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WisBMAN and his clvtthberty which for th...
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The town-council of Leicester has negati...
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Co CForreapottBema.
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tfOTTiNOHAMi—J. Sweet acknowledges the r...
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THE HOBTHEM STAR SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, IS50.
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"NO POPERY." Cardinal "Wiseman has succe...
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¦ ' -,-: ¦ POPULAR EDUCATION. A hopeful ...
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MASTERS AND MEN. The master class and th...
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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.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Wisbman And His Clvtthberty Which For Th...
THEn ^ OIlT > Hi }^ Ni ^ TKR ^ HT .- . , ^_^ . ^^ - ^ y ^ MlB ^ t ^ .
Ad00409
PIRE A 2 fo LIFE ASSURASCE , ASD ANNUITIES TOE THE EfDTJSTRIAIi CLASSES . ENGLISH AND CAMBRIAN ASSURANCE SOCIETY : FORHBE , IU 7 E , AMJTJITIES , AKDESDOWMENTS , 4 c . & pitalJE 150 , 000 with power of increase to One Muiio . v . ( Incorporated by Act of Parliament . ) CHIEF OFFICES : —No . 9 , New Bridge-street , Blackfriars , London . District Offices . Ko . 65 , Son-street , Bishopszate-streer , City ; Ko . 67 , Charlotte-street , Pitzroy-snoare ; No . ' « , Trinir ^ treeti Trinity-square , Borough ; Ko . 12 a . Cannon-row , Bnogestreet , Westminster . Medical Officer . Bake . Wave . Esq ., M . D ., 67 , ChMMte-s ^ Ktooysquare ( on Monday )/ and C , Trinity-street ( on Thureday ) , from 10 to S .
Ad00410
Education for the Millions-THIS DAY IS PUBLISHED , No . XXIV . oi " NATIONAL mSTRUCTOE . " PRICE ONE PENNY . The object ofthe Proprietor , Fhabqtjs O'Cohkob , Esq ., M . P ., is to place within the reach of the poorest classes that Political and Social Information of which they are at present depriyed by the Government" Taxes on Knowledge . '
Ad00411
THE LONDON CO-OPERATIVE STORES are now opened at 76 , CHiaxoiTE . SrasET . FiTZBor Square , In connexion with the Society for Promoting Working Hen ' s Associations . 1 . —Object of the Stoies . - To enable members ofthe above-named Association , and other persons who may desire it , to obtain articles ; of daily use perfectly free from adulteration , of the best qualitv , and the lowest charge , after defraying the necessary expense of management , distribution , and providing for a reserve fund . Co-operative stores have been established with much success in different parts of the kingdom . The benefit to the subscribers may he judged of from the fact that the subscribers to the Pioneer Store in Rochdale , divided in the last year £ S 0 l ) afterpayment of all expenses , although the goods' were charged considerably below the ordinary price . - . . 2 . — Operations of the Stobes . . ,
Ad00412
TO TAILORS . By approbation of Her Majesty , Queen Viclmia , and H . R . H . Prince Albert .
Ad00413
RUPTURES EFFECTUALLY AND PERMANENTLY CURED WITHOUT A TRUSS . A BLESSING TO THOUSANDS !! EVEEY SUFFERER from RUPTURE , Single or Double , and of every variety , is earnestly invited to write , or pay Dr . BARKER a visit , [ as in every case he guarantees a cure ; During an extensive practice , in many thousands of cases , his remedy has been entirely successful , as tho testimonials he has received from patients , and many eminent members of tlie medical profession , amply prove . It is applicable to both sexes , old and young ; easy and painless in use , and most certain in effect . The remedy is sent post-free , on receipt of 6 s . Cd ., by Post Office Order , Cash , or Postage Stamps , by Dr . Alfred Babkeb , 48 , Liverpool-street , King's-cross , London , where he may be consulted daily from nine till one , and five till nine . Sundays excepted . have been left be
The Town-Council Of Leicester Has Negati...
