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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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MR . B . OWEN A ! ND THE RECENT CONFERENCE AT THE SOCIETY OF ARTS . We have received the following letter from one whose name and . life are entitled to all respect and sympathy . We regret that the misprint should have occurred , but we douht not our readers found little difficulty in penetrating the involuntary disguise of the venerable philanthropist : — ( JTo the Editor of the Leader . } Sevenoaks , 16 th Feb ., 1854 . Dear Sir-, —It is seldom I attend any public meeting , but when I do it is to perform what appears to me to be a public duty . I attended the meeting of delegates from masters and operatives held lately in the rooms of the Society of Arts and Manufactures , because I had been a master manufacturer , emplojing some thousand operatives for about forty rears , and had , for upwards of sixty years , taken a deep interest in tlie capital and labour question , and in the investigation of the causes which continually created differences between employers and employed . I had thus , through an experience seldom attained , made myself so much master
of this subject as te ascertain , that in our new manufacturing system employers and employed were in a false positionthe one became a tyrant and the other his slave , a position which should not exist in the British dominions , or , with the now wonderful increase of facilities for creating wealth , in any other country assuming to be civilised . For the gain of one man or-firm hundreds , are deprived of education , natural health , and comforts , which may now with ease , under another sj-stem , be secured for alL The . older manufacturers , statesmen , and men of the world knew the deep interest which I had taken many years ago to obtain legislative reBeffbr those employed in manufactories , a relief tardily g iven , and yet very Incomplete . bucrciuirouesiru iutttmasters
x- was , , ua >< ana operatives should know what little I had the opportunity of saying at that meeting , intending , if it had been continued , to have folly explained the only practical remedy for the evil . This desire arose from knowing that many masters and men place much reliance in . my opinion on tins subject , and the Leader is extensively read by employers and employed ; it was , therefore , with regret that I saw in your report of that meeting what I had stated given as spoken by Mr . Jfoteen , and your correction merely as R . Owen , which may betaken for Professor Richard Owen , Roger , or Ralph , or any other Owea beginning with an R . To correct this error 1 request the insertion of this letter , And remain , dear air , yours faithfully , Robert Owen .
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NEW LIFE BOATS . A trial of a new life-boat took place on Tuesday last , on the canal at Limehouse , In the presence of several experienced gentlemen in the construction and management of life-boats . The boat in question was designed by Mr . J . Peafce , assistant ^ master shipwright in her Majesty ' s dockyard , Woolvrieh , ana was built "b y the Messrs . Forrestt for the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck , who purpose to place the boat at Ardrossan , on the coast of Scotland . Having been hove keel up , by means of an iron crane , the boat self-righted at once , and freed herself from the water she had thus necessarily shipped , in thirty seconds . The rapidity with which the boat emptied herself of the water , by means of Belf-actine delivering valves , was
perfectly astonishing . One -moment she was full of waterthe next hardly a drop remained on her "platform . On a trial of the stability of the boat , she bore seventeen persons on her side , to bring the gunwale down , with the tubes sbut to th « water , and twelve men were required to bring it awaah , with the valves open . It will thus be observed , that the self-righting power of the boat has hardly diminished Tier stability . The trials were in every respect satisfactory , and the boat possesses also much strength , and appears to be well adapted for the important services which she will soon probably hare to perform . The boat is 27 feet long , and costs , with her necessary gear , about 150 Z . Many similar boats , we understand , have during the past year been placed by the Shipwreck Institution on various parts of the coasts .
