The Sun.
London, England, 1819-03-26 00:00:00

WORCESTER ELECTION.

Mr. FRANKLAND LEWIS stated, that in the
motion of which he had given notice for that day,
his object was not to discuss the merits of the
"Worcester Report, bin to view the question pros-
pectively. Some difficulty existed as to a know.
ledge of the reg n.at.mis atisine in such citcom-
stances tinder the Grenville Act. He should
however, at some future dJy, bring forward the
subject ; at present, Ire muved that the Order be
discharged.
The SPslr.l2.rt adverted to the Statute of the
'2Sth of Majesty, which prescribed the course
to be puistied where petitioners who had entered
into recognizances (lid not present themselves, or
by th_vir agents and counsel, wif hin on 2 hour after
the meeting of the Select Committee. hi every
stir!) case the j,c+ioners made defaidt in their re-
mid it bccatri- the dirty of the Spedivr
1) (Cl ti;v default to the Court of Exchequer
tilr ,as not aware that af,y ezise .ccorre,l wider
thi. Act bet.r.; of coarse his line of duty' was.
roiTeu I.ear

'nit Order k‘:as then dischar,t4t.(l.

SI;TTLENIENT OF THE POOR.
Mr. Si ueoes BoURNB lose for leave to hung
in a nil: to regulate the Settlement of 'the Poor.
The Hon. Member took an historic view of the
erigio of tl.e Law of Settlement, ft om e
o the 45tit
the reign °I Elizabeth, „when it was enacted,
.
tea! every en •t maintain es owl; poor,,
hecanse it must know :vho they were ; to the Acts'
of the 13h and 14th Of Chides the Second, which.
went to correct evils aiising from pastes having
fielded 'ltems:Ayes in various Parishes, that, fiotn
local circtonstances, held out inducements for mi-
gration. The House would not be suit prised to
tear thet numerous inconveniences followed these
enactments. And in the reign of NVilliam 111. a
palliation %Vas introduced to oh%lite them, by
which certificates were granted to labourer' who
left their parishes, by the Ovetseets sue! Magis-
trates, in order that if they became., in the places.
to which they migrated, chargeable, they were to
be returned back and maiotained. These certifi-
cates were at the option of the Overseers arid Ma-
gistrates, and, as most be obvious, such an expe-
dient increased the inconveniences of the system.
It would, perhaps, be scarcely credited, that for
upwards of a century, and during the best periods
of our his7ory, when the liberties of the people
were supposed to be best protected. it teas in the
power or the Magistracy to remove ever labour-
jog man aeainst his ‘eill front the place where he
was industtiously employed to the parish whence
be migrated. Such, however, was the law until
1793. when rite late Mr. Rose, in his Bill for
the.eneontagtnlent of Friendly SOCiettel,introdUC-
ed a clause which exempted those persons who be-
came menthers from being subjected to that rey
'noval. in 1793, Mr. East, the present Judge of
Calcutta, hrought in the law which prevented
the removal of any labourer until he became
chargeable. And yet it was surprising that those
“ihirlh effected such an important change,
passed almost sdu .;770;;,11,.'""1=is tile Law nt•3'eVii;
went now stood, the first evil to which he should
allude, was the very great expence that was the
consetiocnce of the removal of those who become
Chargeable. Jr teas felt in every parish, and
tended to produce the next evil,.which was con-
tinual litigation between parish and parish. But
the paramount evil was as it affected the unfor-
tunate person thus removed—torn, as lie might
be, from the place where he had passed the vigour
of his life, nod sent where be was a stranger and
unknown. Instances came to his knowledge of
fishermen being sent into the interior of a coun-
try, anti printers to places where a printing press
was not to be seen. The object of the present
Bill was to allow residence Without the other
circumstances, such as service, renting a tenement
of 101., serving parochial offices, to constitute a
right of settlement. The length of time he would
take at three or five years in the parishes where
they resided, provided the persons had not been
chargeable either in that or any other parish. He
would al.o allow a power to the person claimiug
the right of settlement to give notice of his guar-
ficat ion to the Overseers, and, if opposed, the
power of appeal to the Petty Sessions. After
some other observations, the Hon. Member mover
for leave to bring in a Bill to regulate the Settle.
tent of the Poor.

Air ATKINs %Valour trusted the Honourable
Member would allow the fullest deliberation of
the provisions of his Bill through all its stages.
It was a matter of very grave and serious im-
portance, and lie feared would only have the ef-
fect of increasing all those embarrassments which
at present accompanied the operation of those
Jawc.

