The National Register. — London, England, 1818-05-04 00:00:00

•mr 138 Clot*: little children to endure. Petitions had been presented (rum medical. men and etettty of Manchester, playing that little chitdien tni 2 ht not lie subjected to so intolerable a la- Ile therefore hoped the House %void,' allow the Bill to go into the Committee. Lord Sr.»it v had sonic difficulty in opposinz this men. su:e, recommended as it appeared to be by humanity ; but it involved notch of the interests of the county which lie re. presented. Ile was persuaded that this measure, it adopted, would have the effect of increasing the dific•ulties which our rlanalactures at present felt in their competition with the foreign market. Convinced that the measure, it adopted, o:;14.1 Le productive of inuat ill, lie would mov e that instead of now, the House should gu into a Committee on this Bill this day 'Oar mouths. herd LA iCLI J.LS 4 110114 ht that the piestion should he re.. fooled to n Conenittee of Csiquiry, and that the House should t 00 ex-parte stateinvins. Another objection he had to this measure u .O, that if the House once cennueneed this of legislation, they must apply it 10 all branches of snanuttietnres alike. Mr. PELL proceeded to enter into a review of the state of labour in the factories, and contended that the system w;:s uhe most injurious to health. If it was su ; and he eeeteutled, it could nut be denied, he need only to state that in Manchus. ter alone there were 11,600 children employed in the cotton. tacturies, and thou ask if this was not a case of import:lll4.e. It appears,from the statements of litany cele brated physieluti,, 41111U1Itt'Sl others, of Sir Gilbert Mane. that the average Lumber of deaths in England• and 55 VAIC one :n :30 mi. totally. Now Ito hat heard it asserted, that in the Cottoii factoly of Messrs. Findlay and Co. at Glasgow, where toots e!:iltli en were employed, the average number of deatas for turec years, was two in a year. Ile recollected iu one of the Odes ut the I'uet•Lnureat un the Birth Day, the poet in beau tiful language invokes • the Goddess of flealth to take her stati••u on the head of his Majesty. The l'oet proceeds to erilptire where the Goddess resided--asks• was it at Mat!oek. it at Bath, Ste. lie recollected the following lines : " Say, in that craggy cell Of health the Goddess deignsto dwell Say, in what shady dim retreat The nymph selects her lay'rite seat." - The Poet, atthe time he wrote these lines. little suspected that tee " dim retreat" which the Goddess hail selected was the (*cotton Factory of Messrs. Malley awl Co. at Glasgow,—in which the proportion of deaths in a year was only two in 50s, - whilst in the most healthy spot. it: England and Wales the overage of deaths was one in O. The Right linnourable ' Gent. proceeded at length to argue id favour of the hill, which • Le avid should hose his warmest support. • Mri . Pittif les snpported the amendment propesed by Lord Stanley ; he come-iied that the Sta"..lllvOls which had been tr• - •fie•of the ill state of health of elder:el empluyent in the f:eterice were gross exaggerations. lien some of NI , . e..ilation; who, deceived by misrepresentation, had signed the Petitions to the •House,cin enquiry. findine out the mis-state r•ents upon which they had acted, had declared their regret • leaving-signed- them. The work M the factories was light, the wages were good, those employed in them were well fed and well clothed, and ou those accounts-they did enjoy better tealth. • With respect to the injury instanter/ by perwus em - ploved in factories, lie was prepared to say, that meire•oecur ed to injure the health of the Speaker in the k7liair of the • flume or Cummins its one Sessions than there did to injure ste health of a person employed in a well regulated factory tbr su years. --With respect to the looks ofpersous employed in factories, it was net to be expected that in these large as :caddies in large towns florid complexions were to be found. • Even in the Hunse of Commons, very few pictures of florid, rustic health were to be found.—Gentlemen might laugh but • it was trite. He was persuaded there was nothing so injini ves to the •maseufactories of this ceentry us combinations ameggst - workmen. Thu Petitions now before the House l•ad been procured in a manner to encourage those combine. Lions ; they had been sent into the factories by discontented workmen, and the arghment used had been," sign, and have less work and more wages." He asked why it was necessary to legislate for cotton.spinuiug manufactories, rather than ter woollen. The reasou, be believed, was this—that cotton was an exportable article. Mr. W. SMITH disclaimed any wish to give countenance to combinations among • woiktnen. If the House were there fore of upinwu, that it was not right to work adults for t 3 or IS boars a day, children should not be compelled to labour • beyond their strength. Tee evidence of the masters them. selves furnished ample proof in favour of -the Bid which had his warmest support. •Mr. FtsiDLAY admitted, that the horns of labour were too • long ; but•the effect of the Rill would be, to drive them to a species of • labour still harder, and to deprive the masters of the children, who would be compelled to Mid out other ent ployineut, more dangerous to their health, and more laborious. He thought