The Sun.
London, England, 1842-07-23 00:00:00

Mr. AsliwoßTH said the pamphlet had been unex-
pectedly brought under discussion that morning during
his absence, and therefore he was not aware exactly of
what had taken place. His object in drawing up that
statement had been merely to lay before the British
Association, on their assembling at Manchester, a view
of the statistics of Lancashire. With reference to the
inquiry made by Mr. Scobell, he begged to state that he
had taken the nominal value of the currency of the
realm, regardless of any change in the value of money
between the two periods. But they should also take
into their calculations the diminution in the value of
articles of clothing. &c., purchased by money, and it
would then be found that the diminution in the value of
clothing was greater than the diminution in the value of
money, so that the owners of rents were in a better
position for commanding the comforts of life than they
were in 1692. To show the increase in the value of
landed property, he mentioned one estate which had
been purchased by the grandfather of the present pro-
prietor for a flitch of bacon and a peck of oatmeal. That
estate was now worth 1,0001. The value of property in
Lancashire had been improved by the intelligence, in-
genuity, and industry of the heads and the hands of its
population, and he exulted on looking at that county, to
see the triumphs that mind had gained over matter.
A change, however, was now passing over them—a
wasting process was swallowing up this prosperous in-
crease, and, if not stayed, would at no distant period
fling back that beautiful county into the waste whicd it
was in former days. They might form some idea of the
great importance of Lancashire, and of the industry of
its population, when he informed them that about half
a million of the working people of Lancashire supplied
one-half the exports of the whole United Kingdom.—
(Cheers.) Surely these men, who were now suffering
the deepest distress, Were entitled to the sympathy of
the country. (The Hon. Gentlemen then went minutely
into the statistics of Boston as given in the pamphlet,
and repeated the statement made by him in the City on
Monday, that the Committee of Inquiry found that
comparing the number of blankets found among a con-
siderable number of distressed families with the number
of persons in those families, the average was 10f persons
to each blanket.) The Conference might wish to know
what was the general appearance of the people in the
town of Bolton. A person entering the town
would see groups of men sauntering idly about ;
their countenances haggard, care-worn, and anxious ;
their clothes torn and patched. Some of these
were men who had been employed in making
the most difficult parts of the machinery of lo-
comotive engines ; these men stood at the corners of
the streets, sullen and heavy, with eyes looking any-
thing but complacently at the vehicles of the wealthy
bat rolled past them.—(Cheers.) Their minds could
not understand why men possessed of skill, and in-
genuity, and honesty, and strength, and industry,
should be suffered to pine in squalid destitution and
misery.—(Cheers.) Many of these people had but
ss. 6d. a week whereon to maintain six persons. Of
that ss. 6d. no less than 4s. Bd. was expended in the
purchase of articles of agricultural produce, and of that
Is. 6d. went in payment of the food tax—so that the
Corn-laws took Is. 6d. out of that ss. 6d. to give to the
landlords.—(Cheers.) The prophecy of the Standard
was in a fair way of being fulfilled. The editor of
that paper had said " England would be as great,
and powerful, and all-useful Englishmen would
be as rich as they are, if one ruin were
to engulph all the manufacturing districts of England."
That was a prophecy—a prediction. perhaps the ex-
pression of a hope, to the triumphant fulfilment of which
they •srere rapidly hastening. He looked upon those
words of the Standard as the expression of a prediction
or a desire, rather than as an observation,—(Cheers.)
Before sitting down he wished to make one observation
on a statement which he had made the other day in the
City. Ho had there stated that the rating of Bolton was
made on a valuation of 84,0001., and that 31,0001. were

in a condition to pay the rates. He had frequently be-
fore made that statement, and it had never been contra-
dicted that he had heard of, until last evening. He had
not been present, and therefore did not exactly know
what had passed ; but he had been informed that it had
been stated that the sum of 31,0001. was not to be consi-
dered as the test of the ability, but of the willingness of
the persons to pay rates. It appeared that a part of the
inhabitants of the town denied the validity of the Char-
ter, and on that account refused to pay the rates. Such
had been' the statement that had been made. He had not
had an opportunity of hearing from Bolton on the sub-
ject, but he thought it right to take the earliest oppor-
tunity of referring to the statement which had been
made.

Mr. HumE, M.P., who was loudly cheered by the
meeting, said that he was happy to think he might con-
gratulate them on the proceedings in the House of Cr,m-
mons last night.—(Hear, hear.) They had been anxious
to obtain from her Majesty's Government a distinct
declaration of their intentions in the present alarming
state of the country. Until last night, however, they
had no definite avowal of those intentions. He thought

