The Express.
London, England, 1862-07-15 00:00:00

THE DISTRESS IN LANCASHIRE.

Mr. HIBBERT Naked the President of the Poor-isw
Board whether, in the present and prospective state ofde.
Wass in the manufacturing district; be was prepared to
bring in a bill for the porpoise of enabling boards of gent.
diens to borrow money, with the consent of the Poor-law
Board, for the purposes, of relief; such loans to be borrowed
on the security of the rates, and to be repaid by iostalnwato
extending over • period of not more than seven yesrs? Ile
wished also to ask the right bon. gentleman whether rte
government contemplated any other as with the view
of meeting the distress which was gradually and slowly =-
tending throughout the manufacturing districts ?
Mr. O. VILLIERS—I asked roy hon, friend the member
for Oldham to postpone his question on Friday night till to-
night, and I have to than" him for complying with that re-
quest. My reason for desiring the postponement was that I
might be enabled in the meantime to ascertain =
whether any communication' had been made to the
Board from the union, in Lancashire praying for Mlle
powers as he proposes to invest them with, or whether
there had been any statements made at variance with those
to which I have referred is this house, sod which I pre-
vioesly received, to the effect that in those localities whom
there is so much distress Were were also adequate mesas
of affording relief for those who were suffering from h. I
Moe to tell my hoc. friend that I do not find that there
hove been any communications to the Poor.law Board, pray-
ing for those powers of raising money that he proposes- to
wafer upon the parishes, nor do I God that any statement'
haws heal made which are inconsistent with those which I
had before received, namely, that there were sufficient wesas
constant
, 1 throughout
ear am thoeircoevuerotybotouprodeetot
..anyy, eafrozgen;
mutant communicetion with that very latent-
.. . .

gent piton whoa the government thought it eight
about ten weeks ago to communion specially to
inquire into the condition of these districts, and to report
periodically as to the state of the people, and who is there
still fullllluig his minion, that is the private letters he he
nimend to me I have noticed, within the last week or ten
days, something less hopeful in the tone of his letter, with
to the prospect of any mitigation of the distress,
indeed, of the means of relieving it, proceeding from
voluntary contributions, upon which he as well as Maims so
meek retied, as affording adequate means for the support el
the poor of those districts. This, perhaps, somewhat
eland view has arisen from the prospect, which is sew ap-
point to everyone, of the protraction of the civil war io
America, and the sudden, or at least unexpected groat ties
in the price of cotton, owing to a certain extent to
doe, and somewhat, no doubt, to the large ex ft
cotton from this country. Another unfavourable deem-
' stance in connexion with this question was the
exhaustion of the deposits in the aaviop banks =II eta
means, on which the operative, have been drawing
s
during the last six months. However, he is still in ilirig
Lim to state that the rates have not readied the emenall
whisk they have reached on other occesioes Wen t
than districts. and that there are many plain la
England at the present time where the Ma am
higher than they are in the most distressed
or district In Lancashire ; for, whereas