The Express.
London, England, 1847-02-23 00:00:00

(Haar, hei;:r.)

In answer to Mr. B. 051101INIS,
Mr. LABOUCHERE said that gmernment fully adhered
to its determination of granting 50,0001. to Ireland in the
shape of torn seed, and that the grant would be made M
seed, which would be distributed under the direction of the
Viceroy.
RAILWAYS BILL.

• The second reading of this bill was postponed until
Monday.
DISTRESS IN SCOTLAND.

Mr. E. EL LIC E,jun., rose to ca'l the attention of the govern-
ment to the amount of destitution existing in certain portion+
of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, an amount which he
understood wee likely to lead to results quite as lamentable as
anything that had happened in Ireland. It was quite true as
had been stated by the hon. member for Inverness that in a
certain district two proprietors had undertaken to support
the population at their own expense. These were only two
among many instances of similar conduct, hut there were
other cases in which he was sorry to say the proprietors of
the soil had acted in a totally different manner. He would
trouble the house with a few feels which he had extracted
from the report of Mr. Frazer, sheriff substitute of the county
of Inverness, that gentleman having at the reamer of the relief
board in Edinburgh undertaken to • iei t the distressed district,.
Mr. Frazer had visited six districts, and in all had found a
very considerable portion of the population in a state border-
ing on starvation. In the first, out of a total of 91 fami-
lies, 82 were utterly destitute. These families contained in
all 480 persons, 1311 of whom were children under 12 years
of age. They had, when Mr. Frazer visited them, but four
days' consumption of all sorts of food. This was a district
in which the Post Law was not in operation. In the next
district there were 30 families in independent circumstances,
and 138 numbering in persons 671 destitute. The latter
had only 10 bolls of meal, or two days' consumption,
amongst them. The proprietor of the district employed 18
men, but he had spade no provision for paying them, nor had
he found them food. In the next district there were, in
one village, 660 souls in the greatest distress. Some supplies
had been sent by the Free Church Committee, but they were
exhausted, and if relief did not come soon the majority of
the inhabitants must perish. In another district, containing
1,100 souls, 900 ware in a state of destitution. There was
no meal for sale, and it was the unanimous opinion of the
clergy that before twenty-four hours front the time of Mr.
Fraser's visit very many persona would be suffering the
pangs. of hunger. In the districts he hail enumerated the
proprietors h.d done nothing, nor was anything to be ex-
pected from them. Ile also gathered from other letters he
had received, that the seed corn, the only thing to which the
people could look for support next year, was rapidly being
consumed, so that next season might be expected to be even
more disastrous than the present. ( Hear, hear.) A lady
writing from the Isle of Skye informed him that the
people there must starve, as the proprietors could not
support them any longer. He hoped that government
would inquire int* the circumstances he had stated, and
would see the poor-law put in force wherever it was practi-
cable, and further, that wherever that law was insufficient
for the relief of the people, they would take some steps to
send supplies of food. He believed that in the majority of
cases the people would joyfully buy meal at a moderate
price, in order to save their s ed corn.
Sir 0. GREY could assure his hon. friend that the atten-
tion of government had already been diree:ed to thia guano
tion. It was quite true that, in consequence of the failure
of the potato-crop, great distress prevailed in the west of
Scotland, but it was equally true that the majority of the
proprietors had made the greatest sacrifices to relieve it.
That there were some exceptions to this rule he
must admit, but he was willing to hope that they
were few in number. The facts mentioned by Mr. Frazer
showed that in many places the proprietors, either from
inability, or from ignorance of the real circumstances, had
failed in discharging their duty to their tenants, but in-
quiries had been directed to be made into all the circum-
stances, and with a view of ascertaining the districts most in
want of supplies. A few days since he had received a letter
from Sir John Mac Neill, the chairman of the board of super-
vision for the relief of the people, stating that he had sug-
gested that the board should make special inquizies, more
