days together, without any reasonable or | titioner believes, from the evidence before probable cause, and merely, as the peti- the said coroner, that a verdict of wilful tioner believes, to harass and tire out the murder must and would have been given witnesses, who came day after day a con- against many individuals engaged in the siderable distance to give testimony; that cruel attack before mentioned; and the in detailing his complaint to the House, petitioner is informed, that Mr. Ferrand the petitioner exceedingly regrets he the coroner, stated that he had no doubt should be under the necessity of im- such a verdict would be pronounced if he peaching the conduct of any individual, allowed the jury to come to a decision; especially one employed in the adminis- and the petitioner has good reason to betration of justice; but the petitioner is lieve that the last mentioned adjournment compelled by a regard to truth to declare was made solely with a view to screen and that according to all the information he had protect the delinquents who were likely received from numerous individuals who to be affected by the verdict of the jury; witnessed the proceedings of the inquest that it being understood the said Mr. the coroner throughout evinced a mani-Ferrand, intended still further to adjourn fest partiality for the magistrates and yeo- the said inquest, an application was made in manry cavalry of Manchester, to whose the last term, by the petitioner's solicitors, illegal and violent conduct the petitioner for a rule to show cause why a writ of attributes the premature death of his son; mandamus should not issue to be directed that, among other things, the said Mr. to the said Mr. Ferrand, directing Ferrand refused to allow the witnesses to him to proceed forthwith in the said ingive in evidence numerous acts of violence quisition; but the said Mr. Ferrand and atrocity committed by the said Man- showed cause against such a writ being chester yeomanry upon the people so as- granted, and the court discharged the sembled at the meeting in St. Peter's rule, as the petitioner understands, on Field, or to state the names of the said the ground that Mr. Ferrand had probayeomanry, immediately before they enter- bly rendered the proceedings of the said ed the field, evincing a determination to inquest invalid and nugatory by neglectperpetrate the violent acts of which the ing to view the body at the same time petitioner complains: that the said Mr. with the jury, that the said Mr. Ferrand, Ferrand prohibited the reading of the gladly availing himself of, and seizing acts of parliament passed for the regula- with avidity the suggestion as to the illetion of the conduct of coroners, whereby gality of the proceedings, wholly neglected all coroners were directed to receive the to meet the jury on the 1st instant as he species of evidence rejected by him on had appointed by his own adjournment, this occasion; that, in the progress of the but, his clerk, Mr. Battye, stood at the investigation, the solicitor employed by door of the inn, and told the jury as they the petitioner inquired of the coroner arrived that their attendance was no farwhether or no he had seen the body of ther required, and that they might go the petitioner's son, to which inquiry he about their business, and thus has termiperemptorily and repeatedly refused to nated the proceedings on which alone the give any answer; but sometime afterwards petitioner relied to bring the guilty before he went secretly and clandestinely, in the a superior court of judicature for trial, middle of the night, and had the grave of and ultimately justice; that it has been the deceased opened for the purpose of intimated, as the petitioner is informed, seeing the body; by which extraordinary that the course of justice was not impeded proceeding the town of Oldham, and the by the proceedings of the before-mensurrounding neighbourhood, were in some tioned inquest being set aside, because it degree alarmed and agitated, whereupon was still open for the petitioner to prothe coroner stated that he found it neces- ceed, either by obtaining a writ directing sary to adjourn his court to Manchester the magistrates of the county to take the to pursue the investigation; that, at inquisition, or by indictment before the length on the 13th of October,, when the grand jury, but, independent of the deevidence on both sides was, as the peti-lay which must result by adopting either tioner believes, brought very nearly to a close, the coroner, without offering even a pretext for such an unparalleled proceeding, adjourned the inquest until the 1st day of December instant; that the pe of these modes, the petitioner humbly submits to the House, whether it is not mocking his already agonized and harassed feelings, to refer him for justice to the very persons against whom he com plains, or to a body who are likely to be composed of their relatives and intimate friends, especially when it is considered that the prejudiced opinion of a similar body has been already evinced by their throwing out bills of indictment against several of the Manchester yeomanry for maliciously cutting down the unarmed and unoffending people on the melancholy 16th August, and by their extra judicial denunciation transmitted to government at the very last assizes held for the county of Lancaster, wherein, after assuming that the people are misguided and disaffected, they impute to the lower classes in general, "that their object is to reverse the orders of society, and by force to seize and divide the landed property of the country among themselves:" that the petitioner, considering that he had no immediate legal resources to bring to justice the authors of his son's death, has presumed to lay a simple statement of the facts before the House; and he therefore most earnestly supplicates the House to listen to the facts he has detailed, and' take them into immediate consideration, so that he