The National Register. — London, England, 1819-02-14 00:00:00

t .t~ MR. CURWEN'S SPEECH ON Mg POOR LAWS. • Mr. Conwes said, the Hon. Gentleman who bad lust sat down was entitled not only to the individual thanks of every Member of that House, but to the ap probation of the country at large, for the ability and perseverence With which he applied himself to this sub- • ject. It was, therefore, with some pain that he rose to oppose the motion for a Committee. • For, though he thought that, 111 the first instance, the appointment of 4 Committee' was the hest course !diet could be resorted to, in order to brine sufficieut evidence before the House, yet, as there now appeared to be a compleat detail on this most important and alarming subject, he con ceived they ought at once to meet the oue:aion fairly. Nothing could lie done in the Committee to ren.edy the evils complaint d of ;'they could only be reinovetl by a great and comprehensive view of the subject, taken by those whose situation in the State gave them an oppor tunity of investigating the question, with a reference to all the various relations of the country, and who were • able to take open themselves the responsibility of such measures as appeared to them calculi ted to effect tIN object; Out of the very inherent ptinciples of the Poor's Laws arose much of the evil of which the country com plained—for certainly, when they tool.- out of the bands of individuals the trouble of providing for themselves, they rendered them more careless of their own personal welfare. This was evident from the commencement of the system, when means were taken to check the growth of pauperism—in the first instance, by the operation of shame, and ultimately by the assistance of terror. Poor houses were erected, and individuals, who were torn • from their homes, were immured in those places. From the great number of paupers, this measure was found inefficient, and the evil coreinued to increase. This de atorailising system, cost the country '2,000,000/. per annum 25 years ago—but since that period, the ex pense was more than quadrupled. The evil was of such a nature, that temporizing measures could do no good. To be counteracted, its true sources must be explored. . To these great causes he uttribated the present situation • of the country, with reference to the Poor's Laws. First, excessive taxation-2d, the depreciation of money—and 31y, the great rise in the price of the necessaries of life. These were the causes of the existing distress—and those who.imagined they would come out of the Com mittee with a remedy for any but the minor abuses, at tached themselves, he was afraid, to a hope, that, in • the end, would not be realized. The lion. Gentleinau himself admitted that his hopes were very feeble. Fur his, own part, he cherished no hope whatever from the adoption of any measure, except the removal of the causes by which the present state of things was occa sioned. That could only he done by those who had it in their power to take effectual means for putting an end to the system to which the actual evil could be traced. In the course of 25 years, the increase of wages had been one-fourth ; and, in the same time, the rise in the price of provisions was one-third. Salt. leather, soap, and coals, were articles of primary importance 10 a working man. Now upon a lair calculation, it would appear that, to procure these, o»rminth of the whole . of his income was mellowed up. If this country were to be preserved in that proud situation, which, from the nature of her free Constitution, she ought always to be placed in, it could only• be done by meliorating the situation of the working classes of the people.—(Hear.) lie could not join in praising the Noble Lord for the statement he had made, on a former evening, relative, to the situation of the country. It was, he believed, in a desperate state, and could only be relieved by guarding against every attempt at an undue or unnecessary ex penditure of the public money, from the Crown down to the humaest office{ in the stnte.