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Northern Star (1837-1852), 4th March 1843, Edition 7 of 9, Page 6

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      Untitled Article

      HOUSE OF LORDS-Phidat , Feb . 24 . The Eit ] of &isto moved fur returns respiting the pies ^ Et siate of the rzyj . He nqcireJ exp anations as to ^ oy there had bferi lass snip-buiidinjj las * year than hs-i teen amlem- piaied . . and ffhj a rednoed vole "was to he taken for ihe present jsar ? He inquired also the I * . = » o £ B-of other Tt * nctions ? T- > - Date of WELLtSGTOX doubted the propriety C ? Tjm'fcOlfU ; * hs inf-rnmtJoB asked for . ThP E \ ri of Baddisgto > " wished the Earl of Hinlo to postpone hi * questions , and sire notice for another eter-. nz , Thsn he w ^ nld be better prepared . T ^ r Eirl «< f "BUiTO then entered into Tarious det Jls x > -t > efcns tbe present condition of onr dockyards , ic , * Uii moved for returns relating to them .

      fcs Eirl of HiDDi > GTO ? i-xpiained , that the reason •» -: y there was itss sbip-bmlAing last year than had br-o co-. te-r , platr 1 , -was , ttal it 'was deemed more et nomlcal to ke-p vessels already buiit in good repair thr . o to bniid new onei II had l * en found inipractit ^ ple in Wooi sncb Dociyanl to b uild the number of EV-. * me ? s required , and the rvduced estimates for the P » - >* rn ! year had h »^ -n adopted with great relcctance , !¦ « s it tr& 3 felt tia * o ^ ing to the state of the finances , g > -e rerhictiocs should ba adopted . He cunc ' nded - sr'& giving ' . r . f ; nra'Jon in reply to the Eal of Minto-Lor » 1 ^ SHBCKTos expressed his regret that the infr-rr-iti . n hau ne ^ n given .

      Tz * Daie v > f V \ ellisgtos said he Lad given his ppnjcn of lie iTip-ivpiirty of fnrnixhJBjj the information , 1 «¦; ms ji ^ Tic * -b-38 negitct ^ , and the two Noble Lords , iii itrffTise of ? Lrir rrspetiiT-s EO ¥ trnajeEts , tad puK lii ^ -r-d ti the -KTiol-3 M-srid information -which Ehculd vt-7-r har = been c ^ n-aiEoicated , and which might pro Ye mi-ehisTOBs to tit- coi-rtry . f > jtx si , z&e further debsts , in -which LordB Minto and B -I ( iinz * o 2 vindicated themselves , a ; . d the Daie uf T \ -liin ^ on remarked that h ? had slways discouraged EC-- ¦ ns-tion 3 . th

      SlttS&lT , FiSaCAHT 17 . L-ir- 'J Campbell inoTad for and obtained copies of 1 / r-i Eiiecr-oTonnh ' s pri-cIiniiiJans , ana gave notice , on tr-e yari of the MaiquU , - ; f CianTicanie , cf a motion on tb- » nbjfct . on the 9 ta of il 3 rch . L'T& iiOSiKAGLE at tL « requ-st cf the Dnke of "R iHEgtcn po * tj > .-acd his motion on the Corn Laws , on » cr niu . of list inai ^ position of the B r ! r-f Ripon . -xfta forwirdijig some Mils the House a . _ iourned .

      Untitled Article

      KUUSE OF COMMONS—Tbubsdat , Feb . 2 ? { 7 n a part of onr last week ' s impression we £ are a yery «* cdensed ard imperfecl account of the proceedings in is ¦ Hesse of Commons on the ^ abject of Mr . Waiver ' s motion on the New Poor Li"w . On scc ? nnt of its great importance T ^ e sjy * th ? s irttk a more extended report , particnlail j of the spe ^ dies of ilr . Waller and Mx Ferraad . ]

      PBIXCIPLES OF TBE 2 TEW POOB LAW . Mr . TTjtXTza then rose , and c * m ?) * nc ^ d his spef ch bj Isservit-c th » t he c&ald bafe "wisbtd that it had £ a-.- « -n to lbs lat ol a > me ahler or more eminent meniber to bs . " » e >* rFD £ >> t fonrard fee presriit subject , forif the aklitlea of him who bmutht it fiirward were to be ¦ w . iifae ^ or mtamred fc-y the fast ccm &rqar'DcesinYeVved , ht f-iivd that he s > -m : ? d t * fonsd jr ^ atiy de ficient . If , IB- ^ ed . he Biieht ia ? e bsdhis -wii > h ;» . .-nlged , he should 6 tT « desired tei 3 !» j ^ stj " 3 mir-i * tt"r » theniaelTes to htTe bicn s more Lamtne and ccpviiiaonal Tiew of the qat-i-t ^ oE for * ii crrriy c : d he -vri > h them to purtus FBch j ± . 5-& £ uitf 9 as -b-obIc ? smire jheia tfce Iptb of the people . c » n-pant cf tbe pt . jp ! e taken in the mass ; ~ ana there was no one m ? thod by -which tb » -y conid so essf-ntiaiiy

      iiare endeared tbfeiE « lTc « to the -vast body of the d-niizr * at larje is by gemelisaing , "hat he w ^ s sorry to ray bsd betn r -tisliy . « ad at &ecocd hand , their ^»> - ! Ti . iisintly—the Xe- » P ^ or la-sr He -was too old to cocri much p < ipuiaTity himstlf , and raa ^ ily ¦ wonlij ie transfer whats" ? i > r be ma ^ ht hfiTf attained t « those vi } - ;? e ytneral c-ur * s of pciic r he thought most calcalar ^ d to sppe&se the fi ^ sstisfaction and restore tbe prosperity o : the ciantry . He ¦ srould ask them this Qae > tion fciirflj—had rhsre bi .-eu aay satisfscaon . any j ^ v ; t * . rop ? i , any a"trreac ? of tte bumblei classes to i . T f-mplojera ^ iilt ^ tais mest unfeeling law had been i ? - t-o * Had there been auything in fact in the * c- : ^ 3 l » e * hraodiru ? disccatent , e ^ er ready to break ont i = - t

      I- ?»¦ : o . r !> ^ . fi ^ rt iiiry " « - year ce tl . r £ --: -j -sTt-mrnt a ^ uist t 3 old Poo * Law of ' fcf- c « = r- ; j orisiiatjiw with me of the greatest iOTer ^ i , u?—a ienTaie too— 'has -the land erer kn ? w ; ths j Terj -= pj ^ cl of -wh -3 e noMs policy it « a to nuain tbe j grvst masses of tht people arsinst bereditary opprM- j jian as < i 3 ri « tocr £ . Vic pride^—pareere sxtpeclis , et debel- j lsn-c svperboi ; and "who , by trusting h * rself and her throne to ihe soppvrt t-: * her people—not to family in-. fL ^ ences oi be ? d 3 ta r * tom 5 T £ —fc . t tie who ' . e -world at ; dtSiace . TZjat pnnc : pjB of ber ' a the new law did noi iti ^ -jfl . dia tot Ttaiore , ^ id a"t rrtBTlgorate—^ bnt ' , Tt-vtrsed . It protected , or affrstcd t » protect tfc « g ? tai landed int ^ I «^ s ^ 5 first , and nut tbe mxnulactnruig ir - es'j , ^ y tb « ott- B * krs , >> j ths -fery desirKcti ^ n of ,

      those npc-n trhoin uu * e fcleTatfeJ lntfertsts rested ; and ; ty "Jial aUrispi to -ea rj « y ths : Ttry basis of ail bviman , * -ady . be ctCid rs-Ii tfceia tbat those m ^ re e 3 eTax « i i itltrfesia misit nltimaitiy i . luk . Eveiy other foon- j Nation boi tbit of the people -waa a aandy ece . Tae ; -winds of d 5 s 3 ff--cd = - > ii would Wow—the tempest of . popular fury -ssvuld h- ^; Vn \ o ra ; e—and down would } come their stracvure to th ^ eroaud . He had called this j Jicw Poor ~ Lorw sa inf ^ nuon . and such literally H waa , j I ; was the trail tff-it of ItgislatUn . when , throti £ h . fiis iapse cl rime . i » 2 d la ^ s *? an t-- » fiQ of their appli- / » e ion , to iinproTB atJ adapt them anew—to cut J eff excrescsncfcs . and to Imrigorete the impaired j psxt » r-W T ^ tarfe , V » Tfefonn . bat not to

