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Leader (1850-1860), 8th March 1851, Edition Town of 1, Page 231

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      there are fine and noble thoughts scattered through these records , does it prove them divine and universally binding ? The same argument would make Plato ' s voice the voice of God . A Fxy on" the Wheel .

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      MISS MARTINEAU'rf RECENT WORKS . Birmingham , March 4 , 1851 . Sir , —Your excellent correspondent , H . B ., when noticing your comments on Miss Martineau ' s recent book , says , "It is unaccountable to him that the Leader should palliate error or defend an untenable position , " which , translated into plain English , means that he is amazed any rational , man should hold opinions opposed to his own . I fear H . B . is no exaggerated type of a large class , who , having emancipated themselves , as they fancy , from the tyranny of dogmatism , can make no better use of their newlyacquired liberty than that of becoming dogmatizers

      themselves . " God and immortality , " says H . 13 ., ' «• are only hypotheses , " which in one sense is true ; but I would remind him that even if the evidence in favour of these hypotheses is not sufficient to command our assent to them , yet neither in itself nor its eff cts , is the belief in God and in immortality either "low" or "debasing . " And I think , too , that it would be no very extraordinary stietch of modesty for a man who has not succeeded in acquiring even a moderate knowledge of his own language , to admit one shade of doubt to enter his mind , as to whether it has been granted to him to comprehend the wondrous universe in which all of us are placed .

      You , Sir , have opposed some of Miss Martineau ' s views on transcendental grounds . Will you allow the opportunity of very briefly opposing the same views on logical grounds ? For I am far from being convinced by your article , that if we trust to no better aid than Jogic , we shall never be able to compete with the teachers of the new school . At any rate , I should like to see logic well tested before it is pronounced incompetent .

      Miss Martineau speaks of the universe as being governed by fixed unvarying laws , which have existed and will exist for ever , and in obedience to which all the various phenomena of the universe are produced ; the belief that this universe is governed by conscious intelligence ghe treats as a childish superstition ; in her scheme , law is the " ever acting force" which produces all and directs all . Let us examine , then , what law means .

      Ihere are two distinct kinds of law : there are laws of art and laws of science ; the one says do this , avoid that ; the other says , this is or this is not true ; the laws of art are rules : the laws of science are truths . Now , I think it is self-evident that a truth is not " a force , " that it can neither produce nor govern . Then are these " eternal laws" of the universe rules or truths ? Evidently they are merely truths . So far from the law determining the phenomena , it depends upon the phenomena for its own existence ; it is a law only because it corresponds with tlv ; phenomena of which it speaks . And when Miss Martineau talks of these physical laws governing the universe , it seems to me that her judgment has been the victim of an ambiguous word which lias kd her to confound a rule with a truth .

      Her coadjutor , Mr . Atkinson , rejects the argument from design , according to his aphorism , " man designs , nature is . " This phrase sounds well , but does it really convey any more meaning than this , man designs , the steam-engine is . The steam-engine exhibits marks of design , and we know that the design was the work of an intelligent mind ; all nature is full of design , or , if Mr . Atkinson objects to the term , ol adaptation of parts to each other , and of every

      part to the whole ; and from these marks we infer the existence of an intelligent cause . Mr . Atkinson saws it is absurd to Huppo . se the eternal cause of all tilings to be " a person . " If by " person" he means " being whose faculties are limited like man ' s , the announcement is by no means new ; but if lie means by it conscious intelligence , he asserts u proposition whkh , from its own nature , is incapable of proof , Jiiul lie only opposes dogmatic teaching on one side by dogmatic assertion on the other .

      It is but fair , I should nay , that I know this book of Miss Martineau ' s only through your extracts from ! t ; but . a student of Com to is not likely to be amazed or shocked b y the avowal of any opinion ; and can "d niire the honest b . ildness with which opinions an ; given to the world , however opposed hu may be to the opinions themselves . I am , Sir , your obedient servant , W . 1 ) . S .

