Lords Sitting of 30 May 1848

MINUTES.
Took the Oaths.—The Lord Bishop of Kill-aloe, Kilfenora, Clonfert, and Kilmacduagh.
PUBLIC BILLS.—1a Collectors of Cess (Ireland).
2a Evicted Destitute Poor (Ireland).
PETITIONS PRESENTED. By the Bishop of Lincoln, from the Wesleyan Methodists of Boddington, and several other Places, against the Sale of Intoxicating Liquors on Sundays.—By Lord Brougham, from several Lodges of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, for an Extension of the Provisions of the Benefit Societies' Act to that Order.—From the Parish of St. Giles, Northampton, for the Abolition of all Church Rates.—From Freeholders, Managers, and Labourers in Jamaica, praying for Relief of the Effect produced on the West Indian Colonies by the Sugar Duties Act.—From the County of Lancaster, for the
72
Adoption of a System of Secular Education, to be supported by Local Rates.—From Westmoreland, Yorkshire, and a Number of other Places, in favour of the Jewish Disabilities Bill.—From the Muir Club, in favour of Parliamentary Reform.—By the Bishop of Norwich, from Norwich, Coventry, and Great Yarmouth, to be Relieved from the Payment of Legacy Duty on all Charitable Bequests.—By the Earl of Eglintoun, from the Commissioners of Supply, and Others, of Perth and Renfrew, for a Revision of the Laws relating to the Currency.—From Tain, Glasgow, and other Places, against the Marriage (Scotland) Bill, and Registering Births, &c. (Scotland) Bill.—From Stirling, for the Immediate Completion of the Trigonometrical Survey of Scotland.—By Earl Fitzwilliam, from Mayo and Adrahan, for an Alteration of the Poor Law (Ireland).—From Boston, for the Discontinuance of Grants of Money for the Temple of Juggernaut.—From the Longport Union, that more Effectual Measures may be Adopted for Checking the Impositions of Professed Mendicants.—From Attwick, County of York, against the Jewish Disabilities Bill.

THE IRISH POOR LAW.
The EARL of LUCANrose to move—
"That a Select Committee be appointed to inquire into the operation of the Irish Poor Law Acts, relative to the rating of Immediate Lessors."
He thought he had on a former occasion shown the state of the law in this respect to be so defective as to induce many of their Lordships to be of opinion that the Government would think it their duty to give immediate attention to the subject. Since then two or three months had elapsed, and Government apparently had bestowed no consideration whatever on the subject, and the evils of which he had complained still continued. Under these circumstances, he felt it to be his duty to bring the subject again under the notice of their Lordships, with a view of obtaining the appointment of a Select Committee to investigate the subject. He believed that there was not a Member of their Lordships' House who had examined the working of the law in Ireland, who would be disposed to deny that an extended inquiry had become absolutely necessary; and it appeared to him that nothing would be more unwise than to refuse the reasonable demand of those who required that full investigation should take place. The Government, he conceived, ought to consider a subject of this nature calmly and deliberately, and not rashly refuse inquiry; and he entertained a strong opinion that the responsible advisers of the Crown had committed a great error when they refused to accede to the unequivocally expressed wish of a very large portion of the other House of Parliament, who claimed the inquiry for which he now moved. In making this Motion he wished it to be distinctly understood, that he had no desire to get rid of