—( Hear, bear ). Looking throughout the country, be believed it would be found that the money paid for the maintenance of the poor had increased and nut diminished in the last year. That branch of taxation, exacted by the Poor's Laws, though nominally paid by the people at large, came in reality froth the Landholders. Whatever was paid by the farmer was only nominally paid. If a fer nier paid 1001. a 'year' rent and 251. for Poor'sltates, the intrinsic value of his farm may be considered to be 1251. so that though nominally the Poor'sßates were paid by the Tenant, they were actu illy paid by the Land lord: would it not then be better for all ranks at once to sleet and take this burden on themselves and exoner ate the working classes from the degradation of partici pating in it.? However stet nuous in my opposition to a continuince Of the Property Tax, which I considered as enabling the Government to continue a scale of ex penditure calculated to exhaust the resources of the country—yet for the purpose of removing tuxes dis. tructive of the happiness and comfort of the great mass of the people, I should not• hesitate in supporting a Property Tax, solely and exclusively confined to the re-' moval of bordens which puralise the industry and des troy the independence of the laboiing coin munity.—Ou r national pre-eminence depdnds on our preserving the independence of our national chariseter-a•That once destroyed and we shall rapidly descend into the scale of other nations. He did not wish to take the burden w a olly from the shoulders of the Landholder—Lc was sa y desirous that it should be fairly sad equally borne. TIM. NATIONALECIFiTTII If this system went on, it would be impossible to pre vent the whole kingdom from being pauperized. If • there were to be compels:ly charity, he could see 110 reason it by the great bulk of the monied interest, and the whole of the trading community, should nut bear a portion of the weight. It would be nothing more than just to take a part of the burden front the lenulholder, and let it be supported by the eteentry at large. The taxes un the monied interest were u`oaut 45.. in the pound, while the demand on the latneed Proprietor for l'our's ltate,svas, on the average ss. He would however take it ut :;s. whiele with lA. for ordinary taxes, made 7s. There were besides other charges amounting to 4s. more. to that the Lan :led Proprietor received but 9s. out of his puuud. the individual, whose property was funded, gut 16s. In the same way, if they took 12s. us the wages of the labourer, they would find that bread, rent, and fuel, took up the Whole, except about 2s. per week, which wa.' all he had to furnish himself with cloathes, and various neceseary articles. The consequeace was, that potatoes formed a great part of his subsistence. He considered, in one point of view, the growth of potutoes as a great blessing to any coun try in case of famine.—but he looked upon it as a de cided evil, when the potatoc formed the principal article of a nations food. It tended to the increase of popula tion (as was seen in a neighbouring country) in a de gree that could not be supported by any capital, how. ever great.To the disgrace of the agricultural part of the community, the agricultural labourer i; not fairly dealt by, except in the northern parts of this kingdom. The cruelty of the system adopted towards them is equal to its folly. The price of wages is regulated with reference to the young nmaarried man ; he was made the stand. and—than which nothing could be unfair—the rote of wages is calculated on the most parsitnonioaa scale as to the stun which will weekly support a single man— while to the married man an allowance of 2s. to the wife and Is. 6d. to each of the children is made from the Parish Purse ; thus given a bounty on impro vident marriages, and preventing the possibility of a single man making any provision for the married state. Although he deprecated the abuse which bad grown out of parliamentary discessions. He agreed in the principal laid down on a former occasion by the Noble Lord, that it was better a man should be opening a, trench, if it were immediately after to be filled up again sooner than that be should be supported in idleness. But this principle had been pushed to an unwise extent in the country, and its operation had been productive of injurious consequences. The farmer aware of the im pression made by this sentiment, turns off a large por tion of the workmen he usually employed for the ex. press purpose of receiving them back with a bounty from the parish. Thus have the middling classes become burdened with a new tax to exonerate the farmer from a