The Sun.
London, England, 1848-02-09 00:00:00

Z:btrb 11.bition

SUN OFFICE, Seven o' Clock.

IMPERI A. L PA RLIAM ENT.

(THIS DAY.)

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

The SPEAKER took the Chair to-day at Twelve
o'clock.
Mr. BARCLAY took the oaths and his seat.
NEW WILIT FOB DUBLIN.

On the motion of Mr. HAMILTON, a new writ
was ordered to issue for the University of Dublin, in
the room of the Right lion. Frederick Shaw, who
since his election had accepted the office of steward
of her Majesty's Chiltern Hundreds.
JEWISH DISABILITIES.

Mt. MUNTZ presentedtwop-etition; from Bir-
mingham in favour of the Bill for the removal of the
Ja'.vish disabilities.
Mr. Sheriff CUBITT presented similar petitions
from Andover.
ROMAN CATHOLIC RELIEF BILL.
Mr. C. ANSTEY presented petitions from the
Roman Catholics of Leicester, Cowes, Penzance, Ox-
ford, and Bury, in favour of the above Bill.
MR. ANSTEY'S MOTION.
Mr. C. ANSTEY gave notice of his intention, in
consequence of the counting out of the House last
night, to renew his motion as an amendment upon
the motion for going into Committee of Supply.
THE BISHOP OF HEREFORD.
Mr. URQUHART having, a few days since, pre-
seated a petition from Stafford, praying the House to
adopt some measure by which the dignity of Spiritual
Peers would not be impaired, wished to know from
the Right Hon. Baronet, the Secretary of State for
the Home Department, whether it was the intention
of her Majesty's Ministers to advise her Majesty to
call the Bishop of Hereford to the House of Peers ?
Sir GEORGE GREY said that by the provisions
of the Bill creating the bishopric of Manchester the
time had not yet arrived when the Bishop of Here-
ford would be called up to the House of Lords, that
statute providing that the last consecrated bishop,
with the exception of the Bishops of London, Win •
cheater, and Durham, should net have a seat in the
House of Lords.
DROPPED NOTICES.

