The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-16 00:00:00

The Distress in Lancashire.

The monthly meeting of the Central Executive
Committee was held at Manchester yesterday; the
Earl of Derby in the chair. There were present—
Lord Egerton of Tatton, Lord Edward Howard,
M.P., the Mayor of Manchester, Messrs. M. Ross,
It. Hutchison, J. Platt, G. L. Ashworth, R. Glads
stone, A. H. Heywood, H. B. Email, W. Roberts,
T. Ashton, J. Worrall, H. Mason, S. J. Stein,
Hutchinson, J. Goodair, and S. W. Maclure (hon.
secretary). Mr It. Rawlinson, the Government en•
gineer, was also in attendance. Mr Maclure re-
ported that £314 18s. 4d. had been received in the
last four weeks, and there:was a balance in the bank

of £129,430 12g. 10d.
Letters were read announcing that the relief com-
mittees of ltoyton, Lees and district, Salford, and
Newton Heath bad been enabled to close their ope-
rations. Each of these committees also forwarded
copies of resolutions which they had unanimously
passed, thanking the Central Executive Committee
for their liberal grants and the considerate atten-
tion given to all applications for aid from the seve-
ral districts referred to.

Mr. MACLURE presented his monthly report,
which stated that the rEducticn in the numbers re-
lieved bad been 15,051, and since the end of
January in this year 99,821. The facts shown
in the table were most cheering, contrasting

the present with the past. With a maximum
of distress reached at Christmas, 1862, when
there were 510,279 recipients of relief, from either
the guardians or local committees, the number
fell to nearly one half that amount by the following
June, viz., to 266,634. The Christmas of 1863 wit-
nessed a further decline of 72,500, the aggregate at
that season being 193,506. At Midsummer last
the total was further reduced by 71,000, leaving then

112,598 on the poor rate or upon private bounty ads
ministered by the relief committees. This was not
much more than one-fifth of the maximum at
Christmas, 1862. The number now relieved is
reduced to 96,295, and as the ordinary pauperism
of these unions rises in the winter to about 50,000
in-door and out-door (in summer the number being
a little, but not much, less), the present pressure
upon the district is not more than double that of
ordinarily prosperous times.
The HON. SECRETARY proposed, " That as the
average pressure of pauperism in the cotton dis-
tricts is now reduced to 3.9 per cent., the grants of
this committee will in future be confined to the
relief of persons not receiving parochial aid." He
thought it was quite time that something was done
to prepare the whole of the cotton districts for the
cessation of aid from this committee, and that this
would probably be best accomplished by some such
resolution as he had read. The average pressure on

the rates was now only about double that of 1861,
which was admitted to b© the most prosperous year
ever known in Lancashire.
Mr J. PLATT seconded the resolution.

Mr H. MASON strongly opposed the proposition.
Ho thought it was most objectionable to say
that, because pauperif,m had been reduced to
so low an ebb throughout the greater part of
Lancashire, this separation ought every where to

take place between relief committees and the
guardians. A return made up to last Saturday
showed that there were 5,833 unemployed cotton
operatives in the borough of Ashton, whi.ch was
nearly as many es they had ever had at any period
of the distress. In Stalybridge there were 3,600 ;
at Moseley, 1,700; and at Dukinfield upwards of

_ .
3,000. Ho had been using every effort to get these
unfortunate people distributed in other districts,
where labour was obtainable, but the position of

affairs was still what he had stated. For the lase.
150 weeks they had made no change in the mode o

distributing relief in the Ashton union, and they
would not like now, at the eleventh hour, to have
one enforced upon them. The existing system
worked remarkably well, and he trusted they
should be allowed to work out the distress in Ash-
ton in the way which experience had shown most
advantageous for that locality.
The CHAIRMAN said that Ashton had received
from public sources during the distress above
£250,000, or ten times as much as had been locally
contributed throughout the whole union, irrespec-
tive of the rates.
Mr MASON said these figures did not present by
any means a correct view of what had been done
locally, inasmuch as they did not; include the very
considerable amount contributed in private charity.
The CHAIRMAN said that against this explana
tion he might make the remark that the Hurst
committee and the Ashton manorial committee,
which were also in the union, had received upwards
of £45,000 from the Mansion-house committee, not
included in his previous statement.
Mr. MASON said if it should be implied that
Ashton had received more than its necessities de-
manded, he denied the justice of the inference, and
affirmed that the contrary had been the.case. It
was true that the whole of the grants of this com-
mittee to Ashton had been made in aid of the rates,
but Ashton had rated itself to a far greater extent
than any other place in the county. They had at

present more than I,COO young women in the sewing
classes, and they were exceedingly anxious as to
what should bec3me of them. He thought the
motion of Mr. Maciure might be applicable to

certain towns, but that it was quite inapplicable
to Ashton-under-Lyre.
The Hon. SECRETARY said the principle involved
in the motion, which he had always advocated, had
been sanctioned by the chairman and the Bridge-
water-house committee, and applied most benefi-
cially in Stockport, Blackburn, and elsewhere, and
in mercy to the unemployed people themselves he
thought it was necessary that it should be univere
sally adopted.
Mr R. H, HUTCHINSON thought the exceptional
position of Ashton and one or two other places
might be met by the following addition to the re.
solution :—" In all unions where the pauperism does
wet exceed five per cent. upon the population."
AZt MACLURE said he was willing for the present
to adopt this addition, reserving, however, the
privilege of again bringing forward the subject in
its original form, should such a course appear
desirable.
The resolution thus amended was, after some
further discussion, unanimously agreed to.
The Hon. Secretary said that Mr. Rawlinson had
kindly favoured him with th 4 following information
respecting the operation of the Public Works Act.
There were 77 places in which public works were
ib operation on August 15. The new act extended
the time to make loans to January 1, 1856, and ex•
tended the borrowing powers to two years' rateable
value. Preston, Ashton, and Glossop were the chief
places in which there were yet a considerable num-
ber of unemployed. In many places the :public
works were being carried out with reduced numbers,
owing to the opening of many mills and the large
number of persons who were at present engaged in
agricultural operations. Mr. Madura added that
1,668 skilled operatives and 2,600 factory workers
were at present employed on public works. Calcu-
lating these on on average of four to a family,
which would be about the correct estimate, it ape
peered that nearly 20,000 persons were maintained
under the provisions of the act.
Mr ijaceuße laid on the table returns, prepared
by Mr Co:bett, respecting the state of pauperism in
Ashton-under-Lyne union.
A grant of £ll4 Gs. was made at Stalybridge
from the employment and school fund; and ons of
£ll to the same place on account of superinten-
dence of labour.
The following grants were made from the General
Relief Fund:--Ashton, £1,000; D akiefield, £500;
Moseley, £5O; Stalybridge, £800; Tintwisle, £150;
Heywood, £300; Chorlton, £lOO (final) ; Hulme,
£250 ; Gioesop and Hadfield, £550 ; Whitworth
and Facit, £5O; Wigan, £500; Little Hayfield
£5O.
Mr FARNALL read his report, which stated that
there was a decrease of 6,184 persons receiving
relief ih 27 uuions on the 6th inst. as compared
ith the 9th ult.

ATTENDANCE AT THE JUDGES' CHAMBERS.—This
day the Lord Chief Baron will conclude his sittings at the
Judges' Chambers, and will be succeeded by Mr Justice
Slice on his return from circuit. His lordship will sit on
Tuesdays and Fridays during the long vacation.