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    ^ 3mpmaX ^avltamtttt.

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    HOUSE OF LORDS— Monday , June 27 . lord Desman moved the second reading of the Affirmation . Bill . His object in tliis measure was to give xeLef to those Christians -who literally interpret the command , " Swear i&l at all , " and ¦ who conscientiously act on their convictions ; and to enable them to fanher the ends of justice by riving their evidence Witht > T 5 t violating their conscientious fer ] ngs . 1 he Earl of Wicklovt opposed the bill , being more dispose ;! to Enppurt a measure ; for the abrogation of oaths sit- aether .

    Tie Bishop of LoyDOS feit him « lf in a difficulty . He r «< i « . < ted the conscientious samples cf the person * for -s-fcise relief the bill was brcu . ht forward , and "was aw ^^ e tiat , tmcagst other iBRts . nst .-s cf hardship , thexe was the case of a dittiEguisbrd ir * . iB >> er of the bar , vhe had foregone the emolnmecis of t-ffice rather than vioiare his convictions by taking the oalhs required . Believinf that tte entire subject mtiit be deslt v th legislatively at co diit ^ nt period , he "Won ' . d a > -siain from either supporting or opposing the present bi'L In the course of the farther debate . Lord -JBIXGEH protested rursinst the case of iht Quakers b ? Ing taken as 3 jT ^ r-dtnt ; ce found there , as witat-sres , exceedinpl / i ' S-vlz to m ^ Ease , as they revar gave a direct answer v any question . L ros Br » r ! 2 haiu and Denman defended the Quakers from ih ~ iirpuialiona cf Lord Abicgtr .

    Oa a ?" - ; g ; fcstioa from the Bistop cf Locac-n . " which vrr . s s-. r . p-itc-i by the Lord CLanc ^ -lior , tie bill vtas with ' Ti-rn , on the understandics ; t' at the entire * ubjec ! : Is t' be reftrred to a select conuniuee , -with a view to sc : m furure legislative proceedings .

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    ^ HOl'SE OF COMMONS , Friday , June 24 . Pttir .-ns were presented against the present gvstf m cf rs ' -ioi ^ l evocation in Irel aiui , trains : the Poor Law Coo-iiiUi-ce B . U , and for a better system fur the regu-Iati 3 D of medicil charities in lr < l&r ; d . On tb-- motion for going into committee on the Poor XaTf AiEircdment BH . 1 being ftra-1 , Mr . LaWso ^ moved , tint it tv an instruction to the COB . ini : t « -e that tht-y hsve powtr to divide the bill into : vrv parts . Tte u ricn having been seconded ,

    B'T J . vjXahaM said , it wr .-uld r . i > t be necessary for hini to ¦ - ¦ tun Ebe House it any iecgtii in opposing tbe zootios . Ha introduced this m-zsvrc en the 4 th of Alsy . and juanT of the clauses yfere c ~ a >> idered in the last session . The Hon . Gentleman sai « i he bad no objection to iLe tr-. i five clauses , -which , in his opinion , were 'be mo » t ii : ;{ -jnaat in the bill . He considertd tne motion of tie E :. ii . Member useless and superfluous , and , therefore , he hoped the House woold proceed to consider the Bill in c » njir . ittee . Car-t-v'Ti Pecbell 5 upporied the motion for dividing the Vc ^ r 1 ^ . v Bui into tirv parts .

    Dr . Bovt RI > 'G said it coula ret Ve denied but that great ,. > u > -s existed under the ol-i P » or Law Bill , and thertlTe he voted f-.-rthe bi" ; l . which had for Us object the aiii-iidmcnt of that law . Whether the new measure h&d worked "weil , it vraa for tht ; Hcase to consider—( hear .. Certainly cases of sffi tl \ r >~ and suffering had tales place lately , ¦ which vr = Tr a dissrraca to a civilised Couttry— -hear!—and the inquiry which bad taken pl ^ ceiras n-jt satiilictory to any party . He wished this importsrt B : ll lo be thoroughiy u ^ c ^ ssed in every stage , Slid C ^ would not avail himself ol the technical tozina of th-s Hcu .- « eto oppose the Bill . He would net offer anj fieri o vis opposition .

    > ir . o Co >> ' 2 i . L should vote with the government en the pr = srnt occasion . He wris deddediy vf opinion that th ; s important measure uugLt to be in one Bill ; it OBi . ct . n ^ . t to be divided . IHr . Fieldes said , he believed this bill ought not to p-i& =. . and , therefyre , he should oppose it in every Tray rLt forms of the House ailowtd . He should vote for th ^ : r . isrndment "which bid been yrop <> i > trd . 5 > : r H . W . Babkos considered the New Poor law Bill the m&st bentficial Uieas-ure ever passed by the iecis a : ure , and when its provisions were thoronebJy Bndcrsjood and fal ! y carrird out . ttic c < . ni ! try would thins as fce did . It would vruvc ¦ . beneSt to both poc ' i ^ . tid rich—ibear . i It was the cry of eternal war on tbr huntings at the latt ticcv . t-n against ibe Poor Laws and the Corn Laws that piavwi the present Hiinirtrri of the G-jverunfat in the Eitcaticns they new b ^ id— 'hear . ) He felt V . -urui to iupport the bill , but he c u'd not support their c-. n-mi pclicy . of

    l ! r- G ^ istsditch was i- - pisn . it ro benefit ccnM be deriTei by dividicg the bill inio two parts , therefore he limit oppose the motion . Afier a few wcrd 3 frcm Geneial Joh > "son ( cries Of " Divide , divide . " ) 31 r . L \ v > so > ' siid he -wcwj . I not trouble the House to cUvic-, > a -would ¦ withdraw h-o n > i . t on . 3 I-jti n -s-itb . dra . wn . On r . Lr molion hiing again put that the Speaker do leave tt- > chair , 2 dr- T- S . Dr > "COMEE roso ^ cd sjevt-d the following

    " Thit . coEsideric ? the dx 5 tr « £ 5 ^ i-tate commercial aud industrJous dai-ts cf this country , toaether with the advanced p- _ riod cf tbr EcS ! -ion , and the present sute cf public bu » ii- ss , c-.-cpli .-d with the faet that the Poor Law ComcuMiun ( . spires on the 31 st of toe fining month , it is the opition of this H > use tbat thcr-j is not now scfiir . ent tiiu- to enable P ^ riia-Eieut to i ^ ivt that attenticn acd df-iibcrstion to the iinportiEt changes in the 3 ^ ws * r . r the acmijiistration of relief *»> tie Eoor , wbica the njeasme ii : trodnced by her JIajcsty ' s Ministers imperatively ¦ 'tmind ;; and tLaz it Trouid Therefore be more eX 7 » ed ! i _ ni .. that measures . » . f a ttHii ^ r ^ ry characte r sbinlu be aj ^ pted , to meet any iuc ^ -s 7 = nienee which the txriricg provisions of exisii ^ s' l-wa for tte relief of tL-- p ^ -os may be deemed to req-vitrr . "

    The HutL Membfi ? cont-ended that tb : s important Bill could r ,-jt be property and fatif / aetoriJy considered enricc rLe present session of Parliament- Tfce € i ! =: in ? Bill Esj-irrd on the 31 st of Jn ; y . and therefcre a temporarj leisure ought to be intrc Zt : «; d , and the qutstioss TWFttcting the same fuljy nni ca ' mly difcussed in the Bvsi session of Parliament . He did r . ot think that any o j-ittion would be raised to continuing the present Bill for ^ a ; other year , but ic the present state of public bnsinrf * ihey ought not to be called upon to pass a permanent Act . The Bill ongnt tu have brt-n introduced at an e ^ riier period of the season .

