl . ice of pu . i > iiniBiit ; nul ih « rt ; he > . iuinute has broUiht t ' -. o « -vil uiv . n hi ^ ll ^^ lf— Ik haw fo . feiteu the
prote ticn cf t ^ e laws of the country and this ia a part of thoTccoii . i-n-ce of uvii which he has reaped . But what hue a p > -ir faitii y tioru—p < jor only because they are miiuen us a :. d tb--ir srmts msuffioient ?—what have Very djiif ; ihat afer having stiiven in vain to support thrJDte ) vf * . and th ^ n o > w > e to c ^ aini the protection wliich the-cniii » . jil has forfeited , tbey * h 'u \ ii ho , in one respect , trta cd iu the shtdo m ^ rm ^ r with him ?—that they sl . ouM be pl : ir « i ) where , whatever inoril sense they have mu . fi be blunted and destroyed , aud where their caiidrrn vill hear the lessons , if not witness the practice ot profl gacy ?
" Another question I would ask Is this the way to extirpate paui ^ mm fiom the country ? If it be , we matt unlearn every maxim which connects prosperity , either on a large or narrow scale , with moral character . " But it is not Whatever were the calcu . aUons or intentions of the frame , s of this measure iu other respects , they appear to me to have overlooked its moral efil-ctx altogether . Ceria ' . n it is , that its practical effect is to nuderiBise ths moral character and wellbeing of the poor . Its action is all downwards . It has no tendency to raise the moral condition of the labouring clashes ; it bas a direct tendency to degrade and deprave it ; ami , if tbis he true , it stands marked with the worst u ' lBina that can be placed upuii any lawthat vjf deiuuralisiiiE th « . i » H upon whom it acts . " 1 am , dear Sir , " With sincere respect , " A Country Clehgvman . "ToJohn Walter , E .-q . M . P . "
r * ttuq aiiu'LUrr ui *! Uiiivnt nnu * - * c vvua plied , in favour « .. f thts moat paiitful important mcr . Bure . H « wts t . ld that pHntlemen <* ere pledged to it . Upon that point b .. * cmld gi v * a decided negative ; no gentleman , he sffi med , w . is pledged to it . Gentknien might nnbappily . at the first origin of this system of mischief , not Beeing what i . s consequ > nue 3 might bb , fcave been pledged to the introdoction of it ; out did any man . at the time of its introduction , daringly plortg . " himself vo carry r through , however it might affect the people—however odious it might provehowever , in fact , it might subvert the whole order of society ? All that , he said , had been and wao being produced . Was tiny ni 3 n pledged tb . 9 tt , or coulil he now plead that fa ..-was pledged , to persevere in tha irfliction of such evils on tbe country ? To whom was he—to whom could he bu so bound ? To his countryto tbe poor—to hi- » con&c&nca ? Or to his party—bis friends—his political leadeu ? Nay , more unworthy still , did he raeaa that , having given his vote once for 'this monstrous evil , { r-was bound in consistency—bounii in , , care for Ins own reputation , to persevt-re in the faUl course he t > ad besun ? Whats-ver was the caso ko bade-that j man pause . He bade him retrace his steps . Let him nut j speak of pledges s ; rven , or supposed to have been given , wbeji he was totally unable to look into futurity . If anymanbi-1 unhappily so involved himself , he ( Mr . ; Walter ) owned h ; s difficulty but did not doubt as to what was bis duty . Facts—tho facts of the last nine years—had cancelled his obligation . His vote was not \ his own but his country ' s ; and his only honourable retreat was in owning his mistake , and amending it . j
He c > r > jured , therefore , the C" servativus of the House to step forward to the conservation of England . Great apprehensions had been expressed in that House , and elsewhere of a certain leajuo , to the practices of whose leaders he was as much opposed as any man . But let gent . 'pffisn ask themselves fc- > w this league , now so in ? n ^ citig first sprani ? tip . He would tell them : it w : is j-uggi-sted . by a prectain ^ lsa ^ u « sgainst the poor of this country , whose diet was to be reduced in quantity and corrupted in quality . What a burst of indignation would have been excited in that House , as well as throughout the country , if any resolution against tho negro pepulat on . of a character similar to this against our fellow-su } jt-cts hore at home , should have been prc / duced—that thoss blacks were first to have their
daily food debased , and after th 3 t diminished—( hear , hear )! Gentlemen had been benevolent enough abroad ; let them look around them at home . If , as they had been told , they had elevated the condition of the negro slave to such a state of prosperity that he could now drive his gig and drink his Champagne , surely he was not asking too much when he called upon them to elevate the condition of the free white labourer and art zvn of England , whom this law crashed to the earth—ut least to afford him snch subsistence as would preserve him from sinking under a gradual prostration of strength . If they could
not give him his cottage and piece of land which the negroes had obtained , at least let them not insist on his selling everything that bis hovel possesses in order to qualify him for being a tenant in their Tast gaolstbe union workhouses . If they could not give him Champagne , they coald give him the cheap , the wholesome , the nutritious , tbe national beverage of our land —b&er . It was not , perhaps , too late yet to retrace their steps . He felt ssrongly convinced also , that not only that , bmt all the other great subjects of contention , which kept tbe country iu a ferment , uiigLt be composed and beneficially arranged , if gentlemen would in £ o .-i eaii-vs " , " viiiu tLvit ilii .-uijb . ts to tht-x . e subj cts .
