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bankers. But the great obstacle was the want of cheap carriage, and he dwelt upon the importance of opening the navigation of the river Godavery, which communicates with some of the finest cotton districts. He complained of the backwardness of the Government to promote this work, and, though he believed they were now in earnest, they were still parsimonious in their supply of money, which, even if borrowed, would yield a large return. But, without English superintendence and capital, good cotton could not be grown in India with advantage; and there must be good water-conveyance. He wanted, then, to know what course the Government meant to pursue, and what encouragement they would offer to English agents. He moved for copies of further correspondence relating to the improvement of the navigation of the Godavery.

Mr. Smollett could not admit the necessity of the Government giving a direct encouragement to the growth of cotton in India. All obstacles, however, should be removed, and the chief obstacle was, he said, the want of a permanent tenure of land, on the principle of Lord Cornwallis's settlement in Bengal. From local knowledge, he professed great distrust in regard to the Godavery scheme, which he pronounced a mad proposition, the river running through an unhealthy country, destitute of timber, and without inhabitants. Before any further expenditure was incurred in this scheme, he thought a Commission should be appointed in India to examine the question in all its bearings.

Mr. Turner would not enter

into the question of the Godavery navigation. It was certain that India did produce cotton, and that grievous suffering was caused in this country by the want of a supply of that material. It was clearly then the duty of Government to give their most earnest attention to the subject. Tranquillity could not be preserved in the suffering districts another winter, as it had been during the last, if some assistance were not rendered to obtain the means of employing the people in the staple manufacture of the country.

Sir C. Wood said he thought Mr. Smith had overlooked the state of the Indian finances, the difficulties with which the Government had contended, and what they had really done. He reminded the House of the large sums expended in India upon public works of one kind or another, and he did not think it wise or politic, he said, to borrow money for such a purpose. He stated the steps which had been taken by the Government to increase the supply of cotton, observing that all the evidence tended to show that the same means which had been employed in the cases of sugar, silk, and indigo, would be equally successful in the growth and improvement of cotton, and he had no doubt, that before long, if a remunerative price were paid for Indian cotton, we should be, if not independent of other countries for the supply of this article, supplied from India to a considerable extent. Whatever facilities the Government could give for the promotion of this object would be afforded. He showed what had been accomplished in improving the means of commu

nication by railroads, remarking that the construction of ordinary roads was difficult, owing to the nature of the soil and the absence of materials. As to the opening the navigation of the Godavery, he had always been of opinion that it was desirable; and, though he did not anticipate all the advantages which Mr. Smith expected from the work, the navigation could be opened, and everything had been done that could be done to complete it. He did not oppose the motion.

Mr. Bazley remarked that a continuation of the present distress for twelve months would result in a loss to the Exchequer of 100,00,000., and he could not think that Sir C. Wood had shown himself sufficiently alive to the importance of reducing the cost of transport of cotton in India, which was at present 100 per cent. on the value of the raw material.

Mr. Finlay said the difficulty of doing away with the middle men, who interposed between the cultivators and the buyers of cotton in India, was, that the ryots were so poor, that they required advances in small sums, for which they could give no security but their crops.

After some further remarks by other members, the motion was withdrawn.

As the Session advanced towards its close, and no signs appeared to indicate either an early termination of the civil war in America, or the discovery of any substitute for the supply of cotton hitherto furnished by that country, the probable condition of the operatives in the great seats of our manufacture in the ensuing winter became a subject of increasing

anxiety. It was evident that, unless some extraordinary accident intervened, nothing could prevent the stoppage of the greater part of the mills, and the almost total cessation of labour in the cotton districts, in the coming autumn. This alarming difficulty was pressed from many quarters upon the attention of the Ministers of the Crown, who, on their part, declared their willingness to adopt any measures that might meet the approval of Parliament for alleviating, so far as it was possible for any agency of Government to do so, the approaching calamity. On all sides a lively sympathy was expressed for the numerous population who, from no fault of their own, were about to be involved in unmerited suffering. At the same time it was felt that the magnitude of the evil was such as surpassed the power of any Government effectually to cope with. The subject was mooted in both Houses of Parliament from time to time, and questions were addressed to the Ministers as to their intention of employing any remedial agency to meet the impending distress.