    Mr . "Wallace sesondea the motion . He tlequently expatiatfeil upon the apathy esbibit—d by both sices of the Kvuss respecting the Lfiiirs of the poor ; but he ¦ wc-uj'i -no his duty to them , for the poor ought cot to be iiUiwed to starve . The Pv > or Law did not provide for the destitute . He would , with the assistance of four - -t 3 ve individuals , bring the affair aLor-. ly befere the B- u-r Sir JaJJES GkaH ^ M admitted tee importance of the questi-. n now before the house , and he was deeply imof

    press ^ d with dutresi-cd condition workin ? classes . But it was n . < w a question how those difficulties should ba met . There w-.-c now l . 2 uo . Ot > o per ^ -ns in England and Wales receiving paiDchial relief . ? f ow bow was thi 3 gigantic evil to be relieved ' : He had considered the qn = st : on i : i . all its "bearincsi and tie had recommended tbb adoption of various expedients from time to time . He was quite prepared to ei . tc . r into details of the measure , with a visw to appiy a remedy to the existing evils , if possible . He Would v > t-J for the government mtasnre ,

    3 Ir . BVME said , that he had always approved of thi * measure ; yet he regrette < l it had not answered tb = purpose fui which it had bt-en br ^ n ^ h : forward . Hs thought it would be expedient to pass a bill of a Umporsry nature for one or two years ; fvr Parliament bad passed a bill to prevent the poor man from wortiiig ! ( Hear . b-. ar . } The poor » ant to work , but her Majesty ' s mini-Urs will not let thtm have it ! Had they not passoi the corn laws , which deprive them of v ? o : k ? Tbtry s ? y not want cliarity . L . z tie House remove re > trictioiIS on trade- Q ^ nlieintn msj say 2 Vo , no , "

    int lid lime was at hand wKsq tbey would be compfcUc-d lo comply . Ltt the Bigbt Hon . Baronet consider that in a few months those coantri-s which depended ¦ upon cm commerce would be independent of us . He reps ^ ted , that free trade in corn and provisions , and ' nothing else , -would give employment to the poor man . They could not have the poor law and t ^ e corn law i togtti-sr ; for society would then be divided into classes j —the very rich , and the Very poor . The poor were degrsced and trampled upon ; ana the time was approachinr when the rich tntm-selves would suffer .

    Sir . LiDDELL "Wished taat htr STaj-stya ministers ¦ wouid limit the present ttii to the first five clauses . ' By thia measure the Gilbert Usines ~ and the district j pauper -schools would not be u / uehtd . He maintained ] that the measure w ju !< 1 n ^ t afford the smallest i additional relief ; arid the removal cl refitrictions on ina-i would only aggr-. v ^ tc the eviL ; Lcid JuHS RtSSELL said , th \! number of poor ; ¦ would be Tcry considerable , wtattver might be tbt ' fate of the corn laws ; and it wc ^'; d still be requisite to have a good system of poor lnws ; and no change of the c ^ rn laws could Rate it expedient to put up "vrith a bad or ij-jadicious sy ^ tsm of poor law admiaistraten- Upon those grounds he opposed the motion . Colonel Wood waa of opinion that tbe house Bhould inttrftre , and not allow tbe out-door relief to be administerrd by capricious oemmissioners .

    Sir . Ffrrasd -was convinced that the Poor Law Commissioner and Asststant-ComnuBgioners "woujd up- ; hoid any system which gave them the contrel of the ; public money —( " Oh , oh ' . ") He felt it due to himself : as a Hi « mber of the KeighJey Board of Guardians , &s ' Chairman of the Board , and as a Magistrate of the ' ooucty in "which tbe union "was established , to prove ] to the house and to the country , that a statement "which had been made respecting him by a public officer , in a j rep&n now hs believed on tbe table of the iiouse , j

    ¦ was a false and scandalous one—i" Oh , oh I ") He did i not spfafc da rumour , like the Hon . Member for Bath , j but had much stronger greunds for the confidence with I irhich he made his assertions . He would prove from the report of Sir J . TTalshaoi , that the statement made I by Mr . Mott was false . The Kight Hon . Baronet , the 1 Secretary for the Home Department made it his boast the other night that Government had not betrayed the ' . confidence which the house reposed in them , when it j granted the additional day for public business ; but he j would tell the Hoa Baronet that the country had been :

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    betrayed when it placed confidence in the Government , when— ( cheers , and cries of " Oh , oh 1 " during the remainder of the sentence ) . He cared not for friend or foe , but would speak his opinions boldly . The Government bad been railed to power by the deep rooted hatrtd which the people feore to the New Poor Law . It was the detestation of that law which placed the Conservative candidates at the head of the poll . It was to raise their voices against that law that they were returned to thatfeonse , and he st ;> od there to perform the duty for which he had been sent The Noble Lord opposite last year introduced his Bill , and took his siand upon it . What was the cojisfqnenee ? The country , when the general election came , told the Noble Lord that thev would not have his bill nor him either .

    This only carried out the argument of the Hon . Baronet-, the Member for Waterford , who said that the Gove- 'nment bad obtained their majority in that House by the agitation of this question . What vraa the difference between tbe Hon . Gentleman and himself ? The Hen . Gentleman , he believed , agitated for the Krp ^ al-of tbe Union—he ( Mr . Ferrar . d ) agitated for the repeal of the Poor Law . The Bight Hon . Member for tbe county of Cork also agitated for the Repeal cf the Union , but he t > ir . Ferrand ) believed they would carry the repeal of the Poor Law btfoTts the Right Hon . Gentleman carried the R-rp = al of the Union . He ( Mr . Fcrrandj wouid low call the attention of the House to seme slawn . ents in Mr . Molt ' s report He found that

    . Mr . Mutt said , " I regnt to have to report to yonr boarvi that the proceedings of the guard ians are very uns .-. ti-factory ; in short , tnty are t ) 't rely at variance with the provisions of the law and the directions oi your beard . " He ( Mr . Fcrrand ) bfgged leave to assure tbe House that the B jard of Guardians of the Keighley Union had been carrying on the whole of their proceedings ' , sicee he kinise ; f attended the board , according to the tS } -re ? 8 directions of tbe Ceumtisaioners of Somerset-house . This was directly contrary to the allegations of the Commissionets themselves . He held in Lss hand the report of the Poor Liw Commissioners for 1 S 39 . The fulloM-ing p 5 s ^ 3 ges Oe « eriltrd the state of the unions in Lancashire and the northern districts , nnd the niacrer in vkich the law was carried out : —

    " We are enabled to ttata generally , in reference to these unions , that the boards of guardians are pro--Ceeding satis f actorily in the administration of relief * * * * * * The same observations app'y to many of the unions in the West Riding of Toii , which have been longest in eperation . * * * The guardians are authorised to put the law into operation vndtr and subject to the provisions of the 43 . ; E . Zibeib , c , 2 , \ tne ol . i law ) and are , in f ; ct , a larger Vi .-j . try , befere wtoui the casts of the respective paupers are investigated on their own personal application or froai the report of the re ieviog ciav « rs , Otiose dutyk is roaiministtr the relief ordered by the board , and t « h quire itto ti-e situation of tbe paupers making : application , and » he board of

    guardians have reason to btlieve that the nal wants and neceisities of the poor are more promptly attended to and relieved than under the oid law . " He begted the part : cuiar aUeiition of the House to these extracts , which wouid ihuuw the S 5 » ttui t-y which the Pi < or Law Cou-. missic ne . s gulled the public , sending aasistantcpmmissii-ners up and down the cuntry to dtc * ive the House and the Government . He would take the liberty of reading an extract from the report of Sir J . Walsham . relative to the Kei ^ liley Union , which would confirm ' what he had stated relative to tbe inaccuracy of Mr . Mott's report : — " The expenditure on i s poor , and principa ll y , I taKe it , on its non-settled poor , has more than doubled itself since the declaration of ihe Union in February , 1 S 37 ; a glance at the subjoined table wili at oiioe show ibis to be the case ;—