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rather than employ their whole time in struggles for political ascendancy . If it were said that such an object was desirable , but that it was impossible to attain it , he would at onee reply that he acknowledged no such impossibility with respact to objects that were rational . He recollected & happy maxim of Mr . Burke npon the subject : — " I know , " said he , " it is common for men to say , that snch and such things are perfectly right , very desirable—but that , nnforiuaately , they are not practicable . Oh no , sir , no . These things which are not practicable are not desirable . There is nothing iu the world really beneficial that xloes not lie within the reach of an informed understanding and a welldirected pursuit There is nothing that G <* d has judged good for us that he has not given us the means t <> accomplish , both in tbe natural and moral world "—( che « rs ) . He ( Mr . Walter ) would not longer detain the House than by moving the resolutions . The folfowing are the resolutions moved by the Honourable Member : —
1 . That In a document entitled , ' Measures ( uhniitted by the Po . r-Law Commissioners to his Majesty ' s Ministers , ' appear the following passages : — " ' That at any time after the passing of this act the Board of Control shall have power by an order , with such exception an shall bo thought necessary , to disallow the continuance of relief to the indigent , the aged , and the impotent , is any other mode than in a workhouse , regulated in euch a manner as by the aforesaid Board of Control shall be determined . " Tbe power of the Commissioners would be to reduce allowances , but not to enlarge . '
• ' ' After this has been accomplished , orders may be sent forth directing that after such a day all out-door relief should be given partly in kind ; after another period it should be wholly in kind ; that after such another period it should be gradually ditn ' nishud in quantity , uutil that mode of relief was ex ' . ingui » b' -d . From thu first ttie relief should be altered in quality , coarse brown bread beinj ; substituted for fine white ; and , con ; currently with these measures as to the out-door poor , a gradual reduction should be made in the diet of the in-door poor , and strict regulations enfor « ed . ' " 2 . That these recommendations , applicable alike to every class of the poor , and etijoining an indiscriminate reduction of their physical convoits to the lowest endurable point , are shown by the subsequent orders and practice vt the Poor Law Comrnission&rs , to form the real though uuavowed basis of tbe present system of Poor Law lvlinf .
" 3 That the suffering already caused by their partial enforcement , and the amount of out-door relief in spite of them still administered , show their provisions to have been at one cruel and impracticable . " 4 . Tha' the attempted substitution of punishment for legal relief haa more and more tended to irrritate ami dish arten the po ^ r , to chock industry , to increase crime , and to encourage various kinds of tyranny , without evtin the proposed compensation of reducing the expenses of the nte-puyets . ' 5 That this house think it , therefore , expedient to demand such a reconstruction of tbe existing system as shall make it conformable to Christianity , sourii : policy , and the ancient constitution of the realm . " Mr . Fkrrand seconded the motion . Tho qner ion having been put from tnn Chair ,
Mr . Walter again rose . Hon . Merrib-r-i had a , skod him where he K"t certain information from to which he had allude ! He had received it from a pi . rso'i who requested that hid uame m ^ ht not be personally given . Sir J . Graham was in hopes , whrn the Hon . MombtT rose for tho second time , that ho was about to supply a most important omission , in his G pp' ch ho had mado an omis-ion that wa . s somewhat startling ; he had read extracts from a document which he had declared to be corfHe . itial , and when ho rose a second time he ( Sir James Graham ) was in hopes he was going to show how he . beanie possessed of it , but nothing was le « s satisfactory th-in his explanation . Upon a former oi-ca .-ion the Hop , Gentleman had asked him if he recollected
