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THE JtfOUTHE&N STAR. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1842.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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THE CHASTER . The Chartists when they first began To advocate the tights of man , The factious all like tigera ran To crush our infant Charter . Bat to its rescue thousands flew , "Whilst bold O'Connor did pursue , Who from the fangs of faction drew The bantling tram this marderoaa crew . The nation with one Blighty Toica With gratitade did then rejoiee , And . hail'd this chasplon as their choice , To nnrse tkeir infant Charter The -ffDj Whigs did then advise Their minion tools to paraL ' za , By treashery and fiendish spies ,
The progress o ! our Charter . This hellish plot they did pursue , When soon fire hundred patriots true Were cist in dungeons by the few , Fer diriEg to maintain their due Although Tr ith gold they tried in rain , Yet not one convert could they gain , Each swore they ever would maiiit&in Their dearest rights , the Charter The C . ' -rn Law League soon did advance To show there still was left a chance " Tchi Poland , Germany , and Franca
Their Com with us would barter But by restrictions we were bound From trading with th " a world around , Whilst thousands ol the poor were found To Et ^ rTd from want on British gronnd . " Thus did they rant to gain applause , Still careful to evade the cause That all oar Els were ckss-made laws And only cure the Charter . The pfopla being wide awaie The foxes' " clap trap - would not take , Wtiich nude the shopocraU to quake
Last we shoud have the Charter Then every shift they c * nld invent By treachery , in conclave , spent Tfccse cunning knaves , being firmly bent Our glerious progress to prevent . They feign'd at last to Eyinpstlr ' za ¦ With those -S-11 & fell a sacrifice"Whosa blood for retribution cries As victims to our Charter . Eat now Sir Bobby ' s Income Bill
will maie them peep within their till , And force them out against their will To advocate the Charter . Well may humanity recuil To sere the poor who sweat and toil , TThilst wanton idlers waste and sooil The pradnee of this fruitful soiL ^ ew iloveis all than pray beware , List our hard fate should bs your ihare To Freedom's standard now repair ,
To gain the People ' s Charter . Rsfomeis , then , of every grade , Who toll at a * vil , loom , or spade , Ho more of phantoms be afraid , But join for Freedom ' s Charter . Tear country now frem rnia save ; JS ' o longer be a willing slave , Bat like a patriot true and brave Ciase tyranto to oblivion ' s grave . Then soon will psaoe and plenty reign , When all their equal rights will gain j So new assist us to obtain Oar loug-Iyst rights , the Charter . Geoege Lindsay Patricroft , July 13 th , 1 S 42 .
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CHAKTIST LINES , FOR RECITATION . Tpon its mother ' s throbbing breast An infant lay , buV could not rest ; It wanted food , aad $ ft its parch'd lips triad The miltless teat , by woe and famine dried—Then scream'd with pain . " Hush . ' baby sleep , " The mother cried , " I can but weep . '' Yes , wretehed parent , but grief ' s jaot siowsr Will net restore thy timeleia drooping flower . The child ia dying ; tiiou thyself must die—Famine by law decrees it . Tis Bad to see The y # une thing ¦ writhe and hear its famieh'd cry . And know no help at all can coae from the * . The pelican will shtd her blood To give her iiinlsh'd sestlicgs food , And so woulds ; then . ' t-ui all in Tain ;—It will not BleeD , —nor can ' st thvu soothe its pain .
* ' 0 God , " she cries , " O God of earth and heaven , Save me and ruy sweet babe to day—Perfcap * to-morrow sonictiing may be given , And W 6 may live—Groat God , I pray . " Sle saw no heps ; in wild distress , Lire Hscar in the wilderness , She laid her gasping infant by—She could not bear to see it dia ! Then frattic 3 = w from that sad spot , "Bat ccula not rest where it was not . Its look uf pvj—its fetb ' e cries Eaonl her he ^ rt where ' er she Sies . Bick she retirm'd ; her faced E jwer Smiled as it ; ay—a lovtly smile ! Her tears feli fait as they couid pour ; But death sat on its face the while .
She caught it up ;—oh . ' load of lead ! Wtat weight so heavy as the dead ? Bat more she loved it now than ever , And clasp'd it close—no more to sever . Tts , mother and child are now as one—Cold as forms of sealptur'd stone . Acd where was tie husband , that child ' s hapless fllre ? He had left them tint morning , his brain was on lire With tlieir cries for relitf , their moan * of despair Which ha could net ease—he only could share . Twas in vain to beg , for no on 9 wonld give—He would not steal , then how must he live ? No work could be had , not a friend had he ;—There is nothing but hardship for poverty 1 All he could sell had long been sold ,
And now they were starving with hunger and cold " Oh God , " he crifcd , « ' aud most I stand by And Etc my poor wife and infant die , While the rich are roiling in luxury Robb'd from the tracts of such as me ? If I must not wark , then what must I do ? Tou Etall not die—I'll Sght for you I " He ru £ lTd from home , resolv'd for food , And his cry as he went was " Bread or blo * d ! " Be joia' 4 a crowd that was gather'd there , All n ^ te-i together by wild despair . Hunger , ' tis said , will eat throngh walls , And m&dcess cares not for cannon balls . Spite of the swords of cavalry And lie bijontts of infantry ,
Thai tewn waj sack'd , and , mid flame and blood , The starving r < oor got plenty of food . Away ran this father and said " I come !" Bat when hereifch'd once more his home , What a sight was there : trantfis'd he stands . And the brtad dropt from his palsied hands . He siooi without motion , no more than they On whoa he gated , as in death they lay . The soldiers came and bound him fast ; He strove not , he etirr'd not , he stared aghast . Bat when they would force him otit at the door , He b ^ rst bis bonds and fell on the flx > r . " My wife ! my wife I niy child ! " he cried ; His heart had burs :, and so he died . J . W
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OPPRESSION . Shall we for ever lick the dust Or fear the tyraiii ' a boding frowa , Aiid cringing , pander to lha lust Of pimpcr'd mink-ns of a crown ! Shall we for ever bear the scorn Of hearties * wssiih and fancied power ? Btqneath to ases yet unborn Our aljrctness—3 galling dower ? Shall we for ever be the spoil Of greedy avarics ? and brood O ' er festering wrongs and thankless toil In calm and melancholy mood ?
