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HOUSE OF LORDS—FfiiDAT , Mabch 4 > lord Clase > 'do # requested information from Lord Aberdeen respecting tbo preparatians which -were now making on the French frontier of Spain for a projected insurrection in that country . Both soldiers and civilians , "who were known to have been concerned in the late revolt , and ¦ wh o made no secret of their , present © bjes ^ b » fl traversed France from every-quarter : warlike stores were openly being accumulated on the frontier ; and yet the French Government , with most ample means at its disposal , had mad © no effort to prevent , or even to impede , tfc > se proceedings . . The end proposed to be obtained by thi 3 intended insurrection was neither
the restoration of the < Jueen Regent , who had voluntarilj resigned her power , nor of Don Carlos , whose « aa ? e was admitted to be hopeless ; it was merely to bring back anarchy and disorder . Such an attempt was -qppw ? d to tbo feelings cf ti > e whole people ; it -would be Vigorously resisted by Espartexo , under -whose QjvernmeEt Spain had made rapid progress in civilisation and presp-rity , and he had no doubt it would entirely fail . It req-ired , however , to be vigilantly matched , and he theref > re wished to know if instructions had been sent to cur ambassadors upon the subject , and if in case of an insurrection ; ships would be despatched to the parts -A Spain to afford protection to her Majesty ' s subjects ? .
Lord ABEBDEBX fxpressed his conviction that on no subUc * v-ere men of all parties so firmly agreed as in the Irish to render Spain really prosperous and independent The plot which was a : present in progress had done much io insure its owe failnTe . ItB ramifications were intiiaa ' ely known to tfce Spanish Government , ' which was prepared to resist it with every prospect of success , while from France , in answer to his communications , he rectiT-d assurances tiat the preparations -which were in protrr-jis upon the frontier were without be sanction , sad tlist every means had been , and should be , eniplo ^ e- - to Intercept persons against "whom there were
grout os for suspicion . He must be cor . t nt to receive the ^ assurances j but aitbonga the character of the MiniFttr from whom they proceeded entitled them to the uvsnost respect , tL ^ re should be no want of vigilance . End n > - exertions should be war ting to aid the Regent in maintaining his position , if it Bhould be endangered . He did n . _ t believe that any alliance existed between the part i-dna of Don Carles and the ex-Regent Christiana ; and he- considered the plot to be less formidable than "Was rt-presentea . Still , however , British interests dim . ' . a be adequately protected , and every assistance afforded to an oKt ally in whose welfare this country felt si , much concern .
Lord Bhoughaii called the attention of their Lordship * : o the very inadt-quste pensions which had been assivi-ed to the daughters of the late Sir Robert Kenned ; , -who had been for many years at the head of the Commissariat Depatment . The Duke of Wellixgiox , after paying a high tribute to the merits of the deceas d , promised his injmeiviaid attention to the casa of the daughters , that some ire vision might be made for them more worthy of thfiiffather's services . ln-rd Momeagle then rose , pursuant to notice , to lay btfor * the House his motion respecting the late fraud in the issue of ISxehequei-bills . Its object had no r terence to that of the mbasure which had been introduced , in the otatr House . It was simply that the < iues > : ion should be decided whether the frauds had been in aey degree caused or facilitated by the act or neglect of any irablic-pmeer r& ponsible to Parliament In the of of
mani ^ ment office Controller-General there had nut been for up-wards of a century any change or any relaxation in th « previously existing tuIss . It had always feeen the custom te place much confidence in the iic ^ ders of the principle offices , in the choice and appointment of whom the utmost caution was exercised ; and iu the case of the author of the late frauds , every cream-tance of lon ? -tried probity and high respeetahflitj of family and character appeared to have combined to lull suspicion . Ths N « ble Lord then related tlie facts ¦ which bad led to the discovery of forgeries , and defm-j ^ d the conduct < rf Govenrment during the exaiuinafocs of Exchequer Bills in withholding from the parties t-..- * - forged Bills that they produced . The appointment of the commission , which had already m ^ de its tep- 'iz . wonld have superseded the necessity of his met : n were it not for five points upm which they ste * = v . laat the former practice had been departed from , or f .-raser precautions relaxed . These were : —
l ~ t , " The abandonment of a second counterfoil trLii aad been deposited in the Bank of England . " S- "' - - ' The nejleei of comparing the Bills with their counterfoils at thePaymaster ' a-cffice , at ' the exchanging , paying off , or funding of the BUls . * 3-i . " The distribution of the eountsjf oils without tihe schcrity Gf a Treasury warrant . " 4 ju " The signing of Bills of the same issue by more tha :. iae person , ind the omission cf a noti 2 c : t : on in the OiztUe . where any other person other than the priRc i ual -sraa authorised to sign . " 5 . ^ - ' The occaiiosal signature of Bills without the presses of a clerk , or of the slguing-bvok , elsewhere than i , i the wfiee . "
"C ptii . each of these instances of deviation frdm the est 3 : shtd practsca the Noble Lord shorty spoke in excuiTiitioa , and after vindicating the motives by whi ; b ne bad been actuated , moved that a committee of ivqv . Tr be appointed , that it might be ascertained if sxt neglect on his part had offered facility to fmuiL Lord BBOtGniM considered that the csursa which had been adopted by the Government would be more Bitisiiictory than the appointment of a committee lucb as Lord Mcnteagle recommended . » With respect to U . e poiiits to which tie former commission had
dirfcc := d attention , he expressed his assent to the explar .-i . on which h . id been rSjrded , exctpt in the case f Si ? uing bills in other plates than the proper office . Sir J . im 'Nevfp .-rt haa indeed done so upon one or two occasions , but the bills so signed were deficient bills , while Lord M&ntt _ a ^ e iiad ii ^ == d Snppiy feiUs . He defenaro ai considtrable ltafeta tb . d piacuce of the oSke tmder Si ; John T ^^ wporfs LTip ^ rin lendeu ce ; and after goini- vrryfully tar-.-ugh all the details ufitke subject , eoaciufled by declaring that the vindication both of Lorv .- Mont ^ gle and his predecessor was in tvery par-Bcu' ircc ^ mplete .
Tfce Duke of Wellixgtoiv approved of the course Lorti Monteagle haa taken in bringing a question which had excited somuchatisntiouunderdiscu&ion . although no r . iitne had ever betn laid to his charge "by any auihoTJty . It was absolutely necessary that there should be an inquiry which would protect the present holders of tLr nills . and support the credit of the public seculitde ?; but he trusted that no obstacle would be thrown in tLy -way of the investigation whieh had- been entered ¦ upor . " by the other House , by establishing anosher inquiry which would still be lisble to sbjectitn . He pre&ptid Lord Montesgle , therefore , to withdraw his mot-n , piondsing thaV the clauses he might wish inserted in the Bill now before the other House should receive attention . To this course Lord ilOSlEiGLE assented , and his motion teing willitirawii , ^^ ionkhiEs adjoumei Monday , March 7 .
The business consisted rn an explanation from the Earl of Aberdeen ; as to the circumstances connected "with the conversation which he had held with the Fre * ca Ambassador , © n the subject of the occupation of Aiiriers ; and a defence , by the Earl of Mir . to , of his administration of the naval affairs cf the ^ ounvry , frem the snimadversions of Sj Charles >* npier in the House of Commons , on Friday nijit This ira 3 held to be irrefiatarly brought under disensron ; and-Uie House shortly afterrrards adijumed .
