The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1820-06-30 00:00:00

DISTRESS OF COTTON WEAVERS.

Mr. M %%WELL toot to move for a Committee
to iiiquire into the condition of the Cotton IVeavers,
alit whit measures coidd be adapted fur their fe
lief. The lieu. Member reinitiated on the long
micl hopeless Mlle of dist►rns in winch the manti-
facto 1it•ltulalio11 hid now remained for a great
length of time. He thought it extraordinary, after
the drelarati.•n which had been made by Ministers
themselves, that the great sod extrusive spirit of
sedition and discontent was 'mainly attributable to
that deo ress, that Ministers should slot hive atieatpt.
rd nothing tor Its tehel, lie complained of the thin
■tteuduuce (there being not more 111111 twenty Mem.
hers present). He thought there could
stronger pruef of the necessity of rrfu►ut than the
111.yedriOled of CMPlrdolle.ll evinced for a quebtloll of
ouc!, .ml...flower to the country. He contrasted the
v:Pluipiesous condition of the promotive, doors with
the rstelvednes• of the labourers. Ile thought it
possible to convince • Comissitter, if at should he'
wanted. and by the Committer to prove to the
Il•rttse that it was 1101 Mande of orcebbity that the
cuttopi weavers should remain in their present miser.
able state. Ile thooght it possible for the Co..
twi tee to divciwer • wens of placing this class its a
more cousfu►table and contented state, by spreading
il-em over ■ larger surface of land. He adverted
to the greet and ruinous competition of msebinery
with hard labour, and pointed oat how much more
heavily the power of the letter was taxed and bar-
ileverl. Ile wielisd, if passible. to put the capital
• tl:e rick manafecturer, and the power of the
labourer, which was, in fact, his capital, upon a
more equitable footing as to taxation. Ile
e•jwplaited of the unfair pressure of legislption
gentowlly. notes:ring the Combination lA**, ton the
labouring population. He wished also for u C
-
mutter to eassonie hew fair it might be possible to
remove perm•••r•ily to (amigo lands those who Is sal
become wholly •ad hopelessly exalted to the main-
icipeoce of themselves and families, not from waist
pplitistry or curability, but front the imperative
cep essoy of netumotauces. Ile cemplimenied
th.,,e kind-hearted and zealous individuals, Mr.
1l••en. Alderman Howerofs, and others (melt
'cough perhaps pot of great weight in the
oristocrsey, but not she left entitled to nitro 111111
attention), wholiad devoted •aeh of their fortunes
unit more a their time to the c Whitton of
the distresses of the Isebouring; classes. It inivlit
Weever be a question bow far the existing or-
der of thug. could 'possibly lead to, or even
ailingt of, soy restoration of tho•r classes to
• state of "tetanprtency anti entilettlitittit. Ile
iutita•ted than • plait might be sob' 1111 l ed to re-
lieve all the distress by appropriating a part
of
those large portions of land, whirls were laid
out and laving out in 1111,11111011110k0. 10 the awes-
reties of the pour. Hr read some of the terms of
the King's Message to the last Parli.idaidlll. de.
tocribing the dirallecticto and wretcheduess of the