tlwse documents , ami upon that occasion bo ^ aid he did not , hut : jnco theu ho hari sotho indistinct recollection that yomo auch dooumerr . existed , and he thought he could inform the House how ihat wa « the case . In 1832 , Lord Grey's Governmen ; appointed a Commidaivn to inquire into tho condition of the labouring po" > r , with a view to amend the li * v , and tho H , n . Member had meutiom ' d to the House the names of some of the most eminent individuals forming tha commission—tho Bishops of London and Chester , Mr . Stnryes Bourne and others , whose names were a sufficient guarantee to the House of the beneficent character of the Commission— ( nsar , hear . ) The Hon . Member had said that a panicilar document waa of a corfio ' ential nature—that it omauate i from the Commission , and was suf mitud to Lord Grey ' s Cabimt . he
^ Ir . Walter observed that said so , but the Right Hon . Bart . had . Sir J . Graham boliovod it was in the rrcollrrtion of the House when he a .-sertud that the Hon . Member had said ho was in possession of a co ' ifi ; e » na ! communication—( hear , hear ) . Now hr . ( Sir Janvs Graham ) conid ttll the House tho precise circumstances under which that document came into tho Hon . Member ' s poj-ses ^ iori—( hear , hear ) . He had uii'lfT- ^ ood the Hon . Gentleman to say that it w ; s a confidential communication ; but whether he naid ho or hoc it was certain thnt it was confidential . Tnis Commission hating prosecuted their inqu . ry , made their report , wh'ch was bid before them and ih ^ public after thut report was printed , in oroVr to bring the
subject in a morv t ^ nfible form under the consideration of Lord Gr < y's Government , certain h . ads or n-fcremia . were prepared from tho report . The Hon . Gentleman saiM that this doe . iraent W 3 S n » vcr signed ; it waf tfne , it was not dt-ni < d by the Commitfioners . Ho beiieved that those h ; ads were proparcii by the professional gen lemen employed by the Commissioners in drawing up their report . He believed tho .-e heads were not known to the Commissioners , but were drawn up by the professional gentemen merely for the consideration of the Government . He ( Sir J . G . ) was told that of this document not more than twenty copies were printed . The Hon . Gentleman was very unfortunate in not having been present in the House during the last session , when the Poor Law , in all its bearings , was largely discussed . ( " No , " from Capt . Peoiiell ) . Why he thought every thing except the Gilbert
Unions was settled to th" satisfaction of the Gallant Captain . The Hon . Gentleman appeared to imagine that the House was pl-dged to the Poor kw . He ( Sir James Graham ) did not rest at all on any opinions which had been announced by the Hon Gentlimen on either side of that House , he was willing to rest the measure upon their practical knowledge and experience of the bad and good in the working of the system —( hear , hear ) . The law was based on tho policy ot " feeding the hungry , and clothing the nak < d ; " its tendency was to elevate the character of the labouring population ; the proportion of those relieved out of doors , as compared with th > sn relieved within the workhouse , was as six to one ; the law was , therefore , not opposed to Christianity or bound policy ; and he would meet the first resolution by tho previous question , and the others with a direct negative .
Mr . Waklby cen « urtd Sir James Graham for attributing improper motives to Mr . Walter . It now turned out that there was such a document , notwithstanding tho faint recollection of Sir James Graham when tho subject was first mentioned . Mr . Bouthwick declared his opposition to the Poor Law , and supported the res < luiions Mr . Aglionbv had supported the New Poor Livv when it ' was passed , and believed that its operations had been generally beneficial : but some ot ' its provisions wero harsh , and had been harshly worked out , and therefore he would support the resolutions , as a means of declaring his opinion that the law should be amended and improved .
Af' . er a few explanatory observations from Mr . Cripps , i olonel SiBTHORr-E declared his opinion that the old system of Poor Law had been excellent , that it had only b <> en mismanaged in a few instances , and that H would be better to return to it . Mr . Stuakt Woutley had never pledged himself to hs constituents to vote for the repeal of the Poor Law . He , was opposed to miny of its provisions , and wished it to bo improved , but he could not support the resolutions . General Johnson ' s great objection to the Poor Law was , that it put the peoplu out of the pule of the constitution , and placed them under thre j individuals at Somerset House .