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HOUSE OF COMMONS . —Friday , Maech 4 . T ! e Speaker took the chair at five exinutes before four o ' c ! oek . x . ra mabox brougut in fae Copyright Bill , wb . 5 cll was r ^ ad a first time , asd ordere . l to be read a ¦ second time on Wednesday , t-e 25 rh inst On the motion of Sir C . Kapier , a return was ordt > -d of tiie number of vessels arriving from America , at th- Port of Liverpool , laden with corn , duuag the years 1 S 40 and 1 S 41 , and statiug the numbsr of days each aiiip occupied in the voyage .
V'r . Feeeand gave notice , thst . when the Hon . Member for Saiibrd ( Mr . Brcthtrtonj brousht forward his notion for an "Address for a return of the names or firms of a ! i occupiers of cotton , -woollen , flax , and silk mills or factories , who pay the wages of their workpaopls in goodd instead of money , or who directly or inlircctly , by their partners , servants , or relations , suppiy gooii 3 or provisions on the track system ; and also -. he niines cf the jilaces where &uch mills are sitnited ; " it ~ as his intention to move , after the words silk mills or factories , " that the following words be intr >> meed , " print-works , coal-works , and iron-works , " and -. feat there be added to the proposed motion , " and also tne nasica or firms of all occupiers » . f print-works , eoal-Torks , andiron-works , who compel their workmen fco reside in cottages belonging to their employers . "
L-rd J . Rxssell said , he had received letters stating that with respect to the scale of towns from which the averages were to be taken , it was considered they bad not been properly selected . Some towns had been included in tie scale where very little corn was sold , and other towns where large quantities Were sold , bad bsen altogether left out of the scale . ' Sir R . Peel : I will move for leave to bring . up the report , snd then I will answer the Nobla Lord . The Report on the Com Law Importation Act having been brought up and read .
Sir B . P £ EL said , the bill which had been proposed was in strict conformity with the resolutions which had been agreed to , and the explanation which he gave in moving fjr a committee on the subject ; he wished to state that he had received letters from inspectors , stating hardships on them , anH ssfclug for compensation . Tie arrangement ne proposed with resp : ct to the inspeewTs , lie proposed to keep in tffice all efficient officers , placing them under the « ontrpl of thS board of excise , and in all the new towns to have the averages taken by the excise officers . He trusted the whole
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duty would be taken under the superintendence of the excise , ao aa te cause little or no additional sxpence . He proposed that the bill should , as soon as it received the sanction of the legislature , come into immediate operation ; and he should not , therefore , postpone that operation until the settlement of the question of averages . He always , in proposing an extended area for . the averages , sought to hare additional opportunities for taking them , and additional precautions againBt conspiracy to raise the averages . In the revision of the lists of towns he had acted on this principle ; there were near 150 towns from which the averages were _ collected , in that number there were a certain proportion of manufacturing , agricultural , and commercial towna ; and in his plan he had followed the same ratio in the new '" ----- ..
towns selected . But the whole would be open te the revision of the House , according te the information it should receive . Mr . Cobde . i begged the attention of the house for a few momenta to a matter relating personally to himself . He alluded to the observations made a few evenings ago by an Hon . Member of that House , who stated that whilst he ( Mr . Cobden ) waa calling fo * a repeal of the Corn Laws , he was working his mill night and day , and , moreover , that by this cruel means he had amassed a large fortune . At the time that statement was made he declined tresspassing on the attention of the House , in order that by not doing so then he might be better prepared to do so at a subsequent period . With that view he had written to the country for the fullest and
most precise information upon the subject of the Hon . Membtr ' s charge , to which he would solicit the attention of the House . He would first of all mention that the concern -with whieh he was connected employed about six hundred persons , and he found , from the information which had been tnpplied him , that dnring the last eighteen years there had been employed duri g night twenty men , and that during an interval of eighteen months , ten men had been casually employed at night finishing up some work . Now , by the charge of cruelty he believed it was intended to convey the impression that those who worked at night worked also by day j but that was not the cas ? . They were fresh hands ; they were pereons who had notning else to do , and who would have been altogether idle if they had
not been so employed in the establishment with which he was connected —( Hear , hear . ) Tha letter be received on the subject stated , " I only wish we could employ five hundred extra hands at night ; for we could have five thousand if we required them , and very glad those fi . 78 thousand persons would be to get work to do by night , for they never were so badly off as they are at present" —( hear , hear . ) Aa the difference between cotton spinning and cotton printing did not appear to be well understood , be wished to observe that cotton printing was something like paper printing—it bad its seasons ; and te prevent persons engaged in that branch of trade from occasionally employing half a dczen extra hands by night , would be like interdicting the proprietor of a magazine from employing printers by night
towards the end of the month and juBt previous to its publication —( bear . ) The Hon . Member who brought forward the charge also spoke of those manufacturers who belonged to the Anti-Corn Law League , as being in the habit of paying their workmen ' s wages by truck sj ^ ein- Now , as that -was a breach , or at least an evasion , of the l aw , it became a matter of serious charge , and us he ( Mr . Cobden ) was proud of belonging to the Anti-Corn Law League , and hoped he might long bo so—( a laugh ) , —he felt himself bound to show the House bow far the Hon . Member ' s statement was comet by reading another passage from the letter which he heid in his hand . It said— " Of course yon are aware that our wages are paid < very Saturday , as is well known , at eight o ' clock in the morning , so that
the workmen can lay out their money to the best advantage , and wherever they pleaBe "—icheers . ) Nothing could be more futile than for a person like him ( Mr . Cobden ) to disclaim the truck system if he really sanctioned or practised it , becausa the shopkeepers , who were exceedingly jealous cf anything of that kind , were also exceedingly acute in discovering who were the parties who paid money and who did not ; and in answer to the charge against himself , he begged to say thathe paid £ 20 , 000 in wages during the last ten years ; that during that time be had never , directly or indirectly , betn connected with a shop , or with any other than his own establishment , and that every farthing of the sum he had mentioned had been paid in cash—{ cheers ) . That was notorious to every one in the
neighbourhood of the establishment to which he belonged ; and when the Hon . Member opposite made his charge so broadly and without excepting him ( Mr . Cobden ) , he was aware—because be had been informed by an Hon . Gentleman who sat near him , and who was opposed in politics to him ( Mr . Cobden ) ; the Hoc . Member was at the time aware that the charge was unfeunded —( cheers ) . He ( Mr . Cobden ) called upon the Hon . Member for Wigan to say whether what he now stated was not literally correct and true . What he said a week ago he now repeated , that he considered this a vary undignified occupation for them to be engaged in , and be hoped he would not in future be expected to come forward to repudiate and rebut charges of this kind from the same quarter —( cheers ) . If any Hon . Gentleman should
condescend to take the slightest interest in his person *! character , he - ref erred >" "i at once to his neighbours and his working people , hoping that he would aet upon the principle of " do unto otaera aa you would wish others to do nnto yon , " and , before he relied upon testimony from any other quarter , inquire after his ( ilr . Cobden ' s ) character in his own neighbourhood , where be was best known—( bear , hear ) . 1 b conclusion , he would state , that an Hon . Gentleman in that House had been intrusted with declarations from a large body of individuals in Lancashire against the charges which had been made against those respectable gentlemen frho were members of the anti-Corn Law League , and requesting him to lay before the House a distinct denial of those charges .
