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Leader (1850-1860), 22nd March 1851, Edition Town of 1, Page 279

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      Untitled Article

      THE SECRETARY OF KOSSUTH . 34 , St . Petersburgh-plnce , Bayawatsr , March 20 , 1851 . Sir , —You have inserted in the last number of the Leader a letter of a certain Captain M . Domagalsk against the proceedings of M . Diossy in Liverpool , the Polish captain seems to doubt that M . Diossy ¦ was secretary of Koseuth , and winds up the letter with the following words : — „ << I cannot help adding that , whilst it is natural enough that the British Government , from mere financial motives perhaps , should endeavour to get rid of the exiles , we cannot understand what business a foreigner in this have to xert himself with

      country , a Hungarian , can e the view of attaining the same object , unless he is in the agency of Austria or Prussia , or at least accidentally doing the work of these two despotic powers . " Now , Sir , I must state that M . Diossy really was the secretary of Kossuth , and that , by persuading the Hungarian refugees to go to the United States , he only would have acted in accordance with the instructions I received from Kossuth . But it needed no persuasion ; the Hungarian refugees do not want to live on alms in England ; they are happy if they can proceed to America , where all of them live by their own exertions .

      As to the Poles , we do not meddle with ther views ; we only cHim that they should not assume the name of Hungarians . —I am , Sir , your obedient servant , Francis Pulszky . [ We have inserted Mr . Pulszky ' s letter with pleasure , though we regret there should be any difference on the subject . It should be remembered , however , that Mr . Pulszky and Kossuth are Hungarians , not Poles . Can Mr . Pulszky tell us whether a report ¦ which has reached us is correct ? It is , that Kossuth has declined to join the Democratic party of Europe , lest it shonld compromise some Hungarian relatives . If this is true , it might account for discrepancies . ]

      Untitled Article

      THE RELIGIOUS VIEWS OF THE " LEADER . " March 19 , 1851 . Sir , — In Leader N " o . 50 , your correspondent , W . D . S ., supposes H . B ., your correspondent who ¦ writes in No . 49 , to be " 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 newly-acquired liberty than that of becoming dogmatizers themselves . " As H . B . has written to you upon the " spread of Atheism , " he will be regarded as an Atheist ( although in his second letter , in No . 51 ,. he writes as a theoretical Pantheist , though no Pantheist would , in other

      respects , write in the same way ) . I am concerned to show that every Atheist will not write as H . B . has done . So long as all the theological passages occurring in your Leader were written in opposition to Atheism , I saw no reason to trouble you with any remarks ; but , when Atheism is ostensibly defended , we are involved in the defence put in , when it is pointed out to your readers as *• typical of a large class , " if not of all of us . My own silence has been owing to the circumstance that what has appeared against us , seemed to me founded upon a misunderstanding of Atheism , and therefore not likely to do harm to the instructed in these matters . Besides ,

      we do not solicit controversy with the Leader , for the same reason that we have declined it with the Christian Socialist . With you , religion seems to be regarded as a sublime inducement to work for humanity ; and I will do you the justice of saying that your practice s consistent with that conception , for never was relig ion so daring and so generous as it has manifested itself in the Leader . If it docs not win the conviction of the Atheist , it

      certainly commands his respect . It is , therefore , that we will not combat with 3 ' ou , except special need of self-defence should compel us . When we want to do battle for our opinions , we will rather turn to those lower types of the Christian fuith , which so widely abound , to those tenets which are unchangeable protests against freedom of conscience—to those practices which are a systematic warfare against human progress . his do

      W . D . S ., in No . , rebukes II . B . for " gmatism . " Had I written I should have rebuked him lor his accusations . H . 1 $ . commences by saying that " the greatest vice of the age is pandering to low and debasing Miperstition . " If . is " unaccountable" to II . B . that " the Leader should attempt to palliate error and defend an untenablo position . " He praises the " mental courage of those who avow a great princip le regardless of prejudice , " and then remarks that you " pause at avowal of

      the denial of immortality and the open Atheism . " The whole purport of this . is that you hold ( what he supposes to be ) Miss Martinoau s principles ( to whom he olludes ) , but lack her courage to say so—an accusation of insincerity » o unwarrantable and uncourteoua that I trust no Atheist would make it . lie must bo little competent to criticize opinion who can have read the Leader without perceiving that its chief writers are religious men , abounding in expressions w hich

      Atheists could never employ . It Bceinu to mo that the Leader neither " palliates " truth nor error , but simply stated its own convictions .

