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HOUSE OP LORDS—Fkidat , Feb . ' 24 . The Earl of Misto moved for returns respecting the present-state of Hie navy . He required Exp ' an&donaas to wij there bad been less ship-building last year than had been , contemplated ; and -why a reduced vote was to "be taken Jor the present year ? He inquired also the lessons of other rejections ? The I > ake of Weiukgtox ftni'bted the propriety of furnishisg the inf » nna . t \ on x&ed for . The EjtI of Haddisgtos -wished the Bad of Minto to postpone his questions , and sive Eolice far scotLcr evening , -whta be weaid be better prev ^ rtti . Iht Earl + £ 2 &ISTO then -entfreA into variess deV-ils lespfttm . ij the present cniri ~ vu of our dccfcjsids , && , Bad stoved for icbErrfi & ¦ & 2 g to them .
Th «? E iri of Hi » i > ' = is : < explained , thta * V reason Trhy there " « ras less ^ -uip-building last y « » .. ta feart been * otteE > plaSed , "was , thai ir Tra *; eeai—ed moa economical t » t « trp vessels already tsiK 4 R good repair tfcan to bnild new cures . It baa i « en fsoEd imprsrtieaele in "Weolwich Dpctyani to fcufld ^ the number c . f steamers reqeired , and the rvdncecl -est jaat * s fo ? "tfce present year had been adopted " » rSfe gr-a . 1 rdcetanre , bet it was felt that owing to the etste-cf the finances , some reductions shooM be adopted . He conduced ¦ with giving informatac-n in reply totsc ^ Errl of Miitolord ASBBCKTOK expressed Ms Tegret that the information ~ h 3 d been siren .
TheDaie of "WK . I . 13 GT 0 : ? ssid bs . bsd given Ms opinion of the impropriety of f jrsisbiag the information , but hi * advice -was aeglected , sad the-rwo Noble Lcrds , in defence of their respect !*« eoTtrstnents , bad published to tie trhole -world iBfcnaafejn "which Bhonld never have been communica- asd , and-TRhichxa-. ^ ht croTe mischievous to the ¦ country . After some farther debate , ia wisefc Lords Mintc and Haddai ^ on vindicated thr nsseWes , and the Date of Wellington remcrfced that he Jjsd always diacoinaged such motions , tile Earl of ilinto -fjitildre'ff Mi IDCtion , and tne House BJjjourned .
MOKDAY , I ' eMSBaXT 27 . Lord CaHBBELL moYi jd for and obtained cofites of Xord Kienboronch ' s prod amations ,-and gave Dotke , on the part of the MaTquis ¦ jf Clanricarde , of srmoticn on the subject , on the 9 ta of Massh . Lord Mosi ^ agle , a '; the leocest cf the 3 > cie ol "Wellington postponed hi b motion on the Corn Law 3 , on aocennt of ths indispont . on of tbe . 3 ? irl of Ripon . Aiter forwarding some bills the House acjourBed .
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HOUSE OF COMMO ^ S-Tjutbsdat , Fee . 23 . Jin a part of our la ? i week ? s impression we-pvre a TtTj -condensed f jnd imperfect account sf tea ' proceedings in t ] ie Bacse-of Commons « n the snbjeci of Mr . Walter ' s-action eh the . 3 vew Poor-Lasf . On account-of ks great impociance we give this vreek a mere extended reporjj ? ZTf . coistly of the Bpeecixeaof-Er . Waller and Mr JerrairtLri
PK 12 feiriES OF THB NE ^ POOB LATT . 3 Jr . " WiiTEK then nose , asd « Hci » enc ^ d his speech "by obserricg "that he could ha-ve- ^ nshed that iu had "iallen to lhe Jet of some abler -or jncre eminent member to have > rts ^ 3 t forsrard the prasect snbject , ioi if -the abilities of biin "ffbo broughi it 'ivrward were te be Treiehed or measured by the "rast-coasHjuences imeivid , le feartd tfcstiie should be found . greatly deficient . » If , indeed , he might baTe bad his "wisbin . inlged , he shoe'd hbrre desired & 3 r ilajesty ' B ministe » c tLemstlves tobar-e taken a more -humane and con&HtE * Jonal Tiew of tie question , for ^ cei * ly 4 id be -wish tScm to pnRue sn ^! i ZBeasnres as ¦ woald secure ibeni tb&ioTe of the peopis —he meant ofthe people taken ia 1 i ± s mass ; and thecs ^ ras no onean ^ -tbod bj "w hich they-coalo so esstntialk "
Bare endeared tbemtelTCB to thevyaat body of tbc ¦ oountry at large = s by < teraelisbing , ' "hat he was 8 OITJ " io say bad beet partially , and at * e © 3 ond hand , " their work , namejy—the ~ Skv Poor iaw . He "ftstcoold to soar * much popularity himself , and rta £ iiy ¦ wanld he transfer -wbaieTer he might haTe attained to those "whose general -coarse of polic * he tbecght mo ? t calculated to appeasa the d ^ satUfsctiua . aiid restore the prosperity of * he-country . He "wonld ask them taiB qocsiion britfly—had there bten any -sitisfacrion , any go * 4 tempex , any . adbfcrfitCt ? of tbe bmsble ? classes to their employer * t-is . ee this raosi nnfethor law had teen
iDTeiited ? Had there fceen anything in fact in tbe eouBtry but brooding dkcontent , eTer ready to breck out into-open Tiolence . cr to aTenge itself by sesret miEchief ? Me caul none . Hera they were in the math y « ar since the arst moTement acaintit the old Poor Law of the eoaatry orisinatiEg with one of the erti . t » st » 0 Tereigns—a female , too—that the land efariaon- ; tbe Tery object of whose K > Me . poL = cy it was ts iustaiu the ^ reat masses of tbe people agaixist btr « iit 6 iy oppression and aiiatocratk ¦ piite—parcer * sutge&u ., a debellars svjvrbos ; and wbc , by trasting btrsJf and ner thTore u > the support of her people—not to iaaiily inflntnees or herds of retainers —^ s % t tee -whole world at
censace . That principle of Lex a tbe new lav d > d not reform , did not restore , did not rtinyigorste—^ bui lErerssd . It protected , -or aff-cted t- prf-tttt . tbe great laaded ictcxesta fcst , and BtXt ttc manufacUinilg interesig , by tbe opprtssion , by tbe Tery destruction of those upon ^ rhSKn sbcaa elt ^ sieQ iaUrtsts Tfcsled j and by tfcat attesspi to ce ^ troy tbe very basis of all hosian r » dcty , be i » uld t « ll tbcm that those m ^ re eibVau-d iuterssts must oltiinaVely f-ick . £ yery olher foundation bni that of ths people * rss a sandy one . The grinds of disaffection would blow—the tempsst of popular fury wtuld begin to la ^ e—and down would -come their-jstractare to tbs . ground . He bad called this 2 »' ew Poor Law an invention , and such literally it was . It -was the usual effort of 3 e $ is 2 atii-n . when , throusb
the lapse of fine , old laws began to fail of their appllac'ion , to improve and rdapt them anew—to cut off exaesceacfA , and to invigorate the impaired pjrta—to . restore , to reform , but sot to convulse or destroy—( hear , heai . ) But "whit bad been the course pnrsned in this most ominous afiair . ' A new inventj ^ n . new to history as to the people , was Xtrcek cut- Principles and details , men « nd macirinery , " were alite displaced That ^ m of men who acted as parochial efficera of their parishes , and as jorors in their courts of lsw , were cas ^ a > ide . A term of but modern invention waa adopted , or rather niched from a more respectable instimidon—that cf " guardians " . And * ' guardians "—^ rhat were " guardians * " tinder this new act ? Mr . Sbaridan bad defined the office of ajsunilar ¦
protector , appointed , as he said , to exert oTer the unhappy Penr ? iai » « such jnsrdianship as the eagle afforded the lamb , covering while it devoured its prey " —ihear , beat ) Such , be had ever said , was tbe character of this new poor law , and he kad since become possessed of a document which jostinrd him in asserting that such was the actual object of those who brought it forward—tbear , bear . ) He wonld now read to the House , a passage from that report : — " That at any iime after fixe passing of this act , tbe Boar « i of Control shall have power , by an order , with such exception as shall fee thought necessary , to disallow the continuance of relief to the indigent , the aged , and the impotent , in any other mode than in a workkouse , regulated in such snanner as by the aforesaid Board of Control shall be determined . The power of the Cemmissioiieis ¦ mrala be to reduce allowances , but not to Erilarre
them . After this has been accompliEbtd , orders may be sent forth directing that after eucq a day all out-door relief should be given partly in kind ; after another period it should be wholly in kjn > i that after such another period it should be graduaDy diminished in quantity , antD that mode of relief was erdngmshed—( bear , hear . ) Frem the firet the relief should be altered in qsality—thtar , hear , )—coarse brown bread being . substituted for fine white ; and concurrenUjyrith these measures as to the oni-door poor , a gradual reduction should be made in the diet of the in-doorpoor , and strict regnlaSomi enforced" —( hear , hear . } Thes 8 were the "words of tbe earliest report placed in the hands of the late ministers , and waieh the Eight Hon . GantiemaB iiad termed " confidential , the authors being afraid , as he iMr . Walter ) verily believed them to be , of sending it forth to general cognizanca "with their names attached . That confidential