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PUBLIC KILLING IN GUERNSEY . We have "been favoured by the illustrious exile , Victor Hugo , with a copy of a most eloquent and indignant protest addressed by him to Lord Palmerston , on the subject of the execution of Tapner , who was hanged on the lOtih inst ., in Guernsey . The culprit was found guilty of murder , theft , and arson ; but so decided a repugnance to capital punishment prevailed in the Island , that petitions were addressed to < the Home Secretary for the commutation of the capital sentence . One petition , by far the most eloquent and remarkable , founded on the principle of the inviolability of human life , was written by Victor Hugo himself , and signed by six hundred of the most enlightened inhabitants of Guernsey . The consequence of these emphatic appeals was , that a respite was obtained far the prisoner . Three times from January 27 th to February 3 rd , from the 3 rd inst . to the « th , and from the 6 th to the 10 th , Tapner was respited , and his caae taken into consideration . His execution , after three repented heaitations , appears to have excited a deep amazement . We cannot , however , consent to believe for a single moment , that it was owing to the interference of the Emperor of the French , offendud , it is said , at the moral influence exercised ' by Victor Hugo , that the Home { Secretary , after a third rospito , ordered the law to take its course . The ireneh alliance would bo dearly purchased indeed , at the price of such base concessions . But we repeat , ' we do not believe any British Minister capable of so
revolting a degradation . Nor do we believe a British Minister capable of arriving at a decision involving a human life , without grave and earnest deliberation . We regret to be quite unable , in this pressing moment of Parliamentary debates , and warlike preparations , to find space for the whole of this address , marked with all the characteristics of the noble writer ' s profound feeling and passionate style . Bead this description of the . execution , and its appallingincidents .
The legs were thrown convnlsrvely about as if seeking , some stay hi the empty space' ; what could be discovered of the face was horribly disfigured ; and the hands which had become loose , were clasped and relaxed ,, as if to implore assistance . The cord around the elbows had snapped in the falL Amidst these convulsions the rope began , to swing , the elbows of the poor wretch , came in contact with the . edge of the trap , he clung to it with his hands , rested his right : knee upon it , raised his body , and seemed to lean towards the crowd . Again he fell ; and twice , says the eye-witness , was the same scene repeated . He then raised his cap , « ad the
crowd gained a sight of -Mb face . This , it seemed , iras too much . It was necessary to close the scene . The eartcutioner re-ascended the . scaffold and caused the sufferer ( I Btill quote the eye-witnefs ) to let go his hold . The executioner and his victim straggled for a moment ; the executioner triumphed . Then this wreteh , himself like one condemned , threw himself into the aperture where Tapner was hanging , straightened his knee ' s , and bung to his feet . The rope oscillated for a moment , bearing the victim aad the executioner , the crime , and ; the law . At last the executioner himself relaxed his hold : all was over ; the mien was dead !
A garden joined the prison . In this garden the scaffold was exacted . A breach was nude in the wall for the prisoner to pass through . At eight o ' clock in the morning the neighbouring streets were crowded with spectators , of whom two hundred of the privileged were admitted into the garden . The man appeared in the breach . He walked erect and with a firm step ; he was pale ; the red circle , caused by anxious wakefulness , sorrouncedhW eyes . The month just passed had added twenty yeato * t < 5 ? his age —»» man thirty years of age' appeared fifty I (** A cotton night-cap was drawn ovcr ^ bis head and turned up in front , " saya an eye * -witness ^ " he was dressed in a brown coat , which he wore daring the trial , and an « U pair of slippers . " He waited partly round the garden , in a walk gravelled expressly for tne occasion . The javelin men , the sheriff , the under sheriff , and the Queen ' s solicitor surrounded him . His hands irere tied loosely as we shall presently see . According to the English custom while the hands were crossed uf on the breast , a cord bound the elbows belind th * back .
Behind him the chaplains , who had refused to sign the petition for mercy , followed weeping . The grav « l walk led to the ladder—the cord ¦ was swing- * ing—Tapner ascended th . e ladder— -the executioner trembled —inferior executioners are at times susceptible of pity . Tapner placed himself under the noose and passed it over his head , and his hands not being firmly tied , ue desired the executioner , who seemed quite confused , to arrange -the rope , Then , as if he had haa a presentiment of what was to follow , " says the same eye-witness , he said , " tiemy hands tighter . " " That is Unnecessary , " replied the executioner . Tapner standing thus with the rope round his neck , - and his feet on the trap , the executioner drew the uightro ^ p over his eyes and nothing more could be seen of that pale face , but the mouth , moving as in prayer . After some moments , the man destined to this high office pressed a spring—the drop fell , and the body fell abruptly through ; the cord tightened , the body turned , and the man was considered dead .
