The Sun.
London, England, 1841-10-23 00:00:00

DISTRESS IN PA ISLE Y.
MEETING-(THIS DAY).

The Deputation now in town for the purpose.of repre-
senting to Government the present awfully distressed
condition of the working population of Paisley, and
soliciting aid for their support, called a public meeting
to be held in the London Tavern this day.
Soon after one o'clock, on the motion of A. HasTIE,
Esq., M.P., Mr. Sheriff ROGERS was called to the Chair.
In doing so he wished to explain why it was that he was
placed-in that situation. The deputation from Paisley
rightly considered that it was a tribute of respect due to
that great city, that they should ask the Chief Magis-
trate to preside upon that occasion. They waited upon
the Lord Mayor, who met them with that urbanity and
kindness which always characterised him.—(Hear, hear.)
He assigned sufficient reasons fur his inability to take
the Chair, but he had most kindly offered to head a
subscription, should that meeting deem it prudent to
enter into one. 'Other. Magistrates were applied to, but
their engagereints prevented them from acceding to
the request. He thought it necessary to state those facts
in justice to himself, and to show that be had not been
presumptuous in putting himself in the Chair. •He
wished his official capacities were greater, but that was
an occasion in which the abilities of the Chairman would
not be called-into operation ; the subject, if clothed in a
few brief_ words, would speak most feelingly to the
hearts of all. The distress in Paisley and throughout
the country was unfortunately too well known, and there-
fore required no description from him, that in Paisley !
distress existed in its most appalling form. The ex-
tension and improvements in our machinery had led
to a vast extension of production, even beyond all cal-
culation. While the friction of our machinery was les-
sened there still remained the heavy friction of restriction
of our laws.—(Cheers.) Our necessities cried " Pro-
duce, produce," while our restrictive policy answered,
" Restrict, restrict." Our necessities and our restrictions
had filled this country with goods, which other people
were willing to take in exchange for the food which
they could not consume— (Hear, hear, hear)—but
in stepped our restrictive system, and prevented that
interchange which would benefit both. The distress in
Paisley was very groat, and it, was greatly aggravated
in Scotland by the want of a Poor-law. That law in
Scotland considered every Man who was able to work and
did not, as a vagrant—it was never intended for such a
state of things as now existed. The people of Paisley
had nobly acted in the spirit of benevolence, and not in
the spirit of the law, otherwise thousands must-hare been
starved. He felt bound to say that the people of Paisley
had shown that " their hands were open as day
to melting charity." But now their local means were ex-
hausted, and they appealed to their fellow-countrymen
in London to assist them. The Deputation looked to
them for means to keep their fellow-townsmen from
starvation, and he (Mr. Rogers) was sure they ws.uld not
be denied. Our working population were the back-bone
of the country—our whole social system depended upon
their welfare, and he was sure the citizens of London,
enlightened as they were, would net refuse to
give that relief which was now claimed of them.—
(Hoar, hear.) He would not detain them from hear-
ing the statements which the Deputation had to lay be-
fore them. That Deputation consisted of a high Divine
of the establishment, of an eminent Clergyman of the
secession Church—of one of that benevolent body the
Society Of Friends, and one of the magistrates of Pais-
ley. Surely the distress which united those
who entertained so dissimilar opinions must be
of no common kind. Me would only observe,
that he hoped the gentlemen who would address the
meeting would refrain from introducing any topic which
might tend to weaken the efforts of the Committee. He
called upon Dr. Burns to address the meeting.
Doctor BURNS said their excellent Chairman had
stated, and stated correctly, that there was no Poor-law
in Scotland, on the same principle as that in England.
