incalculable, and the expense at tending it would speedily be covered if it should not succeed, the trial can cost but little.-The next point which I wish to urge to the consideration of the house, is the law of settlement. [Here the honourable gentleman gave an historical account of the law of settlement.] By the law, therefore, as it now stands, no length of residence will of itself gain a settle, ment. Vexatious removals are indeed greatly diminished, by the humane provisions of 35 Geo. III. 101, whereby it is enacted, that no person shall be removed till he shall become actually chargeable, But no settlement, by any length of residence, can be gained. It frequently happens, therefore, that a man settled by birth, or who has a derivative settlement by appren ticeship, or service early in life, is fixed in a distant part of the king. dom till age renders him incapable of any longer getting his living; and he is then removed from a parish which has had all the benefit of his labour in active life, and from every neighbourly connection, to linger and die where he knows and is known to no one: and there are not wanting instances of such removals after fifty years residence in a parish.-I propose, therefore, in addition to the means by which a settlement may now be acquired, that a residence, as a householder, for 5 years in any parish, without being chargeable to that or any other parish, shall confer a settlement on any householder. But I would add, that such right to settlement should be forfeited by the person claiming it, if he should be proved to have been convicted of any crime, or to have incurred any infamous punishment, during the period. By this,

restriction I have in view the pre servation of the morals of the coun try, to which I think it would very greatly conduce. [The honourable gentleman proposed a number of regulations respecting parishvestries, parish-rates, &c. and then, referring to certain societies that offered premiums to the meritorious poor, he said] The Bedfordshire agricultural society was formed immediately after the pressure of the scarce years, and I confess that at the time I assented to the proposition for premiums of the sort I have described, I did not entertain any expectation that they would ever be adjudged. How astonished and delighted then must I have been, as I truly was, to find swarms of candidates for the inspection of their certificates! those certificates having been required in a way to preclude the possibility of fraud. What heartfelt joy was experien ced by the great and ever-to-be-lamented personage, who at our first meeting distributed the rewards to the successful candidates, and by all who assisted at this useful institution! When I saw the honest glow of self-gratification beaming on the rugged countenance of industrious labour at the sight of the unexpected boon; the tear of joy trickling down that furrowed cheek, which had been often moistened with the tear of anguish and disappointment; I could not help exclaiming, to the farmers assembled round me, "Do you see this sight? Could you have believed the existence of these men, if they had not been produced before your eyes? Let it be a lesson to us. The idle, the profligate, and the clamorous, are constantly obtrud, ing themselves upon our notice. They defraud, irritate, and fatigue us, and we are apt to judge and

condema

mentioned in a former part of my speech, that I deem it of most essential importance to maintain the character of independent industry, above dependent poverty; and that I think it a matter of injustice to the labourer, who is struggling by his own efforts to maintain himself and a numerous family without parochial relief, to place the man who does not make such efforts in a more desirable or more favourable situation as to food, lodging, or aiment. To age, infancy, and sickness, I would hold out the hand of support, protection, and care, widely extended, filled with all the blessings the most copious charity could afford. Sir, the impotent poor are to be considered under the two heads of the unfortunate and criminal, for the purpose of discrimination, of doing justice to misfortune, and of punishing profligacy. [The nature of the punishment for the criminal, and of the aid to the unfortunate, is amply explained; and Mr. W. adds] I would remedy one very great grievance, which prevails as much to the disadvantage of parishes, as to the oppression of the objects relieved. I mean the custom of depriving a man of every worldly possession before relief is administered.-Sir, I would propose, in case of sickness, or other great emergency, that the possession of furniture, tools and live stock, to the value of 301., and a cottage not exceed ing the annual value of 51., should not preclude the possessor from receiving relief. Thus a man, who, as the law now stands, must, by the acceptance of the most trifling assistance, be overwhelmed, will be able to get afloat again in the world, and recover his independence when the visitation

shall be at an end.-Sir, I will not trouble the house any further, there will be ample details in the bill; I would only add, that following up the principle I originally laid down, that dependent poverty should not, as under the workhouse system it frequently hap pens, be supported at a greater expense than independent industry can possibly sustain, I would regulate the quantity of meat and bread to be furnished to each ine dividual in health maintained in a parish house; taking care that there should be at all times an ample supply of other wholesome and nutritious food.-Sir, I believe that I have gone through all the matters which have suggested themselves to me in the wide range of the poor-laws, as fit to be regulated, amended, or enacted by parliament; and I have advanced so far in digesting them, that I hope in the course of a very few days to be able, with the permission of the house, to present them at your bar in the shape of a bill. In this and every part of my task, I am under the greatest obligation to a very valuable friend, Mr. Wil shire of Hitching, in the county of Hertford) well known and highly respected by several members of the house who now hear me; who has contributed his talents and experience to the furtherance of this great work: and I am glad of the opportunity afforded me to ex press, how much I owe to his friendly assistance. I submit the whole with the most perfect deference to the wisdom of parlia ment, to be adopted, rejected, curtailed, or amended, as shall seem most expedient. I am open to conviction, and shall be glad to learn the opinion of the house of commons and the country; for

