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Northern Star (1837-1852), 3rd January 1852, Edition 2 of 2, Page 4

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    • '- IriroftTANTSOCIALiST-f OBLIGATIONS J ROBERT OWEN'S JOURUAI"'
    • So srorrrdpdKB^itid.
    • THE PHTSEBN STAB SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, IS52. •
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  • Adverts (3)
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      "' Interests Ofthe Know To Have 3 Full "...

      "' interests ofthe know to have 3 full " ' H A ,. fIr-r ^ MMt THgR NUSTAR . fjjl *^ ^ " * r—^—~—————————^———¦ im — w—^ . »—— ——^^——^—M ^ " ^^—* " ^™'"^^ ^^ ^ . - . ........... ¦¦ - •¦ " ¦ " ¦ ~ i ' . ^ " ~ r ~ : ~™ j . ' i , ~ " na ' wiTl"frills « t / i ..

      '- Irirofttantsocialist-F Obligations J Robert Owen's Jouruai"'

      ' - IriroftTANTSOCIALiST-f OBLIGATIONS J ROBERT OWEN'S JOURUAI "'

      Ad00409

      THIS JOURNAL : V . fl ? ublisTica weekly , urice Ose Eeskt , and in monmy P * " » . price Forsr « c £ ) , ¦ . ¦ : d ^ Explains the mean * by which the > pm ° U £ a ^^ ^ f ^ ded placed within new and rxj superior circamstaflce ^^ ^ j e with constant beneficial employment , and there * egW £ « °£ J comfort and abundance , uA great ^ Sd ^ rfi benefit to direct mean * bj which this chan-e may be e necicu ™ % 3 U » on Government , « " * - ^^ Hffi SSSffiS »^*« ™ i ^ ssxis ^ 7 ^^ ' ^ ^ Also the first Volume , Price 2 « . 60 .

      Ad00410

      QUEEN'S THEATRE . BOLE LESSEE—ME . C . 3 . JAJIES . The Pantomime , pronounced bjr all to be the best produced this season—its georgeous dresses and appointments—its beautiful and magnificent scenery , eliciting- thunders of applause . All should witness the Palace of a Thousand Stars , beinjr literally one blaze of splendour . On Monday , and during the week , The VeeUs l > aeat . Cbaracfers by Messrs . E . Green , Burford , Allen , liindall , . W . ' . Phillips , and Bigwood , and Urs . J . Parry . - After which The Little Parljur : To conclude with the NewGraad Comic Christmas Pantomime of Beauty and lie Beast ; or , Harlequin Prince Axor , theQuten of the Bases and King of Thorns . Belle de Knit , Jliss II . Huddart ; Haricquia , ilr . Ambrook ; Columbine , Miss C . Gibson . Clown , Mr . Harrison ; Pantaloon , Mr . J . . Matthews .

      Ad00411

      GREAT RATIONAL STANDARD THEATRE , opposite the Eastern Counties ftailway , Shoreditch . Tbt largest and most elegant Theatre in London . PBorBUTOB—Mr . Jobs Douglass . The gem of all the Pantomimes ! Enormous success of King Ebddjf Toddy 1 . The splendid scenery , gorgeous dresses , elaborate effects , and great mechanical chanses have never been surpassed . Thunders of applause and roars of laughter from beginning to endi The Palace < £ Koli l-noors , or Temple of Millions of Diamond Lights , encompassed fcy revolving globes , of fire ( the brilliant efiirt produced by countless jets of gas ) , has electrified all beholders , and is pronounced by all to be the most novel , lustrous , and dazzling scene ever witnessed upon the stage . The best Pantomimists , and the real Pantomime for the people . On Monday and all the week ( Thursday excepted , when it will be played last ) , to commence with Tiie Tltree Weavers .

      So Srorrrdpdkb^Itid.

      So srorrrdpdKB ^ itid .

      Xotice.—Xh Private Letters For Me Must B...

      Xotice . —XH private letters for me must be addressed to H , Qneenstreet , Solio-square ; as ifr . O'Connor and myself Iiavc ceased to be connected with the Xosxiiebs Stab . Letters on business to be addressed to tbe * Proprietors of the Noethebs Stab . Williah Rider . A Twqve Yeaes' Oiubust , of Padihara , having read the report of the recent discussion on Co-operation between Mr . Liojd Jones and Air . Ernest Jones , ia which it is said that not a single hand was vixen in favour of Air . Lloyd Jones , informs us that the lattergentleman wished his friends not to vote—rotes proved nothing ; : nd that his Chairman protested against the sense . of the meeting being taken in the beat of excitement , as the people would be better able to decide in their calm and thoughtful moments . This statement , our correspondent says , ought to have appeared in the report . In proof of th * above , a Councilman has informed him that , since the discussion , ten new members have been enrolled ; and that the receipts have increased £ -50 per wesk .

      The Phtsebn Stab Saturday, January 3, Is52. •

      THE PHTSEBN STAB SATURDAY , JANUARY 3 , IS 52 .