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      1 HK EXISTENCE OF A DFA'VY . March I , IMfil . . lit ,- —If I comprehend the tenor of your remarks i » the review of Mr . Atkinson ' s and MissMart . iiieau ' N new work in y () ur [ lMi , |)( , > yon Ktat ( l f ln « . fi ; .,: t , mat . logic , or the , J jlt ,, M . of Iuan ' ,. ilM () ll t will not Hul " ' 1 ! l " « - < Mtily him of the existence of u Creator ; "" ur belief ( I 8 , iy it without any offensive intent ) »*« ' , perhaps , not of a nature to satisfy the minds of «»« ny , and certainl y not of ull . Hut , without entering

      on a discussion of the sufficiency of those grounds , I request that you will permit me , through the medium of your columns , to point out to your correspondent , H . B ., and those who incline , like him , to coincide with the views taken by Miss Martineau , a plain and easy way ( although no new one ) of arriving at absolute certainty on this most important question ; and I undertake to show that it is not more absurd for a man to affirm that he himself has existed as he is from all eternity , than it is for him to deny the existence of his Creator . I shall do this very briefly , premising that the argument is to be found at length in the chapter , " Of our Knowledge of the Existence of a God , " in Locke ' s Essay concerning Human Understanding .

      It is as follows : — "Nothing ( or nonentity ) cannot produce any real being . Each of us knows that he himself is—i . e ., that he is a real being . " If , then , nonentity cannot produce any real being , and a real being exists , there must have been something from eternity ; since what was not from eternity had a beginning , and what had a beginning must have been produced from something else : — And since what has its beginning and being from another must also have received all its powers from the same source , and as we find in ourselves perception and knowledge , it is certain that there is not only some being , but some intelligent being in the universe—and that being the eternal source of all being .

      Unless and until Locke ' s arguments are shown to be fallacious , which I affirm to be impossible , there is no excuse for Atheism ; —for , as that illustrious man has shown—next to the intuitive certainty to a mnn of his own existence , there is nothing so certain as the existence of his Creator will become to him , on his making a right use of his reason in the inquiry . In conclusion I recommend for the consideration of Miss Martineau and those who think with her , the following words of Cicero , as quoted by Locke in the chapter above alluded to : — " What can be more sillily arrogant and misbecoming , than for a man to think that he has a mind and understanding in him , but yet in all the universe besides there is no such thing ? Or , that those things , which with the utmost stretch of his reason he can scarce comprehend , should be moved and managed without any reason at all ?" I am , Sir , your obedient servant , Theophilus .

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      INDUSTRIAL ASSOCIATION LEGALIZED . Topsham , Devon , March 3 , 1851 . Sir , —It was with much pleasure that , in your paper of Feb . 22 , I observed a form of petition to Parliament for the legalization of industrial associations . The petition itself is perfectly sufficient for the cooperation contemplated by the parties represented by the Christian Socialist . As to the general subject of the legalization of industrial associations , I would observe , however , that a new and general law is fully requisite . The resuscitation of old laws is a mediaeval policy—in principle retrogressive—in precedent evil . At the same time the present English law of partnership is a complete stumbling-block to the operation of industrial association . Its enactments are so stringent that the liabilities of each partner extend to the losses of the firm to the very last farthing . It is thus that capitalists , and tho 3 e who have any position of pecuniary responsibility , are in a great measure deterred from investment in industrial associations . Before us , however , we see a practical plan of incorporation , as in the instance of Tailway companies , where the partner is only liable as to losses to the extent of the shares he holds . It is on a plan like this that we require a new and general law in favour of industrial associations . We want , in fact , a general act , for the purpose of enabling companies of workmen , or communities of other classes , to organize industrial associations , with the liabilities of loss limited severally to the amount of shares , as in the case of railway companies . We want , in fact , a general act for this , to avoid incurring , in the case of each incorporation , the wasteful expenditure of a special bill in Parliament . In illustration of the plan proposed , I would remind your readers that the French law already permits what is called partnership en commandite , in which the liabilities are limited , as in railway shares . The French have thus considerable advantages in cooperation compared with the English workmen . The result has shown itself in more numerous and successful industrial associations in France than in England . May the working classes of this country take the hint for another more general petition for the legalization of industrial associations . I am , Sir , yours respectfully , Goodwyn Bakmby , Minister of the Gospel .

