1213] cation, but in all other public charities, of on the Education of the Poor. The first to which he should advert was What! though the commissioners had before them the very witnesses who were called to afford information as to the charities of education, and who were capable of explaining the nature and extent of gross abuses in other charitiesthough they could demand documents, which proved that trustees of education funds had broke their trusts and were also trustees of other charities, and therefore just objects of suspicion, the very same deed which furnished evidence of the one containing also very often evidence of the other, nevertheless those superior intelli. gences who had, elsewhere, sat in judgment on the bill, thought that they should not be authorized to inquire into any abuses but those connected with education; and as, from their high authority, in that period of the session there was no appeal, he must be satisfied to take the measure as it was left.. In like manner a practical change had taken place in the powers of the commissioners, as they were originally directed by the bill to an inves-call witnesses to attend them, but they tigation of the state of the education of were to possess no power of enforcing the poor generally. However solicitous to their attendance, or of demanding the obtain every information on that point, the production of any one document. This committee of that House were, to an ex- to him was inexplicable. Whatever in. tent, precluded from doing so by many ference appearances might suggest, he circumstances, over which they could not was still bound to believe, that this was have control. A commission throughout not done for the purpose of getting rid of the country was enabled to avail itself of the inquiry altogether; but it was the all local means of information-it would more inexplicable to him, when he recol. have supplied the deficiency which the lected that the commissioners of naval committee felt-it would have obtained inquiry, which originated with earl St. the necessary knowledge with no addition Vincent, passed through the House of of expense. Was it not a duty then to Lords with the fullest possible powers to direct their exertions to such a desirable the commissioners over all the worldobject? Oh no! Superior minds forbad their superiors as well as their inferiorsit. "You must," said they," do no such giving them authority to commit the re thing. You must confine your inquiry to fractory, and to fine to the amount of 20h, one class of abuses. You must not pre- and without any of the remedies inserted sume to ask one question beyond the in the original bill. In the commission confines of charitable education." To also under the Irish Education bill, which that decision the House must bow-some, passed that House, the fullest powers no doubt, from respect to the character, were conferred on the commissioners. of those distinguished persons-some One should have imagined, that at least from a sufficient knowledge of their mo- similar power would have been granted tives in the restriction-he himself must under the present bill. But as it stood do it from necessity. When he saw that then, neither the power of imprisoning the consequence was nothing more than nor of inflicting a fine, was allowed the this-that a second commission, and then commissioners. The extent of their au(for it must come to that) a third commis- thority was to go to different parts of the sion must be appointed (for, of course, as country, and call for volunteer evidence. those great personages would not choose He thought from what had been expe to embrace all the objects at once, a third rienced, and even by the committee of commission must be issued), when all the that House, that he could throw a little objects of those commissions might be ac- light on the nature of this volunteer complished by the first, he could not suf- evidence; and on the manner in which the ficiently express his surprise at this de- invitation of these commissioners would termination, though he felt the necessity in most cases be met. That experience of submitting to it. This extraordinary would prove how little likely an inquiry so conduct, this narrow, and illiberal, and restricted was to be effectual. The comimperfect view of the measure, reminded mittee always found, that wherever their him of the old fable of a man, who being (to attention was directed, whether it was to speak in legal terms) seized in fee of two a college, to a school, or to an hospital, cats, one of a larger size than the other, the parties called before them uniformly and being solicitous to make a communi- commenced with expressing the greatest cation between them on his premises, or deference for the character of that House dered that a large hole should be made in one place, and a small hole in another; and, certainly, the two cats passed through the two holes very conveniently, although they might have passed through one hole with much less trouble and expense to the owner. There was also another change in the measure which he exceedingly regretted. The powers conferred originally on the commissioners were not only altered and abridged, but the House would hear, with astonishment, altogether abrogated. They were directed to traverse the country, and their most anxious desire to aid the endeavours of the committee in a full and unsparing examination; and, indeed, their sincere thankfulness to parliament for having directed its attention to such inquiries. These were uniformly the sentiments with which these persons set out, no doubt with an equal claim to sincerity, as was possessed by the West India proprietors in the progress of another great question, but certainly not more impor tant than the present one, the abolition of the Slave trade, when they expressed their heartfelt desire for investigation. Yet no sooner had these strong feelings of solicitude escaped their lips, than, as in the case of other objects of anxious desire, either possessed, or about to be attained, but satiety began, and the appetite for farther enjoyment wholly palled. The second or third question put to those persons had generally the effect of making their anxiety to afford information altogether disappear. It was so in the case of Winchester school. "Produce," said the committee," your balance sheet of last year, and a copy of your statutes." "No;" was the answer, "we beg leave to put in a declaration that we have taken an oath not to divulge our statutes."