      The Week. After The Exciting Events Whic...

      THE WEEK . After the exciting events which have marked the few last weeks , the lull which has come over the political affairs of the Continent seems almost like stagnation . The sum of all the accounts which reach us from Paris and . the departments , may he expressed in three words , 'France is tranquil ; ' or , if we choose to vary the phrase , we may substitute for that expression ' Order is restored , ' or , 'Society is saved / How France indeed can be anything but tranquil upon the surface , it is difficult to conceive .

      It is like the tranquillity of a man burning to speak his wrongs , but with a gag in his mouth—longing to strike one good blow to avenge his injuries , but manacled—fettered , bound hand and foot without a public opinion which dares express itself— -without a free thought which may shape itself in words . France is one great prison house , with soldiers for gaolers and executioners . Under these circumstances , the mockery of election has been gone through , and the result is as might have been expected , that Lotjis Napoleon is again the chosen of tttoErmh . people , by nearly soven millions of . voters , against a little

      more than half a million . Even supposing the returns to be true , admitting that the tickets in the urns were fairly counted , their is nothing to he surprised at . in that . Indeed with the general terrorism which dominated over all minds , and with the gentle hints given to printers , that , if they printed negative tickets , they would be deprived of their licenses , it is almost surprising that even half a million of votes were recorded against the Usurper . Besides that , the presses were keat f ally employed in of

      many the departments producing the affirmative voting cards ; and although it was said that voters could write their assent or dissent , yet the fact of a sharp-eyed official being able to detect at once whether the document was printed or written , and thence to infer its tendency , was quite sufficient check to men who did not wish a prison door to open Before them , to find themselves on board a steamer , on their way to a place of exile in the tropics ,

      However that may be , there can be no doubt that if the real votes had been unfavourable the published return would have been much the same . It was the policy of the Peesident to have a vast majority of * Yeas , ' with jnst a sufficient sprinkling of ' Jfays , to give the whule the appearance of fact and truth ; andhe must have a very oddly-constituted mind who can doubt that the man who could break promise after promise—heap perjury upon perjury—and coolly cause peaceful citizens to be shot down—would , when the fruit of all his crimes—the reward of all his guilt—was within his reach , hesitate at such a trifle as a little jugglery with a few millions of voting tickets . That jugglery—or the fears of the people—has made him , for the time , the master of France , by law as well as by right : and heis framing a Constitution

      tor a . free people , while his police agents are shipping off to Cayenne hundreds of persons suspected—not convicted—of violating what stands for law—the decree of tho despot It is probable , however , that jasfcat this point the troubles of the Would-be Emperor begin to gather most thickl y around him . It is comparatively easy for a man who has physical force enough at his back to bully or bayonet a nation into silence , but repression of that sort cannot ha everlasting . A society which has once tasted of liberty must have some room to breathe—some leave to think—some power te

      exercise tbe faculties which save it from barbarism . How to allow that , and yet continue despotism , is tne great problem which the Eegent of France has » solve , and if he successfull y answers it he will be tne nrst to achieve so apparently impossible a feat , inert , seems to be now no alternative left Louis 8 uSffn f ^ i ^ ntraae fo ruIe b 7 awor < I . or S 3 L "? Ara sra f t ? 3 km from power . He is in 1 Cf ¦ * ^ Bteo ha t . vM « ** ' a bad course , and every - ' * SW 3 ttr ££ S !

      The Week. After The Exciting Events Whic...

      cureau , who , forced to ascend an enchanted ladder , found . that retreat ; -was-impossible , for as'soon as he raised his foot to a higher step ^ the one below him faded away into nothingness . And when Louis Napoleon does reach the last step , = what then 1 It may be that , in the bosom , of . . society the pent-up feelings of the people , denied a legitimate-channel by which to expend themselves , will have fermented into the fiercest of passions , and that the end will be in reality that which Louis Napoleon preteiidstp say he has saved France from—an anarchy worse in its . details than the savagest orgies of the barbarians , in which slaves , broke loose , will commit enormities from which freemen would turn with indignant horror arid disgust . We know nothing which can save . France

      from tbatlastmisery , thatlowest , deepest , worst degradation , unless some unforeseen event should cast down the tyrant . The Jesuits upon whom he is leaning will evidently be utterly powerless to control the storm . France has gone beyond the influence of faith ; the atheism which went before the first revolution , has been working ever since in her heart .. She really is the least religious country of Europe . Between the scepticism of her philosophers , the disbelief of large masses' of-her . more thoughtful artizaus , " and the grovelling superstitions of te rest , her soul is engros sed—real reverence there . is . little or none , -and all who can think , dread and detest the wily and unscrupulous followers of Ignatius Loyola , more than any other class of the-priesthood . ; . * .

