The Sun.
London, England, 1844-03-26 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, MARCH 26, 1844.

rates in his neighbourhood, and stating that the unpo% I Sir R. PEEL said, whilst he thought the House had
polarity of the tax was so great that, in the better not prejudge the question by going into discussion
parish of Kilallan, no one could be found who into it—that he considered the suggestion as to
would undertake to collect it, and that in con- assessors was well worthy the consideration of the
sequence a collector was obliged to be sent Committee. He doubted the policy end propriety
down from the office of the Commissioners in Dublin, of placing Members on the Committee, who had
and that he was obliged to be protected in the perform- suffered from these election petitions. The Mem-
ance of his duties by two companies of inrantry, a troop hers that he should propose to form the Committee
of the 10th Hussars, two sub-inspectors of police, and 50 were the following, and he thought the House would
rank and file of thet'body, together with two stipendiary egree with him when they heard the names, that those
magistrates ; also the forces from the Stromboli steamer, Members had had a tolerably good insight into the
the I)ee, and another vessel of war, were employed to cases of controverted elections.
collect the rate; and that, notwithstanding all those forces, The following were proposed as a Committee:—
and the rate to be collected was under 2001., more Lord J. Russell, Lord Granville Somerset, Mr. Charles
than one-third of the rate remained uncollected ; and I Boller, Mr. Wilson Patten, Sir George Grey, Lord
Dr. Kirwan also stated that the collectiox of every ls. in Sandon, The O'Conor Don, Mr. Pakington, Mr.
that neighbourhood cost 11. sterling—the natural come- Hawes, Mr. Hogg, Mr. Escott, Mr. Locke, Mr. Wynn,
quence of attempting to force a rate from a population who and Sir Thomas Fremantle.
were scarcely above the condition of paupers themselves. The motion was agreed to, after a few words in ex-
The Hon. Hember then read an extract from the writ- planation by Mr. COLLETT.
ings of Mr. Daly, as to the operation of the present law, Mr. R. soon obtained leave to bring in a Bill to
stating that an armed force was required to carry it out, annex detached parts of counties to the counties by
which in his opinion formed one of the strongest con- which they were surrounded.
stitutional objections to it. It was also stated that The House adjourned at Eleven &Clock.
2/. 12s. a year was the average allowance for paupers;
whilst that of the Commissioners was 1,500/. He hoped
that the returns would not be refused.

HOUSE OF LORDS, March 25.
The LORD CHANCELLOR tOOk his soat on the Wool-
sack at Five o'Clock.

Sir J. GRAHAM said the Speaker was so just and
invariable in enforcing the rules of that House, that he
had been unwilling to interrupt the Hon. Gentleman in
the speech which he had delivered. Raising, as he had
done, a question in reference to the administration of the
Irish Poor-law, on a motion for going into Committee on
the Mutely Act, he would not encourage a further
violation of those rules by following the Hon. Gentleman
in his remarks. Suffice it to say, that he hoped there
would be no delay in presenting the returns for which
the Hon. Gentleman had moved, in the course of the pre-
sent session. With respect to the antecedent sessions, as
the orders were dropped orders, it would be necessary
for the Hon. Gentlemen to renew them. With respect
to the operation of the poor-laws in Ireland, he had
already stated that if it should be the wish of Irish Mem-
bers to have a Committee appointed to inquire into that
subject, a motion to effect that object would not be op-
posed by the Government.
Captain PECHELL was proceeding to say that the
Right Hon. Gentleman had not answered his Hon.
Friend's remarks in reference to the employment of the
naval force in Ireland in the collection of the poor-rates,
when
The SPEAKER said he bad not interrupted the Hon.
Member who had made this motion, because it was im-
possible to say that he would not conclude with an
amendment to the motion for going into Committee ;
but as he bad concluded without making any such
amendment, the Hon. and Gallant Officer would be quite
out of order in making any remarks on the subject of the
Irish poor-law.—( Hear, hear.)
MUTINY BILLS.

