The Express.
London, England, 1847-05-18 00:00:00

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(hotly the priest boll of ten hours by a good working ma-
jority of 133. In Hay, 1848, another " change came o'er
the spirit of their dreams," for the bill wsa rejec'ed Ly a
cuharnajiagoritrled inya.induot gamloczduniudwt ofrokrisnonglinicigalgnaor.trityr 0c.f1.h17387
he meantime to
could only know CatMa at tai' t$ Connected in thecession,
and the repeal of the corn laws and the great ennver-
Mons which had been made to that manure, was the
event to which he was inclined to attribute the change.
Between the landed interest and the manufacturing ir Lowest
a great gulph had opened ; bitter feelings were arcurtd on
both sides, which gave rise to such long and angry discus-
sions, that it would hare been humane to have cut them
down to ten Yours. (Laughter.) The landed ifere-t were
resolved to retaliate for the corn law repeal, arid the present
bill wee sent up.to them bye large majority—(hear, hear)—
so that ens Near the elm, House of Commons decided
against this bill by a "mall majority, another year they im-
cided against it by en enormous majority; a third year Ly
only a majority of 10; and on the liourth year, the conver-
sion going on at cunpuund interest and with accelerated
movement, there was a majority of lOS in favour of the
second residing. (Hear, hear.) It used to be 138 against,
and—cirtummanees remaining precisely the same—lt was
now 108 for the bill ! But he begged pard n for
saying the circumstances were precretiy the same,
for the circumstances wore infinitely stronger now against
the bill than before. (Hear, hear ) Was this the
time, when the labourers were turned out of their employ-
ment by thousanci.—when there was famine in 'relied and
scarcity in England—when on every part of the compass to
which.they turned the eye, abroad as well as at home, the
storms were gathering anti the aspect of the heavens was
lowering, that the House of Commune should retrace tear
steps, and turn large minorities into large umjurities ? (Hear,
hear.) Was it nut rather the time, of all others, when a
prudent and cautious regard for the best interests of
the country, fur the people of the country—ahoy, all, for
the working people, should have prescribed as an imperative
duty the utmost reluctance to change its commercial policy?
(Hear, hear.) But now, when the poor-raters were
6,000,0001. and likely to be increased by a third or a fourth,
when Ireland was bletcling at every pore, when they were
sending supplies of food and money to prevent starvation
from thinning the people r f that unhappy country, when
the public peace was disturbed in one county in England and
200 special constable* bad to be sworn in on account of food
riots, when in. otter counties the Mans of similar scenes worn
threatening, was the time that they were called on, without
experience, • mese spesedat ion, on &Amnia*, on mem ption
ehrememes whisk eseetageet every working
'country, • Its kw great branches or man:. am
tuna.. If, indeed, the time were peaceful, if Ireland was
restored to plenty, if England and Europe were at pi 2Ce, if no
clouds were in theaky or in any part of the horizon tudisrigure
or to alarm the beholder, he might understand such a mea-
sure being proposed as an etpeninent ; but to bring it for-
ward se an experimenr, without waiting till Providence hail
vouchsafed to bless them with a retcrn of peace, prosperity,
and tranquillity, woo nothing less than to fly in the late of
Providence. (clear, h, ar.) Let not the landlords suppose
that they were sot interested in this measure. They wen
deeply interested in it; as nothing could Msturn or injure the
manufacturing interest of the country a itenut injuring them,
and they also wore the main contributor. to the poor rates,
which must be increased, if this measure had, as he believed
it would have, the inevitable consequence oilmen:tenting the
number of the pour. (Hear, hear.) He knew that the mea-
sure originated in kindly feelings towards the working
dames ; bat kindly and benevolent feelings, which were not
founded in reason, might end in doing the greatest possible
mischief. Many persons were led away by exaggerated
account' of the unhealthiuess of the factories by glowing
pictures of the bard toil, comfortless abodes, and wretched
tare of the werlmett. And their feelings Ming roared,
they grasped st the first remedy offered, arid they
pronounced judgment, not in proportion as their reason was
cone .rned, bat in proportion as their sensibilities were
exci:ed, without considering that it was possible tine proposed
remedy might only aggravate the evil it was meant to cure.
(Hear, hear.) Now, he felt the same deep commiseration
tor these people, and his heart was wrung with their toil,
their scanty food, and wretched abodes ; but, amongst all
the labouring population of this country, he bad nevi r seen
a more desperate picture of fatigue, of wretched and rem-
forties. abode., than he bad seen in the cottages of the
peasantry. (Hear, hear.) They who rose at lire o'clock in
the morning and toiled from the rising of the sun till his
going down, whose work was of the hardest dewription,
end who were exposed to all the vicissituaes of the seasons,
might well envy the factory tabourer, who et least knew
neither cold nor wet II they interfered in the ram of the
factory workers, why abstain in the case et the steel-filers
and the workers in brass, those who, from the time of their
ancestor, Tubal Cain, had been the victims of their trade
(Hear, hear.) The noble and learned lord, haying
rehired to the report of the state of Masmehuseets
and to the report of the committee of the House of Commons
in 1824, which declared that they could not interfere to re-
gulate the rate of wages or the hours of working, concluded
by saying that if, by passing this bill, they subsututed a law
for the parental feeling, the eternal law of moral as well as
physical nature would reclaim and reseat the steetitution.
(Casein.) The noble lord then moved that the bill be read
• second time that day six months.
. . -