The following notices were re-appointed for to-
morrow :—Select Committee, to consider of the best
mode of providing additional room for works of art
given to the public or purchased by means of Parlia-
mentary grants :—Lord John Russell, Sir Robert
Peel, Mr. Hume, Viscount Morpeth, Mr. Goulburn,
Mr. Baring Wall, Mr. Charteris, Earl of Lincoln,
Sir Benjamin Hall, Viscount Granby, Mr. Parker,
Mr. Wakley, Mr. Disraeli, Mr. Vernon Smith, and
Mr. Bankes ; and the Jewish Disabilities Bill:
Adjourned debate on the second reading.
DESTITUTE POOR (IRELAND).
On the order of the day being read,
Mr. P. SCROPE rose for the purpose of asking
the Secretary for Ireland whether any and what
legal proceedings had been taken against such boards
'of guardians or relieving officers as had neglected
the duties imposed upon them by the Act 10 and 11
Vic., c. 31, of affording due relief to the destitute
poor. The Hon. Member considered the subject was
one of very great importance, as in consequence of
the great distress in Roscommon and the western
parts of Ireland, it was absolutely necessary that the
measures provided by the Government should be
carried out without distinction. It appeared from
several accounts that the utmost distress prevailed,
the workhouses were crowded to repletion, the fever
hospitals could not accommodate the whole of the
patients, and the ganla were almost all of them un-
able to contain the numbers sent to them. In
one of the gaols in Galway, which was built
to accommodate 150 persons, there were actually
upwards of 900 persons contained within its walls.
He did not ask the Government to relieve by any
fresh measure this fearful state of things ; all that he
required was that the Government should see the
measures which they had aiready provided effectually
carried out. The people of Ireland were in most
cases ignorant of the provisions of the law, and of the
duties of the relieving officers under the Poor law
Act passed in the last session. It wits the intention
of the Legislature that the measure pa• sed last year
should be a compulsory one, and that the property of
Ireland should be compelled to support the poverty of
the country. If it was not intended to be compulsory,
what justification could there be for the Government
discontinuing the system of relief which they had
carried on for some time, by which 3,000,000
of persons, or about one-third of the whole
population of the country were reEeved? The
circular of the Poor-law Commissi' ners informed
the boards of guardians that they were compelled to
relieve the starving poor. The Lord-Lieutenant had
himself stated that the poor had now a right not to
starve. The Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, in opening
the Limerick Special Commission, also took occasion
to say that the measure passed last session took away
all apology for crime, as the poor were nuw entitled to
be relieved. What was the mode in which that law
had been carried out ? For the union of Ballinagh, in
the county of Mayo, it appeared that in September
last 65,000 rations were daily distributed. What
must have been the condition of the poor people of that
union when those rations entirely ceased ? A rate of
13,8681. was declared necessary for the support of
the poor, but only 868/. had been collected, and
during four months among the defaulters was in-
cluded the names of some of the highest rank
of the county of Mayo. The defaulters had
been written to by the Commissioners, telling
them that the rates must be paid. The
system of eviction and clearance was in the mean
time being care ied on to a most alarming extent.
According to the evidence of Mr. Tuite, one of the
Society of Friends, it appeared that upon every land
might be seen the agents driving the poor people
from their miserable dwellings, pulling down the
houses as soon as they left, and then refusing the
wretched people admittance into the workhouse, a
right which was given them by the Act of last year.
In one gentleman's estate, upwards of 1,000 persons
had been evicted, and this gentleman was at that
time a defaulter in his poor-rates to the ameunt of 481.
Another portion of the barony of Ennis belonged to
a gentleman named Bingham, who was down in the
list as a defaulter for 1191. 3i. Bd. Now what was
the condition of Mr. Binghsm's tenants at the time ?
Why it appeared from the " Blue Book" that man v
of them were in a state of aleolute starvation, IN bile
others had died on their way to Ballinagh, where
they were goirg to seek for relief or work. In this
district there had been no such a thing as an outrage
committed,
and it was di•gracJul to find such a state
in
of things es tles existing it.
Mr. HUM E rose to order. The Hon. Gentleman,
if he was nut mistaken, had given notice simply of a
question, and he put it to the good sense of the Hon.
Gentleman, whether it was fair to go into such a
statement as this in the absence of any previous
notice.
Mr. SMITH O'BRIEN said the matters which
the lion. Gentleman was bringing under the jr conside-
ration were of an urgent nature, and he hoped the
Hon. Gentleman would not allow himself to be
persuaded to delay his statement till a future day.
Sir GEORGE GREY did not wish the House to
imagine that Government were not prepared to
answer the statements of the lion. Gentleman, but he
put it to the Hon. Gentleman wheel; r, considering
that several lion. Gentlemen ha ; given notice of
substaative motions up on this subj-ci it would not
be better to postpone his sta!eMen't till one of those
motions came before the House. Besides, an im-
portant question hail been fixed for discussion to• day,
and it would be inconvenient to many Hon. Members
if it were not gone into at once.
Mr. AGLIONBY must also join his entreaties to
those of the Right Hon. the e.ary of State to the
ellon. Member, not to allow hie statementgland
di to delay
.110Zwnalto the -
the discussion on the Ne
as many
Hon. Members had come d
House fully
prepared to go into that question.
Mr. P. SCROPE said, having gone so far into his
statement, which was one of great importance to the
country, he hoped the House would allow him shortly
detain the
few minutes longer, to complete it, and he would promise to d • -
House but for a very
didduring
not '
thel'g
amount lastich
Bi!itai : i
hear.) There was onel owthaesrtuhneiocnavtaonwEeriejinh(
be allowed to refer.
had a valuation of 150,000/.
few trying months the rate
The distress in the
,c
oalrliedc yteedt,
to more than 11d. in the pound. and many deaths
district was most appalling,
from starvation had occurred, and yet many
of the landed proprietors. had made default in paying
the rates. But he had to complain more of the con-
duct of the board of guardians than of the rate-payers,
for they had allowed many poor creatures to die of
starvation by their neglect of duty. In one case the
child of a poor woman died of stiirvation, and upon a
coroner's jury returning a verdict to that effect, the
Poor-law Commissioners commanded the board of
guardians to inquire into the case. The board, how•
ever, neglected to do so, and in less than a month
afterwards the woman herself died of starvation, and
what he wanted to know was, vi hether the law they
bad recently passed was to be carried out in this
negligent manner ? Had such cases as these oc-
curred in this country, the overseer
.would have been
'Able to severepunishment asa criminal offender, and
. - the Government whether the ime
E-__.
_. n Ireland or not ?
el b11V141114
(Hear, hear.)
.---;17/1r., &VI. .ssl !flake allowances for the poor,. with Aeti,:,,,,,_, h,---m,' ',f1i.e,.,-Orsti, of Ireland were
r 4, . ;lilies vi.ineynv..i ty and distress had urgedfilleadnd fori
now
'-1 .theriv-on to coterni 2 And he would ask why m:
en taken against the- board
sures, had nnt:`"
'c of-----41,40ianis nd relieving officers for the
sitglecti ordie duties imposed upon them by the
-Act a riciliapent for the relief of the poor,