cent. of the population, while in the metropolis it is only 30 per cent. In the northern districts the increase of population from 1800 to 1841 has been 127 per cent. while the increase of sittings in places of worship has been not less than 219 per cent. I can also refer to educational efforts and progress in connection with several of the large manufactories. One of these at Darwen employs 1382 persons,--619 males and 763 females,—of whom 912 can read well, 435 can read a little, and only 35 cannot read. In another manufactory at Rawtenstall there are 81 boys and 75 girls in a school supported by the proprietors of the works. In the schools on the premises of my friends, H. and E. Ashworth near Bolton, there are 316 children attending the day-schools, and 615 in the Sunday-schools.

It would be well for the landholders to look a little at these and many similar cases, and to take example from them, rather than engage in the work of throwing obloquy on the manufacturers of the north. On this point I will read to the House an extract from a letter from a gentleman of the first respectability, and which I have received to-day. It refers to a meeting recently held in the town of Ashton-under-Lyne on the subject of education:

"The meeting to which you refer was composed solely of the friends and members of dissenting congregations in the town of Ashton, who were desirous to aid in the effort now being generally made to promote the great cause of education among the

labouring classes. On that occasion £2,007. was subscribed by the parties present, £200. of which was from the operative classes, viz. spinners, weavers, and other hands employed in mills. Subscriptions are still proceeding amongst those members who were unavoidably absent, and the whole amount will reach £3000. of which sum the operative classes will contribute £250." (Hear, hear.)

Now, can the Noble Lord, or any one else, produce a similar case from the agricultural districts? (Hear, hear.) I venture to say that no such case can there be found. For the character of the manufacturing population I may also refer Honourable Members to the Report of the commission sent down to Stockport in the month of January, 1842. I will read the concluding paragraph of that Report, and anything more conclusive as to the merits of the working classes of that town, I cannot hope to discover.

"In the course of these enquiries, the general character and condition of the operatives employed in the cotton trade have been peculiarly the objects of our observation. We have seen that, in an ordinary state of the trade, those of the operatives who are employed, (as the mass of them are,) in connexion with steam-power machinery, appear to command, by the value of their labour, the means of enjoyment of the comforts of life to an extent and degree unknown to a large portion of the population of this country; and there is little doubt, that persons so circumstanced must consume, in a degree which far exceeds the proportion of their numbers, the natural produce of this and of foreign countries, thereby contributing largely to the prosperity of other classes of their countrymen, as well as to those sources of revenue by which the national liabilities are in a great part sustained.

"We find, in connexion with the large earnings of this class,

industrious habits of no common stamp, regulated and secured, in great measure, by the peculiar nature of their employment; and a degree of intelligence already much in advance of other classes of the working people, and still growing with the general growth of popular education. It appears, also, that when in the enjoyment of prosperity they avail themselves, to a great extent, of the advantages of Provident Institutions, and that, partly through this, and partly through other circumstances, equally creditable to their character as a working people, they avoid almost altogether dependence upon poor rates. On the recurrence of general distress, we find them neither a pauperized mass, nor readily admitting pauperism among them; but struggling against adversity, beating far and wide for employment, and in many cases leaving their country for foreign climates, rather than depend upon other resources for subsistence than those of their own industry and skill. Those among them who have not been able or willing to leave a place, where at present their labour is of little or no value, have been found enduring distress with patience, and abstaining, sometimes to the injury of health, from making any application for relief; while others, who have been driven reluctantly to that extremity, we have seen receiving a degree of relief sufficient only to support life, often with thankfulness and gratitude, and generally without a murmur or complaint. We feel assured, that the sufferings of a population, whose general character and condition are such as we have endeavoured to describe them, will meet with sympathy and consideration from all classes of their fellow-subjects; and that the interests of that branch of trade which has furnished such a population with employment, will be held entitled to peculiar attention from the legislature of the country."

And in drawing the attention of the House to this remarkable extract, I affirm, fearlessly, that if the Commissioners say no more than the truth, the statement of the Noble Lord can only be considered

as a most unfair and exaggerated picture of the factory districts and the factory population. (Hear.)

I have also in my possession a note from Mr. W. Chambers, of Edinburgh, one of that distinguished firm from whom so much that tends to inform and to elevate the artisans of this country has proceeded, in which he states, that of 85000 copies of their "Chambers' Journal" sold weekly, not less than four-fifths are disposed of in the manufacturing districts. Lanarkshire and Lancashire afford the greatest number of readers, the latter county alone taking more than 20,000 copies, while to Dorsetshire probably not fifty copies are sent (Hear, hear). But in making these statements to the House, I am not about to deny the sufferings and the wrongs of the manufacturing population. Before I had the honour of a seat in this House, I was one of a deputation that more than once had an interview with the Right Honourable Baronet on the subject of those sufferings and those wrongs. What I contend for is this, that as respects the remuneration for labour, and the state of society, and the general comfort of the population, the cotton districts may stand a comparison with any other in the kingdom. I could give ample proof of this, but I will confine myself to only a few facts. It has been stated that a large proportion of the females employed in mills are married, but the returns to which I will ask your attention will shew that this is not the case. If all the Noble

Lord said on this point were true, if the cases he stated, but for which he gave no authority, were the rule, instead of being, as I am sure they are, the exception, such a state of things would go far to justify interference of an extraordinary description on the part of the Legislature. The first case to which I ask the attention of the House is that of the concern in which I am a partner, and I have no reason to suppose that it presents a more favourable view than that of my neighbours. We employ 518 persons, and their ages and amount of wages are as follows:

Total. 518 persons.-Average weekly earnings 10 1

Thus it will be seen, that whilst between the ages of 13 and 21 years, the females are 190, and the males only 138; yet that of those above 21 years of age, 131 are men, and only 59 are women; thus proving beyond dispute, that after that period, which may be termed a marriageable age, the women are to a very large extent withdrawn from factory employment, and remain at home engaged in their domestic duties. I have another case which gives nearly the same result. From an establish