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Northern Star (1837-1852), 2nd July 1842, Edition 1 of 5, Page 6, THE NORTHERN STAR. iven his inion in fav...

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      House Of Lords-Il/Ond^, June 27. Lord De...

      HOUSE OF _LORDS-il _/ _ond _^ , June 27 . Lord Desman moved the second reading of the Affirmation Bill . His object in this measure was to give relief to those Christians -who literally interpret the command . " Swear not at all . " and who conscientiously act on their convictions ; and to enable them to further the ends of justice by giving their evidence without violating their conscientious feelings . The Earl of WicKrow opposed the bill , being more disposed to support a measure for tho abrogation of oaths altogether . The Bishop of _Lossos felt himself in a difficulty . He respected the conscientious _rcrnples of the persons for whose relief tee bill was _brought forward , and was aware that , amongst other instances of hardship , there was the case of a diitinguished member of the bar , who had foregone tbe _emolmnenis of office rather than violate his convictions by taking the oaths required . Believing tbat the entire subject must be dealt with legislatively at no distant period , he would abstain from either supporting or opposing the present bill . In the course of the further debate , Lord A dinger protested against the case of the Quakers being taken as a precedent ; he found them , aa witnesses , exceedingly _difficult to manage , as they never gave a direct answer to any question . Lords Brtugbani and Benman defended the Quakers from the imputations of Lord Abinger . Oa a _tug _!« tian from the Bishop of London , which was supported by the Lord Chancellor , the bill was withdrawn , en the understanding that the entire _t _ubject is to be referred to a Eelect committee , with a view to some fntnre legislative proceedings .

      House Of Commons, Friday, June 24. Petit...

      HOUSE OF COMMONS , Friday , June 24 . Petitions were presented against tbe present system of national _education in Ireland , against the Poor Law Continuance Bill , and for a better system for the regulation of medical charities in Ireland . On the motion for going into committee on the Poor law Amendment Bill being read , Sir . Lawson moved , that it be an instiuction to the committee that they have power te divide the bill into two parts . Tbe motion having been seconded , Sir J . Grauaji said , it would not be necessary for him to dttain the House at any length in opposing tbe motion . He introduced this measure on the 4 th of May , and many of the clauses were considered in the last Session . Ihe Hon . _Gentleman said he bad no objection to the first live clauses , wbich , in his opinion , were the most important in tbe bill . He considered the motion of the Hon . Member useless and superfluous , and , therefore , he hoped the House _woald proceed to consider the Bill in committee . Captain Pechell supported the motion for dividing the Poor Law Bill into two parts . Br . Bo wring said it could not be denied bnt that great abuses existed under the old Poor Law Bill , and therefore he voted for the bill , which had for its object the amendment of that law . Whether the new measure had worked well , it was for the House to consider—( hear ) . Certainly cases of _affliction and suffering bad taken place lately , which were a disgrace to a civilised country— ( hear)—and the inquiry which had taken place was not satisfactory to any party . He wished this important Bill to be thoroughly discussed in every stage , and he won ld no t avai l hims el f of tbe techn i ca l f orms of the House to oppose the Bill . He would not offer any factious opposition . Mr . O'Connell should vote with the government on the present occasion . He was decidedly of opinion that this important measure ought to be in one Bill ; it ought not to be divided . Sir . Fielden said , he believed this bill ought not to pass , and , therefore , he should oppose it in every way the forms of the House allowed . He should vote for the amendment which had been proposed . Sir H . W . Bakron considered the New Poor Law Bill the most beneficial measure ever passed by the Legislature , and when its provisions were thoroughly understood and fully carried out , the country would thick as be did . It woidd prove a benefit to both poor and rich—( hear . ) It was tho cry of eternal war on the hustings at the last election against the Poor Laws and the Com Laws tbat placed the present ministers of the Government in the situations they now held—( hear . ) He felt bound to support the bill _, but he could not support then * general policy . Mr . GfiiiiSDircii was of opinion no benefit could be _derivsd by dividing the bill into two parts , therefore he must oppose the motion . After a few words from General Johnson ( cries of "Divide , divide . " ) Sir . Lawson said he would not trouble the House to divide , he would withdraw his motion . Motion withdrawn . On tbe motion being again put tbat the Speaker do leave the chair , Mr . T . S . Buncombe rose and moved the following resolution : — " That , considering the distressed state of the commercial and industrious classes of this country , together with the advanced period of the session , and the present state of public business , coupled with the faet that the Poor Law Commission expires on the 31 st of the ensuing month , it is the opinion of this House that there is not now sufficient time to enable Parliament to give that attention and deliberation to the important changes in the laws for the administration of relief to tbe poor , which the measure introduced by her Majesty ' s Ministers imperatively demands ; and that it would therefore be more expedient , that measures of a temporary character should be adopted , to meet any inconvenience which the expiring provisions of existing laws for the relief of the poor may be deemed to require . " Ihe Hunt Member contended that this important Bill could not be properly and satisfactorily considered during the present session of Parliament . The _existing Bill exp ired on the 31 st of July , and therefore a temporary measure ought to be introduced , and the questions respecting tbe same fully and calmly discussed in the next session of Parliament . He did not think that any objection would be raised to continuing the present Sill for another year , but in the present state of pnblic business they ought not to be called upon to pass a permanent Act . The BUI ought to have been introduced at an earlier period of the sessicn . Mr . Wallace seconded the motion . He eloquently expatiated upon tbe apathy exhibited by both sides of the House respecting the afiairsof the poor ; but he would do his duty to them , for the poor ought not to be allowed to starve . The Poor Law did not provide for the destitute . He would , with the assistance of four cr five individuals , bring the affair shortly before the House . Sir James Gkaham admitted the importance of the question now before the house , and he was deeply impressed with the distressed condition of the working classes . But it was now a question how those difficulties should be met . There -were now 1 , 200 , 060 persons in England ar . d Wales receiving parochial relief . Now how was this gigantic evil to be relieved ? He had considered the question iu all its bearings ; and he had recommended the adoption of various expedients from time to time . He 'was quite prepared to enter Into details of the measure , with & view to apply a remedy to the existing evils , if possible . He would vote for the government measure . Mr . Kume said , that he had always approved of this measure ; yet he regretted it had not answered the purpose for which it had been brought forward . He thought it would be expedient to _pasB a bill of a temporary nature for one or two years ; for Parliament had passed a bill to prevent the poor man from working . ' ( Hear , hear . ) The poor want to work , but her Majesty ' s ministers will not let them have it ! Had they not passed the com laws , which deprive them of work ? They do not want charity . Let the House reinov 9 restrictions on trade . Gentlemen may say " No , no , " bnt tbe time was at hand when they would be compelled to comply . Let the Bight Hon . Baronet consider that in a few months those coantries which depended upon our commerce would be independent of us . He _repeated , that free trade in com and provisions , and nothing else , would give employment to the poor man . They could not nave the poor law and the com law together ; for society would then be divided into classes —the very rich , and the very poor . The poor were degraded and trampled upon ; and the time was approaching when the rich themselves would suffer . Mr , Liddeli . wished that her Majesty ' s ministers wonld limit the present bill to the first five clauses . By this measure the Gilbert Unions and the district pauper schools would not be touched . He maintained that the measure would not afford the smallest additional relitf ; and the removal of restrictions on trade would only aggravate the evil . Lord John Russell said , the number of poor would be very considerable , whatever might be the fate of the corn laws ; and it wonld still be requisite to bave a good system of poor laws ; and no change of the com laws could make it expedient to put np with a bad or injudicious system of poor law administration . Upon those grounds he opposed the motion . Colonel Wood waa of opinion that the house should interfere , and not allow the _ont-door relief to be administered by capricious commissioners . Mr . Fehrakd was convinced that the Poor Law Commissioner and Assistant-Commissioners wonld uphold any system which gave tbem the control of tbe public money —( " Oh , oh ! " ) He felt it due to himself as a member of the Keighley Board of Guardians , as Chairman of the Board , and as a Magistrate of the county in which the union waa established , to prove to the house and to the country , that a statement which bad been made respecting him by a public officer , in a report now he believed on the table of the house , was a false and scandalous one—( " Oh , oh 1 " ) He did not speak oa rumour , like the Hon . Member for Bath , bnt had much stronger grounds for the confidence with vrhich he made his assertions . He would prove from the report of Sir J . Walshani , that the statement made by Mr . Mott was false . The Right Hon . Baronet , the Secretary for the Home Department made it his boast the other night that Government had not betrayed the confidence wbich the house reposed in them , when it granted the additional day for public business ; but be would tell the Hon Baronet that the country had been