    Average qu : ir- j tc ; ly Expen- Expenditure j l *\ 2 mes of liinir-j for tbt j fur the j Increase To-wtihips . Three YeiTs Quarter tnd- | per -. naing MarcL icg March j Cent . 25 . 1837 . 25 . 1812 . { . 1 1 . Binsley 2 S 6 € Ct > I 133 2 . Hawurth 238 4 < * £ ; HO 3 . Keigfcky S 63 TU 7 111 4 . Morton 74 Ic 2 j 38 5 . Stetton 43 75 i 74 C . Sutton b" 1 G 0 i 84 Total 1 (> 91 2 269 108

    An increase of 10 S per ceii * . inJicat » -s , pnma facia , a locst asd imperfect administration , and it causea me , therefore , no surprise to h « -ar that ont-door relief and uob-resident rf lirf in aid of waets . given almost wholly in mon ^ y and without requiring work in return , was tbe system on which th « board of i , uirdians of the Keithly Unicn had been proceeding . But it is some satisfaction to add , that not only did the tuardians seem-roily aware and willing to admit that Mich fysttm was unsf und , acd oucht to be cht cktd , but they wtre tnderiVouriug to roske arrirgtments with the surveyors cf the h ^ hways in * he sevtral townships f r providing work for the aMe- bodied . I am not , however , prepared to say that th tie arrangements will be adequate to tLcir purpose , or to the requisitions of the ont-door labour test rectntiy issued to the Keiehly Union ; a ' . ill

    they IlvoIv * a movtinent in tbe ritht direction , and as the guarpians disposed { to &s least it struck mej of tbe busii > -E . -S b-f- > re them in a business-hke ma ner , I am Ect intijrjcd to augur uiifavuurably of tLeir future proce *< lir . j ; s as regarcs a more s > itemanc and correct distri u ' . i : n of out-relief . " Out . great cause of the increase of tte rates , apparent on the face ef the extract be had read , was tte brim ; inc such numbers if mtn from the southern and otter agricultural districts into the manufacturing parishes of Lancashire . It was a fact that tome of these men were now receiving from the parishes whence thty had been transported thirteen pounds a year in aid of wages . Jf any improvement had been made in the wotkicg of the liw , he ( Mr . Ferrand ) would say that it was owin ? ec . irr ' y to tbe exertions of its uncompromising and cUttriained opponents , and of tbe boariis of guardians , whe fc ^ d been obliged to set tbe commissioners it d ; fiance , and act contrary to their directions . That was owing softly to the arbitrary , unconstitutional ,

    monstrous , inLnruan , un-Christian , un-English orders j which the latter occasionally issued . Were such men , he would ask , to be intrustei with tbe administration i of the workhouse test ? He now cirne to the elese of j Mr . Mott ' s report ; and what would tbe Right Hon . ; Baronet say when he heard what was tLere stated 1— " Without proper workhouse acc'jmino'jatiou I am j afr .-ud tbat other restraints upon tbe guardians would , be bat of little avail . As the auditors are now elected , j thfe : r services in many unions are but of little use , and j no beri-gciai check can be expected through them . 1 have repeatedly ventured to state to your board , and all i recent experience has confirmed tbe opinion I have . before expressed , that even as a precautionary mearKre ., ; in the jj . 2 EU * acturii ! £ r districts . , where tbe poor-rates , ; listil rect ; . f ; y , have been comparatively light , the prov-iH-ns o * the J » ew Poor L 3 W are l-jui )] y called for ; [ and tlii-. t un ' tbe Poor L ^ -w Commisbioners are empotrered by the Legislature to ti , force the pro- ) vitiiii for proper workhouse accommodation to aid i

    tbe restraint upon relief to able-bodied paupers , j there- is nothing to prevent the . pressure of the poor- . r ^ trs in the manufacturing d ' . &tricts from becoming ; ten ticies more ruinous in their consequence and more I dangerous to the public welfare than tl ; o- > e which were ; unhappily ¦ witnessed in the agricultural districts of the S' > uih of England . " Now , he would ask the Kight Hon . \ Gentleman what kind of pr-erhouses they were going ' to erect ? The feeling in that district was most de- termiiied in opposition this measure . Tbe people in the north of EGglind wtre unaniiiicus almost to a man i

    against ; t—( hear , hear . ) This indeed was no party ) question , for if it were did they thiuk he would stana ' up in that House and express his opini » ns to tbe injury J of tbe Government?—Maear , bea :. ) But the question they had to decide waB whether the northern psr ' a of j England shonld be completely ruined , the working j classes there be made determined haters of the inBtitu- i tions of tbtii countij , and tbo nitn of property be j mude to fe . tl thit every principle cf the constitution had j

    been violate *' . The Right Hon . Gentleman knew it ; wa * impossible to carry out the orders that were issued ; tbe commissioners knew it too , and yet , in spite of ; the state in which the union of Keighley was , they ' issned the directory orders to which he had alluded . He had no hetitauon then in saying that tbe coninmsior . ers were more anxious to preserve their places acd their pay than to care for the public welfare . Had the people tf th -s country become so degraded from every principle . that actuated their ancestors , that three Poor L-iW C \; i ) : ni 5 isici > er 8 at Somerstt-fcouBe were rendered

    nvcei- ' -sxy f- ^ r providing pocr ? He challenged the Right Hon . Gentleman t © prove a single instance , under the old law , <_ -f a ratepayer in the Ktighley Union , of any party , who was even actuated by one unkind fteling towards the poor , or who ever forgot his duty to them . He was now Chairman of the Guardians of that Union , and a short time since . when he found these peremptory orders had beeD sent dovm . as chairman of the Board , and as a magistrate , he iftk ' . uiiy coiumunicattd to the Kiijut Hon . Gcntleluan , tLat if those orders were carried out , he felt convinced a breach of the pface would take place . What -was the , answer of the R'gbt Hon . Baronei , the Secretary of State for the Home D < = pa . rtiufcot—the guardian < f the poor of the country ? That he could not interfere . '—shear . ) Bat he would . ssk the Bight Hon . Bart , whether he had not acted as the Cnairman of a Board of Guardians and as a magistrate of Cumberland ? Did he allow any Poor Law Commissioners to interfere

    with him ? Did he allow them to atep in with their authority ? No . Then let tbe same motives which actuated the Bight Hon . Baronet as Chairman of a Board of Guardians in Cumberland be attributed to him in his position as Chairman of the K 6 ighley Union—( hear . ) He held in his hand an extract , from a speech ol the Right Hon . Gentleman on the 20 th of July , 1839 , and he could assure the Right Hon . Geatleman that Hansard" had been a great comfort to him Mnce he had had the interview with him— ( a laugh . ) The Right Hon . Gentleman Eaid the other ukht that be possessed considerable influence in Cumberland . [ Sir J . Graham intimated that be had not said so J The Right Hon . Bart said that he had considerable property there , and property generally gave infiatDce ; but at any rate he wished that he had more . ( "Bear , " and a laugh . j The speech which he was about to quote was made when Lord J . Russell moved the order of the day foi going' into committee on the Poor Law Bill ; and the Right Hon . Gentleman then said , —• • When the Com-