-So that just as the parties were almost in possession of the very object which they professed to hold so dear, they declared themselves precluded by an oath from divulging their secrets. The committee expressed a desire to be acquainted with the terms in which the oath was worded; and it appeared that it was to the effect that none of their statements were to be divulged, except for necessary and useful purposes; and of this necessity and utility the fellows themselves were to be the judges. It appeared also that those statutes were produceable in a court of law, and the result was that the committee obtained a view of them.-Similar would be the obstructions with which these restricted commissioners would have to contend in their endeavours to elicit information from their volunteer evidence. He put it to his hon. and learned friend, the attorney-general, to say, and from his legal acquirements and practical acquaintance with the administration of law, no authority could be higher, whether any thing could be more clumsy, unsatisfactory, and inefficient, than to leave to those commissioners no other power to secure their object, than that of indictment against the demurrers for opposition to an act of parliament. To what, then, had the House to look, as a security for having their object carried into operation? How was it that he now stood up there to recommend to the House to agree with this bill so amended (as he must technically say); but, as he must say, in point of fact, so greatly defaced? The House had in themselves the power of securing the original object of the bill, even where the difficulty hitched; and, seeing as they did, that the original measure was so mangled- that all the powers of the commissioners had been (VOL. XXXVIII.) altered, that as the bill now stood, every thing was left to the good will of those who had an interest at variance with the spirit of the inquiry-he nevertheless had the fullest confidence that the powers they possessed would be exercised and that they would be productive of the most satisfactory result. To that security he looked as his only hope. The only means of effecting the great objects in view was, that the commissioners should proceed, and call witnesses; and that they should report occasionally to that House, and make returns of the names of all persons refusing to give the information required, or to produce the documents demanded, without alleging any just cause for such refusal. And as that House would, on its next meeting, re-appoint its committee, it would be enabled to supply the deficiency which the alteration in the present bill occasioned, by empowering that committee to call those persons before them. By these means, notwithstanding all the attempts and the subtilty of others, the House would be enabled to restore sufficient virtue and energy to this measure, and to make it something like what it was in its pristine state. He now came to another head of the subject. It was not alone to fundamental alterations that the changes which had been made in the bill in another place were limited; they affected even the division the House of Commons had made of the commissioners. The bill had originally appointed eight commissioners, making four boards, each as a check-a rival to the other. This principle was retained at present, but the mode of its operation was altered. The superior nature of the minds, who laughing to scorn the rashness of the original projectors, had perfected, by their grave deliberations, the present model of legislation, thought that the figure 3 was a better divisor of 8 than 2, and afforded a larger quotient of boards. Now, as the crude scheme of the House of Commons was framed, there were four boards of two each, calculated to proceed in their labours with expedition and emulation. As the bill stood originally amended, as was the phrase, there were two boards of three each, with two useless members over. So much for the arithmetic of those elevated legislators, who scouted the original bill in its rash and imperfect state. It was now in its final state provided, that there should be three boards of three each, therefore a ninth commissioner was (4 1) appointed. So that, on the whole, the alteration gave a division of commissioners capable of doing less work by one-third, and doing that diminished work at an increased expense of one-eighth. But that was not all;-very far from it. In the original bill the two Universities and four great public schools were excepted. When the bill was first discussed, one member moved to except Rugby; another proposed to except Shrewsbury; another Norwich; and, in fact, every member rose to propose an exemption for the school that was situated in the district which he represented. This would have rendered the measure perfectly nugatory, and it being so felt by the House, they rejected all those propositions, and the bill continued with its original exceptions. In order, however, to give a salutary reprimand to that House for such a decision, it had pleased the superior minds to exempt not only Harrow and Rugby, but all charitable endowments having special visitors. Now he would pledge himself to prove, that of all the charities in which abuses exist, none were greater or grosser than in those where special visitors were appointed. A variety of causes concurred to produce this evil. In some instances those visitors resided at a distance, and