Mr . C . Yillieks rose before the Hon . Member for Knaresborough , because he was the person to whom the declarations referred to by the Hon . Member for Siockport had been confided . The House would remember the circumstances under which certain charges bad been made by the Hon . Membor for Knaresborough against the manufacturers . The Hon . Member , in opposing his ( Mr Yilliers ' B ) motion , said that hia arguments against it were founded upon certain charges which iie brought against the manufacturers , and those charges he qnalified by saying that he did not apply them to the manufacturers of England generally , but to those manufacturers who had contributed to tho Anti-Corn Law League . The nature of these charges having become matter of notoriety , and he ( Mr . Villiers ) having stated
in his remarks to the House that they were of so senous a character , and had been received in so striking a manner—tenders)—as evidently to show that they were generally credited by Hon . Gentlemen at the opposite side of the House—those manufacturers against whom they were made had deemed it right to take them into thbir considtratit » n , for the purpose of seeing how far the Hon . Member for Knaresborough might have been justified in making them . He ( Mr . Villiers ) would , therefore , trouole the House , in the first instance , with an extract from the speech of the Hon . Member . He said— " When detailing the other night the misery , tlie oppression , the plunder , and robbery committed on the po « r by the Anti-Corn Law League manufacturers , 1 brought under l * e notice of the House the evils of the truck » y 3 teic . I have since received some farther information upon that subject . But before I read to the Hou « e a statement which will make it stand
aghastwhich will freeze its blood with horror , 1 wish particularly to re-assert , in the prince of the House , that 1 do not charge thewh leof the manufacturers of England with bdng parties to this nefarious system . I posi tively declare that I charee only the anti-Corn Law Ltague manufacturers . I have been told by many ma-Eufacturfcra in my own neighbourhood—as honourable men as ever lived , and of whose society 1 am proud—1 have bten toM by them , time after time , that they cannot compete with the anti-Corn Law League inanufictuiers , because it was their practice to pay their nitn in muney , and not in goods . It is a notorious fact , that niasttr manufacturers clear twenty-five percent- by the goods they sell to their workmen , and ten per cent by the cottages in which they are compelled to reside There , then , is the glorious system of fr ^ e trade , under which the anti-Corn Law League manufacturers stand up in the House of Commons and exclaim , Before us tie landed interest shall fall . * " He had then taken thy
liberty of saying tnac the charge could not rest there , atd those -who made it , and those who by their vociferous cheering sanctioned it—( cheers;—were bound to see that such a charge was proved— ( loud cbeers . ) The charge had , of course , fallen under the notice of the persons implicated , and they had drawn up th& following Bfcit ^ ment , which he would read to the house : — " We , . the undersigned manufacturers , feting subscribers to the anti-Corn Law League , having heard , with surprise , tiie statements mad « in the H onse of Commons by Mr . Ferrand , the member fur Kcaresborough , do htrcby repudiate them in the moEt distinct and unequivocal manner , and do declare them to be utterly
destitute of truth . We distinctly Btata that we keep no truck-shops , and that we Co not pay our workmen otherwise than in the current coin of the realm "—• ( loud cheers from the Opposition . ) This declaration was signed by seventy-two manufacturers who were members of the anti-Corn Law League —( cries of " Name , name . " ) He had no objection to read the names . The Hon . Member read the names of the subscribers to the declaration , and then said that he was qaite ready to give a copy of the document he had just read te the Hon . Member for Knaresborough , and he thought the House would agree with him that that Hon . Member was bound to give Borne explanation of his statement —( cheers . )
M . Ferrasd said , that in the first place he would apply himself to the complaints of the Hon . Member for Stockpert . He had not eharged that Hon . Member with cruelty to his workmen —( loud cries of "Oh ! ob . ' ") No notice bad been given to him of the course intended to be punned that evening—(" Oh !* and cheers;—and the present conversation had come upon him quite by surprise ; bat as far as he could recollect what h& had said with regard to the Hon . Member , it was this , that , whilst he came down , night after night , to that House complaining of the sufferings of the people , he was keeping his own workmen employed in working his mills night and day —( cheers . ) That was , to the best of his recollection , ths statement he had made . He hnd not made nse of the words abominable cruelty , ' ner had he referred to any particular cases of ill-treatment on the part of the Hen . Member towards his workmen —( hear . ) The Hon . Member had said be had charged him with being a party to the
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truck ayseni . He had never done any snch thing . Jf it had been his intention to prefer any such charge against him , he should have told him of the charge plainly and without equivocation—( cheers . ) But it was not his intention to charge him with participating in that system . On the contrary , an Hon . Gentleman on that ( the Ministerial ) side of the House bad told him previously that the Hon . Member for StocSport was not guilty of that charge , and that he paid all his men with money—( bear . ) He hoped that statement would convince the Hon . Member that he bad misunderstood him —( loud cries of "Oh ! oh ! "' from the Opposition benches . ) Now with regard to the statements of the Hon . Member for Wolverhanipton , he begged leave again most positively to as sert , and be . "
was ready to prove his statement by the evidences of credible witnesses before a committee or at the bar of that House , that Members of the Anti-Corn Law League did pay their people in goods—icrles of " AH , all ? " ) He had never Bald they all paid their workpeople in that manner —( cries of " Oh ! oh ! " and ironical cheers . ) He had never used the word " all" at all —( laughter , and repeated cries of " Oh J oh ••) He again asserted what he had said , and he was prepared to prove every tittle of it by the evidence on oath of magistrates , clergymen , gentlemen of high standing , manufacturers , tradesmen , and workpeople , who , since he had made his statements , had given him information on the subject in their own names , and who were prepared to prove the truth of every representation he had made—( loud cheers . ) - . ,
Mr . ViiLiEHS—I beg most distinctly and unequivocally to say , that the Hon . Member did charge all the manufacturing Members of the anti-Corn Law League which being parties to this syetem —( cries of " Order , ** " chair , '' and loud cheers . ) I can remind the Honte of a circumstance —( Renewed cries of " Order . ) The Chancellor of tub Exchequer—Sir , I rise to order—( hear , hear . ) I put it to you , Sir , if when an Hon . Member distinctly and positively repudiates the use of a certain expression any other Hon . Member ia justified in persisting in attributing that expression to him . In the present case the Hon . Member denies that he attributed to all the manufacturers a participation in the truck system—Mr . V i LL 1 EK . S—Oh ! I do not Bay that he did —( cries of " Order , " " chair , " )
The Chancellor op the Exchequer ( not noticing the interruption )—and I am sure the House will be satisfied with that Hon . Gentleman ' s statements , and that you , Sir , will interfere to prevent this sort of recriminatory conversation . . Mr . Villiers again rose amid loud cries of " order , " order , " but gave way to Mr . Labouchere , who said that be bad certainly net understood the Hon . Member . for Knaresborough to charge the truck system upon all the manufacturers of England , but be did understand him to attribute it to the great bulk of tho manufacturers—those of them , namely , who had joined the anti-Corn Lnw League ( cries of " order " and cheers . )