the Bill was not calculated to remove the ex isting evils, and should therefore vote fur the motion of the `Noble Lind. Mr. d. Smart stated, that hr had presented the Petition • t'ioin the workmen 'of New Lauark, who had by their conduct accurtd•hl3 regard and respect ; and -they had declared, that they were enabled to do as much work in a shorter space of tone, a, other mtanotnetiners, in the protracted hours to which they wcru compelled to labour. • •1!e supported the • Lill. Mr. ROBINSON considered t! , e question as f;nr:ounded with difficulties. The result of the discussions on this subject had, however, convinced him of the necessity Wr passing the Bill. Whatever difference of opinion there might be in the medical gentlemen, it was evident that the strength of the children was materially injured before they arrived at maturity ; and above all, it Win clear, that the present hears of labour were gt (dly injurious; fur it was seldom that a man, above the age of 10, could he found labouring in the mills. '1 he House then di, ided. For going into the Committee 91—Agaiust it i 6— Majority 65. Ou our re-admission, Mr. FINDLAY moved that the Chair man aliould report progress, and .tsk leave to sit again. After a variety of obcerv.ltious from l.otd Stanley. Sir. J. Mw•kiiittnli, Mr. Findlay, Mr. Lamb, and F. koninsutt, !sir H. Feel consented to postpone the Committee till nest sitting, on en understanding that there should then be no objection to the speaker's leaving the Chair. TUE6DAY• WIDOWS' PENSIONS itSr INTTEI.rOS. said that the que►tion stood rot merely nn groonds ut giniorosity,4•%:t 41t . strict justice to the army. He had, therefore, nut thought it right to waive his intention or submitting a motion. It 4 rystrro ot rigid economy was prov . ed to be necessary in all branches, hr, for one, was very • • featly to agreelb ►ti but if it went to shock the common TTIE NATIONAL 11rOZST111. feelings of people' then what was nut absolutely necessary seas unjust. It was not ilic question whether* they were to be generous to the army, but whether government was to keep faith with it. After !in or 60 years, or perhaps near a centery's practice, ought the terms with the army to he altered in a way most galling to the feelines of individuals Before guiog into further particulars, he requested the lloose •to attend to the elleets of a recent paper, by which au 011i eel's widow, has ing, by other RII:M1111ITS or by her alums, 1 income, double the amount of tl.e widow's pension, might nut be entitled to teceive such r unrio:is hereafter. Rut tie welt; in formed tit-it it was:intended uow to apply this principle to mar. tied offset rs now its the army. 'flu. gross tonal of the w'idow's 'scissions, including Irelaud was trbANMI. odd. The amount of the pensisai , to indi% idnals was comparatively small. A Ge111!1'111 12!)1. a year, a Lieutenant Colo nel's widow iiol. a year, a captain's widow a year, and an ensiell'S widow I:. I. :s «are From noble math us many office's made gre•atsae nnPrc by insurance of li% es mid tither modes, to provide for v idows. Many marttagts :11111 settle. uututs hart L: en flu ide L efF:cers out the principle of c3lcu latiwz on the wduis's fund. 'People most say, Ourd ('oil is it pos.ible that it is the offeers , witlows' fond that govern ment rely on ter the icfren&lonent of expenditure? Is this to futon the udions contrast between the way in whiels the 4.i% il servants of the Crown, -basking in Court favour are to be prov ided fur, compared 0 ills the mode of prevision the deleneelvFs widows ut those ltraye otiicers no ta:!en in their comstry's• blt ties ? Tbe total amount of the money this, tributed iu mite exercise of this bounty was 9, , ,0001., the big''. est amount it had ever reached, nt the period el.en ow . mili tary establishments had been carried to au unexampled extent. It was impossible to estimate the a suotin t tit J:l% i sig in (oilseed by this regulation at more than a third of thie sent. Coder the present circumstances this woc Id out exceed the paltry raving of 15,0001. or 3e'.ooUl. il'as this a sufficient induce ment for gallin4 the feelings or nepairing the comforts of ior respectable and defenceless a class of pet sous? The pretence of eeosionly wade bet a bail appeariuree, when it was found that in no other respect was ',oldie ceetionly consulted, and that nu retrenchments were effected, where they were most loudly called for. Ile felt confident, that not only the feel ings of the army, but the sense of the poblic wasiopposed to the regniation ; with regard to which, berefore r llll should accept nu compromise, tnt move for its tetil and nneuudi tional !evocation. He concluded by moving that an :40111'11,./1 be presented to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, praying him to revoke, cancel,. and annul thelate svarrant for regulating the pensiorn d::e to the widows-of military officers. CoIoneIDAI.IITMPLF se-ended the motion *nd entail not avoid thinking that, at the close of an arduous and 'successful war, the sovcrei-gn might have liiien spared the mortification of interfering with the liberality of Isis Royal ancestors, sanc tioned and supported as it had been by 'successive acts of the.whole,legislantre. Mr. J. SMITU spoke in sapport. Mr. F. I.v.wts opposed the Motion nn the ground 4if the jealousy existing in the navyi nn at:counter the prefierence 'hewn by the existing regulation to widowsof militury officers over thoseoffioers of the navy. Lord PALMNPATON opposed the- +Motion. but observed that the regulations bad been forced on she Government by the calls wade by the opposition econnte: and retrenchment. 