Sir RobustPeel denied that the principle of the ameudbd Pour Law was oppo-jed to the acts of 34 ih and 43 rd El-zabeth , or that it was more harsh in its provisions . This he illustrated by citing some oftlie provisions of these Acts , especially the power given by tha 43 rd of Elizabeth over the children of such parents as were unable to maintain them . The workhouse test , in lieu of the labour test , was enacted by the 9 ch George I . ; and , therefore , it was neither a novel nor an unconstitutional principle . No great measure waa ever passed without having suggestions being submitted for the consideration of tbe
Government ; and it would lead to much practical inonveuienceif such confidential communications , whether they had been adopted , or , as in the present instance , they had been rejected , were produced and publicly made use of . He adduced the amounts paid for the relief of the poor , as showing that there waa more expended on them than on tho poor of any other country , and after expressing his surprise at the course which Mr . Aglionby had avowed he would adopt , commented somewhat humorously on tho arguments which had been usod by Mr . Walter . He concluded by warning the House againBi tamper ' ing with the Poor Law .
Lord John Mannebs would support the reso Iutions , as expressive of his wish to have the support of the poor placed 011 Christian and constitutional principles . Mr . Muniz attributed the aversion of the people to the poor law , ao one cause of the late insurrection- ! . Sir Walter James objected to the motion of Mr . Walter . But the question of the Poor Law would never be settled without a well-regulatad sjstem of out-door relief .
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Mr . Ferrand said , that on rising to address the House upon a question on -which he had long taken a deep interest , he begged in the first pl-ice to off r his sincere thanks to the Hon . Member for Nottingham for having brought to light what he ( Mr . Ferrand ) considered to be the foulest conspiracy ever entered into in the dark ' azair . st the rights , liberties , and privileges of the poor , j it was now twelve years ago since he ( Hr . Ferrand ) had first taksn part in public affairs , aad on this question he had often received advice from the public speeches of the Hon . Member , which had cheered him on in the course he had pursued in opposing , by every constitutional means in his power , this law , and little did he then think that he should have the honour and the pr ivilege of sitting beside his Hon Friend
when he gave , as he hid tkat night given , the death bow to thei New Poor Law . He (\ lt . Ferrandi deeply regretted the speech which tha Hi o'ht Hon . Baronet at tb >) head of ; the Government hid made that evening . He aid not think that the Right Hoa . Baronet had acted fairly to the Hon . and L » arued Member for Cocfeeraioath . The Right Hon . B ironet saw a rising spirit of independence flowing into the Hod . anil l arned Member ' s breast—he saw that the Hon . and Luarued Member was actuated by no i >; irty spirit , and tbe Bight Hon . Baronet was afraid lest the iadept-n deuce the Hon . and Learned Memb .-r bad shown should become contagious on both sides of tha House , and that if the feelings wbich actuated the Hon . and Learned Member to stand up in the independent
manner he ihad done should be acted upon' on both sides , the Government would be in a minority on thu present occasion , —( hear , bear . ) But what had btea the remarks of the Ki ^ ht Hon . Baront-tthe Secretary for the Home Department- towards th . ' Hon . Member f . « Nottiiighaiii ? Tho Right Hon . Baronet said this was a private document , only intended for tfcs eyea of tbe late G- >> vernieiiti ot which he h ^ d been : \ mbmher . Ht . ( Mr . Ferrand ; Wished the Right Hon Baronet had remained on that side of the House ; if so . Conservative principles would have stood much higher in the eyes of the people ! th ^ n they did at present—( hear , hear , and a laughi . iTne Ri « ht Hoa . Baronet hid taunted his his Hon . Fritnd the Member for Nottingham with a breach of confidence . He ( Mr Ferrand ) contended tat his Hon . Friviid had only discharged a publij « iuty . He had foundjout and draped to linht a document which , without any breach of c ^ ofiii ^ nce on hia part , he found
placed aniongBt liis papers—he cast hu eyes upon it , and said to himself . " Now I will briny before the t )\ es of the people of England this niou .-, trt > us system of oppression . " And how had the Right Hon . Biron-t himself acted the other night , when he ( Mr . Fcr ? u : d ) moved for a return of two letters which emanated from certain manufacturers when the NdW P «> . ir Law was under consideration , and on which tbey entered into au express and declared agit-eineut with Mr . Chadwick , the secrutary to the Pnor Law Cunimibsioners , that if t : i « y only framed the New Poor Law in such a-minner as to throw a large po tion of th « wotk . ng classes of the south into the north—tbat if they were able " to absorb" the Burplus population of the south into the manufacturing districts of ibe North o' England , it would enable them , the lnauufar-tn-fcTH , to ruiuce the price of labour in the north of KsyrmJ . ami to put a atop to the outbreaks f . > r raisii . " wages ? Mr . Wallace—Who said that ?
