The Express.
London, England, 1861-05-01 00:00:00

PARLIAMMIPARY commzmis.

••-•11. -IP-

POOR WAEF IN TSB JarmoPout
This conimitteie met again yesterday, Mr: Pilliern
is the chair. The other members present wine Lord
Stanley, Lord E. Howard. (Colonel Pennant, Mr.
Mr J. Acton, Mr. Alamein Sider", Mr. Kelsewii,?3M.
Jolliffe, and Mr. AIL MUnea
_ _

Kr. Pother, of the Arm* London Union, was risegriunined.
Hs wssaskedisy Btecbairmap if it was true jliet be had,
after &shad bestt Were this wmis, made a
speech at a public meet* at the Mansion-home; in which
he said that he lasting disgrace attached to tee
Poor-law Board, because they refused to relax one iota of
their workhouse test during the late severe winter. Ile
mid now that his speech was correctly reported in the news-
papers in substance, bathe thought he did hot usethe words
"lasting disgrace.:'
The Chairman hem read a oorresponderie which had
passed between the Peer-law Board end the palish angle-
rime of St. Janne, Wesuninsterc with respect to the relief
of the poor during the late severe winter. In this eery,.
spoodeoce the Poor-law Board stated their cipinloe that the
vicissitudes of the seasons, which create rather m teemmetay
suspension of work the as atrial pertiamoll disainutiec el
employment, omit oat meimarily to came ablediodiet
persons to have imasediafe resumes to the poor rag": Mt
regard to ablebadied persons Applying for relief, that
should be accompanied Hy a tea- of work ; hut se
the aged and infirm pose; thibeeld were well aware re
recommendation was needed from them to insure a careful
attention to their emote, mid that with respect to that class
of claimants, the governors and directors would cheerfully
supply all their wants and infirmities required. But the
board were of opinion that any aseistasee granted by the
governors lied dinsetors out of the peer rates ate be only
regarded legally es premhial nliefr and must render every
pennon receiving it liable to all the picidente which the ac•
oeptams of relief krings with it.
The room was then Cleared ; when the Public wise epic
admitted,
The Chairman silted Mr. Potter if, after this cor-
respoodence read, be bed say further oboe- to make
relative to his own remarks about the Poor- *
Mr. Potter sal he was still of option 'Olathe Peorkaw
Board had the power to relax the verkbouis tad, under
their general peons relative to the workbovee test or the
labour test. He thought the guardians ought to have power
to seek out those who seduced young women, who became
chargeable to the workhouse, so as to compel them to eau-
, tribute to the support of those young women. At present
it wee a fineable dimes for guanisuis even to remetmend
Mr. these young pseom to seek oat their seducers.
lloz, of the governors and directors of St.
James's, Westminster, was next examined: Re
said: 428,494 we. ' about the net retina of
that parish. What wee called by the last wit-
mess " the horrid weakhones test' was. certainly
applied at 81. dames, mid they_ required that to pre-
vent as far as peed* isepottnie. That test was applied
under the Taal act of the push. They were not able to
exercise their own disetetioa solely, end aural MOM ahem
before them which thew would wish. to he able
to deal with is a Afferent manner than they
now were able to do, He should like very
much, if as guardians had discretion, to be able to
*scourer young women in workhouses to emigrate, Instead
of han;yee permanently about the workhouse. He believed
the guardians had never applied to the Poor-law Board to
rant them this discretion. But they keel, that the Poor-
law Board, as a general rule, discouraged toilinttkm• He
believed that the ratepayers would not object to sending
thee* young worse, abroad, and AMA a greet ninny d the
yes would be very glad to emigrate.
women'!be pMeb 8 rwdater had anierbanded wheel Sur hoya
and girls at Betieresis. The guaranis would wish to have
discretion in the silo of pcier girls of Ahem years of age,
who on being wog eat M sitmliws where no other sorrants
were kept in may amt got badly treated. In such cases
the guardians did sot wish to admit them again to the indus-
trial school, and to send them to the workhouse would
be worse ; and the guardians would wish to bay* the power
dproviding them with something like a trade. The
guardian watched those girls very narrowly in their situa-
tions. lie believed ha many eases those young girls ran
away from their sttudiceis in a temporary fit of anger or
annoyance with their masters or mistresses, and then they
returned to tbe workhouse, which, in many cases ruined them.
The industrial echoel was the school of the parish, end sot
under any act of Parliament. There was a full establish-
ment there, and the boys were employed working on the
land and the gerls in the launthice.
By the Chehmaa—Daring the Lite severe winter man re-
spectable artirephed for relief at St. James's Work-
hoses. The ty of the guardians and governors wee
in this can hew raw* thomr persons without making
them ;aspen* sad they wrote to the Poor-law Board for
their sanction to that affect. The enswer of the Poor-law
Board was whet me have dated at the bevelling of this re-
port—that pewee ef all dews who received relief from
the poor rates mild may be considered legally as paupers.
Mr. Terser, of Eh Pawns was next called, sod was
under examiastion whin the committee adjourned.