      House Of Commons, Friday, June 24. Petit...

      betrayed when it placed confidence in the Government when—( cheers , and cries of " Oh , oh ! " during the remainder of the sentence ) . He cared not for friend or foe . but would speak his opinions boldly . The Government had been raised to power by the deeprooted hatred which the people bore to the New Poor Law . It was the detestation of that law which placed the Conservative candidates at the head of the poll . It was to raise their voice 3 against that law that they were returned to that house , and be stood there to perform the duty for which he had been sent . Tbe Noble Lord opposite last year introduced bis Bill , and took his stand upon it . What was the consequence ? The country , when the general election came , told the Noble Lord that they would not have his bill nor him either . This only carried out the argument of the Hon . Baronet , the Member for Waterford , who said that the Government had obtained their majority in that House by the agitation of this question . What waB the difference between the Hon . Gentleman and himself ? The Hen . Gentleman , he . believed , agitated for the Reptal of the Union—he ( Mr . Ferrand ) agitated for the repeal of the Poor Law . The Right Hon . Member for the county of Cork alao agitated for the Repeal of the Union , but he ( Mr . Ferrand ) believed they would carry tbe repeal of the Poor Law before the Right Hon . Gentleman carried the _Repeal of the Union . He ( Mr . Ferrand ) would now call the attention of the House to _si . me statements in Mr . Mott ' s report . He found that . Mr . Mott said , * ' I regret to bave to report to your board that the proceedings of the guardians are very unsatisfactory ; in short , they are entirely at variance with the provisions of the law and tbe directions of your board . " He ( Mr . Fermnd ) begged leave to assure the House that the Board of Guardians of the Keighley Union had been carrying on the whole of their proceedings , since he himself attended the board , according to the express directions of the Commissioners of Somerset-house . This was directly contrary to tbe allegations of the Commissioners themselves . He held in his hand the report of the Poor Law Commissioners for 1 S 39 . The following passages described the state of the unions in Lancashire and the northern districts , and the manner in which the law was carried out : — " We are enabled to state generally , in reference to these unions , that the boards of guardians are proceeding satisfactorily in the administration of relief . ****** The same observations apply to many of tbe unions in the West Riding of York , which have been longest in operation . * * * The guardians are authorised to put the law into operation vnder and subject to the provisions of the 43 d Elizabeth , c . 2 , ( the old law ) , and are , in fact , a larger vestry , before whom the cases of the respective paupers are investigated on their own personal application or from the report of the relieving officers , whose dnty it is to alminister tbe relief ordered by the board , and te ir . quire into tke situation of the paupers making application , and the board of guardians have reason to believe that the real wants and necessities of the poor are more promptly attended to and relieved than under the old law . " He begged the particular attention of the House to these extracts , which would shouw the system by which the Poor Law Commissioners gulled the public , sending _assistantccnimissieners up and down the country to deceive the House and the Government He would take the liberty of reading an extract from the report of Sir J . Walshani , relative to the Keighley Union , which would confirm what he had stated relative to the inaccuracy of Mr . Mott's report : — " The expenditure on lis poor , and principally , I _tase it , on its non-settled poor , has more than doubled itself since the declaration of the Union in February , 1837 ; a glance at the subjoined table will at once show this to be the case : — Average quarterly Expen- Expenditure Names of _diturs for the for the Increase Townships . Three Years Quarter end- per ending March ing March Cent 25 , 1837 . 25 , 1842 . 1 . Bingley 286 660 133 2 . _Haworth 238 409 110 3 . Keighley 363 767 111 4 . Merton 74 1 G 2 38 5 . Steeton 43 75 74 6 . Sutton 87 160 84 Total j 1 , 091 2 . 269 108 An increase of 10 S per cent , indicates , prima facia , a loose and imperfect administration , and it caused me , therefore , no surprise to hear that out-door relief and non-resident relief in aid of wages , given almost wholly in money and without requiring work in return , was the system on which the board of guardians of tbe Keighly Union bad been proceeding . But it is some satisfaction to add , that not only did the guardians seem fully aware and willing to admit that such system was unsound , and ought to be checked , but they were endeavouring to make arrangements with the surveyors of the highways in the several townships fur providing work for the able-bodied . I am not , however , prepared to say that these arrangements will be adequate to their purpose , or to tbe requisitions of the out-door labour test recently issued to the Keighly Union ; still they involve a movement in tbe right direction , and as the guardianB disposed ( so as least it struck me ) of the business before them in a business -like manner , I am not inclined to augur unfavourably of their future proceedings as regards a more systematic and correct distribution of out-relief . " One great cause of the increase of the rates , apparent on the face ef the extract he bad read , was the bringing such numbers of men from the southern and other agricultural districts into the manufacturing parishes of Lancashire . It was a fact that some of these men were now receiving from the parishes whence they had been transported thirteen pounds a year in aid of wages . If any improvement had been made in the working of the law , he ( Mr . Ferrand ) would say that it was owing entirely to the exertions of its uncompromising and determined opponents , and ot the boards of guardians , who had been obliged to set tbe commissioners at defiance , and act contrary to their directions . That was owing solely to the arbitrary , unconstitutional , monstrous , inhuman , _un-Christian _, nn-English orders which the latter occasionally issued . Were such men , he would ask , to be intrusted with the administration of the workhouse test ? He now came to the close of Mr . Mott ' s report ; and what would the Right Hon . Baronet say when he heard what was there stated ?—" Without proper workhouse accommodation I am afraid that other restraints upon the guardians wonld be but of little avail . As the auditors are now elected , their services in many unions are but of little use , and no beneficial check can be expected through them . I have repeatedly ventured to state to your board , and all recent experience has confirmed the opinion I have before expressed , that even as a precautionary measure , in the manufacturing districts , where the poor-rates , until recently , have been comparatively light , the provisions of tbe New Poor Law are loudly called for ; and that unless the Poor Law Commissioners are empowered by the Legislature to enforce the provision for proper workhouse accommodation to aid the restraint upon relief to able-bodied paupers , there is nothing to prevent the pressure of the poorrates hi the manufacturing districts from becoming ten times more ruinous in their consequence and more dangerous to the public welfare than those which were unhapp ily witnessed in the agricultural districts of the south of England . " Now , he would ask the Right Hon . Gentleman what kind of _poerhouses they were going to erect ? The feeling in that district was most determined in opposition this measure . The people in the north of England were unanimous almost to a man against it —( bear , hear . ) This indeed was no party question , for if it were did they think he would stand np in that House and express his opinions to the injury of the Government?—( hear , hear . ) But the question they had to decide was whether the northern parts of England should be completely ruined , the working classes there be made determined haters of the institutions of their country , and the men of property be made to feel that every principle of the constitution had been violated . The Right Hon . Gentleman knew it was impossible to carry out the orders that were issued ; the commissioners knew it too , and yet , in spite of the state in which the union of Keighley was , they issued the directory orders to which he had alluded . He bad no hesitation then in saying that the commissioners were more anxious to preserve their places and their pay than to care for the public welfare . Had the people of this country become so degraded from every principle that actuated their ancestors , tbat three Poor Law commissioners at Somerset-house were rendered necessary for providing for the poor ? He challenged the Right Hon . Gentleman to prove a single instance , under the old law , of a ratepayer in the Keighley Union , of any party , who was even actuated by one unkind feeling towards the poor , or who ever forgot his dnty to them . He was now Chairman of the Guardians of that Union , and a short time since _, when he found these peremptory orders had been sent down , as Chairman of the Board , aud as a magistrate , he officially communicated to the Right Hon . Gentleman , that if those orders were carried out , he felt convinced a breach of the peace would take place . What was the answer of the Right Hon . Baronet , the Secretary of State for the Home Department—the guardian of the poor of the country 1 That he could not interfere !—( hear . ) But he would ask the Right Hon . Bart whether he had not acted as the Chairman of a Board of Gnardians and as a magistrate of Cumberland ? Bid he allow any Poor Law Commissioners to interfere with him ? Bid he allow them to step in with their authority ? No , Then let the same motives which actuated the Bight Hon . Baronet as Chairman of a Board of Guardians in Cumberland be attributed to him in his position as Chairman of the Keighley Union—( hear . ) He held in his hand an extract from a speech of the Right Hon . Gentleman on the SOth of July , 1839 , and he could assure the Right Hon . Gentleman that " Hansard" had been a great comfort to him since he had had the interview with him— ( a laugh . ) The Right Hon . Gentleman said the other night that he possessed considerable influence in Cumberland . [ Sir J . Graham _, intimated that he had not said so . ] The Right Hon . Bart said that he had considerable property there , and property __ generally gave influence ; but at any rate he wished that he had more . ( " Hear , " and a laugh . ) The speech which he was about to quote was made when Lord J . Russell moved the order of the day for going into committee on the Poor Law Bill ; and the Right Hon , Gentleman then said , — " When the Com-

