The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-13 00:00:00

BILL.

Mr. VILLIERS—I have to move for leave to introduce
a bill for the purpose of continuing the operation of the act
that was passed last session, to enable boards of guardians

in certain unions to meet the very serious charge of the re
lief of the poor, occasioned by the war in America, which
precluded the raw material from the cotton districts, and
which had rendered nearly half a million of our fellow-
countrymen destitute. The bill to which I refer was in-
troduced under some apprehension that under the ordinary
operation of the poor law there would not be adequate
means to provide for the relief of the distress that was ex-
pc to occur. The house is aware that the first resource
in all cases of distress is the property of the district where
the poor are settled, and from which they cannot be re-
moved—a resource which was generally available, and but
seldom found to be inadequate. It was not alleged in this
case that the great and wealthy counties in which the dis-
tress prevailed were unable or unwilling to discharge their
liability of maintaining the poor. This was not alleged on
the part of those who represented the interests of those
countries. On the contrary, those who represented them
emphatically declared that it was the desire of the proprie-
tors, owners, and occupiers of property in Lancashire to
maintain the poor that might be cast upon the rates on that
occasion. And I think, generally speaking, it was the opi-
nion of this house that it was desirable not to depart from
the ancient policy of local liability to meet local wants, and
that the administration of relief should he left in local
hands. There were some opinions entertained by individuals
that the maintenance of the poor of Lancashire should be
charged upon the Consolidated Fund; but that proposition
never received any form or shape in which it could be
submitted to this house, and I don't think it has been
put forward yet in a manner to require attention.
(Hear.) What I understood was the demand last ses-
sion, when the matter was brought before the house,
was that there should be some amendment or modification
of the Poor Law as it existed, in order to enable the guar-
, diens to feel certain of possessing the means of relieving
this vast mass of poverty that was unfortunately daily in-
creasing, and, if possible, mitigate the pressure upon the
rates of those who were required to contribute. The house
probably remembers that this subject received considerable
discussion last session, and that there was much observa-
tion made upon the scale of rating for the poor in Lanca-
shire, and it was said that the rating was extremely low,
compared with that of other parts of the country. It seemed
to be very far below what was known tionwexhiisnh probablytinother
places, the almost normal state of rating,
exceeded what would be attained under the greatest state
of distress in Lancashire. It was not denied that this was
the case, and that the rating appeared to be very low, and
that there were many places in the country where for many
years the rates had been nigher. But it was said then, and
with great truth, that any rate in the pound which might
be levied for the support of the poor was not a fair crite-
rion of the condition of the people in the distressed districts.
These districts are peculiar. They are unlike many other
manufacturing districts, where other businesses are con-
ducted, and where there is a greater variety of property,
and unlike great and populous towns which are not depen-
dent upon manufacturers, and yet have a large number of
poor to maintain. The peculiarity of what are called the
cotton districts is, that they have sprung up with the cot.
ton trade itself ; and theso districts, whether we view them
with
u respect to the condition of the people or the value of the
Verty, ;really do vary with the state of the trade; and it
would be quite possible at- one time to observe these districts
prosperous, displaying wealth and capacity to bear bur-
dens almost beyond any other districts in the countr • and
very shortly atterwards the same districts may be observedy
abrgeesd etphraets sed,
ordinarily suffering,atta
attached and incapabletyo,falmeeting
dt
allhe
other places. (llear, eer
.) T hoconsequence is that, though
estimate of
you see a very largerateable property in these
districts, and you imagine there is
1 stagnant there isnalarge portion of the
when
wealth from the
Property, yet
much
u populationch
d e pr e
saande td
he
the trade becomes
property which is available for rating that becomes utterly
valueless.
The fear is that by rigorously enforcing the
in collecting the rates you may press into the rants of they
destitute people who have contributed to the rates
and who may have been in a good condition, and thereby