In the House of Lords on the 12th of May Lord Shaftesbury asked Her Majesty's Government whether they were prepared to sanction any relaxation of the Poor Laws, more especially in regard to the labour test, in order to alleviate in some measure the existing distress in Lancashire.

Lord Overstone expressed his sympathy with the sufferings of the labouring classes in the North.

Lord Granville having stated that the Government were highly sensible of the courage and pa

tience with which the operatives had borne their late and present trials, said the Poor Law Guardians already had the power of dispensing with certain regulations if they thought fit; but, in the event of their doing so, they would have to report the circumstance to the Poor-Law Board in London. It was, however, the wish of those who were busied in relieving the present distress, to be left to their own efforts. An inspector had been sent down to make inquiries as to the real state of the operatives of Lancashire. He was inclined to think that the distress was not so great as had been represented; still, it was very alarming, and he could only express his hope that a cessation would soon take place.

Lord Derby thought the distress most alarming, but the manufacturers were doing all they could to alleviate it, and would continue their efforts as long as funds lasted. In the event of those funds being exhausted, an appeal might be made to the charitable feelings of the country, which would doubtless be warmly responded to. Any demand, however, for public money to relieve present suffer ings ought to be avoided, or only resorted to as a last resource.

In the House of Commons, also, Mr. A. Egerton asked the President of the Poor-Law Board questions respecting the working of the Poor Law in the cotton manufacturing districts, and the Secretary of State for India whether any reductions had been decided on in the Indian Tariff; and, if so, when they would come into operation? He dwelt upon the amount of suffering in Lancashire, upon the diminution in

the stock and supply of cotton, and upon the unfavourable prospects of the future, and he suggested some relaxation of the Poor Law in the districts in question.

Sir C.Wood intimated his belief that the report of the reductions in the Indian tariff was correct.

Mr. Villiers, concurring in the description given of the extent of suffering in the cotton districts, and of the noble manner in which it had been borne, stated the measures he had taken in anticipation of the effects likely to result from an interruption of the supply of cotton, and to mitigate the evil when it arrived. In replying to the inquiries and suggestions of Mr. Egerton and Mr. Potter, he observed that the Poor Law could not undertake to relieve persons who did not seek relief, and whom private agents would do well to bring under the notice of the poor-law authorities, who had the power, under special circumstances, to relax the rules in respect to the administration of out-door relief. But he believed the people in Lancashire would rather work than receive relief without work. Looking at the rateable value of the county of Lancaster, there were at this moment ample resources in the public rate. That rateable value amounted to no less a sum than 7,298,000l., and, assuming that the demand for relief would go on at the same rate as for the last four months, it would only be 1s. 10d. in the pound. The Government, he added, had instructed experienced persons to proceed at once to the cotton manufacturing districts to ascertain whether the guardians were in want of information as to the proper administration of the

Poor Law, and to correct any misapprehensions on the part of the local authorities.

Mr. Bright said, although there was great and growing distress in the districts in question, it was not so universal as many supposed, owing to different branches of trade being carried on in different towns. The distress in the county of Lancaster in 1840 and 1841 was very much greater than at this moment. All that Go vernment could do would only mitigate the evil, and Mr. Villiers had acted humanely in inciting the liberality of the guardians; but there was an immense amount of wealth not touched by the Poor Law, and it was necessary that there should be some private assistance given to the rates. Committees might be formed to collect subscriptions from those who did not pay in proportion to their means. He had a strong confidence that the county felt itself quite competent to take care of its own poor.

Other members, among whom were Mr. Hibbert, the Marquis of Hartington, Colonel Lindsay, Mr. Bailey, and Mr. W. Egerton, continued the discussion, bearing testimony to the great distress and suffering in Lancashire.