c -nmcation was foilotred by arepors which ¦ fas laid befOM the House , in which there wes tbis passage : — * ' As one bairier to the increase of expenditure in tie detailed management , the commissioners should be empowered to fix a maximum of ths consumpiiGa per head "within the "workhonse , leaving to the local officers the liberty of rednemg it below the msximum , if tfcty could safely do « r-rfliear , hear . ) "Do it safely . ' " If ow , that be thougUt horrible enough ; bui yet not so ofiensively glaring as the confidential communication itself . From that dark and mysterious soura : sprang the first avowed report of the central board of poor-law commission ers ; not of that existing body sometimes of £ teuH 1 Tiiato ' but of the eight commissionfcrs — -tae Bifibops of London and Chester , Mr . Sturgea ^ ^ ' % ***** ' ^ four ciher -persons of leas cote ^™! T ^ y—who were previously bz \ to work to concoct aomefrsibpian for the management of tha twot . - In
S S ^ nS ^; - T '" nnmbel of mc « tyrannical ^^ r ^ T ^ s ^ arsSoS ^ ssssiri ^^^ S ssar ^^ sxiSbA 2 E 22 L » ** ^ * M »» PNf -d « o 4 uS taumWmto the t indie
. W « , in to , fl ^ 5 » T ^^ bonsearftheBlave-tradeis-shear . haar ) . GrJtstreas was 2 aM on tiefebrication of this central commission , upon the asserted fact that it comprised men of all parties , who -were perfectly nnprgudieea—( hear , hear ) . Be cooH have wiabed : hat tL-ey had had some natnral prejndices arising from humane considerations ; but ha believed thatthere was notj » member cf that commis toon whose mind was not ^ made up , before a single wit-Hess was examined , to recommend -ot introduce some * thing of a most severe and oppressive character , sir . Bowen , of Bridge water , had pronounced' this law a bill of indictment against all the poor of the country . The eomniiBgioaeH . siu , in their first report , " the dnty of
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snpporting psreDts and children in old age a d infirmity j is so strongly enforced by our natural feelings , that it is . often -Wfcll pertormed even among savageB , and almost ; always sa in a nation deserving the name of civilized . WebelievB thst England is the only European country in which it is neglected "— ( hear . iear ) . . . " If the deficiencies of parental and filial affection are to b j supplied by the parish , and tbe natural motives to t ) je exerciso of those virtues are thns to be withdrawn , it may te proper to -SBdeavouT to replace them , bowe . ver imperf ^ -ctly , by artificial stimulants , and to stake 6 nes , r . isrtvss-warrants , -or imprisonment i . ct as subsri t-ites fo ? gratitude t * r \ ove- " WbiJt- tbe lower clas- ' jes of people were thco Hbtlled , did no recollection oc cur to those "who libelled them of a great < Kampie once of
^ Sordid both Honsta Pariiament , 'ao thengfet it nactssary to stimulate the catural ^ ffi ^ jtionB hes ? e ¦ spoken of , net by pains and-p ^ a-ilties . Vat by the large allowance 3 f £ 10 , 000 a-yearforthe trouble of visitinjr an s . fi » ct * d { -. ither once a vresk ?—Ihw ^ . "hear . ) Now , let tee Hocse contraet tb ?« 'CliaracteT cf tht people * o blackly drs . "srn by the commissioners - ^ ritb othtsr descriptior . s of the same peopic , BLd uron ttmt snbjfctbe had parJ . cti } ar"p : easiiro in quetin . - ; a pasjtig ^ frum a letter of tbe F . ari' £ f Ripon to ot-a of our lolonibi t-overnors ; — ' The-saaie of paaper" < said vbet Nuble Lord ) " by no means implies , a «> swsi 3 to h 3 Te been supposed , a man ureible or unwilling to work—one whose infirmity or whofc idleness woold ussqnalifc' him fixm btcoiuiog anusfefal settler . Ou ~ 3 xo coniBry , ; fce "whole o ? lbe
married ' aWurers in ajacy t . f the parishes cf tbe South of EiisHnd may be 'oarrcctly described as paupers , incsmecti as the "want of employment has deprc * 8 ed vra ^ es to a rate at wtich it is impossible fur a man , bowevsr industrious , to maintiin a family , witfcoat recbiving parochial reJief . * ~* It has beeii found that ths kite and worthless paupers have frtqnenUy been rendeKd sa by the bapelessness of their situation ; and when-enabled to find constant employment , at fsir wages , a great change bas almost invariably takfn place in tfceir conduct "—Jhear , bes : ) . X * t tbe House -contrast tv , too , with tbe picture dra ^ n , not so loni ? siwe bj tiiCdember for Sheffield from bis own extxirience of the English poor . That Honourable Member had told that House , that" one-third cf the working men in that
town-tnd neighbourhood were cut of employ . A gr « at proportion of the resaaindes were employed only three days in the week , and in cengt-qnence tbe greatest distress prevailed . Tbose at work subscribed something from < heir wretched pittaBce > co relievfc the distress and keep * : ff the parish -others who had no work at til' : — ( hear . hear ) . Could the Honourable Member , if be-had ransacked every storehouse of eloqutncej have fouud werds better calculated to damage the New Poor Law in the-estimation of every man of common humanity than tbe plain eenfcence which he ( Sir . Wallers had just * esd to them ? Slen sleaged in poverty and miswy to tbe ^ rery lips were » et so iespreessd with the horrors of imarisonment in the woiihouse , that rather than their starving bretbjtn should ^ undergo them , they made
tbidr Jittle pittance less , by-subscribing to keep tb > 'm off the--parish . But it was not for this purpose that he add&sed this passage . He wishrd now to ask , had these n > en earned the character which the commissioners bad attempted to aEs upon them ? Did they desyMe to be irgislated against in tbo manner the prt * ent bill legislated against them ? And -evII more ought they to be subjected to that ever-inereasing scale cf crueHy prcscrit ^ -d and laid down fey tbe private report of the eJ ^ ht commissioners—that prtr&te report from whioh tbe precsnt bill , witb its triamvirate at S-nj' » - aet-house . originattd—( bear , bear , bean 7 B « c the prinople of sneciai ^ e reports ¦» £ » carried out he bad pltn $ 7 of instances to Ja > before the House . Take this , for « sample , from Cireccsster ; the ) pte member
for that borough said , is his place in that House , that "be was-chairman i-f a board of guardians . Both in his own district , and in others with which he waa acquainted , tbe measure had sc ^ urrtd tm inimeoee popularity . He thought tbe country was under the greatest obligation to tho > e who . bad brought it for-1 ward . The bill worked vf * -H in-tbe district with which , he was connected . He hoped there would be no vital alteration of £ measure which had -svorked to the entire sstisfartiun of tbe vast majority of tile people . As to dkt , thtt CO » J . laint Teas tb&t the inmatc-a oi tbe workhoase Jivtd too welL" iHe ^ r . bear .: He ( Mr . Waiter ) held in his hand tbe dietary of ibe .. Ci ;« ncester Union , prescribed by tLe Poor-Law Commissioners , in which inhere was not one onnce of fresh Animal food from
gear ' s end to year ' s enri—ihear . bear . )—bnt only five -sauces of salt fejcon for the Stntiay cf t-ach weektbear . hear . )—a& 1 that dietary , be it -or-SfTved , the guardians cc > uld cot go beyond , tbocsb they were to be injuleed witb ^ he odions power of r * . ioc ! ng iJ , " if U » 7 cocid safely do ec . " ( Hear , fetar . ) He could add ma ^ y tah .-s of similar crnehy on the pa * i of boards of gazidiana . Most persons know thedifficaity of de . ilinc witt bodies of men , A bo < 1 y corporate , is fact , had no toaL The individuals might have tboir separate feelic £ 3 , but the whole body had none fcaoh . ( Hear , bear . ; A man might i-9 personally humane and chartt 3 hle , -oat , when actisg with otbtr * , this Christian feeling . evaporated and vanished . He would mention one r : « s "which occunad not very loDg ago in bis