Mr . Ferkand . —The letters of Mr . Ashwnrth and Mr . Grbj ;; they were in the first report of the Poor Lv * Commissioners . The wordh he had often quoted before , und i : o one man had ever denied tha truth of the quotation . Now , at that viry tiniu a committee of the House was sitting to inquire into the then condition of the hand-loom weavers , and it was proved before that cunmittee that tho hand-loom wea 7 ers were then struggling for existence upon t «; n farthings u-day . - But wh <; t hud the Ri *> ht H ' . 'U . B ^ ruaet sa < t with respect to these two letters ? W / . 'y , hp said they were private communications—that t . .. first l-. ' tt- r of Mr . Asuworth w « ia on
the file of tho Pjdt Law CjJiidissioners , but tuat the letter of Mr . Greg c- 'UM " " . ^ founu . Th-y were , he added , private c' > "imui . ic . i-i"ns which wera never intended to e ^ e ) < j : » ylighi . Iw- fhi-. t ht < had no objection 11 produce Mr . Anhwoiti' / s Itttor and lay it on the table of the H .-u « . N ; . « h-it was the d-. ffon : ic « between the conduct u' the R *! il H <> n . Bat one * iu p . ncing that letti r . "wb ' . cb '¦• & sa'd was of a private natu . e , and never iutemVd to sea t ' . ayliaht , on the tible of the Hpusd . aj ; d in that of his Ho :. Friend the moniber for Noitinehna , »; : ¦> . finding a paper "which hp . d h-jen fiiihniitttid t . i the Cl ¦ v&rnuioiit . brtiuebt it bef ;> rs
the House ? Tuia "us aa ' . d by the Ri ? ht Hon . Bironet to be a breach of ceundi-uue—he i . Vlr . Ferrand ) maintained thf-te w is no breach of confidence ixcept on the part of the Right Hoa . Baroiiet himstif . The Rii ; ht Huu . Biiroiiet bad txpr . ss . ly stated , that the letter written by Mr . Aohwot . h to the Secietary of the Poor Law Commissioner ; - was a private communication , siud now he ( Mr . Ferraod , begged to ask iha Right Honourable Baronet the First Lord of the Treasury ( who had always shown an earnest anx ' tty to pruvnt tha slightest attempt to conceal public ridcurn-jnts ; if tueru was any necessity to kuep back Mr . Grcg'a latter ? It was 83 id irot to be on tha file . Why was it not » n thu file ? Lt the Government say ; at one * : tbat it w uikl be inconvenient to
produce it becvj . se th r * j wore expressions in that letter which ought not t > appo . ar btf ^ re the public . Such he ( Mr . J ' ertin .- ' . ¦ und ^ r . >; ou 1 fro ii the Hoo . Member for OidhHtn to bo thdcuo , but at all events it was ihe < tuty iif the Government to make a strict and s ^ rching inq . iiry aa to ilie rwuons ana means ua ~ i to prevent the production of that letivr . H « now cmie to the question of the workuig of the N < - - ~ Pjof La - in the North of England . ; and what had b-en ita i ff-cts there ? It happened ttiat aino-gdt th « letters c nt lin .-d in th « Erst report of the P . ht L * w C ) 'umisdioners there w : \ s ov . v from Mr . Asuworth in which he t »!< V Mr . Chad wick t ' uat it would be desirable that 20 . 00 U labourers should 6 a sent ffoin the soa'h Jnwn to Stilybriciiju . Nov . tha i ; ispectot of factories tor thit district bait , within the last
few 1 ays , forwarded ilia report to Har Majesty s St-sratary of Stale for ti . ie Home Department anil in it what ¦ lid theylfiad tbert proved to be the stht-J at present of Stalybridge—ths district into which Mr . Chadwick , with th «! coostiit and ut the request of those cotton-Bpinners , Bud through the ajjenry of Dr . K « y—who , for the pa . it he h id taken in securing the elation of Mr . P . Thompson at ilanches ' . cr , had been made a Poor Law Cjmmissiunvr , and who , in a pamphlet , ha < 1 described tue working population of Manchester and iU neighbourhood to b , at that moment , in a state of starvation —had induced tens ef thousands of the population of the south to go into tbe manufacturing districts of the north ? ¦ Ha ( Mr . Ferrand ) wished th » manner in which these wretched poor had been kidnapped and sold into a staie | of slavery , and brought to a speedy death , could be exuosed to the house . But with respect to Stalybridge and its neighbourhood ,
be found the following statement made by Mr . Hnrner , the factory inspector , in his last report : — " The population of ; the three adjoining tow . s of Ashton , Dukenfleld , and Stale ) bridge included , with an are : i of a mile ami a half radius from the most central part of the district , ; is considered to be not less than 55 , 1 ) 00 ; and the proportion of tbe working population , that is , those below the rank of shopkeepers , has been estimated at eighty per cent in Aabton , ninety in Staleybridge , and ninety-four in Duksntleld . This dense population has been brought together chiifly by the extension of the manufacture within a very short period . ! The population of the borough of Ashton and township of Dakenfield together was . in 1821 , 14 318 ; in 1831 , 29 , 352 ; ana in 1841 , 45 , 074 . I am un ibie to give thelexact numbers for the whole district , because Stale ) bridge is partly in Lancashire and purely in Cheshire , but the increase there has probably bet ^ n in a similar ratio / ' Now . he asked the House to listen to