The Earl of BESBOROUGIT presented a petition
from the Dissenters of Derby, praying that so much
of the poor-law which authorised the payment of sa-
laries to Protestant clergymen attending in union
workhouses, might be repealed.
Petitions against the unions of the sees of St.
Asaph and Bangor were presented by the Bishops of
LICHFIELD and BANGOR.

LUNATIC POOR IN IRELAND.
Lord MONTEAGLE gave notice that, on Thurs-
day, he should move for certain correspondencewhich
the Irish Government had entered into on the sub-
ject of lunatic asylums in Ireland.
. LABOUR OF FEMALES. _

The House then went into Committee on the Mutiny

Captain PECHELL referred to the employment of
the Comet and the Stromboli on the river Shannon to
assist in collecting the poor-rates.
Sir J. GRAHAM said the facts wore these :—On the
coast of Galway there was a formidable, organised, and
protracted resistance to the payment of poor-rates; and,
at the instance of the Lord Lieutenant, two steam-boats
were sent to the Shannon to assist the civil power.
He was quite prepared to justify the proceeding, under
the circumstances which gave rise to it.
Mr. MORE O'FERRALL thought that the present
was not the proper time to discuss the Irish poor-law,
and he would not, therefore, enter into that subject.
On the discussion of the clauses,
Sir H. HARDINGE said there was a novelty in this
Bill, inasmuch as it gave power to the Secretary-at-
War, in certaincases, to convert barracks, or parts of
barracks, into military prisons.
The Bill having passed through Committee, the House
resumed, the Chairman reported progress, and the re-
port was ordered to be brought up to-morrow.
The House then went into Committee on the Marine
Mutiny Bill.
Sir C. NAPIER complained that the punishment of
marines employed on shore was not sufficiently defined.
There was another object to which he wished to call the
attention of the Government. It was to this peculiarity
in the Mutiny Act, that the punishment of death should
be suffered for every crime, or such other punishment
as a court-martial might choose to inflict. Now, in
many cases it occurred that it was necessary for the
officer in command of a ship to inflict punishments ac-
cording to the rules and practices of the navy,
and he wished that the last clause of the Act
should be so framed as to make those rules
and practices the lawful guide, without reference to the
higher penalty of death. As at present, the practice
served no purpose of example. He himself remembered
a case, where a court-martial had, under the Mutiny
Act, sentenced a man to death, but recommended him
to mercy on account of a wound in his head. The
punishment was commuted to fourteenyears' transporta-
tion. This punishment was never known in the ser-
viee, and it had no effect whatever in the way of exam-
ple. He recommended that the Articles should be so
modified as to leave it is the power of a court-martial
on the spot to determine the amount of punishment.
Mr. SIDNEY HERBERT said, that the subject had
been referred to the Admiralty before. The Gallant
Officer was aware, that when marines were employed on
shore on foreign service, they were in a very different
position to that of doing duty on board.
Mr. MORE O'FERRALL said, that the same diffi-
culty alluded to by the Hon. and Gallant Member for
Marylebone had been experienced in the employment of
the Marines in the relief service in Spain, and he
thought it ought to be removed.
Captain PECHELL thought it very hard to punish a
man who on shipboard fell asleep upon his watch after
a hard day's work, as a sentinel in the army who fell
asleep at his post.
Mr. HERBERT said that an alteration in this respect
had been extended to the marines.
The clause was agreed to, the House resumed, the
Chairman reported progress, and obtained leave to sit
again to-morrow.
The Indemnity Bill was read a third time and passed.
The Gold and Silver Warehousing Bill was read a
second time, and ordered to be committed on Monday
next.
The International Copyright Bill was read a third
time and passed.
The report upon the Dean Forest Bill was brought up
anal agreed to.
The Night Poaching Prevention Bill passed through
Committee, and the report was ordered to be brought up
to-morrow.
CONTROVERTED ELECTIONS.