The town-council of Leicester has negatived , by twenty-four votes to five , the motions of two sartonoal members to provide the mayor with gown and ., IiOTB . —Misg Martineau says that " Love , like the plague , is oftea communicated'by clothes and nwney , .
Ad00414
.- . Just Published , . : . . mm of p's j oijbn ai A Weekly Periodical explanatory of the means to well-place , well-employ , and well-educate , the whole population . Price One Penny ; by post . Twopence . Published by Clayton and Son , 266 , Strand , London MR . OWEN'slicENT WORKS , THE REVOLUTION IN MIND AND PRACTICE . Is . LETTERS TO THE HUMAN RACE . Is . CATECHISM OF THE RATIONAL SYSTEM . Id . . FAREWELL ADDRESS . Id . - Are published by Effingham "Wilson , Watson , and Tickers , London .
Ad00415
The Glowing Genius of . Filtered , Unmixed , Unadulterated and unassuming Cluxrtism must be Triumphant ! ! The Chartist Council beg to announce that >< On the 6 th of Novembeb , A GRAND SOIHEE AND BALL J \ . Will be held in the
Ad00416
NATIONAL CHARTER ASSOCIATION . . ; Office , 14 , Southampton-street , Strand . THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE hereby announce the following meetings : — On Sunday , November 3 rd , the adjourned meeting ofthe ' Democratic Conference will be held in the Coffee Room of the John-street Institution . Chair to be taken ; at three o ' clock in the afternoon . On Sunday evening ( same date ) , the Metropolitan Delegate Council will meet at the King and Queen ; Foleystreet , Portland-place . Chair to be taken at seven o ' clock . On the same evening , the Emmett ' s Brigade meet at the Rock , Lisson-grove—St Pancras Locality , Bricklayer ' s Arms , Tonbridge-street , New-road—Finsbury Locality , Old Dolphin , Old-street—St . Marylebone Locality , Circus-Street , New-road—and Whittington and Cat Locality . Church-row , Bethnal-green . ¦ ¦ ' '' ' On Monday evening , November 4 th , Mr .. Bezer will lecture at the Brunswick Hall , Ropemakers ' -fields , / Limehouse . Subject : ' The Land , the people ' s inheritance . ' ^
Co Cforreapottbema.
Co CForreapottBema .
Tfottinohami—J. Sweet Acknowledges The R...
tfOTTiNOHAMi—J . Sweet acknowledges the receipts ofthe following sums , ( seat herewith ) : —Rkfdgee Fond—Froxri the Seven Stars 5 s . ; Eagle Tavern 2 s . Cd . .. ¦ , Polish and Husgabux Hefogee Pom > . —Mr . Coles 5 s . ; Bonnere Pield , per Stakes Is . 4 £ d . ; per Mr . Arnott 10 s . ; Stevens' Book 6 d . ; Moody Is . ; Rossey Is . ; Collection from Poles Is . Old . ; perMr . Rider £ 2 10 a . 7 d . ; Welch * man Is . ; Crocket ¦ 8 di " - ; H . B . lsi ; Mr . Allen , Mr . Smith , Snow-hill 4 s . 5 d . ; Mr . Bligh 3 d . ; Mr . Beck 3 d . ; Walker Id . ; Mr . Dunnings Is . ; Mr . Ment . 4 d . ; Henley 6 d . ; Collected after Mr . Bezer ' s lecture , at the Brunswick-hall , Limehouse 15 * . j Mr , Peacock Cd . Mrs . Heath . 'Greenwich , heirs to acknowledge ( with
thanks ) the receipt efls . 9 d ., from the St . Pancras locahty , for the WatTyler Brigade , Greenwich . The Discontented AttoTieEs . —Mr . T . Moss , of New Brompton , Kent , has written a lengthy letter denouncing the unprincipled conduct of those parties , and expressing a desire that their names , occupations , and former , places of abode should be ' piiblishea , and held inremembcrance as the greatest enemies of the working classes . The writer then pays a tribute of respect to the public and private virtues of Mr . and Mrs . Willis , who are well known in Rochester , and whose good character would he attested ( if necessary ) by the signatures . of several tradesmen , mnny of whom differ from them in opinion on political subjects . The letter concludes by requesting Mr . and Mrs . Willis to pay no attention to the calumnies of their unprincipled maligners .