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    missioners of Semerset-honso came practically to consider the prudence of carrying out thia regulation ( the refusal of out-door relief ) , the Inquiries they made , and the experience they bad acquired , taught them the impossibility of giving general effect to the law . Uniformity was desirable . This rule , prohibiting the administration of out-door relief , so far frem being general throughout England , was , he must aay , somewhat capriciously applied . It was applied to certain onions in the south , but in the north tbe rule was not in operation . In Cumberland , in the union of which he was chairman , tbey were bound by no such regulation . An ample discretion was left them ; they were not fettered in the least ; and if they had not been left to the exercise of thiB unfettered discretion , he was bound to say ,

    he ahould not have held himself responsible during the last winter for the conduct of that union . " He said it was monstrous , it was most unjust , that three Poor Law Commissioners , so grossly ignorant as he had proved these men to be , should make those orders , which , if carried out , must reduce this country to a state of anarchy and confusion—increase the enormous rates which he had brought before the House—which must turn the aged and infirm out of their homes , and carry out the labour test amongst a population of 50 000 persona , who had now scarcely the means of getting a single day ' s employment Bat let him ask the Right Honourable Baronet this—Were those orders issued by the Poor Law CommissioDeis for the purpose of tearing from their homes persona of seventy ,

    eighty , and ninety years of age , who were , to a certain extent , relieved by the feelinga of charity which imbued tLe breata of their poor neighbours—that when a slight assistance from the board of guardians or ratepayers would enable them to be carried from the hearth on which they sat to their final resting place in tbe church-yard , tbey were to be dragged to a union workhouse , ia defiance of every feeling which the laws of this country had raised within them , until the people were taught to regard a workhouse as a prison ?—( bear . ) Was it not monstrous that tbe commissioners should hw « issued those orders at that very moment in the Ksigbley Union , that , when carried out , and they must be if it were possible , would tear the aged and infirm from their peaceful homes , no longer to

    enjoy their evening wa ! k by the mountain ' s side or in the shaded lanes , but to be immured within prison walla , to have ^ verj feeling disregarded , and to be imp isoned in a union workhouse ? He would t-11 the R : ght Hon . Member aud the country that the people would not submit to it—( hear , hear . ) He would tell the Right Hon . Gentleman that they would not submit to it in Cumberland ; they would not submit to it in Yorkshire—( bear . ) He would tell him that the same spirit which actuated the board of guardians o * er which he presided would actuate every man who had any feeling for the poor— ( hear , hear . ) He would , for a moment , allude to what he considered an extraordinary circumstance ; and that was , that when the Noble Lord , the member for London , on the 21 at of

    July , 1840 , moved the third reading of the New Poor Law Comniis > ion Contimance Biil , there were absent thefoilowirig members of the . present Government , —Sir R . Peel . Sir J Graham , Lord Stanley . SirF . Pollock , and Sir W . Follett That was an extraordinary circumstance ; but that very circumstance was the cause of hundreds of votes being givtu for the supporters of the Government at the last election . —( bear , hear , hear . ) He himself then said to his constituents , " Trust in the Conservatives ; you have tried the Whigs for ten years , and they have given you the New Poor Law and measures that have been to your great injury . " Their answer was , " Yes ; but Sir R . Peel will not say anything at all . " ( ' Hear . " and a laugh . ) He replied , Trust to him ; he does not promise

    everything and perform BotlriDR ; but be promises nothing , and will perform everything . "' ( Great laughter ) But what said the Right Hon . Haronet at the head of the Government on the 8 th of February , on the bill of the Noble Lord the Member for London , to continue tte Poor Law Commission for ten years ? " He said— " It was necessary for him to state , however , that in Toting for the sreond reading , be reserved to himsslf the fulleBt mht of judging of the propriety or of njectiug any of the clauses , and of dissenting from any provisions by which the power of the present law was to be i :. creased or amended . He doubted particularly the propriety of continuing the commission for so long a time . He did not mean to say , that after an experience of a further continuance for a short period he

    might not come to tbe > conclusion that the powers given by the present law should still exist ; and that the continuance of the commissioners ruight not be advautac ; eeu 8 . or that he might n ^ t deem such further continuance advisuble ; but it would , in bis opinion be more consonant to the opinion of the country that the subject shtuld again ,. at a short period , come necessarily under the consideration of the House . " "Then , " said the people , " Lord J- Russell proposed a continnance of the Mil for t n years . Sir R . Peel only proposes it for rive , and afterwards we shall come down to no yiars all . " ( Laughter ) However , the Right Hon . Baronet appealed to public opinion , and long before he ( iid so . he told the people that the battle of the constitution was to be fought in tLe registration coutts . Now ,

    tLe great argument of tbe pewns who conducted those courts in tbe North of Engiand was that this particular law was contrary to the constitution . ( Hear . ) Public opinion tben carried tbeRuht H <> n . Baronet into pmwer . He wt-uld aek him what was public opinion now in the North of Englar d ? ( Hear . ) It was almost unanimous in oppt « ition to this Bill —( Hear , hear . ) And he wonld Ull the Right Hon . Baronet that if he carried this law into the North of England , hi * Government would not exist two ytars —( hear , hear . ) He believed that that would bs tbe case . Was the Right Hon . Baronet aware cf the state of public feeling in the north of England wherever this law had been introduced ? Was he aware , too , that that feeling was increasing rapidly in the south of Enstlund ?— shear .- hear . ) Because it

    saved the public pockets to a small amount , it was said to work well . He thould be very glad to hear what the Hon . and Learned Member for Bath wf-uld say upon tbe subject . It was said by some' Oh ! it works well in our neighbourhood : —leave well alonf . " Bat how bad it worked well ? By saving the money of the ratepayer—( hear . ) It was entirely opposed to the constitution of this country , and that he meant to show , if it were allowed—as he hoped it would not be—to go to a third reading—( near , hear . ) Was tbe Right Hon . Baronet aware that the Conservative press of the country was almost universally against him upon tbis subjtct ? Was be aware that the daily press was taking up this question , and must work its way through public opinion 1—( hear ) . Was he aware

    that the weekly press was taking it up , and must shake him in his position ? ( Hear , hear . ) Because , if he were not , he could tell him that it was so , and that no Government could stand long under such circumstances . ; Htar . ) He wtuld give him two years to destroy the public feeling which bad been raised ift his favour . ( Hear . ) He could not resist public opinion , and the opinion of the pitES of this country ; and he mUBt ultimately yield tu it . ( Hear . ) He wished now to have a few words with the Riyht Hon . Baronet the Secretary fir the Home Department The Right Hon . Baronet had , the other evening , in rather , he must say , a warm manner , attacked him for using wh . it he termed vialent means for exciting an opposition to this measure ( as we understood ) . He plainly confessed that since this

    law passed he had taken a determined and firm stand upon this question ; he bad addressed a public meeting of guardians , and toid thtm , that by every constitutional means in his power he weuld resist the measure ; but at the same time he preached te them in the best manner be could the necessity of obedience to the laws . Was it right for the Right Hon . Baronet to attack him for that ? The Right Hon . Baronet forgot that he himself had lived in a glass house . ( Hear , and laughter . ) He must renumber that be was a member of the Reform Ministry . How did the Governmental ; that time inflame the minds of the people ? Was it not a fact tbat they were in correspondence with the men who said that there were thousands ready to march to London for the purpose of cramming the Reform

