but a sense of duty compelled him to say it, that he had a near and dear relative, a true friend to his country, and a large manufacturer, who had determined that if the Corn Laws and the distress produced by them should continue, he would leave his native land and his valued connections, and transfer his capital and exertions to a distant and happier clime. Nor was it wonderful, when such names as Wedgwood, and other leading houses, indeed his own, and nearly all were suffering, that men should think of escaping the storm, and preserving their property from destruction! The extent of distress in that district was found in the diminished consumption of animal food and other necessaries; in the falling state of markets, and the tolls derived from them; in the increased and increasing amount of poor-rates, and the growing inability to pay them; in the lessened number of those who have been accustomed to take sittings in churches and chapels; and in the falling-off of persons who occupied the free seats, because they had no longer decent clothing to appear in. Yes, and sorry he was to say, the very Sunday-schools were deserted by a great many of the children, because their clothes were threadbare, and their parents unable to replace them. And, said the speaker, I mention with grief, that in a district formerly remarked for its purity, there are to be found females, and not a few, who have resorted to prostitution to preserve themselves from starvation! The colliers, dependent on the manufacturers, are as badly off as the potters; already bodies of them perambulate our streets, and I will not say ask, but demand money or food; the bricklayers, carpenters, and others are without work and the means of subsistence, and it is impossible to foresee the issue, unless the government repeal the Corn Laws, restore the trade, and give employment to the country. The people want work rather than relief, and justice rather than compliments, or even compassion. So far as the manufacturers and the poor-law guardians are