The Hobthem Star Saturday, November 3, Is50.
THE HOBTHEM STAR SATURDAY , NOVEMBER 3 , IS 50 .
"No Popery." Cardinal "Wiseman Has Succe...
"NO POPERY . " Cardinal "Wiseman has succeeded in creating great excitement , not only in what is called par excellence the " religious world , " but in circles where ecclesiastical questions are seldom mooted . The document in which the Pope formally divides England into Boman Catholic Bishoprics , and states the reason for
that stepi must unequivocally point to the reconquering of this country , as a recusant portion of the . Papal Church , and treats the present State Establishment , and its recognised Head , Queen Victoria , with silent contempt . The existence of the schismatical Anglican Church , is not even hinted at ; henceforth there is to be but one church known in these realms —that of Eome—and the new Cardinal
Archbishop is to be our visible resident superior . The authorship of that document-is ascribed to Doctor Wiseman , and it harmonises with the aggressive policy ; well known to be enter * tained and avowed by this ambitious . priest . No onewho heard the powerful and eloquent / but boastful sermon , in which he , took leave of the congregation in the Churcbqf St . George ' s in the Fields , previous to setting off-to Rome , for the purpose of receiving the Cardinal ' s hat , could doubt , for an instant , that the strongest and most cherished idea of his mind-is to bring the people of Great Britain once more within
the fold of the Romanist Church . If , the design fails , it will be from no want of ; will or lack of exertion on his part . Like all men , however , possessed by one idea , he is apt to over-estimate and overrate appearances in his favour . Looking at the improved position of the Roman Catholic portion of the community as compared with what it was at the commencement ofthe century , Dr . Wiseman sees in it the herald of restoration to its ancient supremacy ; He sees also the Clergyofthe English . Church torn and distracted with intestine feud s about controverted doctrines , and he infers , therefore
that tho church itself is weak . He knows that a considerable number of her Ministers have been for years keeping up a coquettish , dalliance with his own church , which has ended in some of them formally joining it and he . supposes that , therefore , the people are prepared to follow . the ^ arso ? w . Never was any man more mistaken . The very fact of our tolerating all religious opinions and sects in . Jthe way we So , is of itself the best proof that , as a nation , we will never again submit to the spiritual domination of any body of men , - call themselves what they may , or come armed with what credentials thev please .
One great cause of this delusion in the mind' of Dr . Wiseman and that of his fellow conspirators , against the civil and reli gious liberties of England , is to be found in the existence of what is called Puseyism . For years it has been well known , that Oxford has educated , and English Bishops have ordained to the office . of priests , a body of young men far more attached to the slavish and despotic doctrines of Papacy than the
free , self-governing , and self-reliant principles of Protestantism . The contest , which has for so many years been waged in town and country parishes , as to whether certain prayers should be said with the face to the west" or to the east ; , whether the vestments worn should be , at certain times , of a specifici colour whether the : p lace where the sacrament was administered should be a wooden " communion table , " or a stone altar ; whether candles were ft . to pJawlwi fte altarw ^' -not , ani if
"No Popery." Cardinal "Wiseman Has Succe...
