Northern Star (1837-1852), 30th April 1842, Edition 3 of 5, Page 7, Untitled Article

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  He said tiat in rising to perform the duty which he tad undertaken , he felt he had placed himself under ^ U ieavy "weight of responsibility . Every dasa of manufacturers is Great Britain and Ireland had their eyes on him . It "was felt hy the "wh jle community that we were not in that position to vbich otir still , capital , and indcutry entitled us ; an * * , it could not but at the same time be felt that the jotians -s-hich he had submitted to the House Cght to have proceeded from certain Hon . Members a' the other side . But though , perhaps , it migLt be . nought that tfce motion ought to haTe proceeded from others rather than from him , he yet trusted to the kind attention of the Bouse to grant him a favourable hearing . "When he first bronchi forward the charges "which "srere Involved m
  
  THE TRUCK SYSTEM AKD THE " DFYIL'S DUST . " MB . FERRAXD'S SPEECH IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS , OX WEDNESDAY IX LAST WEEK . Mr . FEBBAKD rose , pursuant to notice , to move for a select committee , to inquire into the existence of frauds in the varions mano&ctares of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland ; also to ingaire into the existence of frauds and oppressions , either directly or indirectly , committed by certain manufictureis of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , upon tie persons employed by them ; and also by the ¦ workers of mines , eoUeries , and railways , upon the labourers in their employment
  
  The Hon . Member also moved the following resolutions : — " That this House considers as highly criminal the conduct of aiiy person or persons who may attempt to induce others to give false evidence before a committee of this House , and . will inflict condign punishment on all inch persons , and -will also direct them to be prosecuted . " " That this House -will protect and bear harmless every WoriiBg tvi « ti who gives trne evidence before any committee -which may be appointed to inquire into the francs committed by manufacturers and others , to the injury of the trade cf this country , and of the labouring classes . "
  
  bis motion , he 'was incuced to do so in self-defence—he ¦ was driven into it hj the accusations brought against the landed interest ; throughout the -whole country men were hired for the purpose ef using the mott violent Ian linage—placards of the most inflammatory nature ¦ were posted in every town and village . The working classes "weie told that the evils -which theyhsd to endure were not impntable to any accidental occurrences—were not in any respect imputable to their employers , but were solely owing to the conduct of the landed interest ; it "was the lanflfcci interest , they -were told , -which deprived them of food—it was the landed interest , they were told , -which dried the mother ' s breast , and excited the out-cries of the famished infant , and no one was found to uree the troth upon the attention of the
  
  woriing classes . He and these who generally coincided in opinion with h' * " did not subscribe to those assertions . They repudiated the assertion that the landed interest -were the parties to blame , and on the contrary affirmed that the manufacturers themselves were the causes of that distress under ¦ which the working people suffered . Ths aolion o ! -which he had given notice comprehended two resolutions , one of which ¦ undertook to deal -with a matter ¦ which had already been made the subject of a standing crder of that House . Ik -was important , he conceived , to let the people know that they would be protected frsin the effects of any false evidence which the manufacturers might get up against them . It was also importait to let the people inow that the House of Commons would protect them from the
  
  consequences ef freely and faithfully giving evidence before a committee of that House . They should be assured of eijoying absolute and perfect security for such o * the ¦ working classes as might be examined hefvxe a select committee . The fact "was , that the working classes ¦ would not venture to come before a committee of that House if they did not receive such an assurance , fur otbtrwise the prevailing Gpinion amongst them was , that their utter ruin must ensue . It was -well inown that the late ilr . Sadler had done nrach -with a view to improve the condition of the - working classes , and they had his testimony to show that those who wtre called upon to give evidence had been severe sufferers from the consequences of their temerity in so offending those from -whom they derived their means of employment
  
  Taey obeyed the summons of the Speaker , and for dolcg so they lat the means of subsistence ; and if they refused to obey the Speaker ' s summons , tiey "were condemned to prison and to misery , and their families to distres ? . Two petitions had been presented to the House by Mr . Sadler , stating all the facts which he had now stated . And what now -was the language of the -working classes ? Why , finding that £ 20 , 000 , 000 ef money had been voted by that House to pnt down slavery and oppression among the blacks , and £ 17 000 had bees granted for the purpose of esnabling the Hon . and Learned 51 ember for Bolton to go to the continent J _* the purpose of extending trade , commerce , and maEafaetaiea , they could not for one moment believe that the House would refuse
  
  them protection whenever they -were summoned to appear and give evidence before any of its committees . He thought the House would agree ¦ with him in thinking thai Bothmg -was more requisite for the extension of trade and commerce tban that the merchants and manufacturers should be of unsullied character and upright honour , and that in all their trading transactions , in different quarters of the globe , they should act justly ¦ with those who traded -with them , -whether at home or abroad . He found that their ancestors -were of this cpinian . The Legislature of former times -were jealous of the honour and character of the nation , and stringent la-WB -were put in force to prevent fraud being practised either at home or abrosd . The Act 13 th Kichard IJ _ c 2 . Was intended to apply to this , and
  
  the 5 th and 6 th Eiward VI . -was p&ssad iot the purpose of enforcing the true making of -woollen cloth . The 43 rd Elizibeth was also passed to preveDt frauds in the mating of cloths by starching them with flsur ; and the 10 th Anne , c . 16 , -was passed for the better payment of the poor employed in the making of cloth . All those -were Acts passed by their ancestors for the protectien of the people ; lut it happened that about fifty years ago a new and enlightened principle burst forth , and the law ? whieh protected the working classes ¦ were put down . What had . been the consequences ? Praads of the most gross description had been practised by some manufacturers in different trades in this country , to the great injury cf the merchant both at home and abroad , and to the utter ruin of those
  
  manufacturers in this country , many of whom he believed were anxious to be honest , upright , and honourable men —( bear , hear . '—and who wished to carry to the market an article the sale of which would give them a just reward for their capital , and liberal wages to the -workmen . But an enlightened principle had since then burst forth , and which , mating rapid strides , h ? . d opened up a new arena f-r the manufacturer to walk in—ia laugh . ) It wis the new principle of many of those men to try who could undersell his neighbour , who could compete with Ms brother manufacturer at home and abroad , &n& ¦ who could produce the greatest quantity of goods at the lo-wtst cost , both in price and labour . He bad been told by hon . members of that house , that the e rn laws
  
