of Lincoln and Lord Monteagle united in bringing under the
notice of the commons and lords the subject of Irish emigration,
and each of these noble persons occupied the time and attention
of parliament with an impracticable measure. The general want of
parliamentary tact and practical sagacity evinced by the members of
both houses at this juncture was discouraging to those who regarded
parliament as the hope of the nation.

Parliament was much occupied with Irish and financial questions during
the session; several other matters, however, occupied earnest attention.
Mr. Fielden, member for Oldham, brought before the commons a measure for
shortening the hours of labour of women and children, and young persons
in factories. His agitation of this subject derived additional interest
from the fact that he himself had been a poor factory boy, and had,
to use his own expression, always "stood by his order." His measure
proposed the limitation of labour to twelve hours a clay, allowing two
hours out of the twelve for meals, and he would apply this rule to all
young persons between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. On Saturday,
however, he would limit the hours to eight, making a total of
sixty-three hours in the week until the 1st of May, 1848, after which
the total hours of labour for each young person in the week should
be fifty-eight. These restrictions he would apply to all females,
of whatever age, engaged in factory labour. The working-classes were
strongly in favour of Mr. Fielden's motion. Mr. Cobden had said the
previous year that, if the matter was postponed for twelve months, the
feelings of the working-classes would change; but that eloquent and
philanthropic man very often proved himself a bad prophet, and never
more signally than in this instance. The desire of the working-classes
for some such law had greatly increased since the time Mr. Cobden
declared that it would abate. On the second reading of the bill a fierce
opposition was offered, based upon principles of political economy.
Sir Robert Peel, Mr. Hume, Mr. Trelawney, Sir Charles Wood, Mr. Mark
Philips, and Mr. Bright, were the chief opponents of the measure. Mr.
Bright very ably animadverted upon the vacillation of Lord John Russell
upon this subject, and the mischief inflicted upon the interests in
question by the noble lord's indecision.

Lord John Russell avowed his support of the principle of the measure,
because parliament had already given its sanc