73
the rating of the immediate lessor; on the contrary, he approved of such a plan. The noble Earl then proceeded to complain of the manner in which rates had been struck in the county of Mayo, as well as in other parts of Ireland; and he complained also of the manner in which the law was carried out in that county, of the number of suits instituted for the recovery of the poor-rates, as well as of the manner in which the law relating to the poor was administered throughout Ireland generally. He declined to make any direct complaint of the extent to which legal proceedings had been taken against himself, although a vast amount of bills and declarations had been filed against him in the courts of Dublin; he did not, however, hesitate to say—though he would not occupy the time of their Lordships by lengthened details regarding himself—that there were strong reasons to complain of the existing state of the law; that its condition was a mockery and an absurdity; and that no intelligent or dispassionate person could deny the necessity for minute and searching inquiry. Of such an inquiry as he proposed, no one would say that it would excite any unreasonable expectation in the minds of any portion of the community; and for that among other reasons he did contend that the application which he made ought not to be refused. Amongst the other grounds of complaint he might mention this, as forming a strong argument in favour of inquiry, that the new Bill gave no appeal to the lessor, though the occupier possessed such a privilege. The whole county was swarmed with latitats, capias, and bills of privilege. There was a bill of privilege filed against him in the superior courts, which filled forty-five skins of parchment, or 1,000 office sheets of paper. There was no appeal for the occupier, although there was a good and sufficient one for the lessor. He had also to complain that clauses were enforced against the resident proprietor, by a gross abuse of authority, which were only intended to apply to the absentee. If the law was as defective as he had showed it to be, and if the abuses which existed were as weighty as he had proved them, he thought that he had made out a sufficient case for the inquiry for which he prayed. The noble Earl concluded by proposing his Motion as above.
The MARQUESS of LANSDOWNEwas under the necessity of opposing the Motion of the noble Earl. The appointment of a
74
Committee of Inquiry would have the effect of interfering with and delaying the decision of questions already in a course of adjudication, and embarrass the operations of a law not yet sufficiently developed. [The noble Marquess addressed some observations in reply to Lord Lucan across the table, but they were quite inaudible.]
EARL FITZWILLIAMsupported the Motion of his noble Friend (the Earl of Lucan), and expressed his regret that, admitting apparently the abuses and oppressions of the law, the noble Marquess should have opposed the Motion, and upon the ground that inquiry would tend to protract the proceedings. But the proceedings in the courts of law might not be terminated as soon as the noble Marquess anticipated. He was fully aware how long such proceedings could be protracted, especially if one party were desirous that such a course should be adopted. They might end in six weeks—they might not end in six months. The Commissioners did not adopt the method by which they could have obtained the speediest justice: by no means. They went into the superior courts at Dublin. And why did they go there? There could be no doubt as to the reason. They went there in order to show the gentlemen of Ireland the power which the Poor Law Commissioners had over them. He approved of the appointment of the Committee, for he was of opinion that, amongst other advantages, it would have the effect of showing that Irish matters were not neglected in this country. The noble Earl proceeded to say, that the present state of pauperism in Ireland was most alarming; and he quoted returns of the number of persons in the workhouses, and receiving outdoor relief. The rates had increased enormously during the last quarter, and he had no doubt they would increase in a corresponding ratio in the next three months. He asked Parliament and the Government to say whether they thought that the state of things now existing in Ireland could possibly continue without some remedy? And what had the Government done? As regarded this mass of pauperism, they had applied to the whole of Ireland a law which was properly applicable only to a small portion of it. Did his noble Friends intend to go on in this way? Would they do nothing more for Ireland? It was true there was an Encumbered Estates Bill, and of the principle