Mr. CumEN said, that should the Bill now on-
der discussion in the other House of Parliament
pass into a law, this Bill for the regulation of Set-
tlement became necessary. s At the same time be
felt it would he an act of great injustice and
cruelty to deprive those of their right to settle-
ment u ho woe now in progress to obtain it either
by service or the other circumstances, which the
proposed law would take away. The operation of
the Bill he felt would be beneficial, although he
believed it would excite considerable agitation,
particularly in the large towns. But it was int-
pos.ible in the conflict of interests to pass any
measure of advantage without some abuse attend-
ing it. As he before stated, he believed the pro-
posed measure would operate beneficially, dimi-
nish the exprnces of litigation, and add to the
happiness and comforts of the labouring people.
Mr. WESTERN expressed himself friendly to the
proposed Bill, because it went to diminish the

ifficulties which stood in the way of persons re-
, moving their labour to those places where such
labour would be best rewarded. Nor, indeed,
would he have been startled at the proposition of
doing away settlement altogether. It would then
he obligatory to support the helpless and impotent
within their parishes, hts because that effect follow-
ed, the total number of the poor would not be in-
cre,:sed, whilst all the expellees of the present sys-
ttu4 would cease. 14.1 e sole question then would

,e, ie applicant was entitled to the rehtt
rhich he sought. He apprehended that there
wool() be a great cry out against the measure ; lie
agreed, however, in thinking it wotild in its
operation be found to be beneficial. The poor
ought to have toe power of moving according to
their own notions of advantage. In that case the
existing struggle and competition of parishes,ticea-
sinned by the shifting of settlements, would be
wit an end to, Under the present circumstances,
the assistance derived by the labourer from the
Poors' Rates, added to his Own earnings, did not
put him in possession of what he ought to receive
for his labour. The present compulsory system
was most injurious to him. The Magistrates
having the po'wer of fixing the amount of the
Pours' Rates, did, in tact, compel the employer
of the labourer to
.give him whatever sum they
thought prorr.. The price of labour, like the
price of every other commodity, ought to he al-
lowed to find its own level. If the purchaser of
labour were compelled to pay more for labour
than at the moment he chose to pay, the labourer
WMIIII refliaii) Impmnloyed. What would he
thought of a law interfering with arid regulating
the price of provisions ? Any attempt of that na-
ture would be consicered almost 1111. act of 11)5a-
nifv, kVheoever any thing of the kind had been
tried, it had produced the or most and
1'3,1 enhanced the price of the article that was the
softject of the experiment. Instead of making
willing, it made cautious and reserved purchasers.
Ile contended that, speaking in the aggregate. the
Poor Laws were most injorions to the poor, The
po,wr were, upon the ,vin'tle, losers by the present
compulsory system provided for 01C111 ; and did
not earn so much as they otherwise would.

Ler
tl

• After a few words troll) Mr. Utts, the motion
was agreed to,

MIAAPPLICATION OF POOR-RATE,;.

Mr. S. BounNE, on moving for leave to bring
in a Bill io prevent the misapplication of Poor-
rat es, remarked that the particular object to
which he requested the attention of the House,
was in the case of children whose parents were un-
able to support them. As the law now stood, great
evils arose in many cases, where, the labour ache
parents being insufficient, their wages were made
op from the Poor-rates. It was well-known that
Parish money was frequently squandered in
most abominable manner ; and this evil, among
otherf,, it %VHS intended to prevent. The system he
had to recommend was that which bad some years
Since been proposed by Mr. Locke ; it was, that the
children so circumstanced should be placed in a
Parochial School, where they would receive the
benefit of education in addition to being trained
to habits of industry. There was a strange no-
tion that this would be a harsh measure, but he
could nor imagine site!' would he 'the case.—
Would there be any thing Wittman in thus
providing for them itt the parish wherein their pa-
rents resided I This regulation, which he con-
sidered of the utmost importance, would prevent
those shameful deductions m the wages of the la-
bourer, and imposing the expellee on die parish.
Mr. N. CALVF.RT agreed ••,hb the Hon. Gentle-
man in the abuses that previtled ; in his owl, pa-
rish, where no such tegulation existed, the poor
were in a much lactter.conditi•nr.

Mr. MaNsriett) objected to the Bill as far As it
.
"
traits in“olf:P. ding - - :ad i"
whose children would be thus provided for. lie
had been for many days et gAged in a Commitiee,
to inquire into the complaints of a numerous class
of mechanics ; these persons were. in WI employ,
which was proved by the admission of their
masters, and yet, after fifteen hours labour each
clmY, they could nut earn more than Gs. or 75.
per week.

Mr. Ricmint) thought the great evil arose from
the circumstance that the wages. for labour were
insufficient ; the present Bill did not appear to
him to meet this evil, on the contrary, it ap-
peared rather to increase than to diminish them.
Mr. MAXwELL thought the Mil would Operate
against early marriages, for in many cases those
were contracted rather for assistance in trades,
than for the purpose of educating the children.
Leave was then given to bring in the Pa.