own iaiBvsdiate neigbbcarho ^ d . He was not a frequenter of boards cf gnanlians , kaving no crtat respect far tbe institution itsef . ( Hear , bf-ar , bear . ) He iMr Walttr ) was , however , particularly requested to attend a meeting , for tbe purpos * of fenvitavonriiHj to obtain eat-door celief for aa unhappy and tfflicled objutt . with a wife sleA five children , who bad bten ordered into the workhcuse , l-nt afteT a aigbfs trial of his aki * de there , went « at ntxt njorr . inp . H « fMr- "Walter ) bad been desired to nrgetLis man ' s title to out-door relief b&fore the board . Tbe alleged ground of their refusal vru , that his wifb had practi ^ e ^ some imposition upon a benevolent lady , and therefore tbe husband and whole family were to be punished . Witb some difficulty the husband wag admitted * to the
beard's presence , and be Jilr . Walter ) tbi-n ascertained , by rbe acknowledgment of both the med .-cal officers , Xhzt be laboured under an incurable pulmonary complaint . He produced a good character from a bigbly respectable master . On questioning htm , a doubt arose is bis ( Mr . Walter ' s ) mind whether the man ' s wife had really been guilty of the alleged impropriety , and , to afford time for inquiry , a week's tut-door allowance was accorded to him , and the board was to meet in the week following . He iMr . Walter ) received a most complete and satisfactory answer from the lady whom tbe woman v as snpposed to have defrauded , assuring him that so such circTrmstances had taken place ; and , fortified with this denial , he went to the next board meeting , in fall confidence that tbe guardian vt tbe
parish who had brought forward tho false charge wou ' . d at least aid bis efforts to relieve this family from tbe dreaded infliction of the workhouse . That guardian ¦ was . if possible , more callous than the rest The first order must be maintained , becanse they had made it Into the workheuse were the family again sent ; tboneh ultimately , afier same weeks * delay , ont-door rtlief was afforded . It was in vain to urge to these guardians that even if the poor man had been guilty of the offence of haviisi ! an indism et wife , be was not to blame , ami that if he went into the workhouse , there he would ceTtainly die ; if they had no consideration for the p ^ or man hims = lf , why should the inmates of the workhouse have their feelings harrowed tip by tbe transportation of a dying man into tbe midst of thtm —( hear , heari ? But
all bis representations had been in vain ; the cry was , that having once given their order , it should not be rescinded . He lived only a few months afterwards , Bnd died in bis own bahitr . tion , the guardian himself being celled to liis account firet—( hear , bear . ) Was it to be boyne that against sneb treatment as that the poor man should have no court of appeal , save only that of tbe trinmvirate of Somerset Huose , in which the harshest principles of the whole system were represented and coiicentratcd ] It were endless to repeat all the caseswell-authenticated cases , too—of unnatural severity inflicted by tbe operation of that law—( bear , hear . ) He did not know a single crime that had not been mult'plied . throngh thai operation , or a single suffering which humanity was heir to that had not been
aggravated and nrultipiied also through that law—( hear . ) Further than that assertion , which he conld 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 pleased , they would never be able ta overcome . Bow long would they get guardians to perform such labourious duties , and at a distance frum their own homes of perhaps fifteen or twenty UUle 5 ? Indeed , at tbat moment , he knew a parish in which the parishioners wtie obliged to club a sum of money to pay the guardian they depute » nly five miles distant . The effice was there held to ba anything but honourable or respectable . Lords and country festlemen might endeavomr to give
^ it edoi at its beginning , bat tha * zal had much cooled , as "Retell it might , and tb ' -se ciScea -ware left to be performed by those who could ill brook to throw away their time for nothing . He had alluded , when this most unfortunate bill was passed , to tbe manner in which they would be overwhelmed by rrports , amendment acts , acts explanatory , with evtry trash of that description . Why , no human powers of either body or mind could comprehend or csrry all that bad been written and printed , at the expence of this deluded country , in support of that measure ^ l > y its prime agents—ihear , bear ) . They were erecting a Nelson monument ol vast altitude . TLey might also erect a Poor Law monument of equal height , though of more corruptible materials , of the reports of those Csnimissionera . They sought to destroy their enemies , not as Oliver Cromwell Baid , with paper bullets , bat with p&per bulwarks and artificial zuoontsiss . At ths time that he first attacked tbat monstrous law , he estimated
thnt the paper defences would soon reach ap to their table . At prese nt they wonld o / ertop the chair . He bad already got upon the Englihh Poor Law upwards of 20 , 000 pages ; and it was is vain to make an estimate of the Irish , since the first appendix to a report itself weighed Silbs . Considering their bulk , no two portera iroald carry them , the English P . ior Law papers weighing upwards of twelve stone . The expense of printing them -would support tbe poor of many parishes for he knew not how many years . But there was one high authority against him , to which be should not have ventured to allude , bad it not been frtqaently cited against him , and that authority he hoped that he * hon ! d treat with proctr respect When he beard the greatest hero of his age say , « I know something of Governors-General , and I know something of war and its dificult > es also , " that man who should not bow tor such authority would be rash and Indiscreet to the utmost extent of ' ndiscrettoa and rashaeEs ; but he must
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hi reably contend that his Grace had not had that experie ace of the internal affairs of this country which , ether ' JK . n of humbler general talents might and mDJKbave hsd ^ an d tbat great man was not , therefore , antfttoverpswering authority upon these subjects aa upon those oa which his capacious mind had been , lie might sHnost say , ^ exclusively employed . But tbere was one fatality always attending the errors . of . grent men , if ! « ch they w « re—that they carried an overwholming , veisht with them , which the mistakes -of others were \ aot liable to . Would , indeed , that thei ? opinions were ¦ fljways enunciated with proportionate caution , and ! sever , as be cont *> rde < i in the present oase , before the j Bntject could have been fully examined and considered . j They were informed in the Divine records of their
religion , that " when a great man speaketh every j ^ Bn holdeth his tongue , and a look , what he sayeth , they extol it to the clouds ; but , if the poor man speak , they say , what fellow is this 1 " But if he ( Mr . Walter ) bad rneS with opposition on the one hand , ho had likewise met with encenrrgement on tbe other , and that from the most boncsrabie and excellent class of men—the clergy of tbe efrtabl ^ btd church—a class , also , the indivi ^ uuls of which , be would venture to assert , were , gc eraily speaking , quite as competent to deliver their opinions on the enl jtxt before the Houao as the immortal Dsi > 'e was upon that of war ; for tbt # lived with
tbe poor , in the midst of them , much more even than he had been in t'ie midst of bis soldiers ; they knew their wsnts , moral and pbyaxa ] , and from that class of niett he bad also received tbe most UBetu \ information , as well as the most strenuons wad undaunted support , though means were insidiously taken at first to prevent their interference by insi-rtinij the names of two pre * lateain tbe original central commission —( hear . hear ) . He would not , howevi-r . trouble the House with many of thtir statements , but , be most be allowed to read one from a gentleman inferior to nona in his sacred order in piety and intelligence , and who was well known to many Members of that House : —
" Knowing that you are about again to bring before tbe House of Coaimuas the woTkhou&e system as administered under the present Poor Law , 1 think it may not be without some use , if I state to you the result of my own observation of thai system , not in all nor many of its bearings , bat simply in its moral action upon those who come under it . To iiysolf this is a painful though voluntary task ; for it shows me tbe error of my own anticipations , and reminds me of the fault of once desenai&g aa Tight what 1 now regret as wrong and pernicious .