Mr . villiers said , he would take the liberty to remind toe House of a circumstance eonnectad with the debate at the close of which the Hon . Member had made his charge . The Houso would remember , that in the course of his ( Mr . VUliers ' s ) reply , he had said that the ch&rges brought against the British manufacturers would nit be allowed to rest there . The Hon . Member for Knareeborough immediately made a motion signifying dissent , and an Hon . Friend near him reminded him that toe charge was limited to those manufacturers who had joined the League . He ( Mr . VHliers ) then
said— " I understand the Hon . Member limits his charge to the manufacturing members of tke anti-Corn L » w Leagua "—( hear , bear . ) Those were the words he used , and he had a distinct recollection tkat the Hon . Member ( Mr . Ferr&nd ) touched his hat and said " Decidedly - — ( vociferous cheeringfroni the Opposition . ) He ( Mr . Vil-, liers ; did not , therefore , attribute to him that he had brought the charge against all the manufacturers of England , but he did say , that he included every manufacturer who contributed to the anti-Corn Law League—( renewed cheers . )
The Speaker said , he must remind the Hon . Member that , after the positive denial of the Hon . Gentleman , it was highly ir egular , and contrary to the rules of the House , to question his assertions —( hear , hear . ) Mr . VlLLiERS was perfectly ready to say that he had entirely misapprehended and misunderstood the Hon . Member , if he had intended to limit his reference to a few of the gre . nt manufacturing bo . ty . Sir B . Hall would take the opportunity of referring to the motion concerning the truck system , of which the Hoiu Member for 8-ilford had given notice , and with regard to which the Hon . Member for Knaresborough had stated that he should move an amendment He wished to know whether , provided the House acceded
to this motion ( which he feared it could not , for he did not know bow the n turns could be procured ) in that case either of the Hon . Members was prepared to take any further steps in connection with the subject —( bear , hear . | He was the more impelled to make this Itquiry because it was quito within his own knowledge that the syBtem did exist to a very great extent in the Iron districts with which lie waa connected —( hear , hear )—and because he felt that it would be quite impossible : to leave the question where it stood aV present —( hear , hear . ) He did not know that anything the Home could do would entirely put an end to these Sort of transactions , but if there was any effective way of stopping it it wouM be by making public all the particulars of so nefarious a system —( cheers . )
Mr . -Bruiiiertom said , be had no doubt it would be quite practicable to get all the returns which he hatl given notice that he should move for . His idea had be ^ n that t he inspectois of factories Could themselves furnish all the nocbSfary information . With regard to the particulars -wanted by the Hon . Member for Knareaborough , be vras not so sure that they could be obtained . Tee inspectors did not visit print and iron works , and couhKjuently could not be supposed to be able to give any information as to tke extent of the truck system in
those works—shear . ) His ( Mr . BrotUerton ' s ) principal object had been , not to show tbu extent of the ¦ ystem , but to prove that it waa not entertained . by the proprietors of silk and cotton mills —( near . ) With regard to thosw mills , aa he said before , lie could get the infor-Ul&tioii he Wanted , but he femrod lluit the effect ef the amendment of the Hon . Member opposite would be , to throw impediments in the way of the return . If the information he required was absolutely necessary , perhaps he would not object to wove for it in a separate motion .
Lord John Russell expressed his persuasion that no large class of men , cither manufacturers or agriculturists , wera justly chargeable with the offences alleged against the Anti-Corn Law League , or with intentionally sacrificing the public interests . to thoir owr . He . added that it was the intention , on his ovra side of the House , to tike a debate and a division upoa the second reading of the Corn Duty BUI : upon which air R . Peel said , he was much pressed , from many quarters , to make a statement of the intentions entertained by Government respecting the finance and commerce of the country ; and he was . nxious , from con-8 idtra : ions of public convenience , to make that statement on Friday next But he felt it nocesaary first to obtain the votes which were to decide the au ion tit of the naval and military force to be maintained by the country in the ensuing year , Ha ultimately fixed Wedneaday n . xt for the BfcconA reading of tne Corn Duty Bill .
bir A . L . Hay , at Lord John Russell ' s request , then postponed his motion respecting the Scotch Church , in order that the estimates might not be delayed . After a motion by Mr . O'Connell for papers , which were ordered , and a short conversation respecting the relations of France , Spain , and England , the House reaolved itself into committee of supply . In this committee Mr . Sidney Herbert , as Secretary of the Admiralty , moved the Navy Estimates . He etated it to be the intention of Government that the txisling number of seamen Bhouid be retained , but that , in order to avoid the disadvantage of sending ships to sea with less than their complement , the numoer of ships should be diminished . He explained the details of the estimates , and proposed a vote for 43 , 000 seamen , including 10 . 000 marines .
Sir C . Napier assented to the opinion that a smaller number of ships well manned was more effective tbatl a larger number manned incompletely . Hu adverted t- > the great ago of our admirals , and the impracticability of finding among thorn men strong enough for active commands . In such a stat 9 * f things , the late r . aval promotion ought to have been more comprehensive , and to have borne a nearer proportion to the brevet in the army . He wished the Government to pension off a considerable number of old captains , to make some commanders captains , and in all future promotions to give a certain proportion , to senwiity . He proceeded to recommend also some additional advantages for the subordinate ciasses of the service . He finally amused the House with some criticisms upon the sterns of several ships lately , constructed , particularly or . e named the Queen . " . ¦
Capt lin Rous entered at length into the merits and defects of modern ship-builuing . He complained of the insufficiency of the pay of naval officers , observing , that the pay of a French captain is one-third more than that of an English one ; and that the pay of an American captain actually doubles that of on English officer of the same rank He touched upon the late case of Mr . Elton , of whose conduct ha took a very unfavourable view . H « complained of the appointment of so aged an officer as Sir Edward Owen to command the Mediterranean flsefc , great as were the abilities and honours of that distinguished admiral , and recommended that a system should be adopted by which younger officers should be brought forward , suggesting promoting by purchase . It was not wise to keep strong and healthy men upon the shelf , and draw out old and infirm ones into a description of service requiring ¦ vigour and activity .
Sir G Cockburn stated the mitigating circumstances which hid induced the remission of a part of Mr . Elton ' s sentence . He vindicated the appointment of Sir E . Owen , whom he described to be in full possession ; of his powers . It was not every young officer who CjuJd command a fleet , though many of them thought they could ; and the weight which greater experience and reputation carried was a compensation for Borne diminution in bodily --activity . Ho pointed . out the great uervicea rendered by many officers far advanced in years . He thought faat a certain intermixture pf promotion ty purchase , as suggested by Captain Rous , would have its advantages , ; n bringing forwaad a pro-
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portion of younger officers , and providing a comfortable retirement for old ones . : Captain Berkeley regretted the slowness of haval promotion . He congratulated the country on the course nby taken by the Admiralty in duly Manning theehipp . The naval service , however , mustalways sustain a disadvantage in con ? parispn trith the military , while the First Lord of the .-Admiralty should be a civilian , and the Commander-in-Chief a soldier , Lord iNCJiiSTRtB urged the necseslty of keeping up a constant stream of promotion , and entered into some discussions upon naval architecture . Sir George Cockburn gave eome explanations upon the last topic . ^ : ' ' - V ¦ -. - . _ ¦¦ . _ .