Mr. Gilpin, the Secretary to the Poor-Law Board, acknowledged the existence of the evil, and believed that, unhappily, it was not yet at its height. The object of the Poor-Law Board, he said, was to administer the law in a generous, but at the same time a just, spirit, since indiscriminate relief had a tendency to demoralize the recipients.

The urgency of the distress, which increased as time went on, in the cotton districts, im

pelled the Government to adopt extraordinary measures, with a view to alleviate its pressure, and as it was thought that something might be done to give greater elasticity to the machinery of the Poor Laws, shortly before the close of the Session the Ministers announced that they would ask the sanction of Parliament to a Bill to be introduced for this purpose. The charge of this measure devolved on Mr. C. Villiers, the President of the PoorLaw Board, who, on the 22nd of July, moved for leave to bring in a Bill to enable the Boards of Guardians in certain counties in England to meet any extraordinary demands for relief. He said that he did not mean to imply by this motion that the law was not adequate to meet the case, or that any further powers were necessary to enforce the law; but the measure he proposed was only a precautionary one during the recess, and he proceeded to state facts that appeared to him to justify it. He showed from returns the amount of distress that existed in the principal towns in Lancashire in consequence of the want of employment, and the expenditure for the relief of the poor, remarking that the number of persons dependent upon the rates was no criterion of the number destitute of employment. The deposits in the savings-banks were now, however, nearly exhausted; the distress was increasing rapidly and extending, and there was no prospect of its diminution but by the revival of trade. Looking to these circumstances and to the principle of the existing law, which sanctioned a rate-in-aid, he proposed by the Bill to give vitality to that

principle, so that any parish or parishes, overburdened by extraordinary local distress and pauperism, might claim a contribution from the common fund of the Union, or, under certain circumstances, one Union might call for a contribution from the other Unions in the county. He explained the principal enactments of the Bill, which he proposed to continue for a limited term, till the 1st of March, 1863. Colonel Patten said he was so convinced of the exigency of the case, and of the necessity of something being done before Parliament separated, that he was prepared to consider with the greatest favour any proposition of the Government for relieving the suffering districts, and would readily sacrifice many opinions of his own as to the remedies. He hoped the Government would not consider that another alternative-the borrowing money on the security of the rates-would interfere with their measure.

Mr. Bouverie could not conceal from the House that the change proposed by the Bill was a portentous one, and he did not think Mr. Villiers had laid any ground for this departure from the recognized law. He believed that the rate in the pound for relief of the poor in the districts where the pressure was greatest, was not nearly so high as in many of those in the south of England. He considered that the proposal for extending the charge to the county, was likely to invite profusion and extravagance. The best mode of meeting the emergency, in his opinion, was to stand by the ancient law.

Mr. Gilpin said that, looking to the actual and increasing distress VOL. CIV.

in Lancashire, the Government would have failed in their duty if they had not made some preparation to meet the emergency.

Lord Palmerston added some explanations as to the scope of the measure, remarking that the Ministers were, in his opinion, bound not to let Parliament separate without attempting to do something to meet the aggravated distress in the manufacturing districts.

Leave was then given to bring in the Bill.

Upon the motion for the second reading, Mr. Potter gave a variety of statistical details, showing the existing condition of the working classes in the manufacturing districts through the want of employment and the losses suffered by the mill-owners. He considered that the Poor Laws were inadequate to deal with the case, and that some exceptional mea

sures were necessary.

Colonel Wilson-Patten said so little time had been afforded for considering the measure, that he should defer his suggestions for its amendment till the House was in Committee. He could not help thinking that, should the emergency apprehended arise, the pressure of the rate under the Bill would fall, in the manufacturing districts, upon the occupying tenant-not, as in the agricultural districts, upon property; and he urged reasons in favour of raising money by loans secured upon the rates, which he thought would, in many cases, meet the emergency better than the proposed measure for extending the rate with the pressure.

Lord Stanley agreed, to a certain extent, with Colonel Patten, thinking it a matter for [F]

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