" It was thought , " says the eye-witnesS j " thai ; Tapner was killed at once by the rupture of the spinal marrow , he having fallen four feet ; " but the witness further adds , " the relief to our oppressed hearts did mot last two minutes . " Suddenly , the man not yet a corpse , but already a spectre , moved . You see , sir , how things were managed ; the effect was complete ; for the town being built as an amphitheatre , everything was seen from the windows ; all eyes were fixad on the garden . If it were the object to excite a feeling of horror , it was done ; the crowd cried shame , shame , and several females fainted . Between the time when Tapnex fell into the trap , and that in which the executioner no longer perceiving any motion let go his feet , twelve minutes elapsed . Twelve minutes ! Let that time be calculated , if any one knows by what clock to number the moments of suffering . Such , Sir , waathemode of Tapner ' s death .
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Lord Paget lias ljcen returned for South Stuflbrdahirc by ft iruyoritj of 1551 ) over Lord Ingestr * . The numbers were . — Paget , 4328 ; Ingestro , 27 G 9 . This is a great Liberal triumpli . Political dinners flourish . On Saturday , Lord Derby , Lord Palrnerston , Sir William Muleaworth , and Lord Canning en ! ertained politicul personages ; und the Speaker gave hia iirot aeBbional dinner .
Colonel William Edward Powell , M . P . for the conitfr " of Cardigan , has addressed a letter to the olefttors , In Wlncft ^ te states that , in conseqaeoee of serious ill herittt , which ferhtii every reason , to believe will be of ft Jetttument ch * ra 6 fc « ft he feels bound to resign his parliamentary trust , with whim he has been honoured during the lengthened period of thirfef " eight jears . ' Mr . Henry Wyndhafri , son of Cbiofiel WyHdhSm , « f Midhurst , was elected on Monday at Chiekester , as rteprt ** htatiye of the western division of the cottftly bf SoSstek . 'Bfcf . White-hurst , of London , was proposed in opposition to M ? k WyndJwun , as being in favour of the bslloE , but tfta latter nomination was not persisted in * Mr . Wyndnant i » *
Tory . Mr ^ Palk , Tory , has been elected member for BtfuthiKftftn ^ without opposition . The Lords of the Treasury have couseQtftdifr appropriate the fund arising from unclaimed mone * order * , ^ nafifffnt unclaimed -property in dead , letters , to the payment . ofjfeifC of the premium on the policies of such otf the rffiber ^ of'tie Post-office in any part of the United ' Kingdom ,-asmay initlM their lires . This fund now amounts- to about 16001 . a yw , and tlere is an accumulation from past years of 'Obftife 15 MQL , which , is also to be applied to-this purpose . : ¦ - ' Her Majesty ' s Commissioners for bnlltli&g newchorchw have approved of the plans for a new * cherch for the eceslwSi * astical district of St . Marie , in the parish of St . MaxgaMt , Westminster . They have also - made cta&tional grant *! to * wards , the erection of churches atthe Mowing places ^ Th » district of St . James ' s , Hstcham ; in jflw- parish * of © ef *» ford ; ai Blackheath , in the parish of Greenwich ; aiForesfc hilL in the parish of l > e # isham ; in the TJ « risft ^ Islewptrlhi
in theparish of Hammersmith : in CteBey * s ^ aa * ef \ Bedfonl New'Town ; in the district ; of St . Lake ' s , £ ing ^ 8 > cra »^ at ToDington-park , in the district parish of Uppw Holl 6 w » jr : in the district parish of St . John , Notting-hill ^ in Nut&rak place , in the district parish of St . Mary , Bryanstonfrsquarfr ; at Lorrimore-road , in the parish of St . Mary , Newingtoau Some of these churches ^ baye been commenced ; and inctuifc * bents , appointed to tha' districts which bjivebeettius ' igneclgta : thenu . ' ' ¦ ¦ . : . . ¦¦• . . >¦ >; - ; ..: ,- ¦ ., On . Wednesda / , the 8 th instant , Mr . Loch annoocnce 4 to the Court of Directors of "the East India <) ompetny thmt ^ lt was not his intention to offer himself as a candidate for- » s « at in the direction , at the election of 15 directors , which jptur suant to the act of last session , will take ^ lac « on the 8 tA ; of March next . Mr . Loci ' s address , which mtimates thia iatentiooi to the proprietors of East India Stock , will be foond in an-other part or this paper .