Shall we beheld ths festive halls , Where the loud laugh of reTeiry Echoes ilong the t-iasdled walls In mockery of our misery ? Si all we a Mind submission pay Tj j tetl'd oppression ' s ruthless reign ? Q-. . e ? e = rt sigh ? and metkly pray Of death to end out rankling pain ? Forbid it , God ! the dignity Of maahood itnit awaken'd be ; Justice demands , and Liberty Proekims we must and shall be free . ' D . C
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* EEDS . —XiTIONiX SCHOOLHASTSSS' PbOTIDETT fiocarr . —On Saturday last , a ; noon , % general Meeting , convened by ciromlar , of masters of the Auionai Schools in the dioeeses of York tnd Ripon , * M held in the Girls' School Room , High Court ' «» , Leeds , to take into consideration the propriety . * wnamg a society to be entitled , The National , *««» l » aster 8 ' Provident Society ; " the object of ** tta Bcoold be to render mutual assistance to each ' * a « r . Dt . Hook , rrfir , of Leeds , took the chair , and pPressed bi 3 eonsurrence in the object * of the meet-« g , alib . ougb . he doubted whether a sufficient number * sab 5 criber 3 oould te obtained to meet all the , . ga £ npli . ted objects . The Eev . Mr . Hessay , of gMersfield . oaoTed the first resolution , and gtated T * J ^ 6 Tkai of Hudderffieid would have been * " * eat bat for a donestic afliction . The resolution ** . " Thai as najiwiai Bch » olmasteri , » a a body ,
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have no resource to fall back upon , neither in age or sickness , it is desirable that a society for these purposes be immediately formed , under the title of * The National Schoolmasters' Provident Society . " Mr . Bell , of Huddersfield , seconded the resolution , which was carried . The Rev . Mr . Morris moved the second resolution , " That a committee be appointed to carry out the objects of the first resolution . " ¦ Mr . Roberts , of Leeds , seconded the resolution , which was also adopted . Mr . Bell , of Hudderfield , was requested to act as secretary until the society be folly established . Mr . Simzn 3 moved , " That the committee , with the chairman , be empowered to draw ap the rule 3 and regulations of the society , and submit the same to a general meeting
of the subscribers hereaiter to be called by the secretary , and that they apply to his Grace the Archbishop of York , and to the Lord Bishop of Ripon , to become the patrons and presidents of the society , and to the Archdeacons of the two dioceses 3 to become vice-presidents . " Mr . Blanchard seconded the resolution . Mr . Edmondson moved the fourth resolution : — " That all schoolmasters who are now present , and who approve of the society , do immediately after the meeting signify the same to the Secretary , and become enrolled members ; that ali the national schoolmasters in the two diocesses who have not assented to the proposed society be written to and requested to become members thereof ; and that any person wishing to become
a member of the society , whose school is not in union with the National Society , must produce a certificate from the clergyman of his parish , stating that the school is conducted on the principles of th-. Church of England , and is under his superintendence . '' Mr . Branhwaite seconded the resolution . Mr . J . Lee moved the next resolution : —* ' That the headmaster in each dip trict be theSecretary { pro . ( cm . ) for such district , and that such Secretary be authorisedin the cama of the society , to solicit the clergymen in his district to assist and co-operate in the views of the society . " Mr . Bisks , of Holmfirth , seconded the resolution . Mr . Eastham
moved—Tnai at the formation of thi society , such masters as have signified their intention to become members , be called upon to pay their first quarterly subscription , on the 30 th of September , or as soon as convenient . " Mr . J . Collingwood , of Whitkirk , seconaed the resolution , which like all the others was carried unanimously . The following persons were then appointed a committee , viz —Mr . J . S . Bel ) , Seed Hil ) , Huddersfield ; R ; v . H . Brauhwaite , Trinity Church , ditto ; Rev . F . Holroyde , Woodhouse , Huddersfield ; Mr . J .. Haywood , Lcckwoo . ! , and Mr . C . Binks , Holmfirth , with power to add to their number ; and thanks having bson voted to the Rev . Chairman , the mceiing broke up .
SteaHsg Monet . —On Monday lost , a wornau named Ann Cowcurn , who ha-i been for a fe ; v days cook at the Griffia Inn , Boar-lane , Leeds , was brought before Griffith Wright aud Anthony Tiriey , Esqrs ., at the Court House , on a charge of h&viug stolen four sovereigns , two aprons , and oilier articles , the property of Esihtr Moorhouse , barmaid at the GrifSu . It appeared that the prisoner and prosecutrix slept in the same room , and on Friday night , on retiring to rest , the prosccutrix had thirteen sovereigns in her purse ; she was awoke during the night by the prisoner feeling about her pillow , but not suspecting anythiag , did
not examine her purse , and consequently did not miss any money until Saturday night , when she missed four sovereigns- ^ She charged Cowburn with the thefr , who denied it , but on searching her , four sovereigns ( for which she could not satisfactorily account J were found in her pocket , and two aprons , also the property of the prosecutrix , were found in her box . The members of Mrs . Riiey ' s fair . ily had lost various articles , which were found concealed in different parts cf the kitchen , no doubt for the purpose of being taken off . The woman mado the Usual detnte , that the things were her own , and after examining ail the witnesses , the woman was
committed for trial . Plvg D&awirg . —On Saturday last , three men , named Edward Chappell , rJoth dresser , Huuskt , John Sampson , miner , BIrkeushaw , and John Scott , miner , Boston , were commuted to York Castle for trial , by the Lr eds Borough Justices ; the former charged with being concerned in "drawing tho plug " a ; Messrs . Tatbam ' s , at Holbeck , and the vwo latier being parties in a Eimilar effence at Royd ' s mill , dariLg the , reccn ; disturbance ? .