      House Of Commons, Friday, June 24. Petit...

      , missioners of _Semerset-house came practically to consi der the prudence of carrying out this regulation ( the refusal of out-door relief ) , the inquiries they made , and the experience they had acquired , taught them the im possibility of giving general effect to the law . Uniformity was desirable . This rule " , prohibiting the administration of out-door relief , so far from being general throu g hout E ng land , was , he must say , somewhat _capriciously applied . It w _» s applied to certain unions in the south , bnt in the north the rule was not in operation . In Cumberland , in the union of which he was chairman , they were bound by no such regulation . An ample discretion was left them ; they were not fettered in the least ; and if they had not been left to the _exercise of this unfettered discretion , he was bound to say , he should not have held himself responsible during tho last winter for the conduct of that union . " He said it was monstrous , it was most unjust , that three Poor Law Commissioners , so grossly ignorant as he had preved these men to be , should make those orders , which , if carried out , must reduce this country to a state of anarchy and confusion—increase the enormous rates which he had brought before the House—which must turn the aged and infirm out of their homes , and carry out the labour test amongst a population of 50 , 000 persons , who had now scarcely the means of getting a single day ' s employment . But let him ask the Right Honourable Baronet this—Were those orders issued by the Poor Law Commissioners for the purpose of tearing from their homes persona of seventy , eighty , and ninety years of age , who were , to a certain extent , relieved by the feelings of charity which imbued the breata of their poor neighbours—that when a slight assistance from the board of guardians or rate _, payers would enable them to be carried from the hearth on which they sat to their final resting place in the church-yard , they were to be dragged to a union workhouse , i n d efia n ce o f e very feelin g which the l a ws of this country had raised within them , until the people were taught to regard a workhouse as a prison ?—( hear . ) Was it not monstrous that the commissioners should have issued those orders at that very moment in the Keighley Union , that , when carried out , and they must be if it were possible , would tear the aged and infirm from their peaceful homes , no longer to enjoy their evening walk by the mountain ' s side or in the shaded lanes , but to be immured within prison wal l s , to have every feeling disregarded , and to be impiisoned in a union workhouse ? He would toll the Right Hon . Member and the country that the people would not submit to it—( hear , hear . ) He would tell the Right Hon . Gentleman that they would not submit to it in Cumberland ; they would not submit to it in Yorkshire —( hear . ) He would tell him that the same spirit which actuated the board of gnardians over which he presided would actuate every man who had any feeling for tho poor —( hear , hear . ) He would , for a moment , allude to what he considered an extraordinary circumstance ; and that was , that when the Noble Lord , the member for London , on the 21 st of July , 1840 , moved t h e thir d rea d i n g of the N ew Po o r Law Commission Continuance Bill , there were absent the following members of the present Government , —Sir R . Peel , Sir J Graham , Lord Stanley , SirF . Pollock , and Sir W . Fellett . That was an extraordinary circumstance ; but that very circumstance was the cause of hundreds of votes being given for the supporters of the Government at the last election . —( hear , hear , hear . ) He himself then said to his constituents , " Trust in the Conservatives ; you have tried the Whigs for ten years , and they have given you the New Poor Law and measures that have been to your great injury . " Their answer was , " Yes ; but Sir R . Peel will not say anything at all . " (" Hear , " and a laugh . ) He re p lied , " Trust to him ; he does not promise everything and perform nothing ; but he promises nothing , and will perform everything . '' ( Great laughter . ) But what said the Right Hon . Baronet at the head of the Government on the 8 th of February , on the bill of the Noble Lord the Member for London , to continue the Poor Law Commission for ten years ? " He said— " It was necessary for him to state , however , that in voting for the second reading , he reserved to himself the fullest right of judging of the propriety or of rejecting any of the clauses , and of dissenting from any provisions by which the power of the present law was to be increased or amended . He doubted particularly the propriety of continuing tbe commission for so long a time . He did not mean to say , that after an experience of a further continuance for a short period he might not come to tho conclusion that the powers given by the present law should still exist ; and that the continuance of the commissioners might not be advanta g eous , or that he might net deem such further continuance advisable ; but it would , in his opinion be more consonant to the opinion of the country that the subject should again , at a short period , come necessarily under tha consideration of the House . " "Then , " said the people , "Lord J . Russell proposed a continuance of the hill for _t-n years , Sir R . Peel only proposes it for five , and afterwards we shall come down to no years all . " ( Laughter . ) However , the Right Hon . Baronet appealed to public opinion , and long before he did so , he told the people that the battle of the constitution was to be fought in tbe registration courts . Now , the great argument of the persons who conducted those courtB in the North of England was that this particular law was contrary to the constitution . ( Hear . ) Public op i n io n then ca r ried the R ight Hon . Baronet into power . He would ask him what was public opinion now in the North of England ? ( Hear . ) It was almost unanimous in opposition to this Bill —( Hear , hear . ) And he would tell the Right Hon . Baronet that if he carried this law into the North of England , his Gove r nment would not exist two years —( hear , hear . ) He believed that that would be the case . Was the Right Hon . Baronet aware of the state of public feeling in the north of England wherever this law had been introduced ? Was he aware , too , that that feeling was increasing rapidly in the south of England ?