which purpose I should wish that the bill, when introduced, should be read a first and second time, and committed pro formá; that it should then be printed, and generally circulated; and that after the quarter sessions it should be taken into further consideration. I cannot, however, refrain from saying, that, till better instructed, these are all favourite projects with me. During the hours of anxious thought and laborious investigation which I have passed, I have been charmed with the pleasing vision of the general melioration of the state of society, and the eventual and rapid diminution of its burthens. In the adoption of the system of education I foresee an enlightened peasantry, frugal, industrious, sober, orderly, and contented, because they are acquainted with the true value of frugality, sobriety, industry, and order. Crimes diminishing, because the enlightened understand ing ablors crime. The practice of Christianity prevailing, because the mass of your population can read, comprehend, and feel its divine origin, and the beauty of the doctrines which it inculcates. Your kingdom safe from the insult of the enemy, because every man knows the worth of that which he is called upon to defend. In the provision for the security of the savings of the poor I see encouragement to frugality, security to property, and the large mass of the people connected with the state and indissolubly bound to its preservation. In the enlarged power of acquiring settlements, the labour directed to those spots where labour is most wanted. Man, happy in his increased indepen dence, and exempted from the dread of being driven in age from

the spot where his dearest connexions exist, and where he has used the best exertions, and passed the best days of his life. Litigation excluded from our courts, and har mony reigning in our different pa rochial districts. In the power of bestowing rewards I contemplate patience and industry remunerated, and virtue held up to distinction and honour. In the various detailed alterations in the mode of rating, and the equalization of the county rate, I perceive the more equitable distribution of a necessary, but henceforth I trust decreasing burthen. In the constitution of vestries, the benefit universally resulting from arrangement, order, and economy, derived from the more attentive inspection, by each, of the general concern. From the power to ex empt cottages from the rate, a great relief to individuals at a very trifling expense to the public. In the power to build habitations for the poor, their comfort and health. Lastly, in the reform of the workhouse system, and the power of discrimination in administering relief,

an abandonment of filth, slothfulness, and vice, and a de sirable and marked distinction be tween the profligate and the innocent. If it were possible that all this should be only an illusion, at least it is one that has charmed me through the labours I have undergone for my country's good. But, sir, if the opinions of the wisest mankind are not altogether illfounded, if the test of practice and experience does not in this singie instance fail us, what I have proposed, corrected and improved by the wisdom of parliament, will give ease to those who contribute to the necessities of their fellow subjects, and diffuse happiness

over those who are the immediate objects of its care. Sir, I move for leave to bring in a bill, "for promoting and encouraging industry amongst the labouring classes of the community, and the relief and regulation of the criminal and necessitous poor." After some conversation, in the

course of which the highest eulogia were passed on Mr. Whitbread's talents and zeal, the bill was brought in; but, owing to a change of administration and the dissolus tion of parliament, it never passed into a law we shall not therefore pursue the subject any further.

TH

HE abolition of the slave-trade will and ought to make an era in our political history: it will transmit with honour the names of an administration to posterity, which, though it existed but little more than twelve months, effected a purpose for which all the respectable and unprejudiced part of the nation had been struggling for nearly twenty years. Well might lord Grenville exclaim, when the thing was accomplished, that the parliament had performed one of the most glorious acts that had ever been done by any assembly of any nation in the world.

On the 19th of February lord Henry Petty moved the order of the day, for the further consideration of the finance resolutions; upon which

Sir James Pulteney contended that it was erroneous to suppose any violation of faith towards the stockholder, in diverting the sinking fund brought into the market, but from the proportion of the sinking fund to the debt untouched within the year. The price of the

stocks was at the highest in 1790, when the three per cents were at 96, and at that time there was scarcely any sinking fund; the price of stocks was therefore not proportioned to the amount of the sinking fund. The quantity of capital to be invested in stock was always the best security for keeping up the price. It was agreed on all hands, that the accumulation of the sinking fund should stop at some time: he thought it should stop now. The accumulation of debt would thus be prevented, and the situation of the stockholder not deteriorated. The honourable baronet next went into a series of calculations, to show the effects of the noble lord's plan, and his own, contending, that the comparison was much in favour of the latter. A great accumulation of debt would be avoided, and the war taxes would be preserved uncharged.

Mr. H. Thornton deprecated equally the continuance of heavy taxation, and the immediate inva sion of the sinking fund. On these considerations he was inclined to

approve