exposition would, he conceived, have a strong effect on the minds of those deluded men, and would, it was to be hoped, put a stop to a course of proceeding which struck at the root of all freedom of trade. It appeared from the evidence of a gentleman who had been examined before the committee, that in the course of the last three years, no less than ten lives were lost in Dublin, in consequence of transactions connected with the combination of tradesmen; and not a single person concerned in those murders had been brought to justice. It really appeared that there must be an exemption from the bonds of civilized society, when ten innocent persons lost their lives, and no one was prosecuted in consequence. But how was this secrecy preserved? Why, if the carpenters turned out, they employed the joiners to wreak their vengeance on obnoxious persons; and if the joiners turned out, they called on the carpenters for their assistance. By this course of proceeding, the perpetrators of murders and assaults were not recognized. What a state of feel ing must such a system produce? It was horrible to think, that, by this union of trades, as it was called, persons who had committed no offence whatever were visited with the dreadful penalty of death. One regulation, it appeared, was, that no master should have more than 12 apprentices; and was it not frightful to think, that, because a man chose to take 18, his life should be forfeited? The workmen would find, ultimately, that the course they were pursuing was the most prejudicial to their interests that could be conceived. Let the house look to the case of

Mr. Robinson, an eminent ironmaster, in the sister country. He had procured an engine, similar to that used in Birmingham, for the the purpose of manufacturing nails. The consequence was, that a meeting of 3,000 persons took place, and they declared, that if Mr. Robinson persisted in manufacturing those nails, they would take care that they should be driven in crooked. The work was given up: and Mr. Robinson was thrown back on Birmingham for a supply of nails. But for the misconduct of those people, the nails would have been manufactured in Ireland, and employment would have been afforded for themselves and families. He was not anxious to have the old combination laws revived; but he wished to see a law enacted which would provide some remedy against the abominable system of delegation. He had received communications from various placesand he found that, in many instances where artificers were receiving from 5s. to 6s. a-day, they were not satisfied to proceed with their work, but were anxious to stipulate with their masters as to the number of apprentices they should entertain-as to the employment of old men and young men-and a variety of other matters with which they had really nothing to do. This state of things was kept up by a set of mischievous demagogues, whose machinations ought to be put an end to. He hoped the whole question would be considered seriously and cautiously; and that care would be taken to adopt such a system as would prevent a continuance of those evils. Some persons wished, on occasions of insubordination

insubordination amongst workmen, to have immediate recourse to the military power. This, he conceived, would be very improper, except in cases where actual violence was resorted to. What, then, could be done, under the existing state of the law? The only system that could be acted on was, to turn away refractory workmen, and leave them to come to their senses.. This perhaps might, in some cases, succeed: but it was evident, that before the workman yielded, feelings of hatred and revenge would be engendered in his breast. As the law now stood, the only remedy which the master had was that which must inevitably put an end to all those kind feelings which ought to unite the employer and the person employed. The hon. member (Mr. Hume) had instanced the case of a tin-man, whose men, to the number of seventy, had left him. That individual, it appeared, had refused to take any one of them back. Now, he must say, it was twenty thousand chances to one that the life of that individual would not be safe in the streets after night-fall. The apprehensions of masters who were really afraid to act, strongly claimed the attention of the legislature; and he hoped that, having looked into the whole of the subject, an unanimous feeling would pervade the house to adopt some efficient measure to check the present evil. It should be shown to the workmen, that the present system was decidedly against their interests; and some law, the provisions of which he would not anticipate, ought to be devised, in order to provide an effectual remedy against the mischiefs, which were at present

only in progress; but which, if suffered to arrive at maturity, would produce more disastrous effects than any he had witnessed since he entered into public life.

Mr. H. Gurney defended the conduct of the last committee.