      con-TEisa or 4 fe 5 t » o ?—{ t > -ix , hear ) But what had t l > fc = n Ib-e coErse pttr > utd \ ii this incst ominous affair 7 i A new ic-PfeBtion new to liiatory as to the people , was t strcei out . Prinr ; pl * 6 a ^ d dttails men and macainery , t Tere aSke di « p "»» cs-i . That class of men who acted as parochia- tEccr ? of tt-ir parish , s , and as jnrora in their , ecnit * of law . were cist a ^ ide- A itrta of but modern i lETnitJan was anei - « I , or rat > . » -r filched from & more i Tespect&bla foatr ' nuon—that tx " guardlanB " . Anii : " gnaroiWEB "—* L » t ^ eia " jrnsrdians' ' " uader this "new , * ct ? Mr . Shariditu L . i dv 5 n \* l the cEcs of a similar protector , appointed , as he Eiid . to extrt oTer the unhaopy PernTi&E 3 ' * such cninilzn-iip as the eagle a& > r 4 ed ihe lamb coTsriuj ! wnild it devoured , its prey — . hsa . htas . ) Snch . fee hat ! ever said , was the

      character cf this aew voji law , and he fead since become possessed of a < iocain ^ iit -= vfch : hgustiSed him in asserting Sat such -waa the actaal o " s jec ; of ^ loee who brought it fwwnrd—ihear . bear . ) He would now read to the Bouse a passase frem that r ? por .: — " That at any time altar thfc paasicg of this act , the Boar 4 of Control sbo . 1 haTe powtT , by an cnler , with such Exception as shall fee thought n 6 ce ^* &r 7 , to disallow the continuance of relief to tbe indigent ; the sg = d , and" the impount . in any other mode thin iu a -ofurktcuse , n-gulated in such BsaauEr a » by the aforesaid Board of Control shsll "bs Cotermiiicd- Tht power of the Commissioners ¦ wonld be to reduce allowances , but not to enlarge ibeui . After this has been accomplished , orders may be sent fortfc direcVing that after such a d ^ y

      all ontdt-or rt " -cf Jshoold be . given partly in kind ; afier anotter ptT'ofi it shonld be wholly in kin » ' ; tfcii after Kuch a ' -v-thtir perioi' it should b ? Kr---duil ) y diiniaishad in < jc £ ntity , until that mo-e of relief was txtinrairficd— Uear , hear . ) Frtm the firet th « relief should * n alierrd in quality—( hear , htar , )—coarse brawn bread bfcinz jKbstitJi - ed for fine vhit' ; asd concarrent 5 y vnih tbtst i& ^ asares ss to the out-door poor , a gradual redaction ihonld be made in tha r-icf of the in-coor poor , and strict re ^ nlitloni enforcrtl "—( hear , hear . ) These were the -words of the € arlljat report placsd in the hands of tbe late zsinisttrs , and whieh the Rich * Hon GvJJtlfcmac had termed " confidential , " the eniiiors being afraid , as Us iiir . TValter / verUj beiieTrd them to be , of sendin ? it fvrth to fentral cogni-Esnea « ith Their nar ^ a Aftach-HL Thai confidential

      C-KiinniBication waa followed Ly arfpart vrnieh i ^ as laid before th 2 House , in -which there - ^ as this pa = « age : — . ' * As-ose bairisr to ths increase c ? exp ^ sditare "in the- de-t ^ 'itd manasfeiL > cnt tLe cc « iiin * ssioners should be I empowered to fix a max ^ mnni of the consumption per I hesd Tflthin the woik ^ oiise , lea-ring to U , o lockl officers ; % ht liberty of reducips it below th- ? maximum , if ' they ' could Eifely do fco "—( hear . b * ar . ) "Do it safely . ' " ' If ow , that he thought hiiirible eEongh ; oui yet not so , ofitasively glaring ss "hi conSdrai ^ ja : < * j » mmiiniratinTi i iifcii From tfcsTfiaik mi mj rtesionB .= nrce sprang tb * ; £ --st a-rawed jepor . if the ctntral b > -ard of poor-law ; conuaisRonera ; ret J tbat « xL-tinr : ~ Mly jometimee ! caliod the tiiBBrro = V ! , t--nt of the ft . ^ h i commissionera j —tue Bishops of JU-cdon an j Cb _ -:-rMr . Stnrges i

      , Baume , Mr . &B :. ir . ii < d f .-ar ott-- \ - rsons of lees note or ^ c ^ J- ^^— ' 'Co ci-re prfeTiensJy t ^ -. io work to concoct Borne fresb plan f ^ r tins isiita 2 i . 33- » , t of the poor . In that eonddential repor . besid ' s tie crael ones -wh ch be had maitio-Ed . tt ^ = . a ranWr of most tyrannical and uncan 5 tust-, fci . ^ . vccsnaieii-I . ^ oia , from which , in feet , tha lufeis cdDmUsiaaexa- rbe bium-rirave—took their cue . Id thwt abomir . b- su ^ tstions , directions , and recosinienGatiin ^ . theTtfoir , u . countrv had the very foundation < s the bill ; sfeif . Such wtre its origin asd its o > j = et ? -to 1 * pro ^ ressly from bad to wvrse a iyBtfeaa of sugeriu ujvdb our poorer fellow .

      creatures , -Jrcich realsj out-H- » x > -ied ail tbe discoveries thai had been ma <\ 6 rtsptc ^ g tin treatment of the negro lacs , in ihsh first k-. -Snapping a » d subs « qaent toausmisaon to the West Irdies in the floafcrg nnionhonass of the eliTe-trsxier ;—( hear , hear ) . Great stress iras Md on the fabrication of thk central commission , vpon tbe asserted fact thai it comprised men of all parties , WliO TPHM psrfecG > aB » rejnoicea —( hear , bear } . He couldia ? 6 wiab-.-d vhit tiity bs-i had some natural prejudices arising from i-t-ane ccaaiderations ; but he believed thattter . ; va * sot a mvmber cf thai commission wheso -miad was zso" . made up , btfore a single witness t ^ bs txaini ^ ed , t . rtconiuiend or introduca some .

      tbirg ^ pf » Ewst sevt .-e iSd opc-ressrve chitracter . Mr . Bos-tdi . o £ Bri'Jge-ara " -r , iiad proi . ouncfd tbia Ws a bill of indictn > enl ajaiics : aJJ tie pc-ar oi tit country . Tae ccmmiailcDeia isj * , s . t ^ . ir firsi rrpor , " the d « ty cf

      Untitled Article

      Fupporting parents and cbiluren in old age a d infirmity is so strongly enforced by our natural feelings , that it is ofte . i well performed even among savages , and almost always so in a nation deserving the imme of civihz-d . We btlitve that England is the only European country in which it is neglected "—( bear , hear ) . . . » If the deScv-r . cies of parental and filial affection are to be supplied by the pariah , and the natural motives to the exercise of those virtues are thus to be withdrawn , it may be proper to endeavour to replace them , however imptrftctly , by artificial stimulants , and to make fines , distress-warrantB , or imprisonment act as substitutes for gratitude or love . " While the lo » er classes of people were thns libelled , did no recollection occur to those who libelled them of a great example once

      afforded by both Houses of Parliament , who thought it necessary to stiwalate the natural affections here spokpn of , not by pains and penalties , but by the-large allowance «? f £ 10 . 000 a-year for the Uouble of Tisitiug an Lfilicttd fattier once a week ?—ibear . bear . ) Now , let the House contrast this character of the people so blackly drawn by the commissioners with other descriptions of the same people , and Uf on that subject he had particular pleasure in quoting a passajj ? from a letter of the Eirl of Ripon to one of onr colonial governors : — " The name of pauper" t&aid \ hat Nobie Lord ) " by no means implies , as seems to have been supposed , a man enable or un-willing to -wort—one whose iuflrniity or whose idleness would disqualify him from becoming an useful settier . On the contrary , the whole of the

