The Express.
London, England, 1862-05-10 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, SAT U:

and our that required the most careful handling, lest false
hopes should be excited. lie ventured, however, to submit
that as the subject had hem already discussed in the newe-
-1 papers both of Lancashire and Loudon, and bad been dile
' cussed likewise both privately and openly in all classes
of society, it was better that seam mitilation
should be given to it in that hones. No one
could doubt that distress was very prevalent in the cotton
manufacturing districts. He believed that according to the
most recent returns there were now about 68,000 persons
entirely out of work in Lancashire, and of course a very
much larger number working only short time. The house
were perhaps aware that there was a weekly statement
belied by the authority of the Mayor of Manchester ; and
the bat return showed that the number entirely out of
work in that city was 15,133 ; while the number working
short time was 7,527. In Preston the number working short
time was 7,700, and the number out of work altogether
12,106—a very large number. At Wigan the number out
of work was 4,60 e. These figures of counts implied a very
large mount of destitution. There were, he was happy to
state, places where the population were in a much better
state, owing, he believed, to the operation of the French
treaty. (Cheers.) Amongst those towns the most
remarkable were Bolton and Bury. There was some
doubt as to the condition of Ashton ; but he believed it was
very badly off, though not so badly as the three towns he
had just mentioned. Before leaving this subject be hoped
be might be allowed to say • word with respect to the
manner in which both the operatives and the millowers had
met this emergency. (Cheers.) The house was, perhaps,
not aware to what an extent the millowners had kept their
mills open while they could neither sell their products nor
entertain any expectation of selling them at • profit lie
was told that some of them had in this way virtually sub-
scribed as much as 5,0001. or 6,0001. towards the »LW of
their workpeople, if what they had done could be expremed
in money. (Cheers.) But if the millowners had behaved
so well what should he say of the operative*? (Loud
cheers.) Their conduct had been applauded by all
that took an interest i^ them. They had displayed a
spirit of endurance and a patient constancy under consider-
,' ebb suffering such as had never been surpassed. (Cheers.)
He (Mr. Fgertou) wished he could say the future pa:meets
of the cotton trade were more cheering, but he was afraid
he could bold out no prospect of approaching relief. He
had just received an account from Liverpool of the state of
the market, from which it appeared that the stock of
American cotton in that port was at present only 120,850
bales, whereas at the seine date (May 2) lest year It us
079,000 bales. The total stock of cotton in Liverpool was
now only 370,000 hobs, whereas last you at this time it was
nearly a million. The quantity of Feet Indian cotton now at
sea was about 200,000 balm which be was sorry to my was
less than last year, for last year at this time there were at
sea 270,000 bales. He believed, however, that the reason of
this falling off might be explained by the fact that
the shipping of cotton had been to a great ex-
tent prevented by the uncertainty produced rn India
by the threatened hostilities on account of the affair
of the Trent. (Hear, hear.) The ordinary consumption of
raw cotton in UM country wee about 45,000 hales per
week. The total stock in the whole of Europe was 725,000
bales, or about seventeen weeks' consumption at half time.
He did sot think, be must my, that that held out a very
cheering prospect. He believed there was very little cotton
coming to us so far se was known at present, and he could
only hope that the wipe roseaarea of the government would
largely develop the production of cotton in Judie. (Cheers.)
He thought he had now said enough to show the house how
important it was that the legal means of relief were pro-
perly administered, and it was with that view that he
wished to put • few questions to the right hon. gentleman
the!'resident of the. Poor-law Board. The questions he
wished to put to the President of the Poor-law Board were,
whether, in his opinion, the rules of the Poorlaw Bawd
ought to be relaxed, whether he thought the labour tat
was enforced in oases where it ought not to be enforced, sad
whether generally the boardreirquardians were &dadaist'',
ing the poor law with due to the pockets' of the rate-
payers u well as to the retie of the existing dietress ?
Mr. POTTER did not think that public charity or the poor
law itself could oope with the present difficulty. He be-
lieved that unless there was some change in the relative
positions of this country and America, that unless they pit
cotton from America, the poor law would not be adequate
to the occasion. He would not carry that argument further,
but what be desired was that the government should, by
means of a committee or commission, ascertain the bets
of the case, which they could not ascertain from
the report. to the Poor-taw Board, arid then consider
what means might be taken to relieve the distress found to
exist. In the district where he had raided for • number of
years, in a population of 100,000 there were 8,390 or 9,000
connected with the cotton trade—they were not, he
Clrecred, so destitute as the operatives in other districts,
but they were suffering severely—acd yet there was hardly
one per cent. of that number whoever went into a poor-house.
