FACTORY LEGISLATION IN ENGLAND.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1217, 28 June 1895, Page 28

FACTORY LEGISLATION IN ENGLAND.

From Our Special Correspondent. London, May 3. Mr Sydney Buxton, M.P., went down to Poplar to address a ward meeting of his constituents, and the audience which greeted him in the Poplar Town Hall showed by their hearty reception that he has lost none of his popularity. Dr T. Power presided, and soon introduced Mr Buxton, who went On to speak of the probability of a general election coming next year, although affairs were still looking rosy for the Government. Mr Asquith had been good enough to associate him on what he must say was an extremely valuable amendment to the present Factory Acts. They had had two hasty elections at Oxford and MM, Norfolk, but those in Wicklow showed that the Irish people' "were still on the side of the Government. For a weak and ./tottering party and Government, the Liberals seemed to hold their place very well. (Cheers.) They had their differences, but they were not the only party that had little family feuds. (Cheers.) The Liberal Unionists and tho Tories were like the two "'boa constrictors in the Zoo, one of whom had swallowed the other, though it could never be discovered which was the swallower and which was tho swallowed. As, however, the great amount of swallowing had resulted in the death of both, he hoped this was an omen that the two parties now swallowing each other in the House of Commons would be rendered innocuous. (Cheers and laughter.) They had this session to deal with several important measures. That night the Chancellor of the Exchequer had introduced his Budget, which was not such an epoch-making one as that of last year. Still the finances' of the country were in a satisfactory state, and although the Budget was a humdrum one, the country was paying its way. As to the new Factory Bill, its principle ' was to take the standard of the best employer and to force that of the worst employer up to it, and gradually, step by step, to improve the conditions under which work should be done. It was jn*obable that there would be many amendments of a drastic character with a view to. "altering the Bill. He looked upon some of these amendments as dealing with theoretical questions, of which he was in favour. But when they considered the enormous number of people

affected by the Bill he thought they would see the wisdom of not overloading their measure, and thus imperilling the chances of its passing, Mr C. E. Hobhouse, M.P., also spoke; and on the motion of Mr A. Mercer, a vote of confidence in Mr Buxton was carried.