bo , whether they were to be lighted during the day at certain portions of the service ? All these questions , trivial and childish as they appear in themselves , had a grave meaning and incidence , understood thoroughly by those who were actually engaged in the contest . They were the outward and visible signs of an approximation to Popery , and those who stood up for their introduction believed , that if by chicanery or coaxing , or " sharp practice , " they could once get the people to don the livery and the trappings of R 6 manism „ it would not be difficult afterwards to ' super-induce the dominion of Rome itself : ' :: :: '"; . ' . -. ' . - '¦
Instead of resisting this movement , many of the bishops of the Established Church took an active part in it . . Others were conveniently mysterious and . vague m their condemnation , and susp iciously tolerant in their conduct . " Restoration to the religious condition ofthe middle ages , when religious belief , and religious action , was regulated by authority ; where the trouble of thinking for oneself wassaved , and conscience , thought , and , action were p laced under the dictation and the direction of " spiritual superiors , " was , according to this party , , the one thing needful for the present and all coming generations . ^
No wonder that Dr . Wiseman , noting these things , should have indulged in a dream of- re-annexing England to Rome ,, and of bringing about in the nineteenth century , what had failed so repeatedly when tried in the' sixteenth and seventeenth centuriesnamely , the re-establishment of Popery in this country . His ecclesiastical education and habits , the almost idolatrous reverencato him . b y . those with whom he daily comes iaj cbntact , and the immense power exercised , nr all cases , by the Roman Catholic priest oyer the ' minds of his flock , were all calculated to make him seriously mistake , and . over estimate the influence which the Puseyite parsons had upon those to whom they ministered in things spiritual . . The doctrines of slavish mental'
subjection ,, which find apt and ready recipients , aided by / the confessional , and a state : of mind which rejoices in ignorance of anything beyond priestl y dicta onthese subjectsas . in itself a merit , were not , and are not ,, likely to find many disciples in the vigorous open air atmosphere of English society , whatever chance they may have had if the insidious Puseyite conspiracy had been longer carried on under colourable pretexts , th ey ^ have not the slightest ) now that all disguise is thrown away , and . the direct and avowed object is the spiritual , and , consequently , political subjugation ¦
and slavery of the people . ,, * ... One of the immediate consequences has been to make some of the established-bishops and clergy , who have heretofore been suspected of favouring Puseyism , array . themselves in unequivocal hostility to the new aggressive movement . The bishop , whose flirtation with it is . well known , has ,. in reply to an address from the clergy : of the metropolitan diocese , spoken out upon the subject . He roundly denounces the impudent creation of bishops by tbe \ Pope with territorial dominions , in ' a country where he has not the
slightest claim to authority , as an act that must be promptly resisted by the duly-constituted powers in this realm ; and not only urges upon-his clergy the duty of marked and scrupulous severance in all things from the Roman ritual , but the'immediate commencement of a system of controversial ; preaching , against the doctrines and practices of that Church . A similar spirit has been manifested in other quarters by the clergy , and before a few days have elapsed there can be little doubt it will have spread over the whole country . The Daily Newspapers have kept the question
constantly before the public , in its . political and social aspects , and a ferment is perceptible on these points in quarters where little attention is usually given to tho sayings and doings of either priests , parsons , or preachers . , The probabilities , therefore , are , that ; we are about ft ? enter iipon a . period of religious controversy , excitement , and turmoil , of which few persons now living have bad any experience , and which , though not doubtful as to its ultimate issue , must exercise an immediately injurious result " upon the tangible and substantial . progress of the nation . For , first let us picture to ourselves what controversial preaching is , and its effects upon
those who hear it . Political opponents sometimes forget themselves , and apply ' terms to each other the reverse of gentlemanly , or polite ; but in their angriest '• 'moo'd ' Sj in their moments of utter self-forgetfiilness , they never did approach the perfect and super-penned Billingsgate of sectarian warfare , and controversy . Everyone can conceive' the . effect of such language , addressed to persons rendered already nervously-susceptible of excitement , by their religious and sectarian . prejudices . . The ignition of such a train must cause an explosion of rancour and persecution to which we have no parallel in the recent history of this country .