especially as to how the inspectors of the poor had discharged
their duty in administering relief. This inquiry would go
through all the parishes, with a view of ascertaining whether
the pour-law had been fairly carried out. In the case of
districts, said to be neglected by their prepr:e-
tors, the course of government had been to send an account
of every case of distress to the proprietors, in most eases
with the most beneficial results. He trusted that by the
exertions of the proprietors, together with the government
aid, to which he had adverted on a former occasion, the cala-
mity with which Scotland was threatened would be everted.
Mr. BAILLIE could corroborate the statement of the
hon. member for the St. Andrew's district of burghs as to
the distress existing in the western districts of Scotland.
Sir 0. GREY said that two frigates were stationed on the
west coast, and kept constantly supplied with meal, which
might be purchased by the proprietors.
Mr. OOULBURN had also received a letter from the Isle
of Skye, relative to the distress of the district. His corre-
spondent stated that the people must inevitably starve, if
assistance were not promptly afforded.
Mr. P. SCHOPE was sorry to observe that the poer.law
had not been carried into said in one half of the parishes of
Scotland. He trusted that mune would be taken to make
it general throughout the el
Major MACNAMARAsriat the Irish landlords had
done their duty. He could eiti that members of his family
were the legmet oentriboton in the county of Clare.
Mr. J. Mr IMAIIT withal to all attention to a letter
'shish he het reselved hen meet the peapet of the Isle
of Skye, Meted of APL's/ Mr. M'Lei ashi, " Almost
awry trues IS sq pre. is ewe disadet, to the number of
324, have vesehog liee dram sea to the smut OM
each. They boom uses class erems day. I 1111111 ea
let themselves, hot mammal ihOpaINS
to me to-day and said, if they did sot get meal ad* ender
cofthis for them, sad thisj_ekkomfik I have already
them for two months. ISO estatry is ia a
and the whole burden being emus wpm sea, I moat eeasi
it." In tech a state of things, the ezieseice dike peerdaw
might not be a very miry matter.
WAYS AND MEANS—THE BUDGET.
On the motion of Lord J. livssett,, the house rewired
itself into a committee of ways and means.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER rose and
said : Sir, although I have little doubt but that the impor-
tance of the subject on which I am about to address the com-
mittee, would of Reel( ensure attention, yet I hope I shall
not in vain appeal for indulgence in the statement I am
about to make. For, although unwilling to shrink from the
performance of that duty which persons In my situation are
bound to discharge. I am afraid I shall not, from the state of
my health, be able to make a very successful effort.
(Cheers.) I hope the same circumstance will plead
my excuse for making my statement seehort as possible,
and for confining my observations, as nearly as I can,
to placing before the committee the financial state
and prospects of the country. I have this further claim to
Indulgence, that it is many years since a chancellor of the
exchequer has had to state such heavy demands on the trea-
sury se it will be my misfortune to state; and I hope it may
be many year. before the national calamities create such a
necessity again. (Hear, hear.) The committee mast, how-
ever, be aware that the calamity which calls for this demand
is one which no prudence on the part of this government, or
any other government, or the legislature, meld have provided
against. (Hear, hear.) It has pleased providence to UNA
not only this country, but the greatest portion of western
Europe with scarcity and dearth, and that dearth has pressed
most heavily on the portion of the United Knigdent which
is least able to bear it. Thousands of suffering and famishing
people, chiefly in the west of Inland, appeal to the sympathy
and unistanos athlete:wary ; and that sympathy and that se-
slums will not, lam confident, be refused. (Cheers.) If
I were only to refer to the pert, or even to the present, state of
the finances of this country, I certainly should say, that
never was there a time in wkich those finances were so well
able to bear, the demaads made on it. Gentlemen have
for some time had in their hands balance sheets up to the
sth January last. They will there see that in spite of the
excess of advances above repayments to the 'mount of
916,0001„ the balances is the exchequer were upwards el
9,000,0001. For the first time, I believe I may say, in the
remenery okay person ouvereant with each matters, there were
no such things as deficiency bah during the last quarter, the