"It follows, then, that those who are employed must by their exertions execute a greater quantity of labour, and by that means greatly increase the numbers thrown out of employment.

"That this is no fanciful theory, but, on the contrary, a true detail of the origin and of the nature of the evil under which the manufacturing districts are now suffer ing, is known to every man who has access to accurate information upon the subject; and it appears to me to be fully confirmed by the scanty information which his majesty's government have laid on the table of this House.

By the Manchester magistrates we are informed, that the secretary of state was fully apprised of the deep distresses of the manufacturing classes of that extensive population, and that the disaffected and ill-disposed lost no oppor'tunity of instilling the worst principles into the unhappy sufferers; attributing their calamities, not to any event which 'cannot be controlled, but to the ge'neral measures of government and parliament and they add, that when people are oppressed with hunger, they do not wonder at their giving ear to any doctrines which they are told will redress their grievances.'

"In Yorkshire, too, we are informed by the lord-lieutenant of that county, that the mayor of Leeds believed that the mass of the population within his jurisdiction was by no means disaffected, or seditiously disposed; but they were suffering most cruel privations through want of employment.' Lord Fitzwilliam also states, as the general opinion of the county of York, that the real grievance of the people was want of employment.'

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Again, the acerbation of temper " among the weavers (at Westleigh) is stated to be produced by severe privations from the lowness of wages; and those who know the real situation of Glasgow and Paisley, can have no hesitation in asserting, that the manufacturers at present exhibit a scene of wretchedness unparalleled in the history of any civilized country.

Secondly, because, if this is a correct view of the causes of the present discontent and disturbed state of the manufacturing_districts; and if it be true, as lord Bacon has long ago wisely observed, that so many overthrown 'estates, so many votes for troubles;'

that poverty is the matter of sedition;" and that the first remedy or prevention is to remove by all means possible the material cause of sedition, which is want and poverty; it appears to me that this bill, and the other measures which have been adopted, can of themselves effect no good, unaccompanied by measures for the relief of those whom our policy has reduced to a state of want.

"I have no hesitation in admitting, that neither the political institutions of this or of any other country were ever framed to govern a people so nearly deprived of food; and that in this unparalleled state of distress, local and temporary alterations of our laws may be necessary, not only to suppress the evil effects which may arise from the sufferings of the people, but to curb the mischievous intentions of those, who, from views of interest or ambition, may attempt to mislead them.

"There are, therefore, no local or temporary regulations calculated to give vigour to the exertions of our military force, in repressing the mischiefs which we have but too good reason to expect, to which, if coupled with wise attempts to remove the present cause of discontent, I would not feel it my duty to give my support.

"But I must regard measures of severity, unaccompanied with any effort for removing the causes of the evil, or even with any expression of sympathy for the sufferings of those whom we have reduced to penury, as likely to lead to a feeling of despair, which can only add to the dangers so justly to be dreaded.

"For to me it appears, that by prohibiting public meetings, we may generate secret and private cabals; that by preventing vague threats, to divide property and to have recourse to force, we may give rise to a scene of pilfering, thieving, and perhaps of private assassination; that by suppressing the open and public expression of all those wild dreams to which distress and despair naturally give rise in the minds of men trained under a free government, we may debase the spirit and corrupt the morals of the people; but that it is by kindness and sympathy with their sufferings, and by administering as far as possible to their relief, to which we can only look, as the means of restoring that love and admiration of our political institutions, and that pride in the frame of

our free constitution, which have hereto- | fore formed the envy of foreigners, and the universal and well-founded boast of the people of this country.

"Thirdly. Because I cannot think it is fitting in the parliament of this country, who have expended millions in protecting foreign emigrants and African negroes, as well as in the relief of the peasantry of the various states of Europe, to abstain from all attempts to relieve the wants of our manufacturers, on the ground stated in these debates-that nothing can be done to mitigate their sufferings, without violating the true principles of political economy.