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LEEDS BREWSTER SESSIONS . The annual Brewster Sessions were held on Monday morning last at ten o ' clock . There were present the Mayor , ( who presided ) , James Holdforth , E ? q ., Anthony Titley , Eiq-, J . R . Atkinson , E-q ., Ralph Markland , Esq ., Darct .: n Lnpton , Esq .. Win . Smith , Esq ., Richard Bramlry , Esq ., Griffith Wright , E-q , George Goodman , E ^ q ., Wiiliim CuJzaan , Esq ., JaoieS Musgrave , E = q ., and Himei Siansfeld , Eiq . Tie Mayor addressed a few words to the assembled publicans , and remarked that ail persons to whom
IicenseB were granted were txpectvd to keep tkeir houses in an orderly manner , not to allow the assembling of disorderly company therein , but to conduct them at-cotliing to the tenor of their respective licenses . Tes Jiagistrates had a list of those publicans before them acaicst whom complaints have been preferred curing the past year , and the licenses of these personB wouid be wj ' . hte . 'd until an inquiry into their conduct had been made : the applications f ^ r new li censes wouli not be entertained until the others had been all dlsixsird of .
The licenses were then proceeded with . The following were withheld for fnrther inquiry : — Mr . Thos . Mow , Queen's Anns , Kirkgate ; Mr . Thos . Eshelby , Gilbert's Arms , Wortky ; Mr . Rjbtrt Cross , Pack Horse Inn , Briggate ; Mr . Shires , Wellington Hotel , Wellington-street ; Mr . John Witton , Old Parrot Inn , Call-lane ; Mr . John Bairstow , George and Dragon , Marshlane ; Mr . We Swale , Old Red Lion , Holbeck-Iane ; Mr . Charles Collister , King ' s Arms , Holbeck ; Mr . Charles Wainwright , Aire and Calder , Calllane ; Mr . Joseph Beevers , Drysaltera'Arms , Beeston ; Mr . Thomas Banks , Chequers' Inn , Marshall-street , Hslbeck . These licenses will be farther considered on Wednesday , the 14 th of September , till which day they are suspended .
The magistrates then proceeded to hear applications for new licences , when the following were granud : — Thos . Hall , Qaeen ' s Arms , Sunny Br . nk-st reet ; Henry Robinson , Coach and Horses , Buslingthorpe ; John Tare , Aire a ' . d Calder New Docks , Crown Point ; K = lita Thompson , New Inn , Dawsbury-road , and to Jonathan Alderscn , Gipfcon Wood Ina , Roundhay Road . The two following cases were ordered to stand over uctil the adjourned brewBter sessions : — Matthew Bywater , Naw Inn , Wilson-street , Meadow Xane ; and BeDJamin Robertahaw , BrititL Queen , Green-Bide , Wortley . The following persons had given legal notice of application , but were refused : —
John Black , Victoria Bridge Inn , School-street ; Thos . Thornhill , Waterloo Inn , Buslingtkorp ; Wm . Craister , the Qacen ; Roundhay-road ; James Thompson , Shepherd ' s Inn , Briuge-street ; Joseph Robinson , York-street ; John Ripley , Chandler ' s Arms , Mill G ^ rth ; John C * stelow , Commodore Napier , Charles-street . Top Close ; Geo . Wiseman , Jolly Sailor , Kirkgate ; John Cummins . Hope and Anchor , Pearson-street , Pottery Field ; Joseph Webster , New Inn , Hunslet-lane ; Samuel Clay , Grey Mare , Hucslet ; John William Hirst , White House , D = wsbury Road-end ; John Critchley , Prince Albert , Foster-street , Huiislel-kne ; John North ,
British Qiren , Grspe-strefct ; Jostph Ceoper , Claremoiit House , Braithwaite's FieiJ , Hoibtck ; John Chadwick , Moulder ' s Arms , Water-iane , Holbeck ; John Brooke , Fountain Inn , Armley New Road , Holbeck ; G = orge Hopgard , Ttre « Tuns , Marshall-street ; John Morten , Glebe Inn , Solbeck ; John Nicholson , Barky Corn , Nfcw Wwrtley ; Thomas Cawoed , Goidtn Lion , Br-iiii ^ y ; Jonas Hanson , Waggon an ' ' K rse « , Swinnow Moor , Bramley ; Jeremiah Shiers , i > own Cow , Swianow Moor , Bramley ; Wm . Verity , Hough End , near Park Spring Wood , Bramley : and John Cookson , Q it-en ' a Arms , Chapel AUerton .
The further proceedings were then adjourned till Thursday , the 14 th of September .
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Ferment among the Bishops . —We understand that the serious illness of the Archbishop of Canterbury has occasioned an extraordinary ferment amoDt ; the . Bishops , all of whom areas busy as a certain notorious personage is said to be in a high wind . Exeter has laid abide his intention of paying a Eeccud visit at the public expense—to the Scilly Islands , and is preparing , instead , a pamphlet , whoso ebject iB to prove that the present
Government is the best of all possible Governments , ' and Sir K . . Peel the best of all possible Premiers ; while London , equally on the alert , has been seen frequently , within the l&sk few days , flitting uneasily j to and fro between . Whitehall-gardens and Downing sireef . The Episcopal Bench has not been so active as it is now since the death of the last Archbishop . The news of the Pope ' s landing at Dover with a cargo ef faggots would not occasion half such an excitement among them .
