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Northern Star (1837-1852), 18th February 1843, Edition 2 of 3, Page 6, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      BQIJ 5 S OP LORDS—Fbidat , Feb . 10 . ; A question from the Marquis of Clanricarde brought | on a conversation , in which the Duke of-W * ffin * ton , explained that the motion of which- he had given notice had bo reference to political matters , and would involve 20 discussion , - excepi as to the meiiu . snd ser- ' rices t > f ihe miUtaiy f orca employed in the recent events . J Every paper should be produced , from the breaking out ; of the insurrection to the latest proceedings , of the army . of An ^ hani 5 tan . " ; Mo-bat , Feb . 13 . j The Dnke of WrmsGios , in preseaiing the ; papers respecting onr military operatieas in Aff- ( eaanistai ? ros . poned his motnm forthsuks to the t troop * t ¦¦ - ¦ p 2-o ed there iroin Thursday niitil Monday " i Stf 2 foL ! e Dake also , i * ? ' ? ly to Lord Mosisirax , stsrv-d , thai it wasnoi ur * indention- « f Government j t © introduce &sy mea-Tire for lhs alteration of rba j Back charter , or en tiie-sabjee :, ef tanking , cn ? ia £ ' « 3 je- " present sesasn . A coatianiiuos oi the set 'ky "which tie operation of tie usury k _ ws was relsscd as to bills oi three months' date ttss , however , sentetn plated . Lord Cambssa then , according to notice , sieved thai a select ctraunitiee tie appointed to eont = > d * r the law of defaiHSiion and libel . He explained list extreme deacieitcy of tie present lavr . its extuntiou from imprx-Teaieni , while btih the ecisa ? rcial and the criminal-rode had i-ccn reiiden .-d xnvre Effi > ple sec ^ nqsaue , and tlie acaEoly it preseE-td as . io ihe puaKEineat adjudj ; e ^ 10 written in comparison i j

      with spoken libels . H « - proposed tbe appointment of a committee only in d'fadVr . ca of his own opinions , bnt wa < cij . ; Tinced that pncie chancier weald be besi pjoirc ' usd , lbs iiWny oi the prtrs i > ecar--a , ana its lic ^ ucusness re =-tramet , by render ' . as the law more bumaise , score certain , and more in aet ^ ruaace ynib prevailing opisson . Lots BujceaAH s « "c _ i > ded the motion . Tie L&rd GHAXC ^ u-ea al ^ o regretted " bai the TeforsM acd erueneiiii-ni ^ h : ien-ded iv h ~ rtf- "led had not been cn > b > - * Ucd in a sp-cSc measure i > u : neiiher he cor Leru De > 3 Ia > opp ^ -ed tie ai-pyrnlRient of a comsiitte * , and iie motion was accordingly agreed Jo . The AtSomies and Solicitors' Bill washes read a second time ; and ii ; e House adjourned .

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      HOU- ? E OF COUMU . NS , Fbid ^ t , 'Feb . 10 . 3 Lr . 3 La 2 ? N . EBS Suttox moved for lea = rc to introduce a hill amending the la'w "which relates to tcrnpikt -trusts and mo ~ £ TS 2 es thereon . After sosie cocrTr-r ? irioa , in ¦ which Mr . Ret , Mx . Mackinavn , and M ~ Fox ilaule took parr , the motion tr ^ s sr-anit J . 31 r , Liddell 4 esired leave to brie ? in a bill for the purpose of preventing psr ^ oiration of voles at elections . Some mal-xinicu&s , he said , had been removed by tke

      Usfonn Bill ; bnt there were other evils "which that bid h&d increased ; amoEg which "wtre J > riV-ry and tbe offence le now sought to prevent- In pcrticn ^ r , at the elections in 1 S 41 , lor the coaisty « f D-rby , and for the town of Belfast , personation ha < l bfen -comiaitted to a great ester : * , and had bstJi proved in due coiin * of law . By-the 5 Sih section of the Reform Act . it is sofficient that -the person claiming to voter make answer to the questions there prescribed , "which qnestiensii fce answer in the EfSnnative . his vote mist ba raristere > i- He

      proposrd , that n a-etrtain number of the bystand-.-rs offsr to Eike oath that the V'ltt is not the person he &r » -aiae 8 10 be , the retnnning-i filitr shall hsTe power— -not to rrfuss the voter but—after Tecordrng it , to give the voter forthwith into the custody cf sn attendant policeman , to be taken before two nwgistrates , and bound over to take his trial at the Dtxt ees z ? s- To protert the oswz Jide voter , the msgististes should t 3 Te poorer of imposau ; 3 fine infteater on any one faisely inipating personation . He "Wished he eonld sscnr ^ the punishment likewise of the tsmpters procuring these personatiens ; but for this branci of the mischief he could not perceive any adequate remedy . This was no party proposal , aa 4 he should gladly receive sui-gesrions from say quarter .

      ilr . Ross , tbe Member for B-lfast , - yindicaied his own committee from &v . y connexion with the ulieged personation at the eleftion for that plnce . After a word or fsro of approval from Mt Bbothee-TOS , leave was given to introduca the bill ; and the Bouse adjoamed .

      Moxdat , Febkuxbt 13 . The Hense went into Committee on the snbj ^ ct of ihe forged Exchequer-bills and Mr . Goulbikx rose to announce the views of Gwernmeni respecting them . He said , thai ihe objections which he had originally entertained against compensation had l > een materially diminished by tbe report of the Commissioners appointed last year to mTesiigate the case . T&sy had diriced the biil-holder ? into four classes : the first compri ^ iBg the great bulfc of the claimants , "who had b \ conic possessors oi the b 3 l 3 in the cemmon coarse of bniiuess , and wiihfui blame . The aiDonni claimed by these wa ? ilb 7 , l : 0 and this amount it seined fittins tnat the pubhc

      shonld make gof ^ L The second and third cla ?> e = tad become holders under cir-camstances of le ~ s cantion , bai not circnE . -rnEces under which the GoTermugjit -R-ou'd tiiak it ri ^ ht to "withold the compensatioa . With resp-ct to the fourth class tne case Tfas difiereni : Rapaiio end Solari , unaioed , eoHld never save effected their fratids upon this gr-. ^ it scale . They had placed bills to the amount oi eslv hnudrods of ihonsaBds of pounds in the ban

      not pemm the sale o ? any one of those b I ' . s . Tte general Tesnlt would be , that oi the £ 377 , 000 found in circulation , the public might croperly be called gv to make good an amount of £ 262 . 000 . He had , of course , been tmwiliing to throw such a burdt-n on tht country ; but be did feel , though this was not a case where aiiy strict legal right existed , that it was one in which the circumstances were peculiar , the per-on "who committed ihe forgery having betn then high in a Government tSce , and intrusted by Government itself with the paper , the seal , and all the other materials and facilities "which had enabled . him to effect the deeeDtion .

      Mr . "W . uxixsi 5 complained that the Commissionfrs lad iakea ihe evidence in an imperfect and unsatisfactory way ; and he thought that want of due cannon was impntable to more of the parties than tie one class whom the Government now proposed to exclude from the compensation . Colonel Sibihobp thought the loss ought to fall upon Lord Mo-Vteagls , and recommended an addres » to the Crown for removing him fr- ^ m his situ at on-Mr- Mess wished to know whether Government . 4 . obtained ecme information from Rapallo ¦ which had noi been communicated , bnt which poinied it other paniesas having shared with Beaumom Smitb , or couiributed to the loss by their connivance it negligence ?

      _ * : Oi-BrcK inquired whether great part of the loao hao not been incurred ourias , ' a six months ' absence of lie Controller ; and referred to the w , rds o : tne -. c : of Parlixmtnt regniating his duli-es , whieh authorises only such abscsee ' as is occasional and necessary . Mr . Jases be ? ged to know if preeautisns had been taken to prevent fai-ure losses 1 ^ Mr . GorLBtTBs did no : know at what points of time the lo .-ses had taken place , nor what had bem the periods of the Controller ' s absence . An Act of Parnament had passed to guard against such losses in future . Sir J . Duke suggested , that official peram 3 , like . Beaumont smith , ought noi to be permitted by Government to coiiiieci themselves wkh city transactiois at all .