Sir ROBERT PEEL said that in the course of last
session, when the Bill for the trial of Controverted Elec-
tions was mentioned in the House, he had undertaken
to propose the appointment during the present session
of a Committee of the House, to inquire if any amend-
ment could be introduced into its mode of proceeding.
In fulfilment of that promise he 'had now to move
that a Select Committee should be nominated for that
purpose. He proposed this measure merely for the pur-
pose of considering whether any amendment could
he made in the present course of proceedings, and not
with a view to discuss and report as to the jurisdiction
itself. The important question of the jurisdiction ought
in his opinion to be carefully reserved for the considera-
tion of the House itself. He had no wish to hinder
Hon. Members from discussing this great question in
the House, but he wished to confine the object of the
proposed Committee to the suggestions of amend-
ment in the existing system as it stood. He
had endeavoured to make the Committee as fair
and as useful as possible by placing upon it
those who were looked to as authorities, and who would
come prepared to assist in rendering the existing sys-
tem as perfect as possible. lie did not see any neces-
sity for entering into a statement, or inviting discussion,
and he should, therefore, content himself simply with
moving the appointment of a Select Committee, to in-
quire and report, whether it would be desirable to make
any alteration in the law at present in force in respect
to the trial of Controverted Elections.
Mr. GISBORNE said, he should have been gratified
if, upon the present occasion, the Right Hon. Baronet
(Sir Robert Peel) had stated what he thought of the,
present law from the experience they had been enabled to
have of it. The object of the Bill had been to remedy
that which had certainly become a crying evil, and it
was a question of interest to ascertain how far in the
Right Hon. Baronet's opinion an amendment had been
effected. For his (Mr. Gisborne's) part, he was inclined
to think there had been some amendment. He had that
morning looked at the Journals of the House, to find, as
well as he could, how far party feeling might be supposed
to hare influenced the decisions of Committees. He
found that twenty-five Committees had decided conform-
ably with the politics they were supposed to entertain;
and that eight had decided contrary to the opinion
supposed to be entertained by them. He was also bound
to state that in the latter Committees there appeared to
be much less conformity in the political opinions of its
members than the former ones. There was one amend-
ment in the practice of the Committees which he thought
might be introduced with special advantage. He was
no lawyer, but he understood that in a common law
action a party could give notice to his opponent that if
he did not admit certain points he should
then prove them at his (the opponent's) expense.
Now this practice might be advantageously admitted by
the Committee, for it would effect a great saving both of
time and of money. There were other points which
presented themselves to his notice, but as the House
seemed indisposed to discussion at that time, he would
not enter on them. He hoped, however, that on the Com-
mittee there would be some Hon. Gentlemen who had
suffered in these matters, for, as they best knew where
the shoe pinched, they would best assist the Committee
in coming to sound conclusions.
Mr. COLLETT hoped the House would adopt some
course to save Members from persecution. He had
some time back been declared by a Committee of
that House duly returned to serve for the present
Parliament for the borough of Athlone, and he
thought .the matter was at an end, and he should
be subjected to no further annoyance. He had,
however. been forced before another Committee,
who, on the 7th of this month, had again declared him
duly elected " to serve in the present Parliament" for
the borough of Athlone, and he was again threatened
not merely with another petition against him, but with
an annual attempt to wrest his seat from him.
Sir GEORGE GREY thought the Right Hon. Ba-
ronet had pursued a very wise course in keeping the
question of jurisdiction for the consideration of the
House itself, and confining the labours of the Select
practice Comm it t
ae
ne
dt op
rt
ch e e
econsideration
co fo
ma
mm
ietnt
edems eonnt sc ionn t thero-
verted Elections.
Mr. FRENCH hoped that neither Ministers nor ex-
Ministers would be allowed to sit on the Committee.
Sir E. COLEBROOKE suggested that Committees
should have the assistance of eminent lawyers to sit as
assessors, and assist in declaring the law and making
their proceedings conformable to it.

pet weight required for riding the handicap ?