Dbbidful Dkath trou swallowing vitbiolic Acid . —On Friday , one of the mechanics employed ! in the monlding department of Woolwich dockyard , ! died in the Marine Hospital , ia consequence of the j extensive internal in joriee he received by swallowing a large quantity of vitriolic acid . The deceased , it appears , was at work in the workshops of the moulding" department , * nd , beoominjj thirsty , ho i took np a > ~ mag containing thai , aeetructive liquid , coneeivicg it to be spring water , and took a draught , which barnt his month and throat in a dreadful . manner . He was conveyed to the hospital , where I every attention was paid , but , after lingering for nearly forty-eight hours , ho expired , having suffered i the greatest agonies . It appears the acid is au article frequently required in the work . The j deceased , whose name was Edward Nicholson , was j a joong man only twenty-five years of age , and had j bat recently been married , 1
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Royal Visrr to Scotland . —Her Majesty ,-Prince Albert , and suite , left Windsor Casfclb on Monday morning at twenty minutes past five , and arrived at the Paddington terminus at ten minute . " to six . From the terminus they started direct for Deptford , where relays of horses were waiting to convey them to Woolwich . It having been generally known for some days past that it was her Majesty ' s intention to embark at seven o ' clock from Woolwich for Leith , great preparations had been made by the stoam-boat proprietors for the immense number of passengers who it was supposed would leave London at an early hour for the purpose of witnessing the departure of the Queen from the shores of England . The morning at four o ' clock was calm and beautiful , and gave
every promise of a fine day . As the cay broke , however , the clouds began to gather , and at a quarter before five the rain commenced failing in torrents > , and continued in one unimemitted pour until after eight o ' clock . The rain at about half-past six o ' clock somewhat abated j and at Woolwich tho sight , notwithstanding the chilling influence of the weather , was exciting in the extreme . The Royal George , with tho Royal standard flying at her main , her yards manned , and her officers aud men at quarters , formed the most conspicuous object . Close alongside her was the Commissioners' yatcht , the WilJiam and Mary , wkh her yards manned . She was profusely decorated with flag 3 , Tho Lightning , the Salamander , tho Monkey , and several other steam-vessels were ia attendance . Flags were seen floating over the dock-yard , the barracks , the arsenal , aud the other public buildings . The shores on
both sides were crowded wi'h upedators . Precisely at seven o ' clock a royal salute , fired from a battery stationed in the dockyard , answered by another salute from the arsenal , announced the embarkation of her Majesty . In the course of a : « . w seconds the Royal George got under weigh , and being taken in tow by tho st-. am tug Monkey , W . Bryant , proceeded a I a rapid rate down the river . The Royal George was preceded by tbe Lightning steamer , Lieut . G . Suell , which cleared the way for the progress of tho royal fleet , also the Shearwater , Captain Washington , the Fearless ( steamer ) , Captain F Buiiock , and the Radamanthus , Lieut , T . Laen , brought up the rear . As the royal fkc ' - passed down the river , royal salutes were fired from the barracks and from the arsenal , as well as from the dockyard . The royal squadron was off the Hore at eleven o'clock this morning .
The coal whippers of London struck work on Wednesday , in order to relieve themselves from a large per centage which reduces tkeir pay from seven farthings per ton to ou « peDnv , and which ia exacted by certain middlemen called " under-uudertakers , " at Shad well anj other places below London ; and to throw off their thraldom to agents who are also publicans , and who obligo the men whom they employ to consumo certain quantities of bter . The Dublin Pavers mention threa brutal murders . Thomas Long had his brains dashed out near Limerick , on Saturday ; Honecn , wjod-rsnger to Mr . Vandeleur , was killed by a drunken companion , as they were groin ;* to renew a broken temperanco p ! cjge , in Ciare , on Friday ; and on tho 10 th , one Mercer was beaten to death at Glenkean , near Londonderry . No cause was knowu for either of these murders .
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THE WEST-INDIAN CAPITALISTS AND FREE LABOUR . Two important Parliamentary Reports in reference to Africa and the West Indies , havo beon laid upon the table of the Housq of Commons ; and as we deem them of considerable importance , we take tbe present occasion of inviting public attention ( o them , as documents in which the labouring population of this country are deeply interested . The war of capital against labour is as unequal as it is urjjust . The powers possessed by the antagonistic parties arc such that tho one must , under existing circumstances , yield to the other , and in every state where capital gains tho ascendancy over
labour , aniDJury is kflicted upon industry in every part cf the world . Thus it appears that the rampant dominion of the non-producing classes in England , has excited the hopas and the cupidity of their brethren in the West Indies , who are now draining every nsrve to rob the emancipated negro of the fair results of that freedom , so dearly bought for them by the toiling millions of this land , and should they be allowed to succeed in their infamous and murderous design , we may rest assured that their doing so will , as a natural consequence resulting from the laws of action and re-action , result in an increase of depredations on the part of the monied classes over the industrious beea of thi 3 island hive . And hence
arises the necessity of watchii ^ g most carefully any emanation from that den of darkness in which tho demon of clas 3 legislation and legalised oppression for ^ e ths chains by which houest laboHr is to be fettered to the earth . The first report to which wo are desirous of calling the attention of our rradtrs is that of a Select Committee on the West-India Colonies ; and was got up for tke purpose of examining into the effectB of the Emancipatien Act upon the prosperity of the planters .
" The questions immediately submitted to tho Commktee which first rtported were , whether Negro Emancipation has or has not entailed certain evils , in withdrawing large numbers from the labour-market cf tho Wtat Indies , ami bringing the planters , through the compulsory payment of lavish wages without securing adequate supplies of labour , to the verge of ruin ; and whether tbose evils can " repaired by free iramgration of negiots from Africa—qfficiva ycnlis . The Committee examined witnesses both for and ozaintt the planting interest , from the Colonies of St . Vincent , Trinidad , Barba-: oes , British Guiana , Grenada , Antigua , St . Kilt ' s , and Jamaica . They had no time last session to make a detailed report , and therefore they bum up their conclusions in the subjoined resolutions ; which they introduce
thus" In recommending those resolutions and the evidence to the av . fcution of th « House , yuur Committee fetl bound to state , in cosciosion , that thoy caauct regard the prcjeut state of the West-India Colonies , unsatisfactory a 3 it is , with any feeling of despair . They believe thit ihe distress now prevailing in those colonies is very great , aud requires immediate attention : thty cannot indicate any remedy by which they c : in be sanguine enough to suppose that such serious distress c « uUl be speedily removed ; but they have offered huygtstious , iu the subjoined resolutions , the effects of which they confidently hope may be ultimately though gradually successful .