Lord Stanley , in reference to a question which in the course of the debate bad been asked about the intentions of Government respecting a Tonewal of the expedition to the Niger , declared that no white Bailors would be employed in that service , but that perhaps a vbssel navigated by negroes , with whose constitution the climate had never been found to disagree , might make occasional ascents of that river 'with advantage to the objects originally conteihplatecl . Mr . C . Wood congratulated Mr . S . Herbert on the ability and perspicuifcy with which he had opened the estimates . He had himself no fault to find with them . Indeed , they mainly coincided with those of last year . Bat he did riot well understand why the Admiralty were now abandoning the old principle , that in time of peace the complement of a ship need not be kept up to the ' . ' . point at which it is required to lw maintained in time of war . He proceeded te discuss , nt great length , a variety of details , and was briefly followed by •¦ ; . - ¦ ¦ - .. - ¦ - ¦ - , : . ¦ ¦ ¦ . - .: ¦; . ¦ ¦ - ¦ :. _ :
Sir G . Cockbcrn , who stated that the circumstances of the world in general , and the preparations of some foreign states , had made it indispensable to inerease the peace compliment of our ships . Sir R . IngLis recurred to thesubjecfc of the Niger expedition . He deeply regretted the loss of the fortytwo men who had perished in it , but thought the House ought not to be too -sensitive in condemning a step taken for purposes of pure benevolence . Captain Berkeley said , that on his return from the Mediterranean , in August , 1840 , be bad apprized the Admiralty of the defective mwinlng of our snips , and that , it Was not till January , 1841 , that the Whig Administration sent out seamen to supply the deficiency .
Captain Pechell quoted the debates of the French Chamber to contradict Sir J . Graham , who had told his constituents , at Dorchester , that the French Government , from its confidence in Sir R . Peel's Ministry , was reducing its naval force . No such reduction appeared to have been made . He would not concur in any factious oppositieu to the present Board of Admiralty . ' -. '¦ ' ¦¦ . ¦ ' : ¦ ';¦; . ;¦'• ; . -,- ' ¦ - ' ' - ¦ ¦ - ; ' : : '¦' ¦ " . - ¦ . ¦' . ' ; . . : Mr . Williams made some observations upon Postoffice packets , and Dr . Bowring on the mode of keeping the public accounts . . . - ¦ . " ' . ' ¦ v -. : " . " . Air . Baring gave some explanations respecting the steam conveyance now employed for the Government mails . The seamen were then voted . On the vote for the Board of Admiralty ,
sir C . Napier objected to have the navy ruled by a civilian . It was true that a Naval Lord might be apt to prefer the officers who had served under himself ; but even a civilian Would always be guided in such matters by some naval man . . The real reason why a civilian was thus preferred to a naval man was , that naval men seldom possessed the station and influence which the First Minister wanted in the members of his Cabinet . The late First Lord had assumed a power which did not properly belong to him indir vidually , but to the whole Board . Similar encroachnients had been made by former civilians in the same situation . He proposed a scheme of his own for a Board which should regulate naval matters . Under the recent Administration the dock-yards and the
stores had been Buffered by the Board of Admiralty to fall into unwarrantable decay . Sir James Graham had done great good in abolishing the Navy Board and the Victualing Board ; he ahoulA have gone a little farther , and abolished the Admiralty Board also . . - .. /¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ - .-: :-, - . ¦ "¦ •¦ ' - '¦' . ¦ ¦ ; . ; ¦ ' ' : ' ¦; , Captain Carnegie contended fora naval First Lord . He cited several recent instances of civil and diplomatic ability evinced by Admitais . on their stations . He hoped , at all events , that if the First Lord must needs be a civilian , tho subordiriato patronage of the Admiralty would be bestowed upon naval men . If a civilian were necessary , he must admit that there could have been no better selection than of Lord Haddimrton .
Lord Howick thought that while no bar existed to exclude a naval man , there was no objection to the system . He had been Secretary at War with & military Comuiauder-in-Chief , and tho working of that arrangement was one which he should be very sorry to see applied to the navy . If the First Lord should be disposed to transgress his province , the check would be that the naval lords would tender their resignation . Sir H . Hardinge protested against the notion of superseding the Commaiider-in-Chief by a civilian . Captain Berkley vindicated his own conduct in pub ishing tha pamphlet written by him at the time when he resigned his seat in the Admiralty . He contended that : the First Lord ought to be a naval officer . Mr . C . WOO 0 controverted some of the facts stated by Sir C . Napier ; and Captain Berkely explained .
Sic R . Peel said he should be very sorry that there were any exclusion of navr I mou ; but neither would he confine the office to naval men only . Never had the achievements of the navy been more brilliant than under civilians . Whenever reductions should be required , civilians would bei much fitter to execute them than naval men . The First Lord was always assisted by naval officers : at this moment , for example , the influence of so eminent a coadjutor as Sir G . Ceckburn must make itself powerfully felt . It was a considerable advantage to have a man at the head of the navy who was free from all professional partialities and
prejudices . Sir C . Napier returned to the charge , ' and read a letter written many years since by himself to Lord Melville . He ridiculed . Lord IJowicfa' proposal of t » auiifo « iiig the offiott of Commander-in-chief to o civilian .: A civilian was First Lord when the order waa giveu to our Captains not to engage the American frigates , which order he himself , as soon as be received it , put into the quarter-gallery . The stir made by the Duke of Clarence aa Lord High Admiral did a world of good to the service . He moved a reduction of . ' £ 4 ,-500 in the vote , which was negatived without a division . the House then adjourned .
Monday , March 7 . On the motion that the Speaker should leave the chair for the purpose of thsir going into a committee of supply , Sir . K . Peel stated , in answer to a question from Air . C . Wood , that he did not propose to renew the committee on the currency . The subject was one which , he said , could be fitly considered only by the Executive Government ; but , pressed as ho was with other business , be could give no assurance that Government would produce any measure relating to it in the course of the present session .
THE CHARGES AGAINST THE MANUFACTURERS . Mr . FERRAND aaid , that having on Friday night been charged with having made assertions which were not facts , and with having used expiessions that he had not used , he trusted that whon it was considered that he stood there as the advocate of the cansd of the working classes of the north of England—( loud ironical laughter)—he should not be considtred to be deviating from tha strict rules Of the houBe , if he occupied a short space of its time in adverting to the charges brought against him . Since Friday evening , he had had an opportunity of looking at what he bail said , and he found that he bad never used the word " all" at all , and that he never charged th » Hon .