—( hear , hear . ) Because it saved the public pockets to a small amount , it was said to work well . He should be very glad to hear what the Hon . and Learned Member for Bath would say upon the subject . It was said by some" Oh ! it works well in our neighbourhood : —leave well alone . " But how had it worked well ? By saving the money of the ratepayer —( hear . ) It was entirely opposed to the constitution of this country , and that he meant to show , if it were allowed—as he hoped it would not be—to go to a third reading —( hear , hear . ) Was the Right Hon , Baronet aware that the Conservative press of the country was almost universally against him upon this subject ? Was he aware that the daily press was taking up this question , and must work its way through pnblic opinion ?—( hear ) . Was he aware that the weekly press was taking it up , and must shake him in his position ? ( Hear , hear . ) Because , if he were not , he could tell him that it was so , and that no Government could stand long under such circumstances . ( Hear . ) He would give him two years to destroy the public feeling which had been raised in his favour . ( Hear . ) He could not resist public opinion , and the opinion of the press of this country ; and he must ultimately yield to it . ( Hear . ) He wished now to have a few words with the Right Hon . Baronet the Secretary for the Home Department . The Right Hon . Baronet had , the other evening , in rather , he must say , a warm manner , attacked him for using what he termed violent means for exciting an opposition to this measure ( as we understood ) . He plainly confessed that since this law passed be had taken a determined and firm stand upon this question ; he had addressed a public meeting of guardians , and told them , that by every constitutional means in his power he would resist the measure ; but at the same time be preached to them in the best manner be could tho necessity of obedience to the laws . Was it right for the Right Hon . Baronet to attack him for that ? The Right Hon . Baronet forgot that he himself had lived in a glass house . ( Hear , and laughter . ) He must remember that he was a member of the Reform Ministry . How did tho Government at that time inflame the minds of the people ? Was it not a fact that they were in correspondence with the men w h o sa id t ha t th e r e we r e thou s an d s rea d y t o march to London for the purpose of cramming the Reform Bill down the throats of the people ? And did not the Government give them their thanks ? ( Cheers . ) . " We never refused , ( said the Hon . Gentleman ) to pay our rateB in support of the poor of this country ; wo never have excited the people to attack" the Monarch while passing through the streets of the Metropolis ; nay , wo have never advised the monarch , fer the _purposB of carrying a measure , to swamp one branch of the Legislature . ( Hear . ) We never have attempted to bully the House of Peers : nor have we advised a circular ta be written to one branch of the Legislature asking them to forget their duty to themselves and to their country . ( Hear , hear . ) No ; I tell the Right Hon . Baronet I stand upon firmer ground . I appeal to the Constitution of the country , and tatting my stand under the banner of that Constitution , come weal or come woe , I will fight the battle of the people . ( Hear . ) [ Sir R . Peel here rose and left the House ] The Right Hon . Baronet has gone a minute too soon . ( Laughter , ) For what did the Right Hon . Gentleman say in the debate tbat took place on this subject March 19 th , 1841 ? He said , " He should consider the large powers eutruated to them , and , having devolved those powers , the greater they were the more jealousy must Parliament exercise with respect to their application , and the greater the readiness with which they must liston to any allegations of abuse . While he consented to the prolonged duration of the commission for five years , he must say that he wished the commissioners would watch the expressions they made use of with a little more _circumsuection . He thought that with the best intentlens there was occasionally a harshness displayed in the vindication of certain principles which might be avoided consistently with the maintenance of the law , and the avoidance of which would tend to fortify the powers Of thB commissioners . To give an illustration of this , he would take for instance an official circular published by the Poor Law Commissioners , one of those public documents directed by the board to be printed chiefly for the uso of the guardians . In one of those papers he lOUnd the following expressions : — 'One princi pal object of a compulsory provision for the relier of destitution is the prevention of almsgiving . ' Why , he heard the Noble Lord ( J . Russell ) himself state that the Poor law would completely fail in effect if the afflient withheld their alms . That was perfectly true ; and he should abominate the Poor Law if he thought it relieved the rich from the duty of almsgiving . Ho was perfectly certain the Poor Law would fail if the affluent relying upon its provisions alone , however improved the system of administration might be , felt that the moral obligation on them to attend to the wants of their poorer neighbourswere

      House Of Commons, Friday, June 24. Petit...

