The Express.
London, England, 1848-03-10 00:00:00

were resseiving oat•door relief ,• the rate was
KlP6mktilirthe posed on the whole union, and yet the amount
of relief only averaged minimises a heed. Let the house
imagine the effect of throwing a larger number of persons on
the rats. The consequence would be to deprive the whole
population of relief. It wee a great mistake to introduce
the poor law alone; it should have been accompanied by
measures for the reclamation of waste lands, and for
muting emigration. The evil of enforcing the poor law
without other remedial measures had been much aggravated
by the size of the unions. The hon. member for Cocker-
mouth was quite in error as to the construction of the
quarter-acre clause, by which he supposed relief in urgent
oases was prevented.
Mr. WAKLBY said that was clearly the common sense
interpretation of the clause, which had been well described
as • sentence of death against the poor occupiers Better
would it be for the house openly to doom these poor wretches
to destruction than to do it in this insidious way. (Hear.)
lie took blame to himself for not being in the house to op-
pose the clause when it was passed. Its effect was even to
preclude medical relief from being administered in the most
urgent cases. He could not conceal his conviction that this
house, largely composed of landowners and rich men, had
little sympathy with the poor. This conviction was growing
and spreading; and he warned the house, gentlemen calling
themselves conservatives especislty, to beware of the result.
If some landlords could be made to change places with their
miserable tenantry it would produce a wonderful alteration
in their views. For a long time all parties, whip and radi-
os* as well as terries, had oppeeed the introduction of any
psor law into Ireland. end it had only been introduced at
the lest moment. Had such a law existed there since the
time of Elisabeth we should now have beard little of Irish
distress. It was &gross calumny to call the Irish an idle people.
In their own country they had not the physical ability to
work, owing to their destitute condition ; bus, in London,
where properly fed and paid, they performed work which
Englishmen could not do. Out of 20,000 bricklayers'
labourers in London only about 500 were English ; the rest
were all Irish. (Hear, hear.) The inevitable conseauence
of the house persisting in its late course of legislation to-
wards Ireland must be that the people would, themselves,
take possession of the land; they must either do this or
starve ; and they could not be expected to lie down and die
quietly. He, for one, should be perfectly willing to let the
Irish gentlemen try the experiment of legislating for them•
selves. (Hear.) It was his settled conviction that there
would be no proper legislation either fur this country or Ire-
land so long as the aristocracy had such a powerful share in
the legislature. He had been in this house 11 years : and
he felt it his duty to his constituents to make this declara-
tion. The hon. member for Rochdale was a kind and
benevolent landlord, a practical man, and intimately ac-
quainted with Ireland, but not being one of the aristocracy,
nor • rich man, he had not been able, during the 10 years be
had been in the house, to obtain the passing of any of the
numerous measures which be had proposed for the benefit of
his country. (Hear) Last year government had held out
promises of remedial measures for Ireland ; those were still un-
proposed, still in process of preparation. Did the govern-
ment propose to meddle with the overgrown church esta-
blishment of that country 1 Not at all. (Hear.) Unless
remedial measures were proposed, and that soon, he feared
that a feeling of indignation would spring up in that country,
which weuld endanger the existence of the throne itself.
Mr. DRUMMOND said that the picture which had been
drawn of Ireland in 1642 by Dr. Madden might serve, by
simply altering the dote, as a representation of that country
in 1848. That house should not be charged with the tai
sery of Ireland, because the people of that country were tee
same now that they were several centuries ago. Ile main-
tained that the house departed from the true principle of a
poor law by admitting the quarter-acre clause at all. (Hear.)
Col. DUNNE thought that there should be enquiry be-
fore any alteration was male in the law. He considered
that there should be some limit to the right of relief. With
regard to occupation, he Klieved that it was not n
see? to give up the title to the land to acquire a right to
relief.
Mr. M. J. O'CONNELL said that the clause undeg
coa-
aideration was an unpopular one, but it was easier to cry
r eLjainst evils than to suggest remedies. He had sup•
the clause when it was introduced, and he saw no
teem to regret that course. He thought the cases which
had been referred to as having taken place in the west of
Ireland should be investigated, and the government would
not discharge their duty if they did not punish those who
committed the illegal acts alluded to. He looked upon
those who committed those criminal acts as more guilty
than the criminals of Tipperary and Roscommon. The
question they had to determine was whether the right to
relief in Ireland should be unlimited. He thought that by
giving such a right the great benefit of a poor law, which
was designed for the really destitute, would be altogether
defeated. (Hear, hear.) It would keep up that system
which had been found so injurious In Ireland, namely, of
basing persons who were neither farmers nor labourers,
but something of both. (Hear, hear.) He should there-
fore give his vote against the motioa of the hon. member
fur Stroud.
After a few words from Mr. CRAWFORD,
Sir W. SOMERVILLE said that where a poor person
offered to give up his lend, and upon inquiry the guardians
found that the surrender was not a bona fide surrender, he
would not thereby obtain a right to relief ; but wh re he
made a bond/de surrender of his land, even though the
landlord would not accept it, he would he entitled to relief.
The house divided—Against the motion
For the motion
POOR LAWS (IRELAND).
Mr. FOX postponed his motion for a bill to substitute
towulands for electors! diei.ions as the area of rating.
EXPIRING LAWS.
The following members were appointed as the committee
on expiring laws: Mr. Parker, Mr. Tufnell, Mr. Attorney-
General, Mr. Bernal, the Judge Advocate, the Lord Advo-
cate, Mr Hume, Mr. Aglionby, Mr. Forbes Mackenzie, Mr.
Bellew, Mr. Greene, Mr. Gibson Craig, Sir 0. Clerk, Mr.
Cripps, and Mr. Stafford.
The house adjourned at half-past 9 o'clock.

