The Sun.
London, England, 1833-03-20 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MARCH 20, 1833.

tracted hours of labour imposed upon children in factories,
and the consequent destruction of their health and morals.
He (Mr. Strickland) was one of those who had devoted
great attention to the evidence taken before the Cornmitte,
at the time, sad then feared to prejudge the case ; but now
that the Bill was before the House, and that imputations
had been thrown out against that evidence, on the ground
of its being cx parte, and capable of receiving an answer,
he begged to state what his own impression of that evi-
dence was. He thought the reading of it would not give
the loblic a full and correct idea of the real state of the
case, or that any thing else could, except a sight of the
cripples who were brought before the Committee
to be examined. He regretted that the Bill brought
in some years back by Sir John Hobhouse
had met with the opposition it did, for he was
confident that it was the limitation of that Bill to the
cotton manufacture which had excited a great part of the
present discontent. He was now decidedly of opinion
that nothing short of the ten hour Bill could satisfy the
feelings of the public, or be productive of any use. 'Chia
Bill must be tried for a season, and if it were found to he
impracticable, they had only again to legislate upon the
subject. Petition laid upon the table. The Honour-
able
Member presented a similar petition from Ga-
mershal, in the county of York. Also petitions from
Pudsey, near Leeds, in favour of the abolition of slavery,
and separate petitions from the valley of Todtnordon
against tithes, the taxes on knowlege, on soap, malt and
hops, and in favour of the ballot.
Mr. FRYER said that no one was more anxious than
himself to relieve the misery of these children, and the
working classes generally; but be was satisfied that the
Factories' Bill would prove nothing but a delusion.
This was not the way in which the distress of the
country, could he remedied. The only relief that could
he affnileil to a manufacturing population was the reduction
of the duty on their raw materials, and the abolition of the
tax on bread.—(Hear, hear, hear.) Foreign powers were
rapidly approaching us, in the cheapness of our manufac-
tures; and, in same particulars, absolutely rivalled Us...—.
How was it possible to expect, that, with a duty of twelve
per cent. on the raw material, and of twenty per cent.
upon corn, that relief could be given to the
labourers, either infant or adult ? They might talk of
relieving them, but all attempts to relieve them must be
delusive, whilst you persist in creating an artificial scarcity
for the purpose of making them pay a high price for their
bread.—( Hear, hear.) The only way of giving the poor
starving population of the country real relief, was to give
them a fair chance by reducing the price of food, and con-
sequently the nece•sity of excessive labour, and the tax
upon their raw materials, and thus enable them to compete
with foreign nations.

Mr. ROBINSON agreed with the Hon. Member who
had just sat down, but said it was difficult all at once to
make such an alteration in the taxes as would afford the
manufacturing classes relief, and the question was, whe-
ther in the mean time they would allow the present sys-
tem to go on, and allow the children to labour mote than
ten hours. On Tuesday next he meant to brio;; forward
a proposition fur the relief of the manufacturing classes.
Mr. POTTER, in justification of the cotton ma-
nuf cturers, begged to say that the abuses complained
f did not rest exclusively with them.—( Hear.)
When Hon. Members spoke of supporting the Bill, they
surely did not mean to support its provisions. Did they
mean to support a measure giving the power to Magis-
trates to commit the masters to prison fur twelve months?
Did they mean to support a measure which gave magis-
tr ites a power to levy a fine of 2001. on the masters? If
they did mean to support a measure with such provisions,
he would tell them they would strike a blow on the cotton
trade, from which, in his opinion, it would never recover.
He was decidedly favourable to an alteration in the hours
or labour, but not to be effected by a Bill like this.
Mr. WHITMORE (as we understood) called the at-
tention of the House to the evidence given before the Coin.
mittee by a young man who gave a history of his life for one
week, in the service of a Mr. Brown, for the purpose of
showing the improbability, indeed the all but impossibi-
lity of the truth of the tarts to which he gave his testi-
mony. The boy was fourteen years of age, and stated
th it lie bad wrovght uninterrupted y, with the exception
of 11 hours. for the spice of 139 hours, in one week, and
when he came to Sunday he went to church twice, and did
not fall asleep during the service. The Hon. Member did
not think that more was necessary to convince the House
that iv eat exaggeration had prevailed in the statements made
in evidence betore the Cointnittee. Indeed he believed it
quite impossible for any man to believe the state-
went which he hail just alluded to.—(Hear, hear.)
An HON. MEMBER, whose name we could not learn
considered that the distress of the labouring cli•ses, and
all the evils sought to he remedied, were likely to be
exaggerated, in place of being remedied by this measure.
Mr. GUEST thought that eleven hours, richer than
ten or twelve, would be likely, as a general provision, to
do good.
After a few words from Mr. FIELDEN, the petition
was ordered to lie on the table.