      mamed labourers in many of the pariehea tf the South of England may be corrtctly described as paupers , inasmuch as the -want of employment has depressed wai-fts to a rate at whtch it is impossible fur a man , bo-wever inQustrious . to maintain a Igpily , without receiving parochial rtlief . * * 11 has been found tbat the idle and worthless paupers have frequently been renitred so by the hjpelussnrss of their situation ; and whrn enabled to find constant employment , at fair ¦ wiges a great change has almost invariably taken place in their conduct "—' . hear , hear ) . Let the House conrras * it , too , with the picture drawn , not so long since by the Member for Sh : ffield f rom his own experience of tbe English poor . That Honourable Member had told that House , that" one-third of the workluc men in tbat

      town and neighbourhood were out of employ . A gr * at proportion of the remainder were employed only three Gays in the week , and in const quence the greatest distress prevailed . Those at work subscribed something from their wretched pittance to relieve the distress and keep off the parish others who had no work at all "—( hear bfsr ) . Could she Honourable Mtmber , if he had ranFacked every storehouse of eloqutnee , have found w ^ rtls better calculated to damage tbe New Poor Law in the estimation of every nan of common humanity thkD the plain sentence which he ( Mr . Walter ) had just read to them ? Men steeped in poverty and misery

      ' to » he very lips were > et so impressed with the horrors j of imprisonment in the workhouse , that rather than I their starving brethren should undergo them , they made ¦ th ^ ir litUe pittance less , by subscribing to keep them I <* ff ihs parish . Bui it was not for this pnrpose tbat he ailuuwd this passage . He wisiw d now to as-k , bad ¦ these men earned tbe iharacter which ibeconiinissioners > hv \ attempted to h £ x upon them ? Bid they deserve i to be legislated against m tbe manner the present bill j legislate *! against them ? And a . ill store , ought they to I be suMected to that ever-increasicg stale of cruelty I pr * s ; -nbed . and laid down by the private report of tbe ' eight commissioners—that private report from which i the present bill , with its triumvirate at S . < nirr-. E-t-bouse , originated—( hear , bear , kear > ? How 1

      the pricsiple of successive reports was carried out he j had plenty of instances to lay before tbe House . Take I thLt , for « -ximple , from Cirencester ; tbe iaie member ; for that borough said , in bis piac 3 in th » t House , that j ' ¦ ce was chairman of a board of guardians . Both in his ujh district , and in otbtrs with which be was j acquainted , the measure had acquired an immense p pn . arity . He thought the coniitry was endrr the grealcst obligation to those " » bo hart brought U f <> r-. ward . The bill worked well in tbe district with whicn , he - « as eo ^ nected . He hoped there would be no vital I alteration of a measure which had worked to the entire ; satisfaction of the vast majority of tbe people . A » to ~ dut , the complaint was that the inmatt-B of the work house livtd too well . " iHriT , hear . ) He ( Mr . Walter )

      ' . j fceid in bis baud tbe dietary of the Cirtcctster Union , i prescribed by the Poer-Law Commissioners , in which : tbtn ? was not one ounce of fresh animal food from t year ' s end V > year ' s end—( hear , hear , )— but only five oueccs of t-alt bacon for the Snnday of each wetki t ** . T . beai . )—» Ed thai dittary , be it obsw-ved , the sjTL » Kiiaj » s eonld not £ o bejend . though they were to - be lUJnlssd with Qie ooions po-trerof redecieg it , ¦• if ; thfcT conld aafeiy do so . " I Hear , bear . ) He could add ; many tales of similar cruelty on the part of boards of ' guardians , iiosi persons know the difficulty of deolini ; . -s ub bodies of men . A body corporate , in fact , bad ¦ no pouL The individuals xuigbt have their separate ' feelings , tut the whole body had none such . ( Hear , \ hrar . ) A man zuieht bs personal-y humane and

      charitable , but , when acting with others , this Christian feeiine evaporated and vanished . He would mention one cise , wfeich occurred not very long ogo in bis own immediate neighbourhood . He was not a frequeiitej of boards of guardians , kaving so preat respect for the insttntion iUe t ( Hear , bear , hear ) H * iM ^ r- Walter ) was , howbver , particularly rtquested to attend a meeting , for the purpose of endtavonriD » to obtain eut-door reliii for an unhappy and rffli > -Ved object , with a * ife and five children , who had bf-tD ordered into the workhouse , bnt after a night's trial of bis abt > de there , went out ctxt morTiing . He ( Mr . Walter ) had been de&iredto urge this man's title to out-door relief btfore the board . The alleged ground of their refusal was , tbat hiB wift > bad practised some

      imposition npon a benevolent lady , and therefore the husband and whole family were to be punished . With some difficulty tbe bui-band was admitted to the baard » presence , and he jMr . Walter ) then ascertained , by tile acknowledgment of both tbe medical officers , thai he laboured untier an incurable pulmonary complaint- He produced a good character from a highly rc * pe € taWe master On questioning him , a doubt arose in bis ( Mr . Walter ' s ) mind whether the msn ' s wife had really been guilty of the alleged impropri&ty , and , to tff-JTrf time for inquiry , a week's cuvdoor allowance was ace *> n >» d to hi » , and tbe board was to meet in the wtek following . He iMi . Walter ) received a most complete and Mttisfactory answer from the lady whom tbe wrman ras supposed to have defrauded , assuring

      him that no such circumstances had taken piase ; and , ftr-ified with ibis denial , be Went to the next board mMjiing , in full confidence that tbe guardian of the parish who had bronght forward the fal ? e charge would at least aid Mb efforts to relieve this family from the dr « ult * l irJUction of the workhi > u * e . That guardian was if possible , more callous than the rest Tbe firs ! order must be maintained , becanse they had made it Icto the workhtuse were tbe family again sent ; thoneh ultimately , after seme weeks' deiay , out-door relief wai affiraed . It was in vain to urge to these guardians that even if the poor man had been guilty of the offence ol hiving an indiscreet wife , he was not to blame , and that if he went into tbe workhouse , tbere be would cer tainly die ; if they had no consideration for tbe pooi

      man himsr-lf . why should the inmates of the workhouse have their feelings harrowed up by the transportation ol a dying man into the midst of them —( hear , heart ? Bu 1 all his representations had been in vain ; the cry was , that having once given their order , it should not be rescinded . He lived only a few mouths afterwards , and died is his own habitation , tbe guardian himself being called to bis account first—( bear , hear . ) Was it to be borne thai against such treatment as that the poor man should have no court of appeal , save only that of the triumvirate of Somerset . House , in which the harshesi principles of tbe whole system were represented and concentrated 1 It were endless to repeat all the cases w . < H-3 uthentieated cases , too—of unnatural severitj inflicted by tbe operation of tbat law—ibear , hear . )