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      SIR EDWARD SUGDEN AND THE COURT OF CHANCERY . ( Concluded from p . 1 G 0 . ) After the most searching inquiiy , I failed to discover who it is Sir Edward alludes to as having lodged a fictitious detainer against himself—so great his love of prison . It is singular that this love of prison , which has fascinated so many of them to the dingy walls of a miserable asylum ( varying from twenty to forty years ) , all of a sudden—the instant our association agitated the question and brought to light these outrages against common sense and justice , which have been perpetrated in the cases of many of the prisoners—this extraordinary preference for confinement should evaporate ! Some innocent minds might draw the hasty conclusion , that it resulted from the efforts of the association . " Foolish

      people , Sir Edward would say , " they are indebted to me ; I lutve ever felt the most anxious concern for them . " Ay ! and bo he leaves them twenty or forty years in a dungeon ! How diligent has been his zeal to protect their liberty ; how indefatigable his exertions ! Perhaps Sir Edward only took * a little narcotic and slept awhile , till the horrible and discordant loquacity of the association disturbed his sleep ; but , what will the public think of all this ? To whom will they give the palm ? It is indisputable , thut not a step had been taken ( of late years ) to liberate these poor victims , till the association put itn shoulders to the wheel . Now Sir Edward takes the credit to himse ! f ; good . It reminds one of the Prussians declaring that they won the battle of Waterloo . { Sir Edward , speaking of this

      diyinclination to leave the prison , says , " It is not to be wondered at , considering how long many of them have been confined ; in fact , it had become their homo . Upon a recent visit , 1 find the same cause producing the same effect . " From all this , Sir Edward most logically arrives -at the conclusion , that this imprisonment i . s very just and proper . Oil ! excellent reasoner ! You destioyj a iiiiik ' h energies ; you wurp his very manhood ; you crush thut vital principle which nature hus implanted in his breast —hi . s care for life—and then you marvel that he should manifest so little anxiety for the active business of the world , and you go about with whining mouth to tho public , " See , he does not cure to be free ! " 1 blush for you , Sir Edwurd . It seein » to me thut thia ia the

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      j March 8 , 1851 . ] CD * It * after * 231

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      INSTINCT AND INTUITION . March 4 , 1851 . Sin , —Allow me to make one remark on the position laid down by you ( in your criticism on Miss Martineau ' s now work ) that , " the soul is larger than logic . " If by " soul" you mean our moral intuitions , I cordially agree with you ; but if , as I fear , you mean our pathological feelings , * then I think you perfectly wrong . Assuming—as I suppose may now be done among metaphysicians—that Kant ' s theory of time and space is true , sensation must be regarded as quite as phenomenal as perception . Our feelings cannot assure us of reality any more than our reasonings . The inward world may be as phantasmal as tho outward . As Fichte has it , " The world may be a dream , and myself a dreamer of dreams . " But conscience tells that we have duties to perform ; and this moral intuition , firmly embraced , not only confers reality and wortli on our sensible existence , but unites us intimately , and at once , with a higher spiritual world . The distinction may appear trivial between what you call " instincts" and I call an " intuition ; " but , to mv mind , it is tho reverence ; of conscience , i . e ., the clear recognition of the intuitive moral sentiment , as the supreme and alone transcendental fact of human consciousness which lies at the root of all true philosophy , all juHt polity , all pure virtue and all real religion . S .

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      C 11 A R T I S T E T III C 8 . JM ; in : h . , 1851 . Siu , — I have often been struck with the immense difference between Chartist principles and Chartist advocacy . When I read the Charter 1 find a clear . statement of rights . When I listen to Chartist oratory I hcur denunciation , and I find that tho principle it forgotten in the practice . 1 am perfectly incredulous when I am told that the middle class is bent on keeping the working man in u state of slavery . I do not believe that any class—in this country , at least -- is bent on so doing . Each class has its own convictions , differing from those of any other class . Each class looks at the ; fact , from a different point of view . When you can mako your opponent , htand on the same ground as you stand on —if your cause is just you convince him . II you begin by calling me names , I set you down as a raver , and neither reap any benefit . Had Chartists only repented their demands d . iy after day -without doing anything else — they would now stand far higher in the public , estimation . Tho history of Chartism is a history of promise without performance . JNo men talk , more of the power Jly no iimmu . — Md .

      of truth , and no men seem to forget its strength more . A fact strongly put shakes the world . It is difficult to make men understand that a clear statement of facts has far more weight than denunciation . If we could fit men—like steam-engines—withan apparatus for consuming their own smoke , the world , would soon be better governed . When Chartists shall have learned to put their case before the world without superlatives , it will triumph . . H . R . N .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), March 8, 1851, page 231, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1873/page/19/