Mr. GILLON presented a petition from the Associate
Congregation of Airdery, in favour of a better observance
of the Sabbath. Also a petition from the inhabitants of
Lanark and its vicinity, for an immediate and total aboli-
tion of negro slavery. The Hon. Member also presented
petitions to the same effect from Breckin ; from the town
and parish of Kilbarchan ; trom the inhabitants of a
parish in the city of Dublin ; from the parish of St.
Mary and St. Peter ; and from the parish of Holm-
patrick, in the county of Dublin. The lion. Member
then went on to present other petitions from his native
county against the Irish Coercive Bill. The first petition
on that subject was from the workmen employed in the
iron and steel works at Monkland, in the county of Lanark,
in the vicinity of one of the towns which he represented.
The next petition was from the inhabitants of Balfron, in
the county of Stit ling. The petitioners stated that they
regarded the Irish Coercive Bill as the means by which
the must arbitrary and despotic power, which would by-
and-by he placed in the f ands of the Tories, who
had always been enemies of the ptople and the advocates
of oppression wherever it existed.—(Loud cries of Hear.)
They considered the support rendered by the Tories to

Ministers on this occasion as ominous of all that was dis
m-il and ruinous to the lights and liberties of the country,

They regarded the inopportune haste with which the B• 11
had been pressed through the House of Peers as a prelude
to their rejection of every measure of wholesome practical
Reform. They prayed the House to throw out the Irish
Bill to save the Ministers from the consequences of their
own infatuated conduct, and prevent Ireland from being
destroyed by such violent and unconstitutional measures,
and at the same time to introduce such measures as would

relieve and pacify that hitherto ill-governed country, namely,
the extinctistn of tithes, and a judicious system of poor laws.
The Hon. Member then presented another petition to the
same effect from the parish of Eaglesham, in the county
of Renfrew. 'The Hon. Member then presented a similar
petition from a village in Renfrewshire ; from the working
classes of Edinburgh ; from the barony of Gla-bow, Dun-
fermline, and front the Political Unton of Galstone, in
Ayrshire. The Hon. Member considered that the feelings
of the people against this Bill grew stronger and stronger
every day, and was convinced, in consequence of the vote of
last night, by which Ireland w is to be placed under the con-
trol /of red-coated tribunals, that additional disgust would be
excited against the measure,and the House would lose the con-
fidence of the country, which it could only regain by the
establishment of vote by ballot and triennial Parliaments.
The Hon. Member then presented a petition from Falk-
land, in favour of vote by ballot ; from the spinners of
Dundee, in favour of the Factories Bill; from Renfrew,
for the repeal of the duties on butter, cheese, starch, and
snap, and all articles consumed by the productive classes.
From Lanark, praying for a redress of grievances, which
the petitioners attributed to the immense debt under
which the country laboured, created by unnecessary
wars.—(Hear, hear, bear.) The Hononourable Member
stated, that the distress of that part of the country
from which the petition came, had been increasing for the
last fourteen years, and had now arrived at a height which
it was frightful to contemplate. He was convinced, that,
unless the grievances of the lower orders were put an end
to, the safety of the empire was in d....nger. The Hon.
Member also presented a petition from the Mercers' Corn •
pany of Edinburgh and Leith, ;raying the House to re-
lieve them ft otn the paytnent of tithe in fish, on the North
Leech, The parsons, not coot nt with what they took
from the land and air, were determined to dive into the
sea, and enforce tithes of the contents of the deep.
Mr. FITZSIAION supported he prayer of four of the pe-
titions against the Irish Coercive Bill, which he had placed
in the hands of the Hon. Member (Mr. Dillon) in conse
quence of the certainty of his not being able to present
them before the passing of the Bill, in consequence of the
low station of his name Upon the list. The Hon. Member

begged to tender his thanks and those of his countrymen to
the people of Scotland, who had come forward so man-
fully and crowded the tables of the House with their peti•
tions against the despotic and unnecessary Bill. The
Finn. Member was proceeding to decry the measure, when
An fiox. MEMBEP. (whose name we could not ascer-
tain) rose to deprecate the course he was adopting, as
tendin, to prevent the presentation of petitions by other
lion. Members. _ _ _