  • were tee oiag-chain of the commercial and manufacturing inttTt-ts of this country ; and he had been informed both in the house snd ont of it , that the agricultural and landed interests were the causes of tfee distress which prevailed iu the country , and that if free trade in corn wtre permitted , the commerce and manufactures of England wcnld spread into every clime ; that , in fact , thsre would be ne measurement—if he might use that expression—to the extent of British commerce asd manufactures . Why , hs found that tfce merchants and maru ' ECturtrs of this country were in possession of the South An eriean market from the year 1809 to 1822 or lb' 23 . At that time Mr . Canning came down to the house and declared that we had called a new world into existence ; aid many of the Hianufacturtrs and merchants
  
  tbbnzht it "would be a boundless sphere for the trace and commerce of this country . But what was the consequence of the frauds which had been committed by the manufacturers cf this country ? They themselves were the first csxise to a great extent of our loss of the Sjuth American market . iHear . ) Be bad hea-d h sated by some Hoc Members on the opposite side i . f the House tbat-the use of flour was indispensably necessary in making calico ; but he believed that tte n * e of it was icnceriy unknown , and that it was never made use of until ii > troducfcd by the manufactnrerfi f r the purpuse of cheating and defrauding their customers— . bear , htar ) . Be would no longer make us = of those expressions upon his own authority ; bui he wou ' . d tell Hon . Members who denied his statements
  
  a ^ d isid they -vre . e true that they ought to cs . a comnsra = e , acd prove them nctrue if they euuld before tnat committee—ibear , hear ] . He was asking for a conuniuee for the very purpose of proving that his sta-. emeEti "were true . He would produce the evidence of ptrrsoiiS of great experience and influence even amcrg ifoa . Gentlemen opposite , and other evidence of manufacturers of the hichest respectability , men of fifty je&TB standing in business , and also of working people , who would enme berore the committee , if proper protection were afforded them , and prove the truth Of every word he had uttered . He felt so strongly in his own mind conviction of the rectitude of the position he now held , that be fearlessly asserted , if any rule cf the House would prevent his Becond resolution , being granted , be would ask for a committee without it , and ts would prove hia C" » by the evidence of merchants , Bunnfaciurers , clergymen , tradesmen , artisans ,
  
  labeurtia , and others . A son of the late Member for Leeds . Mr . Barnes , had published a work , A History of fte CoUon Manufacture , which was reviewed in Tail s Magazine , for April . 1835 . It vas considered a work of great merit , and had been consulted by all persons eonnectea with the cotton trade . He iMt . Ferrand ) fcad never heard cf any one attempting to depreciate &e work . The reviewer in TaiTs Magazine said : — * We Ehall extract but one sentence npon a practice ¦» aich , we have heard , is banishing foreigners fiom our Satet , and leading them to countries where this dis-P-nvrni practice is unknown : — ' To improve the apfc&taC 9 oi the elotb , it is usually passed through s . tarch ^ -its of wbeaten flour , often mixed with porcelain clay **! calcined sulphate of lime , by which the doth is ^' e suffer , and appears to have greater suostance and _ b>a than it pruvts to ha ^ fc after tdnjj washed , — 8 tistrivance originally Revised for tfce purpose of
  
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  fraud , and which , though now too generally understood to be regarded as fraudulent , it -would be CWJitaWe to the trade to lay aside . " How a fraudulent practice ceases to be fraudulent when it becomes general , we do rot pretend to understand . In another instance Mr . Baines places , to the advantage of the English manufacturer over the manufacturer of America , that ' the latter does not , or cannot , use any bat good cotton in hia yarn , while the former , ' owing to the climate , * « an use some of the waste . This is not sufficiently clear . Is the yarn Bot worsened by ming a proportion of what in the United States is accounted waste ? " That proved that paste was first adopted for the purpose of fraud . He would now Bubmit other evidence to the House , for he was not going to make assertions on his own
  
  authority merely , but upon Mich authority as he trusted W (/ uld induce Her Majesty ' s Government and the Hcnse to conclude that it was high time for them to interfere . He would nowreai to the House the letter of a gentleman who had paid great attention to this process [ The Hon . Gentleman here read a letter which he had received descriptive of the frauds practised in regard to goods intended for the South American market ] In support of this , he referred to a work entitled " The History e-f Paraguay nuder Dr . Francia , " by Mr . Robinson , a merchant settled there , from which it appeared that his Excellency had always looked -with great distrust upon the quality of Irish linens and cotton goods imported into that country ; and that when he found the interstices filled up with starch , he
  
  ordered one end of the piece to be washed , in order to demonstrate the fraud , and then would only allow the merchant half price for h- '« article . Why , said he , the Jews are cheats , but Englishmen are downright swindlers—\ a laugh . ) When he ( Mr . Ferrand ) read the description given by Mr . Robinson his blood boiled to think that Englishmen had bo far debased the character of the merchant of this country—( hear , hear . ) " Bring me , " said Dr . Franeia , " goods from , honest Germany—the English care for nothing but lucre and gain . "; Could they doubt , then , the way in which they had lost their trade 1 Why had they lost it ? Because the manufacturers iiad ceased to be honest , and had become ravenous after filthy lucre , saying to each Other that the system suited their purpose—( hear . ) Would the House know the manner in which these
  
  tricks and frauds had been earned on m Switzerland ? He would refer them to No . 4 , of Chambers' Edinburgh Journal , of the 19 th of February last , where , in an article entitled " A few w etks on the Continent , ' he found the following passage : — " The bulk of the Swiss , it would appear , ciotae themselves in materials made by the hand in their own tumble dwellings ; and ¦ what they buy mu&t be substantial and worth the money . " English printed calicoes are rarely setn , aitbflDgb they are much lower priced than those of Swiiztrland , becans ? the people have no confidence in the durability of the colenrs . The Swiss goods of this c > ass are not only beautifal , bnfc strong and durable in colour—" qualities now rarely found in the produce of Eaglish factories- There are articles called Swiss
  
  prints sold in England , but we were informed by a manufacturer at Zurich that he did not believe a single pitce ever * was sent to this country , the whole that were passed iff as Swiss being mere counterfeits . I am unable to say with what degree of truth this allegation was made ; but it is very certain that the growing traehineas of quality of most English tissues is tscluding them from the only opeu market in . Europe . " He would now read to the House a letttr from a highly respectible shopkeeper in Liverpool , who forwarded him & piece of what was called the lower sort of white shirting ' . "When he received the sample and the letter , he could scarcely believe that the poortr classes were so
  
  cheated and plundered hy the manufacturers ; and he wrote down to Liverpool to ascertain the character of this shopkeeper , and was informed that he was a person of the highest respectability . He tajs : —• ' I have this day had ^ the pleasure of reading the spetch delivered by yon in the House of Commons on the evening of the 2 Jih instant- in procf of your assertion that a large quantity of flunr is used ia the manufacturing of calicoes , < fcc , I beg to hand you a fair sample of the lower sorts of white shirtings , manufactured in this county , and of which you will perctive the poor man ' s food forms the greatest proportion . " One portion of that piece cf cloth he ( Mr . JFerrand ) sent to the Right Han . SaroHet ( Sir 34 . Peel ) , and another to the Noble Lord
  
  opposite ( Lord J . Russell ) . Althonqh an attempt had been made to fasten upon him the accusation that he had charged the manufacturers cenerally—nay , univer-Edly , with being dishonest , he had only dtdared that there were fraudulent manufacturers , and be was sorry to Eay thht their number was increasing , and that they were driving the hoBest manufacturer out of the markets . He would trouble the House with an extract from a work by Mr . Babbage . The Economy of Manufactures respecting the frauds in the lace manufacture , as brought under the notice ef that Heuse by a Committee appointed to investigate the Bubject : —" The lace trade affl-rds other examples ; and in inquiring into the complaints made to the House of Commons by the framework-knitters , the Committee observe , that , It is
  
