Lords Sitting of 19 March 1847

MINUTES.
PETITIONS PRESENTED. By the Earl of Wicklow, from Wicklow, against Out-door Relief, and for Alteration of the Present Mode of Rating.—By the Duke of Richmond, from Storrington, against the Poor Removal Act.

POOR LAW (IRELAND).
The EARL of WICKLOWpresented petitions from the grand jury of the comity of Wicklow against the principle of giving out-door relief in Ireland, against altering

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the present mode of rating, and for encouragement of emigration. The object of the petitioners was undoubtedly a good one; but they, in common with many other persons, had incorrect ideas of the power of a Government on such a subject. The exertions that were being made by individuals, he thought, might be encouraged; and he suggested that a provision might be introduced into the Bill granting a loan of 1,500,000 l. for the improvement of the land in Ireland, authorizing the advance of money on the same terms, on condition that it should be employed in promoting emigration.
The DUKE of RICHMONDpresented petitions from Storrington, Sussex, and from the Newell Union, against the Poor Removal Act. He thought it unfortunate it should be stated in Parliament that the legal construction of the Act was totally opposite to the intention of the Legislature. The law of settlement could not be settled in a single Session; and no Government should have undertaken it in the last Session of a Parliament.
LORD CAMPBELLsaid, it might have been intended that the operation of the Act should be retrospective as well as prospective; but the intention of the Legislature could only be collected from what it actually said. He agreed with the report of the Committee, that no alteration of the Act was advisable now till the whole question of the law of settlement had undergone consideration. He believed, on the whole, the measure had worked well, both for the poor and the land.
The EARL of SUFFOLKthought much of the difficulty had been caused by the construction put on the Act by the lawyers, who generally made "confusion worse confounded."
LORD WALSINGHAMAfter a few words from LORD WALSINGHAM,
LORD BROUGHAMsaid, he had never received more applications on any subject than on this Poor Removal Act. They came from all quarters, from persons perfectly understanding their mother tongue, but who were quite unable to understand the stepmother tongue in which this Act of Parliament was written. The oppressive operation of the Act was not what they most complained of; their chief complaint was, that they could not comprehend the meaning of the Act, and were utterly at a loss to know what to do with it.
LORD BEAUMONTthought a declara-
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tory or temporary Act should not be passed while they were looking forward to a change in the whole system.

THE "IRISH PARTY."
The MARQUESS of CONYNGHAMsaid, he had seen himself described in the newspapers as forming one of a deputation from the "Irish Party," who waited upon Lord J. Russell, and protested violently against the proposal of affording out-door relief to able-bodied Irish paupers. He felt it necessary to state publicly that he formed no part of that deputation; and, further, that he hoped very shortly to have the pleasure of recording his vote in favour of the proposition which he had been represented as objecting to.
LORD MONTEAGLEsaid, that the insertion of the noble Lord's name in the list of the members of the deputation was a mistake which originated in this way—the noble Lord was present at the commencement of the meeting at which the resolution against out-door relief was agreed to, but left the meeting before that resolution was brought forward. Only five persons voted against the resolution, and the secretary put down the names of all who were present at any time during the meeting as having voted for the resolution, except the five who voted against it.
LORD BROUGHAM: I understand that the course of procedure of the "Irish Party" is this—that those persons whose names appear on the minutes as having been present at this meeting were not there, and those whose names appear as having been absent were there. I do not know if this is really the case, but so I have been informed.
House adjourned.