The Statesman.
London, England, 1822-09-07 00:00:00

Inl •

Woes. the sort of labour prevalent, the extent, awl
rester of the went of employment, sod the *umber
of children usually considered es a ground of relief.
Titree considerations outerally lead to the next great
Ittanch. relief given on account of distress arising front
wont of employment.
In proposing this as nor of the prescribed heads,
your Committertore aware that it may be is twiny pa-.
aad perhaps ought to ba in all, a head under
'thirty no entry should he made; inasmuch as the pay-
•ments mile to persons in this situation 'should be re-
compensed for labour performed, sad so`stated coder
s;ne of the f.trmer beside; or, where the allowance or
wages Ito paid is angmented on seconnt of the sire 'of'
the man's family, then, perhaps is this case as well as-1
;n that of am addition made as the same account
t a man's ordinary wages, the additional charge is to
e recorded as coming nosier the Levi last proposed
Nevertheless, as there may still be cases, ilk whir
money relief is given, without the cooditiou of Iwo
to &hi...bodied men out of employ, your CorWM
*Link it right that the existence anti pecuniary con.
!owe of that practice should be•knowo wb
it is in one.

Wee

Yonr Committee apprehend that there can he so doubt
of the propriety of requiring i 'operate seeming of the
expense of illeritimate children, nor any difficulty In
keeping ir. They refer here, 10 money paid by the
parish for the maintenance of each children, independ-
ently of what my he obtained from parents under tie
laws peculiarly effecting illeeitionsey. Of thou trans-
actions, however, accurate statements should be made,
though not under the present bead.
Your Committee are of opinion, that nnder each ha
a distinction should be made between those who have
permanent allowances. and those to whom occasional re-
lief is afforded. Under the bead of permanent, should
he entered ell stated weekly or monthly allowance", ex-
cept those which being given in respect of occasional
siekness. arc to cease on recovery.
Your Committee are aware that whatever may be the
classifications of relief, somethint will still remain to
be stated as " Miscellaneous." This it is impossible to
avoid ; but it will, in the opinion of your Committee,
he one of the functions of the examining Justices, to
see that this head is not made use of to save the trouble
of arrangement, or to cover expenses, which ought sot
to be incurred. The appearance of a disproportionate
amount of " Miscellaneous," ought always to suggest
the necessity of a more minute examination.
- Your Cansemittee are sensible of the weight of the
ethjectione which o ill he made to their proposed classi-
fication. nn account of the difficulty of ascribing each
payment to Its proper head; and still more on or-
count of the additional labour which it may be ex-
riled in throw upon 0 , and the intelligence
which it will require from them. Your Committee
have already admitted in souse degree, the difficulty
of the classification; and they ate folly prypared to
expect, is tie first instance, mach failure from the
want of eafficieot understaudiag as to what is required
f. ern Overseers; bat they are convinced. that so OW*
Ipris If Me txpenditure, eery far Indeed from pules-
Oen. would nevertheless k (quitrent& turfed. some
districts, their suggestions would probably be carried
into Immediate effect; in others there would be ao
approximation ; sang even in those In which they
should be entirely neglected. there would sot only be
a mammon st lease solemily complete with that which
is new produced. hot the leattendoo to the prescribd
rotes, which would he evident ea towel's'', woad
et cessarily lead to inquiry into the Anode In Web
the law is adiuthistered ; for an inattention to the cor-
rect prieripies of administration, may fairly be in-
ferred from a neglect of the prescribed system of
account.
Where there are Select Vestries, or permaoest sod
paid Overseers, the difficulties will soon be sur-
mounted.
Your Committee have inserted in their Append': a
more detailed plan. conformable to the suggestions
e Lich they have offered. The leading principle of
ti is platy is, that a place should be pointed out, in
the 'a books, in which each payment which be
makes should be entered, so at to be at once, or at
most weekly, placed under the Lead of expeoditnre,
under *kith it is ultimately to stai.d; so that there
shall be 16 ity for selection or Sew gement
at the end of the year, or other period at which the
account may be rendered ; but that the ebsttact re.'
(prey for the justices, or for higher authorities, May
cutu.ist of the totals of the several pages or portions
of the book actually kept by the overseer, to which%
each head will he referred, by figured ambers.
Your CoMmittee are finite aware that this plan re-
quires intl.& consideration and much amendment.
hey are, however, inclined to hope that what, un the
fist view, may appear complexity, will be found, after
a little practice, to lead to simplicity. But they ate
%tin more persuaded that the attempt to keep accounts
in the form, or upon the principle, suggested, will lead
to a better sederstanding, not only as to the mode In
which accounts are or can be kept. hot as to the va-
rious practices obtaining under the Poor Laws its the
esveral wishes.
In retereoce to this variety of practice, your Com-
mi•tee beg leave to annex set of queries, partially
circulated under the sanction of the Committee of
101 7, and which they conceive to be well calculated
to procure very valuable information.
Your Committee apprehend that all former Returns
hire been entirely insecorate as to the numbers of
retools. permanently or occasionally, relieved. The
great difficulty in keeping this account is, to avoid the
repeated enumeration of persons who are relieved
more than once within the year. Your Committee
hope that the plan suggested will infarct greater arca-
...icy in this 'aspect.
It has been suggested to your Committee, that with
a view principally of controlling the parish officers.
a weekly scooant should be required. The propriety
of prescribing and the facility of complying with this
regolation. will probably be various is different pa-
',she", according to their extent and circumstances.
Your Committee to their Report, the plan which
has bees suggested to thm.i for a weekly et,
with the reasons urged fur its adoption. It will be
fused to differ la some respects from that to which the
preceding remarks of your Committee are directed;
but they think it right to submit both to the tonal.
aeration of the Hoese.
Your Committee recommend, that the Overseer's
Rooks of Account, kept in the form which they have
already suggested, should be laid before the Jesting"
in petty sessions, according to the requisition of the
Act of 50 lieo. I 11. sod that it should be actempeoled
by an Abstract, i• the form which they annex. They
think that it should be imperative upon the Justices