That statement was correct.. At the time the Poor-
law was made there was no idea of Scotland being a
commercial or manufacturing country—it had no foot-
ing and could have had .no foundation. Hence
the Poor-law was adapted to the then existing
circumstances. These were totally changed, and now
they felt the necessity of repairing what they felt to be
a great deficiency. At the same time, even if they had
the way clear for an assessment for the poor, it would
not meet the difficulty. A large proportion, a great
majority of their operative population, were in great dis-
tress. They were placed in a situation which should
not be allowed to exist in a civilised country, and
the idea of precipitating that respectable body,
the operatives of Paisley, upon a poor fund
would be revolting to their feelings and that of the de-
putation.— (Hear, hear.) They could not find their way
to it without a lengthened legal process, and whatever
the Government might do in the way of an improved
system, still it must be the result of a lengthened investi-
gation, and of the legal decision of competent Courts.
It was necessary though to make an appeal to the bene-
volent feelings of the country for present relief. They
had, however, a substitute for a legalized Poor-rate, and
that had hitherto in a great measure borne them
out. He recollected in 1825-6, when great dis-
tress existed, they raised from their own
resources 10,0001. In 1837, when they last appealed to
the benevolence of the people of London, they had raised
from their own funds 7,00 a. They' 'had now raised
2,000/. ; and whence the falling off ? He stated these
facts to show the meeting that there were causes in ope-
ration which had borne down not merely the status of the
operatives, but the ability of the monied classes
to give them relief. Greater efforts, he was aware, would
yet be made, and he trusted they would not be wanting
in that self-denial which the circumstances of the town
might require. In the meantime they felt it imperiously
necessary to make an appeal to the charity of the em-
pire, and especially to the charity of London, which had
not failed them in times past. In 1837 they paid a visit
to London, and they were grateful for what had then
been done, which had helped them wonderfully.
A month after that trade 110. revived, but
it was clear that Paisley had not prospered, in
the true sense of the word, during these four years.
There had been four years of doubtful and suspended
animation. Debts then contracted remained still unpaid,
and pawns then obtained were still unredeemed. The
situation of the working classes had seriously deteriorated.
What had occurred in that town during the last three
months ? Of eighty manufacturing houses, fifty had
become bankrupt—two-thirds of their trade, many of
them of old standing and highly respectable, were still
willing, but unable, to afford relief, having become
insolvent. The consequences were two-fold—a prodigi-
ous number of the working classes were thrown out of
work, and the abilities of the master were greatly dete-
riorated. With regard to the number at present out of
work, lie would give them the result of a most minute
investigation made just before the deputation left Scot-
land. It had been made from actual survey by confiden-
tial Committees, specially appointed by the authorities
and the Relief Committees. The number of loom-steads
altogether in the town was 5,746, of which only 3,158
were employed at all; and lie begged to remind them that
if they supposed all that were employed were able to
obtain a comfortable subsistence, they would draw a
most erroneous conclusion. The number of looms unem-
ployed was 1,717, and the number of shops without looms
at all, was 871, because the possessors had been in most
instances compelled to sell their looms and materials for
subsistence. That proved, beyond question, the depth
of the destitution, and it had been proved by the most
exact calculation, that the
,number of persons
devolving on public charity, was little short of six
thousand, men, women, and children.--(Hear' hear.)
The number of retail shops shut up amounted to 100.
This was a state of things calling for investigation, and
such an investigation would doubtless take place, but he
mentioned them as broad facts, proving the existence of
deep distress. There were 4,200 persons receiving
charity before he left Paisley, that number had since been
increased by 1,400, so that distress was evidently making
rapid progress. Now, how had the Committee proceeded
to relieve the unemployed? to some they had given work,
so far as they could get it, paying them at the rate of
9d. or a shilling a day—to some they gave provisions—
to another class they made weekly allowances, varying
from 2s. to 3s. a week. But all that was, given was not
sufficient to support life. It was merely enough to keep
soul and body together, and scarcely sufficient to do that.
That was a state of things which ought not to ebn-
tinue, and they appealed to the patriotie benevolence
of the country to remedy it.—(Cheers.) It was a fact,
that all the unemployed were not receiving charity, and
that was another reason why they should have a helping
hand extended to them.—(Cheers.) That could be ex-
plained by the:fact that those who abstained from apply-
ing for relief were the most independent, spirited, and
the most moral men, men beloved by all who knew them,
who constituted the most valuable elements of society.