Sir M. W. Ridley said, he was not a member of the former committee; but he was of opinion that much misconception had arisen with respect to the labours of that body. There was, at present, in that house, a strong desire to adopt the principles of free trade and commerce; and he was sorry to say that some of those parties out of doors, who appeared to be most anxious for the extension of those principles, were the first to defeat their own object, by agreeing to plans of combination. He was in favour of the committee-and he trusted that their labours would be attended by a successful result.

Mr. Trant conceived that the appointment of a committee to investigate this subject would produce very beneficial effects.

Mr. C. Grant said, the discussion which had taken place must convince every gentleman present of the necessity of inquiry. As one of the former committee, he must express his regret that those persons, whose interests that committee had endeavoured to serve, had abused the kindness which had been extended to them. The house could not consent to allow the existence of the vicious and abominable abuse which had been for some time in progress. Every thing should be done to put an end to it, and he, for one, would gladly coincide in any measure which seemed likely to effect that object. Those misguided per

sons

sons ought to know that they were not only injuring their own interests, but doing all they possibly could to induce the house to return to the old system, which had been so recently abolished. He, therefore, thought that no language was too strong for the reprobation of the conduct which had been described in the course of the evening. He regretted that so much had been said on the labours of the last committee, for it would appear as if it were intended to cast some reflection on their decision. He was one of the 50 members of whom that committee was composed, but he believed not more than half that number attended it. When he entered into that committee, he did so with a determination to make an impartial inquiry into the nature of the combination laws; and after giving due consideration to the subject, he conscientiously felt that their abolition would be advantageous. No one would stand up and palliate the excesses which had been committed since those laws were repealed; but what he would contend for was, that the system which prevailed before the revocation of those laws did not produce calmness and tranquillity. It was, in fact, a system of terror; and therefore he had agreed to its entire removal. It was proved before the committee that evils did exist under those laws which it was necessary to put down. He therefore said, let those laws be abrogated-let us bring the matter to a point as a question between man and manbetween master and servant. He was sorry to find that those kindly feelings did not exist between the two parties concerned, which ought

to characterize them. But he must say, that it was not the revocation of those laws that prevented the existence of those desirable feelings. He was prepared to expect some re-action of feeling when the combination laws were removed-he thought that some effervescence of feeling might arise amongst the people; but he certainly did not expect that those

to

whom considerable advantages were given, and for the protection of whom the new law was framed, would have acted as they had done. It was said, that the new act had revoked the common law on the subject of combination. He could not speak very scientifically on this question; but the result of his consideration of it was, that the act did not, generally speaking, put an end to the common law, though it did in one or two instances. This act surely did not exclude sailors who refused to proceed with their vessel from the operation of the common law.

He believed that a seaman who refused to proceed with his ship, after having agreed to make the voyage, was utterly out of the provision of this act, and would be just as amenable to the law as at any other period. It was of great importance that a committee should be formed, and that inquiry should be made as to the effects produced by the act of the hon. gentleman (Mr. Hume). Because, while they attempted to do justice to one set of persons, they ought not to suffer themselves to be deluded-they ought not to seem to lend themselves to the abuses which those individuals might commit, under a measure which they owed to the kindness of the house. Under these circumstances,

cumstances, not only was the right hon. gentleman justified in bring ing forward his motion; but, had he neglected so to do, he would have been guilty of a dereliction of his duty.

Mr. Kennedy spoke in support of the motion.

Mr. Lambton gave his thanks to the right hon. gentleman for bringing forward this question.

The motion was then agreed to, and the committee was appointed in conformity therewith.Adjourned at eleven o'clock.

House of Commons, March 30. -Mr. Benett presented a petition from Robert Gourlay, complaining of the grievances sustained by delays in the Court of Chancery, and praying the house might send an address to his Majesty for the dismissal of the Lord Chancellor from his high office.

Mr. Bennett said, that as the petition referred to a question of a public nature, and was couched in respectful terms to the house, and was not disrespectful to the Lord Chancellor, he should move that it be printed. It was ordered to be printed.

Mr. C. Grant, in moving that the quarantine laws bill he read a second time, offered several observations to the house.