      ,, . ' •*" - Babufo vincicatsd Lord ilonteagle from xhe imputaiion of utsligent ab = « iiee . He approTed the pnncipi-3 on which Mr . " Goulburn had acted , and the line be had dra-rm beuveea those who were and those who were not 10 r * -ceiTe canipensation . _ Coionei biBTHoap insisied upon tbe greas amount of the buls sigaed during the absence of Lord ilo : rr-Zagle , Afier a few words from Mr . Tnrner , Mr . Escott expressed his resre-t thai sncj a vote o ' f public moDey Ehould be asked , while it siiii was leit a matter of obscurity whether the ab ? eiiee of a high public officer , during which the losses had taken place , was & culpable one or not .

      Sir T . T \ iijxe ar ^ ned , that ttere was no one particnlar period to which ihe mischief was referable ; the forgeries had taken plaee from time to time , wnenever the exigencies of the conspirators required ? 5 nV ? j e aPProTed the compensation ; the pub-SnW D ^ haTe P rotected themselves by any te ^ £ h P lrue te 5 i was t 0 lreat « he biUs as if Sd « n ! > ^ ° ' wbich ^^ » holder wmld only haTe h ^ d t show his Qwn STproSr W ^ " ° ^ Exchequer had drawn SvSSdeT ^ f ? f ° Clas 3 « Who were ble x » f proof ! fideS i ** yreie ^ P ^ tJ ^ jhStSot *" Of Exdieqaer-bfll . to the ti ^ MediKd" ^ a- Bfll was read a second THE DISTRESS OF THE COTJKTRT m&mm Hie JollOfling puagHtphs were then read

      * be Sd 1 egS : : -lH ******* * ?* 5 : b ^^ th 8 t ft mnst *« ° Partattribnted to Oe ^ cced consumpfiou of many ar ^^^ ed by UiBt ^ nenKn of the mannfecturing ; indn ^ TS IS Majesty h * s so deeply lamented . " ^^ lora Homes , again rose and said ; 3 Jr . Speaker , 1 ^ 86 tot the purpose of calling the attention of the Honse to ti&i passage of her Majesty * * speech which has just been read an 4 Jo move that-the Sease do now

      Untitled Article

      -. fcsolve itself into a comnmite of tbe whole bouse * to Uke that j-asaage of the Rjjal Speech into tonaideration . My object in making this motion is , pj , tailJBpon the house to pronounce a decided opinion , Aether the distress unier which the country no 9 -xuibtfppily Labours is not of scch a character as to . imposs upon Parliament the duty rf some immedia' ^ interference upon the subject— ( hear , hear . ) Hia latflsh ^ , attvr stating that he believed he was taking j TaLeregalar and parlianwditaTy mode of brnging the safcject Cor ward , and disclaiming allhostility to the gov iEssaeniiproceeded as follows : —I am aware that ths m j » diffiottlt part of the task 1 have undertaken "will ' wtoantfee out the second part cf my case , Btmely , ; that tbe causes of ike distress are Dot altogether ' jeyeDd tk © reach of legislative interferetce . Indeed , as to the * rst part of » ny case—the existence of distr ess—this is so severe snd general , almost beyon& all former esimple , that I may content myself "with resting the matter simply upon itB notoriety , and upon tbe admission of the facts which her Majesty "iras -advised to makeie that part of tbe speech "which has just been read at the table . I shall , therefore , pa js over this part of my I subject as bfiffly as possible ; and ¦ will merely state to yen—1 hope at no grr at length—whet is at this moment the actaal condition of the country . Lst mo , then , remind you that time is now to -be reckoned not by i months bat by yesTs —( htar , heari—duriEg which ttw manufactsirliig and « onimercial interests of the country ( to o&e hzr ilajesty ' s own ¦ woriis } -bare betii in a stste ! of great -oeDression—( hear , hear ) . That distress which , in the Srs ' . instaucr , affected ocly one great hranch of our national iud&Eiry , has lately—as mu't always , in my opinion , be tht case—( hear , atir )—extended to ail the ot&er grMX interfcsts of the itate . 1 believe Hon . GeEileiaen opposite will not c- > ut . * t the truth of what 1 am now Etauuu , tbat the prjitiit c-noition of the aaricuitural interest is one of s ? eu . t depression and di » -

      trrs *—< hcar , hear » . It is stiff t j { fruiu a ds-prr . si . ioi ; uf pricts , arisii > s ircm a dimiiu ^ hru consumption of some of tne most imocrtaBt artcies of our manfacturing produce . — ; Hear , ht ^ r , hear ) SLo constqutuce is , that the fanners sre eTrrya-htre txpostd to grt-at dimeBit ' -ea . and in many parts of the coiuury those d ' . fiicuiiies tzttml from Vh m to tbe agricultural lab ^ uTtis . the re *^ . uction of whose wages , ill vari . us parts cf the-country , we must all h .. ve faeen announctd in the newspapers . And even where "wages have not beeu reoaccd , I believe there has been uhuost an universal scarcity of employment , an » i "wLich has been too often « triou £ ; y aggravated by the return to tbe rural districts of numbers of men , who for many years kave obtainwl ample fUii-i-yment from tbe grtat seats of oar

      manufacturing industry—( hear , bear . ) The mining and shi ; . > ping inureats of the country iiave more than partieiyascd in the j ; ec-r £ . l p-.-escure—( hear , : an- , They fr > rl more than their share if tne general di > trtrs 3 ; while tho retail tradssict-n anu , shopkeepers in lae nietrop-ji s . and the towns tLroui ; hout X ' -. e kingdom , are in a siaiilar condition—( hear , hear ) Tdey &re al vna exposed to the difficulties arising from an increasing weight of poors' ratv , and a diuimutiun cf consumption . In the course of last suniintr , it became a mult-r of no inconsiderable difficulty in many towns to collect the poor-raus . owing u > the frightful diminution of business , & dimii . uticn which naturally follows from the reduced earnings « if the working classes , and alsu from tbe reduced incomes of persons in the higher and

      amunj the more wealthy classes . Because a iarye pr > - puruon of the more wealthy cis-ses eiihtr dirtctiy or indirtctiy derive their incomes frr . in t ' : e pro .-perity uf tht national industry , they , also , are now brginiunganil I am afraid they ure only b ^ ginuirg—to fee ! the t-ffect of the present srat « of things . And even these wiio .- » e inct .-mts ha ^ e nut oeen at ence afftcted byJtLe general disties ? have been expospd , in C ' - 'imuon with others , to that reduction of their proptrty by the new and direct cemand made upon them to meet the exigency of the public service . The constquenee of all which has been , that , whether iD the lower or she his ^ er rank s there ia hardly an individu il who bju , not been compelled to retrench some natural tsptn £ ., and giTe up some lnxury to which h- has been

      accustomed . This U necessanly felt l > y the tradesmen , toe artisa s , and tbs shopkeepers by whom the consumption is supplied—ihe ^ r , haari- Snch , 1 belieTe , to i :-t a nicst untx . tg > . rattd statt ment of the actual condilion of the country—( hear , heari . 1 do not wish to go into details ; 1 shall therefore avoid them ss far as practicable . I will not state any local circumstances , except in a few instances . I think I ought so make good the gentrai description I have giyen of tbe condition of the country , by referring Ttry shortly to what I have ascertained to ba tbe present conditic-n of tbe important towD I have the honour of representing , and

      the county "with which I am closely coniiected . Since 1 gvrts notice of this motion , a great deal of information has been sent to roe from various quarters . Accounts i > f Qistrtis from cxie end of tb * kingdom to the otbeT , of the mest appalling character , have been received by me ; bat 1 think it bttttr to leave it to other gtntleiBen to state the lo&J circuitrsxances of tbe towns they rtpreseat , and confine myself strictly to the large town I represent , and the ctranty with which I am most closeiy connected . With rtspect , then , to the state oJ the town of Snu- ' erlaud , I have , obtained information which I bt-lieTe to be perfectly trustworthy . I need not tell Honourable . Mfcinbers that the town of