never exercised their powers; in others the visitor was the patron of the school, and did not correct abuses to which his system led; in others the visitor was the heir at law of the endower, and had rather pocket the funds than apply them to the proper purposes; and of course he did not visit his own sins very heavily on his own head. Indeed he could say positively that the grossest case of abuse that came before the committee, was of a charity where special visitors have been appointed, but who had never attended to their duties for twenty years. And though the evil was so ripe and rank as to have caught the notice of all persons in the vicinity, it never reached the ears of these special visitors till Christmas last. Here then, again, was an example of the vigour, the wisdom, and the enlarged and disinterested view that was taken of this subject in another place. But let not the House be disappointed in this way. Let them rely on the appointment of another committee next year. Let the commissioners report on all demurrers in limine, and the committee would turn their attention anew to the subject, break through the obstacles now opposed to them, and fol$ low up the report of the commissioners with an intrepid searching, and unsparing investigation. The powers of the commissioners of naval inquiry had extended to all persons in the kingdom. They were authorized to investigate and to commit in default of satisfactory answers. Although their object was public, they were allowed to examine private individuals. They might overhaul the books of any merchant in the city, and commit him to Newgate if he refused to answer their inquiries. Why refuse to grant similar powers in the present instance? One objection which had been made to the present bill was, that it gave no hint of any other measure by which it was to be followed. He had heard various objections made to many bills. One objection that he himself had to the present bill, as it came from the other House, was, that it had no penalty clause; another, that it had too many exempting clauses; but who had ever before heard it objected to a bill that it contained no hinting clause-no clause stating what was to come after it? Who had ever before heard it objected to a bill that it was one measure and not twenty? The ob jection was, that the bill was a whole and rounded measure (a description that he was sure would not apply to some of the bills that originated in the place in which that objection was made), that it was confined to actual enactment, and did not contemplate any prospective proceeding; that it had no view to any thing that was to come at the end; that it did not contain an appendix to the reader, telling him what work was to come next. Was it not enough that the bill had so suffered, that it had been laughed at and torn to tatters, but it was first to be tortured and then destroyed, if it did not contain what was to come next in the course of legislation on the subject in the ensuing session? The novelty of this objection was such, that he really did not know how to deal with it, and should, therefore, make no farther remark upon it. Of this he was satisfied, that notwithstanding all that had been done to diminish the efficiency of the measure, the knowledge that such an inquiry was going on, and that a half yearly report of its progress was to be made to the House of Commons, would even if no legislative proceeding were apprehended to be founded on that report, do great good in checking abuses, and in holding out a warning to those who were which I was possessed. The second witness examined: Q. What have you experienced with respect to this case? A. It has cost me 500l. already and I fear I do not know the worst of it. The third witness examined: Q. Have you suffered any thing by this suit? A. My heart is almost broken; indeed, my nerves are SO shaken by the losses which I have sustained in the prosecution of the affair, that I scarcely know what I do; it has been the most grievous thing I ever knew. I have a wife and several children; and I beg leave to add that unless the committee allow me to leave town to night, I do not know what will become of them. The whole appearance of the man bore ample testimony to the truth of the dreadful account he gave of his condition. So much for that instance of the advantage of resorting to a court of law. Sir G. Paul a man of the most estimable character, who had devoted a long and useful life to the advancement of all that was calculated to benefit the poor, had, on the discovery of an abuse of a similar nature in a charity of 50%. or 60%. per annum, betaken himself to the same cheap and expeditious remedy. The House had already heard the general result of such steps, he would now show them a little of the mechanism by which a man's fortune and health and happiness were ruined. After the necessary preliminary steps, the cause was put on the paper in the court of Chancery in December, but was ordered to stand over. Again it was put on the paper, and again it was ordered to stand over for three days. On the 21st it was actually called on, but the court made up its mind that it would not make up its mind. On the 9th of April, for which it was fixed, the court with its usual promptitude determined that it would not determine. On the 13th of May it came on, and the court pronounced on one point, expressing its opinion that a certain lease was void, but reserved its judgment on other implicated in them. A number of the ob- To elucidate those points the court took home the papers, and no more was heard of the cause for many months. The papers being taken home was a kind of respite and a suspension of proceeding, which relieved from expense during the time they were considering. The counsel both for the plaintiff and for the defendant however applied for judgment; but it was postponed to the 20th of January on which day it was not judged. Two days afterwards the same occurrence took place. |