" Leaving , however , such personal considerations , let vas bntfly state to you the conviction to which I have-come on tbe subject , and the reasons which have brought me to it- > iy conviction is , tbat whatever u : ay be tbe maladies under which our social system is sufior-ng in tbe labouring part of it , the present workbuuee practice is not their remedy ; it is rather uader tho promise of present ; relief , aa aggravation of the disease . " 1 have seen the working of tho system under , in many respectfi , favourable circumstances . I have marked its effects witb ail the clearness I could by personal observation in uuiun house * , especially in one witb wb . ic& I have beeu neatly connected , and by pereonal inquiry amoug those who have been inniiUss of
those houses ; . and the result of both observation and inquiry has bwJi tuv same . It is a demoralizing system , ttinling to connect . poverty with licentiousness , and to generate pauperism and crime . 1 only state to you what I know to ba It erally true , wben I say that in union houses eu ppobed to bo administered us well as the system will permit , the work of utuioniliz ition has been going on in every ward except ihoso of sickueBB and old age . Among tbe poor unhappy children , among the adults o : either * ex , among the abio bodied , this propagation of evil baa gone on . To particularise and cLisaify its form * would toe & revolting task . It would comprehend Uie reciuil of some of the most di * £ usting i-ractices of liceotiouanbBs and many acts of crime .
"Persona well known to mo have avowed , tnut many as were the temptations to sin without those walltt , those within were fur more mischievous and dangeroux . Thw -dagger arises from tbe constant infusion of fresh and Vatifcd incentives to Vice , by those evil communications which , in the world at large , are kept ia check and weakened in power by many cauBus . Tbo day ot entering those walls takes , even from the man of f » ir character , much of the honourable eease of shame wbioh he hat ) -& « fure ; aud the bad man enters them to dindain , and rjnicule , and bate all mural influence—to teaeb mischief , to ruafcu the tongue and ear aud miDd familiar witb those sins in the practice-of which be has attained to the , ar < -att-st proficiency .
"It wauid rtquire > ume experience , or considerable imagination , to coiuprehtcd the extent of tbis mischief . It is a never-ceasing agent of evil , leaving iU > infection behind , when its actual presence is gone . A ward comparatively clear of it to-day aiay to-morrow , with a fre&h incentive , break out into every abomination that can pollute the tongue , or corrupt the heart . " Now . to omit , for the present , all other objections to this cyiteiE—to say nothing about \* M ttenchmg hard upon thfl feelings of humanity , or tbe Jaws uf God— I would only ask two questions in regard to it Cad the Legislature be ^ astifitd in ii fiictlcg on the poor a moral evii tbat , . 'ipart from such legislation , hf no necessary connection witb poverty ? We know that in the correct-ion of crime tbis is done through necessity ; but
that it Is crime , not poverty , tbat is to bv dealt with . Tbb prison Will always be a school of moral « ril , aa well as a pliice of pu-tlahmei . t -, bat th « re tho lanistti bas brought the evil upen himself—ho has forfeited th « prot& tion of tbe laws of the country , and this U a . part of the rtcompence of evil which he baa reaped . But what has a poor family tfoue—poor only because la « y are numerous , and their waxes insufficient ?—wbut have tUey done tbat . after haviog striven in vain to support tlbemselves , and then come to claim the protection which the criminal hze forfeited , they should be , in one respect , treated in the same manner with him ?—tbat tht-y should be placed whvre , whatever moral sense they have mast be blunted and destroyed , and where tbejr children will hear the lessons , if not witnesB tbe pract-ce of profligacy ?
