§ EARL FITZWILLIAMsaid, that, with the leave of their Lordships, he would bring under the notice of the House some information which he had that day received upon the subject of the great influx of the Irish paupers into the town of Liverpool. A Manchester paper had been sent to him, which contained a long account of the results of the measures which had been taken to meet the exigency. Their Lordships would recollect that by the papers which were yesterday laid on the Table, it appeared that in one day of January, upwards of 24,000 Irish paupers were relieved in the town of Liverpool. 2 The pressure of this was felt to be so great that inquiries were at length instituted, which inquiries were followed by a considerable diminution. But in addition to that, the assistant poor-law commissioner of the district, Mr. Austin, who had been directing his attention to the Irish paupers in Liverpool for some days, made a representation to the select vestry; and in consequence the following analysis was prepared of the immigrants and persons relieved in Liverpool during the previous ten days. It appeared from this that the arrivals were, of men 4,498, and that the increase in the number of men relieved was 2,631; that the arrivals of women were 1,755, and the increase in the number of women relieved was 2,811, or about 1,200 beyond the number of immigrants; and that of children the immigration was 1,150, and the increase in the number relieved 8,814. Now it was quite clear from these figures that the increase which had taken place in the numbers relieved was not occasioned solely by the arrivals of immigrants. The result of the alteration in the mode of giving relief was as follows: The 3 last day on which any great number were relieved was on Monday, he supposed the 1st of February, when the number was 22,348; but on the next day, under the operation of the new system, which had been in the first instance instituted by the select vestry, and afterwards carried further in consequence of the representations of Mr. Austin, the number was as low as 4,906. This was attributable merely to more active measures having been adopted for the purpose of ascertaining whether parties had a just claim to relief. It was worth their Lordships' while to make an inquiry into the cause of this extensive immigration; because much was said with regard to the immigration into Liverpool, and the great burden which that immigration had inflicted upon the town, and also with regard to the circumstance of 4,000 ejectments having been brought in the county Mayo. And the inference which the public would be disposed to draw from these two facts was, that the ejectments in the county of Mayo and the relief of Irish paupers in Liverpool, had some connexion one with the other. But it was obvious, he thought, that nothing could be more erroneous—if it were not an uncivil word he should say that nothing could be more untrue—than such a conclusion, which was arrived at without the trouble of first instituting an inquiry into the facts. The truth was, that what were termed ejectments in the county Mayo were not ejectments; and the propagation of such reports must have the injurious effect of deterring the public of England from doing their duty—not towards the landed proprietors, but the destitute and suffering people of Ireland. He had deemed it right to bring this subject under their Lordships' attention, in order that they might see that the vast number of persons receiving relief in Liverpool was not so much owing to the influx of Irish paupers, as it was to the circumstance that the parochial authorities of Liverpool did not in the first instance take those efficient measures which they subsequently adopted for the purpose of preventing the impositions which had been practised upon the funds of that town.