      Fortherest of Europe all we cans say is , that it is dark as blackest night- ^ everywhereFraad , Fear , and Force . Nothing . but . a dim hopeand- an instinctive sense that wrong must ultimately work its own downfall , to give comfort to the people . .. The soldier is . at once the maker and administrator of law forthe . world . But , surely , around those who are spreading chains over the [ souls of . men are gathering ; the , signs of coming ruin . In spite of Koihschikbs , loans come in but slowly , and though taxes are collected at the

      point of the . bayonet , they are insufficient to supply the void . In fact , the armaments 6 £ the world are devouring its " industry . Everywhere armies , - like a cloud of locusts settling down upon a green field , and the leaving it a waste , are destroyingboth wealth and the industry which might create it *; , and if the time arrives , as it seems likely to . do , when the means to pay the instruments of terror can : no longer he promised , rulers will find that the most dangerous portion of its population is that which has been taken from labour in order to coerce . the labourer . It is

      not beyond the bounds , of . probability that the weapons which havebeen sharpened , against the people may he turned against the bosoms of . 'Kings and Emperors . : ' . -.. ,. ' ; At home the removal of Lord Palmebston from the post which he has so long- filled both . under Whig and Tory Premiers , is deemed the most significant , and excites the greatest interest . We confess that the whole affair is—as it most likely is also to those better informed—a mystery . It is within the region of diplomacy ; and whenever we get there we find ourselves involved beyond extrication—in plots , schemes , wiles , and intrigues of the most

      subtle character . Secrecy and deceit are the presiding genii of the place . Every face seems to wear a veU and every tongue to speak with an assumed voice . To make diplomacy bear that character , no man has perhaps done more than Lord Palmerston himself ; and if we thought that the change would produce greater openness and frankness , a candour not only to Englishmen but to foreign foes and friends , we should not be disposed to mourn his Lordship ' s descent from office , although his patvAoti & Tft ' were undoubted , and bis popularity ten times greater than it is . But we are not by any means sure that that is the case . The best . recommendation of Lord

      GeaN-VUXE to the people is that they know nothing of him . His passport to the family circle of the Whigs is , that he is related to two Whig dukes and forms another link in the chain of relationship which encircles power and place , honour and pay . - It is said Lord John Russell will really control the policy of the Foreign Office , and that may well be the case , for no one accuses the noble lord . who is at the head of the' Administration of diffidence in his powers to do anything . What tbe witty canon . Sidney Smith said of him

      years ago is as true now as then—he would be equally ready to command the Channel Fleet , build St . Paul's , or bleed a patient ; and so sceptical is he of the possibility of failure , that he would not believe he had really failed when the Fleet had foundered , the Cathedral fallen , or the patient died . If Lord John Russell really is the veritable Foreign Minister , Lord Palerbston ' s alleged want of courtesy will hardly be mended , and there will , be little , if any , more disposition to make diplomacy what it ought to be—honest , candid and straightforward .

      In fact we cannot find it in our hearts to be the partisans of either faction . If the result has been brought about to serve the personal spite of a Grey clique , that is contemptible and petty enough . If it has been caused by Lord Palmerston giving in his adhesion to the policy of Louis Napoleon and the success of his atrocities , such a course deserved to bring with it political degradation and ignominy . But we must wait for the true explanation till the opening of Parliament furnishes an arena in which , the combatants may fight out their quarrel .

      Whatever may be the effect on our foreign policy the cabinet is pretty sure to suffer , if it does not fall from power when deprived of Lord Palmerston ' s aid , and exposed to his cutting irony . Now that he has gone there is positively not one orator left to give the Whigs a command of the House . Their late ally and present foe , has been their main-stay . Lord J . Bussell is confessedly far 'too weak for the place . ' Sir Charles Wood can hardl y stammer through a

      budget debate . Mr . Labouchere is almost a nonentity in a contest of words . The Home Secretary is so enfeebled by ill-health , that he is scarcely equal to the routine duties of his office , and what with rebellious Caffres , discontented Colonists , and convicts making a new home for crimes imperative , Lord Grey has got his hands crowded with more business than he knows what to do with , and will want help rather than be in a position to give it .

      If Lord Palmerston then , as his antecedents lead us to expect—giving the world another instance of his versatility and thefacility with which he changes sjdes—turns round upon his quondam friends , and rips up the secrets of the ' Grey Iniquity , '—the weak Cabinet will totter to its fall . What then ? The promised new Reform Bill will become more of a myth than it now is , a straggle will be inaugurated of which none can distinctly see the issue . Such are the prospects with which we commence the new year , which augurs to be at least as eventful as its predecessor .

      Operatives And Their Calumniators, The A...

      OPERATIVES AND THEIR CALUMNIATORS , The Amalgamated Society of Engineers , to whoso dispute with their employers we adverted at some length last week , have been both bold- and wise . Beset on all sides by untruths—misrepresented by their employers at their meetings—stigmatised in advertisements—belied in letters from anonymous correspondents—and calumniated and threatened iu 4 Times' leaders , they have determinedly and

      straihtg forwardly come before the country . They were told , with all the mightof the Editorialauthority of the leading journal , that they would have public sympathy and the Iawagainst them . Theiranswerhaspracticall y been , that they would try to create a healthier and wiser public opinion than that which finds expression in the 'Times ; ' and that , as for the law , they would take care not to violate it ; and those were answers well worthy of the most intelligent of tho working classes .

