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Leader (1850-1860), 30th March 1850, Edition 1 of 1, Page 4, _____„ T>T?r> r n?r'TTnArTQ'r Tu-pr-rTAT...

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      _____„ T>T?R> R N?R'Ttnartq'r Tu-Pr-Rtat...

      is described as " an old-fashioned , respectable- Too " _m of _faXr _. with a ' sort ' of _mJtantad _smockfrock , " made some very strong remarks on agricultural distress and the parliamentary misrepre- sentatives of the rural interest : — " Now , I will tell you what , " said Mr . Perry ( and _hera his energy increased ) , «• if anything is a curse to England and will make a man ' s blood boil , it is to see a poor man -who wants to earn his bread going about begging for a iob of work ( Loud cries of " bravo , " a ? id cheers . ) I iay _. woufd not _yow blood get hot and curdle almost if you had _wivesandchildrencrying at home because you could not get them bread ? ( Hear and cheers . ) But there we go on grumbling and do not do anything . Why do you not do as the Americans did when they were op- pressed , and say , We won't have it ! ' { Loud cheers . ) The Scriptures tell us , ' We are to prove all things , and hold fast that which is good , ' and I _arnsure it is good to uphold the cause of the poor AndLI say it . _" a mo st 2 _l' ? _J _?™ Uo 7 E _^ _Se _' _at'iTwd _^ whh fine coats sitting in the House , and who are born with a silver spoon in their mouths . { Laughter . ) Now I should like to see some men in the House who have earned their living , and who know what the value of money is—( loud cheers )—which they do not at all \ S _^ _^ _& _^ \ ir _^&^^ _£ governors , as they call themselves , talk about our condi- tion , and that is all they do . Perhaps I am going too far ?—( ' No , no ; goon . ' ) But I should like to speak about the poor rates ; " and in sneaking about them he said— " Now , I will tell you how it is in our parish , lats- field , where I live , is a small parish , and we have only four ratepayers ; and last year we had to pay £ 143 for establishment . charges , and £ _o 3 or the relief ot the poor . ( I oral cries of ' shame shame " disgraceful . ') I am one of the guardians , and I have been to the commissioners and ha ? e _explained all about it ; but now , we would not make a poor rate , and they are going to put in a distress upon the overseer . ( Shame , shame . ) Now , I say , if am / thing will bring about a revolution , _tt is _sicch things as these . First people get discontented , and then tiny go on and get _disaffected , until at last they break out . At Pontefract a meeting was held on Saturday , at which Mr . Busfield Fcrrand made one of his most _truculent speeches . On this occasion Sir Robert Peel and Mr . Cobden were the chief objects of his vituperation . » Sir Robert Peel , " said Mr . Ferrand , « sa _? s he hopes never to live to see protection re- stored ; I tell you that his life is in your hands if you choose . If you will follow my advice , farmers of Great Britain and Ireland , in two years you will see protection restored . " The advice to which he re- furred was , that the farmers of the United Kingdom should lay their heads together and " enter into a wool league , and vow they will never again wear cotton if they cm be provided with woollen or linen Roods . " If they would only follow up that scheme in two vows the cotton-sniiincrs of J -incashiro _xvmild _honored to — _S" _Mnii m _S would be ioiced to compound . Mmi _» toib might laugh at such a scheme , but it was no laughing matter :- « Perhaps when Lord John Russell hears of this determination he mavscout . it and turn it into ridicule . I warn him , that the Dukeof Bedford put down tho hair- tux in England by _wearing cropped hair , when hair- powder was almost as R oncriilly worn as cotton is now . In France they scarcely manufacture cotton at all . Woollen lace is now chiefly worn in Paris . Light woollen fabrics are used by them * for summer dresses and for curtains , and heavier woollen goods for winter wear . Rome few months ago an announcement came from America that there was to be a short crop of cotton ; that raised your wool 3 d . per lb . Let 200 meetings of farmers take place throughout Groat Britain and Ireland , and let them pledge themselves to form a wool league , jind before next clipping-time the price will be raised a further ( id . per lb . When you employ your labourers now throughout Great Britain and Ireland , let the cry bo " Wool for ever—you shall wear no cotton ; " and encourage tradesmen who scout cotton , who do not allow it to enter into their shops . What farmer of you who farms 100 acres of land would wear a cotton shirt if he wore told lie should pay £ 100 a year for wearing it ? AVIiv . as soon would 1 wear a perpetual blister as a cotton shirt . " . r , ' , " . , r , r ., , _ .. _,. After _denouncm- Mr . Monckton Milnos , tho mem- ber for rontoiract , as having bwtrnyed tho cause ot protection , Mr . _lerrmul went on to abuse Ministers , 'Ihe ( _iimhfioatum ot tho . Premier ot _England now was that lie should have a cotton soul . " Every- thing was viewed in relation to the cotton-mimuliil- _turin-r _inti-rost . As lor tin- Lancishiro cotton- a _iiiors Mr F rraiul out-lier « , Is Mr « Trollono in _niT " ir _eiituro of t Jm — Hollopc in rA What are these men ? They are men who turn their _counting-houses into their church ; their _ledger is their . IJible , and their money is _tlu ir « od They nro men who spin _slavt-jjrown cotton , _tlu-y insist upon ! _Bxveetenin- their tea with _Khivo-Krmvn _suwar . they daub , their calicoes to delraml the pubh _« with _shivo-jrrown ! flour-paste ., they _\ _vc » rk their women factory slaves fifteen hours a day , in an atmosphere more destructive to human life than the climate of Sii-rra Leone ; they are only pie- vented from working little ehildrcn _tixleath by a stri " ni ; eiit net . of Parliament . They arc themselves slaves of the devil , and during the last seventy years the _«> _ntt .. n _trrule of the country has « l , s « roye _, l ten times mo ,-, hmil ; ill l _. e _. ngs , ii _Lngland than the cholera has destroyed m the vrholo of lunxovo {