  singular that the grievance most complained of 350 years ago should , in the present improved state of the trade , be the same grievance which ib now most complained of ; for it appears , oy the evidence given before your Committee , that all the witnesses attribnte the decay fef the trade more to the making of fraudulent and bad aitlcies fhan to the war , or to any other cause . " And it is shewn by the evidence , that a kind of lace called ' single-press , ' was manufactured , which was only looped once , and which , although good to the eye , became nearly spoiled in washing by the slipping of the threads ; that not one . person in a thousand could distinguish £ be difiia-ence between ' single-press' and * double-press lace ;* and that , in another similar article , called ' warp lace , ' such aid was essential . It was also
  
  stated by one witness , that the trade had not yet ceased , excepting in those places where the fraud had been discovered : and from those places no orders are now sent f-. > r any sort of Nottingham lace , the credit being totally ruined . '" "What Baid the book en the stocking trade . ' "In the stocking trade similar frauds' have been practised . . It appeared in evidence that stockings were made of nniform width from the knee down to the ankle , and being wetted and stretched on frames at the calf , they retained their shape when dry ; but that the purchaser cculd not discover the fraud until , after the first washing , the stockings hung like bags about bis anklef . " He begged paTdon of the House for detaining them by quoting so much , but as there was no important public
  
  business btfare them that night , and as the question he was urging was so yerj important , and as be was most anxious to discharge his duty , hs trusted they would permit him to occupy their time for a fsw moments longer . He was anxious to substantiate every ¦ word ^ be had uttered in that House . They had often heard it , asserted that there was much distress in the country , and they bad as often heard it imputed to the Corn Laws . He emphatically denied that statement , and * ould read a paragraph from tfce A ' eilingham Journal of April 15 , tD Ehow how tTade wa 3 rui ed by the frauds of the manufacturers : — " The cotton cut-up hose trade , which has now become an extensive manufacture in this vicinity , bas somewhat improved , whilst the system of drop-offs is fast extending
  
  in some , of the villages south of Nottingham . These drop-of& are stockings made without narro wings at the heels and toes ; instead of which , the heels are made full-width of the usual length , the web that should have been narrowed two stitches at a time gradually , is then pressed off wholly , a slack course is made in one of the heels in the usual way , and the hefels are joined and turned off , by looping the slack course in the usual manner . The fraud now commences ; the two flaps of tbe heels aw turned inwards , and are Bomewbat neatly basted down by the Btamer , the heels are then seamed-, or rather sewn , in the usual method , and to a casual , inexperienced , or inattentive observer , have all the appearance of being full-wrought hose . Nothing can be more unpleasant to the wearer ; the joining of
  
  the toes beinj effected in the same manner , by drop pirg off , instead of narrowing—the deception being , that the toes and heels are turned off in the usual way , to deceive tne purchaser . By these practices , one stockinger is made to producs three or four times as many hose as when they aTe made in a proper manner . This has a greater tendency to curtail employment in the hosiery , than steam or any other invention bas in other manufactures , with this marked difference , that the superseding of human labour in mott other branches of industry is the result of ingenuity and an extension of the art 3 ; in hosiery it is qaite the reverse , as-these frauds are a rttrogradation in ingenuity and skill , tending to produce inferior "workptopie as well as inferior manufactures . The hosiery
  
  viikges in the vicinity are fast getting isolated , or rather selected , in their employment Thus , the hands . n Bulwell are principally employed in making cotton gloves ; Kuddington , in making drop-effs and fancycaps-, CaTiton , in making socks , principally worn in tie United States ; Hucknall , npon cotton fancy ho > iery ; Arnold , Calverton , and the villages to the east , are most employed in making full-fashioned- hose ; whilst Staplefurd and Sandiacre are engaged principally in making warp lace ; tout in most of these villages the stockingers are in a most destitute situation , arising from scanty employment and low waees . " It was © n behalf of these men that he asked for the Committee ^—on behalf of those men who could not protect themselves ; and he trusted that no
  
  ¦ man who had heard the statement but would cheerfully assist him in his object . The Hod . Gentlemen opposite , who were engaged in manufactures , had promised that no impediment would be thrown in his way ; he hoped they would now perform their promise , grant him the Ccmmittee , and he would prove every allegation he had made . Then , as to watches , the deception was just as tod ; be had a letter from a manufacturer , which , with permission of the House , he would read : —" Sir , —I speak of the disclosures you have lately been making in Parliament as to frauds in manufacturts It is . a long time since I broached that subject ,
  
  and BUgges ' ed that the old plan of stamping our cloths and linens , &c , should be resumed ; using in aid tbe argument that unless this were done , the character of the country-would be lost , as each successive swindler wuuid say to himself , It will serve my tura .- I believe Uk- clotfcs sent out are often only fit for wadding Tnat the prims become blanks at first washing , I know , but 1 hart no suspicion that even the cloth itself was equally infamous . I have heard that millions of neeales have fceen sent oat without eyes ; scissors made of virgin steel , that remained virgins ia all points , refusing to be . of the slightest use ; that watches from this country go only half an bout , and are losing all
  
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  chaTarter ; that clocks only go once round ; that our musketa were only dangerous to the owners till the Tower preof was restored , and that the American-woodsman has found our axes Buch , that he has found it indispensable to decline to use tkem . Ihese things are so serious , that I think they should at once be taken up ; it is thus we are losing business , and deserve to lose it , for we are risking the ruin of millions of the honestly industrious , rather than lepress the villanies of a parcel of scamps "—( laughter . ) They might laugh , but it was those frauds that had ruined the trade of tbe country , and it was high time for them to show that the Legislature of the present day were as jealous of the character of the coturtry as it was 500 years ago . He had also a letter from a most respectable
  
  manufacturer of Yorkshire , of of ty years ' standing , and he said—" You have not overstated anything as respects this neighbourhood , for I do not think there is a manufacturer of flushings , druggets , paddings , orpilet cloths , but who uses less or more of the ground-up rags called generally shoddy , or resurrection wool—indeed , so much is it innse , that even the carpet manufacturers are now consuming considerable quantities , and the rugs making for Government are not free from it " Soms few years ago these rags were imported from Hamburgh and other parts of the Continent ; then , ot course , this country derived some advantage in pulling tkem up ; latterly they have come pulled up ready for use , they on the Continent having obtained from this neighbourhood the machines far pulling up the rags
  
