The Statesman.
London, England, 1823-06-12 00:00:00

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11.6616
Ihr. BENNET said if the preaelliilaws Were repealed.
e silk sannfactere would decline throughout the ki • •
om. Tie danger of a numerous sad unemployed
f mansfactitringivrOiltmen in a hsefre capital was gen
ralipacknosviwkweel, and yet thebill of the Right Hon,
Gmetiernan rota have the effect of increasing that *till
etpmsent numbers w A driven from the capital to the
4
-chtllktri in look list oement, whom this Bill would 1
• , mai:. ni:'coist sot sisentleithisimiseW‘a would
lii-tiles. Mthlethan, and he wauld therein Vete for
4......
..•,.. WARGO. after elitoting to. the hsconsletiliate of
behignmeidi•M the tight Honourable the Lord Mayor
'srialfielintieuribli Member for Wiltshire. said that hi ad-
jolitedte sysk of regulated high wages would beer tremevely
p_._shadris
.shad there zooid be Always work eaoegh to gl
. meet, but se this eras not the case.• sloth a system
swig? duff 16 be equally injurious to the master lid the
.weitilsep, He se && a. && lousto repel the inthreselois +broad,
Abet they were Westing injuriously to the wettest+, kV
be was setts
,shat the laws sure in force did more injury
tri Dig *donee than the masters. When there was* emit
.neisl• ni work, it .would be a great advantage tq the wors-
yen; if they could call for higher wages. At remit. when
thiy:did.do, the Magistrates interfered ; and he weld show
mina instances of resielenee on the port of the workmen
to their• decisions. Ile would mention one uaresistible
,feet, which proved the isapolley of the present lawir.—
A 'commodity manufactured in the country was sold in
Landon ter 11.45., the manufecturieg of which in London,
1/0, coustquenre of the Bill of Rates, would cost 11.33.
.Theeffeet of this was, that the manufacture of such arts-
eel could net be earrien oe in London: bat the moment
.the present taws wire repealed. London "meld; from its
great p petition and 'cleaning: ous position, possess a
.proeteriess trade.ln every department of the silk Menefee-
tore. There would Deno longer, he was tended, *ay eons-
,plaints for want of wort. The present alarm mesquite un-
founded,' sr,d be did not hear one good reason given tor de-
laylig thaßill.
• Mr:'". POORE complained of the injustice In leaving
tho Combination Aets ;Mouthed, while the laws peeteetifig
thejoarliesraen were repealed. There were now twelve
thireinsprisoned in Coventry under the Combinatiob Aels,
though the masters, who petitioned in favour of the Right
lion: Gentlemaies Bill, were at liberty to eomtline for the
purpose of breaking their eneageoients and defrauding tie
workmen. Till these Acts were repealed he eertaidly would
oppose the repeal of the-laws now in force In favour of the
workmen. He hid learned from the newspapers that the
masters were week after week endeavouring to make some
arrangements to comptomise the matter ; but this he sitoge-
thee deriled.and was enabled to prove that •it was not the
feet: The lion. Member concluded by expressing himself
ready to support the ArdendnimO.
Mr. BRIGHT said thst though his constituents Were not
interested in the fate of the Bill, yet as the interests of a
eonalderable 'portion of the lower eisse of the people. whose
rights he should always be anxious to protect. were con-
trotted, he felt it his duty not to'overlook them on the pre-
sent occasion. In the Bill of the Right Hon. Gentleman
tbeir interests were deeply involved. and whether its ripel-
y:e was right or net, a Conmilttee of Inquiry ought to be
anted. An lion. Gentleman hat said that he hoped the
lents would grant an inquiry should this House refuse it;
• buffo. did not think they ought to leave It entirely to the
other House. it was their duty, and it was they, therefore.
who ought to call for inquire. lie lamented that they bad
All:owed some parts of• this Rill to pass in silence; but he
bad learned a lesson hom it ; and whenever similar inter-
met *vete involved:in any BM, he would take care to attend
Its progress from the beginning to the end. Wby not grant
i Committee of inquiry now, before any alteration was made
to the present hies, when we had before our eyes the Re-
port orthe Committee in the Rouse of Lords to IBMA, when
elfin was letroduced for the extension of those laws? Se-
veral joureeymen, were examined before that Committee,
abdthe consequence was that the Bill was passed. sod why
new repeal laws, the extension of which was sane-
tioeed by n previous inquiry 1 The House shoad look at
the Bill now before it calmly and deliberately, lest its enact-
ment should he attended with mischievous consequences to
thejourneymen. The Spitalfields weavers were now con-
tented. They had plenty of work, which was daily in-
creasing. end the *hole manufacture was in a prosperous
state. Thee, upon what reasonable ground, he would ask.