(" Hear," and laughter.) Was that, he would ask,
the legislation they were to proceed with ? Such,
however, wa.a the course which was opened to them
by those who exclaimed so much on the subject of
factories, and were very prodigal of their own ad-
vice and of other people's money.—(Hear, hear.) But
then it was said, that the whole system as regarded
women was contrary to nature, that it was impos-
sible for them to pay proper attention to the nursery,
and (as we understood) suckling their children. And
those who read Tansillo's poem might expatiate on
the subject. But he would ask, how many wives,
and sisters, and daughters of their Lordships, and of
Members of the other House of Parliament, volun-
tarily exempted themselves from following what, in
this respect, was called the first law of nature ?
They excused themselves from undertaking that
duty because their various avocations interfered with
it. Yet they had never heard that any mischief
resulted frm the practice ; but they were told that the
children of women employed in factories were swept
down in scores in consequence of their mothers not be-
ing able to attend to them. Now be conceived that
the petition which he now presented to their Lord-
ships bore out a very different view of the case. He
could now clearly state, and predict to their Lord-
ships, what the question in futuro would be, namely,
whether ten hours' work was to be paid for by twelve
hours' wages ? If such a principle were adopted,
away at once would go the profits of the manufac-
turers. Those two hours were all important to him.
He could not compete with foreigners if he were
obliged to give the same wages for a less amount of
labour. And let it be recollected that in France, in
Germany, in Switzerland, nay more, in America, no
such restrictions were known. It would be impos-
sible for the manufacturer to prcceed, without lower-
ing his wages. But some thought that Parliament
might interfere—that nothing more was wanting than
the wisdom and unanimity of the Legislature to re-
duce the hours of labour, and at the same time to
prevent wages from being lowered in the same ratio
as the time of employment was contracted! O! inane
caput ! To prevent such a reduction would be
impossible. It was argued, that the proposed altera-
tion would be greatly conducive to health. The
ability to eat heartily was an acknowledged con-
comitant of health ; but with decreased wages how
was the operative to satisfy nature ? Would his
situation be at all improved ? He firmly believed
that those who now advocated the principle of re-
duced laoour would eventually discover their error,
and find, that the best friends of the poor were those
who - did net restrict nor interfere with their in-
dustry.—(Hear, hear.) , He was as certain as
that the sun would rise to-morrow that many
months would not pass over their heads before men
would be awakened to a sense of the follies they
were now committing, and begin to be awake in good
earnest, and find that he was the best friend
,of the
poor who did what he could to help them, and did
nothing to injure them in pursuit of a vague fantastic
theory which his own imagination might have con-
jured up, or which other men's hallucinations might
have inoculated him with. He hoped and trusted
that meanwhile no harm would be done to the work-
ing people, for whom it was chiefly that he now spoke
—to the manufacturer, whose interests were the in-
teresta of the working people, and who, in fact, could
have no interests apart from them, and that no page
would be added to our statute book, before it was
too late to reflect on the mischief and the misery
which might result from it—sanctioning any such
pernicious principle (if he might so call it) as that of
which he had now deprecated the assertion. Depend
upon it, we could not stop here.—(Hear, hear.) If
we were to legislate for these workpeople, we must
for all others.—(Hear.) Women in our colleries had
suffered much ; and he was one who had tweed (re-
luctantly, and protesting against carrying it further,
and predicting those consequences which had hap-
pened) to a measure for ameliorating their condition.
But there was a spectre which haunted him more than
it did the manufacturer; which haunted him as the
friend of the labourer, and, above all, of those very
children themselves—it was the mischief of Parlia-
ment interfering to prescribe how much work
a man, or a woman, or a child should be called upon
to endure. Of the two, he protested he would rather have
a Bill to regulate the rate of wages, and affix a mini-
mum of wages,t than a Bill to affix a maximum of
work. He held the one just as much against all
principle as the other ; but the first would not pro-
duce so much mischief; and it would be entirely
nugatory—you could not fix the rate of wages.—
(Hear, hear.) Those who said the Legislature could
compel employers to give twelve hours' wages for
ten hours' work did not know what they were talk-
ing of. Let them talk elsewhere than in Parliament,
and of other matters than these.—(A laugh.) They
were talking of subjects as utterly unknown to them,
and of which they were as hopelessly ignorant, as of
what was passing in another planet.—(Laughter.)