large portion of wages he ought to have paid. Justice was not done to the great body of agri cultural labourers, nulw , s they were efficiently protected. The manuilaCturing classes also deserved protection, though the House had not always dealt liniently with them. If, when laws were made to punish combina tion amongst the men, their provisions had also been directed against combinations amongst the masters, he would have agreed in the justice of the enactment. The agricultural ktbourer was not in the same situation. Dispersed abroad, it was not in power to combine—and his necessities were so great, that he could not go on for one moment without attending to his work. His master, however, might do without him, for a great part of the year, without injury. This was not the case with the manufacturer, who was in a - much better situation. He conceived it would be wise if the wages of the agricultural labourer, with reference to small districts, were regulated at letty Sessions. It could t not be dime fir very extensive districts, as, where the space was large, the rate of wages must necessarily van•. The :Magistrate would be better able to decide what sum ought to be given to a labourer, than to ad judge the rate of wages which a manufacturer ought to receive, since there were many considerations con nected with a particular trade, of which it was pro. bable he would not be aware. By a more liberal ap portionment of wages, of from 4s. to is, per week, he conceived the existing Poor Laws might be reduced 2,000,0001 annually. There were pares of the BPI brought in by the lion. Gentleman which he i bought were extremely beneficial ; for instance, that part which related to the removal of persons who had procured settlements where they had no right to them, nor had any legal settlements in the kingdom. There were also provisions that would probably prevent the mismanage ment observable in the administration of the Poor Laws. But that any peat, any decided benefit would be derived from it, he confessed he did not believe. The greatest relief to the country would be found by making•some change in the law of settlement by which large sums now lavished in litigation might saved. Thi,s was the large-t item, he conceived, that could be saved by any regulation, that fell short of removing the grand sources of the evil. The sum to be saved by other meaus was not likely to be more than 500,0001. cr one sixteenth of 8,000,0001. which the poor's rate annually require. Great are the complaints from all parts of the kingdom, and most giievoua is it to them who are FEB: It struggling under the weight of th e ixsor's rates, thu s , large a stun should be expended in supp or ti ng t h e 03; spring of crime. Bastardy has alarmin e ly inermsed with. in a short period, but a few years ago it was estemated at 1 to 28. I fear it will now be found as 1 to 11 and the number of illegitimate children annually h im amounts to little if any thing short of 6100, creutiee a change of Mena halt' u million. The Laws have beets., relaxed that it is become in a great measure atria; ; . without a punishment. Some cheek scents indi:api;t t , necessary as well fur morals as fear releiving the cc -meter from so grievous a burden. The r:ononittee, which led sat two years, the whole of whose proceedings ecr e then before the House,. had done nothing that di! not fall far abort of the great object he had in vie w __ and, unless Government intended to let the evil ;,,A, increasing, from day to day, they would devise sone means of lowering; that weight of taxation, which press. ed the people down, and was the primary cause of t!e present distress. I ant aware of the state of the cote:- try—l know and lament that its resources are inaz! e . quit to its expenditure—that in doing justice and king faithful to its engagements, it cannot relinquish a shill ing of its reventte-1 do not ask it—Yet the only hope the country has. is, that Ministers would diminish the taxation which born so heavy on particular bodies, awl that they Would place it somewhere else. A System of taxation which bears on the first necessaries of life, is in every point of view impolitic. Labour is. rarely paid beyond what is barely sufficient for the imbue ounce of a working man and his family; taxing there. fore the necessaries of life, presupposes a surplus beyond what his