what followed : — " Ho v little the moral aad religious improvement of the large number of the hamoier ciass ^ s has been h ' therto an object of solicitude , the following facts will show : —In che borough of Aaiuon , with ajpopuhtion of 25 , 000 , there is no national school , no school of the British and Foreign School Society , nor any other public day-school for the children of tho working classes . The same is the case at SUleybiidge and Diikui fi « ld , with tfc « slight exception 1 shall now sute ^ I mantioned in the report above referred to that a national school had recently been
built at jStakybridge , but . I rpgret to say , it is uot yot in operation . " Now this Dr . Kiy , who , by tha by , held also the situation of secretary to tbe Education Board , « ras tho agent employed by Mr . Chadwick and the Poor-Law Commissiouers to carry down 20 , 000 southtrn labourers to : ^ placa where there was not . an atom of chance of their ' receiving the slightest education . Njw , was not this BOinttb ug serious und alarming—namely ,, tbat for tbe i purpose cf carrying out the New Poor Law it was necessary to absorb the population of the south into the north ? Where did han . members think the
tirst outbreaks took place ? Why at Stalejbr'dge . where there waa a population whose minds , from their sufferings , were easily excited by men of deeper designs , but who had not the courage to show their facas , and who left tbair victims to appear at the uav of justice , and puss thence to transportation , while th&y slunk aw . iy iuto the darir . He maintained that the origin of the outbreak was the iniquitous , atrocious , bloodsbiruty Poor Law . But for that law the popa ' atiou of the north of England would not have had their market for labour entrenched upon by the introduction of tens of thousands of the masses of the south , —and they would hitve bad tome chance of earning a subsistence by a fair price for their labour , if they bad not been robbed of it under the operation of the N ^ . v Poor Law . He found the other evening that the hon . member for Manchester thought proper to deny some statements he ( Mr . Ferrand ) had made with respect to the treatment of children employed in a mill belonging to a
cottOD-spinnar in fLancashire . The hon . member said he ( Mr . Ferrand ) had told the House that that there were certain j Poor Law unions where the overseers handed over the orphans under their care and protection to employers without iuqnmng into the mode of treatment to which they wonld be exposed . He ( Mr Ferrand ) had stated the circumstance upon an authority on which he knew he coald place reliance—he bad learned it from persons of unquestionable veracity ; and , although the matter had been denied by the Hon . Member for Manchester-, ha ( Mr . Farrand ) knew very well that the hour Was not f » r distant when he would , receive an authority ! backed either by persons who had . beheld those scenes of cruelty , or who wero prepared to prove ev « ry word wuich ho ( Mr . Ferrand ) bad uttered . No sooner had the spa-ch of the Hen . Member for MauGhescer reached that town thun the reprfcmntutives of the ¦ working ol&sses , who : ' . d 7 ocat «< i the Ten Hours Fa clary Bill , mti ' . acd itaea . I resolutions , which aa they rtlitct
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to himself he would not now read . Bat he Ti * a received a letter from one of the body Mr iv *«» £ r which corroborated all he had said . He trustfdS House would allow him to read that letter YearS year these poor girls were kept in a state of slaved bntat last human natnre cou'd bear it no longer thlv burst from the chains of the manufacturer , and «„ away to their parents . And what was their punS rnent ? He ( Mr . Doherty , saw tbe room inw £ these girls were'confined : the light was completelv excluded ; they were not allowed either fire , lirfit ol bed . and their nsnal allowance of food was consider ably diminished . Their hair was rat off and thei » confinement lasted for several days . During tbe con
