Star.
London, England, 1821-05-09 00:00:00

Mr. CALCR AFT attributed the main evils attend.
ing the poor, to the inadequate price of lah,,sr, in
consequence of the increased taxation, and the
tional Debt. For as that had increased, the price uf
agricultural labour had decreased, while the priced
corn had incteased. If they were not prepared to
make an increase in the price of labour,' they could
never hope for a decrease of the Poor Rates. Hewn:
glad to find, however, that there was an intention or
returning to an administration of the Poor Laws ar
the reign of F.iizabeth. 1k should make Ito opposi.
tion to this Bill, though he did not view the present
state of the Poor Laws with that despondency with
which in an y gentle men looked at it. He did not see that
there was so much enervating want of industry, or
loss of morality, produced by them. The same thing
was said of this law above seventy years ago.
Mr. S. BOURNE was glad that this subject had
been taken up by so excellent a workman as the Hon.
and Learned Gentleman; and he concurred in the
great principles laid down by him. The proposed
system had been fully tried, and found to succeed, in
the Isle of Wight. The establishment of Select Ves-
tries had materially reduced-the Rates wherever they
had been formed, though that system had been le-
-1 sisted in some parts of the kingdom. As to the se.
cond Bill, he thought it would correct all the evils
of the Poor Laws; because the Poor were indifferese
whether they were maintained by a Master or by the
Parish. He should give every assistance to his Ho.
nourable and Learned Friend.

Mr. MONCK compared this system of the Port
Laws to the Spencean system ; for they silently al.
lowed Gentlemen's rents to be applied to the maia.
tenance of the poor in their Parishes. Still he was
not prepared to deprive the poor of the rights and
protection which they now enjoyed. It was to the
Taxation and Debt that he attributed the distress of
the P,oor. It was, therefore, in their name that he
'called for a decrease in the Malt Tax, and an also&
ticn of the Corn Bill.

Mr. MANSFIELD thought it was impossible to
oblige the poor to rernaia in parishes where they did
not wish to be.

Mr. PHILLIPS had a presumption in favonrof
this proposition.
_ _

Mr. itlCAltbo was pleased to find that the pre.
sent plan propose.l to do away with the litigation of
which the former plan was the great source. Be.
sides, it would give the labourer a fair chance of
finding a remuneration for his work. Then all the
evils of the debt and taxation would fall on the rick
and not on the poor.

Mr. M. A. TAYLOR highly eulogised the priori.
ple and tendency of his Learned Friend's proposition,
which he thought would be productive of great good.
Leave was given to bring in the Bill, which Pir.
SCA fiLETT accordingly brought in; and on moving
that it should be read a first time, the Learned Gen.
tieman took occasion to animadvert upon some ob.
serrations which had been made as to the principle
of the measure. A gallant Friend of his had al.
served, that it was calculated to affect the rights MI
interests of the poor ; but he could declare that if it
had any such tendency, or if it was calculated in aay
degree to interfere with the independence of the
poor, no man would he more unwilling to introduce
or to support it than himself. But he had quite a
contrary impression ; and as to the rights ot them
he thought it a most fatal maxim to inculcate that
the poor had an unlimited right to parochial aid—
(Hear, hear, hear).—The Bill was then read a first
time, and ordered to be read a second time on the
24th instant.