After some observations from several other HON AIEM.
HERS and the SPEAKER, Mr. FITZSIMON gave way.
Sir JOHN MAXWELL challenged the Government
to produce a single petition from his country in favour of
this Bill.
Sir G. SKIPWITH presented petitions from the pt-
rishes of Boswell, Brecknock, Stonereigh, and Atherstone,
in the county of Warwick, and from the minister, church-
wardens, and overseers of the poor of the parish of Ruttley,
akin in the county of Warwick. for the better observance
of the Sabbath The Hon. Baronet also presented peti-
tions from the above parishes against the Beer Bill.
Mr. SINCLAIR presented petitions for the better ob-
servance of the Sabbath, from the parishes of Dingwall,
Kirkwall, Ensaw Halness, Roagh, Oldkirk, Roxbridge,
and other parishes, to the same effect. He also presented
several petitions from the Royal Burgh of Dingwall,
from the Royal Burgh of Wigtown, and from the parish
f Esterage, for the abolition of slavery. The Hon.
Member also presented twenty petitions against Church
patronage, from Perth, from the parish of Cray, from
the inhabitants of the: Royal Burgh of Wigtown,
B. Persair, Waikin Sleaze'', in the Isle of Sky; from the
parish of Portsnole, in the county of Ross; from Strom-
ness, from Rittlesey, from Aldree, from Kindler, and
from Ray. The Hon. Member stated, that patronage
was a grievance which at present existed in every part of
Scotland, and there was hardly a large town in Scotland from
which petitions hail not been sent on that suhjrct. He would
instance Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Paisley, and
many other places, in all of which the public voice had
been raised against Church patronage. He had received
a letter in which it was mentioned that the minister of
the parish was placed there by a person who resided many
miles off. He was quite convinced that this grievance
should be taken into the consideration of the House.

.. -
Captain CLIETWYND presented a petition from Staf-
ford, signed by the, Magistrates, Clergy, and other re-
spectable inhabitants of that place, pray.ng for the better
observance of the Sabbath, and atainNt the Ber Act. He
most cordially agreed with the prayer of the Petition, and
particularly with that part of it which related to the beer-
shops.—(Hear, hear).
Captain DUNLOP presented a petition from Dunbar
ton against the system of lay patronage in Scotland—also
two petitions from Kilmarnoch, in favour of the better
observance of the Sabh all.

Mr. DAVID ROCHE presented a petition from Lime-
rick, against the abuses of the Corporation of that town.
Lord ALTHORP presented a similar petition from
Coleraine.—Both referred to the Corporation Committee.
Lord ALTHORP presented two petitions from Titch-
marsh and Bei by, in Northamptons!dre, in favour of t• e
better observance of the Sabbath. Also, a petition from
Mr. Tower and Mr. Robinson, one the Minister of the
Independents, and the other of the Baptists of Kettering,
praying the Hous- not to pass any law for the better ob-
servance of the Sabbath, but to repeal those already in
existence. They t bought the observance of the Sabbath
a sacrdd duty, but considered that it was a duty which
ought not to be enforced by civil enactments. He (Lord
Althorp) could not go the length of these Dissenting
Ministers, but he should be very sorry for any
measure the House might adopt, to interfere
with the innocent amusements and occupations of the
poor.—(Cheers.) Also a petition from the retail dealt rs
in beer of Macclesfield, praying that they may be
placed upon an equility with publicans. Also a petition
from the prisoners in the gaol of Newcastle, for an im-
provement in the County Court. Also a petition from
Cookestown in Ireland, for the abolition of slavery.—A.l
the above petitions laid upon the tab'e.
LIVERPOOL SHIPOWNERS' PETITION.

