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Leader (1850-1860), 13th March 1852, Edition Country of 2, Page 17

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      Vindication Of The Peace Policy. Sib,—Th...

      That it could have got itself propounded by one so pe , ^ e / with the loye and admiration of Chnst as to " T with evident sincerity , " most devoutly do I wish 55 His spirit could be introduced into our dail y life nd work / 'is a Bgycholo ^ al contradiction not likely to diminish their astonishment . _ . - I cannot contemplate the course pursued bythe Leader n t ys subject- without forebodings . ; It has advocated + he arming of the people withy apparently , an indirect view to the settlement of internal no less than intemational questions . There lies the hideous danger ; there , the gravity of the delusion . As if an appeal to the lower propensities—the animal instincts and brute

      force of the people- —for the determination of high and difficult questions of social and political science , were no f a reversal of all rational action I As if the experience of the continent ( especially during these four years past of armed struggle ) were NOT a crushingcominentary upon such policy ? As if , in particular , the " progress " of the armed and martial-trained French were not the mockery it is { In defiance of all just causation ; in defiance of the positive results of exper ience ; in defiance of its own profession of faith ( see its motto , which I take to be the embodiment of this faith ) , the Leader cries , "To Arms ! " "Armihe people , that they may conquer their rights , and assist other of that

      peoples . in conquering theirs . The education spirit which "would prevent their rights from being withheld , is too slow a process- —involves too much ' patience and long-suffering , ' too much intelligence , too high and long-sustained endeavours ; it may do for the white-livered advocates of Peace ; but , for the gallant and generous , the fearless , reckless , impulsive , and brave people , never ! It is all sham . There are no bloodless victories . The pen is not greater than the sword . Those who , by accident of birth , or of position , or of internal power , are now ' dressed in brief authority * over us , are not of the same nature as ourselves ; do not have the same aspirations towards the good , the true , the beautiful , and the perfect .

      Th ey neither do , nor wish to d o , justice . They do not desire to see the people prosperous , happy , and free . They have no interest in common with us . It is not differences of vision or opinion capable of rational adjustment that keejrthem and us apart . There are wowe of our ' own order' that conscientiously concur in their ^ opinions and principles , There is no difficulty in deciding the questions at issue between us . They are wrong ; we are right : to arms ! to arms ! and enforce the right . The foolish doctrine that there are any essential relations between right and the human soulj whereby the right gets itself admitted in virtue of its own qualities j that to be admitted it needs only to be seen , is none of ours : to arms ! to arms !"

      Leader , will you not re-consider your grounds ? Is your great influence to be permanently given to a creed so irrational ? Must we continue to lament that the faculties already only too predominant and active , whence arise the very evils you and all true Leaders are wanted to neutralize and overcome , are to be goaded only into increased predominance and activity ? But I delay " Marie ' s" dissection of this physicalforce policy , done in the light of the Leader ' s motto alread y referred to . Let me give place . Let me add , merely , that as her verses were almost impromptu , and have not been revised , they are to be taken not as a work of Art , A . L . " ARM ! ARM ! ARM !" . Leader , 2 & th of January , 1852 . "Tirs ono Idea which History exhibits , as evermore developing itaolf into greater distinctness , is the Idea of Humanity —\ ha noble endeavour to throw down all the barriers oropted botwoon men by prejudice and one-sided viewa , and by sotting aside the distinctions of Religion , Country , and Colour ; to treat the whale Human raoe as one brotherhood , having ono great objeot—the free development of our spiritual natures . " —Lkadbii ' s Motto . " Blind Leader of the blind , " art thbu , "Who now in rhyming numbers , Wouldat fain awake the Savage Beast That in the "Briton" slumbers , — Who with an outcry , fiorce and wild , And voice of shrill alarm , Wouldat call the " gallant volunteers " To " wako , arise , " and " arm !" Put rifles in the People ' s hands , In readinoas for battle ,. And teach thorn how , at longest mark , To shoot down men like cuttle ; And whisper as you do the deed , That this is right and good , And " treating the whole human raca As one great brotherhood /" 'Tmthm wo help to- trample down Tho " barriers er ' ooted , "TnuH overcome " one-Bidod views , " Wo fain would see rojootod . A " fihout for rifles" soon will teach "Ideaa of Humanity , " And cannon-balls instil the creed Of holy Christianity ! Well nigh two thousand years ago Mothought our alder Brother , A new oommandment utterod forth , — That wo should " lovo eaoli other : "

