The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-05 00:00:00

ATMOSPHERIC RAILWAY.

Mr. SHAW moved that the petition of Joseph
D'Aguilar Samuda and Samuel Clegg, the inventors and
patentees of the atmospheric system of railways, be
printed, with the votes.—Agreed to.
SLAVE-GROWN SUGAR.
Mr. THORNELY wished to put a question to the
Right Hon. Gentleman at the head of the Government.
He ha'i been informed that on Sunday, the day before
yesterday, an American ship, called the Franconia,
arrived from New Orleans with sugar from Louisiana,
the produce of slave labour, and the captain stated that
more was on the way, The question he wished to ask
was, whether, as this was the first importation of sugar
from America, and the produce of slave labour—whether
it would be admitted at the same duty as sugar from
China, Java, and .Manilla, which was produced by free
labour ?
Sir R. PEEL said that the lion. Gentleman should
have given him notice of the question. If he put the
question to-morrow he would give the best answer he
could.
FIELD G ARDENS FOR THE POOR.
Mr. COWPER said that he thought he had brought
this subject before the House during the last session;
the period at which it came under consideration prevented
it from receiving that consideration which its importance
required. His object was t) attempt an extension of the
garden system in this country. And seeing that there
was of late a strong desire on the part of the Legislature
to attend to the interests of the poor, he thought it time
to bring the present subject under the consideration of
the House of Commons. And though it was said that
they could not benefit the condition of the poor by direct
legislation, he thought that if the wisdom which was
collected within the walls of Parliament applied itself to
the subject, it would not fail of finding some rt medy ;
and, at all events, it was to the Legislature that the poor
themselves looked, for to no other quarter could they
look for relief from their distresses. While the
wealthier classes of the country had made great advances,
there wa, no proportional progression ~n the part of the
working classes ; and though, in comparison with the
working classes in other countries, they were not bad;y
off, yet, looking to their real and absolute condition, no
person would contend that it did not require ameliora-
tion and improvement.—(Hear, hear.) He thought it
was in their connexion with land that that improvement
was to be sought—(llear, hear)—for that connexion
was an important ingredient in the well-being of the
working classes. In former times, all those who were
above the condition of serfs had their cottages with a
portion of land attached to them. lie did not know that
Goldsmith was right when he said—
. Ere England's woes began,
When every rood of ground maintained its man."
But there could be no doubt that the great change which
was made in the sixteenth century brought great
disasters upon those who were connected with land, and
was the cause of six rebellions in the reign of Edward
VI. Since that time a vast number of Inclosure Bills
were passed. The system of consolidating farms, and
the gradual change which had taken place by giving up
the system of leases upon life, contributed to take from
the poor man the interest which he had previously in the
land. There was much to be said about cottage farms,
and much against it, but with respect to that they had
nothing to do. The Bill he proposed now to introduce
provided that parties should not occupy more than half an
acre, and the probability was that under its provisions the
parties would not have more than a quarter of an acre
In his opinion, it was most desirable, that the labourer
should have some connexion with the land, because it
created an increased desire to cultivate it—(Hear,
hear)—but what he most considered was, the moral
effect that it would produce ; it would afford amusement,
it would renovate health, and it would improve the
mind and faculties of the occupiers of cottages, and small
portions of land. There was no attempt made by the
Bill to force any person to carry out its object. The
Bill was rather of an auxiliary character. It provided,
in the first instance, that there should be a public
meeting of the inhabitants of the parish, to consider
the propriety of adopting the plan. Then officers were
to be appointed who were to have certain powers
to carry out the object among the labouring classes; and
then a provision for the case of inclosure. There could be