The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-11-27
From The Boston Post.

have SAID IN my former letter that the phllantnfo-
pists of England were fur GIFTED, seeing objects at
a great distance and overlooking those near at
hand. | also stated that thousands of her ma
jesty's subjects were bought and sold within the
period mentioned in MIR. Thompson's letter. |
need scare ely remind your readers that there is
great many ways of buying and selling human be-
ings besides that old fashioned, ana nearly obso-
lee one, of putting them up ut auction, and knock
ing them down to the highest bidder. BY way of
illustrating my meaning, will give you an ex-
ample of an Improved method of disposing of this
kind of stock.
In this instance, the reader will please to observe
that a government officer agent is substituted
for the auctioner house in Manchester for the
office large portion of the Anglo Saxon race
is the commodity sold, and the .4bolitiolsis the
purchasers.
beg to refer the reader to the first annual re.
port Of the poor law commissioners, appendix
(C,) where he will hEd letter from Edmund Ash
worth, ESQ.,, a wealthy cotton manuiac. urer, and
a Saunch .9boliliomiSt from which make the fol-
lowing extracts
" Turton, near Bolton, 9Th Of 9Th month, 1884.
'tRespected friend, T.. Chadwick Il take the
liberty 0. forwarding for consideration tesS OBJ
servatons on the poor law bill, the leeoing
principles of which most cordially approve.
-" would not venture to suggest an opinion to
you, who have already so ample a store of evil
d+nce, were it not that feel 50 much the past M
po'tance Of the subject.
Full employment in every department was never
more easy to be found than now, consequently
wages have advanced in most operative employ
ments, and particularly so in the least sklltul.
\ This bespeak KS scarcity or luborers here; at
the same time great complaints are made of sur
pl population in the agricultural countless whilst
here our deficiency is made up by vast influx
from rland, Of ignorant, disseminated, and turou-'
lent people. 1t is often the practice
here, if a mill owner is short of work-people, to
Apply co overseers of the poor and work-houst s,
for families supported by the parish; of late this
has not al ways been attended with success; Messrs.
--, (these manufacturers are supposed to
be the Messrs. GreggO who are extensive cotton
spinners and manufacturers, having two establish
ments in Cheshire, and three IN Lancashire, have
like ourselves, been in this practice many years.
and being this spring short Of hands ut most Of
their establishments, sent a person who had oc-
casionalIy gone out for them, during period Of
twenty years, TO seek families IN the nelghborng
Parishes; but this year he could not find an over
seer in all the county Of Cheshire, who was
willing to allow (compeD family to leave his
parish.
am most anxious that every facility be given
10 the removal Of laborers from one county to
another, according to the demand for labor this
would have tendency to equaze (reduce) wages,
MS well as prevent in degree some of the turnouts,
&c, which have been of late so PREVALENT
1t will be seen that the letter is do'o' "I$t TWEEN
tv-fve days before the memorable 'I,tu august
1884, when, an .3boliionist, tn, .r'', ~. Iid,n
all proOaD!lly, De Rejoicing III ItH! al ''acH
of that period when portion q inr tot,H.. ares
of the West India Islands, for " tu,n h. i | la
bored So hard, were about to gan tH'i, 'erty.
The objects Of his sulcitude, as mentioned in the
letter. is hot ignorant, discontinued and turbulent
people from Ireland, but the surplus population
from the agricultural counties of England.
| shall make another extract from Il letter writ
ten by llobert Hyde Gregg, ESQ.,, another cotton
manufacturer, and ABoLlTioNIsr, to Edwin Chad
wick, esq, secretary to the poor law commits sion.
Manchester, l7ta September, 1884.
have for some time thought Of addressing you
on the same matter az my friend Ashwortl did
some time ago, viz the proprety Of opening
between our (strange to say I'M
Ierpeoped districts and the southern overpeopled
ones.
1t Is at tins moment a most important sugges-
tom, and deserves 10 be put into immediate ope-
rntion
At this moment our machinery III one mill has
been standing for twelve months for want of
hands In another mill we cannot start our new
mac Emery for the same want,
The suggestion would make is this that some
official channel of communication should be
,pened in two or three OF our large towns WIN
your office, to which the overcharged parishe;s !
,,,;cbt transmit lists of their families. Manutac- !
turers short OF laborerA, starring new concerns,
might look over the lists and select as they might
REQUIRE (ror the variety Of our wants is great, |
large families or small ones, young children, or
II this could be done, doubt not in a short !
time, as the thing became known and tried we
should gradually absorb considerable number Of
the surplus laborers Of the South.
The English laborers are much preferred to the
Irish and Justly So We cannot do with refuse
population, and insubordinate paupers Hard
working men, or widows with families, would be
in demand"
The reader will please to observe the sor, of
people wanted
A great many other letters from manufacturers,
nearly all of whom were Aboitonsts, might be
quoted, did our limits allow.
''They all express the same sentiments viz,
that it is impossible for too many hands to be
sent-they are wanted, and must be had.
The poor law commissioners, after celebrating
upon the above suggestions, issued the following
circular.
The poor law commissioners are desirous OF ia |
oshtating it, (the removal Of families) by every