may have the consolation to find that his grievances are heard, and that the House will afford him that redress which he cannot obtain or expect from the legal authorities of the country." The several petitions were ordered to be printed. MOTION RESPECTING MR. OWEN'S PLAN.] Sir W. De Crespigny, in pursuance of the notice which he had given, rose for the purpose of moving that a select committee be appointed to inquire into the plan of Mr. Owen for ameliorating the condition of the lower classes. He trusted that the same spirit of conciliation which had marked the debate of Tuesday last would be manifested on this occasion. Labouring under severe indisposition, he brought this question forward with increased embarrassment. It had been his hope that some hon. gentleman more conversant with the subject would have introduced it to the consideration of the House, and appeared in the character of an advocate for his distressed and suffering fellow-countrymen. Under these circumstances, the House, he doubted not, would extend to him its kindness and indulgence. He could assure it, that he would endeavour to contract his observations into the narrowest compass. The question was rather one of humanity than of political reasoning; and if he should be so fortunate as to obtain the concurrence of the other side of the House, he should hail the circumstance as the harbinger of better times. The interposition of the legislature was most imperiously demanded. General poverty must produce discontent, and general discontent led often to revolt. It was necessary that the higher classes should condescend to inquire into the miseries of the poor with a view to the effectual alleviation of their distress. He saw no other means of preventing the country from being involved in bloodshed and confusion. The plan which he had to recommend would, in his opinion, prove, if adopted, beneficial for the purposes he had stated. All that was required by its friends and supporters was, that it should be submitted to experiment. Let it not be said, he implored the House, that they were prodigal in furnishing the means of destroying mankind, but were resolute not to listen to any schemes for their preservation. There were some, he knew, who, on the study of half an hour, pronounced that to be visionary which was deemed practicable and useful by a man, who had devoted to the inquiry the labour and consideration of thirty years. He called upon such persons to produce a better plan, before they condemned that which he was about to recommend. It was a most important subject for the attention of the House, to investigate the consequences arising from that mechanism which had within the last few years so extensively superseded human labour. To him it appeared, that mechanism should always be made subservient to human labour. The events of the last 30 years had made a change in the internal policy of the country absolutely necessary-and the question was, whether it should take place, step by step, by reason, or be brought about by prejudices and ignorance, or, perhaps, through the convulsion of revolution. Under the present system, the unemployed poor fed on the labour of the industrious, communicated the bad habits acquired in idleness, to the general mass of the poor, amalgamated with them, and taught them their vices. The only remedy for this evil was, the prevention of the mischief at the root. One part of Mr. Owen's plan, to which he wished particularly to direct the attention of the House, was the system of education which it embraced; for education, it could not be denied, was the foundation of all virtue and order in society. He had seen the effects of it in New Lanark, and should never forget to his dying day the impression which it made on his mind. The children were there instructed in those principles which were calculated to make them useful and excellent members of society. That which most struck his mind, and which could scarcely be credited by those who had not witnessed it, was, that the education of infants was begun in this establishment at the early age of two years. He had seen at New Lanark upwards of 100 children, on a large plot of ground, engaged in various kinds of amusements, each contributing its share to the comfort and advantage of the whole; there was among them no mark of malevolence or quarrel; they were vying in acts of kindness to one another. He saw them afterwards at school, some engaged in their letters, and others at more advanced stages of improvement. From thence they were instructed in the reading of the Bible, and taught the duties which they owed to God, to their parents, and to themselves. When the hours of amusement and those of instruction were ended, he had seen them going to their little labours with an alacrity which was really astonishing. He trusted the House would allow him to read a few of the letters which he had received on this subject. The hon. bart. then read the following letter, which he said he had received by the post of the preceding day :-" Sir William; Having deliberately considered Mr. Owen's plan, I am of opinion, that there is not any proposition yet made for the improvement of the morals and general condition of the country, worthy of a comparison with it; and I am induced thus to intrude my sentiments on you, to propose a measure which may be likely, not only to secure its trial, but its general adoption. It may perhaps be your intention to show the benefits of such a plan, and to move for a parliamentary grant, for the purpose of trying the experiment. However favourable the general opinion may be, yet in the present feeble state of the revenue, I am fearful there may be a difficulty in obtaining the grant; and should that not be the case, yet only one establishment would, by way of trial, be produced. I, however, consider it unnecessary that the country should wait whilst another experiment be tried. In addition to the plain reason of the