    Bili down the threats of the people ? And did not the Government give them their thanks ? ( Cheurs . ) " W © nt-ver refused , ( said the Hon . Gentleman ) to pay cur rates in support of the poor of tbis country ; we never have excited the people to attack the Monarch while passing through tbe streets of the Metropolis ; nay , we have never advised the monarch , fer the purposB of carrying a measure , to swamp one branch of the Legislature . ( Ht-ar . ) We never have attempted to bully the House of Peers : nor have we advised a circular to be written to one branch of thb Legislature asking them to forget their duty to themselves and to their country . ( Hear , hear . ) No ; I tell tbe Right Hon . Baronet 1 stand upon firmer ground . 1 appeal to the Constitution of the country , and taking my atttnd uuder the banner

    of that Constitution , come weai or come woe , I will g ght the battle of the people . ( Hear . ) [ Sir R . Peel here rose and left tbe Hdus ^ J The Right Hod . Baronet has gone a minute too soon , iLaughter . ) For what did the Right Hon . Gentleman say in the debate that took place on this subject Ma'eh 19 Lh . 1841 ? He said , " He should consider the large powers entrusted to them , and , having devolved thuse powers , the greater they were the more jealousy mutt Parliament exercise with respect to their application , and the greater the readiness with which tbey must listen to any a , legations of abuse . While he consented to the prolonged duration of the commission for five years , he must say tbat he wished the commissioners would watch the expressions they made use of with a little more circumspection . He thought that with the best intentions there was occasionally a harshness displayed in the vindica tion of certain principles which might be avoided

    consistently with the maintenance of the law , and the avoidance of which would tend to fortify the powers of the commissioners . To give an illustration of this , he would take for instance an official circular published by the Poor Law Commissioners , one of those public documents directed by the board to be printed chiefly for the use of the guardians . In one of those papers he found the following expressions : — 'One principal abject of a compulsory provision for the relief of destitution is the prevention of almsgiving . ' Why , he heard tbe Noble Lord ( J . Russell ) himself state tbat tbe Poor Law would completely fail in effect if the tffl ient withheld their alms . That was perfectly true ; and he should abominate the Poor Law if he thought it relieved the rich from the duty of almsgiving . He was perfectly certain the Poor Xaw would fail if the affluent relying upon its provisions alone , however improved the system of administration might be , felt that the moral obligation on them to attend to the wants of their poorer neighbours were

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    thereby extinguished . " What , he would asfe ( proceeded the Hon . member ) had become ef ^ almsgiving ? What was tbe mult of the Queen ' s letter for a collection for the distresstd manufacturers ? Why , the New Poor Law . had dried up the springs of charity-- ( hear ) and the poor were to become prisoners , and wear a prison dress—men who had committed no other crime than taking advantage of the neglert of duty of their superiors , and to choose as their means of existence the poor-rates of the parish , which were given to them by their superiors under the old law . if the rich , forgot their duty—if they broke the lawr—if the magistrates , who were the guardians and protectors of the laws of this country , forgot their duty in the south of England , could they wonder that the poor man forgot his duty

    too ?—( hear , hear . ) He cared not who the man was who bad not rather live in ease than earn his bread by the sweat of bis brow . Providence had ordained that they ( the Members of the House of Commons ) should not earn their bread fey the sweat of their brow ; but if tbrongb His beneficence He had placed in the hands of certain parts of the population of this country the means of existing without such labour , depend upon it they would have to give a true account of their stewardship —( hear . ) ' He had that night given bis reasons for opposing the continuance of the powers of the commission . In the majority of the Government there would be some who were generally their opponents , bnt whe advocated this measure j but he would beg from

    the opponents of the Government their votes upon thin occasion . The Right Hon . Baipnet might find on those ( the Ministerial ) benches some who would find it difficult to explain away their votes to their constituents —( hear , hear)—and who would stand by him in fighting this battlo against the Constitution of tbeir country ; but the time would come vrhun oM English feelings would return—when they would ask themselves whether they had performed their duty as members of society ? arid whether they would stand by a Minister of the Crown , whatever his political opinions might be , who was disposed to-.-defer . to the opinions of a fow against the feelings of a vast majority of the country ? —( hear . ) ,

    Colonel Wood ( Middlesex ) said he hoped the measure would be taken into the immediate consideration of tbe House . He must say that he thought the New Porr Law was a very great advantage- to tho poor , and it had materially added to their comforts . Mr . Wortley would give his vote with the Hon . Member for Finsbury , in the present state of the question before the House . Mr . Wakley said that the next election the gallant Colonel ( Wood ) would be defeated in constquHnee of his advocacy of this measure ,- and Honourable Gentlemen should be very guarded in their actions . There would be great difficulty in preieiving the peace of the country . There were hungry thousan&anbw , but soon there would be hungry millions ! Is such a law calculated to preserve the peace of the country ? -He . hoped

    the Hon . Baronet did not think so , Considering ttw awful prospect which the state of the country presented , he was willing to vote for the , continuance of the present Jaw for one year longer . This was a question of vital importance , involving the welfare and happiness of myriads ef the people ; and he hoped the Right Hon . Baronet would take the matter into his most serious consideration . He would ask this question—Are we legislating with a conviction that the poor of this country have a tight to relief i The Hon . Member for Bath denies it . Now , be would say that his ( the Hon . Member ' s ) mind is so constitutscl that he is not fit to legislate for the poor . It had been complained of by a commissioner , that" paupers insolently claim reJief asaxigni . '" jfow , ** you admitted thiB , who could be responsible for BtsirviDg them . Now , if there was . nothing else than this , he would vote againbt the continuance of the commissioners for six years , uulesa a man who had dared to make such a

    statement , was discharged ^ He quoted details from Air . Mott's report , to prove the existence of . monstrous and scandalous abuses in the present system . The House may be ' . assured ( he said ) that the existing distress is dreadful ! Hundreds of poor traversing the counrty in all directions , sleeping in the bands , and sheds ; and they said they would rather die than go into the union workhonses ; . ' It was impossible that the bill could be disposed of this session , and he would recommend ( though unwillingly ) its -continuance for one year . Sir T . Cocu ha ne contended that relief afforded to the people should be such as Wnuld be agreeable to them . He wished to'know whether they consider' d it as a boon ? and he regretted to say that he thouRh't'it was not the case . Much bad been said about the abuses of the old law ; but this was a poor argument in favour of the imperfections of the new one . He thought that the poor should be taught habits of industry and sobriety . Hs should vote against the resolution .

    Mr . Roebuck referred to the conduct of t&e former government . When the measure waa first brought before the House , it was considered out ) of great danger to the country ; retribution was sow . coming upon them ; for they had made use of vulgar passions and prejudices to endeavour to Oust people . The law gave to the poor that right which they sought . He was not to be assailed by declamation , but he would admit tbat it was a general benefit , and therefore just . The aged poor were provided for by the law . He was not , however ,

    very fond of the commission . The poor should be maintained in such a manner as should preserve industrious habits , and not foster idle ones . The question was , bow we should provide for the destitution which prevailed ; and , at the same time check habits of . idleness ? He would give the relief , because it was to the interest of the copimunity that it should be given . The principle of the Poor Law should be , tbat it should discourage the impositions of tbe designing and idle , and , at the tame time , afford relief to those who were really destitute .

    Sir R . Peel hoped that in the progress of the New Poor Law bill no factious opposition Would . be offered to it . The general opinion of the country , he contended , was favourable to the measure , and the . proof of this he found in the insignificant nunibtr of petitions which hail been' presented to the House against it . The Hon . Gentleman who had spoken last wished to know why he ( Sir R . Peel ! had not influenced the party who followed him more in favour of the measure than they were . He confessed that he did not think the gentlemen of England were bo easy-drifted-into , an opinion . I Ironical cheers from the opposition . ) He saw no reason why he should exert his censorship over Honourable Gentlemen who sat on his side of the House . With regard to this question , he did not think tbat he

    had power to do so . The Noble Lord opposite bad not been more successful hi this particular thim himself . With respect to the use made of the cry against the Poor Law last election by gentlemen on this side of the House , he could only say that he should be ashamed of his plaee if be thought that he . had * gained power by Mich -. means . He had never for a moment given his sanction to such a course of proceeding ; on the contrary , be had taken opportunities of stating his concordance with the principles of that bill . In the general election of 1837 , he stated on the huntings i . is conviction cf its justice , and that ho would give it his cordial support . In the election of 1 S 41 , he guve his support to the Government on every occassion on which it wiis- ' brought forward . Ho was surprised : it