Member for Stockport with " abomnuible cruelty , " but that was another lapsus UwjiuB of the Hon . . Member , akin to that concerning hia uiillia aud print works . The Hon . Member bad said , that during the last eighteen years only twenty men had been employed at his works during night . Ho was waa sure , the Hon . ; Member woiiid be glad of the opportunity of explaining a point to which Mr Leonard Homer had referred in one of his reports . Mr . Hornar hid said that no one could work in any printworks without being assisted by a child , who put on the coloura , and assisted the men generally . He said , — - "The Employment of children ia to prepare the smooth suiface of colouring matter on which the carved block is pressed , and to ta ke up the colour that is to be transferred
to the cloth . There is a circular frame , like the side of a sieve , upon which a fine woollen cloth is stretched , and on this the colour is spread . These pota staud by the side , and a child , who assists tho man who prints , transfers the colour from the pot to the sieve , spreading it over the cloth with a flat brush to make a smooth surface . This is called tearing , ' and the child who performs the operation , ¦ wh ether male brf'smale , is called a ' tearboy . ' Every prinier has a table and a tearboy . ' When any printing is going on the ' tearboy' must be there , and they parfonn their work standing . The temper . iture of the room should not be less than seventy degrees , and the air should be rather humid . " Now , be would take leave to ask the
Hon . Member whether , during the eighteen years his men had worked between six in the evening and eight o'clock in the morniug , these " tearboys" had not also bison working in his factory ? And he asked this , as he said before , that the Hon . Member might have an opportunity of explaining -whether he was correct in the representations be had made , or vrhether Mr . Leonard Horner was correct in his report . The Hon . Member for Woly « rhampton had read in the House a declaration , signed by seventy-two cotton-spir . ners , and had forwarded to him ( Mr . Ferrand ) a copy of that declaration ; to which -were annexed two extracts from his speech . The Hon . Member was about to read the declaration , when
The Speaker intimated that it was oat of order to refer to anything that was aaid out cf the House on the subject of what had tabea place within its walls , and therefore the Hon . Member must not redd tfee statement . ; . Mr . FEnHAND ( In continuaHonl . —Taese people said that they kept no ttuek-shopa , and that they paid all their workpeople in the current cein of the realm . But he did ask , did they not hand the key to their workmen ; did they not make them rent their cottages ? Did
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they Snow nothing : of the flour paste . '—( loud Ianghterj —nothing of the shoddy trade , nothing tf the old rags arid the devils dust?—( roars of laughter ) . They asserted that they kept no truck-shops , and that they paid in no other way but in the currept coin of the realm ; but he ( Mr . Ferrand ) had never charged them with doing thesethings--- ( cries " , ipf " oh ! " from the opposition benches } . Hehadnevar chargedthem withfeeeping truck-shops . What he has said was , that they evaded the law by letting Itheir -relatives keep truckshops , and that , although they might pay their meni n the current coin of the realm , yet they stopped a great part of it on ita way houie . But suppose he admitted all that the subscribers to this requisition urged ^ -suppose lie allowed that they were the se 7 enfcy-tw © just I - ^ -. .- , . ,., . . _ .
menof the Leagues—did the Hon . Member mean to say that these were the whole of the subscribers to that association ?—( hear , bear ) . Why , he thought that they boasted of having extended their ramifications through every part if the country ? He thought they said that this waa a national ^ eague' —^ laughtari- ^ -rthaV it had branches in every part of England , Ireland ' , ' Scotland , and Wales ? How happened iti then , that these men undertook by a quibble to deny and repudiate the ayst « m of tbeir fellows throughout ttio nation ? But he turned the page of tbis declaration and he found a circular addressed by the agitators at Jlanchoster to their corresponflents ; it ran this : — 'Vftlarichest .-r Anti-Cohi Law Leagu ? . ^—Y ou will oblige the council' by affixing your name to the declaration and
returaipgit at the earliest possible moment . " Now , in the declaration as read , there was hot the name of one single Yorkshire manufacturer ; of the seventy-two parties subscribing the declaration there was not one who did live in Alanchester or some other large town where they dared not carry on the truclr system for fear of the shopkeepers—( a cry of "Hearjhear , ir from the Opposition . ) It was in secret—it was in dark corners that this infamy was perpetrated . It was where there were none to rise up aiid explain the nefarious system as he had done— - ( loud laughter and " ironical cbeera from the Opposition benches . ) Oh , their interruptions would not put him down . He stood Jhere to speak the truth , and those who rosa for that purpose were not to be silenced by clamour . It was in the
name of the working classes of England that he addressed that House —( ironical cheering ) , and he recommended them to fohow the advice of the Hon . Member for Oidbam and leave him alone . The Hon . Member for Oldham bad told them that they had better let this matter drop . When the representative for Wolverhampton . hadsaid that these sharges should not rest there , the Hon . Member for pidham had said to him , " You had better let the matter . ' rest ; for I can undertake to prove all Mr . Ferrand has said—and ten times worse "—( hear , bear . ) He chaUesged the Hon . Meinher for Wolverhampton , then ; to move for his select committee . Let them institute an inquirv into those
charges—let them examine and see who was light .. Tonight he would undertake to state the charges which he had made against the dishonest part of the manufacturers , and if Hon ,. Members opposite denied the trutfe of his allegations , he would drive them to the course of asking for a select committee of inquiry . The letter he was about to read was from a poor , man in a manufacturing town in Lancashire , and he did trust tbat Hon . Members opposite , if they would not listen to him , would at least listen to : i poor man . Members opposite boasted that they were the champions of the poor man , and that they came to tho House of Commons to ask for a repeal of the Corn Laws for the sake of the poor man . Let them listen for a moment to the words of a
poor man : — "Bolton , March li "My dear Sir , —It is with the greatest pleasure I read your speech of last Thiirsday . It was one of the sort that has long been wanted ; but , Sir , though it appears to have struck such a panic amongst thaw as they ( the Anti-Corn Law League ) little expected ; you did not positively more than half do it . I wish some one on the Conservative Bide of the House would . niove for a committee of inquiry . I feel confident it would strike such an awe over them as they would . not . be guilty of such practices . On Monday evening , the 21 st ult ., a nieetihg of the Anti-Corn Law League -was held In the Temperance Hail ; when ——^ was called to the chair . Now , Sir , this is a spinniug-master , and
occupies a large mill in - ^— street Ha lives about a mile out of town iu a splendid mansion on the ——road ; near which is a farm wuicli keeps about twenty cows . Mind , Sir , he was not worth a suit of clothes when he came to Bolton at the first , but a poor Irish lad , ali rags and tatters . This i »* n now , Sir , not on ! y compels his spinners to have cottages , but also reelers ( girls 16 years of age ! must also pay rent from 2 s . Gd . to 43 . 6 d . per week , or they must have no work . They must also havoL a quart of milk a d 8 y , whether they can drink it or not Dear Sir , the houses are of the worst description , and are relet by the workpeople from a ehilling to haif-a .-cro'wp a week , and very often not let at all , and then , of course , th « y lose all tUe rent . The master stop 3 it out of their wages , if they have not a ptuny to take home . Most of the Bpinning-niasters compel their spinnora to have cottages , but none except they of the Anti-Corn-Law League make girls . Those gentlemen are always screwing and oppressing . I will tell you