Then , again , there is the not unfounded or unnatural hostility ; of political , social , and educational , reformers , who have no sympathy whatever with purely sectarian squabbles , and who do not care which sect has possession of the loaves and . fishes , ' as '' far as peculiar theological dogmas are concerned . , They , however , perceive , that with a few exceptions , wherever Romanism is uppermost , there thepolitical and mental prostration ofthe wholepeople is greatest . France and Belgium are both of them exceptional cases , and the clauses of their political activity , and comparative mental freedom ,, are not difficultto find . , But
whereevei ' tho Jesuits have , since the revolutionary outbreak . of 1848 , re-established : their- sway , ; we find that every vestige' of liberty has disappeared . Rome , Naples , all the countries indeed cursed by the rule of the Pontief , are delivered over to , utter darkness and systematic oppression , which i it : makes the blood boil to think of . The policy of Rome'is as despotic , as adverse to mentalj political , and ' personal liberty to-day ^ as it , was three hundred years ago . With all the ' fair speeches and . g lowing professions of its advocates , it is at . heart the samei : thing which our ancestors have , so often gallantly fought against , and which , in 1688 , caused them ' to drive James Stuart from his
throne , and frame an exclusively Protestant Constitution . During the last twenty or thirty years , tho true principles of Catholicism have beeri gradually making way in this country—not the Catholicism , which puts " Roman " before it , aud would be universal b y subduing everything to Rome , but a Catholicism which recognises the universal , inherent rights of all men to worship God in the manner most agreeable to their own consciences ; to be educated in the best possible manner , to fulfil the duties of citizens , and to extend political
and municipal franchises to the great body oi the people , as the only sound , safe , and permanent foundation of good Government . The Catholicism of England has been truly universal , because it recognised and found a p lace for the separate truths embodied in every phrase ofthe progressive movement ; and had the rulers of the Romish church been content with equality , instead of struggling for supremacy , it could not have failed to confer ample substantial , and valuable benefits upon our country . The period of sectional , sectarian
, and irritating warfare , on which wo are now likely to enter will , we fear , retard our onward career . The lessons of a wise and enlightened tolerance , which have been so recently ; learned , will bo in great danger of being forgotten •; and the fear of being thrust under the domination of an irresponsible' and " infallible'' priesthood , may drive the people of England once more back upon measures of repression towards a religious body , to which itwUlbe very easy to give the name of persecution ,- ,:.: i ¦ ,:, ..-. , ¦ . f
"No Popery." Cardinal "Wiseman Has Succe...
I For this , however , Dr . WisBMAN , and his Puseyite allies have themselves to blame . They have thrown down the gauntlet , and provoked the contest , of the ultimate result of which we have neither fear nor doubt .. England , and Englishmen are constitutionally Protestants . There is something , in our skies and atmosphere , in the material structure of our . islahd , nb . lessthan in Jthe physical and mental organisation of our people , which leads , inevitably to Protestantism , A people with
, such necessities and such capabilities , having such a variety of occupation and such ceaseless activity of mind , and body , possessing the means of diffusing knowledge to such an extent , and valuing the privilege so highly , can never be reduced to mental or' political bondage . tThe campaign of Cardinal Wiseman will end as fatally and dearly for Romo as that of Moscow did for Napoleon . Knowledge and Liberty are certain to triumph .
¦ ' -,-: ¦ Popular Education. A Hopeful ...