* ' Another question I would ask . Is this tbe way to extirpate panp « rism from 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 tbe calculations or intentions of tbe frnmevs of tbis measure in other respect * , they appear to rue to have overlooked its mural effects altogether . Certain it is , that its practical fefftct is to undermine tho moral character and wellbeing of the poor . Its action is all downwards . It has no tendency to raise the moral condition of the labouring classes ; it has a direct tendency to degrade and deprave it ; snd , if this be true , it stands marked with the worst stigma that can be placed upon any lawthat of demoralising those upon whom it acts . " I am , dear Sir , " With sincere respt cr , " A CouM'nY Clekgyman . " To John Walter , Esq . M . P . "
Bat there was another argument with vrLich he was p led , in favour of this most painful important measure . He was told that gentlemen were pledged to it . Upon that point he could give a decided negative ; no centlenmn , he Efnmied , was nledged to it . Gentlemen might , untappily , at tbe first origin of this system of mischief , nut seeing what its consequences might be , have been pledged to the introduction of it ; but did any man , at . tbe time of its introduction , daringly pkdsje himself to carry it through , however it might affect tho people—however odious It might provehowever , in fact , it might subvert the whole order of society ? All tbat , he said , had been and . was being produced . Was any man pledged thtn , or could he now plead that be was pledged , to persevere ia the
icfl'ction of sucbtvilson tbe country ? To whom was he—to whom could , he be so bound 1 To his countryto the poor— 'to bis conscience ? Or to his party—his friends—his political leaders ? . Nay , more unwurtby still , did he mean that , having given his vote once for tbis monstrous evil , ho was bound ia consistency—bound in care for his own reputation , to persevere in thu fatal course he had begun ? W cattvui was tbe case ke bade that man pau .-e . He bade him retrace his steps . Let him not speak of pledges given , or supposed to have been given , wben he wafl totally nnafeiu to look itto futurity . If any man fa ^ . d unhappily so involved himself , he ( Mr . Walter ) owned his difficulty , but did not doubt aa to what was his duty . Facts— the facia of the last nine years—bad cancvlK > tl bis oWiganon . His vote "was not
his own but his country ' s ; aud his only honourable retrtat was in owning his mistake , and amending it . He coDjured , therefore , lhe Couseryati'weB of the House to step forward to the con&crvat ' on of England . Great apprehensions had been cxprc-ssed in that House and elsewhere of a certain league , to the practices of whose leaders he waa as much opposed as any man . But let gentlemen ask themselves how this league , now so menacing , first sprang up . He would teli them : it was suggested by a preceding lt-aeua aguin&t the poor of this country , whose diet was to bo reuuetd in quantity a-. id corrupied in quality . What a burst of indignation would have been excited in that House , as well aa throughout the country , if any resolution against the negro population , of a character similar to this against
our feliow-subjccts here at home , should have bten produced—that those blacks vrura first to have their caily food debased , and after that diminished—( hear , hear ] ! Gentlemen had been benevolent enough abroad ; let them look around them at hoiue . If , as they had been told , they bad elevated tbe condition cf the negro slave t o such a state of prosperity that be could now drive bis gig aud dciofe his Champagne , surely he was not asking too much when he called upon them to elevate the condition of tbe free white labourer and artizin of England , whom tbis law crushed to the earth—at least te afford him such subsistence as would preserve him from sinking
under a gradual prostration of strength . If they could not five him his cottage and piece of land which the negroes had obtained , at least iet them not insist on hiB selling everything that his hovel possesses in order to qualify him for being a tenant in their vast gaoiatti-s union workhouses . If they could not give him Champagne , they could give him the cheap , the wholesome , the nutritious , tbe national beverage of our laud —beer . It was not , perhaps , too late yet to retrace their steps . He felt strongly convinced also , that not only tbat , but all the other great subjects of contention , which kept the country in a ferment , might be composed and beneficially arranged , if gentlemen would in good earnest turn their thoughts to those subjects ,
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vatfeer than employ their whole time in struggles for political ascendancy . If it were said tbat euch aa object was desirable , but that it was impossible to attain tt , he would at onee : reply that he ackn « wledged no such impossibility with respect to objects that were rational . He recollected a happy maxim of Mr . Burke upon the subject : — " I know / ' said he , " it ia common for men to say , that such and such things are perfectly right , very desirable—but that , unfortuaately , they are not practicable . Oh no , sir , no . These things which ate not practicable are not desirable . There is nothing in the world really beneficial that does not lie within the reach of an informed , understanding and a welldirected pursuit . Tbere is nothing that God bas judged good for us that he bas not given ua the means to accomplish , both in the natural and moral world "—( cheers ) . He ( Mr . Walter ) would not longer detain tbe House than by moving the resolutions . The folfowing are the resolutions moved by the Honourable Member : —
• ' 1 . That in a document entitled , * Measures lubmitted by the Poor-Law ComiuiBBioners to his Majeaty ' a Ministers , ' appear tbe following passagea : — " ' That at any time after the passing of tbis act the Board of Control shall have power by an order , with such exception as shall be thought necessary , to disallow tbe continuance of relief to the indigent , the agtii , and the impotent , is any other mode than in a workhouse , regulated in such a manner aa by the aforesaid Board of Control shall be determined . ' 41 The 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 tiay 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 diminished iu quantity , until that mode of relief waa extinguished . From tbe first the relief should be altered ia quality , coarse brown bread beini ; substituted lor fine white ; and , concurrently with these muasurea aa to the out-door poor , a gradual reduction should be made in tbe diet of tbe in-door poor , aud strict regulations enforced . ' " 2 . That these recommendationa , applicable alike to every class of the poor , and enjoining an indiscriminate reduction of their physical oom / oits to tbe lowest endurable point , are shown by the subsequent orders and practice of the Poor Law Commissioners , to form the real though unavowed basis of tbe present system of Poor Law relief .
" 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 . That tbe attempted substitution of punishment for legal relief baa more and more tended to irrritate and dishvarten the po « r , to check industry , to increase crime , and to encourage various kinds of tyranny , without even tbe proposed compensation of reducing the expenses of the rate-payeta . " 5 That this house think It , tbetefore , expedient to demand such a reconstruction of tbe existing system as shall make it conformable to Christianity , sound policy , and tbe anoient constitution of the realm . " Mr . Fekrand seconded the motion . The question having been put from tho Chair ,
Mr . Walter again rose . Hon . Member * had asked him where he got certain information from to tvhich he had alluded . He had received it from a parson who requested that his name might not be personally given . Sir J . Gil a ham was in hopes , when the Hon . Member rose tor the second tinio , that he was about to supply a most important omission . In his speech ho had made an omission that was somewhat startling ; he had read extracts from a document which he had declared to be confidential , aud when he rose a secoud time he ( hir James Graham ) was in hopes he was going to show how ho became possessed of it , but nothing was less satisfactory than his explanation . Upon a former occasion the Hon . Gentleman had asked him if he recollected
these documents , and upon that occasion be said he did nov * but binoe then he had some indistinct recollection that some such document existed , and he thought he could inform the House how that wa 3 tho case . In 1 S 32 » Lord Grey ' s Government appointed a Commission to inquire into the condition of tho labouring poor , with a view to amend the law , and the Hon . Member had mentioned to tho Houae the names of some of the moat eminent individuals forming that commission—the Bishops of London and CheBter , Mr . Slurgee Bourne and others , whoso names were a sufficient guarantee to the House oi the beneficent character of the Commission —( dear , hear . ) The Hon . Member had said that a particular document wia of a en fidential nature—that it emanated from the Commission , and was submitted to Lord Grey ' s Cabinet .
Mr . Walter observed that he had not said so , but the Right Hon . Bart . had . Sir J . Graham believed it was in the recollection of tho House when he asserted that the Hon . Member had said he was in possession of a confidential comtiHiuication —( hear , hear ) . Now ho ( Sir James Graham ) could tell the House the precise circumstances under which that document came into the Hon . Member ' s po * 8 esMon—( hear , hear ) . He had untfervood tho Hou . Gentleman to say that it was a confidential communication ; but whether he said bo or not it was certain that it was confidential . This Conimisfiioo having prosecuted their inquiry , made their report , which was laid before them and the public after that report was printed , in ordir to bring the
subject in a more tangible form under the consideration of Lord Grey ' s Government , certain head * or referenda were prepared from the report . The Hon . Gentleman said that this document was never signed ; it was true , it waa not denied by the Commissioners . He beiieved that those heads wore prepared by the professional genlemen employed by the Commissioners in drawing up their report . He believed those heads were not known to the Commissioners , but were drawn up by the professional gentlemen 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 nuuso during the last session , when the Poor Lwr , in all its bearings , was largely discussed . ( " No , " from Capt . Pechell ) . Why he thought every thing except the Gilbert
Unions was settled to tho satisfaction of the Gallant Captain . The Hon . Gentleman appeared to imagine that the House was pledged to the Poor law . He ( Sir James Graham ) did not rest at all on any opinions which had been announced by the Hou . Gentlemen on either side of that House , he was willing to rest the measure upon tbeir practical knowledge and experience of tho bad aud good in the working of the system —( hear , hear ) . The law wasibased on the policy of " feeding the hungry , and clothing the naked ; " its tendency waa to olevate the character of tho labouring population ; the proportion of those relieved out of doors , as compared with those relieved within the workhouse , was as six to our ; the law was , therefore , not opposed to Christianity or sound policy ; and he would meet the first resolution by the previous question , aud the others with a direct negative .