indispensable necessity requires. If no such surplus exist, which is the case in few instances, it must operate a rise in the price of labour, or force the individual into a state of pauperism. The cost of labour in Great Britain, compared with what it is ore the Continent, place the manufacturer in a state of eminent jeopardy. I pretend nut to cal erlete how long superior, capital, and skill, may successbilly combat these advantages, but certain I am, they ought net to exist e if they can be. removed Every considera tion of humanity and policy demand of Government, revisions of the present ruinous system of taxation—a large portion of what is paid in the shape of Poor Rates, is in truth no ether than a 'contribution for exonerating the labouring classes. This could not be done by a Committee. They could not hear the information, neither could they digest those measures, which, while the revenue was protec ted, and prevented from falling short,. would, by their operation, relieve the great body of the people, and en able the Legislature to make an effectual alteration is the system. From the LONDON GAZETTE, Tuesday, Fes. 9. BANKRUPTCY ENLARGKI). J. nulet. late of Charlotte street, Fitzroy Spur, jeweller, fr.) a Feb. 13 to April S. BANKRUPTS. E. Robertsor., :lans.hestar, cotton spinner. Att. Mr Ellis, Chanc: Lane. J. Burroughs. of Great Hermitage Street. spirit meretant. Att. Mr. I'm:non, St. Helen's Place. Biehomate Street. E. Mathew", of College 11111, merchant. Atts. Dawe and Cu. An7l Cuurt, 'fitrogruorton Street. W. Brown, S:. John Street, cheesemonger. Atts. Dacic and Co. l'alsgrexe Place. Temple Bar. W. Burn, Exeter, tailor. Att. Mr. Mutton, Broad Street, Lon. • don. .1. Mather, Manchester, joiner. Ans. Adliagton and Co. Bei Ito w. 11. W ilk inson, I.iverrool, merelant. Atts. Taylor and Co. Kirkes Bench Walk, Teniple. W. Lloyd, Shrewsbury, tailor. Buildings, Chancery Lane. M. aid G. Nayler, Darlington, Durham, leather dressers. At Mr. Dixon, Gray's Inn Square. IL Potts. Ifolborn Hill, halmdasher. Att. Mr. Iloggson, Att. Mr. Griffiths, Southaini °art. Aldermanbuty. R. Bacon. Aldersgate Street, miller. Mt. Mr. Gray, Tyson l'kc, ingslr.nd Road. J. Olivt r and N. G. Ingraham. jun. I'inner's Ilall, Bread Street. merchants. Mt. Mr. Crunch, Union Court. Broad Street. T. Culliinore, IVickwar, Gloucester, nualtster. Att. Mr. Kia,r, Serjeant's Inn. J. M ttilam, Iludlersfield, Yorkshire, grocer. AUL Fisher and to • Holborn. Stanifeld..krtly...ick, Manchestc7, nxrchant. Atts. Wiggles:raft:l. und Co. a:ay's Inn. J. Longden. Peak Forest, Derbyshire, meal seller. Aus. Loucs . . .. • _ Co.and C Temple. W. Lewis, Beak Street, Gorden Square, woollen draper. A Movies and Son, Lothbury. B. Taylor, Wiiney, Oxford, mealman. Lane. Mt. Mr. Gregory, M4iita DIVIDENDS. • T. r ruins, Harvey's Buildings. Strand. prMter. Mara ft. J• Hoxbragh, Liverpool, tailor, Marc:ls. T. Dys.m, Beverley. Ywkshire, merchant, March 6. J. and N. Weatherly, Ainwiet, Northumbc.rland, brewers, !‘I 11. F. Heron, Huddersfield, Yorkshire, wool factor. March 3. J. Boyas jun. York, carpet manufacturer, Mardi 2. W. :taxi:, Clifton, Bristol, vietualler, March e. C. awl Hayes, Old Jewry, mach:tow. March 6. T.William Wooddeion, Dover Street, Pi.xadilly, upleater •;, March 2. J. yhillipps. of Upper Eaton Street, Pieico, coal mare:la i . alcii %20 - . E. and 11. Hodson, Crosi Street, Hatton Garden, p:intcri, Ntarc:l t 0. CERTIFICATES. March 2. .1. C. Loutior, Lloyd's Coffee House. merellan:. R. Ja.tic+. 4,1 Saint fo:in in Ilediv.tAine, Wo cestershire, spinet H. Croeliel, Hampton in Arbn, Warw;elcshire, F. U. eux and M. Lambert. of Ikabeat Court, L ne. nterchanus. An official return to the House of Commons wares the a mount of Exchequer Bills outstanding at 45,655,4684• F I:A ...___L.--•mm: An nu w oatitii hi it appeal ev il:lice, inittail 14 untrue. dostrioue though fame of lovely Pi mind, Ca being m were MC' frau the A , Any r °HS, t innoc i ; 11,1 ha Nioh ina paw tact 11 R o bert% namtlY, no ctliel very kit d this 1 Mary poster it, :atetn , hire to been de b ishcd " Ro catili yorary 1 )arnle found I that he prevail limn 11 F •enc} murder ilo6l 4 But l 1 aeclara wobu of forg liiited slando Froi that ti and Bt widow ,rime F!noctr tbseq Elehe 2 'Othl 'l. a b TL lare 1: o -.•:in rrene !hA tUME ae. Into 11()% . 181 horn thei en ni othi 144 Intl age; .P.l .con