      On Tuesday night the Council of the Amalgamated Society held a great meeting of the trade and the public , at the Hall of Commerce ; and so that there might be no mistake as to the objects of the meeting , the handbill by which it was called stated , that it was for the purpose of contradicting the falsehoods circulated by the employers , and echoed through the Press—to offer fall explanations , and to initiate a course of conduct for the future . In order still more

      directly lo call the attention of their opponents to their proceedings , cards of invitation were forwarded to the newspapers , and each of the London firms who have joined the manufacturers' combination , had a special intimation of what was about to be done . This was emphatically the right course to adopt . The meeting was reall y a public one in the widest sense of the term , and altogether a very different affair from the hole and corner meeting of the employers , where the moral conspiracy entitled the « Central Associa .

      Operatives And Their Calumniators, The A...

      tion' of manufacturers was concocted .- : We do not know whether or not the principal ^ masters were preserit ^ -if they were , they were , silent- ; listeners ; but thousands of men , . evidently ; deepiy ; ' . interested , filled the large { Hall , and a propriety , o'f demeanour , and unanimity * of feeling prevailed ' throughout , ! from which those who attend more' aristocratic arid polished gatherings might tatei a lesson without any disadvantage W . 'tbemselves ' .. It is worthy . of remark , too , that the Daily Press did homage to the importance of the event , and that thei reports of the next . iriorriing had g iven to them a space and a prominence very seldom accorded to the proceedings of mere , workmen . 'All this bodes well for tbe cause of . laboury and

      shows that if the artizan class only act with prudence and intelligence , anew era isopening brighter than ever yet dawned upon the toilers of th eworldi v . ; Another gratifying incident , and one which speaks volumes for the growing intelligence of the operatives , is to be . found in the fact ; that , the advocates who occupied the platform belonged entirely to their own order—hardhanded men , who owe all j they , have , and all they know , to their own industry' and energy . Hitherto , when the workers have been . calledon to assert a right , or to repel a wrong , they have been obliged to seek for exponents and mouthpieces in other classes than 'their own ; but on j that evening the President ofthe Amalgamated Society ' s ; 1

      Council fiUedthe chair with more fitness and | propriety than a . lord , would under the circumstances have done ; and the speaker , who represented the Council , and those who proposed and seconded the pithy resolutions , were men who bad' struck ' put ' their / own tracks of . ttought , while they were fashioning those vast machines which are destined to revolutionize the world of :. labour . -That this was no disadvantge those who read the addresses will be compelled to admit , and if-the ; speeches and those ofthe emr plovers are compared , it ' will be found , that in all but wealth the . empl . oyedare . the superiprs—not the inferiors of the employers . They evidently , feel better , think better , and speak with more force , facility , and correctness '; arid if the settlement of the dispute were to , rest upon the . .. intelligence iof the

      parties , there can be no / doubt whichwpuld . sueceed . As it . is , - we have but little -fear of the result . In spite of all that there is in influence , interest , ; and position , to warp the judgment , . in spite of the fact that men of talent can be bought to . sell their ; opinions as though-free thoughts were , as much commodities as cattle ; in spite of . the fact . that a commercial journal , writing not what is truej but what will pay ; is read y to make the profits of its advertisements the arbiter of its morality , and to bring all its literary ta lent to crush poor men , in order to serve its commercial masters ; iu spite of all this , " we would always back right to win in the long run , for -there is after all enough good- feeling and common sense ; in the public , to do substantial justice when properly appealed to by straightforward honest intelligence .

      That appeal was made , and , so far as we can see and hear , it has been eminently successful . With a candour which ia worth y of all honour , Mv . Newton , as tberepresentative of the . Council of the Association , admitted every act which that body has really done , and with a firmness which evinced ^ a consciousness of right ,: he threw back the aspersions by which ho and his fellows have been traduced . To glance at the falsehoods first . It has been asserted over and over again by the employers , at their meetings and in their advertisements , by 'Times' correspondents without a name , and in the same leading article type which heaped slanders upon Kossuth , that the men were attempting to dictate to their employers , —copies of the circular really sent by the Society to . the manufacturers were distributedat the

      meeting , —two of the morning papers published it iu full , —and it shows as one of the most courteously moderate papers ever written . Instead of attempting to dictate , it breathes the language of entreaty ; instead of containing epithets , revilings , or complaints , it preserves a consistent tone of respect ; instead of throwing down ^ the gage of defiance , it asks for aid and co-operation . Even addressed to men who dissent from its objects , it ought to inspire a feeling of friendliness . It was said that the Council was composed of a few designing men who coerced the dupes who were members of the Association , The fact was stated and recognised by the assembled operatives as true , that before the Council acted at all , it took the opinion of all the branches ; arid that from the whole twelve thousand members there came