    the ignorance of . some Hon .. Members as tothe decree in which the enactments of Elizabeth are departed . . from in the present measure . It was ' well'to look ( it " these , enactments by way of forming a comparison between them arid the present law ; In these enactments Le saw no recognition of a right to relief without giving labour for it If such had beeR the case there would have been an end to society I hear , hear . ) It was not so , however ; so little was the principle recognised of an indefeasible right to relief on the part of the poor , that they even required the children to be apprenticed to Bome handicraft . There was no difference in principle in the existing law and the old one of Elizabeth . Tbe existing law was a great check upon local abuse . He ( Sir R . p ) hoped they would not wish to return to

    the old system—they were asked to trust to the good English feeling and all that stuff . The Riifbt Hon . Bart tnen read some ttbstraets from Mr . . Mott's report of the Keiehley Union—a union which bad long - . resisted the influence of the poor law . A Union of which the Hon . Member for Knareaborough was the chairman , and which be had Snoten so highly of . Mr . Moct'a letter unfolds some of the most frightful scenes of immorality and vice in that very . Union . How would that union contrast With those which were under the management of the new poor law ? He thought the Hon . Member for Knaresboroush would have been better employed in remedying those abuses which should have come under his eye , in his capacity as chairman , than in " babbling of green fields . "

    Mb . Ferrand said , as his conduct had been animadverted upon by the Right Hon . Baronet , he should say a few words in explanation . If the allegation * m Mr . Mott ' s report were correct and capable oi proof j they were worthy of serious contideration . But he believed that the guardians of the KtfiKhley Union would be able to clear themselves ot the aspersions heaped upon them . Lord Howick said that no time , so much as the present , required the greatest caution in the management oft ho distribution of relief , when the country was in such a state that the rates had increased in a frightful degree . _ The sources from which relief flowed were growing more scant , while the recipients were hourly on the increase . He thought iu such

    a state pf things , there was the greatest necessity of a cautious and economical system of relief , such as that practised by the commissioners . Nothing would be more productive pf additional misery to the country than a relaxed administration of the poor law . He did not eater tain the idea that the Right Hon . Baronet could be expected to be answerable for every speech made by hia side of the house . But he did think it strange that his ( Sir R . Peel'B ) influence was not greater with those who were nearly connectad with him . He thought the Right . Hou . Baronet could not take credit for himself for having discouraged the vulgar outcry against the New Poor Law at the last election , rle should , however , support the Bill .

    Sir E . Knatcbdull said he rose to give an answer to some imputations thrown out against him by the Noble Lord who bad just spoken . It had been imputed to him that he was inconsistent in supporting a measure now which he had formerly opposed . He begged to say the Noble Lord was in error . He

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    had always given his opinion in favour of the general principle of the Poor Law ; like other members , he had views of his own as to the details . / , " ' . After a few words from Mr .: Darby and Captain POIXABIV '¦¦' , ¦¦¦ ¦ ¦' ; . ¦¦ ~ Mr . O'Connkix said he agreed with ti ; o motion ot the Hon . Member for Finsbury . He -did so , however , more with respeot to Ireland , in which country the Poor Law was a new scheme . He had h orn the first been opppged to that scheme , as irreconcU - able to the feelings of the people of Ireland . He had prophesied that commotionB would follow the introduction of this system , and ho was only afraid those propbeaies were working themselves out . He feared that a revolt would be produced by that mea&urej more terrible in its results than anything that they bad ever before seen in that unhappy country .

    Lord Elliot said he must rise to defeiid the Poor Law Commissioners of Ireland against the attacks of the Hon-Member for Cork . They bad followed up thoir labours in a spirit of candour and earnestness , and , as far aa the experiment of the poor law had beeu tried in that country , it had been perfectly successful . They had few able-bodied men iu their workhouses , but thuee were not th ' o kind of persous they wished to have , but the lame and the infirm . His lordship concluded by « : oainlimeiKiHg Mr . ( j'Connell for Die forbearance he had shtwu in not opposing what he did not a ^ ree with .

    Mr . Cobden said they lost * iglit of what was the real motion to night , The lion . Member for Fiusbury had spoken of the awful state of . the country , but tbe Governnient had not thought fit . to put asi e one night to 'discuss some ' moa .-rure for that rvlitef . The Right H < m . Ba . ' r « n < it had pn-mised-to ' '' . give his pill when he had got liis fei -- '— had he aiven those remedial measures ? 'Ihe distress , had increased progressiveily . eyer ' y . Qioiith antca the , -H ^ ' n . Baronet came into office , arid it was . their duty to take it into cort ^ ideraticu ; but "he apprehended t ! ie session " was too far-advanced . for th-at purpose . The . manufacturers had contributed larjfcly to the relit f of the poor , for one had subscribed £ 300 . The Hou . Gentleman concluded a wry < - ' uiquont speech by an afiVeting appeal to the HflUbiV in behalf oi the poor people in the nortii ^ ru districts , iiimv suffcriug the most appalling djbire&a and )> riv ? , ! ior . s .

    Mr . Crawford ros » ami > ist ioud cries of " -Divide , divide . " He aaid thew were . large' districts where the peoplo were starving . The poor houses had not the means of relieving the poor . A weli-regulate'd poor law would aive relief , bui the present had not produced the effVc :. General Johnson supported t ? i « , motion of the Hon Member for Finsbury . ( Divide divide . ) Mr . Fielven moved an a < jj 'urnmciic of the debate . After a fuw word . « from Mr . Fkiuund , Cot . Sibthotxpk and Ma Wakley , ¦' -Thb iiou'SE divided , wlv .-n thcrf ; appeared—For the nujour ' nijient , 29 ; . . Vgains . t it , 297 . The House - resumed , when Siu . C , NaT'Ikr moved an atfjourtimeut of the House

    Sir R . Peel said a great deal of time was Io ^ t in divisions ; but , if it suited the conveniences of the House , ho should propose that this question ( the Poor Law ) bo adjourned till Monday next ; which would necessarily cause the postponement of the new tariff . Mh . Duncombe said a few words in reply , and after a fow observations from several Honourable Members , the debate was adjourned till Monday . i ) u the thiM reading of the 7 ia . il way Bill , Sir H . Harping :: moved a clause . providing thot officers and soldiers travelling by railway snail with their bagtiage , &c ., be-conVnyc-d at the u > ual hours-of starting ' , at prireH contracted for by the secretary afcwar , on production . of a note signed by ' the proper authorities . After some discussion the clause was agreed to , and the bill was passed .

    The Mines and Collieries Bill was : brought up and received , wuh amendments . The other orders of the day-were-then disposed of , and the House adjourned , at a quarter past two o ' clock .

    onday , June "( . Mr . Roekl'ck brought up a j-ppcial wport from the Election Cirtujiroiiiises Cpmniittee , st ; itin ^ c that Mr . Walter , who hart beon mimmonml , refused to att nd , Hnd give evidence . The main uninnrt on which Mr . Walter refused ¦ was , the expression used by M r . Roebuck , rturiuR the last ession of Parliamer . t , when on his being atticked intLe Times , he had recommended the horsewhipping of Mr . ' Walter , its chief proprietor . The Houi > e ordered the attendance of Mr . Walter , niid then soiiie conversation arose on the subject of the inquiry , befop '' the Election CoinproHiises Committee beinK ronducted v .-ith do « ed d' » ors . Mr . Roebuck stuted th : st the committee had come to a unanimous resolution that the inquiry would be best conducted in that manner , though they did not dispute tht ' right of any Member of the Huuse beiug present . The proceedings wero-ordered to be printed with the votes for the use of members only ,

    The adjourned debates on the Poor Law Amendment Bill was refluint-d by Mr . Fielden , who rose' to answer the speeches of the Hon . Member fjr Bath ( Mr . Roebuck ) - and the Ri *< bt Hon . Baronet the Member for 'Tamworth . . - He would take that fef the Hon . Meinbcr for Bath first That Hon . Member had spoken with preat confidence <) n the Burjfct of the New Poor Law , hut in his ( Mr . FielttenV ) opinion with little sense . H « ( Mr . Fieldeu ) douWed tha Hon Member ' s experience of the labouring poor . He wanted t » know what means ho bad of knowing their habits , feelings , wants , and condition . Was the Hon . Al ember engaged in suth occupations as would bring him necessarily in daily contact ¦ with labouring persons ? No ; be understood from the Hon .

