The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1818-02-05 00:00:00

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country banks in this light ; hut I added, that to
make it safe and curvets', it should he founded on,
and referable to, 4 fixed standard. slid I knew no
..ther shambled thins gold mod silver ; and that I
'flout/let Move metals formed the only standard cal-
cielserel fur oho purpose. Such was nay statemerii,
which I stow repeat, and thank Coe Home for al-
knits* me to make this explassatiou. Of coarse
do lent tonne to pursue the subject further."...
lkar.) •
POOltir L4Wit.
air. S. lioumwa rem- so move for the re-appoint-
aunt of the sew Cemonitive which lead set last
year, to rune ler of the Putts' Laws. That Coon-
untie' load. Mote then het sitting, suffered town very
heavy lerren;•••• in the death of Mr. 11811. the
lose Mensbrr for Glamorgandoire, who brooght to
the sul.jeet an intelligent understanding, awl great
local experience. Ile had. however, been torn
front tlwon in the prime of life. The other was
a gentleness' fag ethriwwwd is years but of full and
vigorous imilentanding. he alluded to Mr. Rod,
whose death wan a nevem and heavy public loss.—
(Ikor, haw. from /he riessiry Benches)—He
had been distisognished thringhout the course of
a long life fora Ready aad practical application
of his time and industry for the benefit and im-
provement of the lower classes of the community.
One of his last usesaures, that of the establishment
of Saving Books. 'would beteg be remembered with
gratitude; it would be a lasting memorial of his
public me vices—
Monuments= are penalties.

He conctuded by moving the re-oppointment of
the &Amer Committee. with liermisaion to fill up
the vacancies occasioned by the death of these two
effective Members.
Mr. CUIIIVEN conceived that the difficulties
copnected with this qnestion were so great, that it
was soot inappropriately said, there were thirty-nine
npanons in the Committee besides the Chairman's
rover. The great evil was the total inefficecy of
the means provided by poor-liouses and work-
houses, under the Act of William, to effect the
purposes for which they were originally destined.
—The evil was every day increasing.; the fact was,
there were many persons now receiving from the
parishes 14d., 15d, and 16d. a day. who would
gladly work 1.,, 911. The conduct of the poor was
. materially altered, and no system could be opera-
tive duds had tint a tendency to elevate their clue.
racter and make them prefer the produce of their
lahonr to parochiel relief. A very unfavourable
had taken place in their habits of latter
'ears.

Sir F. fluantrr—" 1 cannot anticipate much
'bench, from the appointment of this Committee,
however onsithrous and respectable are its Members ;
nor elm I concur with the Hun. Gentleman near
sne (.lr. Carmen), that any unfavourable alteration
has take') place of late years its the character of the
working classes of this country, though it is ob.
vious that a very great change has taken place in
their circumstances. It is not that they have less
energy or feeling for independence, growing out of
the lehour of their hands; the evil is not that they
ore less disposed, or less anxious or eager to seek
employment than they ever were , but that there
• are not funds in the comehy sufficient to employ
ilsr two with advantage.—(hieer. hear, Aemr.)-
Nll man ran 14.1111 to War the poor Mail for
his labour more than the produce of that la-
hour is worth to himself; no man will give
less, while he has oilier channels of employing
his capital. There is au disposition on the one port
to defraud the labourer out of Ins fair and just
earnings; or, on the other, to give his lid to
whoever will call for it. I think the Hum Gent.
(Mr. Curweoi) has therefore taken false ground on
this question, or ratlur that he has taken an unfair
view of it, for I believe that the people of this MUD..
ley are now the most inoretnittitogly industrious
people on the face of the earth. The evil of this

state of things was Obvinus. though it *its unpala-
table to so.ne lion. Members in that licuie,
slunk the enormour and overwhelming unison's' of
the country is the real evil— ( Hear, hear)—and
that the Committee to inquire into the how Laws,
are not likely to tenuity it. It is iii vast, to make
these laws the source of the evil ; they have subsisted
fur cent oriel and is is only %titian a few years that we
hove live so afflict. ti. I remember when I was
a boy on my father's estate, that it used to be
the bovst of the working people, that neither they
nor their families had ever received parochial boun-
ty. The late war, however, had materially altered
the owe of the country, and the only remedy for
the evil would be to reduce the public expenditure.
and all those salaries. pensions, and etuployments,
for which to efficient service was given. All that lit-
hour should be put a stop to which is as much over-
paid as the other labour is underpaid, and this was
the may effective course which should he adopted.
There is no doubt but it is the is aaaaa rilsr load of
taxation that dries up all the resources of the come.
try. All that lion. Gentlemen say about the taxa-.
tion not heating heavily on the people, must arise
either frmn self-delusion, or an intent to deceive
others. Whether taxes come from the indigent or
he wealthy. in whatever way they are produced,
ultimately the pressure of them falls upon the poor;
and the only difference in various modes of taxation
(whether the tax be upon leather, or upon salt, or
upon any other article) that I con recognize is this,
that that tax is the least oppressive which brings
most into the Treasury with the smallest expense
in collecting. Some taxes, however, are disgraceful
to the country-1 mean the duties for stamps on law
proceedings. It is tyrannical to load law pruceedinp
wit li such charges. because it is by MOM of these that
the common rights of the people are to be protected
and secured. I hope, Sir. that Ministers will not run
on in their eineer of expenditure for ever; 1 hope they
will make some reductions its it, notwithstanding the
declarations we hear of improvement in the state of
our bounces. It is to be lamented that not s sylla-
ble on the subject of economy and retteuclunrut is
to. be found in the Speech from the Throne, at
'a time when multitudes of the poor cannot, by all
their exertions, earn more than 9d. a day, to supply
theintelves and their families with all the nrcessa.
ries of life. The Poor Laws have existed for centu.
vies ; why did not the abuses now complained of re-
sult from them in former times ? It is an un-
founded reflection on the lower orders to assert that
they are desirous of being put on the poor rates;
on the contrary, the great majority of them would
submit to every toil and every privation, in pre-