HC Deb 05 May 1820 vol 1 c105
Mr. Benett

presented a petition, signed by upwards of 6,000 persons, chiefly clothiers, clothworkers and manufacturers of Wiltshire (as a proof of the respectability of whom, the hon. member said, that among the names were those of eleven magistrates, one of whom was the chairman of the quarter sessions), complaining of the number of manufacturers who, in consequence of the introduction of machinery and other causes, had been driven out of work, and were compelled to have recourse for subsistance to the parochial rates. He could assure the House that this petition did not proceed from any political motive. There was no radical feeling in Wiltshire. Among the manufacturers of that county, numerous as they were, there existed no inclination to encourage sedition, or to obtain a remedy for the evils which they suffered, except by legal means. He hoped, therefore, that this petition would be favourably received by the House; and, however difficult the subject, that the House would feel the necessity of taking every possible means of mitigating the distress experienced, not only by the petitioners, but by the agricultural labourers, who looked to parliament for some alleviation of their case.—The petition was ordered to be printed.