finement of Esther Price , several of her fellow apprentices mitigated the rigour of her pnnisbment bv putting in through the crevices of tha wainsco ' tine which separated this room from the adjoining apart ment portions of their own rations , as well as cloafca . &c . to cover her by night . On the Friday afternoon the matron died , and the remains lay in the nex ; room to that in wbich the poor giri was confined . When she heard this , she was driven almost frantic with fright On the following day , when refreshments were brought her , she rushed out of the room , and told theperson having her in charge that she would not , under any circumst . inces , pass anotbir night in that apartment The man said , Well , Either , if you pledge younelf
not to be seen , I shall say nothing about jt but you know , if you are seen , it h as much as my place ia worth . " These chil dren were placed in that man's power under the operation of tbe New Poor Law . It was from the union workhouses that this man was supplied with theaa apprentices , and he would ask the Right Hon . Baronet whether , in a civilized country , the people of England would long allow these thiDgs to exist , and whether tlie working classes owed allegiance to the Government if , on those circumstances being brought to its know * leriife , it did not immediately take steps to put a stop to such proceedings ? There was another inatance of ili-treatment of the poor which he had alluded to the other when
evening he had moved for certain retnna relative to the operation of the New Poor Liw . He had stated that in the month of May , 1842 , there were a number of people sent from the Skipton Union work house to a man named Threlfall , a millowner at Halifax He had asked the Right Hon . Baronet the Secretary of State for the Home department if there was any communication extant between the Poor Law Commissioners and that millownar ? The Right Hon . Baronet had replied that there was no statement or correspondence whatever in the office of the Poor Law Commissioners on this subject , After that , he ( Mr . Ferrand ) had asked him if he would cause an inquiry to be made in the office of Secretary of State for the Home
Department whether there was any such commnnication aa tJ him , in his high office , the poor most loot for protection if their rights and privileges were invaded Tnat Right Hon Baronet had informed him that there was not any such communication . With the permission of the House he would read a statement connected with tbe transportation of these people from the Skipton Union workh .. use to this mill : — " Sir , —I thank you for tho attention you have paid to the subject of my lettar , and for your communication . It was Skipton Uaion workhouse from whieh the hands woe brought to ThrelfilVs mill . The vrecise number cannot now be ascertained , but . aa far as I can learn , there would be about twenty ; four of those were so-lame tint
tbey could not walk between Skipton and Addingham a distance only of six miles , so they were brought in Threlfall ' a tax cart ; also one was very much deranged in her mental faculties , These were all females . The name of the poor idiot was Hannah Cockshot . I regret that I am unable to give you the names of the four cripples . One of them , whos 9 name is Elizibeth Townend , was so lame , tbat she was unfit fer an ; employment , much less to btand twelve hours a-day in a factory . After her day ' s work she was scarcely able to w .-ilk to her lodgings . Thus are Vie poor creatures conveyed like subjects for dissection , from the union
warkhouse to the factory to be experimented upon by the manufacturers . These facts ora well known t » many in Addingbtm ; but , if you , Sir , do not think them sufficiently authenticated to warrant an exposure in the Senate House of Britain , I hope you wiUatle&st make the world acquainted with those facts which haTe been proved before you in a court of justice . Alice Morrill 13 so far convalescent as to be able partially to resume her employment . " Now , here he would ask what chance there was for protection for these poor people ? Tho father of Alice Morrill declined to mak « any statement , as he was an overlooker in Mr . Threl fall's mill . There was another instance of the cruelties
practised under this New Poor Law , and it discovered tbe secret motives that had influenced the first pro 1 posers of this law—of the Ashworths and the Qregs , when they wrote their letters and did their utmost to u-ge forward the law , and to get into their districts the population of the south to beat down the wages of the labourers , of their own workpeople . The workpeople of Mr . Threlfall were ao badly paid , and so ill-used and over-woiked , that they had struck for wages ; and for the purpose of enabling him to carry on his mill , he applied to tbe Skipton workhouse , whence were forwarded to him twenty hands ; and these poor people were obliged to work for the wastes he chose to nive him . Tbe Hon .
