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September 23, 1852.] THE LEADER. 928
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Having been favoured with a perusal of M...
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oisr and Tin: tkmpkranck caxtsk. (To tho...
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THE SUBJUGATION OF WORKMEN. (To the Edit...
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THE ADDINGHAM CENSORS. (To the Editor of...
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NOTICES TO COItEESPONDENTS. " F. Ij.," w...
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Indian Notions.—The Indians have no idea...
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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Transcript
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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 Temperance Cause. {To The Editor Of ...
It will not do , Mr . Editor . The dictation is all on the other side : our church ( not a " ginger-beer" one , but a cleansing " Holy-Water" one ) has no smell of brimstone , fagots , and fire . Saint Holywell neither seeks to enforce his dogma on the Dissenting brother n the one side , nor on the Roman-ca , t \ io \ ic on the other . He simply wishes ( as fai * as acts go ) to keep his own hands clean ; , and to persuade , not force , others to do the same . True tolerance does not require that we should ( out of politeness , ) affirm a glaring evil to be a probable good ; or abstain from uttering the needed truth , because it may be unpalatable to a fastidious somebody . ...... .. „ .. '
The Teetotaler speaks in this wise : " Gentlemen , —• Mine is a Pure-water Church . We avow that faith and follow that practice here ; and you must excuse me for not allowing another faith to force itself into our Crystal Tabernacle , or myself to be converted into a Ministering Priest at its ( to me ) unholy rites . In your own sphere you must do what seemeth good to you ; but in my sphere , not what seemeth evil to me . I can no more suffer you to pollute my temple with your impu re liquor , than my hearth with your impure lan ° -unge . There is room for both of us . Devil-Alcohol has a splendid temple over the way , where you may worship after your manner . If you think you can cleanse that temple ; well , go and try—I do not : to stop its mischief , you must forsake and destroy it . "
Would we had never heard of dictation worse than this ! that all debateable questions were left to be battled out by the like " moral intolerance . " " Ion" professes to write for the " reformation" of our reform . I admire his design , and hope some good will come of his efforts . But he must see that , if the views I have indicated are those of the great body of Temperance teachers , they can only regard his criticisms as tending , by their glaring misrepresentations , to strengthen , not the cause of Temperance , but the prejudices of the public ; to corrupt the principle of the movement , not to purify the proceedings of the men who advocate it . I am not dogmatically affirming that our views are true , but that , such as they are , our
final hope of ridding the world of drunkenness , reposes on the belief of this truth , . though calling in aid all other things that are true and beautiful , and of good report . If " Ion" will join issue on t his fundamental point . Temperance men will be glad to hear him ; nor will they be ungrateful of good services in other directions . All wise criticism is advantageous to a good cause , and is to be received as such , even though mingled with unpleasant truths . He , however , who undertakes it , should bring to his task competent knowlodge , and apply fair and correct tests , under the benignant guidance of a generous spirit . If I am obliged to confess that I have not found these qualities in the
strictures of " Ion , " it is with much disappointment and unfeigned regret . —Yours , respectfully , W . A . Palmster .
September 23, 1852.] The Leader. 928
September 23 , 1852 . ] THE LEADER . 928
Having Been Favoured With A Perusal Of M...
Having been favoured with a perusal of Mr . Pallister's letter , 1 beg to offer my testimony to the correctness of his general representation of the Temperance movement , and of the principles on which it is based . For one , I should desire to understand . " Ion ' s" objections to the Pledge , and to perceive the rule by which he would separate the moral responsibility of sanctioning a system which one may regard as evil , from the act of providing the material agents involved in it ? Such a discussion would be profitable . Though I regard " Ion's" criticism us indited in no unfriendly spirit , it is not the less inaccurate on that account , us a representation of Teetotalism , as I have known it . Take ( lie literature of the society- as the Advocate , the Chronicle , the Review , and its official manifestos , and no candid critic would be able to find Hiich doctrines iu
'' , as " Ion" has imputed to us . No doubt , Home wild and illogical deelaimers may find remarks ) applicable to them , but no accredited loaders , 1 think , of the movement . F . It . Lkjoh .