    Member that he wa 3 a lawyer , and he ( Mr . Fielden ) would not admit that a lawyer was , in tfau course of his occupation , brought into that relationship frith the labouring poor tbat would give h ' . ni the nn-ans of legislating in their case . He ( Mr , Fielden ) claimed to be heard upon this question , because he felt confident that he did know much of the labouring people . Ho had been , in business as a manufacturer ever since tke year 1803 , and he was so now . He and his partners had always employed great numbers of hands , and for some years past they had constantly in their employment some thousands ; and , so long as he had a seat in that House , he would by speech and vote resist a law which was based upon the false and wicked assertion that the labouring people ef England , or any material

    part of them , were inclined to idleness snd vice ; and h" » felt that he owed them too much to sit patiently by while this commission was proposed to be continued . He believed that the New Poor Law had been most oppressive , and that it w . os founded on the most faiincioua principles . The Hon . Member for B : tth spoke first of tbe new . ' . law being both wise and humnne , and he told the House that , being a lawyer , he wished to ber . nswered by facts . As to the humanity of the law , he ( Mr . Fieldeh ) would give one fact , and he begged to bo nnd ( rstood as giving one fact of many tbat he could produce . In 1 £ 36 there lived in the parish of Eversholt , in the Woburh Union , a -widow of the name of Susan Deacon . She hail been relieved by the parish before tue Union was formed , but . as the new law

    came into operation , her allowance was reduced down as law as Is . a-week . In the night of the 2 oth of December in that year that ¦' poor woman threw herself into a moat in the garden of the rector of the parish , a tuardian of the union . It was a bitter cold night , and the weather .. frosty . Her . body-broke through the ice , and when taken out , it was found that she must have risen frem her bod to drown herself , as she was dressed in her night clothes . The coroner ' s jury wished to return a verdict , stating the circumstances that caused her to dro-wnbeiself—that wa 3 , th . erefu . 8 at of the board of guardians to grant ber the accustomed relief ; but the coroner persuaded them to return & verdict of insanity , the jury , however , immediately after , being touched with sympathy for a poor and respected

    neighbour , signed a >; d circulated this paper , of which : he ( Mr . Fielden ) had a copy : — " We , the undersigned jurymen on the body of Mrs . Deacon , of Hill's-end , EviTsholt , who drowned herself in the Rev . J . Reed ' s moat , on last Monday morning , through distress of uiind , in consequence of having been refused a shilling per ¦ week by the s % \ A J . Reed and the other guardians of the poor for Eversholt parish , have giveil our vordict Insane ; ' and , out . of'compassion and respect to the deceased , in order to prevent her goods from being taken from her orphans to defray the funeral txpences , have contributed 60 . each towards burying her . The smallest contribution from any person who cau feel for such a case will be most . thankfully' received by the jurymen . Should there be more collected

    than ¦ pay her funeral expences , it ¦ be given to her poor children . " . He ( Mr . Fielden ) had offered to prove this ease before tfia . Poor Law . Com .-liiittte , but was Frustrated . Mr . Buil had attempted to get it before a committee ef the Lords , but he had also been frusttatad . The paper , however , circulated by the jurymen spake for itself ; aiul lie { Mr . Fielden ) adduced that one case as aspecimeu of the . humanity of the new law . Thy Hon . Member then sp « ke of the ' problem how to relieyethe honflst able-bodied without giving encouragement to idleness by relieving the idle vagabend . " He said that " the Reformed Parliament had looked this difficulty in the face , " and that " he wished it to be particularly shown howtbedifflculties of this question would be met , except by imposing such restrictions on the administration of relief as would make its leception not more agreeable than

    the exercise of honest industry . " He ( Mr . Fielden } maintained , first , that the Parliament had not met the difficulty in the face , but had created a board of three commissioners to do bo , or to do as they liked . The Parliament had proposed to it a bill abolishing outdoor relief after the 31 st of July , 1835 ; but it expunged that part of the bill , and left it to the commi 8 sion « s to niake the law . But , as the Hon . Member praised the law and the commissioners and their doings , he might be taken to approve of the prohibitory order for " stopping-out-dsor relief to all ablerbodied poor unless ia the workhouse , and of the regulations and discipline which they had ordered to be observed in the workhouses . The Hon . Member , in fact , approved of the workhouse test , tte " self-acting test , " as the commissioners called ifc , whioh w . as to Bift the honest and hard-working man from the idle vagabond . Let him ,

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    then , examine the practical operation of-. that test , for he , ( Mr . Fielden ) believed it to be a-. most atrocious cruelty , on the hoiest and willing workman , and productive of infinite mischief to tbe eoontry . He would take the two cases supposed by the Hon . Member . himself . Here were two applicant * for relief , both coming to the board of guardians at the same time : both have families , both are able-bodied ; but one is an honest hard-working man , who cannot get work ; the other is aa vagabond ; who will not work if he can help it . What does the board do ? It could not 4 < hv « anything but the workhouse test and its dlwjipjine , iu . i separation , and its diet to both . It must give the same to both . Now would come the operation of sif tin J . and the proof of the sound principle

    andprflosoph > of the new law . Which ef the two would go into the trouse ? If both go in , then the law punishef the honesr - man juct as it did the vagabond . If the honest man »* nt in , and the idle vagabond wns driven to iiiaintain himself , then the honest man only was punished . If the vagabond went in and submitted to the discipline of the workhouse for the sake of idleness , then he would ask where did the honest and willing wurkm&n go to—the man who was admitted to be hoiiest , the man who would do work if he could get it f Ho ( Mr . Fielden ) would ask whither had you driven that men ? He would felt them . In a table published by the cojiim'ssipners in the sixth annual report , there was a column containing the number of yacrants and paupers relieved not belonging toanyparish : intheunion ,

    and it gave the numbers in Christmas quarter , 1838 , and in the same quarter , 1839 , from fourteen counties in England ana Wales ; the total Bhowed that in 1838 thtre were 1 , 705 vagrants or casual poor , and in 1839 no less than ' 3 , Hi . being an increase of 1 , 406 , or 82 per cent . The admirable system had driven the willing workman to become a wanderer in search of work ; and , failing in that , it had made bim , whose virtue w ; is confessed , a vagrant gathering alms in the quality of caaual poor , i hat was the wisdom and the philosophy of this Jaw . But it was the Idle vagabond that tbe Hon . Mfember f < i > r Bath wished to puniah . Very well ; the Hon . Member , being a lawyer , knew doubtless that tht-re was the Vagrant Act in force when the

    New Poor Law was passed , and in force still , by which all vasfab ' onds wtre amply punished . Aye , but that law would not meet the whole mass of the ableboditM . No ; nor should it Another assertion of tho Hon . Member for Bath was , that the ontory iigainst the new law waa not raised by the honest and industrious poor , but by Belf-interested persons of a dishonest sort , who h : id been destroyed by the optration of the new law . He ( Mr Fielden ) would now read to the House a short paper that had been : written by a labouring man of , he believed , the Diss Union , in Norfolk , and printed at the expence of one of the Gaar . diuns , and which had been sent to him ( Mr . Fielden ) by a clergyman residing in the Union . It was as follows : — '¦"¦ ¦ ' ¦

