The Sun.
London, England, 1831-02-17 00:00:00

EMPLOYMENT OF THE POOH.

3fr. BRISCOE moved for leave to bring
as end the 59th of Geo. 111., c. 12,
as it relates to
the letting and leasing of land to labour era.
Mr. STURGES BOURNE and Mr. J. Smrrix supported
the motion.
Sir J. SHELLEY was of opinion that parishes ought
to take a quantity of laud, in order to give employment to
their own poor ; and thus in some measure enable the
pauper to contribute to his own support.
Mr. PORTMAN feared that such a plan would be im-
practicable with regard to parishes, but private individuals

might thus let lout small portions of land to poor men,
who would flirts he enabled to support themselves with-
out entirely depending on parish assistance, and who
would, consequently, raise themselves above the degraded
state in v hick they now were. However, he must say,
that rat'aer than see the present system patched up in this
manner..,, he should wish Parliament to repeal most of the
Acts on the subject till they got back to the Act of Eliza.
beth. This was a subject which his Majesty's Ministers
must speedily take into their consideration.
Lord ALTHORP said his Majesty's Ministers had the
qr.estion of the poor laws now under their consideration,
}-,ut they found it was a difficult subject on which to come
to any satisfactory conclusion. It would be most impru-
dent to take an ill-advised step on the subject. If the
system of partly paying the labourer wages out of the poor
laws could be got rid of, the administration of those laws
would be much improved. The proposition of the Hon.
Member for Surrey had his approbation, so far as he un-
derstood it.

Mr. CALCR AFT thought the true cause of the evil was
to be found in a most redundant poptilatiwn. No good could
he done till the effect of that evil could be remedied.

Mr. SADLER denied that there was any redundancy
of the labouring population, and observed that the evils of
the poor laws were to be attributed to very different causes.
So long as there were so many thousand acres uncultivated,
he could not see how any one could assert that we pos-
sessed a redundant population.
Mr. TENNANT thought, that by emigration alone was
the country to be saved from a dreadful convulsion.
Leave was then given to bring in the Bill.
REDUCTION OF OFFICES.

On the motion of Lord ALTHORP, that the House do
resolve itself into a Committee of Supply,
Mr G. DAWSON asked the Noble Lord, what was the
amount of salaries saved to the public by the reduction of
the 210 officers, which the Noble Lord stated that he had
abolished ? He also wished to know what was the addi-
tional amount of superannuation that would become
charged on the revenue by the reduction of these offices;
but he was more desirous of receiving an answer to the first
of these questions.
Lord ALTHORP said, that he could not give an ex ict
answer to the Right Hon. Gentleman on either of these
questions. He bad rl,t yet had an opportunity of ac-
curately ascertaining what would be the amount saved;
but he wished to remind the Right Hon. Gentleman, that
when he announced the reduction, he did not announce it
as a saving of salaries, so muula as of a giving up of pa-
tronage.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. G. DAWSON thought the information ought to
be furnished.

Lord ALTHORP repeated, that at this moment he
could not give the informatio❑ required. If he were to
look at the amount of salaries attached to the places that
had been abolished, he might be enabled to make a rough
calculation ; but that would not give the House a clear
idea of the saving ; for, in many instances, the superan-
nuation allowance was considerable. The principle, how-
ever, on which the Government had acted, was this, that
where places were useless, they ought to be abolished at
once, without reference to the amount of saving, or to the
amount of the superannuation that might be attached to
the office.

Mr. HUME hoped that the Noble Lord would not fix
the amount of supe:annuation fur these abolished offices,
till it was known whether some of these persons might not
be required to give their services in other offices. He knew
instances in which offices had been abolished, and superan-
nuations created, and then fresh persons had been ap-
pointed to fill vacancies in other offices, instead of those
offices being filled by some of those whose offices had been
abolished. He hoped the Noble Lord would not imitate
this example.
Lord ALTHORP said it was the intention of Govern-
ment, in every possible case, to fill up vacancies in offices
of efficient service, by the appointment of persons from
the redundant offices. He did not take any particular
credit for this, because he believed that the practice had
been begun by the late Government.