bright they to change a system under which so much pros-
perity had grown up. The object was to cheapen labour—
r good one ne admitted ; bat what binefit could be derived
from it. if it were orly to he purchased by the ruin of many
indirstrloes iniividusts 1 The moment this Bill was passed
the masters would Insist upon low wages, and the melee-
thole consequence would be. that those who were now cob-
Vetted and happy would be driven to Poor Rates for sweet,
tekteh would demoralise their habits and degrade them in
own estimation. We ought not to adopt a measure, which
-'mild have such an eir ct, with our eyes open, without an
inquirir, or without any knowledge or information on the
Pet:sleet. and after a Committee had, In 1819, recommended
yie extension of those laws. 'bleb this Bill would repeal.—
The lion. Member concluded by saying the Bill ought to be
poortpored till.nezt Session.
' Mr. HUME said, that he iould not sit still and h ar
ll t speech (lithe Hon. Metnlier for Bristol. It was no
frontier Hear, the workmen should think themselves in-
jured when facts were mis•stated. The Hon. Member
listfthill that the COmmitter, which set in 1818, apProv-
id'of those laws, bat he had the Repart of the Corn-
I/fritter. thade od the 413th of June, WI, and would
show froth it thet the Hon. Member was altogether mis-
'taken in supposing that it approved of them. The
Tian. Member then read some extracts from the Report.
to the effect that the present laws were, the cause of
producing several orders with a variety of prices, and
there were instances of prices being raised which were
teeter redbetd, sad that they had an injurious effect
ifith regard to the workmen, for whenever the trade
wat'cbeekesl, the masters were prevented front relieving
themselves by lowering the wages, end the consequence
'Wag; that that branch of the trade. left Spitalfields.
IT ore , then, were Members warranted in saying that
there wits no inquiry upon this subject? It was fur-
thee stated in the Report, " That it was clear to the
-Cintithittee, that unless some modifications were made in
'the laws, they would be injurious to the trade, the
tecitlen.en, and the masters. He was satisfied that the
.yretilt of the repeal of these laws would be beneficial to
the Wolltfner, and he lamented that they should think
Ihettf injurious to them. He supported the interests of
the poor u strongly as the lion. Member for Bristol,
lit Was'for tWat reason be would Vine for the Bill.so
til he was not t supporter but the opponent of this sma-
tter* who was ad enemy of the pour.
- Mr. untowr etplaitted:
. Mr. CURIVEN said that though lie thought this Bill
*would ultimately bate a beneficial $ ffect, yet the Cons-
'Wooden' stets ought in justice to be first repealed. '
Mr. BiaalCt thid, that as he saw there was no chance
of successful opposition to the Bill, it would be sates.
.fac‘ory if the Bight Hon. Gentleman stated that he
woitti pledge himself to a Committee next Session. for
:the purpose of removing the Combination /tots. He
would support the intendment ; but if the Bill should
he carried, it would be a consolation to. the workmen,
4f the Right Hoe. tient. eve the pledge of a C mit-
Are for the repeal of those .tots they complained • i as
oppressive.
. Mr. iIf;S4iISSON said. that he bail no difficulty in
seplying to the question of the Hon. Member. In
_point of fact, his lion. Colleague had brought in a Bill,
sail there was now one before the House in reference to
these "-Ws. He was an enemy to t onobieation Acts.
.end was ready to assent to a tionsinittee of Inquiry for
the purpose of repealing them This was a• ism 411111,
Aieet not one which was' to be general in its operation.—
Alket what had been stated iry the Chief Magistratt,'
;Wit tie ktil tiouhl he, prejudicial to the wearers of Sr.
tstlields, be/rusted that to not opposing the Coutinittee
so theCoatbisation Acts, lie should stand acquitted ef
411$ deelgn to Were thee primes. In all his 0001/1)1610.
nations with them. be lied soyeriahly !wol:them dis Pee
.4 . a ;roe the si4j•et c.4ll#' t ATIlt dkplriolia*. lilt
owed have no /Se/sutra ustetrewhieret with respect lil