      Sun-Gerlaiid is aiaitly dependent upun thuso two crcai biAsches of our nitional mdostry—the coa . tr ^ de and shipping . Tee building and navigation of ships , and the carriage of coals have beti ) the chief support uf that Uwn . In Wit first place , witL rsij > ect to the cckJ trude , the stuteuient 1 have recei- » ci is , that the coai trauv ia in a deplorable state . Whfi tbe present engagimtnts I which are fur a year ) expire thrrc must be a rt-auctio . ; bath of the nunibeT of V ' -men tmpiojed ami Lf their wages . Tbe pituien , auo all UBdt . rgr > u ^ -J workiueu tngageu in raiting coals , are generElly hired by tie year , which encasements will ttnainatt- on the b * M of April ; ind unless eome grtat change tike pbee cii tbt b'JL of April , iLcre vfill be b conssideracic retiuttiuc bo"h in tbe nunibtr uf men employed

      anu in the amount of ^ agea paid . Hon ^ ura ^ legentkmen may tot be aware , perhaps , that tbe common agreement at the collieries in the north of England is , that each man shall have a certain number of days * epployment in a fortnight . Now , the proprietors haviPfcfeady Teouced their men to the minimum number of days which the agretmtnt allowB . Then , with respect to the workmen employed above ground—the carpenters , blacksnaths , and all other persons eniploytd about the collieries , all those were reduced from Saturday , the 4 tb oi the present month , bt , Ui in the rate of wages paid , a :. d the number cf days of tmplojment , they btin *; now employed ten days in a fortnight , instead of the full numl > er of days . This , of course , made a serious reduction in the money receiTed by these persons . There waa no

      alternative . Tbe proprietors could not possibly continue to them the same extent of woik . They had the option cither to turn off the one-s- > zth oi tLfeir hands , or to make tbfc reriiiction I have stated . It was considered most to tbe interest of the persons employed that the reduction should be made . This info , ma tion 1 Lave derived Ironi one very large establishment ; but my informant tells ir . e that the same thing has tiktn place in sevt ra ; other large establishicents in the county of DurUasu , which ship their coals frum the Wear , and that ha has reason to believe that it will be Very general throughout the coal districts . 1 now cojuc to another great branch oi trade curried on at Suriderlana . I am told that in 184 U ship carpenters received from thirty shillings to thirtjth cw shillings a-wetk . ThoEe now « apioyed r ective

      orly from eighteen to tweniy-one shillings a-week , and strtral have left the town for royal or other slip-building establishments , Many have gone to sea , at sailors ' wases . whereas three years ago they ct-nla with difficulty be procured at twenty shillings a month m ^ re th-in a common sailor's pay . The wages of other classes in the towii have declined in the same proportion . Two years ago there were ninety chain maktrs in full work , bow only tbirty-one are employed , and these only two days a-wee ~ or one-third of their time . It may fairiy be said that one-ha f lo two-thirds less is paid in wages than two years ago—( bear , hear . ) It is impossible that the working cla- ^ es can suffer to such an ext-nt withou : their tiuploytis in some degree suffering also . The statement iurnisaed to me a os that , in the year 1839 there

      were eumy ship-builitrs in the port of Sunu « rl ^ iid , cf whom thirty six have failed , to the agrrega-. e amount of £ 320 , 000 ; five have declined business , lcaviEg only thirty-nine out of the eighty who now coiitinue that branch of trade —( hear , hear ) . Twenty merchants and chain -and anchor-smiths havo fiiit-dtetbe aggregate amount of £ 100 , 000 . A great cumber of grocers , publicacs , and others have failed to a large amount , of which noaeconnt can be obtained . There are in the High-steet alone from forty to fifty thop 3 unoccupied , in consequence of the greatest part of the prcTions tenants having become insolvent . To this sUjUanent ia added a fad , "which is Very remarkable , as shewing the niannei in which this distress existing in iarg » : towns seriously affects the agricultural

      community . The quactity of meat sold , as stated by the butchers , was not more than one-half iu 1842 , to what itwas in 1841 —{ htar , bear ) . Now , let me confirm this icpresecuitiou by ailudiug to wh-it is the present condition cf Suniierland with respect to the poorrates . This subject "was mentioned a few d&jsugoby my Honourable Friend the member for North Durham ; and I believe what he tben stated was pretty nearly accurate . The borough of Sunderland , consists of three parishes ; the parish of Bishop Wearmoulb , and the parish of Monk Wtarmouth . The Srst parish consists chitfiy of the working classes , and the rates during tbe the last six months have been eighteen shillings per annum on two-thirds of the rack-rent , averaging for the whole year 37 s . 3 ^ i In Bishop Wearmou' -h the inhabitants of which belong to the wealthy classes , the poor-rate has been only 4 a . id . per annum on

      twothirds of the rack rent , while in Monk Wtarmouth tbe rate was 12 s . per annum on two-thirds rack-rent Thia large amount of rating Is in itself a very frightfal « tate of taings . But I think a more correct Tiew may be obtained oi the destitution and misery existing in tfaa town of Snnderland , bj a statement of the sum actually expended for the relief of the poor in different years . I have such a statement before me . I find that the amount given for relief only ( exclusive of all other charges ) in 1837 "waa jf . ? , 035 ; in 1838 the sum paid -was £ 9 . 205 ; in 1839 , £ 9 . 872 ; in 1840 , £ 10 , 381 ; in 1841 , £ 11 , 721 ; and in 1842 the sum expended in relief alone for the town of Sunderland was £ 14 , 232 , being somewhat more than double the . Bum which only six years previously had been expended for tbe poor . Bo 6 tins is not all . Even this large aum expended for relief ni * been found inadequate to meet the pressure of dis-IX 6 S 8 m that town , in consequence of which tbe more

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      wealthy inhabitants , although not well abl 3 to afford it , bave been compelled to subscribe a sum amounting to £ 2 , 192 , ; be 8 ides giving away frem 800 to 1 , 000 tonsiof coals , to relieve the existing distress . S acU is the btate of thiDgs in Sunderland ; bat I believ s that Sunuerlaud affords by nb means one of tbe w orst examples < f tbe suffering whieh now prevails . It-stances of greattr suffering * nd still more Bevera distress might , I believe , be produced from other parts ¦ ol the country . Because , although undoubtedly Sunderland has complained of having been very seriously affected by that most impolitic act which imposed a duty upon the export of coal , the sri 8 chievous conB&quaaces of which have exceeded all that were anticipated from it , although that mea-SBve has been to Sunderiand a special aggravation of fee general "distress existing there ; yet , on the other tend , it is true that the branch of industry in whi < jh tiie inhabitants are mainly engaged being tbe coal trade , and-coal being almost a necessary of life , the

      demand for that article is not certainly affected nearly so soon as the demand for any other commodity , the distress therefore , in the north of England , did not commence so early as in some other parts of the country . At this niomtnt the consumption of coals in London bus not materially fallen off ; and Sunderland producing the best of coal , of ceurse that town is to a grtat extent exempt from the severe pressure which falls upon othi r places . But I think , even iu Sunderiand , I have made out a case of distress ""hich ia well worth the uiuut strious consideration of this House—( hear , htar ) . Now , having taken one large tewn e ; gaged in and mainly dependent ihhjd oar shipping and mining industry , I Dow vriih to refer to the state of a grt ; it agricultural county . I have written to a gentleman iu ttiu ' county cf Northumberland , to ascertain wb ; . t the re'd &lat « of things is in tha : county ; and I am ir c t > *;» y tbut , upon the whole of his stattment , things aro Uiuch less unfavourable there than what 1 have seen them in

