The Express.
London, England, 1863-01-03 00:00:00

often with a very prejudicial effect upon subscriptions
—of workpeople refusing employment on thegronnd
that they were more comfortably supported in idle-
nessby the relief boards. That these stories contain
• smell nucleus of truth, in the midst of much
exaggeration and mis-statement, I am not con-
cerned to deny. In a population such as fills this
overflowing county there mass always be a certain
proportion of those who prefer idle privation to
industrious comfort, who never would work unless
driven to it by the goad of hunger,
and wno now, therefore, rejoice in relief boaras,
and fatten upon charity. Pauperism is, unhap-
pily, a contagious disease, propagated in districts,
under the administration of an organised benevo-.
lance as rapidly as fever in a tropical swamp ; and
there is no reason to hope that the class of paupers.,
fwimutaila NI& diminishing isuntaibirs re#
now. But aurae who mingles with the wait-
people, so as to est& their unprompted hopes and'
wishes, must know that they desire nothing so
much as a speedy and complete return to work.
No news would be so grateful to them as the mes-
sage that they mast troop out into the cold morning
air at five o'clock once more, stand behind the
well-known looms, and watch the familiar spindles
turn, till night brings them home again. NMI
if the amount of relief 'were far greater
than it is, and could be supposed to supply
more adequately the loss of wages ; if they were
not compelled to dispense with many luxuries
which long use had almost converted into neces-
saries ; if there were no painful feeling of some-
thing like degradation associated with enforced de-I,
pendence upon charity, very weariness would
drive the majority back to work. Men who are as
austomed to ply busy fingers for ten hours a day
find compulsory idlenees—especially in the dark,
damp winter weather—idleness, too, which want
of money forbids them to try to enjoy in their own
way—s, sufficiently severe punishment Depend
upon it the girls in the Manchester Sewing School,
who spoutaneonsly broke into three cheers when the
overlooker came to say that they were wanted at
the mill, represent the true feeling of the working
class in this matter.
It is undoubtedly agreat misfortune that the
passage from idlenees to occupation should be en-
cumbered by so many difficulties ; that the work-
men should have to struggle with the obstacles of
insufficient work, and poor wages, and an obati-
nately perplexing material ; that at the very
moment when an impulsive benevolence is running
the risk of making the bread of charity palatable,
the bread of independence should be so scanty and
so hard to earn. But this is only one of the many ,
difficulties of the case which have to be faced and
conquered. Relief committees have the matter in
their own hands, and, bye display of vigorous
good sense, can easily silence any discontented em-
ployers of labour who will appeal to them, instead
of advertising has grievances in the paper. Any
person who can be proved to have refused work
should be interdicted from receiving relief. Cases in
which the work offered is of a different kind from
that to which the worker is accustomed, or
involves a removal to a distance, might
receive a more lenient interpretation ; not
every operative has courage and inde-
pendence of mind enough to face the difficulties
which attend upon an altogether new start in life.
And another kind of case deserves a peculiarly careful
treatment—that, namely, where work is offeredonly
to one of a family, where increased income is neoes-
Eerily met by &diminution of relief which leaves
the whole household no better off than before. It
is hard to see what can be done with such, except
to encourage a returu to work by every. means which
do not involve a dereliction from the main principle—
that charity is, in no instance, to be used to the
prejudice of industry.
It is, I think, in the true interest of Lancashire
distress that I corroborate the statement made in
your leading columns of the 30th ult. ; that the
funds already in band are enough to supply our
wants at least for the next three months. This is
on the supposition that these wants continue at
their highest pitch. But if, as I believe, we may
expect some partial and temporary resumption of
work ; and if, also, the necessities of the people in
the matter of clothing and bedding are to a consi-
derable extent supplied, the sums now in our pos-
session—or to be paid by frequent instalments—
will hold out for a still longer period. There is,
indeed, no chance that relief committees will be
able—at any time in 1863—t0 abandon, even though
they may contraet, their operations ; and the great
effort wade by the district itself during the past
year cannot be indefinitely prolonged. But Lanca-
shire cannot wish to manage or to stimulate general
liberality by any concealment of fact. if the public,
knowing that there is a large aurplua in hand, and
believing that the possession of it will not betray
the administrators of relief into waste or extra-
vagance, are still desirous of meeting the danger by
one great effort of benevolence—now let it be
done. If, on the contrary, some intermission! of
contributions now take place, let no complaint be
uttered if, as is too likely, distress prove to be
chronic, and a fresh appeal be made before winter
comes round again. Our social state resembles but
i4:00 closely the aspect of the day on which I write—
a pale and transitory gleam of sunshine falling
sometimes upon the white ground, too feeble to
melt the snow which it lights up, and on the
horizon, heavy cloud banks big with the renewal of
winter.

The following is the variation in the amount of
pauperism in the undermentioned twenty-one
unions, on a comparison of the fourth with the third
week of the Let month. The total number of
paupers in the third week of December in the WC-
don of unions marked (a) was 56,590 ; in the sec-
tion (6), 9,170 ; and in the section (e), 205,450—
together 271,210. The aggregate population of
these unions is 2,080,000.

(o) Biz Unions base oars :
Blackburn
Charlton
Glossop
la acclealkld
Warrington
Wigan

Paupers.
42U
370

Total l,OBO
(6) One Union is is respect of the anwurat el pauperism
the same as in the previous week :
Bolton.
(c) Fourteenlroiona have lam :
A Aron .uoder-Lyne
Burnley
Eury
Clorley
Haeliesdar
Liverpool (parish)
Manchester (township) 4O
Oldham
Prestos
Rochdale CO
Salford lOO
Saddlowerth (township)
Stockport 1,020
1 Todnaordes l2O

Rapers.
. 870
ISO
430

Total