601011e1 ST tNHOPL it %%0;113 be snore consonant to the character of a peat nation, which had been so ably detendod by her soldiers and seaman to give the pension as a reward of past services, and not to make the widow conic and plead in Mama paupeth. Ile pei ketly agreed that economy was ne cessary ; but it was also necessary to provide for the defence of the country, and it was due to our character and reputa tion to reward such cervices, Keonerny ) no doubt, was highly desirable ; but it was an econemy that should.diminish the luxuries of the .great, and which never could contaminate itself with the mites that fall from the table of the poor. Mr. CHOKER was willing to admit, that it was a very com plicated subject, and one which merited some inquiry. Mr. CALciturr said that he had- now the honour to be a Member of the Finance Committee, und wasamtch surprised to hear, that the country could not auppert the charge of there allowan-lcs. Rut who were the persons that made that • assertion i They were those—and the country would not fail to notice it—that thought 50,0001. or 100,0001. a year, if given to the Princes, was not more than the re_ sources of the nation could provide but nothing could be given to those-brave and gallant heroes who had fought for our protection, and whose valour, as Ministers themselves bad frequently boasted, had secured the independence and tranquillity of Europe. Mr. It r thaturtincst could net help encon:aging time hope, that the Noble Lord (Palmerston) would and himself coin_ pellet! to accede to the Motion lie firmly believed the re sources of the country sere adequate to the aceomplish ntent of the measure now under the -eousideratieu of tins •Ilonse. The CHANCELLOR Of the Excuttettia observes!, that the • regulations in question formed patt of the great system of economy recommended by Parliament. It, however, it were the wish of the Hume to adopt a more liberal line of conduct, he might pledge himself, that disposition would be supported by numbers. After score conversation between ti.t• latter Gentlemen and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Motion was withdrawn accordingly. COTTON FACTORY REGULATION After a slight disc the operation of the Bill tor the regulation of labour in Cotton Manufactories, was tiostpcn:Lil until the Ist January 1619. It was then proposed that no child be employed under the age of 9 years. On which Mr.. W. SMITH proposed an amendment to make the age 10 years, but on a division forihe original clause this amendment was negatived. It was then agreed that no person under 16 years of age should be employed in Cotton Factories - for more than 11 hours a day. The other clause. were then agreed to, and the rei•ort ordered to be received this day.—kajoiartied. WEnNLSDAY. IRISH GRAND „WRY PRESENTNIENTs. The Hon. Mr. Byrum called the attention of the Muse to the abuses practised in Ireland, tit consequence of Gland Jnry presentments iu Ireland. He concluded with moving for leave to bring in a Bill, for the more effectual investi gation of grand Jury presentments in Ireland, whieh.after a short debate was granted. THE LOAN BILL. The CHANCELLOR Of the EXCHEQUER mover! the , order of the day for •the Mete to go into a Gotnnsittoit on the Loan Bill. • MAY 4 Mr. VII ENFELL thought it necessary to declare, that the opinion he had already given on this subject entained unal_ tered. Bitt what he chiefly rose for, at present, was to give notice, that after the Speaker left the Chair, it was his inten tion to oppose altogether that clause of the Bill which went to give the Bank of England a fee of twenty-pence in every hundred pounds of money, raised by way of ;own ; and a fee of ten-pence in every hundred pounds of Exchequer Bills funded. lle wished that every transaction relative to the Bank be strictly examined by a Committee of that House. Mr. J.IP.On arir said,he shoal& give his decided oppceition to the whole of this proceeding ; end he could not help ex pres,ing his surprise, that the Right Hon. Gent!eman oppo.he should come down, year after year, with proposals for bor. low i dg mo ney, during a "wind of profound peace, without specifying the means he intended. to adopt iu jut ore for tb.: service and the relief of the country. - In such a situation, it was the duty of the House to insist on seeing the actual situ% Lion of the country ; for there was not the least prospect, that the Right Hon. Gent. would ever be able to reduce its es penditure to a ley el with its income. • . The CIIANCELLOR of the Eat:iitclunt observed, in reply, that money must be raised in some way or ogler, and he knew 110 way of obtaining it, except by direr' taxation or by borrowing it. From 'he financial operation of the last three years properly considered, it would he found, 'that we had :educed the ettfunded debt to a lower *mown than it way at, before the nuzmentation -, while thefunded debt would ap pear to have horn reduced to the amount of fifteen millions. The House having gone into a Committee, 11r. GuEnsims then called the attention of