"If, indeed, this proposition (which alike impeaches all public institutions for the relief of the wretched) were true, I should feel great doubt whether the government had a right to revert to the strict observance of the principles of political economy, the moment it suited the policy of the day, though the preservation of our manufactures demanded a departure from them; more especially at a time when their sufferings clearly originate from government having violated every sound principle of political economy by a forced expenditure continued for 24 years. "To me, however, it appears, that there is nothing inconsistent with the soundest principles of political economy, at a time when the class of manufacturing labours are reduced by the measures pursued for the supposed benefit of the community to a state of want, and when the labourers in agriculture as well as in the formation of articles which administer to the luxurious wants of the opulent, are comparatively well employed, in maintaining that it would be right to impose a tax on funded and landed property for the benefit of our manufactures; as this operation would only abstract a portion of the funds destined to reward the labour of one class of the community now at their ease, for the purpose of giving employment and subsistence to those who have neither.

"It is true that the produce of such a tax must not be employed in the manufacture of goods, which, by overstocking the market, might tend to deprive others of a demand for their labour.

"But, if prudently expended by furnishing employment to the destitute, in the improvement of roads, canals, and other works of permanent public utility, or in giving to them the means of emigrat

ing to our colonies, I must be of opinion that, under present circumstances, it is a measure not only consistent with the soundest principles of political economy, but even loudly called for by every feeling of a desire for self-preservation, and by every principle of justice and of humanity. (Signed) "LAUDERDALE."

The following Protest against the third reading of the bill was also entered on the Journals:

"Dissentient,

1st. "Because the laws of England, when duly enforced, have always been found sufficient to prevent any confusion arising from popular meetings, or to punish any disturbers of the public peace; and a too ready acquiescence in the suggestions of ministers for imposing new restraints upon the rights and usage of the people (even if the provisions of the bill were in themselves neither harsh nor unreasonable), appears to us more calculated to add weight to calumny, and to exasperate discontent into hostility, than to defeat the designs of turbulent men, or to reclaim the alienated affections of a mistaken multitude.

2ndly. "Because the powers entrusted by this bill to magistrates are liable to great abuse, and those who disobey them exposed to dreadful and disproportionate punishment. On the surmise that a stranger is present in a crowd, or on the application of a vague definition to the words of a notice, or to the language of an orator, a justice of peace may proclaim a meeting to be unlawful; and an Englishman may become a felon for continuing, even through inadvertence, half an hour on a spot where no breach of the peace has been committed.

3rdly. "Because the numerous assemblies alleged in the preamble to be the occasion and justification of the bill, have been confined to particular districts, but the restrictions and penalties thereof are generally extended to the whole kingdom, and even to Ireland, where no such practices have ever prevailed.

4thly. "Because this bill, combined with the restrictions of the press, which have already passed, or have been announced in this House, is obviously intended to fetter all free discussion, and to repress, if not stifle, the expression of public opinion.-Large meetings, in periods of political ferment, furnish the means of ascertaining the designs and measuring the strength of the mal-con

tents; they tend to disunite and discredit | the rash and mischievous agitators of a mistaken multitude, and they not unfrequently serve as a vent, comparatively innoxious, of that ill-humour and discontent, which, if suppressed might seek refuge in secret cabals and conspiracies, dangerous to the safety of individuals in authority, and subversive of the peace and happiness of society. (Signed)

VASSALL HOLLAND DONOUGHMORE AUGUSTUS FREDERICK GROSVENOR THANET ERSKINE."

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

Tuesday, December 21.

FRIENDLY SOCIETIES AND SAVINGS BANKS.] Mr. B. Wilbraham had to put a question to the chancellor of the exchequer, which, however ridiculous it might seem, was of great importance to the labouring population of Lancashire. It was reported amongst them that the government was about to seize the funds of the Friendly societies and Savings banks, and apply them to the payment of the national debt [a laugh]. This report had been caught up by persons little conversant in political matters, and had actually caused the breaking up of friendly societies, to the great loss of those who had claims on them. He was aware that it was impossible for the government to touch any of these funds, and that the report must have been circulated by designing persons. What, perhaps, enabled them to give currency to the report was, that in the last act for the amendment of the acts relating to Friendly societies, the money of these societies was directed to be lodged in the hands of the commissioners for the reduction of the national debt. He wished to hear a declaration on the subject from the authority which in that House was alone competent to give it.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer said, that even after the experience of the extent to which malignity and absurdity could go in the propagation of reports injurious to the administration, he had not been prepared for such a rumour as that alluded to by the hon. gentleman. It was utterly groundless; there was not the smallest foundation for it, either in fact or possibility. Under the authority of parliament, the money belonging to Friendly societies and Savings banks was kept entirely apart from the public money; and

even if the Treasury were base enough, they had not the power to misappropriate those funds.