  You will excuse me , but in my opinion , unless Government imposes some restriction , upou the use of such materials , we may cry out for want of trade or business for ever ; it is not the Com LawB which are the cause of our want of business , but it is our manufacturers and merchants who are the cause , for who will come a second time to our markets to purchase goods which when they get home are not worth the carriagol have seen pieces of druggets stiffened with flour and other things , that were you to set a sixth-fourth piece to stand on the list , it would do so of itself ; besides , this is not the worst evil— fur when these goods come to lay some time , they generate a worm or moth , which will very soon consume a whole piece ; in fact , such goods get worn out in
  
  passing from one to another without any making up , and probably get returned again to this country in the shape ef rags , to undergo a second resurrection , or perhaps a third . " And another fr&m an old manufacturer in Leeds , who said— "I have a fact connected with the woollen manufacture which you are at liberty to make any use of you think proper . There is a manufacturer in thin towa ( who is at present a member of the Whig-Radical town council ) who has made it a regular practice to buy old stockings , and grind them up , and mix them along with his wool in manufacturing blue cloths . He was thus enabled to undersell bis honest neighbours , who used nothing tut wool . Well may our manufacturers lose their character in foreign markets . " But he had still higher authority ,
  
  for the manufacturers of the north bad been committing such disgraceful frauds , that the Government had been obliged to take the matter up ; they found it necessary , ia order to protect themselvos , to take measures for preventing the frauds ; they had another duty to perform—they ought to take measures to protect the public . They had found it necessary to issue a circular to protect themselves : he called upon them to extend that protection to the country at large . The circular he alluded to was as follows : ' — " The whole of the cloth of which the supply is to be made is to be manufactured from new sound wool ; if it is discovered to contain any portion of wool made from woollen rags , known by the terms of woollen waste , or shoddy , ' or other than new wool , it shall subject
  
  the whole of the supply to be rejected , and the honourable board will not have any further dealings wit ^ i tbe parties so offending . " These were the practices of these rogues—the Bcoundrels—( loud laughter ) —the infamous rogues , for he could call them nothing else ; and instead of laughing , Hon . Members ought to blush for shame that their countrymen were capable of committing such infamous frauds . Having laid such shameful cases before the House , they would agree with him that he had proved ail the charges he had brought against the manufacturers . But If the Houise had still any doubt upon the matter—if they thought the evidence was still deficient—then let them grant the committee . Was it not high time that the Govsrnment should interfere in order to put a stop to
  
  those practices which were ruining tbe trade of the country , and punish the guilty ? A poor man committing a trifling fraud was punished heavily , while those who were fraudulent by wholesale escaped . There was , indeed , one law for the rich , and another for the poor , so long as such a system was allowed to go on . He would now say a few words on the infamous truck system . It was now even of more importance that the frauds , because in consequence of that infernal system thousands of the labouring population were dying ; the misery caused by the crutlty of the masters—by their heavy oppression—waa incalculable . He had stated before , that a large portion of the manufacturers were in the habit of paying in goods , in place of money , and many firms settled with their workmen only once in
  
  three , six , or eight months . On that subject he had a letter from a highly respectable gentleman , who said" Sir , —In consequence of the spirited part you have taken on a recent occasion , and fer which , with every friend of humanity , 1 feel indebted to you , I beg leave to Jay before you the following statement : —On Monday last , March 21 st , application was made by a poor weaver , named Inrin , to the Board ot Guardians at Cockermouth for relief . He is in the employ of the firm of / Carlisle , gingham Bianufactureis . It was stated as a reason why relief should be afforded him , that the material recently given out by that firm to their operatives was so wretchedly bad , that it took six weeks to weave what , if the mate . ial was good , they could readily do in three . Two of the Guardians
  
  conversant in such matters were deputed to examine into this statement , and report to the Board . Their report fully confirmed the poor man's statement , and they produced a specimen of the warp fully corroborating this . Yet such is the thraldom in which these unfortunate creatures are held , that the wife most earnestly entreated that no steps might be taken under the act of Parliament , lest her husband and a crippled son should be thrown in consequence out of bread , aa they could do nothing but weave . I have since visited the weaving place , and have obtained from this man ' s loom a specimen of the material , taken at random , which I enclose . Much of it appeared greatly worse than what I send , but it was dyed , and the effects of the colour might ( as I supposed ; have further injured
  
  the tf xture . " He had told the House that these poor men were paid in goods in place of money . He had a blank form which was n » eu in many factories , in which there were charges , for rent , fuel , cash stopped , and cash overpaid—that would happen very seldom , he thought ; but then followed fines , the most iniquitous of all things ; for the masters hungup a set of rules , ¦ which the poor labourine man could not understand , if he did nothing else from Monday to Saturday , nor could he by any possibility help infringing some of them , by which money was slopped from him . On the truck in cottages he had a letter from a workingman , but he must not disclose his name , or he would become a marked man , and would not get work at any factory , unless he changed his name . He said , "
  
  Masters of one of the largest mills have houses , and compel their work-people to live in them , or whether they do or not , they must pay for them ; and those who do not HvtJ in ibfcni , let them to other people . The masters stop their rents out of their wages , for these tyrants have power to do so—Boiue about 3 s ., others 3 ? . 6 d , 43 . per wtek , and so on . The oppressed get them let , sonia for about 2 s ., some fer about Is . 6 d ., others Is . per Wfeek . and in two instances they have let them f *> r 40 . a-wtek . Until lately they kept cows , and forced all that lived under them to have one quart of milk a-day . anJ ia some instances three quatts a-day , because they have tbrev workpeople of a family . When they kill their cows they compel their workpeople to have shares of it ; ihtry sell it at the very top price , Whether it be good or bad . and tLey force them to these things , or
  
  they mutt turn face ab < ut . If they happen to speak a word , they -will give them a character with which they cannot get any more work in the town or the ceuntry either . These are some of the glaring tricks of tb . e . -e corn law repealers , these hypocrites w ho tell the working slaves that they wish thtni to have their rights , that they wish them 17 have their liberty ; but it is all fuugu , they arc the same as their leaders , tbe anti-corn law league , they are downright impostors . One of them is now raising hia rent-, f ^ r voters , while his hard-working slaves had hard work to keep b- * cly and soul together before . " Was thst a sjatem that the Government ought to tolerate for any lunger period , now that it had come to their knowledge ? The hon . member proceeded to read the-following letters from a clergyman of the church of England : —
  
  " WolvfcThampton , April 2 , 1842 . " Sir , —I am sure I need not apologise for the intrusion of a perfect stranger upon your valuable time , it my statement will tend , even ia the slightest degree , to further the praiseworthy object you have in view of exposing the iniquities * f the truck system . ' I regret to say that I bave too many opportunities of witnessing the working of this tyrannical system in my own parish , and Mr . Villiers need go no farther than the borough which he represents for proof that a great portion of the distress now existing amongst the poo is caused by the payment of wages in provisions instead of money . " I will mention one instance with which I think you should be made acquainted ; others can be brought forward if required ; but this is a case which 1 have taken particular pains to investigate : —
  
  " One cf the most active partisans of Mr . Villiers , and a principal member ef bis committee at the election , who was by the late Administration made a magistrate for the county of Stafford , ia a chief " partner iu the —— colliery , where the truck system is carried on more infamously than in any other works in the neighbourhood . The men are paid once in four and sometimes five weeks , when they may receive their wages in money if they demand it . ' lmtbe man who made such demand would in all probability be dismissed : but as it is not possible for thrir families to wait till the expiration of tne month for the means of subsistence , they are compelled to go to the ' Tommy shop , ' as it is called here , a ticket to which is given for any goods they may require . The price of some few of the articles at this sbop , compared with that asked by the shopkeepers in the town , I have ascertained , and it "Vfill
  
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  8 howyou at once the dishonest advantage taken by the oppressors of these poor men— . ¦ At-Tommy shop . In the town . :. ¦ .: ' ¦ perlb , ; per Ib . Sugar ...,.,... ....... od . ... : 7 P . Salt butter . 15 d . and 16 d . ... lOd . and lid . Bacon .............. 9 d . ... H& . Tea ..................... 8 s . ... 5 s . there being a difference of more than 50 per cent , on the article ef tea . . - ¦ ' ... ¦ ; . ¦¦ . ¦ .., ¦ ' ¦ ¦¦ . ¦ ¦' : . ;<;¦/ " I shall , not object to your using my name as the author of this information should its truta be disputed ^ but at the same time I may add ' ¦ that I would not willingly have my name made public .
  
