§ LORD BERNERSinquired if it was the intention of Her Majesty's Government to bring in any measure for the abolition of law of settlement and removal of the poor in England, Scotland, and Ireland, or to make any alteration in the system of local taxation? The law of settlement had been frequently under consideration, and had been universally admitted to be oppressive to the poor. The subject was referred to in the Speech from the Throne in 1854; and in 1852 the President of the Poor Law Board stated, that the result of his experience was, that the law was detrimental to the poor, however it might be advantageous to the rich. The subject had since been referred to a Select Committee, which Committee had reported upon it. He believed that it was the intention of Government to introduce some alteration in the law of removal; hut it would be a simpler plan to found a Bill upon the report of the Committee. With regard to local taxation, it was admitted on all hands that the system could not be defended upon any principle. The Select Committee had endeavoured to amend it by reducing the period of residence from five to three years. If each board maintained its legitimate poor, the evils would be mitigated; but the efforts made to obtain a particular distribution of the poor made the taxation still more unequal. He begged, at the same time, to inquire why, contrary to all precedent, the Treasury had refused to repay the counties their expenses in criminal prosecutions?
§ LORD STANLEY OF ALDERLEYsaid, that it was not the intention of Government to introduce any general measure either on the subject of the law of settlement 218 or the removal of paupers, but it was intended to bring in a Bill, founded on the recommendation of the Committee, to regulate the removal of Irish and Scotch paupers. With regard to the refusal of the Treasury to pay the county expenses in cases of prosecution, the refusal was simply to repay the expenses of the apprehension of the prisoner, and not of the prosecution. Such refusal was justified by the constant practice of the Treasury.
§ LORD BERNERSsaid, that these expenses had been invariably allowed up to 1842.
§ After a few words from the Marquess of SALISBURY,
§ LORD STANLEY OF ALDERLEYsaid, that the difficulty arose from the establishment of a rural police in some counties and not in others. In the first case, the expenses of apprehension involved little addition to the ordinary expenses.