      _____„ T>T?R> R N?R'Ttnartq'r Tu-Pr-Rtat...

      At the close of the meeting three cheers were given for the chairman , and _thnS for Mr . _Fcrrand . _^ t t _j ie Crown Inn , Chertsey , a meeting of farmers an ( j _Q _^^ _g Vf . as held , to memorialise her Majesty to dissolve Parliament and dismiss Ministers . On the same day a Protectionist meeting was held at Rom- ford in Essex , at which the principal speaker was Mr . _Geouge _Frederick Young . He condemned ,, _TiicriPli _' s mode of warfare as not calculated to Alr - _-L _^^ ii s mode oi wariare as not caicuiaieu to Promote the cause of protection : — » Iheir only hope was m a dissolution ot the Parliament , and the dec- tion of another that would truly represent the great industrial interests of the country . They might depend upon it that that doctrine would make its way . There would be a dissolution , and the period was not remote when the present Ministry must be driven from their places . " In order to be prepared for such a crisi > s he advised them to form country associations , and to have candidates ready on whom they could depend By adopting this plan they would be able to make their numbers and influence tell at the right time . Having agreed to form a Protective Association , the meeting separated .

      4 Wbt &Eabtt* [S^Tobav, F

      4 Wbt _& eabtt * [ S _^ _tobav , f

      Parliamentary Reform Movement. Therarna—...

      PARLIAMENTARY REFORM MOVEMENT . _Therarna—yRcfonne _,, have held meeting , at Lancaster on Monday , at Maidstone on luesday , and at Limehouse on Wednesday . At the Lancaster meeting , " one of the largest ever held in Lancaster , " Mr . J . Baxter Langley and the Reverend T . Fleming were elected delegates to the Reform Conference to be hcW next month in London . At the Limehouse meeting the chairman , Dr . Bowkett , took occasion decl e himself an advocate of the Charter _though £ _* _eclareJumseU anaa _^^ _^ f _^^^ Y _^ _aiso a _mernoer oi tne l _^ auonai ± _tciorm _^ vssociauon . » When the fitting time came he should be as ready to devote himself to the extension of the suffrage until it should become universal , as at present to advocate the point which he believed to be likely of attainment . " Resolutions were passed , asserting the necessity of a _general agitation on the question of Parliamentary Reform , " with a view to an early and universal expression of public opinion ; " approving of the plans _< f the National Association , especially of the intended Conference ; and recommending prompt and liberal assistance , by meetings and resolutions , by " the formation of committees , the employment of local agents , and the contribution of funds .

      Leeds Redemption Society. A . . „ , ,> ,...

