The Sun.
London, England, 1834-11-11 00:00:00

do this we are as: an-d therefore arc they amen-
able for whatever arafi.utte red in their hearing.

We know that it snot usual to examine the con-
duct of Lords-Lie ute nant of counties with the same
scrutiny as that of th e other Subordinates of a Go.
vernment. 'The. odic e is honorary, and the persons
on whom it is bestow -ed always of a rank which, in
general, excludes the 'it lea of dishonourable conduct, as
well as claims the rigq: "It of a liberal construction of
motives. But no Government can carry this
tolerating policy to th e extent that is sought in this
instance without corn promising its own dignity. The
banter about O'Cor men influence, and Tory pre-
cedents, is miserable driT.-elling, which no able States-
man could regard for a moment. The present ques-
tion is not one of mere: expediency ; it involves a great
moral principle. \Vhm t the Government passes over in
the public conduct of its subordinates, it of necessity
sanctions ; and, th r= fore, to maintain that Lord
Lieutenants may act against the Ministry with im-
punity, is neither Ino.N nor less than to allirm that a
government does its auto to the people that throws
down with the left hand all it raises up with
the right. Either th e ovcrnment of this country is
persuaded of the justile of its proceedings with respect
to Ireland, or it is not : if it is convinced of the recti-
tude of its own palic y, then is it hound to discharge
such of its subordin atr 2s as oppose it in the exercise of
its duties ; if not, tit e only proper course that remains
is the resignation of. the power of guiding the affairs of
the country.

According to Mr.. TIDD PRATT, the objects of the
Poor Law Amends a o.nt Act are two. First, to raise
the labouring class, 3; ;—that is to say, the bulk of the
community, from tl It: idleness, improvidence, and de-
gradation into wli= Ch the ill administration of the laws
for their relief has thrust them ; and, secondly, to im-
mediately arrest thfl progress, and ultimately to dimi-
nish the amount ot- the pressure on the ownets of lands
and houses.

Without stoppin g to inquire whether Mr. PRATT
does not jump at G onclusions, which an acquaintance
with the wider be aping of the subject might have some-
what modified—a .conviction that such were the objects
contemplated by tLhe Act, has, in a general way, se-
cured it our supp, at—viewing it, as we do, as one of
the most important measures which ever issued from
Parliament—as a. measure, which, if wisely and tem-
perately administexed, may snatch our population from
vice and improvio,ence—and as a measure, which, if
intemperately an d rashly administered, must lead to
incalculable sufferings—we feel bound to watch its
progress with the most scrutinizing attention, and to
do all in our pew -er to facilitate its workings.

It is for this :purpose that we call the attention of
our readers to tl le 52d clause of the Act. This re-
lates to the grartting of out-door relief to able-bodied
paupers, and it is, perhaps, the most important part
of the Bill. .A..fter a preamble reciting the prevalence
of the system of allowances, and other mischievous
modes of admlnistering relief, with the difficulty of
applying an mediate and universal remedy, it goes
on to empower the Commissioners to direct to what ex-
tent, and to \villa period, out-door relief may be afforded
to the able-bodied and their families. The machinery
of the entire clause is exceedingly complicated, and
so loaded with conditions, that we almost regret that
the recommendation of the Commissioners of Inquiry—
namely, to praribit out-door relief after a fixed period
—was not ramie part of the Bill. This we wish
merely for the sake of simplicity, because, in point of
the fact, the present clause, as it will be interpreted,
is a virtual abolition of the allowance system.
The clause, when construed literally, may, perhaps,
be understood differently ; but when we look at the
clogs with which it is impeded, and consider the ani-
raus governing the entire Bill, such will be its effect.
We know, indeed, that already many parishes have
come to the resolution of not giving out-door relief
unless under conditions which will reduce the claimants
to nothing. What the regulations of the Commis-
sioners may be we do not pretend to know ; but as
they are men either ignorant of the duties they have to
perform, or are deeply imbued with. the opinions and
recommendations of their predecessors, the Commis-
sioners of Inquiry, there can be little doubt as to their
nature.

We are not insensible to the amount of moral and
social declension which has attended on the careless
administration of relief to able-bodied idleness or po-
verty—neither are we ignorant how far a vigorous and
well ordered distribution of relief will go in diminishing
the amount of poor-rate. As a proof of this, we may
cite Lancashire. This county, for the last thirty
years, has been the recipient of the most destitute
home and Irish labourers, and has increased in popu-
lation at a rate perfectly astounding—at a rate, indeed,
far beyond the actual wants of its manufacturers. In
a county thus circumstanced, and liable to fluctuations
and stagnations in trade which re-act powerfully upon
the labourers, it would naturally be imagined that the
poor rate would far exceed in amount that of a thinly,
and even lirr,,,‘rfectly, peopled rural district, where the
inhabitants were dependant upon agriculture, and their
rate of increase very limited. Yet, how does the case
stand ? Why, the sum levied for the relief of the
poor is actually less in Lancashire, compared with its
population, than in any other county in England,
being only 4s. Bd. per head. This very small amount
is to be imputed in a great measure to the vigilance
and intelligence of those who have had the manage-
ment of the relief fund.

There cannot be a question, therefore, but that the
restriction and limitation of out-door relief, where the
chief administrators are remote from the claimants,
and have no local feelings to influence them, will at
once effect an immense saving in parochial expendi-
ture. The most idle, the most depraved, and the
most drunken of the labourers have been chiefly the
receivers of allowances ; labourers, in fact, who, but
for their reckless and improvident habits, m'ght have
supported themselves and their families. These are
the paupers to whom the 52d clause will particularly
apply ; and, in the generality of cases, these are the
parties who will be consigned to the workhouse. At
present we shall make no farther remark on these, re-
serving what we have to say for another occasion.
The reckless and improvident able-bodied pauper is,
however, not the only one who will come under the
operation of this clause. There are scattered through-
out the country many thousand families, the heads of
which are sober, industrious, and thrifty, but who,
from the lowness of wages, or other adverse circum-
stances, have been forced to have recourse to parish
allowances to keep them from absolute starvation.
Now, these are a body of men, on whom if the full
force of the spirit of the Bill fall, will be at once lost
to us as useful citizens, and it is on account of these
we are anxious that the views of Government should
be directed to the working of this portion of the Bill.
It will probably at once be urged that these are men