      - thereby extinguished . " What , be would ask ( proceeded the Hon . member ) had become ef almsgiving ? What was the result of the Queen ' s letter for a collection for the distressed manufacturers ? Why , the New Poor Law had dried up the springs of charity —( hear ) and the poor were to become prisoners ' , and wear a prison dress—men who had committed no other crime than taking advantage of the negleet of duty of their superiors , and to choose as their means of existence the _Pontes of the parish , which were given to . them by their superiors under the old law . If tha rich forgot their duty—if they broke the law—if the magistrates , who were the guardians and protectors of the laws of this couutry , forgot their duty in the south of England , could they wonder that the poor man forgot his duty too ?—( hear , hear . ) He cared not who the man was who had not rather live in easo than earn his ' bread by the sweat of his brow . Providence had ordained that they ( the Members of tho House of Commons ) should not earn their bread by the sweat of their brow ; but if through His _benbticence He had placed in the hands of certain parts of the population of this country the means of existing , without such labour , depend upon it they would have to give a true account of their stewardship —( hear . ) He had that night given bis reasons for opposing the continuance of the powers of the commission . In the majority of the Government there would be seme who were generally their _opponents , but who advocated this measure ; but he would beg from the opponents of the Government their votes upon this occasion . The Right Hon . Baronet might find on those ( the Ministerial ) benches some who would find it difficult to explain away their votes to their constituents —( hear , hear ) -and who would stand by him m fighting this battle against the Constitution of their country ; but the time would come when old English feelings would return—when they would ask themselves whether they had performed their duty as members of BOCiety ? and whether they would stand by a Minister of the Crown , whatever his political opinions might be , who was disposed to defer to the opinions of a few against the feelings of a vast majority of the country ? —( hear . / Colonel Wood ( Middlesex ) said he hoped tbe measure would be taken into the immediate consideration of tbe House .- He must say that he thought the New Poor Law was a very great advantage to the poor , and it bad materially added to their comforts . Mr . Wokiley would give his vote with the Hon . Member for Finsbury , in the present state of the question before the House . Mr . Wakxey said that the next election the gallant Colonel ( Wood ) would be defeated in consequence of his advocacy of this measure , and Honourable _Gentlemen should be very guarded in their actions . There would be great difficulty in preserving the peace of the country . There were hungry thousands now , but soon there would be hungry millions . ' Is such a law calculated to preserve the peace of the country ? He hoped the Hon . Baronet did not think so . Considering the awful prospect which tha state - of the country presented , he was willing to vote for the continuance of the present law for one year longer . This was a question of vital importance , involving the'welfare and happiness of myriads of tbe people ; and he hoped the Right Hon . Baronet would take tbe matter into his moBt serious consideration . He would ask thiB question—Are we legislating with a conviction that the poor of this country have a right to relief ? The Hon . Member for Bath denies it . Now , he would say that his ( the Hon . _JKember ' s ) mind is so constituted that he is not fit to JSuslate for the poor . It bad been complained of by a commissioner , that " paupers insolently claim relief as a righS ! " Now , if you admitted this , who could be responsible for starving them . Now , if there was nothing else than this , he would vote against the continuance of the commissioners for six years , unless a man who had dared to make such a statement , was discharged . He quoted details from Mr . Mott ' s report , to prove the existence of monstrous and scandalous abuses in the present system . The House may be assured ( he said ) that the existing distress is dreadful ! Hundreds of poor traversing the counrty inalldirections , sleeping in the bands , and sheds ; and they said they would rather die than go into the union workhouses ! It was impossible that the bill could be disposed of this session , and he would recommend ( though unwillingly ) its continuance for one year . Sir T . CociiltANE contended that relief afforded to the people should be such as would be agreeable to them . He wished to know whether they considered it as a boon ? and he regretted to say that he thought it was not the case . Much bad been said about the abuses of the old law ; but this was a poor argument in favour of the imperfections of the new one . He thought that the poor should be taught ; habits of industry and sobriety . Ho should vote against the resolution . Mr . Roebuck referred to the conduct of tbe former government . When the measure was first brought before the House , it was considered one of great danger to the country ; retribution was now coming upon them _; for they had made use of vulgar passions and prejudices to endeavour to oust people . The law gave to the poor that right which tbey sought He was not to be assailed by declamation , but he would admit that it was a general benefit , and therefore just . The aged poor were provided for by the law . He was not , however , very fond of the commission . The poor should be maintained in such a manner as should preserve industrious habits , and not foster idle ones . The question was , how we should provide for the destitution which prevailed ; and , at the same time check habits of idleness ? He would give the relief , because it was to the interest of the community that it should be given . The principle of the Poor Law should be , that it should discourage the impositions of the designing and idle , and , at the same time , afford re l ief to those who were really destitute , Sir R . Peel hoped that in the progress of the New Poor Law bill no factious opposition would be offered to it . The general opinion of the country , he contended , was favourable to the measure , and the proof of this he found in tho insignificant number of petitions which had been presented to the House against it . The Hon . Gentleman who had spoken last wished to know why he ( Sir R . Peel ) had not influenced the party who followed him more in favour of the measure than they were , He confessed that he did not think the gentlemen of England were so easy drilled into an opinion . ( Ironical cheers from the opposition . ) He saw no reason why he should exert his censorship over Honou r able Gen t lem en who sat on his si d e of the House . With regard to this question , he did not think tbat he had power to do so . The Noble Lord opposite had not been more successful in this particular than himself . With respect to the use made of the cry _againBt the Poor Law last election by gentlemen on this side of the House , be could only say that he should be ashamed of his place if he thought that he had gained power by such means . He had never for a moment given his sanction to such a course of proceeding ; on the contrary , he had taken opportunities of stating his concordance with the principles of tbat bill , In the general election of 1837 , he stated on the hustings his conviction of its justice , and that he would give it his cordial support In the election of 1841 . he gave his support to the Government on every _occassion on which it waa brought forward . He was surprised at the ignorance of some Hon . Members as to the degree in which the enactments of Elizabeth are _departed from in the present measure . It was well to look at these enactments by way of forming a comparison between them and the present law . In these enactments he saw no recognition of a right to relief without giving labour for it . If such bad been the case there would have been an end to society ( _heai \ hear . ) It was not so , however so little was the principle recognised of an indefeasible right to relief on the part of the poor , that they even required the children to be apprenticed to some handicraft . There was no difference in principle in the existing law and the old one of _Elizabeth . The existing law ' was a great check upon local abuse . He ( Sir R . P . ) hoped they would not wish to return to the old system—they were asked to tiust to the good English feeling and all that stuff . The Right Hon . Bart then read some _abstraets from Mr . Mott ' s report of the Keighley Union—a union which had long resisted the influence of the poor law . A Union of which the Hon , Member fur Knaresborough was the chairman , and which he had spoken so highly of . Mr . Mott ' s letter unfolds some of the most frightful scenes of immorality and vice in that very Union . How would that union contrast with those which were under the management of the new poor law ? He thought the Hon . Member for Knaresborough would have been better employed in remedying those abuses which should have come under his eye , in his capacity as chairman , than in " babbling of green fields . " Mr . Ferband said , as his conduct had been animadverted upon by tho Right Hon . Baronet , he should say a few words in explanation . If the allegations in Mr . Mott ' s report were correct and capable of proof , they were worthy of serious consideration . But he believed that the guardianB of the Keighley Union would bo able to clear themselvea ot tho aspersions heaped upon them . Lord Howick said that no time , so much as the present , required the greatest caution in the management ot the distribution of relief , when the country W _, V * _s _™} 1 a sti « e that the rates had increased in a , frightful degree . The sources from whioh relief flowed were growingmore scant , while the recipients were hourly on the increase . He thought in such a state of things , there was the greatest necessity of a cautious and economical system of relief , such as that practised by the commisBionerBi Nothing would be more productive of additional misery to the country than a relaxed administration of the poor law . He did not entertain the idea that the Right Hon . Baronet could be expected to be answerable for every speech made by his side Of the house . But he did think it strange tbat his ( Sir R . Peel ' s ) influence was not greater with those who were nearly connected with him . Ho thought the Right Hon . Baronet could not take credit for himself for having discouraged the vulgar outcry against the New Poor Law at tho last election . He should , however , support the Bill . Sir E . Knatciibull said he rose to give an answer to some imputations thrown out against him by the Noble Lord who had just spoken . It had been imputed to him that he was inconsistent in supporting a measure now which ho hed formerly opposod . He begged to say the Noble Lord was in error . He o to d of ( ( j