      LEEDS REDEMPTION SOCIETY . A . . „ , , _> , . " „ . . A " _aggregate meeting of the Redemption Society was held in the fetock _Exchange , Albion-street , Leeds , on Ahursday evening , the 21 st inst . Ihe Reverend 1 < _jt » _mund Larken , rector of Burton , near Lincoln , had _engaged to occupy the chair on the occasion , but . Wlis prevented by severe illness in his family . His letttn - explaining that fact , however , cheered the Lt in it _emfeavours . __ ' boci _" > "i us _tiutcdvours . 1 . . . . . " Important events are every day bringing their influence to bear on the progress ot associative effort . Il IS "" Possible to sec the altered tone of the public " r S ! " . ls () " thiS _Sreat subject ( both in England and on the Continent ) , without being convinced that society is _adviijicing surely , and , perhaps not slowly towards that _P' _^ t _chaise which we have laboured so long to bring f"ui' . W _° hav f " _^ y _' . 1 lecl assured , need to persevere _^ X _^ nn _LCl _" _Z _?'•/? . Y ! T * Y " J 01 ? 8 * - ™* , Z r _}^ _[^ Z _^ _itu V ff 1 _" _" _) 1 _^ _^ T r _Xus neoi le " enlightened , moral , and reli- ° _* P P Mr . J . IIouc , secretary to the West Hiding Mecha- nics' Institutes , presided . In the newspapers , he said , communism had been represented as a mere chimera , as a theory put foith by Fourier St . Si , non imc \ others * _<< „ _-,, ' , tl ' ,,. _* , _^ , ,., « . ,. , _^ lh' » so who thought that English Socialism had any ? "r . h origin were very much mistaken . Two or * . hree _inilucncos which had been in active operation in France " _'" J _cauBcd the principles of socialism to be better known »«< 1 understood amongst the working classes of Paris than they are known and understood in England . The English have long had a poor-law , and even Queen Elizabeth did not know the advantage of allowing poor , ) eo , )] c : to die for want of food _> ln tTilucc thcre _« a _» 8 no 8 uch provision ; thousands of men there , finding them- selves deprived of the means of sustenance , thought they nn K ht as well die behind barricades as die of _hunger . Also there is the extremely minute division of landed properly in France . By the French law of 1789 , the land was compulsorily divided ; that principle had now ht > t > n aciin _« r"r _hM a century , ami the result of it is , _^^ an nvcniKO t cach IK , a _J . _' int propriotor has twent _; small parcels of land . On these scattered fragments it is impossible to rear flocks , keep horses , and to employ the means and appliances of scientific agriculture ; it is , in fact , the _carrying out of the principle which hud been proposed as a remedy lor the evils of _Kngland , namely , the allotment system . It is quite true that , if the work- intj man can make a _living on his allotment , he is not in so ' bad a position as the laetory worker , who , when 1 1 C falls out of work , does not know when he may fall in again ; but certainly this system should not be set before the people as a state of _things near to perfee- tion . Along with the land they should have ma- chinery , improved modes of cultivation , and the advantages of the most advanced art and civilization , I ) ,- . Johnson has remarked that there are two sort * of ieVeller 8-one who want to level _dourn to themselves , |

      Leeds Redemption Society. A . . „ , ,> ,...

