The Earl of Winchilseapresented a petition from the Board of Guardians of the union of Kettering, in Northamptonshire, and signed by all the guardians but two. The petitioners expressed their decided belief, that the New Poor-law, as it had been hitherto administered, had been productive of advantage, not less to the poor themselves than to those who contributed to their support. At the same time, they were of opinion, from the experience which they had had of the last inclement winter, that a power of administering out-door relief ought to be vested in the guardians, and that the clause which prevented boards of guardians giving out-door relief, under any circumstances, ought to be so modified as to enable them to act in the administration of such relief on their own judgment and experience, as they considered that they must be better acquainted with the circumstances of each individual case than persons living at a distance. He entirely agreed with the sentiments expressed by the petitioners, as every application of an individual for out-door relief must stand on its own merits, and to send to the Commissioners in London to decide on every case would be giving them unnecessary trouble. He was quite convinced, that if this power were given to the guardians, the measure would be made much more palatable to the feelings of the lower orders. He regretted that his noble Friend (Earl Stanhope) was not present, as he would say, that he thought his noble Friend had done much to prejudice the people of England against the Bill, which he did believe had contributed greatly to the comfort and happiness of the lower classes. He was sorry that he was not present the other evening when his noble Friend addressed their Lordships on the subject of the New Poor-law, as he should have liked to offer one or two observations upon it. But for the future he, for one, should decidedly protest against his noble Friend, or anybody else, prejudicing the minds of the lower classes against this measure, which had been brought forward, not for the sake of the paltry saving which would result from its 1172 adoption, but in order to improve the condition and elevate the moral character of the lower orders; and, he repeated, that he should protest against any statements being made tending to prejudice the minds of the people against the measure, unless those statements were accompanied by the name of the individual who was prepared to authenticate them. There was one point more to which he would advert, and which he would press on the noble Viscount and his colleagues in office, and that was, that if such inflammatory language should again be used as was contained in the letters read by the noble and learned Lord (Brougham) the other night, it was their bounden duty to enforce the laws against the individuals who employed such language. He maintained, that those letters contained a direct incitement to a violation of the law, and that if destruction of life or property had ensued, the writers would have been answerable for it.
The Earl of Radnorsaid, that if the prayer of the petitioners were complied with, it would destroy the whole efficiency of the Bill. He would observe, also, that the prayer of the petition was founded on mere speculation, as there was no allegation that inconvenience had been suffered from the want of power to administer out-door relief.
The Earl of Winchilsearemarked, that a letter from the chairman of the board of guardians had come to him with the petition, stating that inconvenience had arisen, and therefore it was but reasonable to assume that the petition was founded on the inconvenience which had been experienced.
§ Petition laid on the table.