      only sixteen dissentient votes to the course proposed to be adopted . It was charged that the operatives intended to strike ; the statement was made , and made without contradiction by any one of . tbe numbers present , who must have known its truth or falsehood that a strike was never thought of , and the word never used except by the manufacturers themselves , who threatened to make a strike , by shutting their factories if the men endeavoured to emancipate themselves from their industrial slavery . The Association was accused of requiring the employers unconditionally to discharge the labourers at the machines ; the truth was put upon the record that no such

      demand was ever made , but that on the contrary , it was proposed to put the machine workers on a level with the more skilled handicrafts-men by freely admitting them as members of the Society . The calumny was hinted at that the Engineers desired to force the masters to discontinue the use of machinery . The answer vvhiih Mr . Newt on gave to that is " worthy of especial notice , for it embodies more true wisdom than anything the manufacturers have either said or done . It was that , so far from wishing to prevent tho use of machinery , they were , themselves constantly occupied iu perfecting existing machines and inventing new

      ones , and that they always hailed with a delighted admiration every new development of ingenuity , because , although they knew that it might in the present displace their labour , they felt conscious that the time would come when machinery would save labour , and give the maker the means of existence with less of toil than now ; and so thoy struggled on , trusting that intellect was laying the foundation of a future of prosperity and happiness . As to the charges of Socialism and Communism short work

      was made of them . The Society has nothing to do with these theories ; it does not express itself either for or against them . It has never done so . They do not enter into the deliberations of its member ' s whose business is with tbe present . They have always recognised the distinction between vice and idleness , and virtue and industry ; and so far from endeavouring to equalise the rate of wages , they bave ever held and expressed the princi p le that , the wages bf each man must be the subject of private agreement between himself and his employer .

      Those falsehoods disposed of , nothing remained but to justify the attempted abolition of piecework and overtime , and that was done with the utmost completeness . The men do not want to work overtime while thousands of their fellow-workmen are destitute of employment , and not working for it they do not desire to be paid for it . If the mere Commercialists think that a few shillings more a week is an adequate compensation for hours of toil , so lengthened as to

      waste their physical powers—deprive them of social enjoyment—make them strangers to the famil y hearth , and bar them from intellectual improvement , the operatives are of a different opinion . They want to be men exercising their affections and their reason , and not wealth accumulating machines , shutting out their fellows from the independence of honest labour ; and with regard to piecework , they ask to have it done away with , or to be continued as a fair free

      contract between employer and employed , instead of continuing as it is , tashtcork , at an arbitrarily fixed price , in the adjustment of which they have no voice . That is the whole case , and one more completely consonant with right was never put before the world . We have only to add , that if after this the employers persist in carrying their threat of shutting , their factories into execution , and thus throwing into idleness twelve thousand engineers , beside the thousands or less skilled labourers ; who work with them , they mil add to their falsehood a wanton cruelty , and turn mto execration the contempt and odium which are already due to their proceedings , morenarticularlv

      as the men offer to submit the whole dispute to the arbitration of such a man , for example , as Lord Shaftesbury , and abide by bis decision . For the present we leave tho matter in that position : but next week , if the contest still continues , we shall not hesitate to do that which we have , as yet avoided - « P 0 S £ the miserable petty intrigue which , and not the abolition of piece-work and overtime , has roused the vmdictiveness of the clique of manufacturers

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      .'. National' Association;©^ Otted V,;-J...

      . ' . NATIONAL' ASSOCIATION ;©^ OTTED v , ; -j . . » ,- ' : ' ¦ ' ¦ ¦ TRADES ; ' - -vi ' s fw .-v /« -. ; ¦ T . S . DwcoMBE ,-EsQ ., M . Pi > President .- ¦ . \ ¦ - ¦ ¦''' ¦ ' " FIAT JUSTITIA ? ' ' ¦' " If It were possible for the working classes , by combining ambnir themselves ; to raise ; ' or keep up the ; general rate ol wages , ' it need hardly be said that this wouldbaa thing not to bo punished , but to be welcomed and rejoiced at . " -SiOART Mn * . It has always been the object- of the -: Central Committee to conduct the affairs of tbe National Association in harmony and good fellowship with all other men and movementsprofessingtohave at heart the jmprovement and wellbeing of the industrious classes . In tbis . spirit . they have passed by , ; unnoticed , the attacks of open foes , and the more insidious ; whisperings of false friends . -The ephemeral nooularitv of rival associations , disguising tbemselves by a

      partial adoption of our principles , and a wholesale appropriation of our own peculiar distinctive title , bas- in every case , as-we . aritioipated , passed away like . ' , ' the baseless fabric of a vision , " leaving not an existing wreck of former pretensions behind but an empty title—the impudent assumption of which enables their former chiefs just to buoy up their ambition , upon the surface of tho general movement . Our attention has , however , been called to an attack upon Trades ! Unions in general—and the National Association in particular—which may not be passed . by so lightly . Mr . Ernest Jones , the celebrated Chartist writer and lecturer , and the hard-working candidate for tbe premiership of that movement , has denounced in his usual talented and oraeularatyle , every formof Trades'Unions as obstructive to the spread and progress of that politically revolutionary spirit with -which he seeks to indoctrinate the working men of this country . ; . , . . We offer no opinion upon the practical wisdom of Mr . Jones ' s political teachings . As tho directors of a purely iuu