      country paptio si-ited to in other parts of Eu ^ iaiui . Tbt . statement I have received is , that the farmers art , beginning to be very seriously distressed ; that tLe low price of meat affeei * tht : in vtry seriously . But I was attcu . pting to give an account of the actual state of tbe county of NoTthuinberlui . d . Hitherto the pressure of distress has not f . ii . tn much upon the working cbstcs . Work is 8 oii : ewL"it scarcer now tban it usiftiliy is r , ut there has not been any vo y perceptible reduction in wages , except in a few n . blancea . In a ft-. w ins ' . a cts > I have heard that , it has been tbe case , but it has not been so gtnarallj . Thia may bo accounted for from the fact , thai large capitals have been vested in firming in the county cf Northumberland , and the cultivation of the land there Las been carried on upon a gr at ecale for

      several jr-rs ; and thr faTiut-rs c- » i « -g wt-il "f t' , they are b . ' . lcr able to bear tha tirst pi-. ' .-sure with ( . ut su ^ perdir . g employment , a .: ;« l t » - t-tt h > Immedia ' tiy visitiug the C'jj ]? cquences of any nnfa < rt ,-ur ; iblto change upon tLe wurknig classes . liui ;> inj ) i . oius arn alre . itly appirent that the vroik : n ^ ca ^ -sea , aaioiiij the nerieuitur . sts , cannot long tsc _ iie f ; oin tbs-ir . sh . ^ I < 3 of the distretaes of the tin lS . Tue firui > -rs are beginuing to fiii'l Uiffioulty in Irinijii . c f-jrwaid tijeir ppriuj ; vents , and it is iniposs . b ' . o that the lribuururs should not suffer . The wholesale houses complain that they cannot obtain payment as formerly from Ihe small shopKe ^ pers , aud tlie drapera and othtrs in country towns have experienced a very perceptible reduction of tht ir / business . 1 am a' . so told that although the labourer h . s not yet actually

      suffrred , yet that all the uriizins and handicrafts conliected wna : yricultura havo severciy felt the depression—^ blacksmitha , carpeutwa , wheelwrights , masons , plasitTirs . : mii others have found greater sc-ircity of empl-iynient than hitherto . This p-iinful state uf things L . is been much aggravited in various localities by the nunibw of workiueii who have returned to rural districts , having been no longer ^ ble to find occupation in tha towns—( hear , ht ' . r , hear . ) Tho increase in the number of ctituil poor seems a remarkable sympLom of prevalent distress . I bave described Northumberland as in a better condition than some other counties , and it ought to follow that we feel ths evil of casual poor proportionably less than elsewhere ; but such does not appi-ar to be tho ease . At of

      Aliiwick there has bteu a lur ^ e increase casual poor who bave been relieved , Dnd I wish especially to call the attention of the House to this stirtling facttuat in 1841 the nuinbtr of casual poor relieved was 1 . , while in the year just closed the number amounted to no fewer than 3 . 653 , or double what it had been in 1831—( cheers . ) I am sorry to add , that tha evil , instead of diminishing , faumis at this moment to be on the increase : in the current quarter , the number qf ca ± s 8 of caiua . 1 poor rtlieved , tscetds ttat of any former quarter , even of the year which , aa I have said , presented double the cumber of cases of the year 1841—( hear , hear . ) When only half the quaittr has txpired , 730 casual poor have been relieved , while the heaviest quaTttr of the year 1 S 41 was only 941 : if the seconS

      half of the quarter be in proportion to the first , the increase , . is the House will perceive , will be enormous . Having thus t iken one gn-at town and one agricultural county , 1 think I am jns-. ified in saying , that the distress lamented in the speech from the Throne , nnd whieh we might thence be led to infur was counted to tho manufacturing portion of the kingdom , ia wide spread s . ad almost universal . I s : iy that I am justified in assuming this fact , and the more so wl ; t-n 1 look at the failing off in the revenue , to which tht Government has thought it right , in the txi .-rcise of whutl consider a sound uuc-tUon , to uirtct the attention of Parliament . I do net ft el tqunl to cvpntn ) in aiiy minute < xumination of the state of the revenue , but I may notice one branch which has always been considered

      an indication of the conuition of the the work'r . ^ part of the population . Of cruise I ariut ' e to the txeise ; aiul I find that in tfce year ending the b'b cf Jauvary last , as compared with the jej ; " fc .. uii . g vhe o ; h of January , 1 M 2 , tueiewas a falling tffof not hss , in round numbtra , than £ 1 , 173 , Oi' 0 . — ( Htar , hear . ) In the last q : trttr , hb compared with the coirespondinjr quarter of the former year , the deficiency was £ 717 , 000 . I know that aa attempt has btcn made to explai . ttiis state of tbiegs in two wajs . It has be-n sa :: i that a considerable tff . / rt wns ma . ie at the tlvse of 1841 to diminish the balance in Jhe hands of the collectors of the excise , nnd that the revenue of that ytur was therefore apparently swelled : it was argued from hence that it was not fair to niako a comparison bttween the excise revenue of

      a year so artificially augmented , and that of a jear when oaly the ordinary receipt was in contemplation . I am unable to say how far this explanation may or may not by just ; and the best Ust niay therefore be obtained by going b .. ck to a yt-ar farther , and by ascertaining what was the amount of revenue in the year ending the 5 th Jinuary , 1841 . The sum then received wns £ ¦( , 016 , 000 , while the amount iu the year ending 5 th January , 1843 , was only £ 3 022 . , showing a deficiency of near . y a million , or £ 994 000—( cheers ) . The other circumstance adduced to account for the deficiency is th it whi ^ h was mentioned by the right honourable haro . iet ( S : r R > - » b-rt P ^ eh on a former night . He said that the barley in 1841 was deficient , particularly in quality , and that it h . ul occasioned a

      considerable defalcation in the revtrue derived from malt . But make whutcv r allowance you will on thia itciount , still 1 think the hv'uso wiii a ^ ree with me in saying , that Li two years , in npitc of an increasing population , nnd not including Ireiaud , wbic'i was 1 ot uff . cted by the new taxes , ai . d wh » n tht temperance systtiu was in progress in Great Britain , only id two ytaro there has been a fdilir-g off of nearly o ; ie quarter of the whole amount of revcuae depending on ttie consumption , by the great body of the people , ol articles which are to be considered more the necessaries than the comforts vf ii / e— ( tear , bear ; . Let me a ^ k , then , whether this is not a fearful proof of the extent to which misery au . l dastitution mubt have prevaile-i , "when we see such forced economy , not in the luxuries . but in the mere necessaries of eX'steuce—( lieitr . heari '

      Let me ask the House to r « fl-ct on the degtee of nuttering "vihieh must have been ensured before Buch an effecs was produced ? A forced economy is painful in e \ ery rank of society ; even the wealthier classes , as evury body must perceive , bave retrenched in const quence ol the diminution of thtir means ; it has bten some degrte uf suffering to them to forego v ha" were avowedly luxuries and indulgence ^ to which tbt-y bad louj ; beeu accastomei !; but how keenly must the poor rr > aa have felt , ¦ when thuy were compelled by eitcuinstai : ee . s to diaptnse , not with luxuries—not ev ^ n wit ); comft / rts—but with the abioiute necessaries of life—( cLeeisi ? What the higher onitis felt is only inconvenience : what the lower ordeis felt is absolute deprivation and destitution —( hear , hear > . The working man , who before obtained

      merely vbi » t would scantily maintain himself and family , saw himself under the painful necessity of abridging even that , and by degrees he has been compelled to relinquish uot only his tobacco and his beer , but his butter , his sugar , his coffer , and his tea—( cheers ) . These articles no longer form part of his daily meal—ev « n bread is becoming a luxury—( hear , hear ); and it w gradually , but inevitably , giving way tOBome coarser : ind cheaper substitute—icheers ) . He saw bis wife and ehiliireu reduced from comparative neatness to rags and beggary ; he was reduced by toil , dispirited by anxiety—even hope has forsaken him : week after week his condition is becoming worse ; he is already neariy destitute , and absolute starvation stares him in the face —( hear and cheers ) .

