The Sun.
London, England, 1820-05-13 00:00:00

DISTRES AT BIIINTINGHANT.

Mr. DUGHALE preSet)ted a pefilion from Bir-
mingham, praying, that an inquiry might be in-
stituted to ascertain the causes Of the distresses
prevailing. in the nianofacinting classes. The dis-
tress said to exist in the petition, the lion. Gentle-
man. clserved, did not seem to it,.! exaggerated.
Mr. BROUGHAM said, he had been invited to
give I.i sopport to this Petition, and he could
,state so much in favour of it, that a more respec-
table body of individuals did not exist than the
persons who signed this Petition. They were
;not connected with any party whatever in politics.
:With' respect to the pray..rs of the Petitioners, lie
could not help.statint: his opinion that their ap.
.plication to that Hose was not the proper mode
to be pursued. He said this as the result of ex-
perience and reflection, being fully convinced that
a Parliamentary inquiry could not -he satisfactory
to the wishes of the Petitioners. tie thought his
Majesty's Ministers, horn the superior means they
1)4(1 of inquiry and of bringing the matter before
the House, were the best channel through which
to pursue an object of this description. He wish.-
however, that he was not obliged to add,
that the present Administration was not a very
Hittiy one to follow that plan with success. He
said this without the slightest view of a factious
nature. It was , his real opinion that there was
-no one party in that House sufficiently strong to
form an Administration in the present exigencies
of the country. _ _

'r. SPOONER thought the last sen'eece of the
Right Hun. Gentleman's speech rathur out of
place in a question of the kind that was before
the House. He hoped the Petitioners would ever
pursue the constitutional way they were now pure.
suing in stating their grievances to the House. A
coutparison of the Poor's rates paid a few years
back, and those paid now, woeld be sufficient to
show the distressed state of the Cottony. In
Birmingham, in 1816, the Pool's rates paid for
the foui• first months tamOunted to 5,5571.;
for time corresponding -four months in the
present year, they were 10,810/. The same dif-
ference %with! he found in all the other branches.
He was sorry to have to relate a tact
which had come to his knowledge in a
letter he bad received from a friend in the neigh-
bourhood of liirtnitigham. His friend informed
him that the mailers abont VOttley, Scarborough,
and Stowhridge; all lett their work last Monday,
and were. going about the country rioting, saying
they could pot live in any other way, and it was
much feared the iron-workers and colliers were
about to join them, which they had threatened
they would. These deluded. men ‘tvere pursuing
the very worst means for gaining the consideration
of the Hots; but he hoped they would therefore,
be more ready to lend an antntive ear to the
complaints of those who did tint riot.

Mr. Banucixam and Mr. SPOONER mutually ex-
plained ; and the petition was ordered to lie on
the table, and to be printed.

GAME LAWS.

It was ordered, on the motion of Lord CRAN.
BOURNE, gist there be hid before the House an
Account of the Number of Prosecutions last year
for Offences against the Game Laws.