Air. EWART rose to present a petition from a number
of Ship,iwners of Liverpool, who owned 100,000 tons of
British shipping. They prayed for no additional restric-
tion upon trade, but, on the contrary, for an extension of
it.—(Hear, hear.) He should not do justice to the peti-
tioners if he did not read the pe.iti n at lentil.
"TO THE HONOURABLE TIIE COMMONS OF' THE
UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND
IRELAND, IN PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED.
"THE HUMBLE PETITION OF THE UNDER-
SIGNED OWNERS OF BRITISH VESSELS
TRADING FROM THE PORT OF LIVERPOOL.
",Sheweth—Thagyour petitioners labour under many disach an-
tages in competition with foreign shipping, in consequence of
the higher cost of their vessels and the greater expense of navi-
gating them, in the charges for provisions, stores, and wages ;
and also to their being subjected to many imposts to which fo-
reign ships are not liable, such as the stamp duties on policies
of insurance being one quarter, and often one half, per cent.
upon the value of their property on each voyage. The South
Sea duty, still levied upon shipping, of one shilling and sixpence
per ton homewards, although goods outwards have for some
time back been free from that duty. The Greenwich Hospital
dues of six pence per month for each of the crew during the
voyage, and the dread of the impress service—that most unjust,
tyrannical, iniquitous practice of manning the navy, resorted to
in time of war, and which deters many youths of respectable
connections from embracing the sea ervice as a profession.
" That in addition to the above serious disadvantages, your
petitioners, in their trade with Brazil, Cuba, St. Domingo, Java,
Sincapore, Manilla, and the Indian Archipelago, are deprived of
a large portion of homeward freight, in consequence of the chief
productions of those countries leing prohibited from use or con-
sumption in this kingdom.
"Th it for the reasons before mentioned, British shipping
cannot be navigated in competition with American and other
foreign shipping, when carrying cargoes to foreign ports, as be-
sides the extra expense at which British vessels are navigated,
they also incur a further charge for commission and manage-
ment to a foreign agent, and have to perform a second voyage in
ballast to a British port, or return in ballast to a more distant one
for further employment.
" That Brazil alone furnishes freightage for one hundred and
twenty thousand tons of shipping anima ly in sugar and coffee,
nearly the whole of which is imported as returns for Britishma-
nufactures, and were the productions of that country admitted
for use or consumptia n in this kingdom, they would be brought
inwards and a great part thereof re-exported in British vessels.
" That St. Domingo, Cuba, Manilla, Sincapore, and the
Eastern Islands, likewise furnish upwards of two hundred thou-
sand tons of similar productions, the greater of which, as well as
the produce of Brazil, is carried by American and other foreign
shipping to European ports, although actually the property of
British merchants, or received in return for British manufac-
tures.
" That the British trade with China is strictly confined to the Hon.
East India Company's ships, whilst Americans, Danes, Swedes,
and other nations are permitted to sail from British ports with
British goods, freighted on British account, and to return with
cargoes of tea and other Chinese prosiuctions,to the various ports
of Continental Europe, whilst the vessels owned by your peti-
tioners are precluded from every share of this profitable and ex-
tensive carrying trade.
" That your petitioners attribute the present depressed state
of the British Shipping Interest, mainly to those unjust and
impolitic monopolies and restrictions, and that if the trade with
the before-named countries wereplaced on a fair and liberal basis,
additional employment would be given co a large extent of Bri-
tish tonnage, now tying idle in the ports of this kingdom, or un-
profitably employed in vain competition with foreign shipping,
trading to foreign ports.
" Your petitioners, therefore, humbly pray that your Honour-
able House will take this their petition into your most serious
and immediate consideration ; and that an interest, hitherto
considered so important to the welfare and protection of this
kingdom, may not be suffered to go to decay, whilst the marine
or our American and Continental rivals prospers by its de-
struction.

" And your Petitioners will ever pray."
snost sincerely supported the prayer of the petition.
He could see no sources of relief fiona the grievances and
depression under which the country now laboured, but
from a diminution of taxation and the extension of com-
merce. Every removal of the unjust and impolitic restriction
and monopoly which had hitherto incumbered and impeded
the prosperity of the country necessarily would go toward the
diminution of taxation under which the country laboured.
He hoped that while the people looked to the direct taxa-
tion, which was more immediately visible, they would
not shut their eyes to that indirect system of taxation
arising from commercial restriction and monopoly, which
not only indirectly pressed upon them, but on the com-
mercial relations of the country. He hoped the subject
i e
possible,
yb
e reduced,
would
uoli the manufacturers not having materials
would meet with the full consideration of Government.
It was connected with sugar refining trade, a trade con-
siderably
to carry on their work. He hoped that Ministers, as soon
as
give them relief.
Lord SANDON was prepared generally to support the
prayer of the petition, although he could not enter into a
discussion of all the details contained in it. Each sun •
tence admitted of a long and important discussion ; but
at present he could only say that he generally ap-
proved of its prayer. His wish was, that as
touch restriction as possible should be taken off commerce :
but he did not agree, in that particular, to the full extent
of the Petition, that all articles of foreign produce should
he admitted to free use in this country. Even on the pro-
duce of our own Colonies there were restrictions ; and it
would introduce complete confusion into the whole com-
mercial connections of the country to grant the prayer of the
petition to its full extent. Ile expressed his concurrence
in that part of it which directed the attention of Govern-
ment to the duty on Marine Insurances, which pressed
very heavily on the commerce of this country. He hoped