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London, England, 1825-03-30 00:00:00

ment. He had been told, that in one of the ports, the sails 'sere I
set, the cki'go on board and oiler weigh, bur the crew refused
to sail because the inn of the mate of the ship was not a member
of the Union ; and they actually took hint on snore and made him
a member, without which the ship would not have been able to
have sailed. He Was, however, not aware that any combination
had existed among the men employed at the northern collieries.
He would take this opportunity of declaring, that to the best of
his recollection there had been no instance in which the men ern-
ploye,l in these rallieries ever endeaveured to put themselves in op.position to their employers. On the contrary, he could state that
at what was called the binding, or the annual engagement made
i with those men, and which took place within the last ten days, not
1 one effort was made by any of them to raise a dispute with their
masters respecting wages ( Hear. hear); nor was there the knit re-
luctance on their parts to renew their annual bindings. Hot he felt
that something was absolutely tequired to be done to put down the
system wl.ich so extensively prevailed io other places. It would be
inipossible for this House to attempt to establish that free and
liberal policy which his Majesty's Ministers were now to 7aistably
advancing, if the principle of free labour was to be counteracted by
eie se combinations. The people were calling upon the Ministers
thus to give to Me country the benefits of free trade,free intercourse,
alai free commerce, ,mil yet they were the very first perom to put
an end to free labour which was the source Mall, and without which
nelilier free trade nor free commerce would do any ge0,... whatever.
He therefore hailed with satisfaction the prospect which the pre-
sent motion held fkwth of some measure being speedily devised
to' ut en end to that destructive system which at orogen: prevailed,
00 whith tended t, neutralise all the great benefits which had been
!eonfeered upon the country by the recent enlightened y.,:say of his
hislastra 31inist.:ns.
•iiir. I' RANT supported the motion, and concurred in the pro.
pnety of the /corned inguny.
Mr. C. GRANT, in sopporting the motion of his Hight Hon.
Friend (.Mr. Iluskisson), was desirous of impressing upon the mind
1 of the Country that it was not less the desire of the Ilouse of Corn.
Imoue to protect masters from the abuses to which a reformed
_system of lams might be liable, than it was to relieve servants from
the operation of severe laws, From the abuses which had been
nmntioncd ttoat tight, it was the ditty of the House to provide, that
I Masters should not be made the ustast victims of with abuses,
i the'preralencc of these abuses' rota!d serve as an inducement to
reboil to our former syste4ry,rathcr than, change it for one which
.rsidretraVated.to be atiecued with MO much evil. Too strong tin-
guage.coulri not be used to reprobate the conduct that had bets
that tight condemned. There were certainly efficiencies in the
. Act which revcket! :he fortner combination laws; he was satisfied
1 his Right lion. Fiend, in adverting to them did nut mean to cast
any imputation on .tie Committee that prepared that Act. He was
i one of the fife); who heal prepared that Act, and he took his share
;.of responsibil:tr for au,• omission in it. If the revocation of the
1 combination laws had led to the end of the combining system alio-
gethcr, then there might L no further need of inquiry ; but at. it
had to: done to, and as the system of combination had not been
exploded, it was necessary to furrier investigate, and to see what
meats could to devised to cou,neract the existing evil. If by the
revocation of these laws masters end servants returned to that cam
in which the natural feeling of dot; whit* should subsist between
Them would operate, then there wound be no ocmsion for further
legislative.: But It was calculated. ari,l,rlgictly en, that a re-action
would takieplqat by the sudden alteration „in -the law. Such TO-
-1 action did oecur—an effete ercence was creates'. which would only
I subside in tire course of time. It had been said that by tiro change
part of the common law was revoked. It was his op:nion. he nbmild
rather say impression, for on such a subject he et,..tlii not 'pest
with professional skill and accuracy, that the only. ~-art of the
common law that ass at all touched was the Act of 41:-Iward I.
whi,h prohibited two or three persons from uniting or cons'inini
without.violence or threat—this was only excepted from the Isan on
combination in its altered state. As to the use of seamen being
exempted who had previously combined not to do their Mil, they
were still amenable to.tbe less, and not excused for a dereliction of
3u:y by anything in the repealed combination laws. His Bight
Him. Friend bad only discharged his dugs- to the country by pro.
posing the present inquiry to rectify the abuses that remained ; he
never supposed that when the Committee bad closed its report
there should be no recurrence to the subject. He (Mr. Grant)
had approved of what had been done ; the late enactments were
enactments of policy sad humanity; but he was aware that the
change wild have been productive of the incidental evils which had I
attended it, and which they were now called upon to inquire into
st..d Correct. (Hear, hear.) A systrin of severity had been abau.
dotted for the substitution of one of lenity ; but they should guard
against the abuses to which that substitution was liable.
Mr. LA MIITON approved of the proposed inquiry; in the
North of England great alarm prevailed as to the effect of certain
clauses of the late Act which repealed too combination laws ;
this alarm prevailed greatly amongst those engaged hi the shipping
interest, no interest with which he was connected, He was glad of
rite investigation, as it would complete. he hoped, the many useful
objects intended to be effected by the relies' of die old system of
the combination laws.

Mr. HusKiesoN would not trespass on the House at any
length in explanation. The only cosh leel winch he wehed to
see made in the Act were changes of such parts of it as had
oven fotind prejudicial in their oiler ition, and were calculated
rather to deliait than give effect to the objcets of the measure.
(Hear, hear.) As to the observation of the lion. :Bet-ober (Mr.
flume), that he (Mr. lluskision) ought not to visit the faults of a
few ir,lividuals on the whole mass of the nianufacturing popula-
tion of the country— he begged to say that he wished to do us Inch
sesseilot filVQiontff of severe or penal laws. (Hear.)
In the part he took in tills measure he only regarded the in-
terests of commerce, as they were concerned in tie due adjust-
ment of the relation between master and servant. He would even
go so tar as not to punish those who were culpable; but he was
desirous of guarding them against the consequeores which their
own delusion would entail upon them. lit effecting this object
be was• the friend of the workmen. (Hear, hear.) The question
was one in which no party consideration should enter—it was
one in which every Cuing of that kind should be sunk, as the
measure which vitally concerned the happiness of the people and
the general food of the country. (Hear, hear.)
The motion WAS then put and carried without a division t and
the Committee appointed. consisting ef the Attorney and Solicitor
General, Ale. Peel, Mr. Home, and Mr. Husirisson.
Mr. Hf.RIiIES obtained leave to bring in three Bills, which
wets read a first time and ordered to be printed, in order that
they might lie over and be further entertained after the Easter
feces A Bill for enlarging the jurisdiction of the COTII•
mi,:sioners appointed for paving and regulating the Regent's.
park, the New Street, 4c.; 2d, a Bill for dividing and allotting
the Forest of Selsey, in Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire ;
and Sd, a Bill fur extending the powers to his Majesty in the dis-
posal of the,personal property of the King, his heirs and suc-
tessera.