These men, although suffering deeply, were of such an
independent spirit that their feelings revolted from
making, application to time Committee for charity. They
revolted even from the comfort of the soup-kitchen.
They were still making a desperate struggle to preserve
their independence, and those were feelings which ought
to be cherished. It was the duty of every one to stretch
forth a helping hand to those people, and not ti suffer
such a noble spirit of independence to be destroyed. He
trusted that the time might again arrive, when these poor
operatives would be enabled to enjoy, not only the neces-
saries, but some of the simple comforts of life. He had
thtit day received a letter from a brother clergyman,
which stated that the distress was still increasing, that
the manufacturers were suffering severely, that the
number of unemployed hands, and the demand upon
the charity funds hadbeetnimernttheinuir means
innscrehsd
as-
ing, while, at the same
owfrittheer
grweeentet omnisertyo
besftoarete
btheaent thenrreipwp•alesd; proTshpeeet
them, and referring to a former
he letter which hadto
been
published in the newspapers,state
referredin theto
that he had again visitedf
ina m thate
house
there letter, andlter
e two that,
0.
tn :h
et
rah addition t,
shavings
ntlrhaeoanestk,tfeadtnl
eialaindeds.
in one house, consisting of 17 persons, in the.
ful state of destitution. The apartment occuploedbbeyd them
was was damp and uncomfortable—they had
n of upon, except some straw or some
wood—
they none of them possessed one inch of b
were obliged to lie down in the same rags which.
.they
had wornt'during the day. The operatives of Paisley
had been taught in the
school of adversity, and lead
learned to suffer without murmuring. They had shown
no disposition to murmur or quarrel, or disturb the
Peace—(Hear, hear, hear)—and men of all political and
of all religious opinions had united to bear witness to the
existence of the distress, and to devise means for its relief.
He had been 30 years a parochial minister, and had been
in the habit of visiting the poor. The young people
were desirous of education, but they had no means of
affording it to them. In 1837 they had established schools
to give education to the young people, and had employed
the operatives out of work to give them education—but
now there was a young population growing up without
education through the want of means to give them
edneation. The pawnbroking shops were at a standstill.
Formerly there was clothing takfuruituro-to ruse 13100eY

upon, but now all that was gone—the clothing was ex-
hausted. There had been during the year a rage fu'
emigration-450 persons had expressed themselves de-
sirous of emigrating, and had actually been oblieed
to apply for charity to enable them to do sos That
showed distress must be great. He was not an enemy 'to
emigration, but he grieved to think that whilst coloniza-
tion must be er.couraged, that they should be compelled
to encourage it at the expense of tearing up the feelings
that ought to bind a man to his native land. Could their
expatriated countrymen look back to their native country
without having it forcibly pressed upon them that they
did not leave that country willingly, for those that
who should have supported them at home would not
help them when at home, neither did they furnish
them comfortably to leave it ; and as they looked back
upon that countryjthe feeling could not be good—could
not be friendly. Was it right, was it safe, that this
feeling should be allowed to get existence in the breast
of human beings ? No, when they feel themselves
yielding help to these suffering people, still let them re-
member the moral lesson taught them, that whilst
they provided for the temper of their wants, they
raised in all their strength and beauty the feelings in
those poor men's breasts which bound them to their
homes, to the charities and noble institutions of the
land of their fathers.—(Hear, hear.) There was a
very interesting class of sufferers to whom he had
not alluded, he. meant the females. The females—the
depressed widows who were pining in solitary wretched-
ness, and who ought to be visited and visited again and
again at their own homes, before they could take
the guage of their wretchedness. Then there was a
class of interesting • young females who were
the constant attendants at their churches, and who filled
the situation of servants, and who had been deprived
of their original industrious means of living, and many
of whom had devolved .upon charities. He (Dr. B.) hoped
to see some means furnished from the ladies of London for
this portion of the subjecteand he had hoped to have
seen many ladies present. It was probably not
understood that ladies were expected to attend. He
had hoped to. see them, for. he found in them a true feel-
ing of charity and of hope. He knew that there
would be benevolent ladies in that great city who would
be found to contribute to a fund, especially for the
females of Paisley. He knew in 1837 such a fund was
contributed by the ladies of the metropolis, as enabled
them to raise a most effective charity, which enabled
them not merely to deal out provisions, but to visit those
poor females at their homes. He had stated the cause
of depression. He had stated the result of their
investigation into the existing distress of the people.
