The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-16 00:00:00

Lancashire Central Relief Committee.

The Weekly meeting of this committee was held on Mon-
day—the Earl of Derby in the chair.
The Ron. Secretary reported that £149 3s 3d had been
received during the week, and that the balance in the bank
was £299,853 lls sd. Three packages of clothing had been
received during the week, and two had been sent off.
Mr. FARNALL read the following report :—" I beg to in-
form you that on the sth inst. there was a decrease in the
number of persons receiving parochial relief in 27 unions
in the cotton manufacturing districts, as compared with the
number so relieved in the previous week, of 1,669. This
decrease of 1,669 is explained as follows :—There is a de-
crease at Ashton-under-Lyne of 592; Barton-upon-Irwell,
28; Blackburn, 48; Burnley, 48; Bury, 119 ; Chorley, 24;
Chorlton, 354; the Fylde, 25; Garstang, 46; Haslirgden,
11; Leigh, 23; Manchester, 328 ; Preston, 309; Saddle-
worth, 143 ; Salford, 167 ; Stockport, 82 ; Wigan, 59 ; total,
2,396. But there is an increase at Bolton of 3; Glossop,
23 ; Lancashire, 3 ; Macclesfield, 8 ; Oldham, 405 ; Prest-
wich, 10; Rochdale, 196; Todmorden, 30; and Warring-
ton, 49; making a total increase of 727,—so that there is a
net decrease of 1,669, and since the 6th of December last a
total decrease of 129,203 has taken place. There were on
the sth inst., 142,780 persons receiving parochial relief in
the 27 unions adverted to; in the corresponding week of
1861,
46,725 persons were so relieved; there is, therefore,
an increase
of 96,055 persons in the receipt of parochial re-
lief, or 205.6 per cent. In the corresponding week of 1862,
144,007 persons received parochial relief, It will be a source
of satisfaction to your committee to observe that the pauper-
ism of this week is less by 1,227 in number than that of the
corresponding
week of 1862. The total weekly cost of out-
door relief on the sth inst. was £8,749 4s ; in the correspond-
ing week of 1861 it was £2,236 9s ; there is, therefore, an in-
crease of £6,512 14s 2d or 2957 per cent. In the correspond-
ing week of 1862 it was £8,193 Os 10d. The average per
tentage of pauperism on the population of these unions on
the sth inst. was 7'2; in the corresponding week of 1862 it
was 2.4 ; and the corresponding week of 1861 it was 7.3.
The amount of money in the hands of the treasurers of the
above unions on the sth inst. was £98,576 9s.

at the rate of 5,000
Mr. FARNALL remarked upon the fact that whilst at this
time last year the number ielieved by guardians was increas-
ingwhether it was
the rate of something like 1,500 weekly. He then, in per week, it was now decreasing after
con-
formity with notice given last week, introduced the question
mittees to undertake contracts for the execution of public
works by the men on their relief lists. For his own part
expedient or desirable for distinct relief com-
he was prepared to answer the question distinctly in the
negative. Committees, by entering into such contracts, and
employing the operatives on them simply as a labour test,
would cause unfair competition with corporations and other
contracting bodies,
who under the Public Works Act
would be able to occupy the men upon work for a fair rate
of wages, and thereby tend to the demoralisation of the ope-
ratives by maintaining them as paupers instead of allowing
them to become independent labourers, in accordance with
the intention of Parliament in
out
passing, the act referred to.
Mr. IL IL Hunitixsox proposed :—" That, with a view
to extend the operations of the Public Works Act as much
and as quickly as possible, it be recommended that the
various relief committees, during the winter months, assist
in procuring contracts so as to provide for the able-bodied
unemployed operatives, taking care to ensure them being
placed on this employment very extensively on measured
work, and conducting- the operations so that those em-
ployed may be trained to continue contracts for themselves
as to the kind of labour which
tuhned
acter
atheafter
er
re respective t iveb
terminationo a rdsor
of publicthis w bodieswinter."
er .
~ carrying
a e
of the
main reasons which induced him to make this proposal was
that, in the event of local committees taking any other
course than that he had indicated, there would be no pos-
sibilityshould of:sceriimrninating
thm:rreimed
small families, whereas the Committee
desirablec e til
ll
o allns
say, when there way
on these works,—that was to
wsvaa as nao tmembe r sufficient
felt workth
afto r
the married
ployment would fall into the hands of the single men
and those with
of which he
men with large families ought to have the prmefanereyn
could be employed. He was of opinion that corporations
alone would not be enabled to undertake
contracts which,"under the arrangement --, 1,
e proposed , could
be carried out. According to the opinion of
counse Iwhich
had been obtained corporations could not recover losses
which might arise under them from the rates. At le
would be the case at Blackburn. The municipalleast that
rate, as it
was called, was probably the only one upon Which such a
charge could be made, and that would not suffice In course
of some months the committee would be able to. resignthe
work of entering into contracts entirely into the hands
corporations and other properly-constituted b of
bodies. Wkat
he desired was, that during the winter
season the commit-
tees should have power to afford temporary relief to those
engaged on these public works, but
occasionally be who, from inclement
weather, would unable to earn a sufficient
maintenance. He trusted this committee
would, by their
adoption of his motion, allow local commi •
ttees the oppor-
tunity of using the labour at their command upon public
works as a fit and proper test of eli •
gibility for the relief to
afforded.