      non-political movement , we decline emoarKing upuu stormy sea of Chartist politics , but conceive we owe it as a duty to out members , to defend our principles and practices from the ill-timed and mistaken statements of this new antagonist , who really appears—notwithstanding hia generally acknowledged talents as a political teacher—to possess but a . contracted and very imperfect knowledge of Traded operations .: - • ,. :.-. In No . 33 , vol . II ., 13 th December , 1851 , of a periodical entitled " Notes to the People , " appears an article headed " Trades' Unions , " and written , we presume , . by Mr . Ernest Jones . As the" Notes to the People " may not be generally read by the members ofthe National . Associa . tion , we shall , in justice to Mr . Jones , beg permission of the Editor of the " Northern Star" to reprint verbatim the article in question , and upon which we ' shall offer ; in the next week's ' " Star" such strictures and explanations as we conceive our duty to the cause of labour demands from us ' : — " ¦¦¦¦ ' ¦ ¦¦ ''' ¦ ¦

      •• ¦"' ' - ' -- . " .. "THE TRADES' UNION . "'' "After the thousands upon thousands expended , after the organisation of vast numbers , after the self-denying heroism ofthe rden , and the energy of the committees , the utter fallacy of trying to keep wages up by any mere combination of labour , is proven at last . The Trades ' . Union has existed for many years : it , was to keep wages up ; Has it done so ? After all the treasures , time / talent , and energy lavished on it , wages have fallen during its existence with constantly accelerated speed ! It has failed in its object . , > . ¦ .. " Will not this convince tbe working-men that all such combinations must be useless , and that it is only in political power that social remedy can be sought successfully ? u Again , it was to use tbo . present laws and institutions as its strength and safeguard : where have those laws arid institutions" placed it now ? Alas ! In Stafford gaol . ;

      " Will not this convince the working-men that it is only in the change of laws and institutions they can find their safety ? ' "The failure of the Trades' Union in accomplishing what it professed—and its fall before the political power of the rich man ' s laws , is an instructive page from labour ' s history . And even , in one of its minor professed objects , that of supporting , by a national fund , men on strike , what good has it done , that might not better be effected in another way ? Have the strikes that the Naiional Trades ' 'Union has NOT supported , been less successful than those it has ? And does , not the weight of supporting turnouts almost always fallen the immediate neighbourhood ? And is not the subscription of the working-man often diminished by the consideration : 'Oh ! they belong to the National

      Trades' Union , that will take care of them—wo need not impoverish ourselves ! ' And might not Apolitical association have rendered them pecuniary support as efficiently ; and oven better ? Might not the adhesion of working men to the Charier be insured and increased , by some such benefits being coupled ' with his subscriptions , —those subscriptions being regulated in amount accordingly ? Think of this , Chartists and working-men ! Though it appears to me much preferable that strikes should bo supported on the voluntary principle , than by any organised , compulsory subscriptions : the latter always fail to realise their object . Witness tho deficiency of funds in the recent aggravated instances of oppression . I believe tho voluntary support of the same trade , and the same neighbourhood , is

      much . more likely to be rendered when the emergency arises , than a sum to . be collected beforehand for prospective cases that may , or may not , arise . Experience proves the truth of this . After all , it is almost always as the case requiring support occurs , that the money has to be obtained ;—then where ' s the use of Trades'Union ? Might not all it does be done much better , or , at least , as well , without its being in existence ? I ask again—what has it done ? Is labour better off through it , since its establishment ? Has it realised one of its promises ? lias it not , on the contrary , done a vast deal of harm , by directing that time , talent , and money to a useless surface measure , which might have been applied for a radical cure 1 " The resources wasted in the Trades' Union , might have carried the Charter ! . .

      "Or dp you want the 'National Association' as a means of union for tbe working classes ? Political organisation unites them much mere effectually . Show roe tho good tho anti-political Trades' Union ( for that ' s what it really is , ) has , or can do , that a Chartist Association can not do with ten times greater strength and efficiency ! Ah . ' working men , it is hunting after these fallacies , and dancing after these chimeras , that has kept you where you arein impotence and misery . Do you ask—why the Charter have not been carried yet ? Because you are ready to

      follow every will-o' -the-wisp that dances before your eyes . Because you fritter away the strength the Charter should have claimed , in your Trades' Unions , and co-operative plans , on anti-co-operative principles , and harmonics , and redemption societies , and freehold-land schemes , and a thousand other bubbles , heating your irons in the wrong fire , and heating too many at the same time . Don't blame the Ctiarter , or the Chartists , for not having done moreblame yourselves for having paralysed their action , by diverting your strength from the only channels in which it could operate a national result . "

      Our space this week will not permit us to reply to what we conceive to be Mr . Jones ' s mistakes ; but we must express our sincere regret that we should be forced into a defence of our principles , against an attack , not from the common foes of all liberty , industrial , social , or political , butfromone whoprofesses himself the friend and champion of the rights of labour . iDoes Mr . Jones imagine he can raise himself or bis cause upon the ruins ofthe Trades' Association of England ? Does be suppose , the most effective , mode of producing unity of thought and action in the distracted ranks of Chartism , is by throwing the apple of discord , where hitherto mutual good feeling and brotherhood have existed ?

