The Sun.
London, England, 1841-09-29 00:00:00

MORN ING SUN

POOR-LAWS.

. Sir J. GRAHAM moved the Order of the Day for
going into Committee on the Poor-law Commission Con-
tinuance Bill.
Mr. S. CRAWFORD rose to move the following reso-
lution of which he had given notice—" That it be an
instruction to the Committee on the Poor-law Com-
mission BM, to insert clauses to the following effect :
" 1. That it shall not be lawful for the Commissioners,
from the date of the passing of this Bill, to declare the
formation of any new Unions in districts which are not
already placed under the operation of the Act 4 and 5
William IV., c. 76.
" 2. That it shall not be lawful for the Commissioners
to disallow, by any general or other order, any pay-
ments which shall be made by the authority of a Board
of Guardians for the relief of any poor persons or their
families out of the workhouse, notwithstanding any
powers '' elven to them (by the said recited Act of 4th
and sth Will. IV.) to the contrary."
If he failed in his advocacy of a question of such great
importance, it was not his fault; but that of the constitu-
ency which had sent him to that House, and who were
worthy of a better advocate. He was aware of the impor-
tance of avoiding all party recrimination, and should only
call upon Hon. Members to consider whether the opera-
tion of the Bill should not be in some degree suspended
during the continuance of the present great distress. The
Right Hon. Baronet and his Government had asked for
time to consider the provisions of a proper Poor-law Bill.
By the Poor-law Bill the Commissioners were entrusted
with, he might say, absolute powers over the
Board of Guardians, except in one instance, that of
not interfering with the relief to be given
to individuals. The 13th section of the Act gave
them an absolute power in giving orders, and the 52d
gave them the power to order out-door relief. He
begged leave to refer to that section. The Hon.
Gentleman then read the sectionlwhich gave the Commis-
sioners power to admipister relief out of the workhouse,
to whatever extent they might think fit, either by re-
payment of money or giving provisions, or both, and
'to what persons, at what time, on what con-
ditions, and in what manner such out-door re-
lief ought to be given. Such were the words of
the Act, and he maintained that out-door relief
was to be given, and was conveyed by those words.
But the order of the Commissioners was not consistent
with that Act. Their order was, that every
able-bodied person, male or female, requiring relief
should be relieved in the workhouse, together with the
families of such persons, and also the wives
of such persons as were married men.
He maintained that it was the duty of the House to
limit that power which, during the present distresses of
the country, might be exercised with such grievous
oppression to the poor. The principle upon which the
order was issued was, that poverty arose from
protligacy.—(llcar, hear.) He contended that in
the present circumstances of the country there were a
great many of the industrious and honest portion of
the community who were distressed from other
causes than profligacy; and he hoped, therefore,
that Parliament would interpose to prevent a
violent exercise of power. On the assumption that po-
verty arose from profligacy, the workhouse had been
surrounded with terrors. First, there was the separa-
tion of families ; _idly, arbitrary punishment and disci-
pline; 3dly, harshness to old age; 4thly, bad living; sthly,
the difficulties of getting admission into the workhouse ;
and sixthly, and greatest of all, the mixture of the virtuous
and profligate. Such terrors must prevent the honest and
industrious members of the community from applying for
relief. As he did not wish to rest his claim to
the consideration of the House simply on his own
euthority, he would refer the House to some statements
which had been obtained from different union, in
which all these hardships were displayed. First, with
respect to the separation of families. Ile was willing to
admit that if great bodies of the people were to be
collected under one roof, it might be very difficult
in all cases to avoid the separation of families. But the
kind of separation which was most oppressive was the
separation of the mother and the child. In some cases
that principle had been extended even to the mother and
the sucking child. The first case which he would refer
to was one which had occurred at Bath ; and it was
stated in a letter from the Chaplain of that Union. The
Hon. Member then read an -extract from a letter pub-
lished in the Times of September 14, stating that whilst
a woman had gone into the yard of the worhouse, the
parties went into the ward, snatched up her baby, and
carried it away. In the Uxbridge Union two old men,
one of them labouring under sciatica, were splashed with
buckets of water, and washed with mops, until their
lives were endangered. Thus, by carrying into effect
the orders of eh:Commissioners, disease the most dread-
ful prevailed in that Union. Notwithstanding the pre-
valence of disease, then, the orders of the Commission-
ers prohibiting out-door relief were 'carried into effect,
and new inmates were admitted into the diseased Union.
Under such circumstances, was it not right that the at-
tention of the House should be called to the necessity of
restraining in some degree the power of the Commis-
sioners? He would next refer to instances of the diffi-
culty of getting into workhouses. Hannah Robinson
was affected with paralysis ; her husband applied to
have her admitted into the workhouse of St. George's,
Hanover-square. The answer given the husband- was.
" No, you must also yourself come into the workhouse."
The man was able to work, and refused to enter. The
woman was, in consequence, left alone in the absence of
her husband, and she was burnt to -death. At the in-
quest
held on the occasion, the jury said that they could
nut separate without expressing, in the strongest manner,
their sense of the oppression of the poor in that case.
