Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1862-08-29
:HE RELIEF UF LANG.i*HIH l..

me RELIEF DF LAEL.i&AlEG.
The cotton famine is s!toc-ther the sa,lr;,t
thing that h4S br.alIen this country for many
Il yeur There have been g!oomy titurS sno;:gh
before this. We have seen Ireland p-risilluC
IRON aclusl starvation, and England l.4it' rum
ed from commercial islreSs. Nal ami re',ei
lion have taken their turn among tue trrualeS
from which great nation can sca.S3ly e.
pecL to he long free. liut in the worst vi
cur c.lamities there has seldom Drcn &C pllia-
HE 4 sight az the manufacturing districts
present at this moment. Where men suii.i.
for their own faults or their own iaii;rfr PIT
mar not be stitied bit still thr.r j; the ,e.i-
ing that stern lesson is being read which
viii snard them III future from tia error
Of their former course. But The so!!iEG nil
llona CT Lancashire, on whUu this last bio1'
mas tslien, have nothing with which to rrpr0ac:.
Themselves, and are suffering with brave con.
staD"y and unexahpled patencr,he re;ricutInn
which IL due 10 the passions " = ,nreiSii j.,,i-
pie and tie narrow policy o, lae,r own :n-
ployees. TheIe - nothing that he t2nnI!y
Gould do T., relieve this iInd-Sef:cd distress
which would not bs & lady ant houuti:aIir
done. bur the great sG!.rasaLlon 0i the .-..'.Gls
IS, That Enytning like l. snbstaTtisl reIeis /:
wholly beyond the capacity III public legi:lG-
ton or private nunihcente. The cuhscr!ption
OF the wealthy, and the Intervention u! Par
lament, can Al most give relief 10 physical
distress. but nothing short Of the resto, a!nji.
OF their Did Industry Can rrsa"rTe the sturdy
lsbGrcrl Of the manufacturing. districts
from Tie shame OF paupeT;sn, III acs.a:a The
independent spirit which has taught tnercl
to b.gr calamity H: nc population ever borai.
before. 20 one you'd for iuomen. Eint
that it is any d!g-aee 10 them To accept sssis-
tance from charitable fund, Oh ever. 10 b.
cone recipients vi Poor-lAw relie,. Help AZ
such Il tins mag we'll be claimed Is right,
but nc reasoning Cal! prevent the men them
selTes from feeling IA depreciation the loss Of
thsir position AZ independent, =1li-5ustslG!nE
members OF the communlty.
Every one feels that renewed wosk - II.
only possible restorativt and, knowing tbs,
there is still. 10 plan To Re devised bht the
raising Of subscriptinn-fucd AID Tic ir!-
pre-, einent al the machinery Of Poor-L;s
taxation. The very TACT which wsU Insisted
on in the recent debatsE, that the rates il. dil-
trai'sct dlatficta ara Scarcely higher thsc tLe
oIdinsry Tatee in msny agricultural districts,
is itself proof Of the hard struggle which
the Factory hands have maintained 20 saTe
themselves froI falling &c the !ege! 81 actual
peuperistu. The hccurnu lstsI boards Of tie
SayiGgs' Banks have hee.: draw ui,t wsrt;
after week, To supply tho means OF 1sily
existence; .he smaller ra.e-psveTs tnen-
Selves have become unprecedented br no
ruin OF their best customers; and before
long the existing rcsourt.a threaten IL coli
lapse into an almost universal Paurari5iI,.
Of the two plans proposed Tor increasing IL.
efficiency Of the Poor Law, that which the
Government have selected IL iIQuesIionnpiy
the right ono 10 b.gll with, whether it may
or Hay not suffice 70 meet the whole difficult
ty. An impoverished district may be aided
either b. spreading the area for relief over
widsr tract, or by thro wing the taxation over
future period. To call il the aid Of neigh
boring parishes and unions is at once fglrfr
and wiser than t. load the most distressed
parishes with heavy debt which would
cripple the efforts OF mary years TO come. It
would be Jolly 10 draw Upon the future until
all present resources have been exhausted !;
and the aggregate wealth oi Lancachire - sc
enormous that il Ray be hoped that,
b. distributing tile bdrten with something
ike equality, the neai's viii BIZ iorni TO tee
thr rough the bad times without leaving II
Legacy OF DEBT 20 postcTity. Still there II 10
good reason Why power To Use both sluerna-
tiveB should not lie taken, even lhoIgL it
might not be necessary to resort to lrah.--
But il is impossible TO do more than this /! Is
there no Resource tG.be found bit this wretch
ell der.or alizine system OF doing out relief
If & cottoT. blight hal destroyed the crop
throughout the world, ii would Do paipah!y
hopeless to struggle against the disaster; but
the cruel part of the case is that while tLa
operatives are starving in forced idleness ;he
material esista in sbundAnce i1r supplying
than. With work and filing their homes wiki
plenty. More than thi,. tus cotton uoc 1niy
exists, but it iS within reach ii t:,a fiEtt
means we're not u2ed to br:1g 1t here.-
For such Al, enterprise, charitable association
is in vain, aud national interposltior would
end III certain failure. ComuieTcsl nc
ton Is the only power which can
bring the co,;on Of distant coTDtrlee in
sufficient abundance to set the industry CT
Manchester once more in activity. TIE mill
owners, who are nost deeply implicated il
the r1sks of the present time, have had The
6SIsS 10 zee luhL ING Sofeiuuiout ShHuOt GtEc
uron itself the functions which belong 10
private traders; and in spite oil the sugges-
lions of two OF three Of her former leaders,
Manchester has distinctly repudiated all idee
OF Government interference with tbs course
Of trade. The Chamber of Comm=r@a Of
that once energetic town has resolved that
abundance Of cotton can be- had IRON india
thsI sny direct intertereuce b. Government
or - private associations, b. purchasing o.
guaranteeing = price for cotton. would DC
unsound and unsuccessful anu thst the
only public aid which is possible Ii thai
which the Gcrernmen. OF ladia can a1io1d
by works OF irrigation, roads. o. Railways.
snd By periectiny the lave Of contract AMI
land tenure
So far as any public acton IS can'srned' -
one will question the wisdom ofthsse conciu-
sons eccn without 1radiDg the elaborate ar
gu.neht with which The Chamber III commerce
prefaces its resolutions. Il is clear that the
Government, which is spending l2,VQu:0Q0t a
year upon railways ami other public works,
and has already removed all trammels from the
tenure Of land, has done, or is doing, all that
lies within its province. The Manchester Cham