The Express.
London, England, 1849-07-25 00:00:00

house against the sanguine views of the noble lord, that by '
any large system of emigration, or any other plan adopted
by parliament at a great expense, they would anticipate the
slow process of amelioration which he trusted was now iconic
on. Ile admitted the great advantage derived, in individual,
Mee, from the formation of these schools and he desired to see
them extended ; hut when the noble lord referred to the
increase of juvenile convictions in the metropolis, as the
result of the system of tho government, the some argument
might be used against his own ragged schools. He did nee
deny that very great advantages might be eerived from
holding out emenateon as the reward for the good conduct
of persons in thou schools, but the argument of his Wee
friend went to the removal en moue of a large num.
her of that clue of person., who he said constituted
the nurseries of crime. Much as they wen
bound to sympathise with this Bless of children,
and great as was the obligation to give the best nttention to
their ease, they were not to be considered is free from the
taint of crime. They must not overlook the danger then
was of establishing a premium on crime. To make Ma.
special annual provision for these peroons would confer se
immense boon on the se classes u distinguished from ether
classes. Last year government did consent to pine a Null
sum at the disposal of the noble lord, in communication with
the commissioners of emigration, to commerce this work, and
be would read an extract from the letter of the government
to the commissioners, to show the grounds on which they ha
it. They said that there were evident reasons why the peel.
lege of a free passage could only be given to a small number
of children of the ragged schools, viz , that the benefit wee
one which would be most tceeptable to the children of net
multitudes of honest parents. To carry out the emigration
on a large scale would be holding out a e'irect stiandu to
parents to cast off their children ; it was only whilst the in•
dulgence was confined to a few, in common with others, that
the objection did not apply. Tee measure was not one
which could with propriety be made the object of
an annual application to parliament fora grant. Ragged
schools had hitherto be n supported by the private submits-
dons of benevolent individuals; and, while gratuitous edam-
tion was not extended to the children of the working claws,
it would ba objectienahle to have a grant in favour of parents
who threw aside their own children. The expense for 1,000
children would come to 30,0001.; there were in the workhouses
50,000 more children, end every argument which applied tee
the ragged school. spelled more strongly to the workhouse
children. He must say that ho could not advise parliament
to enter upon a systematic plan of emigration applied to this
class exclusively, as distinct from any other class, but if emi-
gration was to be applied, it must be considered only as part
of a large system of which other classes of the eomraunity
might base the full benefit. This motion applied only to
the children of the metropolis. There were ragged
schools in other large towns. lie had had an application
from Glasgow, stating that they understood that • sum
was to be applied to emigration from these ragged schools
in London, and desiring to be admitted to the urns
privileges. The same application might be made
from all the large towns, and also from the rural districts,
where there were numbers of children whose parents
bed the greatest difficulty in givirgthem a honest livelihood.
If the house adopted the principle of his noble friend, ha
thought it most unjust that it should be limited tie the metro-
polis. The noble lord had asked him if he did not
agree to his motion, how did he propose to clods*
these children. He was net prepared to answer that
question, he did not think that parliament, by direct legisla-
tion, could enable all classes to clothe themselves. If they
were prepared to adopt the principle of the noble lord, they
must carry the propesition much further in order to do
justice to all. There were those who were now paying Id. or
2d. a week, who would be tbauktul to Dave their children
sent abroad when they had acquir-d the proper information.
The noble lord said, that it was diffioult, alter imprisonment,
for a man to obtain employment. If they gave way to bene-
volent impulses, there was no ono who could not be
disposed to listen to an argument of that kind.
He would state what happened not lone sr. He had a
representation from the grand jury of Yurk, with reference
to the persons imprisoned last year for sedition end crimes
connected with the state of the country, stating that they
were convinced of the errors they committed, and that they
dreaded being thrown hack on the same society from which
they came, and asking government to supply fund. for the
emigration of all these pe none on the expiraden of their
sentences. He should have been glad to have done so, bat
he had to consider whether it was fit to make the committal
of • crime a stepping stone to the greatest bean. The
funds for emigration were insufficient to meet the demands
of honest people whose emigration, it was to he hoped, would
raise the colonies to the condition in which they wished to
see them. Sitting sere as representatives of the p tele,
they must look at the interests of society as a whole, and
while not disregarding the criminal, they must, before all,
take care to do justice to that clue of society consisting of the
children of honest persons, labourers, and artisans, who had
peculiar claims on the benevolence of the country.
Mr. P. WOOD said the last year, when the grant was
made, he had taken the opportunity of calling is the atten-
tion of the Secretary cf State for the Home Department the
case of orphans in workhouses ,• they had no one to take
charge of them when they left the workhouse, and fre-
quently fell into mischief although previously untainted by
crime, and the children of parents untainted by crime. Hs
was the more persuaded that they ought to be attended to,
after reading the paragraph deecribeug the results of the
Marylebone workhouse ; it struck him at the thee he saw
that report, how desirable it would be if some scheme could
be devised for sending children to the colonies indeed
of endeavouring to provide ter them here. It any grant itet
to be made, it should be under the control of these person
in the immediate locality contrihuting to the grant. Ile be.
lieved that some little burden thrown on the ratepayer
might have an infleenee in stimulating them to see to the
wretched state of the children in their own pettish and is
their own neighbeurkeod ; fur the vest number of these poor
ragged children woo were to be f •und was owing to the
gross neglect of the paroehiel authorities who had the control
of the expenditure; and the ratepayers would take some
Ines towards their being placed in a better condense
Ile would consent to a eight amount of encouragement
from the state to these schools, but the moment we ex-
ceeded that we should paralyse all efforts of individuel
charity. (Hear.)