      He did not know a single crime that had not been mnl fcphtd through that operation , or a single suSerinj which humanity was heir to that had not been aggro vsfed and mnltip : itd also through that law—( hear . Further than tbat assertion , which he could sub stantiate by tbe most irrefragable evidence , he wouh not at present trouble the House , but paas to anothc practical difficulty , which , let them enact the law a unanimously as they pleased , they would never be abli t « overcome . How long would they get guardians V perform such labourious duties . , and at a distance fron th ^ ir own homes of perhaps fifteen or twent ; nule-s ? Indeed , at that moment , he knew a parisi in which the parishioners were obliged to clui a sum of money to pay the guardian they depnt

      enly five mites distant The office was tbere held to be anything but honourable or respectable Lords and conntry gentlemen ini ^ bt endeavomr to give it ccL-it at its beginning , but that » -al had much cooled , as wtU it might , and these oflees were left to be performed by those who could ill brook to throw a-. raj their time for nothing . He had alluded , when tbu niL-t nnfuTtunate bill was passed , to the manner is * . b :--h tb » -y would be overwhelmed by reports , amendment sets , acts explanatory , witb . every trash of that description . Why , no human powers Of either body or mind could comprehend or e » rry all thit had been ¦ srritien and printed , at the txpence of this deluded oouiitry , in support of that measure , by its prime agents—( hear , hear ) . Tuey were tricting a Nelson

      mcnumei . t of vast altitude . They might also erect a Poor Law monument of equal height , thongh of more corrupatle materials , of the reports of those -Camroissi'j&exs . They sought to destroy their enemies , not as Ohvsr Cromwell said , -with paper bullets , bat with paptr bulwarks and artificial mountains . At the time that he first attacked that monstrous law , he estimated that the paper defences -would soon reach np to their table . At present they would o / ertop the chair . He had already got npon the Baglish Poor Law upwards of 20 , 000 psges ; and it was ia Tain tb make an estimate of the Irish , since the first appendix to a report itself weighed » llbs . Considering their bnlk , no two

      porUM could carry then , the English P . > or Law papers weighing upwards of twelve stone . Tbe expense of printing them wonld rapport the poor of many parishes for bj > knew not how many years . Bat tbere was one high authority against him , to ¦ which be should not have ventured to allude , had it not been frequently cited against him , and that anthorlty he hoped that he should treat with proptr respect . When he heard the greatest hero of his a ? e say , ¦• I know something of Govcrnors-txeneral . and I know sumething of war and its diScuitfes also , " that man -who bhould not bovr to such authority would be rash and ii discreet to the nlruosi extent of indiscretiot and rasiav . ES ; cut he nuti

      Untitled Article

      humbly contend that his Grace had not had that experience of the internal affairs of this country which other men of humbler general talents might and must have bad ; and that cn ? at man was not , therefore , anch overposering authority npon these subjects as apon those on which his capaciouB mind had been , he might almost say , exclusively employed . But there was one fatality always attending the errors of great men , if sneb they were—tbat they carried an overwhelming weight with them , which the mistakes of others were not liable to . Would , indeed , tbat their opinions were always enunciated with proportionate caution , and never , as be conterded in the present case , before the subject coaia have been folly examined and considered . They were informed in the Divine records of their

      religion , that " whoa a great man speaktth every tnan boldeth bis tongue , and a look , what he sayetb , tbt > y extol it to the clouds ; but , if the poor man speak , they say , what fellow is this 1 " But if he ( Mr . Walter ) bad met with opposition en the one hand , ho bad likewise met with encouragement on the other , and that from the most honourable and excellent class of men—the clergy of the established church—a class , also , the individuals ef which , he would venture to assert , were , geierally speaking , quite aB competent to deliver their opinions on the subject before tbe House as the Immortal Du * e was upon tbat of war ; for they lived with

      tbe poor , in the mrdst or them , much more even than he bad been , in tae midBt of bis soldiers ; they knew their wants , moral and pbyscal , and from that class of men he had also received tlib most useful information , as well as the moBt strenuous and undaunted support , though means were insidicuEly taken at first to prevent their inteiferenoe by inserting tbe names of two prelates in the original central commission—( hear , hear ) He wonld not , however , trouble the House with many of their statements , but , he must be allowed to read one / rotn a g 6 nU «* tnan Inferior to nona in his aacred order in piety aud intelligence , and who was well known to many Members of that House : —

      " Knowing that you are abont again to bring before the House of Commons tbe workhouse system as administered nuder the present Poor Law , I think it may not be without some use , if I state to you ths result of my own observation of that system , not in all nor many of its bearings , but simply iu its moral action upon those who come under it . To myself this is a paibful though voluntary t&Bk ; for it shows metheerror of my own anticipations , and reminds me of the fault of ouce defending as right what I now regret as wrong and pernicious .

      " Leaving , however , snch personal considerations , Jtt me brufly state to you the conviction to which I havti oouie on the subject , and tbe reasons which have brooght me to it . AIj conviction is , tbM whatever may bs tbe maladies under which our social systein is suffer ng in the labouring part of it , tbe present workhouse practice is not their remedy ; it is rather under tho promise of present relief , an aggravation of the disease . " I have seen the working of the system under , in many respects , favourable circumstances . I have marked iu effects with all the clearness I could by personal observation in uuion houses , especially in ons witb which I havu been nearly connected , and by personal inquiry among those who have been inmates of tbose houses ; and the result of both observation and iisquiry has been the same . It is a demoralising eyutem , tending to coi < nect poverty with licentiousness , and to generate pauperism and crime . 1 only utate to you

      what I know to bu lif rally true , when I say that in union bouses supposed to be administered ss well as tbe system will permit , the work of nemoralintion has been going on in tvery wsrd except those of sickness and old ase . Among in * poor unhappy children , among tbe adults of either s <* x , among the able bodied , this . propagation of evil bis gone on . To particularise und classify its forms would be a revolting task . It would comprehend tbe recital of some of the must disgusting practices of licentiousness and many acts of crime . Persons well known to me buva avowed , that many as were top tcniptations to sin without those walls , those within were fur umro mischievous and dangerous . Tho dancer arises from tbe constant infusion oi tcoah and varied incentives to viee . by those evil communications which , in the world at large , are kept in check and weakened in power by many causes . The day of enteri n * those walls takes , even / rom the man of fair character , much of tho honourable sense of shame which be

      has bt-fore ; and the bad man enters them to diartatn , and rid'cule , aod hate all moral influence—to teach mischief , to make th « tongue and ear aud mind familiar witb those sins in the practice of which be has attained to the sTeateat p *» fiaiency . " It would require some experience , or considerable imagination , to comprehend tbe t-xtent of this mischief . It is a nev < jr-ce * s > i ><; agent of evil , leaving its infection behind , when its ctual presence is gone . A ward comparatively clear >» f it to-day may to-morrow , with a fresh Incentive , break out into every abomination that can pollute the tongue , ox corrupt tbe heart .

      " Now . to omit , for tbe present , all other objections to this system—to say nothing about Its trenching bard upon thft feelincs of humanity , or the laws of God— I would only ask two questions in regard to it Can the Legislature be justified in it { listing on the poor a moral evil that , apart from such legislation , has no necessary connection -with poverty ? We know that in the correction of crime tbs is done through necessity ; but tbat It Is crime , n > t poverty , that is to be dealt" witb . The prison will always be a school < : f moral evil , as well as a place of pui . it-binent ; but there the inmate has brought tbo evil npon himself—ho has forfeited the

      protection of the laws of the country , aud this is a part of the recompi-ice of tvll which hu has reaped . But what has a poor famiiy done—poor only because they arc zmnieroua . and their wages insufficient ?—what have they dene tbat . after having striven in vain to support themselves , and then come to claim tbe protection which the criminal has forfeited , they should be , in one respec * . treated in tbe same manner with him?—that they should be placed where , whatever moral sense they have must be blunted and destroyed , and where their children wiH bear the lessons , if not witness the pract ce of prcfl ' racy ?

      " Another question I would ask Is this tbe way to extirpate pauperism from tap country ? If it be , we mu » t unlearn every maxim which connects prosperity , either on a large or narrow scale , with moral character . " But it is not . Whatever were the calculations or intentions of tbe framers of this measure in other respects , they appear to me to have overlooked its moral effects altogether . Certa ! n it is , tbat its practical effect is to UDdermine ths moral character and wellbeing of the poor . Its action is all downwards . It has no tendency to raise the rnor . ; l condition r ' . the labouring classes ; it has a direct tendency to uecrade and deprave it ; and , if this be true , it stands marked with the worst stigma that can be placed upon any lawthat of demoralising tbose upon whom it acts . " I am , dear Sir , " Whh sincere respect , " A Counthy Clergyman . To John "Walter , Esq . M . P . "