      That which you " defend as tenable" is that which is tenable to you . Your journal does not avow Atheism because its chief writers have not any Atheism to avow . At the same time , after the example the Leader has given of a chivalrous utterance of proscribed opinion , there cannot be the least doubt that it would avow Atheism if Atheism were one of its convictions . The review of Miss Martineau ' s work is a striking instance of the Leader ' s anti-Atheistical tendencies . It is not possible that a believer in Atheism could have written it . As a vindication of Harriet Martineau ' s

      right to utter her convictions , that review was worthy of the Leader , but as a refutation of her opinions it was ( to us ) the least cogent ; the least satisfactory article that has appeared in the Leader ' s columns . But allow me to lemark that there is some misunderstanding with the press generally as to Miss Martineau ' s views as developed in her " Letters . " Reconsideration will ehow that she is not an Atheist . Not wishing to write to you again on this subject I will take this opportunity of observing that if H . B . is anxious to serve Atheism , he will not regard as of consequence any passing numerical deprecation of Atheists . To appear to obtrude our

      increasing numbers ( which others will find out in due time ) ourselves , may intensify bigotry by alarming the timid , or it may sound as a vaunt in the ears of those who examine the vague assertion that there are " thousands " of us among the working classes , and thousands more in the transition state . The subscribers to the Reasoner very little exceed three thousand persons , and it is by no means clear that these are all Atheists . Some of these are clergymen and other religious persons , merely curious to learn what we are about . Beyond these facts we have no statistics . What I am anxious to guard against , is the impression that we acknowledge , as of our party ,

      that numerous class of persons in this country who are simply ignorant of , or indifferent to , religion ; who will cavil at a prophecy , or sneer at an humble believer ; but who are susceptible of no generous inspiration of moral truth , nor make any sacrifices to enlighten those whom they affect to regard as superstitious . This class of men are the unsatisfactory offspring of personal antagonism ; not created by our teaching , but generated by the inconsistencies of Christian professors ; and they may be known by their objecitons being levelled against the abuses of Christianity . If poor they are consistent in nothing but captiousness ; if respectable , they go to Church , not merely to hear special sermons or remarkable preachers , which is useful , but as a custom in deference to the opinion of their

      neighbours or their business connections , not having the courage to brave the priest whom they despise . These we do not count , nor even another class who are simply neutral and negative . We only include those whose Atheism is active and fruitful , those who are Atheists not from reaction , but from examination and conviction , and whose rejection of Christian tenets is translatable into a clearer moral life , and into systematic and patient endeavours for the information of others . What numbers there are of this class it will be easy enough and time enoug h to calculate when we have influence enough to remove from the statute book that law of Oath-taking which one who signs himself " No Disciple of Miss Martineau" so opportunely shows in vour last number is a statute of outlawry to us . of Atheists which have

      In the classification I sketched , possibly your correspondent II . B . may agree ; possibly he intended to include only those whom I here include , but on this point his letter was silent , and where silence may countenance a prevalent misconstruction it ia virtually a misrepresentation ; I therefore take the liberty of supplying the omission . The position of the Leader with respect to religion admits of clear indication . Several appeals have been made in it in favour of a New lteligious Reformation . Those who read those articles could hardly help feeling that they were as earnest as they were eloquent . The writers asked for a religious fuith and a religious bond of union . All they demand is to he found in Francis William Newman's work upon the Soul "—so far as my reading extends the noblest contribution to religious literature mude in this country . All beyond that i » Atheism . That book is the highest landmark yet furnished —an inimitable delineation of Freedom , Progress , and Religion—and of Unity for all who stand on Mr . Newman ' s ground , and , none of the Leader writers I have referred to , go beyond that ; and , let me add , if the Church of the Future cannot be founded there , a Church of the Future is not possible . Having thus explained in what manner ( in our estimation ) you stand upon the religious Hide , I have conscientiously testified to the integrity of your udvocacy , which will not bo impugned by any who advisedly call themselves Atheists . Yours respectfully , Gkouok J . Hoi . yoakk .