He bed been an employer of labour himself for many y
and he never remembered one of his own hands or one o
his worimen wanting to obtain parochial relief. He believed
that that was a character that would apply to the clam gene-
rally throughout England. The operatives employed in the
cotton trade had been growing in intelligence, and had made
wonderful progress, more, perhaps, than any other clam in
the country, during the last thirty years ; and when this
character of them was borne In mind the repugnance that
' they felt to go into the workhouses would be readily under-
stood. The claat was not a small one—one-seventh of the
whole working population of England was dependent upon
oottoa, and what he wanted was some measure that would
spare that clue from sinking from their present high posi-
tion. Their present condition was entirely exceptional, sad
it wanted an exceptional remedy, which would be better
able to be suggested after inquiry by • committee or com-
mission. The only remedy that they had now before them
was to get cotton from the United States. It was not •
I case that was to be met by public charity,. and he wished
distinctly to point out that they were all prepared, every
muter and operative he believed, to go through any amount
of misery rather than ask the government to take
any steps in that direction. (Hear, hear.) He hoped
the government would make themselves fully acquainted
with the facts, and watch very carefully that black cloud
which would tusk upon us in another month or two with
an intensity that no man can estimate. (Cheer.)
Mr. VILLIERS, as the bead of the Poor-law
w de-
parteneut, could only answer re th wa in hioh th
pow law did ita work ; and fowhen yhe was asked, ase
he had been that evening, whether the poor-
law authorities were, as far as he was aware,
equal to the emergency, Le did not hesitate to my that
they were—(hear, hear)—and in proof of that he need only
communicate to the house what they were in the daily
habit of communicating to him, that though the distreis
was great, they were perfectly able to meet the incressed
demands upon them by the means at their disposal. He
threw out the suggestion that he had done to those who
had the administration of funds voluntarily contributed,
because it seemed to him that they bad au opportunity of
bringing cues before the poor-law authorities which would
otherwise escape their notice, or they might afford the
necessary relief themselves. With respect to the
communications nude to him by the deputation,
he thought it right to state that it was said tho
people of Lancashire were in a state of doubt
and uncertainty as to what were the powers of the local
authorities in the administration of the poor-law ; and some
apprehension had been felt that they were more or Ism
under stringent rules issued from the Poor law Board here,
and that they were unable on that account to meet the
distress tinder which they were labouring. He
was surprised that any such doubts should have
prevailed ; but he was glad to have the opportunity
of removing any misapprehension that existed upon the
subject Ile had been told that there was some doubt as
to the power of the guardians or overseers to raise the
me to any amount to meet the exigencies of the
time; as to whether they could extend their staff
with • view to meet all the requirements of an
extraordinary state of things ; whether them was
any stringent rule that required people to sell up
house and furniture before reoeivieg relief; and, lastly,
whether rules issued by the Poor-law Board were so stern
that the guardians bed no power to relax them without
previous communication with the board on the subject. He
satisfied the deputation upon all those points ; and should,
with • view to give further publicity to • statement he
made as tithe powers of local authorities, repeat it to the
home. In the first place, the guardians of the poor, and the
overseers together, might raise the rates to any
amount they pleased, without any communication what-
ever with the Poor-law Board. They might
den increase the staff under their authority, to
investigate particular cases, mid to distribute means.
There was no practical operation given to that provinoe,
and he knew of no case in which the selling of furniture bed
been insisted upon previously to givMg relief. The hoe.
member had stated that be (Mr. Villbra) Warn in error, and
that he had been informed that something of the kind had
occurred at Wipe. Since then he had received a statement
from the clerk of the union, in which it was emphatically
denied that any such case bad occurred. There was no rea-
son in fact for any apprehension that the people were sub-
jected to any such stringent rules before they received
relief. It was said that the rules of the Poor-law
Board were stringent and unbending, and that awes
Motlwould rather starve than accept relief under them.
isas not the ease. There was nothing strict or stria-
gent in those rules which might not be relaxed ; and, in
fact, the whole system was expansive sad elastic, and
capable of being adapted to extraordiaare emergencies.
Some ten or twelve years ago, within the time of the hoe.
member for Lincolnshire, an order was issued for the
guidance of the overseers with respect to relieving able-
bodied persons, and it was stated that when relief was
given the recipients should give some work in Mane Bat
even in that order there were exception" named, and the
guardians were allowed to give relief for a specified time-
-21 days—without exacting labour, upon the condition that
in the interval they communicated to the Poor law Board
the reasons why they did so. If these reasons
were satisfactory, there was nothing In the friendly
! communications that paned between the board and the
goardises, to prevent such relief being given for a longer
period. But, in fact, the labour test, which was seespialsed
des %novelty introduced by the Poor-law Baud, bad existed
in this country for the last three connote% The ji re-
vision of Elizabeth required that when a man to
the local authorities for relief he should, if abl be
set to work. He bad certainly hoard that the kind of
labour tear which was offered was offensive to those gm-
vioady engaged in maanfactories, bat It was not Decessary,
in order to carry out the principle, that the weeirtAtree
should be of that character, and if hoards of as
' were judicious, they would avoid giving week for
which the persons applying for relief were Vile suited. All
that the Poor-law insisted apes m a general rale