Members for Botton and Manchester had warned the house against hi 3 statements unless authenticatf . d . They h id insinuated , as usual , thut it would be desirable that the H' use and the country should not HBten to wlnt he ( Mr . Ferrand * said , unless it wera fully proved betata the House . He I Mr . Ferrand ) little thought that on the following morning the report of the Faetory Inspectors would be placed in his hands . Since then Hon . Members of that House had gone to him , and raid . — " Why you understated tha conduct of the manufacturers in the North of Ewland . When the Secretary of State for the Home Department chided you for having used the expression monsters in human shape , " you did not to tbe extent you were justified express your abhorrence of their conduct" Ha would ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department , whether he felt
it his .. " uty to inquire whether the guardians of the Skipton Union had placed in th 8 power of this maDUfacturer twenty hands for his mill , three or four of whom were cripples unable to walk , and one of tbem an idiot ? He was about to read an extract from the report of the inspectors of factories for the naifyear ending the 31 st of December , 1842 . It was rather long , but he trusted the House would bear with it—( hear , hear ); and be would ask the Honre to rescue the masses of the people from the oppression and plunder inflicted upon them , for their burden was too heavy to be borne . This was the report of Mr . Saunders , and was dated the 25 ; h of Janusrf , 1813-the last report , "I was about to prepare my report for the last quarter in the early part Of m month , when I received notice of one of the most gross
and oppressive violations of the law , during w ^ " * ending the 25 th ultimo , that has occurred to my M ° *" ledge since the Factory Act was passed . Th »» j »«« me to delay my report , iu order to wait the result 01 a careful investigation of the circumstances relating to tbat of&ace . and the adjudication of any comply " which might be prefened against the ^"" f ^ L . tS : investigation was very efficiently conducted 1 BJ '» Baker , the superintendent . " He wonld here beg Ieam to bear his testimony to the conduct of Mr . Bater , wr he 1 Mr . Feirand ) never saw a man conduct hW . m with more justice to tbe parties concerned . *"" regret So say the wilful and deliberate overwo « mg m various both boys and g irls , bntc ?~"
young persons , . ; the latter , between the ages of fourteen or eig ™^ was clearly established . Tbia occurred Bt a muj » Addingbam , in Yorkshire , which has only been occupied a few months , in cotton spinni .-. g , by thein rm Messrs . S-ed and Co ., of which a Mr . William Threinw is tii--. managing partner . Ths mill was at wortt mw » six o ' clock en Thursday morning , the 22 nd me , na twelve o ' clock the same night , which < aU ° wlD ? J hours for meal time ) was an employment for sixw * hours of the several persons detained between w periods , some of them being under eighteen year &
ajffi . This was , however , comparatively * ' * . offence to what followed . The mill commenced wore ii , g again the next morning . Friday , the « » the machinery continued running from mal . ' . with only short intervals for meals , on * the whole of Friday night , the whole or ° day , and until three o ' clock on tw * morning ( Christmas D ^ y ) , a perwd of for ty-UJ en rf Now , these twenty paupers were placed to me v ¦ ^ this monster in human shape , " and ns ass ^ R'ght Hon . Baronet would he mak « an »< J ' ' ' this statement ? He ( Sir J . Grabani ) mas ., ore ^ l , ; m ,,. l * <„ tUn nnntinn fn ho PmHuA OH tO "»" =.... _
offiae . " There can be no doubt but that sow ^^ Jiands under eighteen years of uge were presed . ^ the whole of this excessively long V °° j ^ propoint ; was not proved in tba c . isos sel ected to ^ secntion , because it waa necessary , in order for more than one penalty , to lay distinct info ^ for ihe-wrong employment f < Mff-rent young P- ' ^ ^ jg each separate day . It was , however , Pr ovea ' ' . JwJc of fourteen bad been kept to work from ^ - ^ ^ on Friday evening , the 231 . during all the mg ; ^ next day , and through Saturday night ^ urh , 111 ^ on Sunday , the 8 « h . -a-period <* thm ** " g 7 ioBS the same persons haviug baen worked on me' * ^ day ( Thursday ) till twelve at night apd agam of the Friday afternoon . Suca ^^^ J ^ L ^ M , and tender females , who cannot be _ « . eemefl £ i » -w ^ merited , in my opinion , the heavies . V ** myje « ? I inm jmnM ! o ( i / nr etifth fiflR * nce 3 : ana 1 Jtta
justified in sectioning Mr . Baker ' s ^ g *** complaints in such a manner as to -aftjj "" ^ in trates an opportunity of awarding . Pjg ^ Tbe some degree commensurate with « je on mforffl 4 offenders were convictedipn seven difl ^> ^ # lions , sis of which the mSgistrates ; * wmjl »^ p to demand severally the full P ^ & '* J 75 « No * other office wag punished by « W «* f ; STV ^' l £ . T « tt vrfe ! sarsSaantTOa . aff iS £ ps ? £ ? . sfSS" ?? gistrauj . who was a part-owner of that mui . ^ larrand , knew that Mr . Threlfall ^ J ^ J , * & , totbaKifht Hon . Baron . fc . He ^ I ^^ j V that so far as money could make ^» " ^ t of tW hia atrocitiea , he muss pay tbe whole amoun rContinued in ovr Seventh page . )
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1 6 T HE N ° RTHERN sT AR ±
3smprrt'ai 3iarltamrnt
3 Smprrt ' aI 3 iarltamrnt
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), March 4, 1843, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct792/page/6/
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