The Bishop of LONDON said he felt the disadvantage of
following the noble and learned lord who had joie sat down
on the present occuion, and on the present rubj ct, hut he
considered that this bill for which the noble led rho intro-
' dueed it was entitled to the gratitude of the working clauses,
w..s founded on the highest e)rapathies of our nature, whilst
the arguments that were ado used against it rested on econo-
mical consideration.. Viewed es abstract and philosophical
principle!, end ou the supposition that all men were in-
structed sod religioue, the principles of political economy'
might be carried out is practice, but they had to deal
with a highly complex crate of society, they were
surrounded by prejudice, by misery, and vice. and
they must therefore deal with things a they feud them ,•
they must bend, modify, and temper rigid rules, and
adapt themselves to the state of society in which they lined.
His noble and learned friend said that the legis•ature ought
sot to interfere with a matter like the present, but he thought
It was the duty of a paternal government to interiors, if they
could prevent injury from being dune to large clauses of
society which, but lor that interference, would be unprotected.
(Hear, bear.) His noble friend dealt with the ques-
tion as if it wholly related to the adult popularioe ;
factory children were treated aa mere machines for making
money ; and if the cupidity of their employ, rs, or the igno-
rance of their parents, compelled them to work more than
their age and strength would justify, it was the duty of the
legislature to interfere for the protection of such children. If
they desired to have a generation of dutiful and moral work-
men, t: e rising generation must be trained with that 'rim.
The noble and learned lord had spoken of the condition of
the agricultural labourer why, be (the flattop of London)
thought there wee no comparieon between the two, but that
the agricultural labourer was in a much better conrition ;
his work lay in the open fields where he could inhale the
pure air and see the light of heaven, and in his occupation
he might pause for a few minutes when he was led to do so ;
but the power loom must work on and the labour attending
it must be regular and precise—(hear, hear)--and there
could be no doubt that such labour was more debilitating
and exhausting than when the work was varied or some
short breathing time could be taken. The evil resulting
from the existing state of things in the manufecturiog dis-
tricts justified the interference of the legislature. The
noble and learned lord had said that man must
earn his bread by the sweat of his brute that
might be true, but the creator never intended that
he should do so by his life-blood, or by making hie children
peas through the fire, not of Moloch, but of Mammon.
titter, hear.) It appeared from a calculation made by Mr.
Fletcher, that the ge of life amongst factory workmen
Tess somewhat less than one-half of that of the other opera-
tives in the same district. (Hear, hear.) Ore of the great
evils of the present system was, that it disqualified children,
after 13 years of age, from receiving education, for, after 13
hours of exhausting toil, they would have no spirit or
strength to go to an evening school, to keep up and add to
the knowledge they had before acquired. (Hear, hear.)
Under these circumstances, it was not to be wondered at
that the clergy sod medical men were almost unanimous in
suppers of this bill. But many of the great milldoweers,
who it was said were to be such losers by the measure, were
petitioners in favour of it. They could see but little to appre-
hend, when they came forward to support au-1 a bill; and as to
the commerce of the country being injured by it, he wee much
encouraged when he looked back and saw the results of the
step which had been taken with regard to the twelve hours
bill. It appeased from a etatement made by one of the
opponents of the bill that since the limitation of the hours of
labour to sixty-nine a week, the condition of the operative
had gradually improved; and whilst in 1813 he rt cried
Bs. 41. per week as wages, in 1833 the amount was Ile 10d. ;
but, in the meantime, the price of provisions had greatly
fallen. He must add that he never heard, since the passing
of the bill he referred to, there had been, as • consequence
any diminution in the orders for manufactured goods:
(Hear, hear.) To refer to utiliser argument of the noble
and learned lard. The noble and learned lord said that the
workmen would be driven away to other weer the country,
where they could get more wages, by working a Freese
number of hours. Why, if that were so, it would
lessen the number of operatives remaining in the
manufacturing districts, and there would !teem/any be a
rise in the rate of wages, which the noble and learned lord
predicted would be diminished one-sixth. Did the noble
and learned lord know that no less than 922 mill
owners had petitioned in favour of the bill, as well as
thousands of the workmen themselves? and the evil, which
it ought to cure were pbysieal deterioration sad moral de-
gradation. A moral and religious reformation never could
be effected smompt the factory workmen ureter the existing
system, because to youth they were not allowed sufficient
tune to learn that which wu useful for them both here and
hereafter. (Hear, hear.) The right rev. prelate concluded
by eating that he most cordially supported the bill.
The Duke of RICHMOND heartily concurred in the
objects of the bill • and when the noble and leaned lord
(Lord Brougham) said that an agricultural labourer
at forty-five was not as, strong as one of their
lordships at seventy-five, it proved that he knew nothing
at all of the wetter. Why, he would produce almost any
Iliebuiner item Meaux who should carry every one of these
lenhilis ea his back. (Much laughter.) The agricultural
Meer, hiel pod beer to stria,. and if their lordships
we MOW the malt tax, he would have hetet.
ilLtheghlth) condition e". .
rl/al, IMO ever
them why the
Wed thesswide

(Rear, hear.)
gard for the
althoagh la
Lague: sad
repeal of the ores
raarket.

Tin Bad d
culated es be

would deprive
It would net only
whether sale

Bet if the tradition of the agricultural li-
ner so bad, which was not the are, that was
y they should inflict misery and i justice on
suds of people io the 'manufacturing districts.
H- had always entertained the greatest rw
intelligent man • ; this country,
disliked the leaders • ' ' „
he told them that • 4,•!!..5:
corn laws, because It, • •
I • 41,ereor
,f CLARENDON • ' • •
hurtful to those '
the working man •'
only affect the c • • v--,
4 or tamale, had
rfancrza