The Sun.
London, England, 1861-03-01 00:00:00

session.

THE CONDITION OF THE 'AIETROPOLITAN
LABOURERS.
The Earl of DERBY then rose to present a petition re-
specting the displaceramt of labourers in consequence of
great public works in the metropolis. The petition which
he had the honour to present was that of a single indivi-
dual, but that person had been 11 years incumbent of one of
the poorest and most densely populated district of the me-
tropolis, and he might naturally be expected to be perfectly
familiar with the condition of the labouring classes.
Numerous Railway Bills were now awaiting the consent of
Parliament, by means of some of which it was sought to
drive 60 or 70 miles of new lines through the very heart of
the metropolis. One of these lines, the Metropolitan Ex-
tension Railway, between Finsbury•circus and Smithfield,
which would cut through a most crowded part of the town,
proposed the demolition of 500 houses, inhabited by about
5,000 people, of whom 2,000 were under notice to quit. The
inhabitants of this part of the metropolis were too poor to
take the ordinary steps to oppose any measure of the kind.
The result would be, if the bill passed, that, instead of
having, as at present, ten people to a house, the numbers
would probably be doubled, as it was unlikely that the pre-
sent inhabitants, many of them very poor shopkeepers,
would lose their customers by quitting the neighbourhood.
Under such circumstances the ordinary effects of overcrowd -
ingwould be produeed—namely, drunkenness, sickness, and
an absence of all the decencies of domestic life. He thought
the appointment of a committee would be of advantage, to
inquire into the effects upon the population and the social
condition of the metropolis by the great extension of rail-

ways.
Lord SHAFT ESBURY stated the efforts which he had
made at various times to oppose the evil complained of by
Lord Derby, by making railway companies responsible to
the parties whom they displaced. The demolitions effected
under these bills were as great as if a foreign army had in.
vaded the country. Lord Shaftesbury then depicted in
terribly simple terms the evils caused by sudden orders to
quit on a large neighbourhood, and quoted statistics, which
he had collected in person. to show the horribly crowded
state of the courts and alleys of the city in consequence of
the pulling down of Field-lane and its immediate neigh-
bourhood. It was impossible to describe the effects of this
overcrowding on the health and morals of the population.
He protested against any further sanction to the wild
schemes by which these poor people were turned out of
their abodes.
The Bishop of LONDON expressed his gratitude to the
two noble lords for calling attention to this matter, and
observed that, although it was supposed that overcrowding
existed in the east of London only, in the parish of St.
John, when Victoria-street was formed, the very evils now
complained of were observed, and 5,000 persons were dis-
placed by the demolition of their houses. Ile cordially con-
curred in Lord Derby's suggestion that a committee to
investigate the subject should be appointed.
Lord GRANVILLE begged the house to remember that
some of these lines would be of the greatest advantage to
the poorer classes and to the metropolis, because, if pro-
perly constructed, they would increase capital, the fund out
of which labour must be paid, and increase the salubrity of
the metropolis. No one regretted more than he did the over-
crowding of the poorer classes in the metropolis, but the
remedy was most difficult, and palliatives in the shape of
model lodging-houses quite ineffective. Many of the streets
and alleys threatened with destruction were the dens of the
criminal classes, and he was not sure that it was not a
positive act of kindness to the poor to remove the worst of
these houses. He doubted whether the appointment of a
select committee would be productive of benefit.'
Lord GREY agreed with the suggestion that the new
railways should be made with the means of affording relief
to the labouring classes in regard to house communication,
and was extremely sorry to find that the Government had
no remedy to propose.
Lord STANLEY of ALDERLEY said that the noble
lord who had last spoken had discussed the question upon
totally different grounds from those taken by the noble earl
who had called attention to the petition. That petition
alleged a specific grievance, arising out of a single proposed
line. Noble lords bad discussed the propriety of not
having any lines within certain portions of London at all,
and talked of suspending all further progress until the
general question of metropolitan railway extension was
settled. It was important that these very different ques-
tions should not be mixed up together. Their lordships
must remember the actual facts. Parliament had already
passed a bill for the construction of new lines into the me-
tropolis. The metropolitan railway from Paddington to
Farringdon-street was in process of construction, and
would, he believed, ere long be completed. Another exten-
sion was completed from London-bridge to the Victoria
Station in Pimlico, close to their lordships' house. A third
extension, from London-bridge to Charing-cross, was in
progress ; and there were others in the same position.
Therefore, when they raised the general question of exten-
sion, it would be found they were precluded from dealing
with it. After companies had gone:to the expense of gstting
their bills passed through Parliament—after they had pur-
chased land and commenced the construction of their lines
—it would be a hardship of the worst description if they
were to be told that they must suspend or delay those
works until that house had come to a decision upon the
general question of metropolitan railway extension. With
respect to the injury done by the removal of labourers'
dwellings, an examination would show that even the new
schemes removed far fewer of that class of dwellings than
had been pulled down to make room for the new and im-
proved streets in the west of the metropolis. The plan for
erecting these courts of law would necessarily cause the
demolition of a large number of houses inhabited by_ the
poorer classes, yet the plan had met with very gee
proval. There were great improvements ue n
h nedeerda, earn
w would have
mhich
if they refused their assent to ache
the effect of dislodging the poor, abseraor.) pe would After bbe
alluding put to allt o
improvements whatever. (Heiaizay.
his lordship said he
the case of the Blackwell Rin
%lent of a committee, with
should deprecate the pp
the view of ofsuspendingathiospiedrearteidonosn a railwaysfutur e o
et:al till
itohne.
whole subject should be
liear
lordships then adjourned at 21 minutes to eight
Their
o'clock.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—(YESTERDAY.)
The SFEAKER took the chair at four o'clock.
PETITIONS.
Several petitions were presented for and against the abo-
lition of church rates ; against any alteration in the pre-
sent law of marriage ; against the Parochial Assessment
Bill ; against the bill for the removal of Scotch and Irish
poor.; for an alteration in the present mode of levying duty
on wine, &c.
NEW SOUTH WALES.
On the motion of Mr, ARTHUR MILLS, an address