¦ ' -,-: ¦ POPULAR EDUCATION . A hopeful symptom of sound and steady progress has exhibited itself this week . The Lancashire Public School Association , encouraged by the numerous adhesions to its plan of Secular Education , supported by local rates , and placedunder local management , has held a Conference in Manchester , and converted the Association into a National oner The step betokens ah immense and a real advance towards the object in view . Hitherto the efforts of Educational Keformers have been isolated ,
intermittent , and incoherent . There has been no unity of design , ' no concentration of power , no uniform and ; systematic jplan of aption , while ' ihe opponents ofthe only principle on Which education can become truly national , have acted as organised bodies , ; and therefore exerted aii amount of influence . on the Governmeniand the Legislature , totally out of proportion to their real strength and numbers . The far greater forces at the command of the Educational party have failed to impress upon our rulers the conviction that the time had come when they must legislate on this subject
in earnest , and in conformity with the opinion of a body , of men having powerful-electoral influence . " That is the , short and simple > way to a . Prime Minister's , under / standing in ' this country . The most perfect chain of reasoning , the best sustained argument , the most clearly demonstrated public want , or public grievance , have no more impression upon him than water upon a duck ' s back , unless he can . at the same time be brought to comprehend that a . few seats in Parliament are at the command ofthe party who ask for legislation with reference to these , wants or grievances . :
This desideratum will , it is likely , now be supplied in the important question of education ; The appearance of Mr . Cobden at the Conference , and the active part he took in its proceedings , would lead to the conclusion , that the new association , will continue to have his co-operation and , advice , perhaps , in an official capacity . If so , there can ha no ques » tion but that he will bring to its aid a considerable accession of wealth and members , and , what is still more valuable , that he will
strengthen it by his experience' in . the organisation , and direction of such bodies . Public education is a question in which the peculiar mental characteristics of the member for the "West Biding can be most successfully brought into play . It is very doubtful whether his course of reading and his habits , are such as to lead him to take any very strong interest in purely political topics . His coolness towards the Middle Class Parliamentary Eeform Movement is not to be denied , even by those who would fain claim him as a
co-labourer . But we hare known him for the last fifteen years to take a deep interest in Educational Reform , and it would appear from his speechon Wednesday that that interest continues unabated . If he would take the presidency of the new association , and concentrate all his available time and faculties upon , its business , . he would do more for it , and for his own public refutation , than anything he has attempted since the triumph of the Anti-Corn LaW . League . The right education of the ignorant masses , whose deplorable mental destitution he so graphically depicted on Wednesday ,
is an object of far higher importance than the saving of a few hundred thousands , or even millions , a year in our annual taxation . In the neglected faculties , the wasted or misapplied energies of the millions , who in this country are either altogether unsupplied , ' or only partially supplied , with the merest rudiments of education , a wise - government- would find a source of wealth' richer by far than a dozen Californias rolled together . It is only needful to comparator , a moment , the monetary value of a highly intelligent , skilful , self-controlled human being , with an ignorant , untrained ,
idle , depraved , passionate ,, reckless human being ; and then multiply the difference several million . times , in order to find out how much the nation loses annually by its neglect of education . The saving of ten millions more than Mr . Cobden ever dreamed of , would not produce one twentieth of the beneficial results that would . flow from a sound industrial and mental tra ining of the whole " , population . Here is a ^ field for exertion worth y ^ of the noblest patriots ; one in which success ^ woul d be of the highest importance , wad followed ' . " by neither alloy , destruction , nor
misunderstand-Whether Mr ,. Cobden-, -takes the position and the course we have indicated or not , it is clear that the National Public School Association will in future exercise great influence in any discussion that may take place in Parliament on the ' subject . Every one admitted t hat Mr . Fox introduced and advocated the question , in a most able and ;^ conciliatory manner last session . But . a man without a party to back him , in the House of Commons is nobody ; unless , indeed , he be alordlingor
a scion of some aristocratic house ; and then he . finds a , party ready made for him in the House . Hence it was thatMr . Fox ' s bill was rejected by a tremendous majority , although the proposer was overwhelmed withfcompliments . If the Public- School Association does " its workproperly therewillbeno more of such shilly-shally . Members having the fear of being brought to , book will think before they vote ; and many , who would not give a vote for Educational Eeform for eonseienca sake will do so from expediency . It would be an
awkward thing to . be asked everywhere on the hustings , "Why did you vote for keeping the people m ignorance ?» « Why did you oppose the right of . the people to levy local rates for the education of the rising generation , in a knowled ge of those things which are cer tarn to concern them all as citizens , without interfering with the instruction they may require in reli gious matters ? " Such questions would be easier asked than answered , and they would be especiall y difficult to those flippant fine gentlemen who deny the masses the suffrage , oecause they are " ignorant . " They would be found to have first made the disqualification , and then taken advantage of it—to have inflicted ono wrong as the groundwork for perpetrating a greater .