Committee to the very trifling service performed by the Bank, in proportion to the very trifling service they would have to perform in consetnenee of the operation of the hie would therefore move that the wi.ole of the obtuse fur git lug this remuneration to the Bank be left out of the Bill. The OnaNcEt.t.ost of the Excites:wen had ato objection whatever to the tallest inquiry. The operation now in tines.. tion,3V3% not simply a funding of FAcherpier Bibs—it was a complicated matter, %sisas was connected still' the creation of a new stock to a considerable amount ; the accounts of the whole of which were kept by the Bank. The Rank hail . a great of trout:lc—And nitwit responsibility; for %%Web the consideration allowed was b: au means too lacur. On a divi ion, the clause in favour of the charge allowed to the Rank v.as carried by a majority of 15. he other classes of the . itill Went through the Committee, and the report wai ordered to be received on Thursday. No other business of importance. THURSDAY. COUNTRY BANKS. Th, - Cil.4l7Cl7lLfat or the Pseittarectt rose for the purpose °craning tlt attention of the .House to the subject of a notice, which stood at p: esent for Monday nest, for the first reatlißt of the Bill , for regulating She circulation of Country Bank Notes. Iu not Mg the discharge of this order, it was proper at the same time to state that it was only abandoned for the present, from a belief that some modifications were necessary, and in the apprehensions that the • discussions to which it might give rise could nut be brought to a close . .dut:ng the present Session. After a warm debate, during •witich the total relinquish. ment of the measure was urged by the opposition, the order was discharged. POOR JAWS. Mr.C. 'firearm begged to call the attention of the House to the existing state of our Poor Laws. These Laws had been introduced into tl.e country in the reign of Elizabeth ; heforestonieh time, poverty had uo dependance but on private charity. From the di"•erent enaetmeets and alteration it hail been' found necessary to make tion► titre to time in these Lawai partieularly in those which re; elated the settlement of the Poor,they were become so involved in doubt and intricacy that lawyers themselves were pnrzled, and it was hardly possible to obtain a consistent opinion, and the litigation on the subject was incessant. Then, again. came the case of hiring with respect to service. Great difficulties, and nume• Tons gitestions, hail arisen on this head. Qiiestlons arose, vitetbsr the contrazt had been dispensed with, or whether it hal been dissolved. In many places (much, lie confessed, to 'the disgrace of the persons) it was covenanted that they sheuld not hire a labourer for more than 50 weeks. 'there was, in his opinion. no better principle, than that the place in which the party had resided, and which had had the benefit of his earnings, should be liable to provide for him in his poverty or of age. He should have to suggest to the house, that after a person had resided a certain time in a parish, be he should go before the parish officers, who should grant him a certificate, specifiying that he had resided in the parish during that time. At the same time, it wenld be proper to provide against that temporary absence which •might occur ; and, in this view, it fright be wise to allow, that sixty Jays should be allowed for absence, presided that the party had not been guilty of any crime or misdemeanour. By such a law, he hoped that an end would be put to the present complicated and vexations litigation. •Luotimer alteration of the present system which he wee to propose was, that, in case of appeal, no removal should take place till the appeal should be decided. If in any circumstances the parish should ►o. move the•individual before the decision- of the appeal, they were to pry all the expenses occasioned by the removal. By those alterations be hoped to simplify the law of settle meat, and to remove many sources of litigation and expense. He eoncludcd with leave to bring in Ishii{ to alter and amend the laws respecting the settlement -of the peor.—Lease granted. ''NEW CHURCHES. Co a Motion that the House•shouhl resolve itself into a Committee on the Church building Bill, Sir T. FLOOD wished to know, as the expenses were to be defrayed out of the copsolidated fund of Elieland and Ire land, what benefit the latter country was to derive from the measure. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER begged to correct the notion entertained by the Honourable Gentleman. The stun in question was not charged on the consolidated fund. If, however, them was any need of new Churches for the cungregations in Ireland, which lac was happy to hear wet c so overflowing, he Mid no doubt Parliament would provide for tliamircessity. 'file House 114 v lag resolved itself hide a Cesnmit tee, Sir W.SuirrT at some length, and a itli much earnestness, objected to the clause authorizing 12 househoWers in any parish, with the aid of" other welt-disposed persons," and with the consent of the BC•liop, to erect a church or chapet Vieth' to which they sliould.bave a right of prohontatioo for three turns. The Ct:ANCELLOR of the rICH EQl.l} R co itended, that at sach a time as this, it was most desirab e to call in aid of th e purpose-of supplying places of worship.fo: the establish(