      House Of Commons, Friday, June 24. Petit...

      me _^^ f- ¦ " _»¦¦ ¦¦— - r ~ ru _ T ™ i _^ ma To irr _« i » nnnil th . _^ _J _^^^ SSSSS _^ ' _^ had always g op principle of the Poor Law ; like other members , had views of his own as to the details . . After a few words from Mr . Darby and Uptain Mr O'Connell said he agreed with the motion the Hon . Member for Finsbury . He did so , how ever , more with respect to Ireland , in which country the Poor Law was a new scheme . He had rroni able to the feelings of the people of Ireland . _, prophesied that commotions would follow the in troduction of this system , and ho was only afraid those prophesies were working themselves out . He feared that a revolt would bo produced by that measure , more terrible in its results than anything that they had ever before seen in that unhappy Lord Elliot said he must rise to defend the Poor Law Commissioners of Ireland against the attacks of the Hon . Member for Cork . They had followed up their labours in a spirit of candour and earnest ness , and , as far as the experiment of the poor law had been tried in that country , it had been perfectly successful . Thoy had few able-bodied men in their workhouses , but these were not the kind of persons they wished to have , but the lame and the infirm His lordship concluded by complimenting Mr . O'Connell for the forbearance he had shown in not opposing what he did not _egree with . Mr Cobden said they lost sight of what was the real motion to night . The Hon . Member for Finsburv had spoken of tho awful state of the country but the Government had not thought fit to put _ashie one nig ht to discuss some measure for that relief . Tho Right Hon . Baronet had promised to " give his pill when he had got his fee "—had he given those remedial measures ? 'Ihe distress had increased _progressively every month since the Hon . Baronet came into office , and it was their duty to take it into consideration ; but he apprehended the session was too far advanced for that purpose . The manu- _facturers . had contributed largely to the relief of the poor , for ono had subscribed _£ 300 . The Hon . Gentleman concluded a very eloquent speech by an affecting a ppeal to the House in behalf of the poor people in the northern districts , now suffering the most appalling distress and privations . Mr . Crawford rose amidst loud cries of " Divide , divide . " Ho said there were large districts where the people were starving . The poor houses had not the means of relieving the poor . A well-regulated poor law would give relief , but the present had not produced the effect . General Johnson supported the motion of the Hon Member for Finsbury . ( Divide divide . ) Mr . Fielden moved an adjournment of the debate . After a few words from Ma . Ferrand , Cot . Sibthorpe and Mr . Wakley , Thb House divided , when there appeared—For tho adjournment , 29 i Against it , 297 . The House resumed , when dm . C . Nafieh moved an adjournment of the House Sir R . Peel said a great deal of time was lost in divisions ; but , if it suited the convenience of the House , he should propose that this question ( the Poor Law ) be adjourned till Monday next , which would necessarily eause the postponement of the new tariff . Mr . Buncombe said a few words in reply , and after a few observations from several Honourable Members , the debate was adjourned till Monday . On the third reading of the Railway Bill , Sir H . Hardinge moved a clause providing that officers and soldiers travelling by railway shall with their baggage , < feo ., be conveyed at the usual hours of starting , at prices contracted for by the _secretary-atwar on production of a note signed by the proper authorities . After some discussion the clause was agreed to , and the bill was passed . The Mines and Collieries Bill was brought up and received , with amendments . The other orders of the day were then disposed of , and the House adjourned , at a quarter past two _' clock . onday , June 27 . Mr . Roebuck brought up a special report from the Election Compromises Committee , stating that Mr . Walter , who had been snramoned , refused to _attend , and give evidence . The main ground on which Mr . Walter refused was , the expression used by Mr , Roebuck , during the last sssion of Parliament , when on his being attacked in the Times , he had recommended the horsewhipping of Mr . Walter , its chief proprietor . The House ordered the attendance of Mr . Walter , and then some conversation arose on the subject of tbe inquiry before the Election Compromises Committee being conducted with closed dsors . Mr . Roebuck stated that the committee had come a unanimous resolution that the inquiry would be best conducted in tbat manner , though they did not dispute tbe right of any Member of the House being present . The proceedings were ordered to be printed with the votes for the use of members only . The adjourned debates on the Poor Law Amendment Bill was resumed by Mr . Fielden , who rose to answer the speeches of the Hon . Member for Bath ( Mr . Roebuck ) and the Right Hon . Baronet the Member for Tamwerth . He would take that ef the Hon . Member for Bath first . That Hon . Member had spoken with great confidence on the subject of the New Poor Law , but in his ( Mr . Fielden ' s ) op inion with little sense . He ( Mr . Fielden ) oubte d t h e Hon . Member 's experience of the labouring poor , He wanted te know what means he had of knowing their habits , feelings , wants , and condition . Was the Hon . Member engaged in such occupations as would bring him necessarily in daily contact with labouring persons ? No ; he understood from the Hon . Member that he was a lawyer , and he ( Mr . Fielden ) would not admit tbat a lawyer was , in the course of his occupation , brought into that relationship with the labouring poor that would give him the means of legislating in their case . He ( Mr . Fielden ) claimed to be heard upon this question , because he felt confident that he did know much of the labouring people . He had been in business as a manufacturer ever since the year 1803 , and he was so now . He and his partners had always employed great numbers of hands , and for some years past they had constantly in their employment some thousands ; and , so long as he had a seat in that House , be would by speech and vote resist a law which was based upon the false and wicked assertion that the labouring people of England , or any material part of them , were inclined to idleness and vice ; and he felt that be owed them too much to sit patiently by while this commission was proposed to be continued . He believed that the New Poor Law had been most oppressive , and that it was founded on the most fallacious principles . The Hon . Member for Bath spoke first tho new law being both wise and humane , and he told the House that , being a lawyer , he wished to be answered by facts . As to the humanity of the law , he Mr . Fielden ) would give one fact , and he begged to be understood as giving one fact of many that ha could produce . In 1836 there lived in the parish of _Eversholt , in the Woburn Union , a widow of the name of Susan Deacon . She had been relieved by the parish before the Union was formed , but , as the n ew l a w came into operation , her allowance was reduced down as low as Is . _a-week . In the night of the 25 th of December in that year that poor woman threw herself into a moat in the garden of the rector of the parish , a guardian of the union . It waB a bitter cold night , and the weather frosty . Her body broke through the-ice , and when taken out , it was found tbat she must have risen from her bed to drown herself , as she was dressed in her night clothes . The coroner ' s jury wiehed to return averdict , stating the circumstances that caused her to drown herself—that was , the refusal of the board of guardians to grant her the accustomed relief ; but the coroner persuaded them to return a verdict of insanity . The jury , however , im m ediately after , being touched with sympathy for a poor and respected neighbour , signed and circulated this paper , of which he Mr . Fielden ) had a copy : — "We , the undersigned urymen on the body of Mrs . Deacon , of HillVend , _Eversholt , who drowned herself in the Rev . J . Reed ' s moat , on last Monday morning , through distress of mind , in consequence of having been refused a shilling per week by the said J . Reed and the other guardianB of the poor for Eversholt parish , have given our verdict ' Insane ; ' and , out of compassion and respect to the deceased , in order to prevent her goods from being taken from her orphans to defray the funeral expences , have contributed 6 d . each towards burying her . The smallest contribution from any person who can feel for such a case will be moat-thankfully received by the jurymen . Should there be more collected than will pay her funeral expences , it will be given to her poor children . " He ( Mr . Fielden ) had offered to prove this ease before tho Poor law Committee , but was frustrated . Mr . Bull had attempted to get it before a committee ef also been frustrated . The paper , the jurymen _spske for itself ; and he ( Mr . Fielden adduced that one case as a specimen of the humanity of the new law . Thy Hon . Member then spoke of the «« problem how to relieve the honest able-bodied without giving encouragement to idleness by relieving the idle vagabond . " He said that " the Reformed _Parlfaruent had looked this difficulty in the face , " and that " he wished it to be particularly shown how the difficulties of this question would be met , except by imposing suoh restrictions on the administration of reliuf as would make its reception not more agreeable than the exercise of honest industry . " He ( Mr . Fielden ) maintained , first , that the Parliament had not met the difficulty in the face , but had created a board of three commissioners to do so , or to do as they liked . The Parliament had proposed to it a bill abolishing outdoor relief after the 31 st of July , 1835 ; but it expunged that part of the bill , and left it to the commissioners to make the law . But , as the Hon . Member praised the law and the commissioners and their doings , he might be taken to approve of the prohibitory order for stopping out-d & or relief , to all able-bodied poor unless in the workhouse , and of the regulations and discipline which they had ordered to be observed in the workhouses . The Hon . Member , in fact , approved of I the workhouse test , the " self-acting tost , " as the com- missioners called it , which was to sift the honest and _hard . working man from the idle vagabond . Let him , j -. the Lords , but he had ¦ however _cu-cuhied by * nd he ( Mr . Fielden )