THE STA

. ..,
to examine this Ostroff, *ids a view to aocertsiolag
wbetheelt leased' op is the proscribed fora. ape
whether lbe several arithmetical processes wbieb It
contaloa are correct. Auld that they should be moor
over enjoined to take notice of asy statement en the
I fare oteactabstract, %bleb should appose to call for
aoy partitaloe'revaark.
Tie suicidal abstract should, is year Committee's
opinion, Its transmitted to the Secretary of State for
the limo* beiartment, to be, by his direction, honied
into a-general "tweet, and in that form laid before
Parliament. Possibly it might be advisable, Is Use
first inY•aace, to collect the abstracts of all the pa-
Allan in a county, at the Quarter Sessions, or in toe
hands of a county officer ; but whether they come to
the office in bestial, directly from the parishes. or
from the comely towns, your Committee are satisfied
that the abstracts which they suggest will, ewes its
the early stages of their adoption, brio" before Par-
liament a body of ieformation mach more useful than
any which hes hitherto bee. obtained tower& ap-
',prising the legislature of thereat! nature of the' en-
sures( the Poor Rates, and for assisting the legisla-
ture in applying remedies to such of the evils derived
from the Poor Laws, as ate occasioned by a las
..sdnii-
shotratioa. , A'
Your Committee regret, that tiresinstantres have
prevented their making their Report at a Porii4 of
the Sessioa •Itieh admitted of a considentlene of it„
with a view to an immediate legislative seam's;
they are convinced that the 'deploys of their sag-
gestiens would greatly assist the dieetwaios of any
proposition for amending the Poor Leers ; bat deem-
ing it now quite isespediest to recommend the intro-
duction of a Bill, they have directed their Chairman
to move for returns bon the Parish Officers, for the
year 1821-2, in the form adeptethin the last Session°,
including only (for the reason before stated) what re-
.
Imes to wool:hopes. .
Your Committee rats only subunit their sometime
for future consideration; trustiag, however, that they
may be permitted to ob , that if, through the lo-
cal influence of any of the Members of the noose,
the system whirl, they recommend could be lo any
degree carried into effect in particular districts, or if
the more important of the particulars which they de-
sire, could be vested by way of observation, io some
of the Returns to the Order of the lionise% the partial
experiment might be eoninently useful. when the sub.
ject sloall be takes into conyideraion in a future
Sessies. ,
• This Order wee made on the 10th of July, Mil.
TIII7.VDEIi. STORIUS.

