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

tine, the occasion was not • favourable ono foe the discussion
of the whole question.

On clause 30,
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER stated, in
sewer to questions from Mr. NeWDEO/31 and Mr.
Sreorms, that, In future, there would be no distinction
as to corn in bond, because there would be no bond.
The bill parsed through committee, and the house
resumed, the report to be received this day.
WORKHOUSE LOANS (IRELAND) BILL.
The house then went into committee en tLis bill.
Oa clans* 1,
Mr. STAFFORD asked why the particular sum of 50,0001.
was fixed on ?
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he had
' taken the nearest. round sum which he thought would be
required. Tee principal fund to which he looked was the
repayment of the former workhouse loans, of which 150,0001.
was due.
Mr. GRATTAN complained of the extravagant Yet of
union workhouses in Ireland, from 4,0001. to 12,0001. If
government would give him the contract', he would execute
them at half the expense. (Laughter,)
Mr. ANSTEY said that the control which the guardians
ought to have ever this expenditure was taken from them by
the commissioners.
The clauses were then agreed to, and the house resumed;
the report to be received this day.
TREASURY INSTRUMENTS BILL.
This bill t used through committee.
SLAVE TRADE (PERSIAN GULF) BILL.
Oa the motion for the second reading of this bill,
Mr. ANSTBY complained of an irregularity, the names
of the promoters of the bill not Laing on the hack of it.
After a short explanation from Lsrd J. RUSSELL, the bill
was read a second time.
HOUSE OF LORDS COSTS TAXATION BILL.
This bill posed through committee without amendments,
and wee reported—to be read a third time this day.
GENERAL BOARD OF HEALTH BILL.
The amendments to this bill were considered in committr
and agreed to—the bill to be reed a third time this day.
METROPOLITAN SEWERS BILL.

The house went into committee ea this MIL
Clause. 3 to 10 were struck out, as were clauses 20, 21,
23 and 27.
Mr. HUME alluded to the constitution of the metropoli-
tan commiuion of sewers, and said it would be better for the
responsibility to be thrown on some small number of sala-
ried members.
- -

The remaining clauses were agreed to and the house re-
sumed—the report to be received this day.
CRUELTY TO ANIMALS BILL.
The amendments to this bill were coniidered and agreed
to, the bill to be reads third time this day.
NEW WRIT.