Mr. Gooseconded the motion, urging various
grounds on
.prove insufficient to provide employment for the
whole of the
would
distressed operatives, without the aid of the
district committee. lie thought there was no choice except
as between the
carrying out of Mr. Hutchinson's sugges-
tions and allowing the :operatives to walk idly about the
:IA:I:0 1t h
he concluded that the Public Works Act
streets,

The CHAIN said this would probably be the fitting
time to read a minute 011 this subject from Sir James Kay -
Shuttleworth, who
was unable to attend. The minute
went very closet), into the
question at issue and the main
principles which it involved. His lordship then road the
communication adverted to, which was as follows:
"p
i e,
hitherto
l ni,
he no t
relief
ef
property,
proceededef indigentof r
Il
minute as to contracts by relief committees, and em-
cotton workmen in such contracts.
indigence in the cotton districts has
charge on
to a law linty from two sources, viz., the legal
of economy.
charity to publish and the voluntary contributions of
41 funds. These two sources of relief are
subject When the poor rates and the
relief funds have provided to the indigent the means of
sustaining health, they have discharged their function.
I, 1. The laws for the relief of the poor never were in-
tended to provide employment with wages. Such en obli-
gation would convert the
poor-laws into an organised system
of labour conducted by the state, which would destroy the
relations between capital and labour—employers and em-
ployed—and establish a form of socialism destructive to
private capital and demoralising labour. Every step, there-
fore, from that legitimate use of the poor-rates, or of public
charitable funds, which restricts them to the maintenance
of health, to another which proceeds to assume obligations
to provide Wages from such sources is full of danger.
"2. Wages are given to the able-bodied without respect
to the wants of
their families. A single able-bodied man
receives as much,
at piece work, as a man with a wife and
four children. To find employment with wages, therefore,
if general, 110,0,scarily creates a heavier charge than the
simple maintenance of health,
"3. A relief committee Liz Ile 6orporate power to enter
into any contract to recta% employment for those whom it
relieves. Such It Contract could only be legally entered into
by individual members of the relief committee in their
private capacity.
If such private persons enter into such a
contract, they can receive no legal security for its fulfilment
from the committee.
"4. Supposing these technical difficulties to he over-
come, and that the majority and most influential mem-
bers of such 4 committee sign such a contract—if they de-
termine to provide from their relief funds ordinary wages,
either for piece work or day work, they have no warrant to
expect any aid from the Central Executive Committee to
carry out a scheme inconsistent with the economy of funds
intended simply to support health.
" 6. It is possible to adjust a scheme of labour to a scale
of relief adapted simply to sustain health, by paying for
work done by the hour at the usual rate, and not requiring
more hours' work than will enable the workman to snake his
labour and that of his family equal at that rate per hour
to the scale of relief intended to ell.,taita health, Any ether