r.“ 7 -

' lower • Ames, and the Aldose which the House
agreed to in reply. He stleerted to the establish-
ment of so many ism hart mks, and the maintensoce
Of so masoy• troops, the expense of which, to pry.
serve the peace of the country, was enough, if pro-
perly applied, to prevent the possibility of disturb-
dace, by preventing diseraottist. flume of the evils
were uttributahle to the residence of so many aliens
increasing the amount of our population, the came
of all our mist:outwit ; others were owing to the
residence of British families Arose,, spending large
incomes derived from the rr.nurrea of labour at
home; both of these might and ought to have Some
measure of remedy applied to them. His motion,
in any case, would allow the Parliament and the
ppor.un..y of explaining themselves
Ministry an o I I
on this most distressing sit Isject. —( Hear,' hear.)
Ile attributed nothing wrong to the inctioation or
Ministess, some of whom Ise had the horsooir of
calling friends. But his ci 1111 l ellen with diet)
should 'sever prevent him from attacking any
abuse of the system which he could discover.
He put it to the House if it accords d with the
turmoil, of the universe, that one class, the larg.st,
should be worn down and degraded by wretched.
loess, until they were incapable of feeding them.
selves with assy thing fit In issaimilate with the
human frame, while the rich, who were of the
same form, and possessed the same functioiss of
being, were revelling in luxury. lie put it to
those who were religious, if it agreed with the in-
tentions of a benign mid omniscient Being, that
there should be such frightful distinction between
creatures of the same mould, that while. few were
rioting in luxury, the massy should be so destitute as
scarcely to be able to endure existence. After some
observations on the sled * g stale of the country,
the successful rivalry which the nations of the Conti-
nent imputed to Anirrica. and the danger which
threatened the institutions of the country from being
surromuled by a needy and discontented popula-
tion, he concluded by moving—
" That a Select Committee should be apponsted to inquire
into the mature or the distrmes of the (idiom Weavers, sod
the possibility or affording relief."
Mr. Rom ssom was no friend to Parliamentary
Reform, but or all the effects of reform, dna
which lie dreaded Ilse most was the one threatened
by his Flom friend, • f converting the House into
a college of !Attica! dispistassts. The Hon. Gen-
tleman had scknowlsolged that his motion com-
prised 1111 abstract idea of political economy. lie
did not think a Committee well adapted to the dis-
cussion of sit abstract idea. He did not see the
advantage of taxing Idioms for coming into the
country, mid taxing natives for going out of it.—
lie deprecated such discussions, and hoped that Isis
Hun. Friend would not trod himself to the propa-
gation of delusions which had not even the merit of
being palliatives. At any rate, lie thought the rod
of June an improper time for the discussion of an
abstract idea. Ilis Hon. Friessil haviii dirliarged
his duty to his conscience, would not be much hurt
if Isis motion were deferred till the next Session;
he therefore took the liberty of snowing the previous
qittstion.
Mr. RICARDO thought that it was the duty of
every good Government in take every opportunity
of removing obstacles which might lay in the way
of making the industry of the people productive.
Instead of the., lie lamented that the Governmeast
sheared a dispositims to neglect and avoid all such
conisidersit s, sod by it. own nets had mainly
contribured to the depressiois of the lebouriog
classes, and the countermen 4.f the productive-
ness of labour. Ile felt himself bound to declare
that Government ought to remove, as far as possi-
ble, every obstacle to the elcarlopmetit of the re-
sources of labour and ingenuity.
Mr. LOCKHART could tint improve of the object
of the motto's. lle thought the tax proposed to be
laid on absentees injudicious. He feared that the
effect would be to cause them to remove their capi-
tols as sell as their Messmer. lle disagreed with
the plans of dividing I and, spade-hushandry, and
others, which hind been propagated, because they all
appeared oil a nearer view to he futile. The lionise
ist any rate could not grant a Committee until so see
of those 1/141111 al Id he found effectual, by the
exiwrience or people out of doors. Another thing
which struck him was this, that it the House grant-
ed a Committee to the coitus' weavers, the agrMill-
lurid labourers, Hod al t all Iltilell4, would have
an rtplialy gaol clamp 10 rosissilerstion, aisd would
scarcely tail to urge it. Tone alosse and patience,
which lie dosiliteil tort the people would phew, could
core die difficulties tinder which they laboured.
111 r. MAxwEt.t., to consequence of what had
fallen flow his Ilan. Friends smear I , consented
to withdraw his motion.
The ['owe then resolved itself into a Committee
ois the Fishery Bill, cereals. additional clauses were
read and agreed to. The Halsor then resumed,
and the Report was oidered to be received to-

The House then went into a Committee an the
Irish Yeomanry Bill— iteimat to-morrow,
The. Special Gmstable Appointment Bill, and
Wafter Sessions Appeal Bill, were ►rrerally read
the third tittle mid pa,..ed.
The other Orders of the Day were then disposed
of, and the Douse atkinnisied.

THE i; ITiSi t 1/1: ESS.

lON DON,
FRIDAY, June 30, 1830.

The cesrion of the town and fortress of Purge
by the British authorities to AL,. Paella of
send slow the selfoostyled King of Epirus. was
yesterday rw ' g submitted by Lord JOHN Bus—
tiEl.l. to the particular attention of the !louse of
Co 000000 on*. The Noble Lo►d moved for the pro-
slued iiii of s steemosial prevented by two nativeb of
Parga to the Secretary of State for the Colonial
Department, complaining generally of doe sums'.
der of their 10W11 End territory to the rent enemy
of their name rod race, but more particularly that
the esliosioote of priaprity surrendered was so *Mew.-
reel, that the l'argauototrio dad soot frfrilre
sufii-
cie►d cosupentation for the losses which they had
sustailied au conisqueme of the transfer. 7 u this,
Oubjeit the public !Mud of this cuutery war tur.oed