ELECTION CONIIIMEES.—YESTERDAT.
LuvcoiN.—The evidence for the petition was
finished by the examination of the landlords of the ration,
inns at which the " free-and-easies" bad been held previous
to and during the late election.—Mr. Wordsworth summed
up for petitioner, and the e.ramittie adjourned until this day.
BEWDLEY. One or two witnesses were examined,
and gave evidence as to the system of treating carried on in
the borough. Ooe of them (a messenger to the committee)
proved that nine voters had been "bottled up" at the Swan
Inn the night previous to the nomination day.—Mr. Serjeant
Kinglake then summed up for petitioners, and the committee
adjourned to this day.
Ilanwicu.—Three witnesses were called, and
proved that Mr. Attwood's and Sir Dudley Hill's committees
were virtually the same. The bribery cases were then pro-
needed with.—J. Harnock, a barge-master ant freeman of
Harwich, proved that he had received 20/. expenses to vote
f.r Sir D. Hill.—Two other bargemen proved to having re-
ceived, one 20/. the other 161., under similar circumstances.
—Adjourned to this day.

Itht Orpregg.

MAILS

The malls for British North America, Bermuda, and the Unitei
Staten. will be made up on the evening of the lo'h March.
The Weet India Mails, excluding Bermuda, Nassau, Hanna,
llonduras, New Orleans, Vera Crue, Tampico, and Porto Kloo, and
including those for Madeira, Jamul, LUnhagena, Santa Martha,
Chagrin, Panama, West Coast of South America, and tit. Juan.dm
Nicaragua, will be made up on the morning of the 17th March.
The OW rland mails for (iibniltiu, Malta, (Otero, the lonian Wanda,
Vapbti: Aden, Cry
made up on thein nt of the M.ircb. or
Southampton
The made for New South Wales, VAR Oterneres Land, end New
Zealand will be made up on the evening of the 31st March.
The mails for the West Coast of Africa and Madeira will be made
up on the evening of the SIM March.
The mails for Vigo, Oporto, Lisbon, Madeira, Cadiz, and Gibraltar
will be made up on the morning of the l7th March.
The nails for the Snails, the Kiser Plate, Monte Video, Pernam-
buco, Bahia. Madeira, and Bloom Arm, will be male up on the
evening of the 4th Aprils
fun overland elosed mall% Ma Marseilles, to the Mediterranean
Zgypt, Aden, Ceylon, India, Bong Kong, Be., will he made up on tRI
evening of the :4th Aptil.