§ THE EARL OF SHAFTESBURYAs I see the noble Lord the Under Secretary for the Home Department in his place, I will take this opportunity of asking him a Question. It will be in the recollection of your Lordships that about a year and a half ago I moved in this House an Address praying that the inquiry of the Commission appointed to inquire into the employment of children and young persons in trades and manufactures not already regulated by law might be extended to an abuse of which we had heard a great deal, called agricultural gangs, it appearing that gangs of children were hired out to work like slaves in the county of Lincoln and other counties adjacent. I am anxious to know, Whether the Report of the Commission has been made; and, if so, whether it will soon be presented to the House? I understand the Report will contain facts which will throw much light upon the question as to whether the principle of the Factory Acts may not, with certain modifications, be applied to the children in the agricultural districts. This matter is of great importance at the present time, in consequence of a measure for the extension of the Factory Acts having been introduced in the House of Commons.
THE EARL OF BELMOREIn reply to the noble Earl, I have to state that the Report has not yet been received at the Home Office; but I have made inquiries on the subject, and have ascertained that there is every reason to expect that it will be received very shortly. The delay has occurred in consequence of the nature of the inquiry and the extensive field over which it ranged.