ssions, but not without the testimony
of the woman being corroborated by other evidence; that when a woman had
had one bastard child, she should obtain no order in a subsequent case;
that an order should be operative only till the child attained the
age of seven years; that sums to be recovered from the putative father
should be recoverable only by attachment or distress; and that he should
not, in any case, be liable to imprisonment for costs. Subsequently,
several other amendments were made of minor importance, as alterations
in the allowance system, and in administering outdoor relief, &c.; and
the bill thus altered passed the third reading on the 8th of August, by
a majority of forty-five against fifteen. On the 11th of August, when
Lord Althorp moved the commons to agree to the lords' amendment, an
amendment was moved that they should be read that day six months. This
proposal was chiefly supported by those who were opposed to the bill
altogether, or who wished it should be delayed till next session; but
Lord Althorp declared that if it did not pass, he would not again bring
it forward; and the amendment was negatived by a large majority. All the
amendments of the lords were then agreed to, with the exception of the
omission of the clause which provided for the instruction of pauper
children in the religious creed of his surviving parent or god-parent,
and entitled dissenting clergymen to visit workhouses at all times, for
the purpose of religious instruction, at the desire of any pauper of
any sect. This amendment was said to be a violation of the principle of
religious liberty, and an insult to the small portion of good feeling
towards dissenters which existed in the upper house, and it was
rejected. Finally, the amendment of the commons restoring the clause
which had been expunged, was agreed to by the lords, and thus the great
experiment of a revision and alteration of the poor-laws commenced.

From the great change effected in the poor-laws, no class of men could
eventually expect greater relief than the owners and occupiers of lands.
At this time, however, the agriculturists longed after means of relief
of more immediate, direct, and certain operation. The subject of
agricultural distress had, indeed, formed a paragraph in the king's
speech, and it was now brought forward by the Marquis of Chandos. On the
21st of February, after ably stating both the local and general causes
of the evil, he moved a resolution,