The Express.
London, England, 1862-05-22 00:00:00

THE OPERATION OP THE POOR-LAWS IN
MANCHESTER.

Mr. H. B. Parnell, one of the Poor-law inspectors,
attended at the meeting et the Preston guardian. on Tues-
day. He said be had received • commission directing him
secertain the operatic. of the Poor-laws, and the order
. of the Poor-law Board, spot these workpeople who, from
• great diminution of labour in the cotton mills of Lanes-
shire, Cheshire, and Yorkshire, had been thrown into
neavoidable, yet he hoped only temporary &strew
and poverty. With that object in view. it would be his
duty to place himself in communication with hoard'
of guardians in the counties named, and with the voluntary
local committees now formed for the purpose of atheist,-
tering relief. In doing so, be wished to take the liberty
of defining untie pointsof the law in regard to which
there appeared to be considerable misunderstanding
amongst may people. It would be his duty to endeavour
to bring into liberal and judicious harmony of action boards
of put:dime' and relief committees, so a. to secure to the
poor prompt and sufficient relief upon the true principles of
the poor laws, which it was hoped and believed were quite
capable of meeting all probable emergencies, and which,
when duly appreciated and administered, would pro-
mote and protect the best interests of the community.
Further than that, he was also to inquire into and to
suggest, if be scold, that sort of employment moat proper
for the peculiar class of people now thrown out of em-
ployment, taking care that such employment should put
down all imposition, if pcseible, and shoukl, as far as it
could be mad., promote ainoupt those people that self-
reliance and self-respect which they should still entertain.
In regard to the poor laws, it was supposed by many
persons that overseers had not the power to raise money
beyond a certain limited amount; but the fact was they
could raise in accordance with the poor laws, any sum
neceesery for relief. It was not necessary by the law
that relief shook! be given to able-bodied paupers in the
workhouse. If. the guardians chose they oeuM be relieved
oat at the workhouse. Then, in regard to increasing the
staffs of boards, if an augmented force was wormy,
. .

the guardians bad fall pow-e; to obtain it. There use in
opinion amongst some people, to the effect that relief
could not be given, could not be legally claimed, until
tux persona bed 'old the whole of their furaiture,
to nay that in the whole course of his
expe-
riencebieddid not remember a single instance in which
any bawd of guardians had been called up= to make
poor people strip their houses of furniture before
giving relief. It would be extremely injudicious and
very bed economy to do so, and he did not believe
any board would encourage such • system. In regard
to local relief committees, be would suggest that some
offioer of the board of guardians should furnish weekly the
relief committee with • lust of the paupers on the books
of the Union for that particular township, and the amount
of relief given. The committee weld then be able to
gee the pantie°, requirements, and relief previously ad-
ministered by the guardians, and would thereby know how
to shape the relief at their disposal. He would also sug-
gest to boards of guardians that whim they administered
relief they should not take into account what had been
obtained by iipplicants from the relief fund. Mr. Fiona
then referred to the labour test in Preston, and con-
demned, ea too severe, the system of sending factory
operatives to the stoneyard. They ought to find them
employment which would not be too heavy and ex-
haustive. Probably, the ordinary labour would not be
very remunerative to the Union; but it would occupy the
time of those now thrown into tereponu7 poverty, would
keep them from brooding over their position, and resorting
to means which might be illegal and criminal. After
highly praising the conduct of the organ labourers in the
1106e7till. on the Moor, and at the Ribble side, Mr. Parnell
proceeded to refer to the nature and extent of the &ratite-
tion ia existence in Preston. He quoted several statistical
returns showing that the pauperism in the Preston Union
was greater than that in any other place. He also showed
the amount which had been spent by the guardians in
relief, and the sums voluntarily contributed, and the
relief aintinistared, by the inhabitants of the town,
through the committee established • few mouths ago.
His opinioa was that, with the present arrangements of
the guardians and overseers, mid presuming that the
operations of Use relief committee would be kept up as
hitherto, there need be no fear sa to the condition of the
poor. After severely commenting upon the circumstance
that some of the wealthy merchants of Preston had kept
altogether aloof from the measures now in operation for
the relief of the destitute, Mr. Parnell resumed his seat.
In regard to the stooeyard, the CHAIRMAN intimated that
only those who had been dissolute and improvident were
sent there.
The relief returns were treed during the proceedings of
the meeting. from which It appeared that, Itht week, the
sum expended in outdoor relief use 5881. 12s. ; and that
the cases were 3,587. Last year, in the corresponding week,
the sum so expended was I3of. Ba. 6sl. ; and the number of
them 1,136. The workhouse inmates numbered, last week,
1,007; last year, in the corresponding week, the number
'area 655.

BOAT ACCIDINT AT XXLTOND RATIN AND Low
or Foos !atm.-110/mi Brno. Weida, Emfaie&— 00%
of Gaddirif (114-bilikkr) beats ispaind oltdraik,
immediately io the haves tlt ramisag tao
at tba buoy. Tim boat essuissil *as MO* OW OM. 4g
whom wee saved.