Humanity they had not studied. He believed many
of them to be worthy of, and he felt for them the
highest respect—as most estimable, honest, conscien-
tious, and, on other subjects, well-informed men;
but he hoped he should not be accused of saying any-
thing disrespectful to them, nor against moral prin-
ciple itself, when he added—" so much the worse ;"
for nothing was more fatal, and, above all, in popular
assemblies, and in countries where there was a free
expression of public opinion, than respectable, honest,
conscientious, and amiable men, when they had taken
up some notion such as that of which he had spoken,
and acted wildly, enthusiastically, fanatically upon
that notion. He had had presented to him draughts
of two Bills proposed to be presented, calling his at-
tention to the much greater sufferings of semptresses
in London, Westminster, and country—(Hear,
hear)—working from early in the morning to late at
night ; fed on an extremely miserable pittance—on
bad or second-rate, cheap, indifferent food—little of
animal food. These were extreme cases, no doubt—
such was not the state of all or nearly all ; he hoped
in God it was not so, at least.—(Hear.) But their
wages were low from the vehement competition.
Every poor girl who had no rich parents to support her,
and who chose conscientiously to lead a chaste life,
was a competitor for that kind of work, and the con-
sequences were, naturally, most lamentable. They
suffered exceedingly ; and the diseases, of which a
frightful catalogue had been presented to him with
one of the Bills (which he should never present, as it
was not his duty to present such impossible specula-
tions to their Lordships)—the diseases, arising chiefly
from their posture of work—diseases of the diges-
tive organs and of the lungs, &c., were of the most
frightful and fearful character. But his answer had
been, that if Parliament legislated for these and other
such cases (for there were other cases even worse)
Parliament would become the nuisance of the nation
instead of its protector, by the utter disregard it
showed to the necessity of man's position in this
world, and to that first fact and law of our existence
—which he once had occasion, for another purpose,
but in favour of the working classes (for it was
against the corn-laws), to allude to—the law of
abour—
" Continua has leges mternaque fcedera certis
Imposuit natura locis, quo tempore priminn
Deucalion vacuum lapides jactavit in orbem :
Unde homines nati, durum genus."

Lord BROUGHAM rose to present a petition from
the coal and ironstone miners of Lanarkshire, in which
they complained of the distress which they endured
in consequence of the
.course which the Legislature
had, some years ago, deemed it necessary to take for
the regulation of their labour, by which many females
were deprived of the means of earning their subsist-
ence, at an age when it was impossible for them to
turn to any other species of employment. The peti-
tioners therefore besought their Lordships to allow
those females, under whatsoever restraint or restric-
tion their Lordships might deem fitting for their pro-
tection, to resume the only employment by which
they could earn a livelihood ; and, if not too late, to
save them from the consequences of that cheap hu-
manity, of that false philanthropy—(Hear, hear)—
which at present seemed to have obtained possession
of the Legislature.—(Hear, hear.) It was a one-sided
humanity, as well as a false humanity, inasmuch as it
professed to maintain the rights, to support the inte-
rests, and to relieve the sufferings of those individuals
who were its chief object, while it inflicted, at the
same time, the deepest wounds, through hypocrisy
and shortsighted policy, on the very parties whom it
professed to correct.—(Hear, hear.) He had been for
a very long time a fellow-labourer with others in
many good works for the amelioration of the condi-
tion of the people. He had constantly, throughout his
political life, been their advocate and supporter, when
oppressed, according to his feeble means. Would
that his means had been ample in proportion to his
good wishes and anxious desires. Surely, then, he,
who had always exerted himself to promote the com-
fort of the people—he, who never in his life had given
a vote, or written a line, or mid a word, that tended
to their oppression or neglect—but who had endea-
voured, through good report and evil report, to do
whatever he could to serve their best interests, tem-
porary or permanent—he, who had studied to-keep up
the rate of their wages, and to keep down the price of
their food—he, surely, had some right to be heard,
when the question related to the comforts, the sub-
sistence, to the labour and to the hardships of the
working classes.—(Hear, hear.) When it was said
that many were engaged in unhealthy occupations—
that many were worked too hard—that frequently they
laboured heavily, and were too lightly fed ; while all
this must be admitted, still, he feared that those priva-
tions, those sufferings were the inevitable lot of
human nature. But he would not be perverse enough
to call them oppressions—he would not be rash
enough to call them oppressions—he would not be
impious enough to call them oppressions on the part
of man, until he had heard from some learned doctor
how much of these evils could be removed by human
means and human laws ; and how much of
them were the inevitable consequence, the unavoid-
abble result, of the mysterious decrees and
inscrutable dispensations of Providence.—(Hear.)