Mr . Wakley censured Sir James Graham for attributing improper motives to Mr . Walter , It now turned out that there was auch a docuraout , notwithstanding the faint recollection of Sir James Graham when the subjeot was first mentioned . Mr . Borthwick declared his opposition to the Poor Law , and supported the resolutions . Mr . Agliondv had supported the Now Poor Law when it was passed , and bclitvcd that its operations had been gonerally beneficial : but some of its provisions were harsh , and had been harshly worked out , aud therefore he would support the resolutions , as a me : ins of declaring his opinion thai the law should be amended and improved . After a few explanatory observatious from Mr . Cripps ,
v olonel Sibthorpe declared his opinion that the old system of Poor Law had been excellent , that it had only been mismanaged in a few instances , and that it would be better to return to it . Mr . Stuaict Wort-ley had never pledged himself to h'S constituents to vote for the repeal of the Poor Law . He wasoppo .-ed to many of its provis . on ? , and wished it to bo improved , but he could not support the resolutions . Gcneial Johnson ' s great objection to the Poor Law wa » , that it put the people out of the pale of the constitution , and placed them under three individuals at Somerset House .
Sir RoBfRT Peel denied that tho principle of the amended Poor Law was opposed to the acts of 34 th and 43 rd Elizabeth , or that it was more harsh in its provisions . This he illustrated by citing some of the provisions of these Acts , especially the power given by tho 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 th George I . ; and , therefore , it was neither a novel nor an unconstitutional principle . No grqat . measure was ever passed withouthaviug suggestions being submitted for the consideration of the
Government ; and it would lead to much practical inconvenience if such confidents ! communications , whether th « y had been adopted , or , aa in the present inetaiice , they bad been rejected , were produced and publicly made use of . He adduced tho amounts paid for the relief of the poor , as showing that there was more expended on them than on the 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 the arguments whioh had been used by Mr . Walter . He concluded by warning the House against tamper ' ing with the Poor Law . :
Lord John Manners ^ would support the resolutions , as expressive of hia "wish to have the support of the poor placed on Christian and constitutional principles-Mr . M ujnz attributed the aversion of the people to the poor law , aa one cause of the late
insurrec-. Sir Walter James objected to the motion of Mr . Walter . But the question of the Poor Law would never be settled without a well-regulated system of out-door relief .
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Mr . FerraND : said , that on rising to address the House upon a question oa which be had long taken a deep interest , he * begged in the first place to offer his sinC 9 re 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 against the rights , liberties , and privileges of the poor . It vjras now twelve years ago since he ( Mr . Ferrand ) had first token part in public affairs , and on tbis question he ! had often received advice from the public speeches of the Hon . Member , which hod cheered him ou in the course he had pursued in opposing , by every constitutional means in bis power , this law , and little did he then think that he should have the honour and the privilege of sitting beside his Hon . Friend
when he gave , as he had that night given , the death blow to the New Poor Law . He ( Mr . Ferraudj deeply regretted the speech which the Right Hon . Baronet at the head of the iGovernment had made that evening . He did not tbink that the Bight Hon . Baronet had acted fairly to ikhe Hon . and Learned Member for Cocker mouth . The Right Hon . Baronet saw a rising spirit of independence flowing into the Hoii . and Learned Member ' s breast—he saw that the Hon , and Learned Member [ was actuated by no party spirit , and the Right Hon . Baronet was afraid lest the indepen dence the Hon . and Learned Memljer had shown should become contagious on both Bides of the House , and that if tbe feelings which actuated the Hon . and Learned Member to stand up in the independent
manner he had done should be acted upon on both sides , tbe Gaverruntmt would be in a minority on the present occasion , ;—( hear , hear . ) But what had been the remarks of the Right Hon . Baronet the Secretary for the Home Dap&rtment towards the Hon . Member for Nottingham ? Tho Right Hon . Baronet said this was a private document , only intended for tbe eyes of the late Q . wermtnfe , of VhicU be had been a member . H » ( Mr . Ferrand ! wished fthe Right Hon . Baronet had remained on that side of jtho House ; if so , Conservative principle * would have stood \ nuttv higher in the ayes of the peoplo than they did at present—( hear , heap , and a laugh ) . The Right Hon . Baronet had taunted his his Hon . Friend } the Member for Nottingham with a breach of confidence . He ( Mr . Ferrand ) contended that his Hon . Friend had only discharged a public duty . He had found out and dragged to light a document which , without any breach of confidence on his part , he found be cost his it
placed amongst Jiis papers— eyes npon , and said to himself " . - Nt » w I will bring before the ejea of tbe people of England this montttoua system of oppression . " And how had the Right Hon . Baronet himself acted the other night , when he ( Mr . Ferraod ) moved fur a return of two letters which emanated from certaiu manufacturers when the Naw Paor Law was under consideration , and on which thoy entered into an express and declared agreement with Mr . Chad wick , the secretary to the Poor Law Commissioners , tbat if they only framed tho New Poor Law in such a manner as to throw a largo pb . tion of th « working classes of tbe south into the north—that if they were able " to absorb" tbe surplus population of the south into the manufactuiing districts of the North of England , it would enable them , the manufacturers , to reduce the price of labour in the north of England , and to put a stop to tbe outbreaks for raising wages ? Mr . Wallace—Who said tbat ?
Mr . Ferrand . —Ths letters of Mr . Aishworth and Mr . Qr ?<;; they were in the first report of lhe Poor Liv ? Commissioners . < Iue words he had often quoted before , snd no ona man had ever denied the trutn of the quotation . Now , at that very time a committee of the House was sitting to inquire into the thai condition of the hand-loom weavers , and it was proved before that committee that the baud-loom weavers were then struggling for existence upon ten farthings u-day . But what bad the Hifibt Hii > n . Baronet said with respect to these two letteis ? Why , he said they were private communications—that ttw first lettrr of Mr . Ashworthwas ou the file of the Poor Law Commissioners , but tuat the letter of Mr . Greg cou' . d not be found . They were , be added , private communications , which were never
intended to see daylight , but that he had no objection to produce Mr . Ashwortti ' s letter and lay it on the table of the Hoa = e . Now , what was tbe difference between tbe conduct of the Right Hon . Baronet in p acing tbac letter , which be said was of a private nature , and never intenucd to see daylight , on the table of the House , and in that of his Hou . Friend the member for NoLtingbtktn , who , finding a pap < sr which had b «« n suhnivUoA to the Gtovbroment , btoiisiht it before the Houso ? Tbis was said by the Right Hon . Baronet to be a breach of ( confidence—he ( Mr . Ferrand ) maintained tbe » e whs no breach of confidence except on the part of tbe lii ^ ht Hon . Baronet himself . The Right Hon . Baroaut Mad expressly stated , that the letter written by Mr . Ash worth to the Secretary of the
Poor Law Commissioners was u private communication , and now he ( Mr . Ferrand ) begged to ask the Right Honourable Baronet tbe First Lord of the Treasury ( who bad always shown an earnest anxiety to prevont tho slightest attempt to cooceal public documents ) if there was any necessity to keep baefc Mr . Greg's iletter ? It was said not to bo on the file . Why was it not en thy file ? Let the Government aay at once 1 that it would be inconvenient to produee it because jthere were expressions iu that letter which ought not to appear before the public . Such he ( Mr . Ferrand ) understood from tbe Hon . Member for Oldhum to be the ca . jo , but at all events it was the duty of the < J iTernraont to make » strict and searching inquiry aa to the nfasons and means used to prevent tbs
