Star.
London, England, 1821-06-08 00:00:00

I'OOR RELIEF BILL

Mr.CURTIES presented•a Petition from the Pa..
risb of Robertsbridge, Sussex, stating the Petitioner,'

Mr. BROUGHAM agreed in most of what had
fallen from his Honourable Friend, and especially in
the opinion, that if the Bill of the Hon. Member for
Peterborough, or any measure founded on the same
principles, was adopted, a corresponding alteration
in the whole system of the laws 'elating to the Poor
must take place. It was beyond all doubt that the
Legislature could not begin and end With this Bill.
All the laws relating to the Poor, and connected with
them, would be much affected by this ll.eastire.
There was another difficulty to be considered as
arising out of it—namely, that it would establish two
classes of Poor, the one receiving parochial 'die,
and the other not, the latter arraltement proceeding
upon the principle of Mr. Malthus. lf, then, this
principle were carried into operation, he agreed en-
tirely with his Honourable Fiiend, that it would be
the most tyrannical course the House could take to
retain the present prohibitory laws against begging.
If it were wise to allow the creation of two classes of
Poor, as before mentioned, the new law must have
a two-fold aspect—and as it founded the means, of
relief in the one case, so ought it not to withhold it
in the other. He merely threw nut these rental ks to
shew the House that the subject was full of difficts ties.
He ought to mention, while on his legs, his opinion
of the propriety of coupling with this Bill Lei tain
measures of preparation, not enacted by ply of long
notices to the country, but such as, being carrie' into
immediate operation, would tend to render the Poor
Relief Bill safe to the Police of the country, as well
as sale and beneficial to the Poor themselves. It was
needless for him at this opportunity to enter into the
Consideration of the nature of these measures. He
would satisfy himself with alluding to the two prin.
cipal ones—namely, emigration and colonization.
(Hear, hear).—And he would recommend to every
Gentleman wishing for infinmation on these two im-
portant points, to possess himself of an excellent
Pamphlet, lately published, as containing very sound-
views, and more practical reasoning upon those sub-
lects than he had seen in any other publication. It
ikewise detailed the results of two very curious etre-
riments in colonization, the une made in Ireland, and
the other in Holland.

Mr. S. BOURNE concurred most cordially in
every word that dropped from the Honourable and
Learned Gentleman. Undoubtedly, he felt the ne-
cessity there would be, in case this Bill na- assented
to by the House, to. remove the re•traints against
begging now existing, in favour of those I:err.oos from
whom the new law withheld relief. The Right Ho-
nourable Gentleman dwelt upon the propriety of not •
allowing Magistrates to interfere with the adminis-
tration of the fluids of the poor, especially after the
law passed, which would limit the amount of that fund.
Mr. HARBORD felt it necessary to state that he
could not, as yet, concur in the propriety of enacting
the present Bill. He owned that he was not prepared
to admit the policy of the principle of Mr. Malthus,
now about to be carried into practice, and he had no
hesitation in stating his opinion that the principles of
that writer were shaken by a late elaborate work
from the pen rf Mr. Godwin.

Mr. BIiOUGHAM said, he had heard with great
pleasure an Honourable Member on the other side ex-
press his hopes that this question would not be met
with clamour, nor attempted to be got rid of by
angry and prejudiced invectives—rllear). It was a
question of science, and not o::e rf a factious nature,
and should riot be agitated upon grounds which had
no connection with it, which he saw was the case out
of doors rather than within doers; and that, too, in a
very unprincipled and short-sighted way—(Hear).
Alter a few words from Mr. MaxwELL and Mr.
HARBOR]; the Petition was ordered to be pi inted.