      Is this sweet love , that gleameth forth With flushed and heated features , — Is this "the free development Of . spiritual'natures 1 " Methinks I see His earnest eyes Reproach thee for this guiding : Methinks I hear His spirit-voice In serious , gentle 6 hiding : I hear His prayer , when they of old , His tender body slew : Ye slay His Spirit / still He saith , ' * They know not what they do J " Mabib . Chorler , January ,-1852 ,

      Maftcg 13, 1852.] The Leadeb. 253

      MAftCg 13 , 1852 . ] THE LEADEB . 253

      Regular Troops And Volunteers. (To The E...

      REGULAR TROOPS AND VOLUNTEERS . ( To the Editor of the Leader ) At a time when the press teems with letters about " our defences , " " formation of rifle clubs , " disparaging remarks regarding poor old Brown Bess , as a projector of " missiles , " and fearful Munchausens , invented by the would-be-knowing admirers of Minie ' s Rifle , touching the long-range capabilities of that weapon , which now only want a clincher from some of the witty American" journals , who can . always cap a good story—the Leader takes up the subject , and favours its astonished readers with " Notes on War by a Soldier ; " the writer

      of which not only calls our musket all sorts of hard names , but actually pooh-poohs the rifle ! arid tells us that soldiers should scorn "trigger-pulling' , " take to trusty steel blades , rush in on an enemy , and flog with their keen , blades till their arms ache , which would settle the affair in ten minutes . These are tactics which he advocates , not so much for a Government standing army , but for what I must call , in Leader phraseology , a People ' s army-- ^ tacti & s to be adopted by the working classes , who , according to Leader policy , should be all armed to defend their " liberties " from wheresoever attacked .

      On your contributor the Soldier ' s Part 4 , published in your number of Jan , 31 st , I wish to make a few comments . *^ I observe , that he coincides with the very common opinion , that " the regular soldier , of course , possesses no more than an ordinary , share of animal courage , pugnacity , and pride . " Civilians , I know , love to flatter themselves that such is the fact , and it would be ill taste in any soldier to argue the point . But bearing , as it does , on the question of superiority of sword-fighting over triggerpulling , as applied to a People ' s army , ( which I presume would be a compulsory service exacted under certain cenditions ^/ zwra all citizens , ) I beg to demur to this opinion .

      The soldiers of the British , or any other army , where they are not enlisted by conscription , are the picked fighting men of that country . Nobody who takes the trouble to inquire into the antecedents of our soldiers , but will be convinced , that as a mass , they are possessed of mijch moro animal courage than their peaceful and more respectable stay-at-home brethren . They have been tho had hoys of their age—truantplaying , bird-nesting , poaching , ne ' er-do-wells , and have worn countless black eyes . A poaching affray , a love quarrel , or a drinking bout introduces them to tho dashing recruiting serjeant , who captivates them with a recital of adventures in foreign parts , and they take tho shilling , while tho timid spirit hangs back .

      Assuming , then , that volunteer soldiors havo , as a body , more animal courage than their civilian countrymen , I now proceed to considor whether any body of troops could bo got to go in in the splendid dashing stylo demanded by your enthusiastic contributor . I believe not- —not evon EnglJHhinon . Tho fact is , such a bull-dog doath-or-glory heroism as your " Soldior " would require to cilrry out his tactics against a physically equal enemy , is , I beljpvo , afltqr all , tho scarcost virtue extant . Wo are accustomed to lioar of gallant battles won ( according to despatches ) \ i \ such a " takono-doniul'' style , that wo have got to boliovo that highost courage , self-devotion , is a cheap anil most common attribute of manhood . Perhaps , if wo wore bohind tho scenes during tho slaughter of a battle , wo should alter euoli opinion ,

      I . do not beliovo that you could ( unions your swordsmon wore an army of lunatics ) got them to advance under n . heavy fire , and run on tho bayonets of a determined enemy . , ¦ At sixty yards a general diisoliargo fh > m our muskets as now in uso would lift thorn off thoir logs ; and to wayor—as wavor thoy ' would if they wore bu , t mortal men—would be certain defoat , if not annihilation . I shall rob your contributor of ono sentence , to strengthen my own argument . * ' Carrying a position with tho bayonet , " - *— " Driving baok tho onomy with tho bay onot , " " aro torms frequootly useid by writers of

      dispatches and histories , but no livingsoldier has ever seen two lines of infantry approach so close as to push and thrust and fence with bayonets . " Exactly so j nor will you get men , even armed with a sword , to run on a long line of charging bayonets to try the question of superiority of weapons , particularly after they have been decimated four or five times during their advance ^ and have , perhaps , another similar favour in store for them to be delivered to each swordsman as a prelude to the fencing bout .