75
of that Bill he approved; but at the same time he doubted very much whether it would accomplish the object that was desired. And if it should so prove a failure, another Session would have passed away, and nothing be done for Ireland. They had a great work to perform, and had not yet so much as begun it. But they must perform that work unless they intended to leave Ireland in her present condition. If there was anything like sanguineness in their expectation of seeing Ireland in a different condition, they must deal with that great phenomenon of the rural population. They had not touched that question yet. They had given money and lent money, and they might continue to do so. As to the loan of last year, they would have to repeat it in 1849, and again in 1850, or they would do nothing. But even then, with loan after loan, they would do nothing; for all were now agreed that the great mass of the rural population in many parts of Ireland was the phenomenon with which they had to deal. And while this mass of pauperism existed in Ireland, let them look to the other parts of the British dominions, and what did they behold? In Canada, in New Brunswick, in Australia, they would find millions of acres, requiring only persons to cultivate them. Was there not an obvious source of relief for that state of things to be found in a proper system of emigration? Would not the adoption of such a system be better than keeping a population at home increasing until we did not know what to do with them. He knew that difficulties existed against emigration on a large scale, but those difficulties were not insuperable; and he would remark to their Lordships that the Legislature had recently placed restrictions upon emigration, instead of encouraging that means of relieving the pressure caused by a superabundant population. In reference to this restriction upon emigration, he would remark that the desire to emigrate was far less in Ireland this year than last year; and would, if the potato crop succeeded, be still less next year. He was in favour of the Committee, for he thought it would be advantageous.
EARL GREYcomplained of the inconvenient course his noble Friend had adopted in raising a general discussion upon a Motion confined to ground so narrow as that of the noble Earl—a Motion simply for a Committee "to inquire into the operation of the Irish Poor Law Act relative to the rating of immediate lessors." The question
76
raised by the noble Earl involved legal questions requiring consideration, and was confined to one point; and yet his noble Friend (Earl Fitzwilliam) had chosen that opportunity for making general remarks on the Irish poor-law, and for discussing the policy of emigration on a large scale, and the inefficiency of loans. The speech of his noble Friend involved, it was to be feared, that dangerous fallacy which seemed every day to prevail more and more in the minds of men, namely, that it was in the power of any Government or any Legislature by its fiat to give happiness and prosperity to a people. A Government could not mistake its functions more than if it were to suppose it had the power of imparting wealth and prosperity; they must be created by the people themselves; and those who taught the people of Ireland that they should look to Parliament and to the Government to relieve them from their present deplorable condition, did most lamentably deceive them. His noble Friend had accused the Government of doing nothing. What more could have been done? If the Government had succeeded by the measures they had passed in February in restoring peace to Ireland, they had done what was of inestimable value to the industry of Ireland, and it was now for the Irish people to work out their own prosperity. His noble Friend (Earl Fitzwilliam) had spoken of the millions of acres of waste land lying uncultivated in Ireland. But if the intelligent industry and capital which his noble Friend had assumed not to be wanting were ready in Ireland, there was no reason why the people should go to Canada and Australia, while without capital their removal to those distant countries would not improve their condition. In a few days he should lay on the table papers connected with this important subject of emigration, and he should take the opportunity that would then be afforded him of showing that more had been done in that direction than his noble Friend imagined. Measures of great importance on this subject were now in progress, and he hoped that the Government would be able to go on with yearly increasing efficiency in improving and extending emigration. He denied the justice of the representations against the Irish Poor Law, and he thought that the accounts of the working of that law were quite as satisfactory as could reasonably have been expected. It was already acting as a stimulus to industry and improvement in that country. With regard to the ac-

77
tual Motion before the House, he thought the arguments already urged against the appointment of a Committee were quite sufficient. The matters into which it was proposed to inquire were about to be taken before the courts of law, and it was not, therefore, a proper moment for Parliament to interfere. When the courts of law had decided upon the question, the noble Lord could bring the matter before Parliament if he pleased
LORD STUART DE DECIESregretted that more attention was not paid in Parliament to the wishes of the Irish people as expressed through their representatives. Those wishes had been expressed upon the Motion of the hon. Member for Portarlington (Colonel Dunne); and he had reason to believe that the rejection by the other House of Parliament of the Motion of that hon. Member had done more to advance repeal than the advocacy of its most strenuous supporters. His own experience of the working of the Irish poor-law was that it had failed to stimulate industry in that country. The views entertained by a large body of the Irish people were, that the system of relieving the able bodied poor in Ireland should be altogether different from the mode in which the aged and infirm poor were relieved. His vote upon the present Motion would very much depend upon the announcement by the Government whether it was their intention to sanction next Session an inquiry into the working of the new poor-law in Ireland,
LORD BEAUMONTwas both surprised and sorry that the Committee, for which so good a case had been made out, had been refused by the Government. What was the ground upon which inquiry was refused? Because a case was depending before the courts of law. But cases might be depending at all times; and it was never imagined that the inquiry they would go into would have anything to do with the particular question now before the courts of law. The inquiry would be directed to ascertain what were the hardships in the working of the new poor-law; and their Lordships would then see whether they were owing to defects in the law, or to the cruelty of its administration. The Government seemed to wish not to disturb the operation of the law, because it had been recently passed, and some time, therefore, was necessary to judge of its operation. So far as that went the argument was good; but when a
78
distinct case was made out which demanded inquiry, he thought that that inquiry should he conceded.
The EARL of DEVONsaid, that the inquiry asked for was not, as he understood, to be general, but was to be an inquiry into the operation of a particular part of the law. The fact was that the noble Earl called upon their Lordships to institute an inquiry into a case which was at that moment undergoing legal consideration, and the first question that would be put to the witnesses examined would be, "Are there not legal proceedings at this moment pending between the Poor Law Commissioners and the noble Earl?" His noble Friend near him seemed to think that on the whole the poor-law was working well in Ireland. He very much hoped that that was the case. But this he knew, that in many parts of Ireland it was not so; and it might be a very proper subject for inquiry what were the causes which enabled it to work well in some parts of the country, and not so in others. He had had a long-correspondence with the Commissioners upon the subject of the electoral divisions, which he considered to be too large; and he thought that some arrangement might be made, so as to enable the proprietors of land to furnish employment to the population, and thereby escape the enormous taxation of providing for them. The Commissioners certainly entered fully into the discussion of the subject, but they decided that it would not be wise so to arrange the electoral divisions. One argument was that it was unwise to make them consist of a very small number of proprietors; and yet there were electoral divisions that were made by the Commissioners themselves, consisting of the property of only one or two proprietors.
LORD CAMPBELLsaid, they were not considering whether the policy pursued with regard to Ireland had been wise or unwise—they were not considering whether the Union ought to be preserved or not—whether the poor-law of Ireland was politic or impolitic, or whether an inquiry into the operation of the poor-law might or might not be advisable. There were many arguments which might be urged to show that such an inquiry would be highly expedient; and he did not know whether the Motion said to have been made elsewhere had been properly or improperly rejected: but the sole question their Lordships had to decide was, whether they ought to grant a Committee to inquire