      Sufferings such as these are felt byAbousands of families who , no ; loDg since , were well-fed and well clothed , and whose industry rendered them the comfortable , though still the working , portion of the comm unity . Thesb eigojtd Httie more than a sufficiency , even in good times ; but in bad their sufferings must be indiscribably acute . Tha ) such a state of things exists we are told by the figures which inform us of the falling off in the revtnne , and it is to thia diminution that reference is made in the speech from the Throne . I may , perhaps , be told , great as the distress is admitted to be on both sides of the House , that we may now hope that we have passed the worst ; that some symptoms of improvement are beginning to manifest themselves ; that more che&rf ul prospects present themselves ,

      and that ire now behold the dawn of more prosperous days . If I am not mistaken , since the commencement of the session the Right Honourable Baronet has expressed seme opinion of the bind , and I most earnestly hope that that opinion will be borne out by tbe result No wish is nearer my heart than that his happy anticipation should be realised ; but it is quite impossible for me to forget that towards the close of last session , when tbe subject of the distress of the country was , as I think , most properly brought before the House by toy Hon . Friend the Member for < Jreen « ck ( Mr . Wallace ) , the Right Hon . Baronet used precisely the same language—( much cheering . ) I cannot forget the words he employed , founding his anticipations of improvement apefl signs , I fear , no more certain or satisfactory than

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      those which he may now again tell us be discovers . I cannot forgftt that , since the Right Hon . Baronet used that language , in spite of the almost unexampled mildness of the season , which , in , the present situation of the country , must be looked upon as a mercy for which we cannot be too thankful —( cheers ) , —since , bad tbe winter feeen severe , the misery must have been incalculably aggravated—( hear , bear )—in epite , I say , of that beneficent mildness of the season , the Anticipation of the Right Hon . Baronet has not bqen realised—hia hopes have been disappointed , and the

      improvement has certainly not extended to the working classes —( cheeiB ) . The information I have given from Sunderland , be it remarked , is only ten days old , and an additional reduction of the wages of tbe working classes may be almost hourly expected . The distress , therefore , continues with unabated severity amo g the labouring classes , and I cannot avoid expressing my conviction that we bave no right to expect that there will be any permanent improvement in their condition , unless Parliament will , at length , consent to interfere and endeavour to remove some of the causes of distress .

      If there be not something amiss in the social organisation—something that jars aud is out of order in the working of the political machine , why is such distress experienced ? Do we not possess all the advantages necessary to make ua a happy and prosperous country—( cheers ) ? Has eur soil lost its fertility ? We have ha » i a season almost unexampled—a harvest which , at a ' . l events , her Majesty ' s Government considers one of more thau ordinary abundance— ( hear , henri . Hare we sacrificed the immense accumulation of fixed cipit . il by which this country has been long so remarkably and enviably distinguished ? Has our energy akiteri , or our enterprise benn destroyed—ihe ; ir , hean ? Why , thtn , w ; th all vho elements of weiilth—with eViiything that should make a country pnaphrou . i—is ovmy

      branch of industry labouring under d . fh u ; tua , ai . d snfiiirin ;* severely from distress—( ch ; tio , ? 1 ans . wi-r , that there must be tome reason for the unhealthy slate of affairs , and that it ought not to bo beyond our reach to af-certain what that reason is—( hear , hear ) . Lord Howick then wtnfc at great Itn ^ ih to expound the cuuses wliich ] bad beun aliened for the peiverted condition of affairs which be had depicted . An inconvertible ) paper eunency he said had been proposed as a remedy ; bu *" . Sir Robert P el had demolished that notion in a late mnaikab ' . c correspondence Kednction of taxation had been also proposed ; but , iu proportion to its means , this [ country was as lightly tuxed as any country in Europe . Ov « r-s {>> culation has beou assigned es a cause of our distress ; but the

      Government , be was sure , were in possession of information which would keep them from giviut ; ; iny countenance to that idea . How cuuld a nation suffer from an over-supply of every thing which its population required i The EughsM P «; or Law , too , had been amrrmhl to be a cause of the suffering of the working clauses ; but Scotland shared in the distress as well aa England . The real cause was the remarkable coincidence of a very low ruto of profit , and a low rate of wages , produced by iiiteuse competition , which again waa produced by the wa-iit of aa adequate fid . i for the employment of capital and labour . To extend this field cught to be the Rroil object of all our exerti-. ns ; the natural tiV'ld for our industry was confined by barriers ana restrictions : there were laws on our

      » t : itut « -book which had been passed for the express purpuio of restricting our foreign trade , tspecially in the important article of tho food of the people . That the removal of these restrictions wou'd inirne liately contribute to txtuntl the demand for employment , had been proved by the Vice-President of the Bo . ird of Trade ( Mr . Gladstone ! , when defending the new tariff , with relation to the importation of cattle . Our export was iru assured by our import trade . Happily , our internal trade had been practically but littie hampered with restrictions , and the consequence was a degree of prosperity unknown in thnne countries where internal restrictions impeded intercourse , aud this was a practical confutatum of those who said that the removal of commercial restrictions was a theoretical id . ; a . But this very policy of restriction rested on a theory now

      universally exploded ; and he called upon them to abandon a policy whose fruits were a distressed people and an impoverished exchequer . Tha principles he had advocated had been adopted and expounded by Sir R ibi-rt Peel , when he said that we should " sell in the dearest and buy in the cheapest market ; " and if the Government ware not prepared to c . nry ou ^ their principles , why had they unsettled everything ? They should not , in the present condition of thi country , halt between two opinions . The Noble Lord concluded by moving , Th ; it this House do resolve into a c , / mniitlee of the whole House , to consider so much of her Majemy ' a speech as , refers to that depression of the manufacturing interest of the country which has so lonf ; prevailed , aud which her Majesty lias ho deeply 11-mented ; " and resumed his scat amidst loud aud general cheering .

      Mr . Gladstone admitted the fairness and temper ¦ which pervaded Lord Howick's speech . The Incometax had been accused of adding to the existing distress : but it had this great merit , that it reachud those enormous accumulations of capital which could not otLtrwise be cornpalled to contribute to the expenses of the state It was the melancholy feature of the condition of this country , that , coiiicidentiy with a diminution of the power of consumption amongst the working claxbeo ., thire wan an uugmentation of tho means of enjoyment , and an accumulation of capital amongst the upper classes . Lord Howick repudiated the idea of

      ovtr-proiluctiou riml over-speculation : but the shipping interest itself nflWded a most remarkable example of overtrading ; bad it goi . e on na it had been doing , the shipping of this country mi « bt bave been doubled in eiifLi years ; and a great portion of this over trading w » s count cted with the bo ough of Sunderland . The s ' . jito of tho Excise was not satisfactory ; but in ad'lucirg it as showing the privations of the people , Lord Howii ' k had selected a quarter in which the defici-ency of the returns was greatly increased by a particuiar circumstance . What was the object of the motion ? That the House should resolve itself into a

      committee , to go into an inquiry which was to agitate every interest , and once more disturb the entire commercial community . The tariff , during the last session , was a known measure , yet it had disturbed , during its prugress , oil commercial transactions ; and this motion , having no known and definite object , would repeat and aggravate similar f vils . Lord Howick should have come forward with a ae&nite proposition . He , indeed , asked ;' or an extension of the field for the employment of capital nnd labour , and he ( Mr . Gladstone ) agreed with him . But the Noble Lord bad not ventured to say to what extent he would go in the removal of restrictions ; lie tauntud Sir Robert Peel with bulking between two opinions , and was himself doing the same thing . What dcretment was there between Lord John Russell

      and bis friends , who advocated a fixed duty , and Mr . Villiers ahd the advocates of a tola ! r < peal of the Corn L-iwb ! The whole question wus not as to the abstract impolicy of restrictions , for the commercial legislation of this country , during the l ; iat twenty-five years , had recognised tho necessity of their removal . But the qu « stion was simply , what re judi-jioua reluxations ? The principle of the Go-Vt-rnment , injtheir measures of last year , was to effect diunges with tho least bhock to existing interests , and tho smallest displacement of labour ; and both the new tariff and the naw corn bill , while extending the means of employment for capital and labour , had not materially affeeU d established interests . What was the pr > po 2 ud substitute for tbe Cora Law ? A moderate