The tows and neighbonrhoo4 of Nottiarham were
visited by a tremendous thunder-aorta an Pipeclay the
lth ult. At Lenton two of the t men of Mr. Wil•
kiloton were struck down by the lightning, at the ma-
meal they were awning a bioll into a stable : one of them
rectekerea so as to be able to Oestane his employment in
the coarse of the afternoon ; hat the other was so
stu-
pified, that it became necessary to call in medical assist.
✓une. We arto happy to leant, however, that be is sow
out of danger.aad is enabled to follow his *lOO ecColte•
tion. The lightning struck several bricks Dom the
gablesnd of the stable. melted' the lead ii witidoie
which was *land n. sad kilkd e Awl is din rani.
Moser -Ghoolleve•CW4.
laton, was k lied bi the lig meg.
On Saturday last, about osers'tketke p• ni• the light-
ning struck • stack of old hay, is the stank and of his
Grace the Duke of Portland, at Welhock.teakirg a large
bole through the centre of the stack,: fourteen feet deep
to the earth, and setting tiro to the Sop of the stick ; for.
Innately the alarm was immediately given to the labour-
ers about the premises, and the fire was extinguished
without having communicated with mu- of the neater
otos corn stacks in the yard. There was sot soy length-
ened storm, beta few most vivid dashes of lightniag ac-
companied by tremeadons peals of thunder. and
very heavy rain. The stack atrock woe sot More than
fifty yards from the house of Mr. Thotupoos, the gar-
dener.
On Friday seenight, betweell six esti seven e'abooli
is the teenier, during a looser theorise oterear-ela
lightsiqg was soon to strike the gorse-tyveriog of I
shed in the farm-yard of Mr. Cook, at Morton, about
two miles from Lincoln, which tiffs iisinaliatelr 'ln
flames, and burnt with great fury. Sevetal ranges 6f
sheds and ooahoildings, together with the biro nearly
full of wheat, and a new wawa leetheil In the bare,
were all COOSIUMille..:1100 ke4illtiere War. 0•4 with ell
speed from Liacoln, and the .esost prompt moistener
' was rendered by. numbers of people from I.atooln and
the neighbouring rilliges. lir die ertt.otest exertions,
a number of hay and corn-stacks snore saved, though
the hay-stacks were several tithes on fire, and the fire
was prevented from extending** the grapat yaud
oust, sod was got %oder about tea o'clock. It
communicated to the corn In the hien through • loop-
hole at the end. The quantity of 'Wheat destroyed is
about 50 quarters. It is a vomiter of aitosishinent to the
numerous persona who go to lee thereinto, he* rheaseks
were preserved, being within a very few yastdawf each
an immense body of tire for seesealboars: otrioteseately.
the wind, which was brisk durintimoday.lipodashosided,
or it would have bee. impoesible.
On Saturday afternoon, a shock tot iilrilnglw laid at
Seamptos, belonging to Mr. Coultas, was sal re ire hit
li ehtnkig, but extinguished wishost ape
lied it happened in the night, and doe senbbtejoid core
been dry, it is probable the whohgohl otightlave heed
consumed.
The banks of the Clyde in the vicinity of4iyadford.
bridge were, on Friday afternoon, betaixt Abate and'
four o'clock, visited by the most tresneadons storm of ,
thunder and bail ever witnessed by the oldest inhabit-
ants of that place. Carmichael Mile seemed' to be the
centre of the hail shower. although the rain was one- I
lousily heavy all round. The damage done to the greys
is beyond computation. Oats in some pasts are literal,
threshed. Turnips and potatoes were severally washed. 1
and the crops were much dimageti by tbe Lail. For
hours after the storm, the level leads were white. and
bad the appearance of having been newly and tho-
roughly limed; while on the leads with a declivity the
bail Was run into heaps, and the fields seemed covered
with hundreds of carts of lime. oe rather of twoor three
carts emptied into one heap. During the storm a tree
was struck at Carmichael Miln and a large branch torn
off; and at Covington, three miles distant, the boast of
Robert her was also airsick, a sow killed in the byre. the
hearth-stone broken, and fire-place destroyed. Not a
minute before, his wife had risen from the ire sod gone
to bed with • child who was afraid, sad the ideate in the
door where she had sat were broken to Owe& The
hail was observed on Sunday lying is beeps on several
parts of the road, and even at that time the hail stones
lappeared to be about 3-dtbs of an lath is dist/atter.

We are sorry to leers t►m iediepositloo of the Duke
of W2111'0041. Ws Graeo ham been eoetlarod to'►is
bed for two dap. tie got uy. Issweeer, ow l'bitesday
*Nevem!. and Jt is understood that he wto oeasider-
ably better yesterday.—(.lleraior Cl4roniele.)