      Untitled Article

      ADULTERATION OF MILK AND CUE AM . March ' 20 , 1851 . Sin , —I rejoice with you that at lust public attention in directed to the adulteration of tea , coffee

      beer , &c , with an admixture of vile substances . Mr . Dean , of Shoreditch , was not able to overcome his reluctance the other day to even name one of the hideous compounds which competition pours into the poor consumer ' s stomach , impudently calling it coffee . For your own inspection I hereby send you a sample of the burnt rubbish of which tons and tons are furnished every week to the coffee-dealers . Whether in the enclosed sample the unmentionable substance is included I cannot tell you , but I am pretty sure that peas , damaged rice , and powdered earth

      participate largely in it . I rejoice , I say , because the fact of my knowing chat tea , amongst other ingredients , is adulterated by sloe-leaves : coffee by chicory , horse-beans , peas , damaged rice , dry biscuit , powdered earth , and the unmentionable compound ; and beer , by treacle , liquorice , tobacco , colouring , colchicum , salts of tartar , dye , linseed , a compound of halfand-half of alum and of blue vitriol , capsicum , grains of Paradise , coculus Indicus , orange peas , coriander seed , ^ turmeric , logwood , copperas , quassia , and burnt carrion , has caused me to discontinue the use of those three beverages entirely .

      But that is not the limit of my abstinence ; milk , too , that innocent beverage , being ianged by the adulterating system amongst the nauseous and injurious drinks , I have long ago renounced partaking of ; and , indeed , how could I continue to so grossly offend my stomach when I learned that what is sold in London as milk is nothing but water , adulterated by a certain quantity of milk , treacle , whiting , chalk , sheep and horse brains ( of the latter substance proportionally a great deal more is mixed with cream than with that sky-blue liquid , miscalled milk ) . The scandalous adulteration o ( tea , and especially of coffee , is chiefly attributed to competition , and justly so , if we bear in mind the continually decreasing price of the two articles .

      Now , Sir , if there be an excuse for this , the justmentioned circumstance would be one for the grocers ; but can the dairymen avail themselves of such a one ? I much doubt , Sir , whether in the memory of the oldest inhabitant of the metropolis , the general price of milk was ever higher than it now is , viz ., 4 d . a-quart ; whilst every other thing , meat , bread , tea , sugar , clothing , house-rent , &c , & " c , is now much cheaper than it was only ten years back . All that necessarily diminishes the expenditure of the dairyman ' s household . ~ I am , Sir , your most obedient servant , C . S .

      Untitled Article

      INDICT PARISHES FOR DANGEROUS PAVEMENT . March 18 , 1851 . Sir , —Your correspondent William Gallaway concludes his excellent remarks last week , upon the danger of wood pavement , by warning us that , if such " wholesale experiments upon the life , limbs , and property of the public are not checked in this crystal age , we may next hear of crystal blocks for London ' s streets . " Now , this is not a vain apprehension ; for what is here a vague fear has actually occurred in Manchester , where blocks , not exactly of crystal , indeed , but of crystalline stone , as slippery

      as glass , are used for paving-stones , to the terror of all horsemen , and to the injury and torture of all horses . It may be asked , how comes it that Manchester's shrewd men of business permit such folly ? And such an inquiry is somewhat hard to answer . I presume the explanation is , that these very hard stones ( which become very slippery because they are very hard ) wear a long time , and , therefore , are less costly than others—ti > the surveyors , who entirely neglect the loss—which does not appear in their accounts—from injured , strained , and worn-out horses , from broken vehicles , and , occasionally , broken limbs and broken necks of those who trust themselves on

      horseback to ride over " the infernal Welsh sets , ' as they are appropriately designated . I believe there is no legal doubt that those whose duty it is to maintain a road are liable to indictment if it be in bad repair or dangerous ; and certainly the having entered into an imprudent contract with a wood-paving company or any one else would be no defence against the charge . I believe , also , there would be no difficulty in proving that wood pavement ia dangerous ; and , if so , the surveyors of those puviug

      hoards that , after its proved danger , persist in ita use may doubtless be indicted with u fair chance of conviction . Mr . Gallnway ' s proposition to bring these cases before the courts appears to me , therefore , the most sensible plan to be adopted : till such time , nt leuat , as the Government shall be prepared to fulfil its office , and practically tench the " petty parliaments" tlmt ko frequently—nay , ho constantlyneglect their duties to the public , that the powers with which they are entrusted aro not rights but trusts . Yours , &c , X .

      Untitled Article

      HUDDKUSFIKLD MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT SOCIKTY . I'liiloBopliiouNhi'H , HmMcrHiMil , March ft , 18 M . j 3 , ( Having been waited upon by a deputation from the committee of the . Hudder » Ut'ld Mechimicrt ' Institution , whose attention his been culled to an account of tho Mutual Improvement Society which

      Untitled Article

      March 22 , 1851 . ] & !) * ILeafrcr * 279

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), March 22, 1851, page 279, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1875/page/19/