  " My attention has long been directed to this horrid system , and in July last , a letter o ( mine ; , under the signature of The Miaer ' a Friend , ' appeared in the Wolverhampton Chronicle , but no good resulted from it " I shall have great pleasure in giving you any further information on the subject . V " During thesavere weatheTin 1841 ,-when soup waa distributed to on-poor at a penny a quart , it is a fact , which came to the knowledge of my curate , that some of the families / in the receipt of nominally good wages , actually declined a ticket for the soup , on the plea that they had not the penny to pay for it , as they received their wages in goods " ' Welverhampton , April 13 , 1842 .
  
  " Sir , —In reply to your inquiry respecting the quality of the goods sold at the truck shops , I have frequently seen bad salt butter from theae aaopa at lod . and 16 d ., while at the retail Bhops good was sold at 10 d . and lid . a-pound ; the sugar at 9 & , and in ene instance at 10 d . per pound , not so good as at 7 £ d . ; flour of a very Inferior quality at lla . a bushel , while I find that at the very time the beBt was 10 s . at the mill . " Since my last letter , I hayQ . ascertained from a huckster upon whom I can depend , that she is in the constant habit of receiving goods bought at the truck-shop in exchange for milk ; potatoes , ice ., as the men in Bome instances never rectiive money ; of course such batter is not made without a loss to tbe labouring man . "
  
  He begged to call the attention of the House to the following communication he had received as to the city of Carlisle .- —" Hundreds of the working classes are grateful for the fearlessexposure of the deceptions and ¦ viHanles practised by the master manufacturers and cotton-spinners of this country . The truck Bystcm has been carried on for eighteen years by one ef tbe largest firms in this district ; they have some hundreds of cottages , which they force their workpeople to occupy , for which they have to pay thirty or forty per cent more , than others . The master manvif icturera , who employ weavers here to the number of 3 , 000 ,. supply them with shuttles , biddies , and brushes ( all of which
  
  the weaver has to find ) , and for which they charge enormously high . You might be furnished with a full and accurate exposure of the truck system , and other matters of deception' as practised here , provided the parties furnishing it were secured against future persecution . Protection is absolutely necessary . " Then as to Scotland , he would lay before the House the following statements : — " Coatbridge , near Glasgow , nine extensive iron works , at which an immense quantity of people are employed . Each iron work has its store , and a considerable portion of the wages are paid in goods , at a profit to the masters of flf seen to twenty per cent above the common retailer . Some of these
  
  masters have acted as conspicuous members of the anti-Corn Law Leagne . " " Paisley . —Working wan . Specimen of the nefarious system pursued by our Corn Law repealing masters . Moat of them have stores , or cottages , for their workers , particularly those who are the greatest Repealers , and their workers are obliged to purchase from such store , and take their cottages , or if not , no longer work for them . They are charged about twenty to twenty-five per cent , above the market price for their goods , with an inferiority ot article . The master printers in this country not content with the above system of robbery , adopt another sygtem of robbery more grievous than the above . They make them work from one to four hours extra per day , which is called overtime , and givo them nothing for it
  
  Be so good as not to give up my name , as the master printers would punish me by not employing me . " He had also received this letter from a poor miner : " Sir , —It is with inexpressible pleasure I write to you , having carefully read all the speeches and remarks you have made in Parliament , and find that you are one who wishes the welfare of the toil-worn and cruelly-used British artizan . I see you mean to bring on a motion before the house on the 18 tU instant ., which , if carried , will be the cause of bringing to the world an exposure of the robberies and cruelties played off by our employers upon us miners . Every coal and iron master in and ronnd this extensive mining district are law maker *; and believe me , the laws they make and put upon their office doors are of the most hideous caste . We are
  
  obliged to bend under them , for should any of us resist them , as some actually does , we are pounced upon by them , carried before the Bneriff , or magistrate of ihe district , who never fails to decide against the miner , on the ground that « these are the rules if the work , and you must abide by them . ' In conse quence the victim has either to go to Bridewell , or pay . £ 2 or . £ 3 of expenses : the latter he is not able to do , 80 he iaimprisoned &ud bis family starved . Theto ia a general-law practised at all these works which I will take the liberty of exposing . If any miner allow hia father , his brother , or bis son , to sleep one night under the roof of his house , and they are employed at any other work but the work he ia employed at , the unfortunate miner is charged double rent for each faul r .
  
  and compelled to pay , it being a rule at the work ! Our employers have almost all victualling stores at their works ; the miners are compelled to tike all the provisions they need from these stores , at a rate price far above the market or any grocer ' s shop . They wish the miner to have nothing left at pay-day , yet they strive to have him out of debt with them also , by keeping hia belly to match his earnings . I know many industrious miners who bave not handled a shilling of their own earnings these -four years ; and it is a general feature in the trade , when they wish to reduce wages , or introduce any new rule , that they shut their store , and nerer fail to gain their point , by starving poor men into their meatures . At works where there is not a st » re , the miner has to pay one shilling for every pound he lifts ,
  
  at any other time than pay-day , which is bad enough , but nothing to a store . " The pernicious system he was exposing extended ahio to Ireland ¦ :. —¦ " In Portland , county of Waterford , a wealthy firm , who lately offered £ 80 000 for a property , carry oh the infamoue truck system in fall operation . The operatives are compelled to live in houses built by their employerg , exorbitant rents ard demanded which are stopped out of their weekly wages , and a shop , with numerous articles for sale , is attached to the premises . The poor people are not paid their miserable earnings in money , but in bits of printad tokena , " which will only pass as aw «< jv \ Wiv [ ent for card paper ( marked with the name' of theSnui called goods at this truck shop belonging to the mill . I nted not tell you exorbitant profits are made . ' But what
  
  would the House Bay when he told theiii , that under this system , which extended through 'England , W ( llo 8 i Scotland , and Ireland , the workpeople were compelleil to pay fjranti-Curn Law pamphlets , fined sixpence tor speaking , and one shilling for singing ; cnlleil upon to obey rules which they could ni > t help breaking , and fined enormously for doine ? so : of money lent , usurious interest exacted—( hear , hear ) He wished pavticalarly to draw attention to the following : —On the 14 th of December a manufacturer was convicted before the Sheffield magistrates for paying wages in cloth ; he asked £ 2 a yard ; the workman gave £ 1 15 s ., end sold it for Us ., proved before the muglMtrates to be its full value , ami a quarter / of a yard not fit for use ; fined . £ 10 and costs . Two more £ 5 and costs .
  
