The Sun.
London, England, 1836-08-01 00:00:00

foundland. He hoped that the President of the Board of shire (Mr. Walter) were general objections. It was true
Trade would attend to the prayer of the petition. The that he laid particular stress on two or three clauses, but
Hon. Member also presented a petition, most numerously he went almost, if possible, to annihilate the Bill.—(Loud
and respectably signed, from Inverary, in Argyle, also re- cries of " Hear, hear.") He did not say that he
specting fish, but fish caught on our shores.— (Mr. Walter) wished to put an end to the Bill, but
(Hear, hear.) The allegation of the petition, was very his objections went quite as far—it was plain, from
unusual ; it stated that the fishermen of Scotland, Ire- the objections the Honourable Member made, that lie
land, and Holland, had found out the breeding places wanted to overset the whole Bill. He (Mr. Cripps) had
of the herrings, and had resolved there to catch them, and been apprehensive that great difficulty would arise from
that since the discovery was made the fishery generally one clause of the Bill, viz., that which prohibited totally
throughout the west and north of Scotland had annually and entirely relief to able-bodied men. He did feel that
decreased. They prayed the attention of the President of there would be great difficulty in the way in which this
the Board of Trade and the Government, with a view to clause might be construed, and he did expect that it would
protection being afforded. No trade was more entitled to in a great measure be construed in the way it had been. He I
receive the protection of the Government than the herring believed that out of a population of 20,000 individuals not a
fishery, which was fully of as much consequence as the single child had been sent to the Poor-house. In some cases
salmon fishery--(Hear)—there being no less than 100,000 that had come before him the fathers and mothers were un-
vessels employed in that trade on the coasts of Scotland able to support their children, and he had asked whether they
and the northern coast of Ireland. had any objection 'to send them to the workhouse ? The
Mr. G. F. YOUNG had, three years ago, felt it his duty answer was, " none in the least ; we know the person who
to call the attention of the Government to the Reciprocity manages your workhouse, and he is a most excellent man."
Act ; and the conduct of the Spanish Government, which With regard to the statement that had been made that the
pressed most severely upon British interests. The reply of children were kept upon bread and cheese and water, he
the Government at that time was, that the political state believed the only complaint that had hitherto been made was
of Spain was such as prevented the Act being strictly en- that they lived too well. In the parishes round London
forced. He hoped the matter would be taken into consi- in which he (Mr. Cripps) had made inquiries, the answers
deration by his Majesty's Ministers. he received went completely to contradict the assertions
Captain PEC HELL in seconding the petition of the that had been put forth.—(Hear.) In the Union to which
Hon. Member for Greenock hoped he would undertake a he belonged they had desired the medical officers to put down

Bill for Scotland, similar to that which he (Capt. Peelle11)
had brought in for the protection of the English fisheries.
Mr. P. THOMPSON said that great efforts had been
made with the young Queen of Spain to enter into an ar-
rangement which would be mutually advantageous to both
countries. He was sorry to say that there did exist a jea-
lousy with part of the Spanish Government towards the
British navigation, that Government hating only a small
commercial marine. The petitioners complained that
fish from Newfoundland paid more when carried in
British than in Spanish ships, and they prayed that
a duty might be imposed upon the fish. Now
to use a vulgar expression, that would be " cutting off our
nose to spite the face ;" for we could scarcely even now
compete with the Spanish in their own market, and by im-
posing a duty upon the fish we would not only lose the car-
rying as at present, but we would also lose the sending of
fish altogether.
Mr. FIELDEN presented a number of petitions, but in
so low a tone of voice as to be inaudible in the gallery.
Mr. LUCAS presented a petition from the minister
and parishioners of a parish in Cloync, complaining of the
delapidated state of their church, the want of funds in the
hands of the church commissioners to repair it, and pray-

ing for some parliamentary enactment upon the subject. -
The SPEAKER thought the petition could not be re-
ceived as it asked for a grant of money.
Captain PEC HELL presented a petition from the East
Preston Union in favour of the Poor Law Amendment
Bill.

on paper what relief to be given to paupers—that paper
was given to the relieving officer, and every pauper was
dieted accordingly. He had investigated into eases in
many parishes, and he had never found a more contented
people than he had then seen. If Gentlemen would but
lend their aid instead of making objections, they would
then most essentially serve their country. The Bill
in his opinion, had operated wonderfully—it had relieved pa-
rishes that were under great difficulties before, and the good
effected by It was most unquestionable. Parishes which
before could not pay their poor-rates, were now enabled to
pay about fifty per cent.—(Loud cheers.) He hoped
that those gentlemen who had such erroneous notions on
the subject would not persevere in their statements that
the Bill would never have a good effect.
Lord J. RUSSELL must say that he did not participate
in the apprehensions of the Hon. Member (Mr. Crpips)
that anything that fell from the Hon. Member for Berk-
shire would have a dangerous or mischievous effect, or would
render this Bill unpopular in the country. There was a
time when the measure of Poor-law Reform was thought
a very strong measure, and when it required great boldness
on the part of his Noble Friend (Earl Spencer)
to maintain such a measure in that House, and to

BRIGHTON MUSEUM.

carry it into law. At that time there were (if
he might call them so) great personal interests in
favour of the abuses of the Poor Laws. In the first place,
there were the able-bodied paupers, who liked subsistence
without work much better than the wholesome wages of

labour.—(Cries of " Hear.") There was also the nume-
rous class of shopkeepers, who founded their best market
in the parish funds, and obtained very exorbitant prices.
In the next place, there was a small portion, he must say,
of the magistrates of England who endeavoured to obtain a
false reputation for humanity—who represented themselves
as exclusively the friends of the poor—(Renewed cheers)—
and who promoted the old abuses of the Poor Laws.
These were instigated and moved on by the efforts of
a portion of the press—(Loud and continued cheers)—
who lent themselves to the most mischievous ef-
orts to misrepresent and traduce those who wished to
reform the Poor Laws, and to represent all their efforts
as tending to the injury of the Poor.—(Loud cheers.)
There were undoubtedly great obstacles in the way of
reform, but there happened to be circumstances that tended
very much in favour of the success of that reform. There
was in the first place the circumstance that this was not
m tde a party question,—(Loud cheers)—next the
great portion of the magistracy of England, con-
vinced of the evil tendency of the existing laws, were
willing to try an experiment of reform.—(Hear, hear.)
With these circumstances in its favour, Lord Althorp
was enabled to carry the Poor Law Bill.--(Hear.)
Among the many abuses that Bill was intended to
remedy there was none that was more striking or in-
jurious than the practice of defraying the expenses
of labour out of the parish rates.l
(LEFT SPEAKING.)

Captain PECHELL presented a petition from the
Patron and Council of the Scientific Institution, and Me-
dallion Museum, in the borough of Brighton, praying their
petition might be referred to the Select Committee in the
British Museum, in order that they might get duplicate
copies of letters, &c.