They had been induced by this investigation to strive to
obtain relief for that distress. He had stated the circum-
stances connected with the clothing, the education, and
the state of their families. He should leave to
his worthy friend,' Mr. Baird, to take up the
subject which he (Dr. Burn) had not touched
upon at all —he meant the state of disease.
He would conclude by reminding them that the winter
was approaching. All was dark—they saw darkness be-
coming darker. They were going into a deep and dreary
tunnel, through which they must pass. He called on
them to give him their help. Be that help little, or be it
much, they thanked them for it all, and it would be
gratefully received and carefully appropriated. That
charity would return upon their own hearts a mute
pleasing voice. He was sure that the kindness that
had hitherto been shown to them in London would
still be extended. He thanked them from his heart
for what they had already done. Looking forward
to the winter, he implored them to stretch
forth their hands in order to distribute their charity.
The opening speech devolved upon him in consequence
of his being senior minister present, as well as having
been the leader of the Deputation, and he had thought
it necessary to go as fully as he had done into the sub-
ject in order to bring it before them, and he trusted
successfully,—(Cheere.)
The Rev. Mr. BAIRD said he had listened with very
great pleasure to the remarks which they had heard
made at the opening of the meeting by their excellent
Chairman, and he had listened with equal pleasure to
the remarks they had just heard from his excellent friend
Dr. Burns, with whom he was connected in the
year 1837 for the same subject. He should not touch
upon anything that had gone before, although it were an
easy matter. He would say that the statements
of the distress had not been exaggerated.—(Hear.)
He felt that it would be harrowing up the feelings 'of
their hearts, were lie to lay before them the present state
of the distress from his own observation. He had
known of a poor man's wife virtuous and intelligent,
who, in her confinement, possessed not a rag to cover
her new born infant with, not so • much as a small por-
tion of meal to make a morsel of gruel—yet,
so independent was she of spirit, that she
would not ever name her circumstances to a female. He
only mentioned this fact to give them a bird's-eye view
of the distress that existed, and the independence of spi-
rit under it. About two years ago the people of
Paisley had goods, and could go to the pawnbrokers',
shops ; but now there was such a revul-
sion of the manufacturers, that the pawn-
brokers could not dispose of their pawns. They
had raised for several months past subscriptions, and
they had hoped not to have had the necessity of again
appealing to the benevolence of London.—(Hear, hear.)
For three months back they had been compelled to feed
upwards of 3,000 souls from day to day. Now they had
5,000 to feed, and many other thousands had not yet come
in, who must soon follow. They knew that the unem-
ployed would be doubled, nay, trebled, during the ap-
proaching winter. It was not the present' amount of
suffering which led them to claim the sympathy of the
citizens of London ; it was the alarming prospects
that were before them. They had the certainty that
for three months there would be no employment.
for the people. They knew that to be a certainty, be-
cause of the peculiar nature of the trade of the town.
It was a fancy trade ; the goods that were to be sold in
the spring were made in the preceding winter, but as the
manufacturers did not see any prospect of a market;
they of course refused to produce goods. Others did
so, but their manufacturers could not do so, for if the
goods were not sold at the time they were
made for, they were mere rubbish ; they were
useless, and would ruin any one having anything to do
with them, because the fashion had gone by. The con-
sequence was, that in place of the manufacturers engag-
ing hands every one who came in with a finished web was
immediately discharged. In their own neighbourhood
they had made great efforts to meet • the urgency of the
emergency, but as there was no hope of any revival of trade
—as, on the contrary, those hopes had been dashed to
the ground—as the blaCk cloud was deepening and dark-
ening into tenfold horror—therefore- it was that they
claimed their sympathy and support. Unless the hand
of benevolence was stretched out from other quer,*
ters, the people .must perish of hunger and dis-
ease. These were the circumstances in which
they were placed ; their prospects were most
alarming in reference to disease. There had been some
misunderstanding upon that point. He did not say that
the town of Paisley was in a state of disease. On the
contrary, it never was more healthy. There never were
fewer typhus cases in the hospital. They had contrived
to get their people over to that period of the year, but
in what a state were the constitutional energies
of the people. They had been fed so as to reduce them
to such a state as to lay them. open to disease, and to
unfit them for bearing the rigours of the coming winter.
