The Express.
London, England, 1847-06-19 00:00:00

=Aerie thus generated wa,% the cause of thousands of 1
gado, pletwiteeteeoing de,,t the newel for each a
en though the
' bt'spoparugelalt,forward for the
12,.d always intervened
swatrialbjeucat:nhadbadyetrabbifrn.afoinduyiaffiearillcylti
to prevent its enactment. • wiahed, to know from
the noble lord w were this difila °Woo which now
Malin the way of the A,eneral necessity
could not be denied . t of the wkig govern-
ment was, that they were e appearm:eo of every
difficulty. In this, as in o , the country suffered
from their vacillation and want o ecision. What ae'tner
could their supporters return to their constituents when t;.`al
were asked what advantage had resultehe transits'
of the reins of government from the hand It. Peel to
thou of Lord J. Russell? They could nthat, while
under the governmeat of Sir R. Peel liberal principles had
steadily progreased, under that of Lord J. Russell they had
u constantly receded. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. BANK ES aoostdered that this bill neither answered
the large promises that had been made, nor the petitions
that had been preseated on the se 'eat ; and that it wan not
what it professed to be—a great ml measure—since
it omitted the metropolis of , and many other
parts as well, unless specially . Now, he contended
that, if it were a good measure, it ought to be extended to
all. The hon. member for Bath had so well pointed out the
impropriety and the inconsistency of omitting London from '
the operation of the measure dunng, he regretted to say, the
absence from the house of the noble lord (Morpeth)— who,
for aught he (Mr. Bankes) knew, might have been dining
with the Lord Mayor—(a laugh)—that he felt it to
bo his du'y to inform the noble lord of the ob-
jections which were taken to the measure by that
hoeourable iitember. (Cries of "Oh.") The hen. gentle-
man (notwithstanding this expression of dissent) reiteratod
the sentiments of the hon. member for Bath, and expressed
his concurrence in them generally; eacepting the stigmas
of moral corruption and incapacity which he bad cast upon
the corporation of London. The only question regarding
them was, whether or not they ought to be omitted from the
011 ? Why include York and omit London ? Was it be.
cause his right hon. friend the Lord Mayor of York at on
that, and the Lord Mayor of London on the other side of
1 the house, that York was to be freed from unwholesome
smells and London to retain them ? (Laughter.) The first
few clauses of the bill provided for the appointment of com-
missioner* and inspectors. and for the payment of their
salaries. So with other bills before the house, which licensed
to be drawn after one form, and the discussing of which
in that house he thosgbt a great waste of time. If the bill
should pus in its prevent form, it certainly would crest* a
great deal of jealousy in the country. But he did not think
the noble lord could tarry it, exempting the metropolis,
while he believed the noble lord was pledged not to alter the
measure in that respect. If not, let him get up and say so.
(Hear, hail
Lord MORPETH said, that although the government
had not been treated in every friendly or candid spirit in the
course of that night's discussion, he confessed that his own
anxiety was entirely wrapped up in the aohject and the
measure itself. (Hear, hear.) Since he proposed it he had
been exposed to much attack, of which, however. he did not
complain. for it was the natural consequence of a measure
affecting se many various interests. He had been attacked,
in the first plane, for including the metropolis; and he was
attacked mora copiously now for excluding it. (A laugh.)
He fully concurred in the assertion that the metropolis re-
quired salutary improvement and legislation as much, at
least, as any other part of England. (Hear, hear.) If his
own inquiries could have left any doubt upon his mind, all
the representations and even the reproaches he had since
received upon that subject would have entirely removed it.
He was now asked if he was pledged to exclude the metro-
polis. He had already distinctly declared that it was
his inteution to exclude it from the present bill, and
he could not therefore with good faith consent to its inser-
tion. He was also asked why he had excluded it. Why ?
(The noble lord's momentary hesitation in replying to the
question called forth a burst of laughter from Colonel Sib-
thorp, which was joined in by a few others.) He had only
to appeal to what had taken place in that house during the
sessisn, to the measures that had been introduced—none, he
admitted, of greater importance, although, owing to the cir-
cumstances of Ireland, of a more pressing minute than
the present—to justify him in having consented,
reluctantly consented, he must say, to the deferring of that
portion of the bill which related to the metronelis. (Cris
of " Oh.") He stated the simple truth. He felt that there
wan not time to deal with the extensive and important
details which legislating for the metropolis involved. He
felt that he had no option; that there was not time for
the consideration of all those special proveions, and that all
he could Lope to do was to pass the measure in its
present shape. (Hear, hear.) The honourable member for
Cockermouth asked why he had not introduced provisions
on the subject of intermural interment. Independently of
the circumstances he had already alluded to, the discussion
of that evening showed him that he had quite enough on his
hands—(laughter)—red that if he succeeded in carrying the
bill in its present shape he should have accomplished no
mean achievement. (Hear, hear.) So far, then, from
evading, he courted reproaches, for he hoped that public
attention would thereby continue to be directed to the sub-
ject, so that next year he, or whoever else should
more worthily ILI his place, would be compelled to follow u
and complete what was now left undone. (Hear, hear)
Those who considered that in postponing a portion of the
task he was consulting his leisure and his ease--(" no, no")
had little idea of the life he had led since last Easter—(a
laugh)--or of the mass of communications which he had re-
ceiyed since then, and which, he mu.t say, had fixed in his
mind a steady determinatinn to do what he could, whenever
and t y whatever means he could, to promote the great
work of salutary improvement. Those communications
showed not merely a general apprehension, but the actual
presence, to a street and increasing extent, of fever and
disease in its worst forms in almost every part of the country
—aggravated, when not wholly caused, by the deficiency of
our sanitary regulations, which it was the object, as he
hoped it would be result, of this measure to remedy; and
represented a waste of health, and strength, and
happiness, and even lire, at an accelerated rate,
not among the wealthier portion of society, but
among those whose lot was cast amidst hardships
and privations, hard-working mechanics and labourers, who
endured most suffering and underwent most toil. Such
was the nature of the communication' he had gone through
upon this subject, and he was sure that there was no hon.