  " Now he wished to observe that when the Hon . Mb . nv ber for Wolverhampton had , on a former pccision , rt . id a statement from a person residing in his ( Mr . Ferrimd ' s ) part of the country , that statement asserted what wag utterly untrue , namely , —that he . bad . applied the charge * he made to all the rmiuulacturers of Yorkshire , ¦ whe reas be had only applied them to some , and those belonging to the League . This Btatenwnt , moreover ; had been supported by fraud ami forgery— ( bear , hear ) —for many of the simisitutes were positive forgeries ; and some of those who signed were making seventy prr cent , on the poor - ( hear , hear . ) The Hon . Member then read the following : — " The following passage , extracted from the report ( p . 552 > of H . S . Chapman , Esq ., of tbe Middle Temple , an assistant Commissioner
  
  f > r inquiring into the condition of the handloom weaverB in the United Kingdom , in 1838 , will Bhow that not only does the truck system prevail in the West Riding of Yorkshire , but that any complaint on the part of the weavers 13 generally followed by "loss of employment , as was Btated . in . the . House of Coraraona by Mr . Bnsfield Ferrami : — ' At Join , where I held a public lnqu . ry for tbe townships
  persons , both employers and weavers , that the allegation waa correct This shows bow completely impotent is the law , howsoever stringent it may be , where both employer and employed will consent to violate it . The employed fa compelled to submit ; the constantly overstocked state of the lapeur-market places him at the mercy of the mabtsr , and the same condition prevents him taking a single step to expose the fraud to which he ia subjected At Churwefl , south of Leeds , another form of truck was exhibited to me , as existing at Beeston , where is a' factory employing between twenty and thirty handloom weavers . It is the . prac * tice of the owners of this factory to oblige their wtavers to take part of their bard earnings in cloth ; in 8 «> me cases less than half being paid in money . " And now as to Birmingham he would read the f olio wing : ^~
  
  " TO THB EDITOIt OF ARtSS GAZETTE . P ¦ '¦••¦ ¦ . ¦ . ; - " . . ' " Small Arms Department , Birmi 'gham , March 10 , 1 $ A 2 . :- : / V ., i "Sir , —Great complaints have been made to me lately by the labouring men in the gunlock trade ; and I yesterday visited the neighbourhood of Wednesbury and Dirlaston , where that brinch " of manufacture is principally carried on , and 1 find that tho ' practice of paying the workmen by i txuck > or ' tommy , " as it is
  
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  called amongst the men , has been , and is at the present moment carried on to a ruinous extent . , / " To all those persona who are employed as contractors for the supply of musket locks for her Majesty ' s service ( many of whom , however , I must say , have not lent themselves to tbe practice ) , I have given notice that I am determined to put down such a nefarious anil illegal system in every way in ray power ; and that so far as those supplies are concerned , I shall insist that the lock * nlers do receive the wages agreed upon in money , without subterfuge , toicky or evasion , either by tickets upon other parties , by discount , by pretence of loan , or by any other dishonest contrivance The labourer is worthy of hia hire . A fair allowance is made for it in the contract price , and he has a tight to spend bis money as he will in the best and cheapest market . ¦ : •¦ ¦'¦¦ ' . ¦¦ - "¦ . ¦ ¦' • ¦ ' ' - '
  
  "If you will hav € | the goodness to make this , my resolution , more extensively known , through the medium of your widely-spread publication , it may be the means of benefitting a very deserving class of workmen by drawing attention to the destructive practice ; and you trill at the same cioie confer an obligation on " Your very obedient , humble servant , " George LovELt , Her Majesty ' s Inspector of Small Arms . " If / he wanted any confirmati « ri of the justice of his claim he need not go far for it . He would remind the House that this was not tbe first time the working classes had , by their advocates , appealed to the House for protection , and t ' oat their claim had , ere this , been
  
  recognised . Qn the 17 th cf February , 1795 , a motion was mude by Mr . Whitbread for a protection of labour , seconded by Sir R . Peel ( the present Right Honourable Baronet ' s father ) , supported by Fox and Sheridan , ami admitted to be just by Pitt , who sanctioned the payment of wages out of the poor-rates . Then in July 5 , 1830 , Mr , Littleton moved to bring in the Laboaters ' Wages Bill , on whieh Mr . Huskisson said— " If any Hon . Gentleman would take the trouble to inform himself as to what was passing in Staffordshire , and in part of the cotton and clothing districts , he would find that a very great portion of the distress now prevailing there was not 60 much owing to want of employment as to the undue arid unfair competition to which the track system gave rise , by mating ( ha whole
  
  trade a struggle between the avarice of the master and the necessities and comforts of the workmen . Why should we not extend the same protection to those who had no friend to guide them , and who looked up to the Legislature as their shield against the extortion of those who regarded only their : own advantage , and never thought of the Bufferings and afflictions of those wbom they employed ? It was upon these grounds ha was ready to acknowledge that on the score of humanity and feeling he gave bis support to the bill , and should do bo even if it were opposed to the doctrines of political economy , with whichj however , he contended , it was perfectly eonsistent . " Go the 3 rd of May , 1830 , Lord Stanley presented a petition from the manufacturers , tradesmen , and others
  
  of Heaton N orris , against the truck system , and stated " that this system gave great advantage to a few rich men , who acquired immense profits at the expence of tbe labourers—a system that was as Injurious to the manufacturers who did not adopt it as to the workmen who were its immediate victims . " On the 5 th ; of July , 1830 , Sir Robert Peel said ^ - " The great evil of the pre-8 ( -nt day was a tendency to diminish the enjoyments of the poorer classes ; and he could conceive nothing more likely to , teduce theso . to a state of aervitude than that their master , who might bo getting £ 8 , 000 or , £ 10 , 000 a-year by his manufactory , should take from them £ 2 , 000 or £ 3 . 000 more by dealing in bacon and cheese . He hoped that if this bill were lost by the means which the Hon . Member ( Mr . Hume ) possessed ,
  
  and might use to defend it , the working classes would underetand that it was be who was rtsdqnsible for the consequences . " The Hon . Member concluded as follows : — ' ' Sir , —I have done my duty in bringing tbia question forward-r- ( hear , hear ) . The responsibility rests on the House and on the Government of dealing with the claims for justice and redress of honest mannfacturers and distressed workmen—( hear , hear ) . If the Government resist tbe motion , the responsibility of rejecting it will be theirs—( cries of ~ - hear , bear ) . There is , let me assure them , an intense feeling abroad upon , the subject . There- ate , not far distant , honest manufacturers , who have come from the north at their own expence ta give evidence upon this committee , and to declare that they must either be holiest themselves and retire from trade , or be as di 8 hout 8 t as those who have till now oppressed tne poor and disgraced the country—( hear , hear ) . There
  
  are those , not far distant , who are ready before a committee of this house to eubatantiate those claims for justice which there , and there only , they can assert—( hear , hear ) . In tbeir name I appeal to your justice for that protection which here alone they can seek , and which here they have an inalienable right to claim— - ( hear ) . This motion may be lost ; but if it be , it will be lost to the serious injury of trade and commerce ; it will cause heart rending affliction to thousands of the working classes who are anxiously awaiting , your decision —( hear ) . Arid ardently I do hope that the Government win discharge the duty they owe to the public as the guardians of the ; country ' s honour , and of the sovereign's dignity Reeling that dishonour at home or abroad must sully the lustre of that sovereign ' s diadem )—that they will discharge that duty by agreeing to tbe motion , which I urge on the unassailable principle that tbe " labourer is worthy of his hire . " ( Loud cheers . )
  
  The hon . member afterwards acceded to an amendment proposed by Sir James Graham , that a select committee should be apppointeU " to inquire into the operation of the law which prohibits the payment of wages in goods , or otherwise than in the current coin of the realm , and into the alleged violation and defects of existing existing enactments , " but intimated that the question would not rest where it was , as the frauds were of such a nature as must speedily bring them to an issue with the public .
  