79
into a single question as to the law of rating immediate lessors? Had any case been made out to justify such an inquiry? It might be, as he had just said, highly expedient to have an inquiry into the general operation of the law in Ireland; but the question was, whether the noble Earl had laid before their Lordships a sufficient case to induce them to grant his Motion. He (Lord Campbell) would merely say that, if they did agree to the Motion, they would be establishing a most dangerous precedent, and would be departing from those principles which had uniformly guided them hitherto, for the simple reason that it happened that one of their Lordships was a party to some pending litigation. With respect to the question itself, it was a very difficult one, and one upon which opinions might very fairly be divided; and it seemed to him that the guardians who had raised the action against the noble Earl, so far from acting vexatiously in the course they had pursued, had acted with great propriety in seeking to have a question of so much importance fairly tried by the regular tribunals of the country.
LORD MONTEAGLEcontended, that to wait for the decision of the courts of law upon the point in question would be attended with very great delay, while, in the meantime, Ireland would be left without a remedy for the evil complained of. But it was said that to grant an inquiry while the case was pending in the courts of law, would be a precedent the more fatal as coming from the House of Lords. Why, what did their Lordships do in the case of the qui tam actions? Did they wait for the decision of the courts of law there? No, they settled the question at once by legislation. To refuse inquiry in the present instance would be the more unjust, considering that the Motion for a general inquiry into the working of the poor-law, which was supported by seven out of every eight of the Irish representatives in the other House of Parliament, had been rejected by a majority of the British Members, contrary to the almost unanimous opinion of the Irish people. As a friend to the Union—as a friend to British protection, he dared not refuse the inquiry now asked for; and he called upon the English Members of their Lordships' House, who might he apt to undervalue the importance of the question, not to do anything which would operate as a bar to inquiry or to legislation upon it.
LORD CAMPBELLexplained. He considered it a question which ought not to be decided by a Committee of their Lordships' House, but by the regular tribunals of the country.
The MARQUESS of CLANRICARDEremarked upon the extreme difference between the Motion and the arguments which had been used in the debate. Almost all the speakers in support of the Motion went, not into the operation of the law as it existed, but entirely into the administration of the law. The noble Earl (the Earl of Lucan) complained that the law operated oppressively upon him; and yet, almost in the same breath, he contended that, under the law, he was not liable to the rates charged against him. It appeared, then, that it was the difficulty of appealing from the administration of the law of which he really complained; but this could easily be remedied by a short Bill. He entirely agreed as to the desirableness of acceding as far as possible to the wishes of the Irish people and the landed proprietors; but he denied that there was anything like a strong or unanimous opinion in Ireland upon the particular point raised by the present Motion, though he admitted there did exist a powerful and deep feeling with regard to the general subject, which it would be well if their Lordships would attend to; and he ventured to say on the part of the Government, that if the country were in a calmer state—if it were in its ordinary condition, when the whole question could be fairly inquired into, there was no indisposition whatever on their part to grant a Committee of Inquiry. But to grant a partial inquiry into a point upon which a Member of their Lordships' House considered himself aggrieved, so far from this being calculated to conciliate the people in favour of the principle of the poor-law, it would only go to shake their confidence both in the law and in the spirit in which their Lordships were diposed to deal with it.
House divided:—Contents 33; Not-Contents 27: Majority 6.