      Hx « tl duty for protection or for revenue ? It was asked why we applied to corn a different principle of legislation from that which was applied to other uriicks ? The answer was , that corn had been differently dealt with for ages ; and , under a system of long-continued pr-jtection , enormous investments of capital had taken place , which it would be ruinous suddenly to disturb . It was true that earn and cattle should be similarly dealt with ; and in the revolution of ages and of ciicu « i 8 tance 8 tho lime might come when tkey might be s > treated . No commercial law can be permanent ; but thut of protection to home agriculture was so ,- and he was noi prepared to abonc . ou it , ao long as protection was applied to any interest He agreed that an extension of the field of employment for capital and

      labour waa the great thing required by this country ; but Burke had said that the statesman who legislated without reference to circumstances was " stark mad , metaphysically mad . " Hu did not argue that an additional importation of foreign corn would displace British agricultural labour . But he was not prepared to sacrifice a certain employment of our labouring population to a speculative notion that an increase of our foreign trade would necessarily follow the abandonment of our cornlaw . He disclaimed the idea that host : le foreign tariffs could ultimately oppress the trade and commerce of this country . But the immediate effect of these anti-commercial measures was detrimental ; and were we to go on without reference to tbe course of other

      countries , ia the vague hope that we will teach them , when , instead of making our new tariff , they were taking au opposite course ? The United States , for instance , were largely interested in the reductions and alterations which we had effected ; yet , at the very time we had bt en opening our ports to their productions , they were raising to an enormous height their duties on our manufactures . The removal of restrictions in our commercial code was a question of time and degree , and had been so coisidered by every Government in this country for the last twenty-five years . But he resisted tbe motion as one fraught with disaster to every established interest , and which "would disturb instead of benefit commerce .

      Mr . Labouchere admitted Mr . Gladstone ' s ability , which in the speech he had just spoken had been evinced by the dexterity with which he argued both aides of the question . Hud tbe measures of the late government been allowed to pass into law , the country would have been now in a very different condition . It waa of importance that whatever Corn Law this country adopted should be permanent ; and the great objection to the Corn Law of last session was its instability . It was clear that Mr . Gladstone ' s candid and intelligent mind waa made up

      on tbe impolicy of the sliding scale ; and when he spoke of the probability of its alteration in " the revolution of ageB , " he must have meant in tbe course of a few sessions of Parliament . That the distress of tbe country arose mainly from diminished power of consumption was evident ; and the session ought not to be allowed to pass away without devising measures of relief . But when it was said that tbe question was , in what degree the country could bear tbe application of commercial principles of legislation , the true meaning was in what degree the country gentlemen would bear them . Be

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      called on them to support Lerd Howick ' s motion , and go into and -inquiry as to the means to be adopted to Save this great country from ruin Mr . FERBikND rose , and moved that the debate be adjourned , but was met with loud cries of " Go on , go on . " He had moved the adjournment of the debate , because , in discharging the duty which he owed , not only to himself , but to those who bad sent him there , he wonld find it necessary to trouble them at some considerable length . After the speeches of the Noble Member for Sunderland ( Lord Howick ) and the Right Hon . Gentleman the "V ice President of the Board of Trade , he was sure the country would be firmly convinced that it was high time that the principles of free trade were laid aside , and that they should return

      to the good old principles of their forefathers . Neither of them had attempted to grapple with tbe great question of what conduced to the prosperity of the agricultural , the commercial , and the labouring classes' of the country . They had been given to understand that the measures o £ last session were intended far the "welfare of the working fctasses ; bnt it was now admitted on all hnnds , that in no degree had they added to or in any wav revived | the commercial prosperity ; it waa high time for them to consider whether the time had not arrived when [ they should decide , not on ' y on not going on further in the same course , but whether it would not be better for them to recede . The conclusion of the speech oft the Right Honourable Gentlemen proved that they were in a wrong course . He said that all tin ;

      attempts to induce other countries to adopt the doctrines of free tradtj bad been failures ;—nay , more , lie t > . ld theHousu tliat Anitnea , instead of relaxing her laws , bad imposed additional restrictions upon our tradt 1 - Durin ^ tha n-cc-ss be had thought it his > u ^ y to inquire how far the pleasures of Government passed during thtlast session had tended to incre be tbe distress aiiu .-i ' g :-t tbe pecple , and from calculations which he had male at Wejnnial perio't . s from 1 ^ 00 he foui ^ d . that w !» ercas whn-it in that year waa at £ 5 13 s per qu . irtt r , the was > es of a woolc . imber were £ 1 pt-r mi k , lt . iI thut tliwii the average of p-. isou ^ rs in WakeneM | . ris . n wrts O 117 . In 1810 tbe price of wheat per quarter v , as £ b Gi . 2 < l , an 1 tUo wages of a weaver I ( i 8 . to 17 s , and those of the woolcomber 19 s per week—ihe . averfigb of Id

      prisoners at jthat period w ^ s 492 . 1 !> 2 o price of wheat-, bad faileu to £ 3 7 s . lid . ; but t . > show tMt this had no effect on wuees he was prepared to ptovr ti ; al they were at that period higher than before : tho woolcomher wasithen receiving 19 ? . ; tut in 1830 , when tbe Wbiss first se ^ z-d the reins of sjovernmtiit , when they came iu on tie false principles of peace , ' retrenchment , and reform , and then involved the country in most unjust and dissraceful wars , and bad ( Xtended a s > stem of . ' tho utmost extra vai ^ nce throushout the laud . —at the time they entered cflicd , when the country was in a state of prosperity—( cries of " Oh , oh !')—he repe . iUii it , they found the country prosperous , contented , "ind happy— ( laughter )— th * -y found an overflowing ! tr- usury , with a safe and steady revenue .

      aud they left both bankrupt—( cheers )— they thruat themselves upon the country , aurl by tb ^ ir misrule , when they Were turned oat of office , tho wages of the weaver were reduced from 16 s to 8 a ., and the wojIconiber suffered equally from their incapacity . Was the country prepared to take their measures after they were themselves driven from office by an indignant constituency ? Whit wis the conduct of the Ri ^ ht Hon . Bironet previou »! te > tbat period ? How was he ap' . 'k ^ tl of by those counected with all the most valnaWe n . terests in the country ? Why , at that time all of them jf > yfully hailed him as their leader . The present Premier had been lauded j and toasted through Engbiud as tbe conssrvator of all its best interests , and during that period the Riufat Hon . Baronet had made a speech , wh'ch had

      been published , corrected by himself , and in which ha sai'l , " The principle of total repeal of the corn laws I fully understand . It is a magniflcieut scheme for introducing into jour intercourse with foreign nations the principle which ought to regulate the commerce of a great country certainly within its own boundaries , but which I doubt the possibility of applying beneficially to its external commerce , in a state of society so complicated , involy ' ng interests so enormous , and which have srown up ' ( the Right Hon . Baronet Went on to suy ) " under a system of protection . I cannot' ( he added ) " relinquish that principle , which however theoretically defective has in practice allowed such an establishment of our power . '' After this came the general election ; a"id the creak contest between the t . vo parties had

      been between tbe rival principles of free trade and of restriction This had been the question expressiy brought before the electors of Yorkshire by L < rd Morpetfc : the handwriting was said to be on tha wall , and it was for tbe electors of England to read it fvr or against protection . ' . Thus it waa tbat Sir Robert Peel obtained office—pledged to protect the best intertsts of tbe country—( ch' -era from the Opposition benches ); but wh : it hud the Right H . / nouraMo Baronet done?—( Hear , hear , ' from the same side . ) He had attacked those interests by undermining them through the principles of free trade . . Cueers from tbe Oppoh tion benches . ) The measures of the- Right Hon . Baronet h > d Riven a great i ^ hock to the great interests of tho country ; and it was the luty of those

