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Thanks for that Jeremy, I was beginning to suspect as much. It does
raise the question of how the Committee members were selected in the first place
In the case of the Commons Committee on the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act Edwin
Chadwick apparently wrote to the Chairman, Lord John Russell (the Home Secretary),
urging him to fill the Committee with supporters of the Act – as a result
the only opponent of the Act on the Committee was John Fielden the radical MP
for Oldham (William Cobbett’s chum).
What is interesting is the way in which questions were put to different
witnesses by all members of the Committee – pauper witnesses were treated
quite gently in comparison to radical agitators and poor law officers such as
guardians and relieving officers, some of whom had a pretty rough ride.
Peter Park
Fulwood
From:
Sent: 05 May 2008 10:58
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [LOCAL-HISTORY]
Parliamentary Select Committee Witnesses
In my experience the witnesses were chosen by the members of the Select
Committtee. Hence if such a Committee was packed with reformers then the
witnesses tend to be those supporting their ideas. Those committees that were
more open and tending more towards investigation and reporting called a greater
range of witnesses.
In the end witnesses reflected the views of the most active committee
members especially when the results had been pre-judged
Jeremy