thing, the experiment has been tried with the greatest success at New Lanark. I should therefore at once propose a bill, which should have the effect of rendering any application for a public grant unnecessary, and giving more facility to an immediate application of the plan on a general scale, as follows: "A bill to enable parishes, at a general (not a select) meeting, to make a permanent rate on the property, and to take up money on the security of such rate, for the purpose of raising an establishment on Mr. Owen's plan. To enable two, three, or four small parishes to unite for that purpose, each parish to have an inte rest in, and to derive a benefit from the establishment, in proportion to its amount of rate or contribution. The rates so mortgaged to be applied quarterly in the discharge of the interest, and the reduction of the principal money so borrowed, until the same be discharged. To enable lords of manors, and the parishioners, to sell and convey waste and commonable lands for such purpose, with such other clauses as the wisdom of parliament may devise. I see by a little pamphlet which lately fell in my way, and which I enclose, that 96,000l. are sufficient to found an establishment for 1,200 persons; and I lately saw in the public prints, that Mr. Owen considered an establishment for 1,000 more advantageous than for a greater or less number, and that would require 80,000l., the interest of which would be 4,000l. for the first year, and as much less every succeeding year, as the principal sum should be reduced. As there is plenty of unemployed capital in the kingdom, I think the money would easily be obtained, and it would be much more creditable to capitalists (and more beneficial to the country) to lend their money on such security, than to place it in the funds of other nations. In the neighbourhood of Mr. Ricardo, there is plenty of com monable land, and the poor are very numerous; the measure would therefore be peculiarly beneficial in that district, and, although no alarmist, yet I am of opinion that the safety of property in a great measure depends more on an immediate attention to the plan of Mr. Owen, than on any coercive measures. I. remain with the greatest respect, &c. Cirencester, Dec. 14. Jos. MOUNTAIN." The letter also contained some calcula tions as to the time when the sum borrowed might be repaid, and the manner of repaying it, with which he did not Mr. Owen's plan, to remedy this to ren der the production of the necessaries of life fully adequate to the increase of population-would effect a reorganization, and a remoralizing of the lower classes, which there was no man of virtue who would not, he was persuaded, be most glad to see. He concluded by moving, "That a select committee be appointed posed by Robert Owen, esq., and to report thereon: and how far the same, or any part thereof, may be rendered available for ameliorating the condition of the labouring classes of the community, or for affording beneficial employment of the poor, by an improved application of the sums raised for their relief." feel it necessary to trouble the House. The next letter he would read, was from the bishop of Chester. His lordship "approved of a plan which would give to the poor an interest in the better cultivation of the land, and stated that he had tried the experiment by letting out from 70 to 80 acres to poor peasants, at about half an acre to each. The result was, that the lands so given were well culti-to inquire into the nature of the plan provated, even with that time which the peasant could bestow after his usual daily labour. One of the great advantages of this plan was, the creation of a feeling of independence among the peasantry-a feeling which could not be too much cultivated, as it rendered them averse to any application to the poor laws; and in the instance alluded to, relief from the poorrates was not sought by any of the peasants so engaged." If the House, in the present situation of the country, turned its back upon any plan which had for its im mediate object the relief of the lower classes of the people, they would excite a general spirit of disaffection and discontent. He trusted, therefore, the noble lord would not show himself averse from this inquiry; there could be no mischief in it, for if, upon examination, the plan was found to be inefficient, it might be abandoned. It might not be acceptable as a whole, but it should be recollected, that there was no flower of the forest from which the industry of the bee did not extract some honey. He might, if he did not fear to occupy too much of the time of the House, go on reading to eternity the letters which he had received from various parts of the country in favour of this plan. He, however, should only trouble the House with the reading of one more. He then read another letter in favour of the plan, which described the great advantages that might result from it, by the practice which it would encourage, of spade cultivation. A gentleman in the neighbourhood of Newcastle had proved that by this mode of cultivation, the produce of land had been raised to 7 or 8 quarters per acre. Before he sub-that a trial of it might be made with admitted his motion, he begged to make one observation further. At the period when Adam Smith wrote his treatise on the Wealth of Nations, the great object was to increase the wealth of the country. This object had been since achieved by the increase of machinery, so as almost to increase the production of some articles much beyond consumption. Now, Lord Archibald Hamilton seconded the motion. He was so well acquainted with the practical effect of Mr. Owen's plan, and with the great distress which existed in that part of the country near which his establishment was situated, and particu larly he so well knew the anxiety which existed among the great body of those who were so distressed to have the plan inquired into, that he conceived the House ought to take the