There was another subject to which he wished to refer ;
the mixture of the vicious with the virtuous. An instance
of that was mentioned in a letter of the Rev. Mr.
Watts, dated 20th August, 1840, formerly Chap-
lain of the Bath Union. Two improper females
were admitted, according the Reverend Gentleman,
into the union workhouse among a consider-
able number of virtuous and proper females. The
cases of repugnance of paupers to enter the workhouses
were numerous. There was one, a remarkable one,
that of William Leech, who had occasionally received
outdoor relief at the Kensington Union. On being
pressed to enter the workhouse he refused to do so.
Soon afterwards his death took place, and on the in-
quest the Jury returned a verdict of " Died of want."
Another instance was that of Elizabeth East, who died
of a slow process of starvation. On being urged to en-
ter the workhouse, she refused while she could get food
by selling Congreve matches. The poor creature died,
and a verdict of " Died by starvation " was returned by
the Jury. Such was the case which he had to lay be-
fore the House, as the result of this system of terror.
Respectable people had rather submit to the extreme
degree of starvation than enter a workhouse ;
those not so respectable committed crime for
the purpose of bring committed to prison ; and
suicide and fever from want of food were the necessary
consequences of the law. The most glorious trait in the
character of Englishmen had been broken down. How
could they expect Englishmen would retain their spirit
if they were forced to submit to such laws ? Outrages and
disturbances had taken place, and they had consequently
been obliged to make a law for a rural police, which was
a degradation to Englishmen. It was a disgrace that
the ptece of England could not be kept as it had been in
the days of Alfred, and that they were obliged to have
recourse to the miserable measure of a hired police for
that purpose. It was not denied that great distress ex-
isted, and therefore, as the Government asked time to
consider a new law, they ought to take care that no cases
of oppression took place under the old laws. They asked
time to consider the Corn-law, which he was disposed to
grant them, but that was arother reason why the dis-
tress of the poor should be looked to, and that while they
refused to reduce the price of food they should take
means to prevent the people from suffering from the
high prices. The Commissioners in their last Report,
stated their satisfaction that the prohibitory order had
been extended, so that there was no chance of their
allowing the guardians to act with more liberality in the
ensuing winter, unless it was caused by theprompt in-
terference of that House. He had a few words to say
respecting Ireland. A few nights o he.
Lord of the Treasury
express heard the First6 agreasury
express his satisfaction ats
right the working of
the Bill in that country. It w
Government should form a faithfula opinionih her Majest
y's
Government
with
i respectests
It was impossible yet to state whether
to that country.
theuer
el
or not that Nit would be efficacious relief of the
Poor. However, he was of opinion fort
could be
carried into effect according to its present provisions—
they were still worse—still morestr in
English Bill—it gave no pow eitherer gent
than the
to Co •
MlMS-
sioners, to Guardians, or other officers, to give
relief under ar,s• circumstances. A person might
live
o-door
wiles " from the union-house ; he might be il ten
might die if he could not be taken. there. Whnitle•t
he
stood
as it did now, it never could he beneficial for thel
relief of the poor. The Hon. Gentleman then quoted
several cases of maltreatment in the North Lublin
•acid also in the Cork Union, inwhich
Union,
stated, that not only were children ill-treated, but that
attempts had been made to deprave their morals.
He hoped the House would pardon him f•or bringing
these distressing cases before it—(Hear, hear)—but it
was better to make out a case by facts than by declama_
'ion,—Hear, hear.) He would not call on Hon. Gentle-
men for any abandonment of principle, but lie would
ask them to look at the facts he adduced of the condition
of the people of the country, and not allow the power of
the Commissioners the extension which it had, but
would restrain it, from humanity to the. suffering poor.
lie trusted he had made out a case which would ensure
the support of Hon. Gentlemen who had heretofore re-
sisted the Poor-law. He did not think that it was con-
sulting the respectability of the House that Members
should confine themselves to mere talk, but they should
bring all questions to the test of a vote. That was the
proper mode of acting in that House. That was his
epioirm; and it was his firm determination never to in-
trude in bringing any question before the House unless
lie intended to take tile sense of the House upon it. He
thanked the House for the indulgence extended to him,
and Would conclude by moving the first instruction of
which he had given notice, presuming that it would be
more convenient to the House to take the instructions
separately.
Mr.
. FIsRRAND seconded the instruction. lie could
assure Hon• Memb •
ers that it was unnecessary for them
to ra. • •
the any excitement, f • it
them. The Hon came open-handed to meet
ember hail said that there was no
excitement in the •
that when the s
Nlborough of Halifax, but was he aware
it was obliged to v Poor-law workhouse was 'building,
be guarded day and night, and that a
• troop of cavalry
aware that the were stationed in the town ? Was he
cavalrytrampled the people of Bradford
when they met to consider
the operation of that law?
OVas 'he aware that the Commissioners
T he Keightly Poor I and Magistrates
sees •j•- to save th •aW Union were obliged to fly
e-e their lives? He recollected that when the
,ord Milton was brought out to represent the
:uoss• - t the head o's ire, a requisition was addressed
t which was the name of the Hon.
•',SNstec /*•*.n. e; for Halifax. He had
sn'S for HaFfax had even heard that the Hon.
assisted him to draw up his
5