of another rascally trick of - —• - He makes a practice of running his mill from Monday until Saturday , and bscause Saturday 13 a short day , on which we work only nine hours , he stops at noon , and only pays the hands for five days and a half . I wish you would just give him a touch in the House of Commons on this point / 1 think it would stop him , and yeu would confer a blessing ou hundreds of poor helpless factory people ( helpless , I say , because too many of us , owing to the coupling of wheels , &c . ) " I am yours , &c , ? ' — — , Lancashire . " To - — - Ferrand , E ? q ., London . " - This was a poor labouring msui ; vrho had not got the education that many ether people . had . and ho therefore trusted the House would excuse the plainness of his language . Mr . W . Williams . —Name , name . " . ' . - '
Mr . Ferranb—I will give it to the Hon . Member , if he pleases , as Boon as I sit down , and if he leaves the House for that purpose I will foUow hiin . But let me tell him tho poor workina men have suffered too much for attempting to expose the tyranny of their masters , and if a select committee should be granted by the House these poor wretches will never dare to come forward and give evidence unless they receive the protection of the Government of the country . He ( Mr . Ferrand ) knew his statements on this subject to be true , and ho would tell the House that the working classes themselves asserted them to be true , and of that he would convince the House before he sat down . He had given them an instance of the tyranny -practised in Lancashire ; h « would now give them another
which occurred in Yorkshire , in his own neighbourhood , and again he said he -waa prepared to give up hia authority to any Hon . Member who required Mm to do so : ¦— " A poor weaver , reaidirtg in the township * f \ , with a wife and family of small children , has been for some time employed by a wealthy worited , yarn , and stuff manufacturer , who has practised the abominable system of having a retail shop on his premises , where his workpeople well understood that they are to expend their hard-earned pittance iu tho purchase of shop goods . Ttiis poor man incurred a trifling < l « bt , of about 10 a . C-i ., at this siid shop , which he agreed to liquidate by allowing a deduction of is . weekly from his wages . But , alas ! poor man , - though he had not food for a day ' s sustenance for
hia faaiUy , -whtn be carried in his . 'work on the taking-in day , at the close of the week ending on the 1 J ) th of February instant , this wealthy millocrat deducted the 10 s . 6 d ,, which was the full amotrnt of his wages due , and sent him away penniless , and refused to give him further employment . In this aUte of distress he applied to a magistrate , on Manday morning , tho 21 st instant , for a suihnums for his wages , IDs . 6 d ., vfr'hich lie obtained ( and 1 avn glad to say , that the clerk gave him credit for his fee ); but , what do you think ? The tyrant shrank , for fear of the exposure , and compromised the affair . with his injured slave , arid thus ended , an investigation of the case by a magistrate . ' ' These were the anti-Corn Law League men!—^ tlieera from the Ministerial , and laughter from the Opposition
benches . ) He had scores upon scord 3 of such casoa in his 0058638100 , which be waa prepared to prove before a Select Committee—aye , not only that , but he "would tell the House that the working classes of England weie rising up in defence of their cause , and were prepared to prove every word he had said . What would Hon . Members opposite say -when he told them that , in spite of all the calumnies which might be heaped on his head by interested , parties out of doors , the working classss of Birmingham had assembled in public meeting , and bad unanimously passed a vote of thanks to him for exposing the conduct of their hard-hearted taskmasters ? ( The Hon . Member here read the following notice of the meeting from a newspaper : — " At a meeting of the working classes , xonvehed at the King ' a
Head Inn , Dudley-street , Birmingham , a vote of thanks was unanimously passed to M . Ferraud , the : patriotic representative cf Knaresborough , for his phHautaropic defence of the operatives of England 5 his fearless exposurea of the fraudulent designs of the anti-Corn Law League , arid the oppression and tyranny of Whig-Radical mUlocrats . * ' ) ¦ He would tell the House that at that meeting the working men stood forward , and justified everything he had said within those walls , and declared , themselves ready to prove his statements by evidence . Let it no longer be said that the weight of the charges he had made lay on his own head . Again , he callenged Hon . Members opposite to move for a select commit-Us > , and if they -would not do it , he would . ( Cheers , and laughter . ) He must now allude to what Was said by the Noble Lord the Member for the icity of London
oa a prevwus evening . That Noble Lord stated that he understood he ( Mr . Ferrand ) had only charged a limited number of manufacturera with the frauds which he bad brought under the notice of the House . When the Noble Lord sat down , he ( Mr . Ferrarid ) rose and told him he bad brought the charge to a great extent against tho manufacturers , and that he ^ asalao ready to prove it He had thought it his « Juty on Saturday last , in deference to the high position ^ vhich that Noble Lord held , not only in that House , but also in the estimation : of the public ottli of doors , to send the Noble Lord a sauip i * of . the commoa sort of cloth sold in Lancashire to the working classes . He had also sent a sample to the Prime Minister , for he was determined that his proceedings should not be in the dark , and they should have ocular demonstration ' of what he had asseited , and what te wns orepai'ed to prove .
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. . - ¦ , . - ' i *^* 1— ¦ ' ' ¦¦ I ' ^ a . Was there any Member who Would deny that the cent , mon sort of manufactures were danced over with flour paste ?¦ :. He bad a sample of the cloth in his hand , ana ha asked the Noble Lord tbe Member for the city of London , who knew a good deal of the affairs of the world , if he ever in his life saw such plunder as that to : which the working men were exposed b y this means . It Was dreadful to contemplate ; it was horrible to behold . Yes , the shirting which was sold to the poor people of Lancashire 'was completely daubed over with flour paste . ( Great laughter from the Opposition . ) He asked Hen . Members who l ;» ughed whether an inquiry ought not to be made into what he said , if it were true , and if it wereluritrue , whether suca an opportunity of contradicting it had ever been offered _ . „ 4 .,,.. ^_ .
to opponents ? If what he asserted were true , did they by their smiles and derisive cheers hope to put it down ? If the poor were robbed , as he said they were , ' was it not the duty of the Legislature to protect them ?— . ( cheers ) . Tfcey came and asked the protection of that Heine . DiS he ask anything unfair ? Did he say anything in their behalf at -which the House should Bhriak ? If he did , fairly and with heartfelt grotttufle would he give place to any Hon . Member who . would stan d up and defend their cause within those waiis . He was doing what he could for the poor ; and , therefore , let not the Dieinbersof that House sneer at him . He felt that he was acting conscientiously ; his own heart guided him in what he did , and if be erred in the
slightest degree let the blame fall upon bis own head , but let not the cause of the poor suffer . He asked the Noble Lord opposite if he was not convinced , from what he ( Mr . F « rrand ) had shown , tkat it was the duty of the Legislature to step in and prevent the robbery committed upon the poor through the frauds which he ( Mr ; Ferrand ) had exposed to the House ? He would now read a letter , published on the first of December last , in the Manchester Guardian , 3 , newspaper considered the organ of the an ti-Corn Law League , which would throw some light on the fraudulent practices to ; which he haA : alluded , and their effects : — " The Cora Laws—To the Editor of the 3 £ anchester Guardian . ¦¦ ¦' " ¦ ' ¦' - . ' - ' - ¦ : "¦ ; ; .