Therefore, he said, " Show me any means, within the
scope of human laws, to remove those evils—show me
any better course of legislation to do away with those
sufferings—show me any better rule of conduct by
which our rulers may be able to avoid those mischiefs
—and then, if those means be not resorted to, we may
use the word oppression.' " But, until that was de-
monstrated to him—until it was proved that the
means of removing these sufferings were within their
reach, and were neglected—he would not admit that
the evils complained of were the mere result of op-
pression, though he allowed that they were heavy
afflictions and calamities.—(Hear, hear.) But cer-
tainly he would never be a party to anything which,
under the semblance of humanity, was calculated to
inflict greater evils on the labouring population of
this country than even those which they now com-
plained of. But, he would ask, was all their sym-
pathy to be confined to the spinners of cotton and
carders of wool ? Was no suffering to be found
amongst other classes of society ? Could any half-
dozen of occupations be named in which workmen
and workwomen were employed, with respect to
which no right to claim compassion could be
found ? Not a few of the many occupations in which
operatives were employed called as much, on various
points, for legislative interference, as did the number
of hours during which children ought to be employed
in cotton factories. Here he begged leave to state
the opinion of a great authority on this subject.
Coming from so grave a quarter—coming from a man
who was so thoroughly conversant with the question
—coming from one whose whole public life was de-
voted, as far as in him lay, to the benefit of the people
—coming from an individual who, to the last hour
of his life, laboured for their good—he meant the late
Sir Samuel Romilly—that opinion ought to be re-
ceived with respect by all parties. What was that
eminent man's answer to him (Lord Brougham) when
he demanded his assistance, on a similar occasion,
many years ago ? He requested Sir S. homily to af-
ford his support to a Bill which was then pending in
the other House of Parliament, to which he (Lord
Brougham) was friendly. The object of that Bill was
not the restricting the hours during which children
should be employed, but was meant for restraining
the ages under which children should not be suffered
to work in factories—and what was the answer of
that great and good man ? " I," said he, " will do no
such thing as support such a Bill. an you stop
your legislation there ? Have you no recollection of
other trades ? Do you forget the glass-blowers--the
coal-heavers—the steel-file makers, who are inhaling
the seeds of pulmonary disease from morn 'till dewy
eve'—the painters, who breathe an atmosphere poi-
soned by the fumes of white lead—the brass-founders,
who handle and manufacture brass in all its forms,
and who are, in consequence, often paralysed by it ?