" Thej bt-lieve that if those suggestions . ire considered and acted upon ina spirit of equal justice to both proprietors and labourers , prosperity may be restored ; and tLat , under the blessing of Divine Providenco , the world may witness the completa success of the great ex-an ^ ie which this country has afforded . All this at first sight may appear reasonable . The Committee would evidently induce the House and tho country to conclude that the inquiry has been gone into without any bias one way or the
otn-ii ; and we ar © sufficiently acquainted with human nature to believe that they have in reality perFuaded themselves into a belief of that which they are evidently most anxious to impress upon th 3 public mind—thtir own strict impartiality . Siill we must not forgot , aud tho people must not lose Eight of the fact , that tbi 3 Select Committee was composed of men of property , and that the : nves ; igation was instituted on behalf of the Capira ' : i > t : and Planters in our West Indian settlements .
Bearing this in njind , we request our readers to ' mark , learn , and ir . wardly digest" most carefully the subjoined resolutions , and we much mistake if they do not find in them another additional motive for continuing and increasing their exertions , until the Charier i 3 obtained , the enactment of which can aloue give just protection to property by securing and upholding the rights of labour . As the resolutions are but short , yet most important , we give them entire : — " Resolved—That it to the epinion of thiB Committee , " 1 . That tbe great act of emancipating the slaves in tho West Indiaa Colonies has been productive , as regards the character and condition of the Negro population , ol the rnobt favourable and gratifying results .
" 2 . That the improvement in the character of the Negroes in every colony into the state of which thia Committee has had time to extend inquiry , is proved by abundant testimony of an increased and iccreasing desire for religious and general Instruction , a crowing disposition to take upon themselves the obligations of marriage and to fulfil the duties of domestic life , improved morals , rapid advance in civilisation , and increased sense of the value of property and independent station .
•• 3 . That , unhappily , there has occurred , simultaneously with thifl amendment in the condition of the Negroes , a very great diminution in the staple productions of tha West Indies , to each an extent as to have caused serious tuxd in some cases ruinous injury to the proprietors of «^ dtes in those colonies . ' 4 . That whae this distress has been felt to a much leas extent in some of the smaller and more populous
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iBJands , it has been so great in the larger colonies of Jamaica , British Guiana , and Trinidad , as to have caused many estates , hitherto prosperous and productive , to be cultivated for th 9 last two or three years at considerable 1 ob 3 , and others to bo abandoned . " 6 . That the principal causes of this diminisked production and consequent distress are the great difficulty which hits been experienced by the Planters in obtaining steady and continuous labour , and the high rate of remuneration which they give for the broken and indifferent work which they are able to procure .
" 6 . That the diminished supply of labour la caused partly by the fact that some of the former slaves have bttakea themselves to other occupations more profitable than field labour ; but the more general cause is , that tbe labourers are enabled to live In comfort and acquire wealth , without , for the most p 3 rt , labouring on the estates of the Planters for more than three or four days in a we « k , and from five to seven hours in a day ; so that they have no sufficient stimulus to perform an adequate amount of work . " 7 . That this state of things arises partly from the high wage * which the insufficiency of the Bupply of labour , and their competition ^ ith each other , naturally compel the PJantera to pay ; but it is principally to be attributed to the easy terms upon which the use of land has been obtainable by Negroes .
" 8 . That many of the former slaves have been enabled to purchase land , and the labourers generally are allowed to occupy provision-grounds subject to no rent ; or to a -very low one s and in thesa fertile countries , the l ; tnd they thus hold as owners or occupiers not only yields them an ample supply of feod , but in many cases a considerable overplus in money , altogether independent of and in addition to the high monny-wages which they receive . " 9 . That ihe cheapnessof land has thus been the main cause ., f the difficulties which have been , experienced ; and that thiB cheapness 1 b the natural result of the excess of fertile land beyond the wants of the existing population . ,
" 10 . That in considering the anxious question of what practical remedies are best calculated to check tke increasing depreciation of West Indian property , it therefore appears that much might ba effected by judicious arrangements on the part of the Planters themselves , for , their own general advantage , and by moderate and prudent chaBges ia the system which they have hitherto adopted . " 11 . That one most obvious and desirable mode of endeavouring to compensate for this diminished supply of labour is to promote the immigration of a fresh htbouring population , to such an extent as to create competition for employment .
" 12 . That for the better attainment of that object , as well ss to aoeure the fail rights and comforts of the immigrants as freemen , it is desirable that such immigration should be conducted under the authority t inspection and controul of responsible public oj / ioers . " 13 Tnat it is also a serious question , whether it is not required by a du 6 regard for the j ust rights and interests of the We ? t Indian Proprietors , and the . tilliniata welfare of the Negroes themselves , more especially in consideration of the large addition to the labouring population which it is hoped may soon bo effected by immigration , that tlie laws which regulate the relations between employers and labourers in the different Colonies should undergo early and careful revision by their respective Legislatures . "
We are sure that our readers must see at onoo that a decided bearing to the fancied interests of the planters is visible throughout the whole of these resolutions . It is admitted that the Eujaucipatiou Act has , as far as the condition of the negro population is concerned , been productive of great and manifest advantages . And , in proof of this , we are told that iu every Colony into the state of . which inquiry had been made , there was , on the part of the enfranchised black 3 an increasing desire for religious and general instruction , a growing disposition to take upon themselves the obligations of marriage , and to fulfil tho duties of domestic life
improved morals , rapid advance in civilization , and increased sense of tho value of property , and of independent stition . This , to a mind rightly constituted , would be a source of unmixed satisfaction and delight . But property-men , as a class , whether in tho Colonies or at home , havo no conception of great and philanthropic principles . Their hearts generally aie in their purses , and to look for tho noble feeling * and generou 3 sympathies of humanity among such worshippers of gold is an act of the greatest absurdity . The negroes are free , and arc becoming moral and religious ; but they demand remuneration for their labour , and thia the planters are by no
means disposed to give . This country gave to them the costly offering of £ 20 , 000 , 000 , to purchase freedom for tho slave . They willingly took the gold , and how they would introduce indirect slavery , as the introduction of it in a direct form ia no longer possible . They complain that the labour market is not sufficiently supplied , and this pliant Committee endeavours to persuade the Legislature to sanction tho importation of fresh workmen from Africa , in order to bring down the wages of tho newly-emancipated bondsmen , and realise a vast profit from a people reduced to starvation , in addition to the blood money bo generously paid by the mother country .