List of the NOT-CONTENTS.

DUKE.

Devon

Leinster

Fingall

Fortescue

MARQUESSES.

Clanricarde

Grey

Lansdowne

Granville

Northampton

Huntingdon

Minto

EARLS.

Scarborough

Auckland

Sefton

Besborough

Stafford

81

BISHOPS.

Camoys

Hereford

Campbell

Manchester

Cottenham

Peterborough

Hastings

Saye and Sele

LORDS.

Stuart de Decies

Arundel

Sudeley

Resolved in the Affirmative.

ADDRESS OF CONDOLENCE TO HER MAJESTY.
The MARQUESS of LANSDOWNErose to move an address of condolence to Her Majesty on the recent death of the Princess Sophia. In consequence of the House not sitting yesterday he had been unable to give notice of this Motion; but there were instances in which such Motions had been made without previous notice, and, under all the circumstances of the case, he was certain that he should be only expressing the feeling which animated all their Lordships when he moved an address of condolence to Her Majesty on account of the loss which She and the rest of the Royal Family had suffered in the death of her late Royal Highness the Princess Sophia, who was endeared to all who knew her by the virtues, charity, and excellence which she had displayed during the course of a long life. He therefore moved—
"That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, to express the deep concern of this House at the Loss which Her Majesty has sustained by the Death of Her Royal Highness the Princess Sophia, and to condole with Her Majesty on this melancholy Occasion, and to assure Her Majesty that this House will ever participate with the most affectionate and dutiful attachment in whatever may concern the Feelings and Interest of Her Majesty, and Her illustrious House."
LORD STANLEYfelt quite sure that the noble Marquess had only consulted the unanimous feelings of their Lordships in taking, with or without notice, the earliest opportunity of conveying to Her Majesty the expression of the regret of the House at the lamented death of her late Royal Highness the Princess Sophia. He believed that her death had been a welcome relief to her from a long period of most painful bodily suffering; and the Christian resignation with which those sufferings had been borne, and the uniform benevolence and kindness of her late Royal Highness's character, had excited among all who were acquainted with the circumstances one universal feeling of respect and admiration. He was certain that her late Royal Highness's memory would long be cherished, not only by the Royal and illustrious Personage to whom the proposed address would
82
be presented, and by a large circle of her friends, but also by a numerous portion of the humbler classes, who had had an opportunity of knowing, from their own experience, the kindness and benevolence of her late Royal Highness's character.
Motion agreed to nemine dissentiente.

EVICTED DESTITUTE POOR (IRELAND) BILL.
The MARQUESS of CLANRICARDE The MARQUESS of CLANRICARDE moved the Second Reading of this Bill, observing, that within the last few years there had been notorious cases of persons being turned out of their dwellings in Ireland without regard to hour or season, and it had been stated that some persons so evicted had perished by the roadside or in the fields. He alluded to the case of a Mr. Blake, but exculpated that gentleman from the proceedings which had taken place on his property, as they had been carried on without his knowledge, and had been put a stop to, as soon as he became acquainted with them. The object of the present measure was to provide that, before persons should be evicted, the landlord should give previous notice of his intention to evict, in order that the poor tenants might not be subjected to the privations which, under the present system, no doubt many had endured. There was also a restriction as to the hour and days on which notices of eviction should be given to the guardians of the poor. The other clauses related more particularly to the carrying out of the details of this Bill. It might, perhaps, be objected that the range and scope of the measure were too extensive: if that should be so, he could only say that he should have no objection, in Committee, to limit its operations.
LORD MONTEAGLEwas favourable to affording means of succour and protection to evicted destitute persons, but objected to the Bill, as not giving a proper remedy. On the contrary, it would introduce difficulties into the law of Ireland, which would be infinitely more dangerous to the administration of the poor-law itself than even to the management of landed property. With respect to Mr. Blake, the noble Marquess admitted that he was not deserving of blame for what had occurred on his property; but had not Mr. Blake, nevertheless, been struck out of the commission on account of those occurrences? The present Bill was founded on two special cases; the one being the case of Mr. St. George, the Member for Galway, who had

