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 Hon. Secretary reported that £149 3s 3d had been
received cher ing 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 Pylde, 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-
twhiechs,thlol:Btß., ochdale, 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
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 48 ; in the correspond-
ing week of 1861 it was £2,236 Os ; there is, therefore, an in-
crease of £6,512 145 2d or 295.7 per cent. In the correspond-
ing week of 1862 it was £8,193 N 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 1562 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.
Mr. FARNALL remarked upon the fact that whilst at this
time last year the number relieved by guardians was increas-
ing at the rate of 5,000 per week, it was now decreasing after
the rate of something like 1,500 weekly. He then, in -con-
formity with notice given last week, introduced the question
whether it was expedient or desirable for distinct relief com-
mittees to undertake contracts for the execution of public
works by the men on their relief lists. For his own part
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 passing the act referred to.
Mr. R. 11. HUTCHINSON 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
under the respective boards or public bodies carrying out
the act after the termination of this winter," One 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-
bsihboiuliltdy ofbeelisc employed
n h
discriminating as to the kind of labour which
was to
say, when there was not sufficient work for all, the em-
ploymentthosewith
would fall into the hands of the single men
and
of which hesmall families, whereas
whereas th works,—thateCommittee
was a member felt that the married
men witb large families ought to have the preference till all
could be employed. He was of opinion that corporations
alone would not be enabled to undertake many desirable
contracts which, under the arrangement lie proposed, could
be carried out. According to the opinion of counsel which
had been obtained corporations could not recover losses
which might arise under them from the rates. Atleast that
at Blackburn. The mord •
would be the case cipal rate, as it
was called, was probably the only one upon which such a
charge could be mode, and that would not suffice. In course
of some months the committee would be able to resign the
contracts
into entirely
work of entering into the hands of
corporations and other properly-constituted bodies. What
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 who, from inclement
occasionally be
weather, would unable to earn a sufficient
maintenance. ile trusted this committee would, by their
adoption of his /notion, allow local committees th
the labour at es e oppor-
tunity of using their command upon public
works as a fit and proper test of eligibility
for the relief to
afforded.

Muollred.
pf G
the seconded the motion,, urging various
grounds
be concluded that the Public Works Act
ho
cident to provide employment for the
e operatives, without the aid of the
wwio
district committee. He thought there was no choice except
as between
and w
the l
oin g
carrying out of Mr. Hutchinson's sugges-
tions
- :
oo
wp
d which
i 1
siiiotl lsj
irt
ec
as 8
the :operatives to walk idly about the
streets.
al

on
The CllAnotAN said this Would probably be the
fitting
tSihmuetttloowreoarda wh° minute
this subject from Sir James Kay-
th, Was Unable to attend. Tho minute
wentrii very
question at issue and the main
ac
which it involved. Ills lordship then read the
communication adverted rt, --) which was as follows:
" Minute as to contracte by relief committees, and em-
ployment of indigent cotton workmen in such contracts.
principles
closely into the
4, The relief of indigence in the cotton districts has
hitherto proceeded mainly from two sources, viz,, the legal
charge
property,
and the voluntary contributions of
charity 011
to publish funds. These two sources of relief are
subject to a law of economy. When the poor rates and the
relief funds have provided to the indigent the means of
sustaining health, they have discharged their function.
it 1, The laws for the relief of the poor never were in-
tended
ion woula 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
four children. To find employment with wages, therefore,
if general, necessarilyatpieccerewatoersk, as a
aheamviaera charge than wthiafenatahcle
simple maintenance
has no corporate power to enter
into any contract to secure employment for those whom it
relieves. Such a
Ire of health.
,
"simplee. A lief f
contract could only be legally entered into
by individual members of the relief committee in their
private capacity, r
-4 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 bo over-
come, and that the majority and most influential mem-
bers of such a committeede-
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
sign such a contra3t--if they
intended simply to support health.
5. 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
&t 1,
our at the usual rate, and not requiring
more hours Work than will enable the workman to make his
labour and 'chat of his family equal at that rate per hour
to the Ca'l
e " reliOtitltOnded to sustain health, .Any other