The Rev. Gentleman detailed the number of fever cases
in the hospital from 1832 to the present time, from which
it appeared, that in 1840 the cases during the last two
months exceeded those of any of the previous years, and
that arose from the want of sufficient food to enable them
to withstand the rigours of winter. So it was now, and
therefore the claim they made upon the citizens of London,
What was their position now ? They were in health,
but the people were like spectres ; their trade was not
revived, and they had not even the prospect of that em-
ployment which would give a cheering and beneficial
excitement to their frames. Winter was now setting in,
and theirs would, in all:human probability, be one of
extreme suffering, connected with the appalling ravages
of disease and death. In making their present appeal,
they made it with perfect confidence to the benevolence
and the wealth of London. Tie was aware there were
many other localities in distress as well as their own,
but they knew that they might state their case to the
British Government, and to the benevolence of the
people of London, as well us others.. They were of Scot-
land, but London was not less their metropolis than
that of the people of England. He recollected well
when they had. last visited London, a fine sentiment
which had been uttered by the Chairman of the Relief
Committee, and a gentleman who had filled the office
of Lord Mayor of their city. He said, " Gentle-
men, we have more pleasure in giving you this
than you can have in receiving it, and we do it not with
the less joy and gratification that 3 ou are of Scotland."—
(Cheers) Scotland ! Why London is the metropolis of
'the empire. We know of no such distinctions as Eng-
lishmen and Scotchmen. These ancient lines of distine-
tion are obliterated—ours is not a paper union, but a
union of fact. London is the metropolis--London is the
heart, and it must send its influence to the remotest part
of the empire.--e(Cheers.) •
Captain ATCHERLY wished to krow whether there
were any allotments of the poor lands in the neighbour-
hood of Paisley? Nottingham was in the same position.
He was shocked to see that at a meeting in which Scot-
land alone was interested, none of the five of the largest
Scotch landed proprietors were present. He meant the
Marquis of Abercorn, the Duke of Argyle, Mr. Houl-
ston, the greatest coal and cotton proprietor in the coun-
try, the Earl of Glasgow, and Mr. Speirs. Paisley was
one of the thirteen canonries, and had large revenues for
the use .of the poor, but they were diverted from
their proper channel.—(Cries of " Order, order.")
They must all fill back upon their position as cultiva-
tors of the soil—the soil fed their bellies. and to that they
must go. He would not go into the subject further, but
to-morrow he shotdd address some thousands in the Re-
gent's Park on the subject.
Lord KINNARD considered the subjects which had been
alluded to by the last speaker as too extensive to be
entered on at the present meeting. Their present object
was to feed those who were starving.—(Hear, hear.)
Nothing that he could say would increase the effect of
what had fallen from those Rev. Gentlemen who
had so ably addressed the meeting, and he was sure
that .those speeches must excite the deep sympathy of all
who either heard or read them.—(Cheers.) He agreed
with the Chairman in the • gratification "which he had
expressed, in seeing. the members of the Established
Church of Scotland joining • hand-in-hand with•
the ministers of other denominations, and sparing
neither pains, nor time, nor trouble to provide the means
of ministering to the relief, of their starving fellow-
ceuntrymen.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.") It,.:Was an
example which he hoped to see followed' by-. the Clergy
of the Established Church of England.—(Loud cheers.)