      That a mass of swordsmen , properly supported by the other arms of the service , would , if they were all resolved to conquer or die , win a battle from double their number of men using musket and bayonet * I have no doubt , but that there are not 10 , 000 such to be got together , I feel also sure . Death is a fearful thing , and the nearer it is seen , the uglier it looks-Supposing , however , that the swordsmen were superior in animal courage , strength , and weight , as I fondly

      fancy our countrymen are , compared with any con - tinental nation , then , indeed , E . V . ' s hand to hand fighting might answer with the ordinary allowance of national courage , which would be content to cry enough after a severe wound or two , and hobble to the rear ; but to win a battle from soldiers physically equal , and determined to stand their ground , you must have men resolved to fight like game-cocks , till they are dead , and such death-or-glory boys are scarce .

      I fear , therefore , that " Standing armies , trained and disciplined soldiers , skilled gunners , and costly contrivances and stores , " will " for ever give a preponderance to the powers of despotism (?) over that of a people . " That is to say , that no people , however armed , can hope to win against its trained regular soldiers , particularly should those trained soldiers be raised on the volunteer system— -the pugnaces of the country . Slois . Skottgsman *

      Regular Troops And Volunteers. (To The E...

      * Wo iuflctj ; this letter , tho writer boiug a military ofllcor , and , therefore , ua well tiblo to judge this question as tho author of the " Notes on War . "—Jfli ) .

      Amended Newsjpaper-Stamps Scheme. {To Th...

      AMENDED NEWSJPAPER-STAMPS SCHEME . { To the Editor of the Leader ) - Sie , —Permit me to make a few remarks on the letter of your correspondent . A . H . G . The letter deals in the most simple and satisfactory manner with the advertisement duty and the cautionmoney for libel , which latter security , it may be well to state , is required by law , but not in practice , from almost every unstamped publication .

      The subject of copyright is treated in a manner both complicated and unsatisfactory . Surely , the nearest newspapers will be tho most dangerous rivals , and if six hours' copyright be a sufficient protection in the same locality , it would be more than sufficient a hundred miles off . But though a few hours' copyright may be sufficient for news , I see no reason why articles in a newspaper should not be treated as articles in books , and considered as literary property ; it would be easy for the press to have an understanding as to how far they expected this rule to be acted upon . A . H . G . ' s plan for settling the newspapor stamp question would make everybody dissatisfied . The present largo newspapers would have to pay a higher rate than at present ; tho quantity of work donogby tho local posts would bo so increased , that there woauu probably bo a loss to tho revenue ; for , bo it recollected , that tho oxpenso of dolivery depends more on the number of houses to bo called at , than on tho weight to be delivered at each ; lastly , tho press ¦ would not be free : why should u man ho forced to pay a farthing postage on a paper which ho does not wish to Bond by post ? The plain truth is , that wo don't want a law about transmitting nowspapors , any more than a law about transmitting Manchester cottons or Newcastle coals . If theso wore taxed , and tho carriage to London paid out of tho tax , there would ho cotton-spinnors found to say that the Londoners would woar fig-loaves rather than pay for the carringo of calicoos , and bore for coal on Blnckhcath rather tluui freight ships to Neweautlo . Instead of A . H . G . ' h plan , I propose . — 1 . A uniform twelvo hours * copyright for news . 2 . Articles to bo tho same as books . 8 . Tho stamp to bo abolished , 4 . Tho post-ofneo to manage tbo postage pf newspapers , with froo liberty to any private individual to muriiigo it bettor , if ho can . O , DOBeON COQUET , BeQretary to the Society fur " Promoting the Repeal qftha Ti * xes on Knowledge , 20 , Great CQrftrn'fltreot , February , J 852 .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), March 13, 1852, page 17, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_13031852/page/17/