      Bnt there was another argument with wLioh he waa pded , in favour of this mofct painful important measure . He was told that gentlemen wcre pledged to it . U pon that point he could give a decided negative ; no gentleman , he affiiued , was pledged to It Gentlemen might , unhappily , at tbe first origin of this system of mischief , not seeing what its consequences might be . have been pledged to the introduction of it ; but did any man , at the time of its introduction , daringly pledge himself to carry it through , however it might affect the people—however odious it might provehowever , in faot , it might subvert the whole order of society 1 All that , he said , bad been and was being produced . Was any man pledged then , or could he now plead that he was pledged , to persevere la the

      infliction of such evils on the country ? To whom was he—to whom could he be so bound ? T © his countryto the poor—to hw conscience ? Or to his party—his friends—bis political leaders ? Nay , more unworthy fctill , did he mean that , having given his vote once for this monstrous evil , he was bound in consistency—bound in care for his oarn reputation , to persevere in tbo fatal couisohe had begun ? Whatever was the case he bade that man pause . He bade him retrace his steps . Lot him not speak of pledges given , or supposed to have been given , when be was totally unable to look into futurity . If any man had unhappily so involved himself , be ( Mr . Walter ) owned his difficulty , but did not doubt as to wbat was his duty . Facts—tbe facts of the last nine years—had cancelled his obligation . His vote was not

      his own but his country ' s ; aud his only honourable retreat waa in owning his mistake , and amending it He conjured , therefore , the Conservatives of the House to step forward to the conservation of England . Great Bpprehcnbisns bad been expressed in that House and elsewhere of a certain league , to the practices of whose leaders he was as much opposed as any man . Bat let gentlemen ask themselves bow this league , now bo menacing , first sprang up . He wonld tell them : it was suggested by a preceding league against the poor of this country , whose diet was to be reduced in quantity and corrupted in quality . What a burst of indignation would have been txelled in that House , as wsll as throughout the country , if any resolution against the negro population , of a charaoter similar to this against

      our fellow-sahjcCts here at home , should have been produced—that those blacks were first to have their daily food debased , and after that diminished —( hear , hear )! Ganflemen bad been benevolent enough abroad ; let them look around them at home . If , as they bad been told , they had elevated the condition of the negro slave to such a state of prosperity thak he could now drive bis gig aud drink his Champagne , surely he was not asking too much when be called upon them to elevate tbe condition of the free white labourer and aiti&ia oi England , whom this law crushed to the earth—at least t * afford him such subsistence as would preserve him from sinking

      under a gradual prostration Of strength . If they could not give him bis cottage and piece of land whiah the negroes had obtained , at least let them not insist on bis selling everything tbat nia hovel possesses in order to qualify him for being a tenaat U their vast gaolstt » union workhouses . If they could not give him Champagne , they could give him t ! ie cheap , the wholesome , the nutritious , tbe national beverage of onr land —beer . It was not , perhaps , too late yot to retrace their steps . He felt strongly convinced also , that not only that , bat all the other great subjects of contention , which kept the country in a ferment , might be composed and beneficially arranged , if genilamen would in good earnest turn their thoughts to tb . 03 e subjects

      Untitled Article

      ratber than employ th « it whole time in struggles for political ascendancy . If it were said tbat aach unobject was desirable , but * tbat it was impossible to attain it , ho would at onee reply tbat he ucku < -wledge < l no such impossibility with respect to objects that were rational . He recollected a happy maxim of Mr . Burke npon the subject : — " I know / ' said he , " it is oommpn for men to aay , that such and such things are perfectly right , very desirable—bat that , anfor ; uaately , they are notipracticablo . Oh no , sir , no . These things which are not practicable are not desirable . There is nothing in tbe wbrld really beneficial that iloes not lie within the reach of an informed understanding and a welldirected pursuit . There is nothing that God h « s judged good for us that he has not given us the means to accomplish , both in the natural and moral world "icheors ) . He ( Mr . Walter ) would not longer detain the House than by moving the resolutions . The folfowing are tbe resolutions moved by the Honourable Member : —

      " 1 . That in a document entitled , ' Measures submitted by the Pour-Law Commissioners to bis Majesty ' s Ministers , ' appear the following passages : — " ' That at any time after the passing of this act the Board of Control shall have uowsr by an order , with buch exception as shall be thought necessary , to disallow tbe continuance of relief to tbe indigent , the aged , and the impotent , in any other mode than in a workhouse , regulated in euoh a manner as by the aforesaid Board of Control shall be determined . ' " ' The powur of the Commiwsionora would be to reduce allowaucoa , but not to enlarge . '

      " After this has been accomplished , orders may be sent forth directing that after such a day all out-noor relief should be given partly in kind ; after another period it should be wholly in kind ; tbat after such another period it should be gradually diminished in quantity , until that mode of relief was extinguished . From tbo first the relief should be altered in quality , cgarse browu bread beint ; substituted for fine white ; and , concurrently with these measures as to the out-door poor , a gradual redaction should be m . uie in the diet of the in-door poor , and strict retjalations enforced . ' " 2 . That these recommendations , applicable alike to every class of tbe poor , and enjoining an indiscriminate reduction of tbeir physical comfoits to tho lowest endurable point , are shown by the subst qaeut orders aid practice of tbe Poor Law Commissioners , to form the real though unavowed basis of the present system of Poor Law relief .

      " 3 That the suffering already caused by tbeir partial enforcement , and tbe amount of ont-door relief in spite of them stitl administered , show tbeir provisions to have been at one cruel and impracticable . " 4 . That , the attempted substitution of punishment fur legal relief Dae more and more tended to imitate aud dish' arten the ponr , to chock industry , to increase crime , and to encourage various kinds of tyrauny , without even the proposed compensation of reducing tbe expenses of tbe r ^ te-payers . " 5 That this bouse think it , therefore , expedient to demand « ucb a reconstruction of the existing system as shall make it conformable to Christianity , sound policy , and the aneient constitution of ibe realm . " Mr . Fkhkind seconded the motion . The question having been put from th « Chair ,

      Mr . Walter again rose . Hon . Membors had asked him where he got certain information from to which ho had alluded * He had received it from a person who requested that his name might not be personally given . Sir J . Giuhah was in hopes , when the Hon . Member rosy for tbe second time , that he was about to supply a most important omission , fa his ppet'eh he had made an oniis-ion that was somewhat ptartling ; he had read extracts from a document which he bad declared to be confi'ienual . and when ho roso a second time he ( Sir Jamea Graham ) was in hopes he was go ' wg to show bow he became possessed of it , but nothing was le * s satisfactory than his explanation . Upon a former oe < : a . * k > n the He . Gentleman had asked him if ho recollected

      these documents , and upon that occasion be said he did not , but since then he han Bome indistinct rtcolleotion that somw such doctimenr existed , ond he thought he could inform the Housohow that was the case . In 1832 , Lord Grey's Government appointed a Commission to inquire into the condition of the labouring poor , with a new to amend th « law , and the Hon . Member had mentioned to tho Home tbe names of some of iho most eminent individuals fanning tha' commission—the Bishops of London and Chester , Mr . Sturges Bourne and others , whose names were a sufficient guarantee to tho House of the beneficent charaoter of tho Commission—( hear , hear . ) The Hon . Member had said that a particular document waa of a cor fidential nature—that it emanated from the Commission , and was submitted to Lord Grey ' s Cabin , t

      Mr . WAi . TF . n observed that be had not said so , but the Right Hon . Ban . had . Sir J . Geuhau belioved it was in the recollection of the Houne wh < -, n ho asserted that the Hon . Member had said he was in possession of a ceufi- ' ential communication —( hear , hoar ) . Now ho ( Sir James Graham ) could toll tho Houtie the precise circumstances under which that document came into the Hon . Member ' s possession—( hear , hear ) . He had understood tho Hon . Gentleman to say that it was a confidential communication ; but whether ho said so or not it was certain that it was confidential . Tnis Commission having prosecuted their inquiry , made their roport , which was laid before them and tho public after that report was printed , in order to bring the

      subject in a more tmiirible form vmUor the consideration of Lord Grey ' s Government , certain heads or referenda were prepared from the report . Tht > Hon . Gentleman said that this document was never signed ; it was truo , it was not denied by the Commissioners . He believed that those heads were prepared by tbe professional gen lemen employed by the Commissioners iu drawing up their report . He believed those heads were not known to the CommiBjiouers , but were drawn up by the proiessional gentlemen merely for the consideration of the Government . He ( Sir J . G . ) was told that of this document not more than twenty copies wcre printed . Tbt Hon . Gentleman was very unfortunate in not having been present in the House during the last session , when the Poor Law , in all its bearings , was largoly discussed . (** No , " from Capt . Peohell ) . Whv he thoueht everv thing except tbo Gilbert

      Unions was settled to tho satisfaction of ihe Gallant Captain . The Hon . Gcntloman appeared to imagine that the House was pledged to tho Poor law . He ( Sir James Graham ) did not rest at all on any opinions which had been announced by the Hon . Gentltmen on either side of that House , he was willing to rest the measure upon their practical knowledge and experience of the bad and good in the working of the system —( hear , hear ) . Tne law was based on the policy of" feeding the hungry , and clothing the naked ; " its tendency was to elevate the character of tho labouring population ; the proportion of those relieved out of doorn , as compared with thoso relieved within the workhonso , was as six to one ; the law was , therefore , not opposed to Christianity or aound policy ; and he would meet the first resolution by the previous question , aud tho others with a direct negative .