Before you proceed with restrictions in matters of
this kind, reflect that Providence has so ordered
it—and doubt whether you can interfere satisfacto-
rily. Above all things (said he, and this particu-
larly referred to the employment of children)—
above all things, beware that you do not introduce
something artificial in the place of those parental
affections which Providence has, most wisely and
beneficially, implanted in the human breast. Beware
lest, in taking this course of legislation, you proceed
to stifle, to drown, to extinguish those natural affec-
tions which are the real and legitimate support and
protection of children."—(Hear, hear.) Such was
the opinion of Sir S. Romilly. Now, the sufferings
of some classes, the misery of others, and the com-
parative wants of all (except those who were born
to the enjoyment of affluence) must be admitted,
must be regretted, and ought to be prevented, if the
means of prevention were in their power ; but how
could they be prevented when they grew out of those
dispensations of Providence with which man must be
content ? If any man wished to ascertain whether
these miseries were confined to manufactures, let him
go into the country—let him view the agricultural
districts. He would there see men, inured only to
agricultural labour growing prematurely old at 40,
and decrepit at 50. They would then perhaps change
their opinions with respect to enforcing restrictions
on manufacturing labour. Let them read the most
lively description that ever was given of the happi-
ness which attended an agricultural life and compare
it with the reality, and he feared the two things
would present a very different aspect. On the other
hand, a poet of great eminence had described, with
all the accuracy of a Dutch painter, what he supposed
to be the wretchedness- of a manufacturing life ; but
if he had lived in a manufacturing district perhaps
he would have drawn a less highly coloured picture.
Now, how far was this course of legislation to be
carried ? Were they to call on the Legislature to
provide so that dropsy should not be the lot of one
man in consequence of his exposure to atmospherical
changes, or that other complaints arising from their
employments should not afflict other men ? Would
any Noble Lord or Hon. Member of the other House
consent to a law which would prohibit his coachman
from driving him to a party and then waiting for him
until five o'clock in the morning, to the inevitable injury
of the servant's constitution ? Were no more races to
be run for amusement, not for the purposes of gamb-
ling (for he did not mean to say anything offensive),
by the introduction of a measure to prevent an infant
from being taken at seven years of age, and half
starved, to reduce him to the condition of a dwarf,
that at-eighteen or twenty he might be of the pro-

It was not fit to repine at it—they might lament it ;
and they should do all they could to relieve it; and
among other things he proposed the removal of all
restrictions from trade.—(" Hear, hear," from the
Opposition.) It was no answer against his argu-
ment, "Why do you not repeal the corn-laws ?" He
did not wish to do the wrong thing, lest he should
injure the effect of the right thing. He was against
such interference, as calculated to produce nothing
but misery to workmen and masters—especially to
the workmen • and it was his business to do his best
to prevent such grievous error, which in those who
governed would be a crime. Their Lordships being
a body eminently Conservative, from their reluctance
to enter upon wild and hazardous speculations, it was
more important sound viaws should be maintained
and kept up, and applied in practice among them.
After a few words from the Marquis of NOR-
MANBY, the petition was laid on the table.
The Marquis of NORMANBY presented a peti-
tion, praying that Parliament would prohibit the en-
listment of boys, under fourteen years of age, into the
army from union workhouses.
THE CASE OF MARY MILLER.

The Bishop of EXETER rose to move for copies
of all correspondence from the Poor-law Commis-
sioners, with respect to the case of Mary Miller, who
hung herself in the Penzance Union. He said this
unfortunate female's moral character had not been
impugned, and having applied to the union for relief,
she was admitted, when the master, instead of
placing her in the probationary ward, ordered
her to be confined in the refractory ward,
or, in other words, put her in prison. After
being in the workhouse for some time, she succeeded
in procuring a situation out of the house as a do-
mestic servant, but was unable to keep it, and conse-
quently was again compelled to apply to the work-
house. She was subjected to the same treatment,
although, being rather superstitious, she begged and
prayed that she might not be confined in this cell, or
if so she would commit some desperate act.
Her entreaties were in vain, and she was again placed
in it. After WM6 time, she succeeded in effecting
her escape into the women's sleeping ward, where she
got into bed along with another female; as soon as
the master was informed of this, he entered the room,
where a great number of females were in bed, and com-
pelled this wretched woman to get up and dress her-
self, when he dragged her down stairs, and with
the assistance of three other persons, dragged her
across the yard without her shoes; and after inflicting
several violent blows upon her, threw her head-
long into the cell, which he locked. In the morning,
a female pauper went to him and told him that
Miller had hung herself, and his answer was let her
hang. Another application was made to him with
the same result ; but upon the third female calling upon