Lord ASHLEY, in reply, denied that he hail disparaged
Pentonville or Parkhurst. What he had slid was that, al-
though the systems at those prisons operated well when the
prisoners were subsequently sent to the colonies, it was of
no avail when, at the expiration of their term, they were
turned out again on enciety. After the very general
feeling that had been exeressed aren't his motion, it would
be indecorous in him to press it on the house, sod therefore
he begged leave to withdraw it.
Motion by leave withdrawn.
CAeE OF KRISHNA RAO WITTOL.
Lord D. STUART said that the cane of the above-named
individual was one well worthy the attention of the house;
but as at that late period of the session he had not ling to ex-
pect from the labours of • select committee, he begged leave
to withdraw it in favour of the motion of hie hon. friend the
member for Montrose.
Motion by leave withdrawn.
BRITISH GUIANA.
Mr. HUME said that if be had been so fortunate as to
bring forward this motion some weeks since, he should
certainly have stated at length what he considered to be the
hardships in the case of British Guiana; but she could not
expect at that hour to attract much of the attention of the
house, he should not attempt to go further than to lay down
generally the principles upon which in hie opinion the hone
ought to act with regard to this question. Great and nume-
rota as were our colonies, he was sorry to say that they were
net productive eithereo the colonists or to the mother country.
On the contrary, we bad not only made them a bunks
to us, bat had prevented them making any progress on
their own amount. We bad, in fact, been the means of
nearly destroying all our colonies. (Hen, hear.) The
object of the hon. member for Inverness, in bringing for-
ward his motion for a select committee, was to bring under
the notice of the house the condition of two colonies which,
in his opinion, were suffering most from the mismanage-
ment of the mother country. He (Mr. Hume), concurring
with the hon. member in opinion, had seconded that
motion, and upon it a committee of inquiry had been sp
pointed. That committee had availed itse.f of the decumetts
produced by the government, and also of some e vidence, betted
es much of the latter as be could have wished, because be
thouzht that some of the parties who had complained, ad
on whose complaint they were acting, should have been pm
sent and examined. Being without their evidence, the in-
quiry had been, in his opinion, unsatisfactory. That com-
mittee had made their report, awl it was because he differed
from that report that he brought forward the present not
Don. He complained that that report was not cele
listen, with the evidence or the facts, but, beirt
the report of the majority, it of course must be receine.
What he should have wished for was a distinct decision sl
to the conduct of the colony and of the colonial gums-
meat. The facts of the case were these. At the time the
supplies were Mopped in Guiana the governor and the coke
nial house of commons were at variance. The governor had
the power of locking the door of the senate and he exercised
it, and what he (Mr. Hume) complained cf was, that the
government did not at the time take some decided measures,
instead of allowing such a state of antagonism to go on. The
governor had been called before the select commies.
and had declared that throughout he had acted upon the it-
'Onetime of the Colonial-office. He would cow endeavour
to show how inconsistent were the conclusions to which ass„
committee had acme with the facts. The committee MA
that on reviewing the several circumstances they wen of.
opinion that the crown was justified in goad faith and goes
policy in insisting on the civil list of 1844. and that no meal
of setting it aside could be justified. They further stated
that at no distant period it would be subject to revision, ana
in the meantime they recommended that appointments
should be only temporarily filled with a view to future syriusge•
mute. The committee further said that they refrained from
offering any opinion as to the details of the reforms they
would suggest, and suggested that matters should bear-
ranged in friendly communication with the colonists, sad
that it should be done on the byes of extending the fries_
Aloe and of giving the people a greater share in
government. The question he wished to submit to
the house was whether the colonists had acted rfBll
in attempting to reduce the expense of the cie
list at a time when their property was going to ruin, in eon:
sequence of the reduction in the price of produce which had
followed the act of 1846. It was well known that after the
passing of that act, the sugar of Guiana did not realise
this The
colonialc o unt
officethe phr prime enortakoefn
into consideration, and determined to stand by the governor,
although thereby the colony should be ruined. He was
bound to say that the conduct of Lord Grey as
colonialnss-
nister; to reason, looking to the distressed circa.
stances of the colony, and to law, looking at the colonial en_
pthroeddueectihroune.tie(eHeeaf rp,eohpeeserii.l
stitutione. The house should understand that the legislation
•f Guiana consisted of two houses. In the first, the Cus.
of Policy, the colony elected five members, and five were elle
Mal, the latter being bound on all occasions to vote nal'