member in that house who would willingly undertake the
responsibility of the task, or, upon patient reflection' undergo 1
it if he knew to what an extent the mischief prevailed, andhow
much sanitary regulations would do to check and prevent it.
Let hon. members only reflect how neecosary it would be to
establish proper authorities to make inquiries and to preen*
the plans and surveys which must form an indispensable
preliminary to sanitary legislation, and which, probably,
would take a full year to complete. If, then, they refused to
take the preliminary steps, the result would be the postpone-
meat, for at least two years, of any attempt at sanitary im-
provement. When he last addressed the house on this sub-
ject, he quoted the quarterly returns of the registrar-general
relative to the health and mortality of the country. They
included 117 districts, and came up to the 3let March. He then
gave a very painful picture of the public health, but he re-
gretted to say. that the returns for the last quarter showed a
considerable increase in the mortality. The registrar-
general stated that in the summer quarter of 1846 the
mortality was greater than it had been in the seven pre-
eeding quarters; and last winter quarter, ending 31st March,
1847, it was still greater. The number dying in the dis-
tricts front which returns bad been made, was 66,105, being
41,030 above the average. On the whole, the health of Lon-
don was below the average, and, although that might be
attributed in some degree to causes which were accidental
and transitory, it was trident that the health of the country
was at least stationary, or, perhaps, retrograding. The
trarouneral strongly approved of the Health of Townsol, as calculated to produce a better state of the public
health. Although he (Lord Morpath) had omitted London
from Use present bill, he trusted that when an opportunity
was given to legislate for the remaining towns of England.
the house would not refuse to take such means as lay open
to it to reduce the mortality of which the registrar's return
drew so frightful a pictuze. The petitions presented on the
subject had been already referred to. The hon. member /sea
Dorsetabire had treated them rather lightly, and had said
that they did not relate to the bill then before the home.
The hon. member would at all create what that the peti-
tioners in the country did not owes themselves wads
about London, but were anxious am* about Oak own
towns and districts. The proebiens of the hid velatLmngg•
to the provincial tows had not bees Awl; they ossiaed
prwisely the same re when petitions lel Wen pnewesi in
their favour. The petitions presented is bye* dab bill
amounted altogether 'to OW MI One der
*We*
sioners clergymen, wegletnets, hoessholiwn, omen of pro-
perty, and weibislaani while agebneit there're Use pre-
meet.* !keg Um wee bunt menceatises. eh
Main water gewsw"bib
ilw. WI tee bele peeteglearlb, The
eigkeiggio WIN Am leriserws. He ter that this pea
ionisale. eiMenesundwessealit
tst;rd7rdi:atismiresthtibe gliamarmis I
me7tOikely tr=a111•11W rho bid. Mother argement in
favour of the bib Ins *he bond in the emit** of the
Health of TWO Aseedelinn, (boniest dews ilie* tbs-
opposition.) Did WSW Renoweible *elm* d
York new to tispesbes thee eneekties ? (HoWell,Cr„)
lie could sneeze the right boa menhir that *et aseeddien
numbered amongst its memilsems sense of the wit egibmi
men in the country. (Hoer, hear.) They Wil It wee Wet
desirable that the attention of parliament WWII ineelled to
the important fact, that the clergy. and media easers-
necessarily the most intimately acquainted with die weiebbt
the community, were all in Amer of the Heel* of Tows
Bill. (Hear, hear.) Avow its wiressies woe tho ping-
dents of the Callers se nylisimm mil Seurgeeek dhis
medical officers of the met epel bespttalia wee ativiele
of the faculty of oiregow. He iii set wee *ea
to go, at length, late the Weiss or owls! two- ,
visions; bat he trusted that when the. proper tame I
are he sisoeid be shin to *ow Oft sithengh the bill I
peoriled be antral sepwintwriesine, it dirt seek% super-
jkeelcy not to woe it, ego*, ; that hi pea Alma woe te sairley Imo
ag, was Set tattnal t sash advise ewe win-
mes e could rely be iambi e whew end wipe.
Hew. He 110461 be reogy,w they into down/Nee
to Mews all the spoil 'Wm MI hot he
and treated that tie how weld net obstreet the
nary stages of the OIL Bs aimed he te!.t.ipLetm=uss.
the subject, not graded at party or
doss, or ou a with to powers weak for :.-.—nev off. or
for himself as en individual esember of - 'bag
on the afflicting accounts widely he was daily bee
rem quarter of the country, sad which he had
produced such an effect on his mind as to make him implore
the house to consent to going into committee.
; Mr. HORSMAN explained that in any observations he
bad made, he had meant no personal oMmee to the moils
lord (Morpeth).
Mr. MILES gave the government every credit for gaol
intentions, but thought that the bill had better be bald
over until next session. He objected..th the exclusion of