" Sir , —A power-loom manufacturer working 1 , 000 looms is now paying more 1 by £ 15 per week , or upwards of £ 750 per annum , for the flour used in his manufac tory in the process of dressing , than he did for the same quantity in 1835 . The present duty on corn gives the foreign manufacturer an advantage of several hundreds a year io such an establishment over the English one in the single article of s ? zmg flour . The Corn Laws , by limiting the demand for goods » t home and abroad , cause ruinous prices , heavy stocks , and general stagnation and depression , such as we are now suffering under ; While these exiat the manufacturer , in his efforts to save himself , endeavours to reduce the cost of
production , and if he pays more for flour he must pay less for labour , thus wages are reduced , and this is one way in which the workpeople suffer from the high price of grain . A complete spinning and weaving establishmtnt consumes as much flour in the process of dressing as the workpeople employed ^ in it eat ; arid if fluur was at the same price now as it was in 1835 , the manufacturer could as well afford to give his' hands nearly half as many loaves as they consume , in addition io their present wages , as be can now afford to pay them the latter . ^¦ ' '¦ ' ' . ¦ ' .- - . . "• ¦¦ ¦ ' ' . ^ . ; - " . ; - '¦ ' " : ; . : ' " I am , Sir , yOrirs , ; "A MANCFACTUaKR . " " Stockporty Nov . 30 , 1841 . "
Would Hon . Members opposite now deny that flour paste was used in the . making of calico ? When he said that 100 , 000 quarters of wheat were consumed in the manufacture of such articles , under a system most baneful to the public , he spoke within bounds . He had thought it bis duty on Thursday last to inform the Noble Lord the Member for the City of London that he should find it necessary , in defending himself from the charges brought against him by an Hon . Member opposite , to refer to the correspondence which took place between the Noble Lord and Mr . Baker , superinterideitt of factories , ordered by the House of Commons to be printed , June 21 , 1836 , when the Noble Lord was Secretary for the Home Department . He did notblame the Noble Iiord for not understanding : the manufacture
of shoddy cloth , for atttiat time there , was BcaTcely a man living in the south of England who knew anything about it The letter of the superintend ant was as follows : — " My Lord , — -In the case of Taylor , Ibbotson ; and Co , 1 took the evidence from the -mouths of the boys themselvea . They stated to me thoy commenced working on Friday morning , the 27 tb of May last , at six o ' clock a . m , and that , with the exception of meal hours and one hour at midnight extra , they did not cease working till four o ' clock on Saturday evening , having been two days and a night thus engaged . " This would sufficiently show the horrid cruelties inflicted on the poor by their pretended friends ; and he begged the House to recollect that these men , Taylor , Ibbotson , and Co ., were great ariti-Com Law men . This Was
the true character of the members of the League , who felt bo much for the sufferings of the poor , and who Were so anxious to repeal the Corn Laws for-the benefit of the poor man and not for their own . ( Cheers . ) Another working man Wrote to him as follows : — " I am employed in the shoddy trade , in Batley , near Dewsbury . I have not seen your last speech on the Corn law debate , but I hear you made some reference to the use of shoddy ; but that is not the worst part of the business . In every piece made there is 31 b . and upwards of the besE of flour used as stiffening , to deceive the wearer , and eventually ruin the trade . In the parish of Batley there are some hundreds of pecks of the very best flour used iu this way in the year . Batley Carr , ariother village a mile distant from Batley ,
used to have a very good trade in the manufacture of paddings and diuggete , bat they carried this shoddy and stiffening to such a length that trade is lost , all the village ruined , and but a few masters retired indepen . dent In the stiffening of druggets and paddings there were were used from 5 lb . to 61 b . per piece . " Let Hon . Members listen for a few more moments , and he would show them how the trade of the country had declined ^ It was the frauds practised in the manufacture which had ruined the trade of many districts , and hot the effects of the Corn Laws . He had given tliem testimony to tbi « eut of the mouths of the Working men , and now he would read them the account whiea a manufacturer residing at Witriey , in Oxfordshire , gave of those frauds . This person wrote to him ; : —' ¦ ' Wituey ,
February 26 , 1842 . Sir , —If you want further corroboratiori about tho rags , && , used by some of the nothern inaaufactnrers , and would not mind inquiring of Messrs . Lujbtfoot and Morris , the Government inspectors at Daptfprd Dockyard , they could give you some very good proofs of it as used up in the jackets for our sailors , and technically called ' shoddy . * It is composed of old coaise woollens , such as blankots torn up after tbey are comparatively worn out There is no staple left to the wool and however nicely got tip to please the eye , cloth made of such stuff , when it comes to be exposed to the wind and rain , will rot in a very little time . Ask them if the blue flushing , made here last season ( la consequence of the complaints made of the cloth used for the Bailors' jackets and trousers , ) did not
give every satisfaction , as it was made of long English wooi . It was in consequence of ' the many complaints on this score that the Navy Board last year substituted the old "Witney pattern of cloth again , after having laid it aside for tea years in consequence of the Yorkshire people always underseUing . tUem through the use of ' shoddy' or devil ' s dust' I wiU give you further information , for , although a Whig and a manufacturer , lam aa enemy to all trickery , and some of your remarks are bitingly true . —Z . " He asked Hon . Members opposite to do him as much justice as this maoufactufer . If they were anxious to serve their country and the working people , they would riot allow politics to stand in tho way . He called on the Hon . Member for Salford
to come forward aud lend his aid in the prosecution of this inquiry , arid he was most ready to bear witness to the noble , manly , and generous exertions of that Hon . Member in tlie caus 8 of the factory cbildrec . Though , on this question , the Hon . Member and himself might be at daggers' drawn , still he hoped the day was net far distant when they should join handand hearVtogethet in xhe attempt to rescue the poor factory children from tho state of dogradatioa to which ^ ey were now reduced ; He had trespassed on the time of the House , in order to defend himself from the charges brought against him on Friday last He felt that be had only done his duty : he could prove every word be
had said , and , while standing there in defence of the working classes of England , he was fortified and strengthened by receiving , with every post , scores and scores of letters from those poor working men , as well as others fi-om every grad e and class of society , beggwg him not to be confounded arid put down by any opposition in that House , arid imploring him to niaket&a truth , known . It was with that intention he bad coxaa into the . House ; on that ground . he took his stand , and was determined never to be put down . In the name of the working classes of England he challenged Hob , Members opposite , he implored them , to ask fora Select Committee . / :
Mr . a P . Villiers said he held in his hand tbe names of thirty other manufacturers who wished to add them to the declaration he had read to the House on Friday night , conveying their indignant denial of the charges made by tha Hon . Member for Enaresborongb . He should think any man might be astonished by bearing the Hon . Member calling on gentlemen on that side of the House to ask for a select committee . Tho Hon . Member bad made the charges himself , and it was W 1 duty t 9 move for an instant inquiry into them . $ <* a single Member on that side of the House would op * pose him . Any mannfacturer would , fee was * u * e , W glad to second a motion for inquiry , and then tiwJ would be ready to vindicate themselves from # charges brought against them .
Mr . J . Fielden waa inaudible for several sentenM * at the commencement of his remarks . He said be I *" lieyed there was a great deal of truth in what had bees ? advanced by the Hon . Member for Knaresborbus k ¦» a committee of the House were granted there would w such a development of the proceedings of a great unu ^ manufacturers as would call for the application of & effectual remedy of some kind or other . ( Hear , te 31 - ' It was asserted that the poor were sufferin g gri ^ ? oppression in a variety of w . iys . The . quantity of * persons unemployed waa increasing ; tuid tbe oppresswa of the poor increased in the same proportion . /" should be very willing to second a ! motion for a selw committee to examine the accuracy of the 8 tatea » e ^ wiiicb ; bad been set forth . H « thought it wbnld W ( QnUwwd in our seventh p % «*)
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), March 12, 1842, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct881/page/6/
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