production of that letter . H- < now ottne to tho question of tbe working of the New Poor Law in tbe North of England And what bad ben its effects there ? It happened that amongst the letters contused \ n tbefitbt report of the Poor L ? . w Commissioners there w » 3 one from Mr . Aeuwurtbin which tie t « Ui Mr . C ^ - ' ° k thftt it Would be desirable that 20 , 000 labourers should be sent fiom the sputhdown to Sulybridi ^ e . No W , the inspector of factories for that district had within tL eiast few days , forwarded his report to H * Majesty ' s S ^ * tary of State for tbe Hume Department and iu it w f bat did they find tberfe proved to be the state at present of Stalybridge—the district into which Mr . Chadwic \ with tbe consent and at the request of those cottonspinners , and through the auency of Dr . Kiy—who , for
the part he had tafc-ja in securing the election of Mr . P . Thompson at Manchester , had been mads a Poor Law Commissioner , and who , in a pamphlet , had described the working population of Manchester aud i ' -s neighbourhood to be , at that moment , in a state of starvation —had induced teus of thousands of tbo population of the south to go into the manufacturing districts of tbe north ? He ( Mr . F «« raud ) wished Vie manner in which these wretched poor bad been kidnapped and sold into a state of slavery , an < 4 brought t > a speedy death , could be exposed to the house . But with respect to Stalybridge and i : s neighbourhood , be found ( be following statement made by Mr . Hnrner , the ( aototy inspects , in his last report : — " The population of the three ! . aiijoining tow , a of Ashtun ,
Dukenfield , and Stale > bridge included , with ati area of a mile and a half radius from the most central pa t of the district , is considered to be not less than 55 . 000 ; and tbe proportion of the working population , ( bnt is , those below the rank of shopkeepers , has been estimated at eighty pec cent , in Ashton , ninety in Staleybridge , and ninety-four in Dukentiet . i . This dense population baa been brought together chiefly by the extension of the manufacture within a very short period . The population of the borough of Ashton and township of Dukenfleld together was . in 1821 . 14 318 ; in 1831 , 29 , 352 ; and in 1841 , 45 , 074 . I am unable tu give toe exact numbers for the whole district , because Staleybridgo is partly in Lancashire and partly in Cheshire , but the increase there has probably been in a 1
similar ratio . ' Now . he asked the House to listen to what followed : —"[ How little tbe moral and religious improvement of the large number of the humbler classes has been hitherto an objact of solicitude , the following f , icts will show : —In the borough of Ashton , witb a population ! of 25 , 000 , there is no national school , no school of the British and Foreign School Society , nor any other public day-scbool for the children of the working classes . The same is the case at Staleybridge and Dnkenfield , witb tbe slight exception I shall now state . I mentioned in tho report above referred to that a ^ national school had recently been built at Staleybridge , but , I regret to say , it is not yet in operation . " Notf this Dr . Kay , who , by the by , held also the situation of secretary to the Education
Board , was the agent employed by Mr . Chad wick and tbe Poor-Law Commissioners to carry down 20 , 000 southern labourers to a pi ace Where tbere was not an atom of chance of their receiving the slightest education . Now , was not this something serious and alarming—namely , that for the purpose cf jcarrying out the New Poor Law it was necessary to absorb the population of the south into tho north ? Where did h « n . members think tho first outbreaks took place ? Why at Staleybrid ^ s , where there was a population whose minds , from their sufferings , were easily excited by men of deeper designs , but who had not the courage to show their faces , and who left ttuir victims to appear at the bar of justice , and puss thence to transportation , while they slunk away iuto the dark . I He maintained th ;» t the origin of
the outbreak was the iniquitous , atrocious , bloodthirsty Poor Law . But for that law the population of the north of EagSand would not have had their market for labour entrenched upon by tbe introduction of tens of thousands of the masses of the south , —and they would have had &ome chance of earning a subsistence by a fair price foi their labour , if they had not been robbed of it under the © perationjof the New Poor Law . He found ths other evening thnt tbe ton . member for Manchester thought proper to jdeny some statements he ( Mr . Forrand ) had made _ w ith respect to the treatment of children employed in a mill belonging to a cotton-spinner in Lancashire , j The hon . member said be ( Mr . Furrand ) bad told the House tbat that there were certain Poor Law unions where the overseers handed
over tbe orphans under their care and protection to employers without inquiring into the mode of treatment to which they would be exposed . He ( Mr Ferrand ) bad stated the circumstance upon an authority on which he knew he could place reliance—he had learned it from persons of unquestionable veracity ; and , although the matter bad been denied by the Hon . Member for Manchester , he ( Mr . Far rand ) knew very well that the iiour was not far distant when he would receive an authority backed either by persons who bad beheld those scenes of cruelty , orj who were prepared to prove every word which he ( Mr . Ferrand ) faad uttered . No sooner had the speech of the Hen * Member for Manchester reached that town than the representatives of the working classes , who advocated the Ten Hours Factory Bill , mat and paf esd resolutions , which as they related
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to himself he wonld not now read . But he had received a letter from one of the body , Mr . Doherty , which corroborated all he had said . He trusted the House would allow him to read that letter . -Year after year these poor girls were keptin a state of ste verybut at last human naturo cnnld bear it no longer , they burst from the chains of the jn « jau | facturer f and ran away to thoir parents . AnS what was tbeir punish * ment ? ' He ( Mr . Doherty ) raw the room in which these girls wexe confined : . the light was completely excluded ; they were not allowed either flre , light ; or bed , and their usual allowance of food was consider ably diminished . Their hair was cut off , and their confinement lasted for several days . Daring the con * flnement of Esther Price , several of her
fellowapprenticcs mitigated the rigour of her punishment * by putting in through the crevices of tbe wainscoting which separated this room from the adjoining apartment portions of their own rations , as well as cloaks , &c , to cover her by night . On the Friday afternoon the matron died , and the remains lay in the next rooia to that in which the poor girl was confined . When she beard this , she waa driven almost frantic withfri ght On the following day , wben refreshments were brought her , she rushed out of the room , and told ; the peraon having her in charge that sbe would rio ^ under any circumstances , pass another night in that apartment . Tbe man said , ' Well , Esther , if you pledge yourself not to be seen , I shall say nothing about it , but you know , if you are seen , it is as
much as my place is worth . " These chit , dren were placed in that man ' s power under the operation of the New Poor Law . It was from the union workhouses that this man was supplied with these apprentices , and he would ask the Right Hon . Baronet whether , in a civilized country , the people of En gland would long allow these things to exist , and whether the working classes owed allegiance to the Government , if , on those circumstances being brought to its know , ledge , it did not immediately take steps to put a stop to BUah proceedings ! There ¦ was another instance of ill-treatment ol the poor which he bad alluded to thd other evening when he had moved for certain returns relative to the operation of the New Poor L 3 W . He had stated that in the month of May , 1842 , there were
a number of people sent from the Skipton Union workhouse to a man named Threlfall , amiilowner at Halifax He had asked the Right Hon . Baronet the Secretary of State for tbe Home department if tbere was any communication extant between the Poor Law Commissioners and tbat luillown ^ r ? The Ri ght Hon . Bvonet had replied that there was no statement or correspondence whatever in the offise of the Poor Law Commissioners on this subject , After that , he ( &Ir . Ferrand ) had asked htm if he would cause an inquiry to be made in the office of Secretary of State for the Home Department whether tbere was any such communication , as to him , in his high office , the poor must look for protection if their rights and privileges were invaded Tbat Rigbt Hon Baronet had informe i him that tbere