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Father Gavazzi lectured at Exeter Hall on Thuriday nigUt . He wore a black gown bordered with the Italian tricolour . The . report that Cardinal Wiseman will not return to re-Bide in England has beeai revived . , - . Join of Tuam has ordered . the pariah . priestsxyf his diibcese to number the people , in order that the lelatlve ^ perioritT of the ' *• CatKolics" over the " sectaries" may be made manifest . Miss Margaret Cantwell has obtained SOQl . damages agaisatthe firm of Carmack and Co ., who prosecuted that lady « a a-charge of stealing a bit of ribbon . As she ^ as a Rofrtan Catholic , the trial caused immense excitement in Dublin . Tapner , the murderer of Mrs . Saujon in Jersey , has suffered the extreme penalty of the law . The killing arrangemenla were so bad , that the poor wioteh was struggUsg several minutes before he died .
More than one of tie Morning papeis have been " authorised to state that theie is not the slightest foundation for a scandalous paragraph which has gone tba round of tht Scotch prese , and * has been copied into some lol the London papen , relaJive to the preseatation of plate by the Dacheas of Hamilten to the chapel at Hamiltoo ^ and to its subsequent x « - sumption by the Duke . " G-aiibaldi has arrived in London in command of a merchant ship from the United States . A deputation laid some serious complaints of the . conduct of tie police in St . James ' s parish before Lord Falnctcrston on Saturday . Lord Palraerston has intimated to fhe Marylebone vestry , through Sir B . Hall , thut he will not give his sanction to the establishment of a . cemetery in the parish of Willeaien .
A barbarous attempt is being made to obtain the gulden of Lincoln's Inn-sqnar © ae a site for tb « proposed law courts . Professor Owen gallantly resists tie proposal , bub the trustees and proprietors are at present too strong for him . Lord Brownlow C « cil , son of Lord Exeter , applied at the Dover Insolvent ' s Court for his discharge . Toe schedule filed by the insolvent , who had been discharged on sureties and surrendered , exhibited debts and liabilities amounting to 13 , 819 ? ., of which 8 , 649 / . was set forth as being without consideration , leaving the actual d « bts 617 GJ ., and they principally arose on " oill transactions . " The insolvent had llil , owing to him , and it did not appear by the scliedulo that there was any available property for the creditors . There were sixty creditors and tour dobtors in the schedule . Tuo insolvency was attributed to tho ieavy interest and
discount paid on bills of exchange , which had beeu at JonaC JOW . a year , and to the allowance from the Marquis of Eketef , 27 01 . , being insufficient for the expenditure . The earliest delt was incurred in 1 « 48 , and none of the debts were of a kto period . Among tho items of expenditure there wan one of 100 / ., extending over several years , as " losses on racing transactions . " T ) ie * o were several residences abroad . The insolvent had held a coinmissiun in tho Scots F-ueiliex Gui » trd 8 , nnd sold outcome time back for 8000 k , which was uceountud for in tho schedule . He had resided sono . fi time abi » a « J . and waa arrested at Dover last month by a b 3 ll discounter , on which ho went to Dover Castle , petitioned the court , und obtuined bail . Having answered all questions , he waa discharged forthwith .
An attempt at garrotting was successfully resisted at ItufJton last week . Two ruthnna tried to throw a noose over the bead of a gentleman in Dumlas-street . It fell on his / br « head , and Hinging it off , he struck out manfulj . j' with his slick , when the scoundrels ran away . One ia In cutttody .
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W February 18 , 1854 . ] THE X / E ' AD'ER . 1 ^ 5 ^ ^_—^^ ^ — , ' i . — ¦ ¦¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ' ¦" ' ¦_ ' — - ' ¦¦ i^—»
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MISCELLANEOUS . Qoken " Victoria returned to London on Monday and set up her court at Buckingham Palace . At once she revived her play going habits , attending the Princess ' s on Tuesday , and the Lyceum on Thursday . At a court held on Thursday she received the new Danish Envoy Extraordinary , General d'Oxholm ; and made Dr . Bowriug a knight , on his taking leave of her Majesty for China .
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A Cabinet Council sat three hours and a . half on Saturday . All the Ministers were present .
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Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 18, 1854, page 155, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2026/page/11/
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