The Committee tells us that " They believe that the distress now prevailing in those Colonies is very great , and requires immediate attention ; " and of course they directed thoir beat attention to devising a remedy for such distress . We will examine the proposed remedy in its proper place , but let us now look at the evidences of distress which are glanced at in the resolutions , and upon which the belief oi its prevalence is founded , if such belief existed at all . Tho first proof of distress which seems to have struck the notice of the Committee is the increasing prosperity of the negro population . The West India Colonies are on tho verge of ruin ,
because the negroes are evincing " an inoreased and an increasing desire for religion and general instruction , a growing disposition to take upon themselves the obligations of marriage , improved morals , rapid advance in civilisation , and increased sense , of the value of property , and independent station ; . " All this appears to us very questionable evidence of the prevalence of general distre ; s . Let us look at proof second : —The Committee states that " unhappily there has occurred a very great dimunition iu the staple productions of the West Indies , " which diminution they trace to the great difficulty experienced by tho planters in obtaining steady and continuous
labour , and the high rate of remuneration which they give for the broken aad indifferent work which they are able to procure . '' This looks something like distress , to be sure , but it is only on the part of the planters , who are , even according to the testimony of their own committee , in part at least , to blamo for their own mishaps . We agree with tho committee in thinking that the planters have themselves to blame for the distressed condition in which they find themselves . But wo slightly differ from them as to the particular acts to which blame is to be attached . According to the resolutions , the planters are a most generous and ill-used body of
men . They have let their former slaves havo land for little or nothing ! They remunerate them so highly as to injure themselves , aud yet the ungrateful wretches will not work , but by their idleness are reducing the ' r tender hearled benefactors to absolute ruin . Lat it be remembered however that these same idle rasrab are rapidly advancing in civilization ; taking upon them the obligations of marriage ; and though the most unprincipled villains , only evincing their villainy by conducting themselves like sensible and honest men . The planters may indeed exolaim " Save us from our friends , " when they receive this extraordinary string of resolutions .
Then comeB the third evidence of distress , which is presented to us in the shape of a complaint that the ne&roe 3 are too comfortable and too industrious J " Some of the former slaves have betaken themselves to other occupations more profitable than field labour . " . And again , ' The labourers aro enabled to live in comfort , and acquire wealth , without , for the most part , working on tho estates of the planters , for three or four day 3 in a week , and from five to seven hours in . a day . " We fear the Committee are somewhat inconveniently troubled
with defects of memory . We recollect that when the emancipationists urged as one plea for the abolition of slavery , the arduous nature of the labour performed by the blacks , they were told , that tho toil endured , except at particular seasons , was far less than , that to which the majority of the working classes in England were subjected , and that the negroes bad ample time to secure their own freedom , if they were disposed to do so , by extra Jabour . If their statements are forgotten by the colonists , their Mends are not so ready to forget .
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From all that appears , the planters are in a most pitiable condition . They have a coil so fertile that it produces moro than abundance with comparatively little labour ; thsy are surrounded by a population from whom they have nothing t © fear , but who are , on the contrary , forming the best of all the elements of national prosperity—a moral and industrious community ; a community which finds its present condition and future prospects so cheering , that it resorts , to the hymeneal altar , without even the Bhadow of dread or alarm as to tue contingency of raising up a surplus population ; and they
have received their own price , £ 20 , 000 , 000 of British , gold , as a compensation for the supposed loss to which the new order of things might possibly expose them . We a ^ k for what was ihe £ 20 , 000 , 000 given if this was not its object ? It was not voted because the right of the planters to acqaire property in human flesh was recognised , for that was emphatically e ' enied by the whole body of abolitionists , both in and out of Parliament . But it was said that capital , to a vast amount , had besn embarked in West Indian property , under the sanotion of British law , and that the act of emanci patioa would entail numerous losses upon West
Indian proprietors , unless compensation was granted . And we are ready to admit , that probably no grant ever passed the House of Commons , with bo much of popular approval as that which was to purchase the freedom , of 800 , 000 of out suffering fellowmen . And now we call upon the advocates of the negro race to speak oat , and to declvrs that the rascally avarice of the insatiable planters shall not frustrate this mighty effort of British generosity . The planters have had their price , and tho newly enfranchised population mum be secured in tho freedom which this costly offering procured for them .
We are satisfied that the friends of the negro never intended to redeem him from the lash , in order to leave him exposed to the still more horrid scourge of Btarvation and ill requited labour . Yet this is the fate to which the tender mercie 3 of the planters would inevitably doom him ; but from this fato ha must , and will ba saved , if the people of this country are not prepared to forgo every claim to ba considered either men or Christians .
But ia tho condition of the planters iadeed such that their estafes will not yield a remunerating profit for tSie labour bestowed upon them ? Let iaa reason from analogy . The eighth resolution tells us that the late slaves holding * land as ownsra or tenants , find it ao productive as not only to yield them aa ample supply of food , but in many caso 3 a considerable overplus iu money . Now , if the provision grounds of a late helot be
thus profitable to him , 13 it not fa : r to infer that the rich planter , with all the advantages of capital , might make hia large plantations equally preu ' uetive . Gi courae it is , and we must therefore come to the conclusion , that itis . iiofc a fair retnunvratory piofit that is sought , but such a command of the labour market , a 3 will enable the rich to trample upon the rights cf industry , aad to establish slavery in reality , though' not in name .