83
had an opportunity of justifying himself; and the other the case of Mr. Blake, who was now exculpated. He thought their Lordships should be exceedingly cautious in respect to giving their assent to a general Bill founded on special cases. If, for the recovery of rent, distraining were resorted to, every one would at once see that the superior landlord must sell the effects of the poor occupiers, and thus the matter must be brought within the cognisance of the poor-law guardians. Now then, he would ask, what must be the consequence of bringing every case of ejectment under the notice of the poor-law guardians? There was a question which he begged to put, namely, whether the present measure had been submitted to the consideration of the Poor Law Commissioners, and whether his noble Friends who now constituted Her Majesty's Government were disposed to lay before the House the opinions pronounced upon it by those Commissioners? To him it appeared that the effect of the measure would be to create a new status of pauperism, which had never been contemplated in the previous condition of the law; for by this Bill they would give the evicted tenant a right that he could not otherwise acquire: for the Bill declared that shelter should be provided for him, and the right to enjoy that shelter might, perchance, last for the whole of his life; and, moreover, it was provided that, in addition to shelter, he should be entitled to relief outside of the workhouse; that he should, in short, possess the same rights as those enjoyed by the sick, the old, or those who were permanently disabled. Great efforts had, in similar debates, been made to affix blame to the ordinary Irish landlord; but he would lay before them a case in which the Crown was the landlord. He would read the particulars of the case from the extracts which he held in his hand:—
"Case of the Crown lands of Ballykililure, 609 acres, 80 tenants, 463 denominations; population, near 500. On the 26th of May, 1847, the sub-sheriff of the county attended on the lands, and the whole of the fourteen defendants, with their families, were turned out of their dwellings, and their holdings were placed in charge of a bailiff. Their houses, with the exception of such as were required for the location of a party of twelve police, to prevent any attempt at repossession on the part of the evicted persons, were either levelled to the ground, or rendered uninhabitable."
The following was an extract from the petition of the evicted tenants:—
"That on the 26th of May, your petitioners were turned out of their houses and dwellings;
84
that they are now deprived of their cabins, and lying out in the open air with their wives and families, who are in a state of destitution and starvation for want of food and raiment, and are thereby subject to fevers and disorders prevalent in the country. That your petitioners, if they are deprived of their crops and tillage, will, with their families, be thrown on the world, and doomed to ruin and starvation; and they solemnly assure you that a part of the tenants so dispossessed are in a raging fever, lying in the open air."
Further, he should read an extract from the report of the Clerk of Quitrents:—
"I conceive that under no circumstances whatever should any of those parties be restored to possession, or suffered to occupy any part of the land."
He also begged their attention to the report of the Woods and Forests of the 15th of July, 1847:—
"A summary process of ejection was used by the sheriff of the county, when they were severally with their families, put out of possession, and their tenements levelled. Proceedings were still pending against the remaining occupiers, and in the event of their refusing to acknowledge the 'landlord's' rights, the same course would be pursued, by their forcible removal from the ground and houses."
The following was from the second report, March 10, 1848:—
"It is the intention that every one of the present occupiers of these lands who shall not accept the offer of emigration shall be summarily dispossessed, under the injunction which shall be immediately issued, and their houses demolished. First emigration, 173; second emigration, 236; total 409 persons."
By whom did their Lordships suppose that those deeds were done? By no others than his noble Friends who now sat near him. By whom was the order for dispossessing these poor people signed? By no other than by Lord Morpeth, as Chief Commissioner of Woods and Forests. In speaking of this Bill, however, he wished not to be misunderstood. He thought, with the promoters of the measure, that evicted tenants ought to be taken care of; but he did not think that this was the best mode of accomplishing that object; and in his opinion the plan of bringing it under the cognisance of the poor-law guardians would be a most effectual method of striking a formidable blow against the administration of the poor-law in Ireland.
The EARL of GLENGALLopposed the Bill, and contended that, if it became law, every case connected with the letting of land must be submitted to the poor-law guardians.
The MARQUESS of CLANRICARDEshortly replied, vindicating the principle of

85
the poor-law. No person could be relieved under that law unless he was destitute, and he was relieved only so long as he continued destitute. He hoped, before long, no outdoor relief would be given in Ireland. No person ought to have outdoor relief until the workhouse was filled.
Bill read 2a.
House adjourned.