      House Of Commons, Friday, June 24. Petit...

      - i he of - - - , for ho ( Mr . Fielded ) believed it to be a most atrocious cruelty on the honest and willing workman , and productive of infinite mischief to the country . Ho would take the two cases supposed by the Hon . Member himself . Here were two applicants for relief , both coming to tho board of guardians at tho same time : both have families , both are able-bodied ; but one Is an honest hard-working man , who cannot get work ; the other is an vagabond , who will not work if he can help it . What does the board do ? It could not give anything but the workhouse test and its discipline , its separation , and its diet to both . It must give the same to both . _Now would come the operation of sifting , and the proof of the sound principle and pril _osop hy of the new IaW . Wbich of the Wo wonld go into the house ? If both go in , then the law punishes the honest man just aa it did the vagabond . If the honest man went in , and the idle vagabond was driven to maintain himself , then tbe honest man . only was punished . If the vagabond went in and submitted to the discipline of the workhouBe for the sake of idleness , then he would ask where did the honest and willing workman go to—the man who was admitted to be honest , the man who would do work if he could get it ? He ( Mr . Fielden ) would ask whither had you driven that man ? He would tell them . In a table published by the commissioners in the sixth annual report , there was a column containing the number of vagrants and paupers relieved not belonging to any pariah in the union , and it gave tbe numbers in Christmas quarter , 1838 , and in the same quarter , 1839 , from fourteen counties ia England and Wales ; the total showed that in 1838 the r e we r e 1 , 705 va gr ants or casual p oor , and in 1830 no less than 3 . , boing an increase of 1 , 406 . or 82 per cent . The admirable system had driven tbe willing workman to become a wanderer in search of work ; and , failing iu that , it had made him , whose virtue was confessed , a vagrant gathering alms in the quality of casual pool . 1 hat was the wisdom and the philosophy of this law . But it waB the idle vagabond tbat the Hon . Member fer Bath wished to punish . _Xery well ; the Hon . Member , being a lawyer , knew doubtless tbat there was the Vagrant Act in force when the New Poor Law was passed , and in force still , by which all vagabonds were amply punished . Aye , but that law would not meet the whole mass of the ablebodied . No ; nor should it . Another assertion of the Hon . Member for Bath was , tbat tbe outcry against the new law was not raised by the honest and industrious poor , but by self-interested persons of a dishonest sort , who had been destroyed by the operation of the new law . He ( Mr . Fielden ) would now read to the House a short paper that had been written by a labouring man of , he believed , the Diss Union , in Norfolk , and printed at the expence of one of the Guardians , and which had been sent to him ( Mr . Fielden ) by a clergyman residing in the Union . It was as follows ;— " POOR LAW AMENDMENT ACT . " S ince the New Poor Law , the honest , industrio u s able-bodied poor are much oppressed , through the _orders of the Poor Law Commissioners , It frequently happens from severity of the weather , that the farmer is unable to find employment ; the poor man , under such circumstances , having a large family , is rendered totally unab e to support them honestly ; and when he appeals to the Guardians , all the relief he can get is to leave his house and little furniture , and be made a prisoner in the Union Workhouse . I therefore think that the Board of Guardians ought to ba empowered to relieve the poor man without forcing him from his house and home till the farmer may be enabled to employ him , and the weather will permit him to work . I , Thomas Cock , can prove tbat during the last two months I bave lost half my time , therefore take the liberty to inform the public that the parishes of Bressingham and Fersfleld intend to send a petition to Government , and earnestly hope that other parishes will do the same , praying that the industrious poor may be relieved without being sent to the workhouse . «« Thomas Cock , "Labourer , Bressingham , Feb . 9 , 1841 . " Now , be ( Mr . Fielden ) thought that simple statement not only proved tbat the _Honourable Member foe Bath knew nothing of the feelings of the honest labouring poor on this question , but that he was wholly uninformed upon the subject on which he so confidently talked , He would now come to the speech of the Right Hon . Bart , the member for Tamworth , who had said that he thought the people of this country were in favour of the commissioners , because he fouud , that leaving out the petition of the 3 , 000 , 000 , there had been only 108 petitions that session against the commissioners _, signed by 2 S . O 0 O names , Now , the fact was , according to the committee of petitions , that up to the 10 th of June there were tbat session 135 petitions against the new law and the bill before the house , containing 36 , 344 signatures , and there had been many presented since , of which no report had been made . The petition of the 3 , 300 , 000 required a total alteration of the constitution of tbat House ; and it alleged , as one of its reasons for d esi ri ng t he change , that the House 89 at present constituted had passed the unconstitutional New Poor Law . Was not that a pretty strong expression of public feeling against the commissioners ? The 3 , 300 , 000 not only desired to abolish the commissioners , b u t t h e ve r y co n st ru ction o f the assembly which had made them . But he would call ihe attention of the House to the number of petitions in former years , all in effect against the New Poor Law , an immense majority for total repeal , and others for alterations which would defeat its principle . Years Petitions 1834 ... ., 1835 ... ., 1836 183 7 ... ., 172 1 C 119 2 S 5 Persons . 