      We think we shall have no difficulty in convincing Mr . Jones that he is not yet thoroughly conversant with what Trades' Unions have or have not accomplished for labour in this country—and that the true and enlightened policy of patriotic democracy is to conciliate all sections of the working classes , and to promote their working , even though by diverse means , to the accomplishment of the ultimate aim of all—the emancipation of labour . A closer alliance may be brought about between the industrial and political movements by the force of circumstances , and we for ourselves , should hail the fact as a desirable consummation , but we think that alliance will not be promoted by the line of conduct Mr . Jones is pursuing . We recommend our members to study attentively tho article from the " Notes , " we have reprinted . Our friends in Wolverhampton , Northwich , Lynn , Walsal , and many other localities , will smile at the greenness of our political monitor upon the alleged failure of the National Association With the melodramatic accompaniment of Stafford Gaol , ifco .

      Our friend ' s equal innocence of the position of " iron trade , will no doubt call forth an instructive lesson from a quarter quite capable of imparting it . If our correspondent from Banbury will favour us with his name , we shall be happy to give the widest publicity in our power to his communication , but it is contrary to our practice to act upon anonymous communication . The Cbniiui , Committee of tub National Association of United Trades . 239 , Tottenham-court-road .

      postscript . The Central Committee cannot but feel the most intense interest and sympathy in the existing disputes between the Amalgamated Society of Engineers , Machinists , Smiths . Ac , and the lordlings of the British iron manufacture . " The samepnnoip e is at stake which censtituted the bone of contention jn the Wolverhampton case-the right of the working c asses to decide the terms upon which they con . sent to sell their labour . And the same unscrupulous * and n n „ T / r 7 f " 8 / 11 * employed to mislead public opinion by falsehood and misrepresentations .

      « i- « i « ° f 6 the Eng'neershave discovered , by bitterand dearly paid for experience , tbe demoralising and pauperising nnl ?/* JP * racted hours of labour , and the injurious operation of that competitive spirit engendered by the sys-«?«? . n ° Con i tra ck work whioh ty exaoting « " » Sro & test posiibie amount of work for the least possfble amount ot payment , gradually , but surely , brings down the genenoniVM" ! of abour for tbe 8 oIe and especial benefit of a few capitalists , because it is sheer humbug to pretend that the public have any interest in the matter , except indeed that labour in every one of its departments , high or low , skilled paid be Mti h aye e ? en liberally , Who shall say , then , that tbis movement on the part of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers to better regulate matters which they are so deeply interested in is not just an raoral in the eyes of God and of all just men ? Theimportant questions of" systematic overtime" and piece work , with their influence for good or evil on the

      .'. National' Association;©^ Otted V,;-J...

      tr ^ de , „ w , e pee y andfljg , passionaiely discussed -ini'nll the branches' ? f the Society and the determ ( naiion ~ now . come to to abolish for the fut uJ ' both evils ; is ' but the ' concentrated expression of the ivjll oj 12 , 000 intelligent and industrious workmen , enforcing « legal righfr ' ih \ iconstitutional mariner . s * The Exeetitive , Council havei merely performed aminisfe . rial duty in promulgating' ^ fte' all but unanimous roso ! ve 0 " f the Society , / only ; el 6 veri dissentients out of . 12 , 000 b . jecting to the' movement , . If thedleveh thousand , ' nine hundred and ei ghty-eiou are determined to carry put their own resolution , as it i « their bounden duty to do , we cannot see what necessity there can be . for a general strike . At the expiration of their day ' s work they have but to put on their hats and waHj home . Had the same union existed amongst tho factorv workers ; as is said to exist in'tbis Society , the Ten Hours Bill ' might have been carried without special legislatj interference . ¦

      We sincerely hopo that no general strike will , in this case , be rendered necessary by the vacillation or treachery of individuals ; but that every man will firmly and honestly perform his duty no Jess to . himself than to his fellow workmen , and thus defeat the contemplated stratagems of % combined employers to turn the table upon them (« j francaise ) by jl coup d'etat . But ' should our expectations be disappointed , and the possible collision take place ; we . trust , for the honour of labour , 'that the Executive . Council will hot succumb to the Napoleontib despotism of the employers , but throw themselves and their , cause upon the public spirit and patriotism of the working classes of England . It is a great

      national question , which as deeply concerns the workers of wood , bricks , or stone , as the workers of iron . TdQ universal army of . labour is attacked if these men are attacked ; and if the pecuniary resources of this powerful body are to be cut off by a species of coup de main , the assistance of the Trades . of England miist be placed at their disposal , and a certain victory be secured , unless indeed it should enter into the mighty minds of the Bucklersbury conclave , to induce their brother capitalists of all o ther trades to cive to British labour A NATIONAL HOLIDAY , Union ! Union , ! National Union is , we again repeat , th & one and only remedy for these industrial wrongs , which are general and common to us all . December 31 st .