The great distress , then , which is said to exist in the West , Indian colonies , is all on the side of the planters ; and we must remind our readers , that , wheu to suit , as it afterwards appeared , their own purposes , they r ^ j . cted the boon held oui to them iu tbe apprenticeship clauses of the Emancipation Act , they not only virtually declared that tho Negroes were fully competent to exerci £ 8 the rights of freemen , but that a state of labour in which the workman was at liberty to make his own terms with his employor , was iikely to be of more advantage to both parties , than the apprenticeship system
proposed by Parliament . The reliaquwlimeat of the apprenticeship system was hailed with delight by the friends of Africa in this country ; but soon the application for , aud the gniuuug of certain orders iu Council , authorising the iuiporiation of foreign labourers into the colonies , tors away tho * mask , and displayed the planturs aud tkuir Whig supporters at home in their native and most disgusting deformity . Nor must it be forgotten that it was at that time declared , and the statement was not contradicted , that tho res son why the blacks refused to
work was , that tho wages offered by the planters were inad . quate to supply the necessaries a ; id comforts of iife . Another face should a ! 30 bo borne ia mind , namely , that , according to the coloaial press , such was the non-productive character of slave labour , then enforced by tho laah , tkat many of the estates did not pay the expences of cultivation ; while the same press , especially ia reference to Barbadoes and Jamaica , declared that under tho influence of free labour the inlands were rapidly advancing in prosperity and improvement .
Leaving these 9 omowhat contradictory statements to be reconciled as beat they may , by tho 3 e who ^ e interest and business it is to reconcile them . We proceed to inquiro into the nature and effects of the remedies pointed out by the committee for this pro . blemmatical state of distress . The fir 3 t remedy it is thought might bo found in "judicious arrangements ou . the part of the plaaters them 3 olve ? , / or their own general advantage , and by moderate and prudent changes iu the system which they have hitherto adopted . "
Wo are not told in what these " changos" and "judicious arrangements" are to consist , but wo can make a shrewd guess , even without pretending to the ppirife of prophecy . The-committee tell us that land has been obtained by tho black 3 on too easy terras . That they caa get a good living , and earn money with but a moderate amJuat of labour ; tha for field labour the planters pay a rate of wages much too high , and that a portion of the coloured popn ' ation have discovered means of employment wiiich will pay better even than field labour and that using the privileges of freemen , thoy havo betaken themselves to such employments as may enable them to acquire property and aUaia to independent station .. The remedy of course
for this disastrous state of thingB would be to advance the price . of land , ao as to render it all but non-productive to the occ ^ paur , and which of course would be a death blow to their prospscts of prosperity . Ths rate of wages paid for field work must aleo be reduced , and means bo'do vised by which the produce * of Negro skill and industry may ba rendered unprofitable when brought into thfl market . All this might to som-3 extent be effected by a combination amongst the ¦ planl-uw and this is the plain English of the suggestion of the committee . The advice contained iu t \\ e tcu ' . h resolution is xeally to let the planters combine to starv 3 tha Negroes into any terms they j > len :-c . .
But this experiment might fail . Miny of the blacks ha 7 c become ' holders of land , and they can produce mere than they consume , and thus have something they ' can . bring into the market ; and tm 3 night indues thorn to assume an independence of character by no means in acoordanca with the designs of their monopolising employers . This contingency the Committee havo foreseen , and in the eleventh rcsoiutioa they propose a remedy . They eay " That cue most obvious aad desirable means of endeavouring to compensate for this diminished supply of labour is to promote tho immigration of
afresh labouring population fa such an extent as to create competition for employment . " We request our readers to mark well the words we hare printed in italics , and to ponder well this diabolical scheme of the indefatigable planters to destroy and blast the prospects of their so recently redeemed bondsmen . Observe the Committee , and here , at all events , it is tho mouth-pieoe of the planters , recommends the immigration of a fresh labouring population , ; and that to such an extent as to create competition for employment . .
Now , bear in mind that the land is so fertile , that with moderate labour it will produce an abundant supply for a much larger population than is at present to be found iu the Colonies , and recollect also , that the negroes are taking upon themselves the obligations of ([ marriage , and aro seeking to fulfil
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the duties of domestic life , the result of which most be a gradually increasing population who would bo attached to the soil by that mysterious tie which binds man by a peculiar affec' . ioa to ths land of his birth ; aud then say where is-tho necessity of rereplenishing the labour market by au immigration of new-comer ? . The necessity exists nowhere bufc in tho foreign-trade mania , winch soems aa ripo ia the West-Indiesa 3 in England . They wans a population so numerous as to create a competition for labour . Or rather they would by indirect means extirpate the race of negroes who have been wre 3 : ed
from their merciless grasp , and whom th ^ y hate with tho most deadly Rjalignity , and at the sams time , they would grind down wages to the starvation point by so overstocking the labour market , thas" thsy couid dictate thoir own terms whenever it was found convenient t-i do so . Wo have no doubt but that the design is ta despoil the present coloured populatioa of the rights thoy havo acquired in the soil 30 soaa as it caU'be done with safety , and to so overwhelm the native artizins by a new labour popula'ijn , as to check the growing propensity for marria ^ o which has done so mucli ia the way of improvement for tha negro * race . * 'Iu their resolutions not one wsrd-ia * said about securing to ihe emancipated blacks tha legitimate fruits of that freedom which this country
purchased for them . All the care of the commkteo is directed to the welfare of the new-comerd , ¦ " to secure the rights and comforts of tho imxaigrant ^' and that of the West Indian proprietor , and for . tliat end they recommend " that tho laws which regnkte the relations between employers and labourers in the different Colonies should undergo early and careful revision by their respective Legislatures . " These Legislatures , be it recollected , are composed of the employers , aud in them the labourers havo not even the shadow of representation . We think it will not require much skill to discover how far the interests of tho working population would be cared for in any revision of laws conducted by such assemblies .