      who had ^ p ledged themselves in the most solemn m : iDner t > tl e ; r cmbtitu-nts to stand firm to their promises —( hear , hear , from tho Opposition benches ) . For himself he hid avowed bia resolution to regard no interests but those of bis country , no motive but the £ e )< eral weal ; and he would not—to support any party or any Government—adhere to those who did not ftHiid by tho principles which had placed them in power—( oud eheera from the Opposition benches . ) Yet th ^ y had been told rece :: t ! y by the Premier , tbat " ho one h ; id niai 1 «! such extensive changes in the commercial po'jcy of the country rb he had done , and that he was convinced of tlie soundness of the principles on which he had acted . " If that were so , how was it that the Vice Prc 3 i ! ent of the B . urd of Trado had

      admitted that , so fir as tbe measures of the Ministry hati hitherto worked , at all evicts , th ^ ir effect hau b , _ eu ^ favourable to tho vari . us interests involved ? Now , he wished just t « - > advert to souk- opinions of Mr . Huaki . 'ibon , ! which had bc-n discover d by . that statesman to bj founded on errors of a s'Kiilar nature to those which ursled tl . e present Government The chairman of Lloyd's , Mr H > binson , had lately publi ; . htd a pamphlet , in which waa a passage to tha effect that , if foreign countries saw us relieving public burdens , arid exhibiting a prosper .-us Exchequer , they Hiiglat become simvre in their assertion an . practfee of free trade principles ; the fict , however . bb > D « , that we Lad instead of an overflowing Exchequer an Ineome Tax in time ef peace . What , too ,

      was the st : tU ; of foreign countries at this moment ? In a prom ' netit paper , one of the ablest organs 1 f free tra-i . appeared lately an account of not less than s x hoslile t : \ rlffs in ten months Attain , from the report of a most important committee on this subject appeared stn eraent 9 of a very momentous character as to the progress made by foreign countries in manufactures . The Hun . Member price- ( led to read extracts , tp the effect Hint European manufacturers were su . vessfully uri . lersellu ^ ours in the markets of the world . ' Having islabli h-. i to the House by satisfactory evidence that frei ^ n enntres a ^ e not only manufacturing more gooila than ourselves , but underselling us , iit was his duty t' > l ill up- < n the Government to make a stand ; but if tlie slightes ; movement be

      made it ought to be made again to those principles which had placeditbia Gauntry . n so hinh a pinnacle of greatness as to justify the designation it once received of being called the workshop of tbe whole world . It was not liis intention , as he had previously stated , to enter then upon i the consideration of the question of free trade ; but there existed a purty in this country which had a right to cull upon this House ti > take up the question . ' The party he referred to wns the massesthat class which did not possess the power of sending Members of th . it House . That clasa was now in a starving condition , and it became the duty of that House to take their present condition into its serions consideration . The working classes bad been in a gradual state of decline for the last few years . Thu

      Anti-CorupLaw League had m . tinly reductii the working classes to jtheir present condition . He would call tbe attention of the Honse to tho pamphlet of Mr . R . Grejj . entitled j" An Inquiry into the State of the Manufacturing Population . " When speaking ol the power-loom worker he observes , " He has no time | to be wise , no leisure to be cood ; he is supken , debilitated , depressed , emasculated , unnerved for effort , incapable of virtue , u' : fit forev « iything but the regular , hopeless , desponding , degrading variety of laborious vegetation , or shameless intemperance . " Again , when alluding to the hand-loom weavers and combers , he ( Mr . Greg ) says , "from constitution and from principle , averse from feeling or acting aa alarmists , we are certain , in as far as reasoning from the past can

      make us certain of the future , that unless some cordial , faithful , vigorous , and united effoti is made on the part of the influential classes to stem that torrent of suffering and corruption which is fast sweeping away the comfort and morals of so large a portion of our poorer countrymen , and ; which , if not checked , will soon send them forth upon tbe world desperate , reckless , ruined menruined both in their feelings and their fortunes , —unless some such' effort is made , and that speedily , there are silent but mighty instruments at work , like on evil that walketh in darkness , which e ' er long will undermine the system of social union , and burst asunder the silken bonds of amity which unite men to their kind . " In 1834 a select committee , appsinted "to examin ' e the petitions presented jto the bonse from the hand-loom weavers , and to report ( their observations thereon , " sat for tbe first time on tbe 16 th of June . July 15 , Mr . Thomas Myerscough , manufacturer , of Bolton , was examined . He said , " I admit generally , there is a good deal of distress in the country , and that the weaving body do look for

      some measure which will better their condition , by raising their wages , or at least prevent their being still more depressed than they are now , whieh depression is said tobetosuch a point that these men are in the greatest state of poverty , unhappiness and discontent" July 16 , Mr . John Makin manufacturer of Bolton , examined . He declared ' ^ that the condition of the bandloom weavers has deteriorated so much , that it is in great danger of either extinguishing the trade altogether or of producing a rupture in society . " July 17 . —He declared , their food is chiefly oatmeal porridge , and potatoes , with occasionally ajsmall quantity of batcher ' s meat , which they obtain once a week . "I have made a calculation , by which j estimate that if a man has to support himseif , bis wife , and five children , with the assistance of two children and bis wife labouring with him , they will not be able to earn for food and clothing , more than 2 | d . per day . J cannot recollect an instance , but one ,

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      where any weaver of mine has bonght anewiiMr ^ » many years . " ' Then they arelite&lly drttodHn 2 J -I am only sorry I did not bring one or tw 0 taS ? to let the Committee see the average state in which th are clothed . " " I have seen many houses with 1 two or three legged stools , and some I have seen wb ? out a stool or chair , with only a tea chest to keen H , clothes in , and to sit upon . " June 9 th 183 ^ -jif * Edmund Askworth , brother and partner of Mr H Ashworth , who occupied the chair at themeetino * # the League in Manchester , on the lst of this rmJ » u thus addressed Mr . Chadwick , his letter bein ^ Z ^ from Turton . near Bolton :- Full mtim ££ ? every department waa never more easily to be fo a than now , consequently wages have advanced in mi operative employments , particularly so in the least « vi

      fivl TIini 4 lAntn tirnnvtAan Vb «>»« . ^» ' ¦ . ' "fill * ful . Handloom weavers bave been much wanted * their wages advanced on an average 10 per cent ' tv bespeaks a scarcity of labourers here ; at the same t ' great complaints are made of the surplus populationT # ttee agricultural caunties . I am most anxious that ev facility be given to the removal of labourers ( h ? h 7 New Poor Law Bill ) from one county to anoth according to the demand for labour ; this would ha * ' a tendency to equalize wages , as well as prevent h degree some of the turn-outs whieh have been of late * prevalent . " Sept . 17 th , 1834 .-R . H . Greg said « n must be looked upon as a happy coincidence , that t the period of depriving or curtailing perhaps ' the f lities of gaining a livelihood to the people of one-half f Eogiana , aid causing a fall in their present low was

      n oH o cnroniKlti nmnn fief fham f .-tw «« , ., 1 . ^ 5 * -Si find a scramble amongst them for employment th should exist a difficulty in obtaining labourers at ^ travagaut wages in these northern counties . Xh' f luxate occurrence shou'd be taken advantage ot v ° I y 6 ar will , unless some unforeseen accident ocean lw niturally a year of ir . creasain < -ur manufacturer . ^ jj ^ i " ? in « s , &c , and , silould this prove the case , any fimh demand for labour would still further increase th unions , drunkenness , and hich wages . ' June 27 th 1834 .- K . T . E Ashworth said ' Nearly 20 000 person wcuM be rtq-iired in the neighbourhood t » f one of oar seats of manufactures aione , that uf Staleybridge " b * hail drawn a melancholy picture of their condition , g ' upi . iion was , that unless some measures were speediw udup ^ l by t he influential classes some mighty evil