      and the other who seek to _levels to themselves . The * _$ _?— - * Z _% _^ _X < n _% _~ _?" ut b _? ffi _i exercise of economy , intelligence , and industry , to acquire property for themselves . Nor did they intend or * desire to disturb the true distinctions of nature . A V man willing to work ought to have sufficient to eat as f well as be enabled to enjoy the arts and refinements ¦ _* of life . Ihe Redemption Society do not meddle with j theology ; their object is simply an economical one . It h been calcu ] ated that out of twelve hours labour the workin man onl gets the result of three or four hours ; the rem o ainder goes to the landholder and the capitalist ; _| ; andj as botn ] an ( i ana capital are necessary to production , j _< the object of the society is to secure the possession of ' « both land and capital to the working classes themselves , < : in order that they may enjoy the full reward of their toil . " _^ jj . G REEN ( president of the society ) explained that the Redemption Society is communistic in its principles . Its possessions are public property as _'¦ _^ distinguished from private property ; all its ' ¦ > members are joint capitalists . The principle of : Communism , to some extent , is carried out in every * town : — " Our markets and public buildings are all public property ; they are supported on the communal principle . ! _*—^ S _^ 1 \ 2 S _%$£ 5 _? _% _& S _£ _« $ & ! _R _| demptioix Society was enrolled under the act of Parijamelltfor the security and protection of friendly V societies—it has a _president , vice-president , secretary , i treasurer , five directors , and two auditors . These officers \ meet every Monday night at the rooms of the society , in I LambertVyard , Briggate . Their duties are , to examine the accounts of the society , to receive the collecting | books from the collectors , and to see that the books are \ cor rect . The money which has been collected is after- f , mveste ( j in the _savings-bank The nresident wards _^ _Jf _^ w mo _2 _? y _^ th _^ _tmk ; _the _^ rustees aUme can withdraw money ; and no money can be with- I ar awn without a mitten order from the president I an ( j the secretary . The entrance fee is sixpence , \ which includes the * price of the rules and acts of _Parliament relating to the society . When a candidate has paid a subscription of a penny per week for six months , he becomes a co-proprietor , and has the right to vote and exercise the powers of the society . Donors have no right of voting ; but if the society be in want of labourers ° _" X _^ "JS _^ e ' J h t l y p may . _^ t _^ t * ° Se _* ve _Tn _^ lL ' Z _^ lTl Te _^ l % rl _™ 7 _. L \ l _£ b _^ SS . etox . ° _onfa week their subscriptions are entered , and at the next meeting of the society paid in , and reported to the parties present . The society has collecting districts in various parts of the country—in Halifax , London , Sunderland , & c . On the society » s estate in Wales the people all labour , and no loas is incurred there . The rules render it impossible for the society to get into debt ; and , if the board of management contract any debt on behalf of the society , their own goods are liable to be distrained for the amount , so rigid are the laws protecting the funds _, The estate of the society in South Wales was given by a Mr . Williams . It consists of about 160 acres of good land . There is a mortgage upon it of £ 1200 . The societ are now endeavouring tS raise £ 200 to expend upon fhe improvement of the land , and the introduction of m l anufactures ; and they hope to be enabled to proceed fo the erectio ' n of memier _^ hou s es and a school-room . _p rom the prosecution of their general objects they would neV (? r _^ m it wag accomplia _^ ed < He J had no fears as t to the means being ultimately forthcoming ; the society could never t iufo debt it J wag _j getting richer , and it must ultimately gain the confidence and * respect -i of the working classes . Members had the best assurance that their money would be properly applied , that no one would be _supported in idleness and luxury by it , but \ that every penny would go towards the establishment of a system which was calculated to renovate society . In- : stead of raising money for strikes , he hoped that in : _fllture tne working men would support the Redemption | Society . By investing their money in it they not only <'{ secured employment to themselves , but secured the i whole produce of their _labour , and rendered themselves i independent of the present oppressive and depressing : system under which they were suffering " I T , « _,, _nO _* , _*«« _nmn _» e a _u _r I _} nre P _^ to a Question proposed by various parties Mr Green stated that cards ot membership are not ! transferable ; that moneys paid to the society cannot i be returned in the shape of money , but go to create j a eat c Ual for the _^ urpO 8 e f _Vstablishing communitics , from which the outside , or non-elected , members will receive benefit in the shape of articles of a sur ) erior and cheaner nuiniifirtnro that tho _" ietv Sill 1 on tiS , _« 1 _? _it _« _S . r _nrVln , _«? lA u fr _^ rj i _! / members are located in these communities , did are thus completely exem P tcd _lrom _^ e possibility of want or crime . Tho society cannot be broken up till such be the wish of _nve-sixths of its members ; if it should be broken up the funds will be divided _amongst all the members _, The " reereation-monuy " was to enable the elected ¦ members to enjov tho means of visitinc their friends , i or to spend in anv other wav _^ for ZirTn muse ' , npnt _?"„«? Y W y tOr thelT ° Un amUfeC | _i _^ ,. _i _? u V _, _„ T _•* . _? ill _' x i J" ¦ LlK 1 _* s » m answer to the question— fl Is it mtemlctl tlmt a 11 the members of the society arc to be P ut U P ° » a level r "—observed that , so far us the laws ot tllt > soeicty are concerned , they not only proclaimed fraternity , but absolute social equality _, " We biiv no man hag i _ri _^ t t « _nmn . r » v . _vmn t nnnn the princ _, le ? h _? t ho ha ? a _right Fofive If he _hw S _righ to live , he has a right _* to ? abou ! _alameana of procuring those ' things n _$ _mytoto B £ _w \ _™ n _& wanL _;

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), March 30, 1850, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/ldr_30031850/page/4/