But let us now look for a moment at tho f ccosd report , in ord ^ r that we may discover from what source this " fresh labouring population" is to be derived . The CoraniHtee on Western Africa begin by explaining that , their appointment originated in the discovery in 1239 , that foreign slave-ships ws re permitted to trade for goods at the Brif-sh settlements on the Gold Coast ; and in Dr . Madd&n ' s report of the inquiry , which , oa that discovory , he was deputed to make . Their Report relates to the several subjects of the British settlements , the state-of the slave-trade , emigration from Africa to tho West Indies .
On tho subject of emigration some calculation ? , though not vtry precise , are mado rcfpcctiiiicthe population whose emigrants might b ^ drawn to the Gold Coast , araong the Kroomcn , at tho Gambia , and at Sierra Leone ; coming to tho general conclusion , that . if ¦ emigration were pernv . itcd , tha materials for it would probably provo to be considerable . And then they proceed to ei quire , whether it would ba a desirable change for these
various classes to bo in the West ladies rather than in Africa . . As data tho Committee quote , at considerable length , from offici al documeuts—tha despatches of Sir Charles Metcatfe and the reports of Magistrates—respecting the temporal , tho moral , and religious advantages to'bo enj : ; yed by tho black in the threo principal colonies , Jamaica , British Guiana , and Trinidad , ranged under the several heads of those colonies .
Wo beg to call special atteation to the following extracts from this report : — ' " Now , after looking at men a pkture , drawn from the meat unauspectfjd sources , we cannot , doubt that , ¦ whether for tha homeless No ?; ro jisti rescued from tha hold cf a slave-ship , or for the iguoraat anil uncivilized African who cov . im down to our settlements to pick up a small pittance by tha hardest labour and to rotiira with it to his barbiiroua home , it would ba of tha highest advantage , it would ba tha yroa ' . eai bleb 3 i :: g to mahe such an exchange . "
"Tosuchas thus leaia their homes , a froe passage back at tba ead of a certain purled , say threa or four years , might be promised , with fuil psruii 33 ion to . them to return at any tinao at their owu expense . To the homeless African , newly liberated , tho option should bo giv « n of sottting at once in the West Inclif s if ha pleaso , with permission to return hereafter at hiswxn cust , or of removing from Sierra Leone , or oi remaining in it oa the flrat adjudication if ho undertake tor his own maintenance , or can ttad frkinda or relations who v * iJi uudertake it for him . "
We have not spaca at present for further extracts , but from these it is clear that the new labourers who are to compete wfth tho coloured population of tha West Indies for the bensfli oi the avaricious and cruel planters are to be drawn from their native homes ic Africa by promises which will be falsified , aad by hopes which never can be realised in their foreign home . Thia diabolical design , must be prevented , British patriotism and philautrophy must rush to the rescue , and the friends of the negro * must resolve that their so anxiously-planted tree of liberty '"shall not ba blasted ju 3 t when , its fruits are ready to appear .
Let the object sought be ever kept in mind . That object iS TO KEXDER THE ESTATES OF THE PLANTERS PilOJDUCrJV ^ OF IMMENSE WJBALTH , AT WE JEXP £ > CiS of labour and industry . It is not a labouring population , moral , industrious , comfortablo , and prosperous ; that is wanted . Such a population , exists , and is increasing . But it is a population ia which more hands shall be found than can obtain a profitable return for their labour , and who must in conseqnence become actually slaves , bound hand and foot , to the chariot wheels of capital .
The Committee hope that a large addition to the labouring population will be effected by emia ; ration . What would bo tho result 1 First , a demand for provision grounds to such an extent as would appear to justify the plants in demanding a ruinous advance of rent ; next the superseding the present race of field labourers , who are considerably advanced in civilisation , and have acquired a ta . te for a superior stylo of living to that of their less civilised fellows , by men but a few degrees removed fri ? m the savage state , and who are iu consequence capable of ¦ -working at a much less rafco of remuneration than what is demanded and felt to be necessary by those with ; whom they are brought into competition . Third , tha
desire to contract marriages will receive a cneck , and the religious and moral feelings , now bcfcinninR to develope themselves , will , as a const quence , retrograde . Then , from the spirit of eompafcition , and tha consequent continued diminution of wages , the immigrants themselves must suff .-. r , and their progress in civilisation be materially retarded ; until , afr length , a maddened and starving population , seeing themselves robbed of all tha benefits which they justly expected from tho Act of Emancipation , -wiil make common cause with the betrayed and deluded immigrants from Africa ,, and rising in the unconcontrolled fury of determined resolution , will drive the guilty authors of their misery into that gulph of irremediable ruin , which , their iaaaue folly haa provided for theinselve 3 .
Now we ask will the people allow all this mischief to bo inflicted both upon the Colonies , Africa , and the mother country 1 If so , then oil the wrongs inflicted by the monst 3 r capital upon labour , will be , ia appearance at least , sanctioned by the popular voice * and man will become in truth merely tho machine made use of for the fabrication of wealth , aad for subserving the purposes of avarice and
ambition . We call upoo the good and wise of all olasses and of all creeds to unite in the prevention of this monstrous iniquity , aad to declare , in a mannor not to be mistaken , that the great act of Negro Emancipation shall have fair plaj until it becomes productive of its legitimate results . And we saj especially to the working classes , let -nothing tmn you from your righteous purpose to aohieTe that freedom , and those politcal rights , which by
securing the equality of all before the law can alone give adequate protection to labour , either in the Colonies or at Home .
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The Jtfouthe&N Star. Saturday, September 3, 1842.
THE JtfOUTHE&N STAR . SATURDAY , SEPTEMBER 3 , 1842 .
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' THE NORTHERN STAR . 3
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Sept. 3, 1842, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct614/page/3/
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