that there could now be no doubt as to the
course which Ministers- meant to pursue, or as to the
grounds upon which they would take that course. Sir
James Graham and Sir Robert Peel had admitted that
the distress of the people was great and widely ex-
tended, but they seemed to entertain a lurking hope
that the distress was but temporary, as well as a desire
that the measures they had passed should have a further
trial. Sir James Graham distinctly said that a trial of
those measures had not yet been made, and thatit would
be very unwise and very unreasonable not to give them
an opportunity of ascertaining what might be the results
of the commercial policy they had adopted. Sir
R. reel alleged that he was not prepared to
introduce any new measures, as he expected,
from symptoms already exhibited, a revival of
commercial prosperity. There was no doubt but there
had been of late a considerable increase, as stated by
Sir Robert Peel, in the Custom-house entries. That
circumstance might, however, be attributed to the fact
that a great quantity of goods had been kept back until
the new tariff should come into operation ; and no proof
had yet been given that we could calculate on a per-
manent revival cf prosperity. Sir Robert Peel, in the
course of his speech, had adverted to the in-
crease in our population since the year 1831,
and he showed that that increase had taken place
by the returns of the late census. But the argument
that had been thus used was little better than a fallacy,
because there might be a great increase in the census
of 1831 as compared with the census of 1841, and yet
there might be, as he (Mr. Hume) believed to be the
case, a very great reduction in the number of occupied
houses during the last three years—during the period
which Mr. Heyworth had properly called " the period of
the wasting process." Now he would recommend the
Delegates to endeavour to ascertain, as nearly as they
could, the number of houses in different towns which
had become untenanted since the years 1836 and 1837,
when he took it for granted that all our houses were
occupied. Let them in the same way endeavour to ob-
tain correct returns of the number of mills which had since
a given time been standing still in various manufacturing
towns. 'He thought that such statistical details would
go far to prove the dmount to which our manufactures
had declined, and the consequent destitution of the
working classes ; and those details might be advantage-
ously used in the next debate on the subject of the national
distress in the House of Commons. He should, therefore,
recommend to the Delegates to communicate all the in-
formation they could collect upon these matters to their
supporters in Parliament. He believed it might thus
be shown that the present depression of our trade had
proceeded to an extent never before parralleled. He
was himself persuaded that while every former commer-
cial crisis of this country was but a temporary cessation
of trade, the present crisis was attended with an alarm-
ing destruction of capital. The result of this would be
that, even if trade should revive, they could not avail
themselves of the change, inasmuch as the capital by
which it was to be turned to account was every day dis-
appearing. He was sure that Sir R. Peel himself was
fully sensible of the value of manufactures, as a main
element of the national greatness ; and that appeared
to him to be clear from the Right Hon. Baronet's speech
of last night. He could even tell them that there were
symptoms that Sir R. Peel was a convert to their
opinions, whatever might be his power of carrying them
out. He had but one further observation to make. It
was most important, in his opinion, that some step
should be taken to unfetter our commerce be-
fore Parliament was prorogued.—(Hear, hear.)
If some sound system of commercial policy were not
immediately adopted it would come too late, because
it would be impossible that any satisfactory arrange-
ments could be entered into either with America, or
other countries, for the exchange of our manufactures
for their corn, unless the terms upon which these ar-
rangements could be made were immediately known. He
mentioned this as a proof how necessary it was that
they should make every effort to obtain some concession
from Parliament before the prorogation took place.
Mr. LEwis, a delegate from Stroud, mentioned, as a
proof of the deterioration of manufactured goods, that he
hadjust seen a merchant in the City, who had pur-
chased some go )ds, and whew asked by him the price at
which they were bought, he replied that they would
be cheap at a Ils. a yard ; but the gedtleman assured
him that he had purchased them for 6s. a-yard.--(Hear.)
Mr. HEY WORTH, of Liverpool, read the following let-
ters, received from town missionaries in Liverpool, show-
ing the deep and wide spread distress of the people of
that City :
Copy of a Letter received from a Liverpool Town Mis-
sionary, dated July 18, 1842.
The part of the town in which I labour is in Toxteth-park.
There are in my district about fifteen hundred poor families ;
many of these are in the greatest distress. Daring the five
years that I have laboured in the mission, there never were so
many mechanics out of employment as at the present moment.
There were rather more labourers out of work last winter
than there are now; but the number of mechanics at present
out of employment is very mach greater than it was in the
depth of winter.
The trades that are suffering most' from the want of' work,
are joiners, carpenters, sawyers, blacksmiths, and ehairmakers ;
some of these have been as much as nine months out of work,
others only a few weeks.
It is a very common thing for me, in my daily visits, to meet
with families who have been for two days without food. lam
now speaking of decent families, who used to live comfortably,
and who struggle even now to keep up a decent appearance. Po-
verty has compelled them to part with nearly all their furniture
and clothes, It is a very common thing for me to near such
persons say—We have parted with our eight-day clock, or we
have been obliged to sell our best bedstead, to get something
to eat.
It is very common in my district for mechanics, unable any
longer to get work at their trade, to seek it as day-labourers.
A shipsmith, living in Ashton-street, told me the other day that
he had walked to Argburth to get one day's work at digging
potatoes. A carpenter's wife told me that her husband had not
had one day's work at his trade during the last twelve months,
but that he had lately succeeded in getting a little to do as
warehouse porter. A blacksmith's wife told me that her hus-
band was gone to try to get a job of work at haymaking, for
that he had clone nothing at bis trade for the last ten months.
I generally visit' from twelve to eighteen families every day,
and never does a day pass without my meeting several out of
work.
Chi Friday last I visited no less than eight families where