    "POOR XAW AMENDMENT ACT . " Since the New Poor Law , the honest , industrious able-bodied poor are much oppressed , through the orders of the Puor Law Commissioners . It frequently happens from severity of the weather , that the farmer is unable to find empjoyment ; the poor maiu under such circumstances , having a large family , is rendered totally unab e to support them honestly ; and when he appeals tj 1 the Guardians / all the relief he can get is to leave nia house and little furniture , and be made a prisoner iu the Union Workhouse . I therefore think that the Board of

    Guardians ought to be empoWfcred to relieve the poor in in without forcing him from his house and home till the farmer may be enabled to employ him , and the wvather will permit him to work . I , Thomas Cock , can provei that during the last two months I have lost half my tijne , " therefore take the liberty to inform the public that , the parishes of Bressingham and Fersfield intend to senda petition to Government , and earnestly hope th . at other parishes will do the same , praying that t ' na industriuus poor may be relieved without being sent to the workhouse . ,

    " Thomas Cock , ^ Labourer , Bressingham , Feb . 9 , 1841 . " Now , he ( Mr . Fielden ) thought that simple statement not only proved that the Honourable Member for Haih knew nothing of the feelings of the honestlabouriug pocr on this question , but that he was wholly uninfc-rmed upon the subject on which he so confidently talked . He woi ^ ld now come to the speech : of the Ki ^ ht Hon . BArt . the member for Taraworth , who had said tiiat he thought the people of this country were in favour of the commissioners , because he found , that leaving out the petition of the 3 , 000 , 000 , there had been only 108 petitions that session against the commissioners * signed by 25 080 naities , Now , the fact was , according to the committee of petitions , that up to the 10 th of June there were that session 135 petitions

    against the , new law and the bill before the house , containing ¦ 36 , 344 siffnatures , and there had been many presented ; since , of which no report bad been made . The petition of the 3 , 300 , 000 required a total alteration of the constitution of that House ; and it alleged , as one of its reasons for desiring the change , that the House as Jit present constituted had passed the unconstitutional New Poor Law . ; Was not that a pretty strong expression of public feeling against the commissioners ? " The 3 , 300 , 000 not only desired to abolish the couimissionera , but the vary construction of the assembly which had made them . But he would call the attention Of the House to the humb'jr of petitions in former yetrs , all in efifbct against the New Poor Law , an immense majority for total repeal , and others for alterations which would defeat its principle .

    leara Petitions Persons . 1831 172 ... ~ 16 . 1835 16 ... ... 15 680 1 S 3 . 6 ... ... 119 ... ... 27 . 574 1837 ... ... 2 S 5 .... ... 270 . 096 1838 ... ... 346 ,.. ~ 264 , 100 1 S 39 ...... l . 'iC ...... 30 , 000 1840 ... ... 190 ... ... 17 , 000 1 * 41 ... ... Si ) 5 286 , 6 i 6 l » 42 jtol 0 thJune ) 185 ... ... 36 ; 344 To these should be added the two national petitions , the first ; with upwards of 1 , 250 , 000 signatures , : an < I the second with 3 , 300 , 000 , Now , the petitions in favour of the new law , or somewhat in favour of it , were— . ' : .. Yeatg . Petitions . Persons . 1834- ... ... 2 ... ... 16 1835 ... ... 9 ... ,.. 0 ' 183-8 ... ... 0 0 1837 35 ... ... 950 1 S 38 23 ... ... 1 , 184 1839 ... ... 0 0 1840 ... ... 0 ,.. ... 0 1841 ... ... 72 ... ... 467 1842 rto June 10 ] 0 i ... ... 0

    He thought' that was an answer to the Right Hon . Baronet as to the pubic feeling on the whole of this law , and it was also an ansiyer to the Right Hon . Home Secretary as to the direct remedy generally demanded upon the publication , of the report of the Poor Liw Commission of Inquiry in . 1834 . He wonld now go to other parts of the Right Hori ; Baronec's Bpeech . He said , " Do you speak of this bill as depriving the poor of any of the advantages which they enjoyed under , the law of E . iz 3 beth ?' V Yes , he did . The law -t > , t . Elizabeth made the overseers set the ablebodied poor on work , and it made them buy materials for the purpose . Under that law the overseers hud no authority to imprison and seperate them , man from w ife , and parent from child , as a condition of giVinz theiu

    that work . The 9 Va of George I . gave the overseers suthority to administer relief only in a workhouse . The 36 th of George III . repealed this law , stating in it »< proamblB' that much hardship bad been inflicted on poor persona by withholding relief unless they would go into a workhouse . Then came the New Poor Law , and the Parliament not being bold enough to re-enact tue 9 th of George I . enacts that Poor taw Commissioners shall have aathority "to declare to what eistent relief shall be given to able-bodied psrspns out of the workhouses , " and that they shall have power to make rules for the governing of those workhouses , which was , in fact , committing the able-bodied poor of the kingdom to the will of thz-t Beard . He did sny that that h > td deprived the poor of advantages

    that they had under the 43 d of Elizabeth ; and , if the Right HonV Baronet meant to contend that that the new law was the same ia principle aa the 43 d of Eiizitsth , ltt him remind the Right : Hon . Gantleman that L-rd Brougham , in bringing the new law ^ into tbe House of LordS i in 1834 , spoke of the 43 d of Eilzibeth as tbat " accursed law , " not a phrase likely to be used by one who was proposing a law similar in principle The Right Hon . Baronet had referred to the mismanagement of the poor in the Keiebley Union , taking the information of a Poor Law Commissionfr , and he argued that these things could not be redressed if we had not the commissioners . But had not the Right Hon . Barbnetheard of worse things occurring under the Poor Law Commissioners themselves ? - Had he never heard

    of the horrible deaths at Bridgewater ? Of the fatil gruel of the Commissioners ? And did not the Commissioners do everything in their pawer to stifle inquiry and hide . the facts from the public ? What did they do at Sevenoaks , which was under the inspection *> £ one of th « ir own assistants ? Remember the' swollen throats of the children , the treatment of the lyihz-in women— -a tale bo harrowing and disgusting that ona scarcely liked to dwell upon the detail . Then again inquiry was . forced on the Coriimisaioners , and the greatest attempts were made to stifle it . Ytt the Right Hon . Baronet Rppeaired to look on the Commissicners as a Board whose duty it waa to drag to light and hold up to public view the illtreatment of the poor whenever it might occur

    That was new ground—quite a new function ; but he quoted the Commissioners' reports from the Keighley Union , and asked how these things were to be brought to light but by the commissieners ? His ( Mr . Fielden ' s ) answer was , the Bridgewater and Sevenoaks cases were brought to light , not by the commissioiiers , but in spite of them , and that if the conunsssion ^ rere abolished to-morrow , the same good feeling and natural abborrence of cruelty which held op Bridgewateir and Sevenoaks to public gaza would bring to light such cases ag that of Ke 5 gbley , supposing it . . ; all to be true . But if the Right Hon . Baronet was very anxious that the cases of hardship in managing th « poor should be brought to light , weuld he now insist on bringing fully to light t'aat which he ( Mr . Fieldeh ) believed would develop © a tale of folly ( 'Coniinned in our Seventh Page . )

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    Untitled Article

    a THE NORTHERN STAR . ! * - " - - ' . . . ____ ^ i ± : : —^— ¦ ' ' ' - ¦¦ - - ~ ¦—— ¦ '¦ - ' —— -- ^— : - ¦¦'¦' . ' ' " --: ——; .-.. ^

• Citation
  • Northern Star (1837-1852), July 2, 1842, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct605/page/6/