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  HOUSE OF LORDS . —Friday . April 22 . A conversation arose on the motion for the third reading of the Irish Spirit Duties' Bill . Lord Motif eagle pointed out an inequality in the imposition of the duties on spirits distilled in Scotland and Ireland , the Scotch distiller being allowed a drawback not eDJojed by the Iiiah diBVilVer . Tne Earl of WICKLOW expressed his fears tbat the increased duty would lead to illicit distillatioa ija Ireland , and counteract the progress of temperance . After a conversation , the Duke of VVelliNgton postponed the third reading of the Bill till Monday , in order to inquire into the facts pointed out by Lord Mouteaele .
  
  The Coin Importation Bill was read a third time and passad ; and after some other business , the House adjourned , Monday , April 25-The Irish Spirit Duties' Biii was , on the motion of the Duke of Wellington , read a third time , and pasted .
  
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  HOUSE OF C 0 M . Mi > NS , Friday Afrii . 22 . On the motioa of the second reading of the Income Tax Bill , Mr . Cuatiles Buller rose to move that it be deferred for sis months . Whatever might have been his fears on the first proposition of the income tax , they had been gteatly enhiincmi by the perusal © f the bill-It created a host of cominisiiiouorB , armed with very extraordinary powers , aiien to the habits and dispositions of Englishmen . The tariff , which was the consideriition for the income tux , had been supported by the
  
  most contradictory and inconsistent arguments , for sometimes it wus contfend 0 < l that it would lower the cost of living , and at other tiniBB this was denied . On his own side of the Huibe dirt ct taxation had been praised , as being a beiter and mow honest aio < i « of raising a revenue than by indirect taxation . But direct taxation was at once unequal , and unjust ia its applicationliterally a resource of barbarous timed . As to tho argument that the income tax wouid only fall on the wtaltliier classes , it vas understood even by the Chartists themselves , who saw that any dimiuution of tUe labour-fund would , be felt by the labouier ? .
  
  Mr Ewabt , while deprecating phe income tax , was yet an advocate of the fair upplication of the principles of direct taxation . While approviug of the tariff , so far aa it went in the direction of free trade , he objected to the proposed tax on exported coals , as being detrimental not only to the foreign coal trade , but to our steam commercial navy . Sir John Walshb conaidered that the inequality charged on theincuuin t : x was inherent to all taxation . On this ground he vindicitted the Income Tax Bill , a » being , in its proposed operation , at once aa comprehensive and as equal as n . ny suuh tax could be , framed
  
  to meet a great emergency . The tariff was a boon to the trading and commercial classes ; and it was perfectly reasonable that lht : y should contribute their share to make up faose deflciences caused by wars undertaken for the protection of their interests—such as that of China . From his own . personal knowledge , he could testify to the exiBtence , in Prance , of a national hostility * which could not be overlooked by any pne jealous of the honour and security of this country ; and for these , reasons , in addition to the existence of an actual necessity , he voted for the imposition of an income tax . .
  
  Sir TV ILLIAM GLAY pointed out how the income tax would operate in its impo » ition on capital employed in farming , as compared with other sources of income ; and while giving due credit to the reductions of the tariff , did not think that there -was either a compensating advantage Or a necessity for the income tax . Mr . Wakley would bave supported a graduated income tax , as tbrowiDg the chief lurdcnon the wealthier classes . But the present income tax would fall chiefly , on tbe ' industricuB classes . He admitted that out of doors there was no feeli g against a prpperty tax , and tliat the pu&lic ; believed that Sir Robert Peet bad made a gigantic effort to overcomt- our national difficulties ; But when the public had become acquainted with the operation of this income tax , they would become alive to the nature and value of direct taxation , and they would insist on a «• sliding scale" in the imposition of that fk cation .
  
  Mr . i > 'ISRAEti considered that the deficiency in pur Indian finances waa owiDg to the policy of the late ( Jovernment .
  
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  > lr . Christie was decidedly of opinion that such an inquisitorial impost as an income tax should be reserved for the last extremity ^ and even then be resorted to under a' serious responsibility . He argned against its injuatico and inequality , and instanced various cases , illustrative -cf - ' the ' hardahip of its infliction on professions and trades , as compared with the owners of land . ¦ ¦ ' . '¦ .- ' . ' " ' ¦¦ . ' ., / ' - ' - ? .. '•' . ¦ - ' : ' ' " ' . ' ¦• ¦ "• . . ' ¦ .. ' Mr . S * fTHE did not wish to discuss the question of the justice or injustice of the income tax ; he would give his vote as one of eonfidence , and wnile he admitted the Inquisitorial nature of the measure , he would support it as required by a great emergency . After some observations from Mr . W . Q . Stanley and Mr . SCOTT , the latter of whom admitted that there was not a strong feeling in the country-against tb . 8 income tax , but said he opposed it from a ci > aviction . that it was proposed as the price for maintaiuicig monopoly . ; : : . \ . '" . ;^' . . '"¦ . ' ' ' ••¦ '¦ ¦ ¦'¦ ¦; " - . '
  
  A division was called fi > r ( the opposition beaches being but scantily occupied ) , when the second reading of the bijl was carried by 155 to 76 . After some other business , the Railways BUI was considered in committee . Some discussion took place on various clauses . A division occurred on a motion by Sir Wiliiam JdLLIFFE for omitting the 1 . 1 th clanse , the debate turning on the question in whose hands shoul < i ba vested the care of gates leading across raUways—the occupiers of the adjoining lands , or the railway conlpaniee . The result of the division was—For tho clause 103 ; for the amendment 104 ; majority against the clause JL ; . The House then adjourned . . ; Monday , April 25 . Mr . Hume took the oaths and his seat for the Montrose burgbs . ., .
  
  Mr . Redington , the Chainnan of the Sonthanipton Election Committee , reported the committal of John Wrei ) , for rtfusing to answer a question ; and moved that he be called to the bar , and interrogated- After a coiiversatioh he was brought to the bar . and expressed ^ willingness to answer the question , if the House ; should decide tbat lie ought to do so . Another discussion followed , . in which most of the leading tr . en and iegal membtrs of the House tiok pait , during which considerable difficulty appeskred to be felt aa to the proper mode of pro- ? cedure . -John : Wren was recalled to the bar , and informed that he was bound to answer any question which the Committee , after hearing his objections , should decide on pressing . On the motion for going into committee onthe Inceiae Tax . ' ' ¦ . ¦ ¦ - ¦ ¦ -: ' ¦ ' - . ¦ ¦ ¦ ' ' : . ' ¦ : ""¦ ¦ ¦ ' ¦
  