matter into consideration. At the same time that he asserted this, he did not mean to give his support to those numerous theories which had been founded upon Mr. Owen's plan. He saw, however, that a great part of it had produced an excellent effect, and he conceived that one ground why it was entitled to an examination. He did not look upon the present motion as one which went to embrace the whole of Mr. Owen's plan (which he feared, if taken up in a national or general view, would be attended with too great an expense), but to extract and separate the useful parts of it from those numerous and extensive projects with which it was combined. He would support the motion, in consequence of the good effects which he understood to have resulted from some of Mr. Owen's exertions, and from the feeling which he was aware existed among the poorer classes, vantage to them. One thing had resulted from the operation of this plan at New Lanark-that it had united large bodies of human beings in the strongest bonds of kindness and affection towards each other; in such a manner indeed as he believed was never seen or known before. This was a strong reason with him in support of the inquiry, and he thought that inquiry alone was sought by the motion. He would strongly recommend the reference of the subject to a committee, to which it should be understood that every thing eligible should be submitted, and that the House should not be troubled with any details of improvement, except such as should appear in the report the committee might finally agree upon. Mr. Brougham said, that he was anxious to state the grounds upon which he was disposed to vote for the present motion, without being understood in any degree to support the general principles with which it was connected. In the first place he thought, that in the present distressed state of the country, that plan which proposed to alleviate such distress should be very wild and exceptionable, indeed, against which the House should peremptorily shut its ears. It was no doubt among the misfortunes belonging to the distress of the people, that they were too ready to attend to any visionary scheme that promised them relief; that they were disposed, as it might be said, to catch at straws, in the hope of saving themselves from sinking. This was, however, too generally the consequence of popular calamity. But parliament should be guarded, not to give the sanction of its high authority to any visionary project, because that sanction might do considera ble mischief, especially in this way, that if such an impracticable plan were recommended by the House, that recommendation would weaken its power of carrying into effect any plan of less extent, but more practicability, as the people would naturally be disposed to say. "What comparison do the advantages of this plan bear to the prospects held out by the project of Mr. Owen ?" This was, therefore, with him one reason why the House should look with extreme caution to any of those measures which were proposed in the present shape. At the same time he did not wish that the House should reject all inquiry on the subject before them. He was desirous not to be understood as meaning to agree to Mr. Owen's plan. He conceived the theory on which it was founded to be wholly erroneous. It was founded upon a principle which he denied that of the increase of population being a benefit to the country. On the contrary, he had no hesitation in stating, that the excess of population was one of the great causes of the distress which at present afflicted the country. Yet this proposition, which, from the best consideration which he had been able to give to the subject, he was fully prepared to maintain was quite discarded by the theory of Mr. Owen. But it was amongst the most melancholy malpractices of the low part of the press, to depreciate this, which was the soundest principle of political economy. Nay, the worst expedients were used to calumniate the writers by whom that principle was mainly supported, although among those writers were to be found men of the most exalted morals, of the purest views, of the soundest intellect, and even of the most humane feelings. An endeavour was made to raise an outcry against those writers, principally upon the ground, forsooth, that they proposed to interfere with the main comfort of human life, by deprecating early marriages. But was it not incumbent upon any man who had enlightened views of philanthropy, or even a sense of common justice, to dissuade people from imprudent marriages-from forming connexions which they had not the means of subsisting? Could any thing serve more to aggravate the distress or mortify the feeling of man than the collection of a family for which he was incompetent to provide? Yet against the writers who sought to guard society against this great evil, the utmost obloquy was directed. Nay, an attempt was made to excite a clamour against the men who had the wisdom to devise, and the manliness to support, that which was agreeable to the soundest principle of political economy. The present was not, however, the time in which he thought it advisable to propose the adoption, or to enter into the discussion of that to which he had devoted a great deal of his time and attention, and which he deemed the true radical remedy upon the subject of population; for if a plan to remedy this evil were now brought forward, there was reason to apprehend, from the disturbed state of the public mind, that an outcry might be raised against it which would be but too likely to interfere with the usefulness, and prove detrimental to the interest of the plan itself. The proposition of such a plan must therefore be deferred to some calm period which would be more suitable for deliberate and candid consideration. But to return to Mr. Owen's plan-although he differed from the theory upon which that plan was founded, especially upon Yet the subject of population, and thought it |