Believing , as we do most sincerely , that every movement that has a tendency to improve the intellectual character and condition of the people , must , at the same time , necessarily tend to the triumph of Democracy we shall cordially support any part y that honestly and earnestly seeks to make Education gene rally accessible to the masses , without , at the same time , rendering it subservient to tho in terests of any church , sect , or party ThWrV new National Ass ociation ' appS o do . - ^ the words of Mr . KAY ShuttleVORtH , it ' seeks to promote Education for Xe and just political ends . " It will be useful obS ? w ^ hfe & S ^ onl y * e great political ntom $ «» MS Tnd f , ° ? estahBlhrnent of a ¦ system of national education , h ut also-the principles of
¦ ' -,-: ¦ Popular Education. A Hopeful ...
clvtthberty which provide for the protection of thT ^* uority , which develops the principles of local ;«« he *&> in connexion ; with it require that the man ^ eS ' , * school should be vested in the local committed of ' ttt > teesi the administration of the : funds raised in T l" « dred of a county in responsible bodies , who wiUniti » IlUl 1 - provide that every man shall have an opportun ^ ma teI J training his child that he shall be fitted byMi e » w- So raise himself to the exercise of the poUiical franrS . *» advantage to the State ; •¦;' . ;¦;¦ " - ^^^ with These are great and important objects . « r ^
lYtnw *! « + ¦ 4 r » r \ l itinltnn / 1 4 > a «*•*** £ j « l r * _ Mj may not feel inclined to wait until Sir jr ., SfiUTTLEWORTH'thinks the Association h » succeeded , in fitting the people to exercise th franchise advantageously ; but as ever v attempt to do that—so far as it su cceedscannot be otherwise than beneficial , we reco » nisethe Association as a co-labourer in tf ' cause of the people , and most heartily bid it God speed ! . . r
Masters And Men. The Master Class And Th...
MASTERS AND MEN . The master class and the working class take widely , different views of all questions affecting labour . Placed in antagonistic positions bv the false arrangements of society , they have looked at the question from opposite points of the compass , and hold theories of political economy , which have " scarcely any two prin . ciples in common . It . is rarely , indeed that the working man ' s 'theory ' gets utterance or audience among those who possess property and , therefore , it is but little known . In the few cases where it is presented to them , it ig usually so caricatured or misrepresented that
, it wears anything but an inviting aspect , Violence , spoliation , and plunder , are made to appear its ' principal characteristics , and the . operatives are forthwith , condemned as an uureasonable , unruly , discontented set of fellows , ' - ' whom it is necessary to keep in stibjec tion by the strong hand . How systematically any knowledge of the real sentiments and opinions of the operatives is ignored by influ ential journals , may be judged of by the conduct of the Morning Chronicle to the most honest , and decidedly the most talented of the " special correspondents " who contributed to its series of letters on " Labour and the
Poor . " - The communications of Mr . Henry Mayhew , the metropolitan correspondent , were the most graphic : and striking of the whole series , and formed by far the most valuable and faithful collection of social statistics ever b & fore published in this country . It would ap « pear , however , that he was guilty of too much fidelity ; that forcibly and painfully impressed by the facts he witnessed and recorded , ha made it his . business to get at the real immediate causes of the horrible misery , destitution and prostitution , from which he lifted the veil . In doing this he was led to adopt the opinions
of the working classes themselves , as to tha origin of the evils under which they groan . Their opinions were not in conformity with the orthodox politico-economical creed pro « fessed by the conductors of the Morning Chronicle ; and the consequence was , that a less informed and faithful , or a more compliant correspondent has been found to replace the intrepid and ingenuous delineator of the real "Mysteries of London , " -the- exposer ofthe wickedness , and the tyranny practised b y traders of all grades , in their haste to grow rich .