      MLr . Waki . kt censured Sir James Graham for attributing improper motives to Mr . Walter . It now turned out that thore was such a document , notwithstanding tho faint recollection of Sir James Graham when tho subject was first mentioned . Mr , -Borthwick declared his opposition to the Poor Law , and supported ^ the resolutions Mr AGLioNBr had supported the New Poor Law whun it was passed , and believed that its operations had been generally beneficial : but some of its provisions wore harsh , and had been harshly worked out , and therefore he would support the resolutions , as a means of declaring his opinion tbat the law should be amended and improved . After a few explanatory observations from Mr . Crippa ,

      i olonel Sibthorpe declared his opinion that the old system of Poor Law had been excellent , that it had only been mismanaged in a few instances , and that it would be better to return to it . Mr . Stoaut Wortley had never pledged himself to his constituents to vote for the repeal of the Poor Law . He was opposed to mmy of its provisions , and wished it to be improved , but he could not support the resolutions . Geneial Johnson ' s great objection to the Poor Lawj was , that it put the people out of the pale of the constitution , and placed them under three individuals at Somerset House .

      Sir Robeiit Peel denied that the principle of the amended Poor Law waa opposed to the acts of 34 ; h and 43 rd El zabeth , or that it was more harsh in its provisions . This he illustrated by citing some of the provisions of these Aots , especially the power given by thd 43 rd of Eiizabeth over the ohildren of such parents as were unable to maintain them . Tho workhouse test , in lieu of the labour test , wis enacted by the 9 in George ; I . ; and , therefore , it was neither a novel nor an unconstitutional principle . No great measure was ever passed without having suggestions being submitted for the consideration of tho Government ; and it would lead to much practical inconveuionceif such confidential communications , whether

      they had been adopted , or , as in the present instance , they had been rejected , were produced aud publioly made use of . He adduced tho amounts paid for the relief of the poor , as showing that tbore was more expended on them than on the poor of any other country , and after expressing his surprise at the conrse which Mr . Aglionby had avowed he would adopt , commented somewhat humorously on the arguments which had been used by Mr . Walter . He concluded by warning the House against tampering wi'h tbe Poor Law . Lord Joan M&nnkbs would support the resolutions , as expressive of his wish to have the support of the poor placed on Christian and constitutional principles . .. . . .

      Mr . Munts attributed the aversion of the people to the poor law , as one cause of the late insurrections . Sir Walter Jaues objected to the motion of Mr . Walter . But the question of the Poor Law -would never be settled without a well-regulated system of oat-door relief .

      Untitled Article

      Mr . Ferband ; said , that on rising to address the House upon a question oh which he hart long raken a deep interest , ha begged in thu first pi tee to < iff = r ttis sincere thanks to the Hon . Member for Nottingham for having brought to light what be ( Mr . Fercand ) considered to be the foulest conspiracy ever entsred Into in tbe dark against the rights , liberties , and privileges of tbo poor , it was now twelve years ago since he ( M . r . Ferrand > had first taken part in public affairs , and on this question he j had often received advice from the public speeches of tho Hon . Member , which bad cheered him on in the course be bad pursued in opposing , by every constitutional means la bis power , this law , and little did be tbenjtbink tbat be should have the honour and the privilege of sitting beside his Hon . Friend

      when he gave . , asl he had that night given , the death blow to the NbwjPoor Law . He ( Sir . Ferrand ) deeply regretted tbe speech which tbe Right Hon . Baronet at tbe bead of tbe Government bad made that evening . He did sot think that the Right Hon . Baronet bad acted fairly to the Hon . and Learned Member for Cookernouth . The Right Hon . BiTonet saw a rising spirit of indepebdence flowing into the Hoa . and Learned Member ^ breast—be saw that tbe Hon . and Beamed Member jwaa actuated by no party spirit , and the Right Hon . Baronet was afraid lest the indepen dence the Hon . and Learned Member had shown should become contagious on b jth sides of the House , and that if the feeVinxs which actuated the Hon . and Leaned Member to stand up in tbe independent

      manner be bud done should ba acted npon on both sides , the Government would be in a minority on tbe present occasion , —( hear , hear . ) But what had bt-en the remarks of tbe Kight Hon . Baronet the Secretary for the Home Dopartinent towards the Hon . Member" foe Nottingham 1 Tfce Right Hon . Baronet said this was a private document , only intended for the eyes of tbe Ista Govermi'itf , of which he had been a member . He ( Mr . Ferrand * wished the Right Hon Baronot had remained on that 8 ide of the House ; if so , Conservative ptiuciples would have stood much higher in th 8 eyes of the people thnn tliey did at present—( hear , hear , and a laugh ) . The R \« ht Hon . Buronat had taunted his his Hon . Friend [ the Member for Nottingham with a breach of confidence . He ( Mr Ferrand ) contended that bio Hon . Friend had only discharge ! 1 a public duty . He bad fouiid out and dragged to light a document which , without any breach of confidence on bis part , he found

      placed amongst hia paptrs—ho cast his eyes upun it , aud aaid to himself , " Niw I will bring before the eyea of the people of England this mun ^ troaB system of oppression . " And how had ths K-ght Hon . Bironet himsslf acted the other night , wben be ( Mr . Ferrand ) moved fur a return of two letters which emanated from certain manufacturers when the New P # o » Law was ' under consideration , and on which they entered into an express and declared agreement with Mr . Chadwick , tbe secretary to the Poor Law Commissioners , that if tbtty only framed the New Poor Law in such a manual aa to throw a large potion of tba working classes of the south Into the north—that if they were able " to absorb" the uurplusipopulation of the south into the manufacturing districts of the North of England , it would enable th » m , the manufacturers , to reduce the price of labour in the north of Raglan J , and to put a stop to the outbreaks f > r | raising wages ? Mr . Wallace—Who said that ?

      Mr . FEUUAND .-f-The letters of Mr . ABbwortb and Mr . Greg ; they were in tbe first report of lhe Pcior Lnw Cornmlsaioaera , The words be bad often quoted before , and no one man had ever denied the truth of the quotation . Now , at ! that very time a committee of the House was sitting to Inquire into tbe then condition of the band-loom weavers , and it was proved before that committee that the band-loom weavers were then Btrug-Klmg for existence upon ten farthings a-day . But whit had the Right H » L Baronet said with respect to these two letteia ? Wby , he said they were private communications—that t . ' : e first letter cf Mr . A « hworthwaa on the file of tha P 6 ot Law Comrnisiioaers , but Mint the lettt-r of Mr . Gregicould not be found . They were , tie added , private c ' mninuirieations , which were never

      intended to see daylight , but that be bad no objection to produce Mr . Aahwortb ' s letter and lay it oq the table of the House . N' ^ w , wh-t was tbe difference between the conduct of the R « ht Hon . Baronet in p acing that , letter , which he Bivd was of a private nature , and never intended to set ) daylight , on the table of the House , andjin that of his Hon . Friend the member for Nottingham , who , finding a paper which had been submitted to tho Government , brought it bsforo tbe Houso ? Taisj was fluid by the RLgbt ) Hon . Baronet to bo a breach of confidence—he ( Mr . Ferrand ) maintained , thote was no breach of confidence except on tbe part of the Right iHon . Baronet himself . Tae Right Hon . Baronet bail esprtssly Btated , tbat tbe letter written by Mr . Ashworth to the Secretary of the

