The Sun.
London, England, 1834-08-19 00:00:00

LORD BROUGHAM'S PROTEST.

It may be remembered that, on the motion of Mr. Lang-
dale, clause (numbered xviii.) was inserted in the Poor Laws
Amendment Bill, providing that no rules be adopted obliging
inmates of wuikhtiuses to attend religious service contrary to
their own principles; it was in the following terms :
" That no rules, orders, or regulations of the said commis-
sioners, nor any by-laws at present in force or to be hereafter
made, shall oblige any inmate of any workhouse to attend any
religious service which may be celebrated in a mode contrary
to the religious principles of such inmate, nor shall authorize
the education of any child in such workhouse in any religious
creed other than that professed by the parents or surviving
parent of such child, and to which such parents or parent
shall object, or in the case of an orphan, to which the god-
father or godmother of such orphan shall so object : provided
also, that it shall and may be lawful for any licensed minister
of the religious persuasion of any inmate of such workhouse,
at all times in the day, or on the request of such inmate, to
visit such workhouse for the purpose of affording religious
assistance to such inmate, and also for the purpose of instruct-
ing his child or children in the principles of their religion."
This clause, with other alterations, was struck out by the
House of Lords. Mr. Langdale, on the return of the bill to
the Commons, insisted on its restoration, and notwithstanding
the remarks made by Lord Althorp, it was restored accord-
ingly. The Lords still resisted ; a conference ensued, the
Commons persisted, and eventually the Lords desisted, agree-
ing not to insist upon their amendment for the rejection of the
clause. It was of course retained ; but thereupon the Lord
Chancellor placed on the journals the following—
" PROTEST

" AGAINST NOT INSISTING ON THE AMENDMENT TO THE POOR
LAWS' AMENDMENT BILL TO WHICH THE COMMONS HAVE

DISAGREED.
" Dissentient,—

" 1. Because there can be no necessity for a provision
against such extreme folly and such unjustifiable oppression as
the compelling paupers to attend the service of a church which
they dissent from, and preventing the resort to them of their own
pastors ; and at all events there seems just the same reason for
prohibiting other kinds of oppression, such as denying access
to the pauper's relatives or lay spiritual advisers on his death-
bed ; and yet no provision of this sort has been judged necessary.
" The whole clause is founded upon distrust of the Com-
missioners whom it supposes capable, if not prohibited, of
framing rules in a spirit of persecution unknown at the present
time, and whom it presumes unwilling to secure by fit regula-
tions the access of spiritual instructors to members of the Esta-
blished Church as well as Dissenters.

" This distrust of the Commissioners upon such a matter is
wholly at variance with all those provisions of the Bill which
clothe them with the largest discretionary powers, and if they
are to be objects of suspicion in this respect, it is impossible
safely to grant them any authority in any matter whatever
requiring the exercise of a sound discretion.
But it is further to be observed that the clause, far from
accomplishing its own manifest purpose, is so contrived as to
defeat it ; for the access of licensed ministers alone is directed,
and it is not known that there aro any persons, either of the
Established Church or among the Dissenters, excepting one
class—namely, licensed curates and lecturers, who answer this
description. The rectors and vicars and perpetual curates of
the Established Church, the Catholic priests, and all the mi-
nisters of the various sects of Protestant Dissenters, as well as
all the teachers of the Methodists, are thus left out of the right
of access given by the clause. But if their omission should
be considered as intimating the intention of the Legislature to
exclude them, then it would follow that neither Roman Catho-
lics nor Protestant Dissenters of any class, nor Methodists of
any description, could receive any spiritual aid from their own
pastors, while even members of the Established Church could
only receive the spiritual assistance of licensed curates or
lecturers. It is indeed to be hoped that such a construction
will be avoided if possible ; but it can only be escaped by
the assistance of the commissioners, who, were they in the
least degree actuated by the spirit against which the clause
was intended to provide, would inevitably act upon the plain
and literal meaning of its words, and shelter themselves be-
hind these words against all blame, for excluding almost all
religious consolation from workhouses. So that the only de-
fence which is afforded to the parties for whose protection the
clause was framed, against being persecuted by force of that
clause itself, must be found in the firmness and discretion of
the Commissioners being exerted to mitigate its rigour by con-
struction—that is to say, the clause would defeat itself, and
oppress the objects of its favour, but for those Commissioners,
the distrust of whom was the only motive for introducing it.
It is further to be remarked, that if the clause has any
effect at all from such a literal construction being adopted, it
empowers the inmates of workhouses, at their own request, to
have whatever persons may be deemed licensed ministers of
their own persuasion admitted to them at all hours of every
day in the week—a degree of liberty extremely liable to abuse,
and wholly subversive of all the discipline necessary to such
establishments.

" Lastly—lt appears eminently indiscreet to mix up with
the present measure any questions leading to the excitement.
of religious controversy, and almost obliging the commission-
ers to take a part in such contentions.
"August 13. " BROUGHAM, C."

It was agreed at the sitting of the House on Wednesday,
that leave be given to Lords to enter protests, and to sign the
same, before the rising of the House on the succeeding Friday.
This protest was directed to be entered accordingly ; but
though leave was given to Lords till Friday also to sign the
said protest, no other Lord besides the Lord Chancellor has
signed it. That it was known that there was the opportunity
of signing it, is clear from the fact being recorded in Wednes-
day's minutes, and which minutes were on their Lordships'
table and in every Lord's possession during Thursday and
Friday. Still no other peer has signed the protest !