We heard Mr . Mathew address a meeting on Tuesday night in explanation of the grievances to- which the ballast heavers of the port of London are subjected . In doing this it was curious to find , that his actual experience ofthe working man ' s life had thoroughly embued his mind with the same philosophy which we have known to prevail among the industrial classes for the last twenty years . The onl y difference we could observe was , that the' convictions having been impressed lately upon a mind possessed of great intellectual power , they were expressed with a freshness
and force that is ' not to be expected from those to whom such views areniore familiar , or who possess lessmental strength ' and cultivation . In all other respects , his exposition of the detestable theory of buying : in the cheapest and selling in the dearest market , and of the wretched ' eonsequences it entailed upon society , was such as would have given unmitigated satisfaction to any Socialist or Red Republican whatever . ^ Being debarred from giving utterance to . his honest opinions on these subjects through the columns of a morning newspaper , he is about , we understand , to publish them in a
separate illustrated periodical . But here again we are met by the evil results of the partial and lop-sided policyof theTritonsbf the Press . They are afraid to put the whole truth—or the whole falsehood , if you choose , to call it so—before their readers . Their readers believe , that they give them all ' the . information they require , truthfully and honestly , and seek no further . The working classes have another and totally opposite literature ; and thus there grows up a great gulf between these two portions of the
same , community . Ignorance of the wants , feelings , and sentiments of each other , gives rise to suspicion , dislike , and alienation . Police and standingarmiesarerequired to be kept up by brute force , a system which has no foundation in mutuality of rights and duties , or hi that enlightened . ' comprehension of the actual position and sentiments of the various sections of the body politic , which would make them all work cordially for the promotion ofthe general well-being . '
\ The meeting at Wolverhampton—reported in the Northern Star last week—was a gratifying exception to this unfortunate state of things . For the first time within our recollection the capitalist and the operative came together in the midst of a Trades' strike , to discuss the questions which lio at the foundation of all such industrial revolts . ' There was neither violence , clamour , uproar , confusion , nor anger , exhibited throughout the whole of the proceedings : of that large' assembl y . No one minced the truth , ' though all felt ' that there was hot the sli ghtest necessity for stating it ' in such a way to' make it offensive . Above all ifc was the first effort of the : kind to prove to the middle classes that the favourite doctrines of
supply and demand— "Buy cheap and selldear'i —however true in their own sphere , have moral and social limits which cannot be oyer * passed without entailing the most injurious moral ands ocinl evils upon the community . Even in a pecuniary sense alone , tha speakers showed clearly that the depreciation of wages was . an evil not to tho workers alone , but to tliose who lived by suppling the varied wants . In a population like that of Wolverhampton , where so large a proportion are entirely dependent upon weekly wages , a reduction of ten or twent y per cent ,
on prices , is equivalent to a corresponding reduction of the purchasing power of the town . Suppose , for illustration , that £ 30 , 000 is paid weekly to the operatives of Wolverhampton' } That sum , or very near it , will be ci rculated every week among the bakers , grocers , butchers , tailors , hatters , shoemakers , &« ., promoting a healthy activity in all these trades . Deduct twenty per cent , from tha wages paid , an ( i it - atonoe re ( juce the sum to 24 , 000 , and withdraw from circulation no less than £ 312 , 000 a vear , aiid consequently
deprive the shopkeepers and tradespeople of profit on that large amount of money . It is true that the masters who pay the less sura may benefit for a short time by the reduction in wages , and pocket the sum that is abstracted from tho general circulation . But this call only be of ver y brief continuance . Competition speedily reduces profits to the corresponding level , and they are placed in the same re lative position as before , with this difference , thaft for producing the same or more work , & " ¦ have got a great deal less to spend .
i Against this suicidaland unjust sy stem tha Central Committee of the National Un " Trades protested ; they invoked the assistanca and sympathy , of the employers , as being a matter which , m reality , affected them quiM ag much aa the w-oriersjand though WW BwaJJ
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 2, 1850, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_02111850/page/4/
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