Page:Australian views of England.djvu/112

  would not have done so, to the same extent, if the attack upon him had been made with a truer appreciation of his great moral weight, and with more tact and prudence. The war spirit in the House of Commons is undeniably predominant

Parliament is now considering the case of Lancashire, and men of all parties look forward to the state of things there, as autumn and winter advance, with the most serious apprehension. In all the great cotton towns, by far the greater part of the operatives are in a state of forced idleness, without bread and without hope, and the danger of absolute ruin to the small mill-owners and other possessors of property is pressing closer and closer. In Blackburn the poor-rate has mounted up to 18s. in the pound, and it is confessed that parishes can no longer support their "paupers." The case of Blackburn may be taken to shew the rapid increase of that destitution. According to the statistics brought forward the other night by Mr. Villiers, the persons receiving relief in Blackburn in the last week in May were 10,000, but in the last week in June they had increased to 11,500. The bill of the Government is simply to apply the principle of the Poor Law of Queen Elizabeth