Mr. John Smith considered the provisions of this bill to be highly useful, and was only sorry that the board of trade had not thought it right to recommend the making of still further alterations in the state of the quarantine laws. He was of opinion that it would not be unsafe to undo still more of the quarantine laws; and he would state as shortly as possible his reasons for that opinion.

Dr.

Maclean, who had had greater opportunities for examining the nature of the plague than any man living, had declared it not to be contagious; and had likewise stated that the question as to its contagious or non-contagious quality was not so much a question of science as a question of fact, on which any man, who was in the habit of weighing testimony, was qualified to decide. It had been understood in England for many years, that the contagion of the plague was capable of being conveyed in clothing and in goods from one country to another, and that cotton, either in a raw or in a manufactured state, was the medium by which it was most easily conveyed. Now, though he was unqualified as a medical man to decide that point, he was able to state as a matter of fact, that there never had been, and that there never could be, an instance of the contagion of fever being conveyed by clothing or goods of any kind. He might urge as a proof of this position, that Holland, which of all our commercial rivals traded the most to those parts of the world in which the plague was most prevalent, had never thought it requisite to enact, and in point of fact did not possess, any quarantine laws. This assertion might appear extraordinary to some persons, but he would repeat it with this addition-that what was called quarantine in Holland amounted to nothing, as it never extended to more than three or four days' duration. He had a document at that moment in his hand, which showed that a vessel, which had arrived at Amsterdam or some other port of Holland with an

unsound

unsound bill of health, was permitted to discharge her cargo within three or four days after her arrival. As far, therefore, as the example of Holland went, it was evident that no danger had arisen from the importation of goods from countries visited by the plague. He would mention another fact, which could not be disputed, in confirmation of his argument. There was not an instance of any individual, who had examined into the lazarettos, having any fever at all since their existence in this country. Mr. Turnbull, our consul at Marseilles, had informed him, that though the coast of France in his neighbourhood was peculiarly liable, from its situation, to contagion, supposing contagion to exist, and though vessels were almost daily arriving at Marseilles from the plague countries, there was no instance of any expurgator having taken the plague since the year 1729. In that year an individual, who was opening a bale of cotton, suddenly dropped down dead. It was said that the contagion was so strong that it killed him immediately but the circumstance admitted of a more natural explanation; it was probable that the man had died in a fit of apoplexy. It was stated by Dr. Maclean, and also by other gentlemen acquainted with the affairs of Turkey, that at Constantinople, when thousands of victims were dying of the plague, their clothes, which belonged as a perquisite to the Cogia Basha, were regularly sold by him in the public market, and purchased by those who were unaffected by it. At Aleppo, too, it was notorious that the plague was often prevalent. From that city caravans passed with goods

into almost every part of Asia. There was no instance on record of the plague ever having been communicated by means of those caravans. Though Aleppo was often in a deep state of misery from the visitation of the plague, the caravans regularly departed laden with goods; and yet there was no instance known of those caravans ever carrying the plague into the populous regions which it was their business to traverse. There was considerable intercourse between Turkey and Persia; and yet, though the former country was often a sufferer from the plague, that horrible visitant had never made its appearance in Persia. Looking, then, at these facts, he would ask the house to consider whether no better cause than contagion could be found for the diffusion of the plague. Many doubted whether the disease which ravaged London in 1665 was the plague or not. Yet, even if it were the plague, it might be accounted for by the mode of living which at that time prevailed in England. They knew that in the reign of Elizabeth her presence-chamber was strewed with rushes, and that the usual diet of the ladies of her household was salt fish, hung beef, &c. From such circumstances it might be easy to conjecture what the habits and diet of the common people would be in little more than half a century afterwards; and under such habits and such a diet, coupled with the want of cleanliness and want of room which then existed in London, it could not be surprising that a fever, with all the appearance of plague, should have sprung up in the first instance, and diffused itself widely in the second. Now, let them ap

ply