Oisr And Tin: Tkmpkranck Caxtsk. (To Tho...
oisr and Tin : tkmpkranck caxtsk . ( To tho Editor of tho Trader . ) Slit , —All { rreut movements , in which vast numbers i"'e concerned , necessarily include u large average of human infirmity , which is sure to break out in n vai'iety of repulnive forms . Thin inevitable evil may be edited to be j n mtio to the numbers . It may be expected to display itself most widely and offensively in 'onnexion with Hociul movements , mainly impelled by the working , in other words , the uneducated , classes - *« ch iih the Temperance movement , which may be described as a great niornl insurrection of our artisans : i . ; ainnt the dominancy of vicious custom . It will bear "'• out it strong marks of its origin some of the vio'" nco of so immense a transition . Hn multitudinous meetings aro always more or less 'uldroHBcil by men reclaimed from intemperate habits ,
and therefore , besides the ordinary defects of the uneducated mind , we may expect the rudeness and exaggeration of mis-educated faculties , acting under the exciting sense of former folly and wretchedness , of present liberty , and of the possibilities of the future . A fair estimate of the Temperance movement would have included and allowed for tjiese inseparable considerations . To omit them is a great philosophical defect , and a manifest , however undesigned , injustice to one ^ of the noblest and most remarkable , social phenomena of onr times .
Who is " Ion , " that he should ask to measure men by his standard , and pronounce accordingly P To apply it to a wide confederation of the sort here spoken of , and to expect such men as are here indicated , to speak according to the usages of good taste and the rules of logic , is more than ridiculous . A juster estimate of the " great fact" itself—a kindlier tone of sympathy with the men mainly concerned in promoting it , and a
more generous allowance for the whole circumstances of their case , would have made the counsels of " Ion " more welcome and more effective . My fear is , that great numbers will turn away from his scoldings , saying , " This man is unjust—he is ungenerous . His tone is too cold to warm into life or admiration . His manner is like the rattling hail . Let him , if he can , address himself to it in another manner , and good will come of his labours . "
Excuse me in the further remark , that " Ion" does not seem to appreciate the teetotalers' view , that a physical relation lies at the bottom of the question itself : " That which cannot withstand , lias no standing . " A power to stand implies a power to repel , and repulsion ; and he who finds that , will protest himself annoyed , aggrieved—not appreciating the ground or reason of the force which repels him . Had " Ion ' s " " literary friend , " at the house of " Lemonade , " but understood this , how much ludicrous indignation it would have saved him , and how many words of empty scorn about bigotry , " intolerance , " and so forth , to " Ion" himself !
Men do not try questions in geology by the principles of jurisprudence , nor test the truth of mathematical axioms by the rules of rhetoric—yet , given the physical basis of the Temperance reformation— " Ion " tries it solely by a literary test ! What is this but the old error of the inquisitors , applying interpretations of Scripture to the question of the earth ' s mobility ?—of the condemnation of geology in our day by a similar canon ? The only difference is , one was theological , the other is literary . Both the one and the other are just now bearing hard against the Temperance movement , while the scientific fact , which teetotalers hold to be quietly lying at its basis , is asking to be examined . Will " Ion" look into this subject , and accept these considerations from One of the Uneducated . Leeds , Sept . 2 nd , 1852 .
The Subjugation Of Workmen. (To The Edit...
THE SUBJUGATION OF WORKMEN . ( To the Editor of the Leader . ) Crayford , Kent , Sept . 21 , 1852 . Sir , —You were informed of a dispute which existed among tho calico block-printers of this place and their employers , some time ago , and you promptly inserted n notice in your paper ; since then the difference lias been complicated by the offer of a document to tho men by their employers similar to that presented to the operative engineers by their employers . The men have now been upwards of two months away from their work , and the masters have sought men from
Manchester , and obtained some , but very few m comparison with the number out , and those of such : i character an to impress tho men with confidence-as to the ultimate attainment of their object . Home men have been sent to prison for leaving their work , and some for charges of assault arising out of the matter ; but only one person—and that a youth in the capacity of uu apprentice —has gone to work out of the whole number out , about 140 . They arc sustained in their endeavour to resist this reduction by the whole body of the tnulo in Kngland and Scotland , who , from tho peculiar nature of the trade , feel any reduction of price immediately it is made in any part of the trade .
Knclosod is an address presented to the musters by the men , * at an early stage of the proceedings , with a view to a settlement of the question upon mutual terms . It was disregarded , and mutters have faken their course , leading to a protracted stagnation in the business of the factory of the originator of tho matter , entailing upon bin men privation and trouble , upon him the inevitable loss of his reputation Iih n first class manufacturer , upon which bin past prosperity Iiiih been built , and the currying aiWay of the trade ; of the village to other places and other men . It is hoped by the men that your influence will be * laaortotl in another plucc .
used through the press to disabuse the public mind in reference to them , as the word strike conveys an impression of active aggression on the part of any body which is not applicable to them , who are only resisting an offered reduction of prices and curtailment of privileges , made and originated by one master , but operative immediately upon all the men in the London trade , and elsewhere . Thanking you for your previous notice of the matter , and apologizing for having " kept further information from you , on the ground of the excitement arising out of the matter , I remain , on behalf of the Society , George Hudson , Sec .