      wruld result . He also , found that the manufactateis h . d , t'i ft gK . it extent , introduced the systtm of aporen . ticoship . At the Wilmslow Mills , in the city of Lan " castur , the property of Mr . Gregg and partne » j J 18 S 7 , tbat 8 > stem was carried on-with all its bath rities . The children were fetched from all parts of tho country , and compelled to live in a house built for Qjy , acomwouation ; they were deli" ! er-d up to tne tender mtrcics of a governor and a matron , whose hearts were steeled acainst them , and they worked them aa long sind as severely as nature could endure , and paid them no waije ? . Those children were collected from all the foundliLg hospitals' iu thecouutry ; they knewnothine of tfceir parentage , and had no protection from the ty . ranny practised ou them . Tw , o of them , both girls of thirte aud foutteei of

      en 'years age , heard of their paivnts ; they applied for leave of absence to go and see their long lost earthly protectors ,- theb request was refused . Thuir application was renewed at every pastime , such as the holydays of Christmas , &c , hut e * ery tinia rejected for upwards of two years , until at length the / determined to run away , which they did at the Wilr astow wakes , ' on which occasion it was thecustorn to stop the mills for two d 3 ys : they found their parents , the one in Liverpool and the other in Manchester . They were poor , but still loved their children , and kppt them a day longer than the wakei On their return they were thrown into a cell by the ordeis of Mr . Gre « g and kept in soli , tary a mfinbuient for six days upon short allowance of f . io . i without a bed to lie on . During the time of their conti'ieruent the matron of the apprentice bonse died very suddenly and was laid out in the next room to these two children , who were almost driven frantic

      with fright . " He w ; is prepared to prove all ha asserted They denied what he asserted last session , bat he called fur a committee of tha House , —obtained ii , and proved every word he hiul said—( cries of " No , no . ") He cailed upon the Hon . Member for Manchester , who threw out a hint the other evening that he ( Mr . Ferrand 1 had stated to the House what he could not prove , to say what that was—1 cries of " Order , ordai " i ; md he would again assert that he waa prepared to aubstan . tiatenot by one witness only , but by many , what he had now stated . He wyuld also produce evidence to show that the hours of labour in some of the cotton-mills were excessive ; and he now held in his hand the names of four ptrsons who witbiu the last three wetks had been compe . lttd to work 32 hours with only 13 J honre ' rest . The excuse of the miil-own <; r was , that he hid got an order which he was obliged to send out to China , and if he had ' not worked his labourers to that extent he would have lost

      suveral thousands of pounds . The Hon . Gentleman then complained of Ihe evils of machinery , and read certain returns to show that since its introduction wages had diniinibbed nnd tbe posr rntes fiad increased Those who were employed in tee power-looms were chiefly women aud children . The fathers were living in idleness , unabie to obtain employment—living , he might say , ou the murder of their offsprings , for it had bten decided by tho highest medical authorises that those young women and children could not continue to work at those power-looms without the sacrifice of thtir lives . Women frequently worked at them up to the vtry time of '• bpir baing deiivered , and after having been away for a short time only , were compelled bytheir hubbands who had become hardened by drunkenness , to return to thti * work for the purpose of earning them bread . The consequence was that most of them came to a premature de ; : th , and were sacrificed to this baneful system . He would ask the House and the country to

      deci . ie wh 6 tb . tr the time had not now arrived when this awful evii should be grappled with ? He bad " the authority of ^ evtra ! of those who called themselves free traders , for saying that it should . There was the Hon . and Learned M » inbcr fur B » lton ( Dr . Biwringl , and by the way th . t Hon . and Learned Member had lately turned poet . —(•• Oh , oh , " and laughter . ) He assured the H . 'use that it w . is true . He h > j < t written some lines for circulation or sale at the Anti-Corn Law Baziar as it was called , thougk he ( Mr . Feiraud ) feared their more immediate . bject was to excite the working classes into rebellion—( Oh , oh . ) He would not take upthetirae of the House by read-Ing the lines in question- ^( Cries cf "Head , read , " and laughter . ) Read ! oh , certainly , it the House wished it . The lines were leaded- " Died of Starvation .-Coroner ' s Inquest" And certainly they were not inappropriate to the subject he bad brought under notice . The Hou . Member then read as follows :

      '' I met Famine on my way ' Prowling for her human prey , " Ci .-gs'd with fl th and clad in rag 8 , " Ugliest of all nilhy ha ^ s . " Lo ; a sceptre wreath'd of snakes " In her withered hands nhe shakes , " And I he ird the Ivig proclaim , " Bread Tax is my sceptre ' s n ; tme . ' [ Bread Tax ! said the hon . mem ^ r , I won ' . d 837—Power-lcom is my sceptre ' s nam& 3 iLiug hter .: " On remorseless mission b ^ nt , " Maiming , murd-rmsj as she went , " Spreading dt-ath from b ; reet to street , " Oh ! I Lear the hag rupeat , " 1 Shuddering while- I bt'ird and saw ) " Mine is right and might and lav / 1 " Tben to solitude I fl « w .

      " Gracious H- ; av ' n ! can this be true ? " On my trembling kntes I fell , " God I thou God of mercy ! tell , — " Can the very fiends of hell " In thy name their pandects draw , "And dec lure their license law ? «• Dare they , in Tny Holy sight , " Tu proclaim tit-ir roWry right ? " R'jus .- Thee , raise Thine awful ro-1 , ^ ' ? Lord , —how long ? How long , —0 God .

      Those were tha Hoa . Member for BMtoa s versx \ e , and let him ask was he wrong to s »*™ f rL ] e as were most applicable to the condition of tne I * ¦ v « caused by the power-loom-tbat instrumentw >*** j to which the writer of the lines hid h lU 1 , , " of i that " the power-loom must cause tbe P « ° P- "; _ t 0 hunger . " He tk mglit he had now ^^ J justify inquiry . If the Kight Hon . Baronet w ^' "" ^ | pared to inquire into the effect of machinery uy ^ working classes , had be any remedy to propose 11 « evils they suffered from it ? Ha would put tne ^ omisej | to the vote , and so last the sincerity of tSott ) ^ g e § that were made by Members on both aidt » 01 _ ^^ at tbe hustings , v . ben they assured the wo « i » ^^ that although they ware denied a voice in " * ^ . | of representatives Parliament would care lot ^ { , 1 fa . oto Ttw i ,, *« . « ,, tKvt .-., irs h \ d . he was w-v ., %

      affirm , originated with the Anti-Corn Law u » i ^ ^ an inquiry were gone into , he ( Mr . Ferrana > on { bteajj prepared with evidence to prove that tiios mKlv £ j s prJgina-ed with the League . The IMP * ? injustice ! ought t » court an inquiry , and tha G ^^ r foquir / I to .-ill classes , should institute it . If 8 ° r " . Pat ^ were ordered , and the working c asses ^ etmeo ^ ^^ liament in all thair misery and wretcneone » ^^ the House weuld be able to afford tbem 1 ^~ > dment : ^ Hon . Member concluded by moving as ann ittg | — " That this House do resoive itself uw ° o { y- ^ of the wkoie House , to consider so ° " ^ nof tbM Majesty ' s speech as refors to ' that ^ P ?^ j ^ oil manufacturing industry of the country v ""^ ^^ long prevailed , and which her Majesfcy& £ > «> ^^ lamented ; ' and also to inquire into ^ ° ^ 7 n < it # ! chinery upon the moral and physical wndiuon ^ ^ industrious classe ? : And also , to inquire wtQtu ^ of the late outbreaks , wbicb are thus ^ % t £ l her Majesty ' s Speech : Her Majesty regrets , OM 3 course of last year the public peace » » S ! j j manufacturing districts was eenonsly dwl S * £ i «§ the lives and property of her Majesty a W ^ Jf endangered by tumultuous assemblages and a *» " mi

      violence / The amendment having been seconded , ^ j Mr . EWABT moved the adjournment qf maw Mr . BROTHERTON seconded the motion , ana The debate was adj turned . ^ , On the motion of Mr . French a return was ^ ff « : £ ^ = rfA ^ sss ^ sssrss none , or an insufficient sewerage . Tea House adjourned at one o'clock .

      33mp?Rtal S;=?Arltam?Nt.

      33 mp ? rtal S ; = ? arltam ? nt .

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      £ T HE NORTHERN STAR .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 18, 1843, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct469/page/6/