The Earl of Haddingtonwished to ask one or two questions of the noble Marquess at the head of the Home-office, relative to the instructions which had been issued to the Poor-law Commissioners to inquire into the slate of disease in Scotland. When he last made any observations on the subject to their Lordships, he stated his regret that these inquiries were not to be made by some other body, because he certainly felt that the employment of these gentlemen would create a feeling in Scotland that there was some idea of tampering with the Poor-laws in that country, and assimilating them to the Poor-laws of England. He had not been altogether mistaken on that point, because, as the noble Lord well knew, considerable opposition had been given by an institution in Edinburgh to the prosecution of these inquiries by the Poor-law Commissioners, and last Tuesday, in the Edinburgh town council, a petition to her Majesty, praying 1382 that she would cause inquiry to be made whether want and destitution had led to disease, and whether there were adequate means for the relief of such want and destitution, had been rejected on a division. He should therefore be very glad to hear from the noble Marquess that these gentlemen were directed only to inquire into the state and progress of disease, and that those inquiries would be confined to the large towns. As the investigation had been undertaken, he hoped it might prove successful, although he could have wished that it had been carried on by other persons than those employed; but the noble Marquess might depend on it that he would find it very desirable to remove from the public mind in Scotland anything like an impression that an intention existed of interfering at all with the system of Poor-laws in that country.
The Marquess of Normanbyhad stated, when his noble Friend had last called the attention of the House to the subject, that the inquiries of the commissioners would be confined to the specific object of ascertaining the state and progress of disease. He was well aware that any inquiry of this kind, to be successful, must be so conducted as to conciliate the good will of those amongst whom it was carried on. The inquiries of the commissioners would be confined to the large towns, although, in his opinion, the inquiry would not be ultimately complete until it was extended in some shape or other to the rural districts.
§ Subject at an end.