  Mr . Wallace rose , in pursuance of a notice , to move that it was more expedient to resort to an issue of Exchequer Bills than to an income tax , vfhich , Luwever , he said he would not press , if certain assurunces were . given / " '¦'¦ ¦ ¦¦ ' ; ¦ , ¦ \ - : . . " '' . ¦ - ¦ "' / .. .. ¦ ¦ ¦ :- ¦ .- ¦ ¦' Sir R . PEEL , after deprecating atate- 'loans in tinie of peace , repeated his former declarations , that , in the determination of the Government , the income tax and the tariff were inseparably connected . ; Mr . Hume appealed to the House to permit him , on this his first opportunity , to state his yiews on Sir R . Peel ' s financial . measures . After declaring that he had not expected that Sir R . Peel would have grappled witli monopoly in the way he had done , he affirmed that the corn monopoly ; under the new bill , -was still amply sufficient to compensate the landed interest for their share of the income-tax . But while regretting that corn and sugar had not been dealt with in a way
  
  corresponding to the -wants of the country ^ he gave due credit to the reductions proposed on the next important article , that of timber . He should have no objection to see the entire revenue of tho country raised by direct taxation . ; but before he would resort tv an intsbme ; tax in the present distressed state of the nia ; infacturing community , he would reduce the public expenditure in salaries , peBsions . &c . Only a Email portion of the Queen ' s income , £ 60 . , was at her own disposal ; the rest was spent on lords and ladies , and in maintiining the frippery of a court ¦ which outrivalled that of Louis XIV . In additjoii to reducing the Civil List , he would also impose a tax on real property by descent , and he was glad to find that his views on this sutject were obtaining greater currency He was afraid that the income tax would add tw the difficulties of the country , aiid ¦ was convinced that the redactions of the hew tariff were only the . beginning of greater changes .
  
  The House then went into committee on the bill . Some conversation arose on the proposition that the income tax should commence from the 5 th of April , 1842 , and some questions were put as to the time when the tarifF should come into operation . The CUANCEtLOR of the Exchequer reminded the House that the tariff was to be permanent , anu the income tax tempprary . Sir B . PEEL said that as the tax waa to last for three years , it was immaterial whether it commenced- in April or July , but that it would be convenient that it should have effect from the commencement of the fiiiancial year , on the 5 ; h of April . This was accordingly carried .
  
  A , debate BToae on BCheiinle A , involving the question ¦ whfetfiera person derivipyja clear income from land , but . incurring losses from some otuer trade or occupation , should be allowed to subtract the loss from the one from his gain in the other , and thus be taxed on hia net income from both . The question was raised by Mr . Ben j a min WOOD , and , after considerable discussion , Sir Robert Peei . promised to tafee the subject into consideration . Schedule B was yoted ; and on schedule C , Mr . F . T . Baring asked if foreigners holding British stock were to be subjected to the tax ? Sir Robert Peel answered In tbe affirmative , and Mr . HUME complained that a breach of public faith was < wmmitted by subjecting the funds to taxation . Mr . RiCARDO proposed an amendment , the purport of which was to make a distinction ; in levying the tax . In favour of terminable arjrjnitips .
  
  The Chancelxou of the Exchequer affirmed that the Viilue of these annuities had not been affected by the knowledge of the fact that they were to be subjected to the tax equally with other secureties . After a discussion , a division took place , -when Mr Ricardo ' s ainendment was rejected by 253 to 117 . On arriving _ at Schedule D , it was agreed , after a brief conversation , to postpone further considenitiou of the bill till to-morrow . Sir Robert Peel said thai he would bring on the tariffbefore the third reading of the Income Tax Bill , The House resumed , and , after some other business , adjourned .
  
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  Recognition . —A curious incidei . t occurred during the recent march of the 78 th Highlanders through Birmingham . It appears that some of the men had brought over from ir « laud a bottle . " ¦ of . wVisky , of which a--- » . rjeaut . of police was endeavouring to deprive them , when the serjeant of tl e regfment , Razing ihtt-n ' -ly at him , owned him as a deserter from the 78 th thirteea years before , and took him prisoner . .- ' ,- ..
  
  Supposed MunnER . —Some exeitement has been caused in Wolstaiiton and the neighbourhood by th < 3 discovery of the remains of the twoinfant childreu in a pit of water in a fiald at the Bradwell Farm , ia the parish of vyohtanton . It seems that Oh Tuesday morning several men went t- > the pit , a skotfc distance from the turnpike-road , with a view of getting vratercresses , when their attention was directed to an unusual substance floating on the top of the water near ' the side of the pit , which , on being got out proved to be the leg and thigh of a child . The pit was afterwards emptied , an other human remains found , some of them imbedded in the mad . Theremains were subsequently examined by two medical s htlerjaen . and ^ proved to bo those of two
  
  childrfenone of them a child of from eighteen months or two years old ; the other is quite an infant From toe yev \ decomposed state of the bodies , it is not unlikely that they have been immeraed in the water from twelve to eighteen months , and probably ; . lo ; nger . There is , little doubt but ; there has been sonie foul play in this transaction , vbut to Whom guilt attaches remains at present' gprouded in the ' greatest mystery . At the coroiier ' s inquest , which Wag held on tho day followiug , nothing wan adduced tending to throw any light on the occurrence . The jury returned a verdict—* That the bodies were found submersed in the pit , but how or by . what means they came there no evidence appeaxed to the jury , . . . . - " ; ' . ¦ ¦ ¦;; ¦ ¦ ; ¦;¦ . v
  
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  THE MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL CHAKTEB ASSOCIATION OF SALISBURY ANJ ) ITS VICINITY , TO FEARGUS O CONNOR , ESQ . We , the undersJgned , do most respectfully address you on account of your indefitagablezJal and unwearied exeitions in the cause of real reform , to impress' on the minds of the multitude that it is the Charter wiiioh can alone secure their rights , their privileges , their freedom , and their independence ; and seeing that in endeavouring to accomplish this praiseworthy object , yon have not only fallen back from the / ranks of the proud aristoccray , but have made sacriflcea ef wealth , of health , and of every comfort attaisable by a person of your rank in society ; and have also ensured as a raanyr for pur cause all the horrors of a priaon . Under these circumst mcc-s therefore we hail you . as . our patriot , and
  
  do most amcerly trust and anticipate that you in youc travels will as soon as it ie possibly convenient ; , be pleased to visil ; us , that the blind , dark , benijfhted . and priest-ridden . classes of this strong hold of Conservatism , this cathedral city , may once hear the voice of Feariius O'Connor ; that the : cry for freedom , icdepedinco , aud justice to the : poor may ring tbrough pur stL-ccts , aad that the Bhout for civil and teligious libtrty-may send back its echo from t ? ie -walls of pur cathtlrai ; and that th « v people may be : convinced that ' . they avo oppressed , and will still continue to be oppressed so long as they suocoHib to the present form of admiuistratioa . With sincere wishes therefore for the accpinplishnienfc of your tlorious design , with sincere thanks for your valuable labours , and with the strongest invitation we can give you to visit aa , We subscribe ourselvos ,
  
  Yours , truly , ( Signed in behalf of tbeassociation , as per resolution } John Wilkinson , Sub-Secretary . Salisbury , April 10 , 1842 .
  
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  THE NORTHERK STAR . ; ' ; . . ¦; . - '' - ¦ •; ¦¦¦ \ ; ^ ' LT y
Citation
- Northern Star (1837-1852), April 30, 1842, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct596/page/7/

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