      Poor Law Commissioners srns a private communication , nnd now be ( Mr . Ferraurl ) begged to ask tbe Kight Honourable Baronet the First Lord of the Treasury ( who had always shown an earnest anxiety to prevtrit the Slightest attempt to conceal public documents )) if there was any necessity to keep back Mr . Greg's letter ? It was sii'l not to bo on the file . Why was it not en the file ? Lbtthe Government say at once tbat it wonld be inconvenient to produce it because thare were expressions iu that letter which ought not to appear before tbe public . Such he ( Mr . Ferrand ) understood from tho Hon . Member for OSdhanaAo be tbe case , but at all events it waa tbe duty of tho G > vernnieut to make a strict and searching inquiry aa to tbe reasons and moans mod to prevent the

      produciion of tbat [ Utter . He no w camo to tae question of tho working of the Now Poor Law in the North of England And what had been its tff-cts there ? It happened that amongst th « letteva contained in the first re port of tne Pooy L \ w Commissioners tbera wua o . ie from Mr . Ash worth in which he told Mr . Chad wick that it would be desirable that 20 , 000 labourers &bouid be sent from tho south down to Stalybridi ; e . Now , the Inspector of factories for that district had , within the last f « w ilaya , forwarded his report to Her Majesty ' s Secretary of State for the Home Department aud in it what did they find tbert , proved to be the sut ¦; at present of Stalybridge—the -district into which -Mr . Cbadwkk , with tbe consent and at the r < que ^ t of . those cottonspiuners , and throucb the agsney of Dr . K \ y—who , for

      the part he had taken in Becuaug tho eluetion of Mr . P . Thompson at Manchester , had been made a Poor Law Commissioner , and who , in a pamphlet , had described tbe working population of Manchester and its neighbourhood to be , at that moment , in a state of starvation —bad induced tens of thousands of the population of the south io go into the manufacturing districts of the north ? He ( Mr . Fjrrand ) wished the manner in which these wretched poor had been kidnapped and sold into a state of slavery , anal brought to a speedy death , could be exposed to the bouse . Bat with respect to Suly bridge and its neighbourhood , he found the following statement made by Mr . Hnrner , the factory inspector , in bis last roport : — " The population of the three unjoining towns of Ashton ,

      Dukeoflald , and Scale } bridge included , witb an area of a mile and a half radius . { from the most central part of tbe district , is considered , to be not less than 55 . 000 ; and tbe proportion of the working population , that is , those below tbe rank cf shopkeepers , has been estimated at eighty per cent , in Ashton , ninety in Staleybridge , and ninety four in Dakenfleld . This dense population has been bronght together chit fly by the extension of the ( manufacture within a Very short period . The population of the borough of Ashton and tawnsbipof Dukentield together was , in 1821 , 14 318 ; in 1831 , 29 352 ; and in 1841 , 45 , 074 . I am unvble to give the exact numbers for the whole district , because Staleybridge is partly in Lancashire and partly in Cheshire , but the increase there bus probably been in a similar ratio . " Now . be asked the Honse to listen to what followed : — " How little the moral and religious improvement of the large number of tha humbler classes has been hitherto an object of solicitude , the

      following ficts will show : —In the borough of Ashton , with a population of 25 000 , tbere is no national school , no school of the British and Foreign School Society , nor any other public day-school for the children of the working classes . The same id tbe casa at Staleybridge and Duke'itield , with th « slight exception I shall now state . ! - I mentioned in the report above nferred to tbat a national school had recently been built at Staleybridge , but , I regret to oay , it is not yot in operation . " Np » v this Dr . Kiy , who , by tne by . held also tbe situation of secretary to the Education Bo . ' . rd , was the agent employed by Mr . Chad wick and the Poor-Law Commissioners to carry down 20 , 000 southern labourers to a pines where there was not an atom of chance of their receiving the slightest education . Now , was u ' this Koniwilrng serious and alarming—namely , that for the purpose of carrying out the New Poor Law it was necessary to absorb the population of the south ir . to tbe north ? Where did hen . members think the

      first outbreaks took place ? Why at Su ! e > bridge , where there was a population whose minds , from their sufferings , were easily excited by men of deeper designs , but who had not the cotmige to show their faces , and who left their victims to appear at the bar of justice , and pass thence to transportation , vrhil i they siunk aw : iy into the darki He maintained th it tbe origin oi the outbreak was the iniquitous , atrocious , bloodthirsty Poor Law . But for that law the population of the north of Bagland would not have bad their market for labour entrenched upon by the introduction of tens of thousands of tbe masses of the south , —and they would have had borne chance of earning a subsistence by a fair prios for tbeir labour , if they had not been robbed of it vjiiler the operation of the Njw Poor Law . He found the other evening tbat the hon . member for Manchester thought proper to i deny some statements he ( Mr . Ferran-1 ) had uiade with resptct to the treatment of children employed ] in a null belonging to a

      cottoD-spinnor in Lancashire . ] Tbe Lon . member said he ( Mr . Ferrund ) had told the House that that there were certain Poor Law unions where tbe overseers handed over the orphans [ under their care and protection to employers without inquiring into the mode-of treatment to which they would ba exposed . He ( ikbrFeir&nd ) bad stated the circumstance upon an authority on which be knew he could place reliance—he bad learned it from persons of unquestionable veracity ; and , although the matter had been denied by tho Hon , Member for Manchester , be ( Mr . Farrand ) knew very well that the hour was not far distant when he would receive an authority backed either by persona who bad beheld thosa scenes of cruelty , or who wore prepared to prove evsry word which he ( Mr ; Ferrand ) had uttered . No sooner had the epe . ch ofjthe Haa . Member for Mauohesier reached that town than the representatives of the working clasaas , who : > d located the Ten Hours Factory Bill , met and pa ** ia resolutions , which as they related

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      -. ^ g —~^ -n to bimself he would not now read . But he had recoivod a letter from ono of the body , Mr . Djherty which corroborated nil he bad said . He trusted tho House would allow him to read that letter . Year after year these poor girls were kept in a state of slavery but at last human nature coufd bear it no longer , they burst from tbo chains of the manufacturer , and ran away to thalr parents . And What was their punishment ? " He ( Mr . Doherty ) saw the room In ' which . theae girls were confined : the light was completely excluded ; they were not allowed either fire , light , or bed , and tbeir usual allowance of food was considerably diminished . Tbeir hair was cut off , and theii confinement lasted for several days . Daring the confinement of Esther Price , several of Iier

      fellowapprentices mitigated the rigour of her pnnishment , by putting in through the crevices of tbe wainscoting which separated this room from tbe adjoining apart * ment portions of their own rations , as well as cloaks , &o ., to cover her by nigbt . On the Friday afternoon the matron died , and ttia remains lay in the next room to that in which the poor girl was confined . When she heard this , she was driven almost frantic with fright . Oq the following day , when refreshments were brought her , she rushed oat of the room , and told the person having her in charge that she would not , under an ; circumstances , paBs another night in tbat apartment The man said , Well , Esther , if yon pledge youraelf not to be seen , I shall say nothing about it , hut you know , if you are seen , it is as

      much as my place is worth . " These chil . dren were placed in that man ' s power under the operation of the New Poor L * w . It was from the union workhouses that this nmn was supplied with these apprentices , and be would ask the Right Hon . Bironet whother , in a civilized conntry , tbe people of Eogland would long allow these tbings to exist , and whether tbe working classes otrdd allegiance to the Government , if , on those circumstances being brought to its knowled go , it did not immediately take steps to pat a stop t > such proceedings ? There was another instance of ill-treatment of tbe poor which he had alluded to the other evening when he had moved for certain returns relative to the operation of the New Poor Liw . Ho bad stated that in the month of May , 1842 . there were