On the motion of an Hort. Memnea, a new writ was
ordered for the borough of Boston, in the room of Sir James
Duke, who has accepted the stewardship of the Chiltern
Hundreds.
The house then, at half-past five, adjourned until seven
o'clock.
The house reusembled at 7 o'clock.
WARS IN INDIA.
Mr. Imam gave notice that to morrow (this day) he
should move for a return of the expenses of the &rinds and
Affghan wars.
REFORMATION OF JUVENILE OFFENDERS.
Lord ASHLEY rose, pursuant to notice, to bring under
the notice of the house the state of a portion of the juvenile
population of the metropolis, and to move that it is expe-
dient that means be annually provided for the voluntary
emigration to some of her Majesty's colonies of a certain
number of young persons of both sexes, who have been edu-
cated in the schools ordinarily called Ragged Schools, in and
about the metropolis. His lordship said that the first thing
which might strike the house was the late period of the ses-
sion at which he rose to bring forward this motion ; but he
wield assure them that nothing but the utter lack of oppor-
tunity hod prevented his bringing it under the attention of
the house long ago. From day to day he had sought occa-
sion to introduce it, but be had been invariably doomed to
disappointment. Last year he stated to the house that
the number of that class in the metropolis, whose interest I
he then attempted to represent, amounted at the least to
30,000. It could hardly be expected, under the present
system, that he should be enabled to show any very great
secial improvement in there persons, for so long as we kept
our people in their present sanitary state, so long as they
were stifled in courts and alleys,—the dens and haunts of
infamy—so long would there be no hope whatever of any
material improvement in teir physical end social condition.
(Hear, hear.) The improyhi ment which he should endeavour
to trace would be in the numb r and increased efficiency
of the schools, and in the conduct of the scholars. In
1847, the number of males taken into custody by the
metropolitan police was 41,479—0 f those there were, under
the age of 20, 8,405; b-tween the ages of le and 15,
3,228 ; and under 10, 3'6. Now let the house compare
those numbers with the year 1848. He found that there
were taken into custody 42,932 males, of wham there were
under 20, 8,776; between 10 and 15, 3,604; and under 10,
312. Then the total increase of males taken into custody
was 1,454. Of that number one half was due to those
under 20 years of age ; but of those who were taken into
custody under 10—that being the age of those who attended
the ragged schools—the whole increase was only 6. But
now, when he looked at the whole number of men taken
' into custody between the ages of 10 and 20—a space of 10
years—he found that there were 12,692, whilst those between
the ages of 25 and 50—a space of 24 years—was 18,000;
only one-third more. But when he cam • to cases of trial
and conviction he observed a great disproportion. Of males
there were tried and convicted, between the ages of 10 and
20, 1,227 ; wh f males, between 2.5 and 50, there
were 1,069. The same rule tell goad is Manchester, where
the police made similar eereful and exact returns to those
made by the metropolitan police. He found that there were
taken into custody, between 10 and 20, 1,100 males, and be-
tween 2.5 and 60, 2,000. When they came to trial and con-
viction, he found that between 10 and 20, 165 were con-
victed; whereas between 25 and 50 there were only 129.
It was perfectly clear from these statistics that the seeds of
crime were sown in early life, and that if they were eradi-
cated at that time those parties would not grow up into cri-
minals. Now he had circulated this question to various
committees in charge of ragged schools, to City
missionaries and others, who had the greatest knowledge of
people in the poorer classes of life. "Do many adult males
become criminals for the first time after 20 years of age ?"
The answer from 43 committees was this, " Very few.",
Here was a specimen of the answers he had received. One
said, " A small proportion, and those chiefly through
drunkenness and want of employment. In London many
country people and Irishmen become criminals after the age
of 20." Another said, " I should say, not lin 50 took to
those courses after the age of 20." And another, " I believe
that among the poorer classes of society hardly any become
criminals for the first time after 20 years of age." (Hear,
hear.) A short time ago he was anxious to ascertain from
personal inspection what was the actual condition of these
persons, and be therefore, in company with two
or three others, perambulated the City of London.
The house would be surprised when he told them the condi-
tion in which he found these persons—lying under dry arches,
on the steps of doors, and in outhouses—but by fax the ma-
jority of them lying in the dry arches of houses in course of
erection. Those arches were quite inaccessible in any mil-
nary way, being blocked up with masonry, end the only
mode of ascertaining whether any one was inside was by
thrusting in a 'anthem. When lanthorns were thrust is
however, a peat many were discovered, of whom he canned
33 to undergo as examination. Their ages varied from 12 to
18. Of those 24 had no parents, 6 bad one parent, and 3 had
stepmothers ; 9 had no shoes, 12 had been once in prison, 3
four times, 1 eight times, and one, only fourteen yeah
of age, had been twelve times in prison. The
physical condition of those children was melancholy be-
yond belief. The whole of them without exception were
the prey of vermin—a large proportion were covered with
itch—a few of them were sufferrog sickness, and in two ere
three days afterwards died from exhaustion. Oi these
thirty-three he had himself privately examined some eight
or ten, and from the way in which their answers were given,
he was certain that they told the truth. He asked them how
often they had slept in a bed during the last three yeara.
One of them said, " Perhaps as many as twelve times is
the three yeare,"—another three times, and another said
that be could not rememher that he had ever slept in a bed.
He then inked them how they pasted the time fa winter,
and whether they did not suffer from the cold? They replied
that they laid eight or ten together in these cellars in order to
keep themselves warm. They fairly confessed that they had
no other means of subsistence than begging or stealing, and
that the only mode by which they could " turn a penny"
as they termed it, in a legitimate way, was by picking up
hones and selling them to marine store dealers. Let the
house observe that a large proportion of those young per-
sons were at the most dangerous age for society ; many of
them were from sixteen to two or three and twenty, which
was by far the most perillous age for every purpose of fraud
and certainly of violence. Now, to chew of what character
and description those persons were, and to what purposes
they might be devoted, he would quote the case of a boy
just past seventeen years of age, whom he found more
miserable and destitute than language could describe, and
whom he found speaking the French language fluently.
The lad said that he had, gone to Paris with h s mother
some four or five years ago ; that he there got into
employment; but that as the political atmosphere began
to grow warm, he was incited by young French revolutionists
and joined in the general uproar. Ha fought on the barri-
cades, was taken prisoner, was punished with six or seven
months imprisonment, and was then put on board ship and
sent to England. He (Lord Ashley) asserted that there
were hundreds and thousands of persons of this deseriptioe,
who were just as capable as the garde mobile of Part, of
being converted to the very worst purposes. (Hear, hear.)
Now he asked the house to consider the low state of mo-
rality existent amongst this class of persons, and the utterly
shameless way in which they spoke of their degraded post-I
ties; and he would instance one case. A great ragged school I
was opened on a Sunday evening. There came in a body
of fourteen or fitteen boys. They were unknown to the
muter ; but, es was the custom, they were admitted,
and for a short time they attended to what was going on,
by the
wmasterere nwohtootvo er. told . him
~Bthuatti hem mostust p . not”sai gae,r
the thefo
The clock struck 8, when they all started off but one,
and he too was making preparations to go, when he was
sPpperode
lad. " Where r " I mutt go to business." "Business,
what business ?" said 'he master. "Oh l" replied the lad,
" didn't you hear it strike eight? we must go and catch 'em
as they come out of chapel." (Hear, hear.) At that same
school he recollected a very graphic remark made in the
most perfect simplicity by a boy. The master had been
pointing out to him the consequence of his course of life and