It was a
proper position for a Christian minister to oc-
copy,(Cheers.). He was gratified, as a Scotchman, to
See the call of Paisley so respectably responded to by
tb
of London, and more particularly was he
grelitSietYd'::bY the kinduese of the...b.bgtitl ineon.

A letter from Sir Harcourt Lees to the Editor of the
Dublin Evening Facket is published in that paper of
Tuesday, relative to his predictions of the conspiracy in
Paris to kill the French Princes, in which he says :
" I have no hesitation in declaring that, several
months before the late atrocious attempt was made by
a vile assassin on the Royal. Prince?, I hid the honour
of addressing a letter to his Royal Highness the Duke
de Nemours (as I stated in a letter published in the
Evening Packet), in which I informed him of the origin
and nature, with the ultimate object, of the demoniac
conspiracy existing in France, in close communication
with a similar one in Great Britain .and Ireland ; and I
charged his Royal Highness to inform his enlightened
and magnanimous father and his family t 3 be careful
and vigilant, for that attempts were intended to be made
os their lives ; that I had my information from a quar-
ter that never once had deceived mt,, and from the same
mysterious source that had given Me notice of the in-
tended assassination of our own young and innocent
Sovereign, by the miscreant Oitford, seven days before
the shot was fired at our venerated Queen. Early in
the present year I had a long interview with the.Un-
der-Secietiry of State, M. Maillac, at the Home office
in Paris, ,during which I explained to that able Minister
the nature of and.the secret machinery, with the ex-
tended'ramifications in and out of France, of the plot,
and laid before him some of the important documents,
which he requested I would permit him to show Louis
LeoMplied with. This able
Philippe, which, of course,
man was not long in acting un fay itAtlnation, for within
forty-eight hours afterwards the police had secured a
committee of villains; sitting in council, with their books
and papers ; and, for the important service I had ren-
dered (as he was pleased to say) the King and the Go-
vernment, M. Maillac conveyed to me his Majesty's
grateful thanks.
the
-
" My own impression is, that h death of the entire
of
fLoui
of our
sPhiliPPe'
s ownfam S family
is contemplated, and also the
destruction overeign—the expected con-
sequence being a revolution in both countries. Such
was the substance of the awful information I received
from my secret correspondent on the 4th of June,
1840, and which I gave immediate intelligence of to an
to the Editor
but whiehotofortunately, was unat-
his kindness at
etexnadlteeddtep.ersonage,
gaged with M.
et
that
alt4thelv
eLtrayeknecdr
eitni thiscta oinppa pre oir
ierort
dual: iywt yhdeoenef
pe
los ne
was
esaeys
one
engaged
as he seemed to have better and
Maillac in endeavouring to
,save:the life of the French
Monarch and his family. I took the liberty of request-
ing he would not publish any arrests that might be made
connected
imnorPearraispjiduestontthiennental intelligence than any other journal
Though
in England, and I have hopes of-being able to arrest, by
grasp of your faithful friend,
privacy, a desperate vil'ain, that I suspected was at the
moment
einePffactirris,
eafndthwebeitnlislneeawntivoasxfdeeredp.ly.
did not then succeed, I dent% even ;yet, de-pair of meet-
kg with him, and if I should be 60 fortunate, he wia
hardly escape from the
HAR.COIJRT LEES."

~.
Marshal Gerard was received yesfeiday by Louis
person-8 usually
-'
Philippe;' and We hare been assured by
well informed, that subsequently to his audience a Coup
cil of Ministers was held, the Marshal having_
announced
to the. King his determination not, to resume the command
of the Na Tonal Guard. , TO-day,..the. Duke of Orleans'
to endeavour t.? comiued, his re-
was sent to the Marshal,
solution. Our readerBwillx:e6ollect th it ye; _ .:
~
Was the
first who -prommuced iha.iiiiii."
.htiiit'rar
zu.: zr ', ;. SI neeithe re- •
volution Of 'fitly; - antl4hWitrii
‘, 1 1.4).4 uts of
. . , .
ViolenCee'";Gaiate-ilartintiej.