Mr. Brougham observed, that this was not the only time when such reports had been circulated. When the education committee was sitting, it was asserted that its intention was to seize all charitable funds, and to turn the two universities into charity schools. He was afraid that the declaration of the chancellor of the exchequer would not be effectual, as he had had an example of the inefficacy of facts or reason on such reports, in the case he had alluded to.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer hoped his declaration would be effectual, when it was known that not a single contributor to the Friendly societies or Savings banks had ever been deprived of his money by government.

Mr. Calcraft said, that it might be also said, in the way of consolation, to the people in Lancashire, that they need be under no alarm as to the paying off the national debt with the money of Savings banks, for that no money would be applied to that purpose at all. Till the last year there had been a sinking fund of fifteen millions; now there was only nominally a sinking fund of five millions; and that would probably fall so much short by the deficiency of the revenue, that nothing at all would be applied to that purpose.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer said, he anticipated no probability of any material deviation from the plan laid down by parliament in the last session.

ORANGE LODGES AT LIVERPOOL.] Mr. Canning begged to remind an hon. gentleman opposite of a statement which he had made on a former evening respecting a clergyman who had preached a sermon at an Orange procession, calculated rather to inflame than to allay the passions of his hearers. He was not at that time acquainted with the circumstances which the hon. gentleman stated, nor did he know the name of the clergyman; but he had since received a letter from him, denying many of the circumstances mentioned, and declaring that the sermon which he had been requested to preach on that occasion, and which he had consented to preach as any other clergyman would have done in ordinary civility, was by no means of the tendency which had been represented. He mentioned the text from which he

preached, and he (Mr. Canning) thought it a sort of guarantee against doctrines such as had been imputed to him: it was, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." He had made inquiries respecting the reverend gentleman himself, and had found that he was highly respectable in character.

Mr. Bennet expressed himself obliged to the right hon. gentleman for the opportunity afforded him of removing any erroneous impression which he might have been the means of occasioning. In the report which had been given of his speech on the night to which the right hon. gentleman alluded, he had seen many things which he did not state. He had been made to say, that the procession went to church bearing effigies, with the insignia of a pope and a bishop; that on their arrival at the church, they stripped the effigies of their robes, and threw them into the fire; and that then a clergyman preached a sermon which was nothing less than sedition. Now, he stood in the judgment of the House, whether he had said this. As to his having charged the clergyman with preaching sedition, all he had said on that subject was-" I conceive a sermon preached under such circumstances, to be sedition against man, and blasphemy against God." He was quite ready to admit that this clergyman, or any other who acted as he had done, thought he was doing right, but still he must disapprove of his conduct.

STATE OF THE Labouring Poor of SCOTLAND.] Lord A. Hamilton said, the House were so often under the painful necessity of hearing of the distresses of the country, that he felt divided between the aversion to occupy their time, and the sense of duty to the county he represented. The petition which he had to present came from the presbytery of Hamilton, and gave the details of the misery and degradation of a large portion of that county. It was from a body of men who seldom approached that House-a presbytery, which consisted, as gentlemen acquainted with Scotland knew, of the clergymen of several parishes (in this case of 14). The petitioners stated, that according to the rules of the church government of Scotland, it was their duty to inquire into the state of their flocks. That they found that the wages of a labouring man were not sufficient to maintain a family-that (VOL. XLI.)

many labouring men could not attend the churches for want of decent clothes; and that from the pressure of poverty the education of their children was often neglected-that there existed much disaffection, which, though not springing directly from want, was the result of designing men working on poverty. He hoped the House would take into its consideration the distresses of the labouring poor, for it would but have half done its work if it merely suppressed disaffection, which, while want prevailed, would continually recur. Among other means of relieving the distress without applying for public money, it had occurred to him that there was much waste land in that neighbourhood, of which the proprietors would willingly relinquish their rights in behalf of the poor for a term of years, if the government would also relinquish the taxes.

Mr. Kennedy bore testimony to the high respectability of the petitioners, whose statements spoke too strongly for themselves to need the aid of his assertions. When it was considered that an attention to the ordinances of religion, and a care for the education of their children, had been among the marked characteristics of the Scottish population, the distress would be conceived to be severe which had compelled them to neglect these duties. That part of the country from which the petition came was in this respect peculiarly unfortunate, that having been the seat of flourishing manufactures, the persons once engaged in them were now thrown as burthens upon the landholders.