was not any such communication . With the perrais . sion of the Honse he would read a statement connected with the transportation of these people from the Skipton Union workhouse to this mill : — " Sir , —I thank you for the attention you have paid to tbe subject of my letter , and for your communication . It was Skipton Union workhouse from which , the hands were brought to Thrtslfairs mill . Tbe precise number cannot now be ascertained , but . aa far as I can learn , there would be about twenty ; four of those were so lame taut they could not walk between Skipton and Arfomgaam , a distance only of six miles , so they were brought in Threlfall' 8 tax cart ; also one was very much deranged in her mental faculties , These were all females . The mine of the poor idiot was Hannsh Cocksh . uk i regret 7
that I am unable to giveyou the names of the four cripples . One of them , whosa name is EMzibeth Townend , was so lame , that she was unfit f « t any employment , much less to stand twelve hours a-day in a factory . After her day ' s work she y » as scarcely able to walk to her lodgings . Thus are Ua poor creatures conveyed like subjects for disseetion . from the union workhouse to the factory to be experimented upon by tbe manufacturers . Tneae . facts are well known to many in AddingUam ; but , if you , Sir , do not toink them sufficiently authenticated to warrant an exposure in the Senate House of Britain , I hope you will atjeast make the world acquainted with those facts which have been proved before you in a court of justice . Alice Morrill fr so far convalescent as to be able partially to
resume her employment . " Now , here he would ask what chance tbere was for protection for these pooi people ? The father of Alice Morrill deelined to make any statement , as he was an overlooker in Mr . ThreU fall's mill . There was apother instance of the craeities practised under this New Poor Law , and it discovered tbe secret motives that bad influenced the first pro . posers of this law—of the Ash worths and tbe Qtega , when they wrote their letters and did their utmost to urge forward tbe law , and to get into tfieir districts tbe population of the suath to beat down the wages of the labourers , of their own workpeople . The workpeople of Mr . Threlfall were so badly paid , and so ill-used and over-worked , that they had struck for wages ; and for the purpose of
enabling him to carry on his mill , he applied to the Skipton workhouse , whence were forwarded to him \ twenty hands ; and these pooi people were obliged to work for the wanes he chose to give him . The Hon . , Members for Bolton and , Manchester had warned the house against bis statements unless authenticated . They had insinuated , as usual , that it would be desirable teat the House and the country should not listen to what ha , ( Mr . Ferrand ) said , unless it were fully proved before the House . He iMt . Fenaad ) little ttum ; h . t thafc oa , the following morning tho report of the Faetoij Inspectors would be placed in his hands . Since then Hon . I Members of that House had gone to him , and said , — ' Wliy you understated the conduct of the manufacturers in the North of Eapland . When tbe Secretary
' of State for the Home Department chided you for having used the expression * monsters in human shape , ' you did not to the extent you were justified express your I abhorrence of their conduct . " Ho would ask the Sscre-, tary of State for the Home Department , whether he felt : it his » uty to inquire whether the guardians of the I Skipton Union had placed in the power of this manufacturer twenty hands for his mill , three or ( our of ^ vhom were cripples unable to walk . aDd one of them an idiot ? He waa about to read an extract from tht ' report of the inspectors of factories tat the halfyea f ending the 31 st of December , 1842 . It was rath w long , but he trusted the House would bear with it—( hear , hear ); and he would ask the House to resv . ' ue fch 8 masses of tho people from the
oppression an d Plunder inflicted upon them , for tteir barden was * oo heavy to be borne . This was the report of Mr . S . \ uuders , and was dated the 25 * . U of January , 1843 —the la 8 t re P » " 1 waa about to prepare my report for t . ^ 1 ^ ' quarter ia the early part of themonth , whei A * received notice of one of tae nv » t grosaand op ' pressiv e violations of the law , during tbe ^ reet ending the 25 ' *» ultimo , that has occurred to inyinowledge since the x factory Act was passed . This indu < K& me to delay my i ePort - in order te wait the resaIt of ' ' careful investigati <> Q ° * the circumstances relating to that oftauce . and i *» adjudication of any complaints which might be pr , Verted against the oftVnders . lb * investigation was ? W efficiently conducted by Mr , Baker , the superinten ^ nt" He would here beg leaw the conduct of Baktfor
to bear his testimony i '<> Mr . . r , he t-Mr . Ferrand ! never saw a man conduct . him ? ea with more justice to the parties concerned . » And I regret lo my the wilful a . nd deliberate overwoiking ol various youne persons , botL' boys and girls , but cbieny the latter , between the ag . » of fourteen or eighteen was clearly established . 1 ™ b occurred at a mill a * Addingham . in Yorkshire , wL ™ a has only been occupied a few months , in cotton * piuui-sr , by tne arm _ oi Messrs . Seed and Co ., of which a Mt . William Threlfall is th& managing partner . The n . 'ill was at work from six o ' clock on Thursday morning , the 22 nd ult , until twelve o - clock the same night , wl ucb . ( allowmgtwo hours for meal time ) was an empl . > yment for sixteen hours of the several detau ™ d between those
persons periods , some of them being under e ' ghteen years or age . Tbis was , bowe ver , comparai ^ a 8 llg ^ offence to what followed . The mill con unenced worKii . g again the next morning , Friday , t . ^ 23 rd , ano the machinery continued running from that tune , with only short intervals for mea . % dttrm » the whole of Friday night , tbe whole i * oatnr " day , and until three o clock on oanaay morning ( Christmas Day ) , a period of forty . fi ? 8 0 ° " * Now , these twenty paupers ware placed in the po v" * this " moustir in human shape / ' and ha askea ™ e Right Hon . Baronet would he make an inquiry j «» this statement ? He ( Sit J . Graham ! must , or pl £ » himself in the position to be called on to resign W office . " There can be no doubt but taat someofthfl
hands under eighteen years of age were present during the whole of this excessively long period ; but this point was not proved in the cases selected for the pro * atjcution , because it was necessary , in order to obtain more than one penalty , to lay distinct informations for the wrong employment of different younjj persons for each separate day . It was , however , proved , tbat gi « 8 of fourteen had been kept to work from seven o ' ciocK on Friday evening , tbe 23 d , during all the night , tne next day , and through Saturday night , until three a . m . on Sunday , the 251 b . —a peiiod of thiity-two hours ; the same parsons having been v / orked on the previous day ( Thursday ) till twelve at night , and azain for part of the Friday afternoon . Such conduct towards young and tender females , who cannot be deemed free agents , merited , in my opinion , the heaviest penalties whicn the law imposed for Buch offences ; and I felt Htf ®* ; justified in sanctioning Mr . Biker ' s arrangement of Bis the
complaints In such a manner as to afford magiB ' trates an opportunity of awarding * punishment to some degree commensurate with _ the offence . The offenders were convicted on seven different informa * tions , six of which the magistrates deemed so serious as to demand severally tbe full penalty of £ 29 ; and tne other offence was punished by a paysientof £ 5 . " Now , be would call the attmjtijn of the R ^ nt Hon . Baronet * the Secretary of State for tbe Home Department to what was now doing by this millowner . He was trying to avoid these penalties ; he wna getting up a petition to the Right Hon . Baronet to be relieved from them , and that petition twd been already signed by one magistrate who was a part-owner of that mill . He ( M' - Farrand , knew that Mr . Threlfall would apply in van to the Kiglit Hon . Baronet . He ( Mr . Ferrand } knew , that so far as money could make this monster pay »* bis atrocities , he must pay the whole amount of tne ( Continued in our Seventh page . )
J •Jemjim'al ^Srlisnwnt.
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Untitled Article
g THE NQRTHSUN STAR . ; _ .
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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-ncseproduct982/page/6/
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