16 . 15 G 15 . 680 27 , 574 270 , 096 1838 346 ... _~ , 264 , 100 1839 136 30 , 000 1840 190 17 , 000 18 4 1 895 286 , 646 1842 ( to 10 th June ) i 85 30 . 314 To these should be added the two national petitions , the first with upwardB of 1 , 250 , 000 signatures , and the second with 3 , 300 , 000 . Now , the petitions in favour of the new law , or somewhat in favour of it , were— Yearg . Petitions . Persona . 1834 2 16 1835 0 0 1836 0 0 1837 35 950 1838 23 1 , 184 1839 0 o 1 8 40 0 0 1841 72 467 1842 [ to June 10 ] 0 o ! n mana 8 lng the poor should be bronghtto lighTfweuid f . . now lnsist oa bringing fully to light that which he * ' Fielden ) believed would develope a tale of folly ( Continued in our Seventh Page . ) Ho thought that was an answer to tbe Right Hon . Baronet as to the pub ' . ic feeling on the whole of this law , and it was also an answer to the Right Hon . Home Secretary as to the direct remedy generally demanded upon the publication of the report of the Poor Law Commission of Inquiry in 1834 . He wonld now go to other parts of the Right Hon . Baronet ' s speech . He said , " Do you speak of this bill as depriving the poor of any of the advantages which they enjoyed under the law of Elizabeth ? " Yes , he did . The law of Elizabeth made the overseers set the ablebodied poor on work , and it made them buy materials for the purpose . Under that law the overseers had no authority to imprison and seperate them , man from _wife , and parent "from child , as a condition of giving them that work . The 9 th of George I , gave the overseers authority to administer relief only in a workhouse . The 36 th of George IU . repealed this law , stating in its preamble that much hardship had been iuflicted on poor persons by withholding relier unless tfiey would go into a workhouse . Then came the New Poor law , and the Parliament not being bold enough to re-enact the 9 th of George I . enacts that Poor Law Commissioners shall have authority " to declare to what extent relief shall be given to able-bodied persons out of the workhouses , " and that they shall havo power to make rules for the governing of those workhouses , which was , in fact , committing the able-bodied poor of the kingdom to the will of that Board . He did say that that had deprived tho poor of advantiges that they had under the 43 d of Elizabeth ; and , if the Right Hon . Baronet meant to contend that that the new law was the same in principle aB the 43 d of _Elizabeth , let him remind tbe Ri ght Hon . Gentleman that Lsrd Brougham , in bringing the new law into the House of Lords , in 1834 , spoke of the 43 d of Elizabeth as that " accursed law , " not a phrase likely to be used by one who was proposing a law similar in principle . The _Right Hon . Baronet had referred to tbe mismanagement of the poor in the Keighley Union , taking the information of a Poor Law Commissioner , and he argued that these things could not be redressed if we had not the commissioners , But had not the Right Hon , Baronet heard of worse things occurring under the Poor Law Commissioners themselves ? Had he never heard of the horrible deaths at Bridgewater ? Of the fatal gruel of the Commissioners ? And did not the Coinmissioners do everything in their pewer to stifle inauirv and Ud 6 _m facls from the publlc ? Wh * Jf _^^ Sevenoak # whJcb _TO 8 V under the _rnspeetion « f oneof theirown a 8 si 8 tant 8 ? Remember ™ S _1 S 5 ton throats of the children , the treatment of _thelyimt-in women-atale so harrowing and disgusting that one scarcely liked to dwell upon the detail . Then _amJJ inquiry was forced on the Commissioners , and the greatest attempts were made to stifle it . Yet the Richt Hon . Baronet appeared to look on the _Commiasieners as a Board whose duty it was to dra * to light and hold up to public view foe ilk _imment of tbe poor _whenever it might occur ' That was new ground-quite a new but he quoted the Commissioners ' the Keighley Union , and asked how these tw _«™ were to be brought to light but by the conim ?» l » B _? His ( Mr . Fielden ' s ) _answer _^ _vS _^ _SSSfSi Sevenpaks cases were brought ' to _iJPSni ttJ _comanssioners , but in spite of them , and that if the _commsssion were abolished to-morrow , the same too , feel . ng and natural abhorrence of cruelty wS he ! up _Bridgowater and _Sevenoaks to pubfc _gaxe wSd function ; reports from EL aU t 0 be ttue ' Bttfc i £ _t « _e Right Hon . _Baiouet was very anxious that the cases of hardship

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), July 2, 1842, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/nss_02071842/page/6/