Sir W. De Crespigny hoped that the political economists, who had ridiculed the plan he had proposed for examination (that of Mr. Owen), would think of some practical means of relieving the poor.

Lord Castlereagh said, his majesty's government had not been inattentive to the distresses of Scotland, but they doubted whether they could take measures to relieve it by public money, without injustice to the whole empire. Cases of as severe distress had occurred in other parts, especially in England; and in the answer of the earl of Liverpool to the duke of Hamilton, the noble earl had stated that he saw no principle on which he could apply the resources of the country at large to the relief of that local distress. The proprietors of land in Scotland had the power, though they were not subjected to the obligation, of assessing (4U)

themselves for the relief of the poor; and though they had gone as far as it was expected they should in the way of voluntary contributions, it was to be recollected that many proprietors in this part of the island had been taxed for the maintenance of the poor to the whole extent of their property, and it was only by that heavy contribution that the cry of the poor was prevented from reaching that House. He allowed there was a peculiar pressure of distress in the district alluded to, arising, among various causes, from that alternation of manufacturing prosperity and stagnation, which was the distinguishing feature of the present day. As to relief from the public, it was known that some time ago a certain sum was placed in the hands of commissioners, to be issued to relieve manufacturing distress, security being given for the re-payment. Half a million of that sum now remained unexpended in the hands of the commissioners, and was strictly applicable to that part of Scotland, and would be advanced if any visible security for re-payment in three, four, or five years, could be assigned. It was also the intention of the chancellor of the exchequer to move a vote under the head of civil contingencies, which would obviate difficulties as to the securities to be assigned. The gentlemen of Scotland, therefore, had the power of assisting themselves. For a long series of years they had been free from the evil of compulsory assessments; he hoped they would now be inclined to avail themselves of the power they possessed, especially as the whole burthen might not fall upon them within a year, but might be extended over a long course of years. In this part of the country there was no relief from the immediate pressure of an assessment which might operate within the year to the extent of the whole of the property assessed. But in Scotland the proprietors had no such burthen upon their rental. Would it then be fair, that the proprietors of England, amidst all the distress which surrounded them, should be called upon, not only to relieve the distress of their own poor, but also to contribute to the relief of the poor of Scotland? It would at least become the proprietors of that part of the kingdom, to show that they had done all that was in their power for the poor of their respective districts, before they made any application of this

nature.

Mr. Douglas alleged, that the pro

prietary of Scotland had left nothing in their power undone, to mitigate the sufferings, and relieve the wants of their distressed countrymen. But what he meant to refer to in the question which he yesterday took occasion to put to the noble lord was, with regard to the commercial relations of the country, and the general state of its manufactures, into which he thought a serious inquiry should be immediately instituted. It was obviously the change which had taken place in the country with respect to commerce and manufactures, that had occasioned the existing distress, and parliament was called upon to consider of some means to remedy the evils resulting from that. change.

Mr. J. P. Grant said, the House had now before it a petition in favour of a number of industrious deserving manufacturers, which contained such a detail of calamity as could not be heightened either by the speech of his noble friend or by any colouring that eloquence could confer, and yet the noble lord gravely and coolly said, that neither parliament nor government could do any thing for the relief or mitigation of such calamity, beyond a certain sum that might be lent on security for its repayment. But how did it become the noble lord and his colleagues thus to reply to a petition concerning the distressed manufacturers, considering that the great cause of their misery was to be found in the policy which those ministers had been pursuing for a series of years? The noble lord had observed, that the Scotch proprietors should show an adequate sympathy for their poor countrymen, before they applied to that House for pecuniary relief, especially as those proprietors had a power of levying taxes upon themselves. This sympathy, he would tell the noble lord, had been evinced by the Scotch proprietors, who had levied taxes upon themselves for the relief of their poor; but the fact was, that the property which they possessed was not sufficient to afford the amount of relief required. But, independently of the taxes paid in common by these proprietors, each was found as beneficent as his means qualified him towards his distressed neighbour. It came to his knowledge, that the relation of an hon. friend of his, who was a member of that House, allowed, out of his own private purse, no less than eight pounds a week for the relief of the poor in his immediate vicinity.