The Addingham Censors. (To The Editor Of...
THE ADDINGHAM CENSORS . ( To the Editor of the Leader . ) Sir , —Addinghain is a village in Yorkshire , which can boast its mechanics' institute and its readers of the Leader . One of those readers , wishful to promote its circulation , caused a copy of it to be laid upon the table in the reading-room of the Mechanics' Institute for the purpose of introducing it to the attention of the members . It remained upon , the table till it fell under the notice of some of the members , who regarded it as dangerous . They summarily proceeded to the death of the offensive copy of the Leader . By means of fire they reduced it to the elements of the phoenix , apparently forgetting the doctrine of the Resurrection . The cruel death of this isolated copy excited attention . A meeting was convened , —the Leader was proposed , —its merits discussed , —and the votes were equal . It therefore devolved upon the chairman to give the casting vote , which he did in favour of the Leader , assigning as his reason that it had been unjustly dealt with . Another meeting was convened . The chief spokesman was a very eloquent Methodist local preacher . Its fate was doomed by these learned village censors , —its further reception was prohibited . Also an act of banishment of the copies which had been taken was attempted ; but , to the honour of a few members , was most signally defeated . The writer , thinking that the publication of such incidents may act as aninducexnent to the friends of progress to continue their efforts in securing an unshackled press , and a wider circulation of its most potent organs , oners these observations . J . R .
Notices To Coiteespondents. " F. Ij.," W...
NOTICES TO COItEESPONDENTS . " F . Ij ., " who writes from Edinburgh respecting the review .. of Messrs . Todd and Bowman ' s Physiology , is informed that the passage wherein Strength ia said to exist as an entity independent of muscular tissue , was employed—as he reads it—to spow in a parallel tho absurdity of supposing Mind had a separate existence from nervous tissue . The arguments used by mota " physicians to prove Mind an entity may with equal justice be applied to prove Strength an entity .
Indian Notions.—The Indians Have No Idea...
Indian Notions . —The Indians have no idea of time or space that I could discover : they talk of so many moons and of when the sun is at a certain altitude . Their calendar of months is rather curious : — January , month of storms ; February , month when racoons travel ; March , month " nial aux yeux ; " April , the month that the gamo begins to arrive ; May , when trees are in leaf ; June ( in lower country ) , strawberry month , ( in upper country ) , the month when the buffalo run ; July , month of ripe cherries ; August , corn month ; September , month when / lowers on the Prairie blossom ; October , month when they grille the rice ; November , deer month ; December , month of " I forget what . "—Siria / iVAN ' H Jtambles in America . JJtrri'ALO IIun'J'jno . — "Running' buffalo for the first time , and ihc sensation of galloping alongside a brute that appears as large as a haystack , is novel and exciting ; but after running ( hem a few limes the sport loses its excitement , and for my part I would rather have ten minutes with a pack of hounds across the worst country in Kngland than kill all ( he buffalo on the prairie . The bulls generally allow you to approach within 500 yards before they start oil" a la course . A good horse will catch them in half a , mile , and once up and alongside the pleasun ; is over , as you keep on loading and firing as fast as you can at a distance ! of five or six yards till the animal drops or stops , when you dismount and finish him at , your leisure . The death-struggl cs ol such an enormous brute ( and they die very bard ) are most painful to witness . The sport , is . just , dangerous enough to keep up a wholesome excitement , and to originate ( nlcn of hair-breadth escapes without number . It is not nearly so dangerous as shooting in cover with h ' vo or six excitable sportsmen . There is tlie chance of your horse putting bis fool , into a fox or badger-earth ; there is Hie chance of Ihc bull stopping suddenly and turning round , in which case most probably be receives the horse on bis horns , and . you make a voyage of discovery over bis bead ; and Micro is the chance , if you are Ibrf . una . tc-, of his running a / , you when ho is wounded . I only speak of these dangers from hearsay , us all the bulls I saw were in far too great a hurry to get away to hare any idea of turning upon their l » ursuorH . — SuLiiiVAJN ' H Rambles in America ,
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 25, 1852, page 17, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_25091852/page/17/
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