      a number of people sent from the Skipton Uaion workhouse to a man named Threlfall . amillowner at Halifax He had asked tan Right Hon . Baronet the Secretary of State for the Home department if there w&s any communication extant between lhe Poor Law Commissioners and tbat miilownar ? The Right Hon . Baronet bad . replied that there was no statement or correspondence whatever in the office of the Poor Law Commissioners on this subject , After that , he ( Mr . Ferrand ) had asked him if he would cause an inquiry to be made in the office of Secretary of State for tbe Home Department whether tbere waa any such communication , as to him , in his high ofiics , the poor must look for protection if their rights and privileges were invaded . That Right Hon B . ironet had informed him tbat thera

      was not any such communication . Witb tbe permission of the House he would read a statement connected with the transportation of these people from tbe Skipton Uuion workh-. use to this mill : — " Sir , —1 thank you for the attention you have paid- to tbe subject of my letter , and for your communication . It was Skip , ton Union workhouse from whioh tbe hands were brought to Threlfall ' s mill . Tii « precise number cannoS wow be ascertained , but , as far as I caa learn , there wouid be about twenty ; four of those were so lame that they could not walk between Skipton and Aildingham a distance only of six miles , eo they were brought in Tbreifitll ' 8 tax cart ; also one was very much deranged iu her mental faculties , Tbese were all females . The c line of tbe poor idiot was Hannah Cuckshot I regret

      that I am unable to « ive you the names of the four cripples . One of them , whose name is Elinbeth Towneridv was so lame , tbat aha was unfit far any employment , much less to stand twelve hours a-day ia a faotory . After her day ' s work she was scarcely able to walk to her lodgings . Thus are tke poor creatures conveyed like subjects for dissection , from the union workhouse to the factory to be experimented upon by tbe manufacturers . These facts are well known to many in Addingbara ; but , if you , Sir , do not , think them sufficiently authenticated to warrant an exposure in the Senate House of Britain , I hope you will at least niaki tbe world acquainted with those facts which have been proved before you in a court of justice . Alice Morriil i * so far convalescent as to be able partially to resume her employment . " Now , here he would ask what chanos thete was for protection for these pooi

      people f Thu father of Alice Morriil deehned to ffiakd any statement , aa be was an overlooker in Mr . Tbrelfall ' s mill . Tbere was arother instance ol the cruelties practised under this Now Poor Law , and it discovered the secret motives that bad influenced the first proposers of this law—of tbe Ash worths and the QtegB , when they wrote their letters and did their utmost to u . Te forward the law , and to get into their districts tbe population of the south to beat down the wages of the labourers , of their own workpeople . The workpeople of Mr . Threlfall were so badly paid , ' and so ill-used and over-worted , that they had struck for wages ; and for the purpose of enabling him to carry on his mill , he applied to the Skipton workhouse , whence ware forwarded to him twenty hands ; and these poor people were obliged to work for tbe wa ^ es he chose to give him . Tbe Eon . Members for Boiton and Manchester had warned the

      house against bis statements unless authenticated . They had insinuated , as usual , that it wou'd be desirable tbat the H Hue and tho country should not listen w what he ( Mr . Ferrandi said , unless it were fully proved before the House . Ha ( Mr . Ferrand ) little thought that en tbe following morning the report of tbe Fastoiy Inspectors would be placed in bis bands . Since tusa Hua . Members of that House had gone to him , and said , — " Why you understated the conduct of the manufacturers in the North of Eoj-land . When the Secretary of State for the Home Dapartment chided you for having used the expression ' monsters in human shape , ' you did not to the extent you were justified express you abhorrence of their conduct . " He would ask theSecretary of State for the Home- Department , whether he felt

      it his * iuty to inquire whether the gaardians of the Skipton Union had placed in tbe power of this manufacturer twenty hands for his mill , three or four of whom were cripples unabla to walk , a » d one of them an idiot ? He was about to read an extract from tho report of the inspectors of factories for tbe halt year ending tbe 31 st of December , 1842 , It was rathsr long , but he trusted the House would bear with it—( hear , hear ); and he would ask the House to rescue the masses of the people from the oppres . sion and plunder inflicted upon thera , for their burden was too heavy to be borne . This was the report of Mr . Saunders , and was dated the 25 ih of January , 1843—the last report , "I was about to prepare my report far the last quarter in the early part ol th « month , when I received notice of one of the mest gross

      and oppressive violations of the law , during the week enling the 25 th ultimo , thit has occurred to my knowledge since tbe Factory Act was passed . Tnis induced rue to delay my report , in order to wait the result of a careful investigation of the circumstances relating to that offence , and tbe adjudication of any complaints which might be prefened sgaiasi the offenders . The investigation was very efficiently conducted by Mr . Baker , the superintendent . '' BU would here beg leave to bear his tesSimony to the conduct of Mr . Baker , for h 9 l Mr . Fertandj never saw a man oonduct himself with more justice to the parties concerned . " And ' regret to say tbe wilful and deliberate overworking of variona young persons , both boys and girls , but chiefly the latter , between the ages of fourteen or eighteen was clearly eatabli&hed . This occurred at a mill at

      Addinghara , in Yorkshire , which has only been occupied a few nioBtbs , in cotton spinning , by the firm of Messrs . S . * ed and Co ., ot which a Mr . William Threifall is tht ; managing partner . The mill was at work fiom six o'clock <* n Thursday morning , the 22 nd alt ., until twelve o ' clock the same night , which ( allowing two hours for meal time ) was an employment for sixteen hours of the sevwral persons detained between those periods , some of them being under eighteen years of a « e . This was , however , comparatively a slight offence to what followed . The mill commenced worfeiLg again the next morning . Friday , the 23 rd , and time

      the machinery continued running from that , with only short intervals for meals , during tne whole of Friday night , tbe whole of Saturday , and until three oclock on Sunday morning ( Christmas Day ) , a peried of forty-five boars-Now , these twenty paupers were placed in the power of this " monster in human shape , '' and be asked toe Right Hon . Baronet would he mak < s an inqairy into this statement ? Ha ( Sir J . Graham ) must , or placa himself in the position to be called on to resign his office . " Tbere can be no doubt but that fionie of tna hands under eighteen years of age were presei . t tlu"D ^ the wnola of this exeesalvsly long period ; but this

      point was not proved in tbo cases selected for t&e prosecution , because it was necessary , in order to obtain more than one penalty , to lay distinct information s tor thd wrong employment uf difivreni young psrsoc 3 to eich separate day . It was , however , proved , to— S * of fourteen had been kept to work from seven o c . 'ock on Friday evening , the 23 J , during uM the nigbt , tna next day , and through Saturday nighi , until three & •»¦ on Sanday , tbe 25 rb . —a period of thirty-two nonrs ; the same persons 'havins been woiksd on tbe pievio day ( Thursday ) tiil twt-Jvd at night , and again for p& « of the Friday afternoon . Such ootyluct towards young and tender females , who cannot ba deemed free * & *}*' merited , in my opinion , tha hea » ieat penalties wtucn the law imposed for such offences ; and I felt ^ Jr : justified in sanctioning Mr . Bakur ' s airangoaeat ot ins complaints in such a mauner as to afford the magistrate * an opportunity of awarding a punishment in some degree commensurate with the offence . ^ I 06 offenders were convicted ca seven different

      intormations , * ix of which tbe magistrates deemed so seriousi as to demand severally the Sail penalty of £ 28 ; f * 1 ™ other offence waa punished by a payment of £ 5 . " «<** ' he would call the atteniian or the Right Hon . Baron ** , tho Secretary of State for the Homo Department to what was now doing by tbis millownor . He was trying to avoid these penalties ; he was getting up a P »™" to the Right Hon . < Baronet to be relieved from in « D , and tbat petition l » d beoii already signed bv £ n 9 ° , gistiate who was a part-owner of that mill * . { " Farrand , knew that Mr . Tarelfitfl would apply » a ™» tothekigirt . Hon-Baranbt . He ( Mr . Ferraa 4 > Knew , that so far as money cuulJ make this monster P 3 * ' his atrocities , he lanst pay tho whole amount oi " * ( Continued in 9 ur Seventh page- )

      ±Mx&Yiz\ Ssarltaavm.

      ± mx&Yiz \ sSarltaavm .

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      « 5 THE NORTHERN STAR . \

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), March 4, 1843, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct978/page/6/