      The Amalgamated Society Of Engineers And...

      THE AMALGAMATED SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS AND ... THEIR EMPLOYERS . The Amalgamated Society of Engineers , Machinists , Ac ,, held a public meeting on Tuesday nigbt at the Hall of Commerce , Tbreadneedle-sireefc , "to 'discuss the present state ofthe iron-trades , and the position of the societ y in relation thereto . " The hall was densely thronged with workmen , not less , probably , than 2 , 000 being present . - .- '; ' ' Mr . J . Musto , the Chairman of the Executive Council , haying . been called on to preside , briefly opened the business ofthe evening-, and said that , in consequence of state , men ' ts which had appeared in the " Times , " it was deemed advisable , that a public meeting should be called , to give

      tho Executive Council of the society an opportunity of explaining , to the public tbe position in which tbe society stood , and the proceedings that had been taken . A committee . was appointed for the purpose of convening th meeting . The whole of . the employers , hud been specially invited by ticket . [ He then read the terms of tho invitation . ] If any employers were present and wished to talco part in tho proceedings , he hoped the meeting would be actuated in reference to them by that spirit of fair play which was found in the breasts of Englishmen . ( Hear , hear . ) Invitations ' had also been sent to between twenty and thirty editors of newspapers , and he trusted that tho reports which would be given of the ' meeting would so fat satisfy tho ; public as to prevent the " Times " or any other newspaper from again misleading them . Th ' e public

      also had been included in the invitations . He would now introduce Mr . Newton , who would enter into explanations of the proceedings of the Executive Council . Mr . Newxov , who was received with loud cheers , said that their proceedings , as at first adopted , were not , perhaps , intended to engage so much of the attention oS the public as thoy had done , nor would the Council have forced themselves forward as they now did , but for misre . presentations of their objects and intentions . The combination of ; employers started at Manchester was either misled by the statement of Messrs . Hibbert and Piatt , of Oldham , or was based upon known untruths ; but the combination was formed upon tbe ground that the workmen oi Messrs . Hibbert and Piatt were about . to do an act of injustice to their employers . The ' matter had been discussed in

      the newspapers , and the society had been represented as insisting—1 . Upon the abolition of systematic " overtime , " and , 2 . The discontinuance of . ; " piecework ; " 3 . With claiming that , the masters should at once ,, and without reserve , discharge the class of persons engaged in , and long trained to , the working of self-acting macninesi ami employ in their stead mechanics , members of the Union ; and , further , I . ( according to . " Amicus , ") The Council were prepared to advocate an equalization ofthe rate of wages ; to lend ' themselves , in fact , to an agitation for a trial of the ingenious doctrines of M . Louis Blanc . " Now , tho first two of these propositions were the propositions of the society . ( Hear , hear . ) The third was never made by them , andthe intention attributed to them of equalising wages was as foreign from their objects and general opinions as

      any thing could be . ( Hear . ) They disavowed all intention of removing any persons at present in employment . ( Hear , hear . ) There was nothing in the present proceedings o £ the Council that expressed or implied any such intention ; they had never asked for the removal of a man from n machine . who was working at it , who had earned a title to work at it by the time he had been employed at it ; and , so far from the opinions of their members being against those men ; they had fostered and encouraged them . { Hear , hear , ) But here it would be necessary to refer to proceedings some months ago . There was in May a dispute between Messrs . Hibbert and Piatt and their workmen , who demanded the abolition of overtime , and asked for the discharge of a certain number of men they called illegal men : and lie ( Mr , Newton ) , at the request

      of the workmen , went down to mediate in tho matter . He attended a public meeting there ; ho heard the explana tions whioh the men gave of their grievances ; and he insisted at tho meeting that the men should not strike , hut endeavour to settle the dispute by moral means—by the aid of a deputation . A deputation was appointed to go to Messrs . Hibbert and Piatt . Mr . Piatt received the deputation with kindness ; he argued the question with them for more than two hours : he made certain propositions to the deputation , which were carried back to the meeting . Those propositions were modified by the meeting , and then sent back to Mr . Piatt . The result was , that six resolutions were adopted by the meeting and three of them submitted to Mr . Piatt . He would read them to the meeting : - " 1 . That in future all planing , slotting , shaping , and boring

      machines , a , t tho workshop of the undersigned , be worked either by mechanics or apprentices , to be taken up by them as they fall vacant . 2 . That the labourers at present cmployed upon those machines be not unduly interfered with before Christmas , 1851 , when the . machines shall fall entirely into the hands of the mechanics ; but if any of the labourers are discharged , or the machines otherwise becoma vacant , the vacancies shall be filled up ' bv the mechanics al they occur . 3 . That Michael Benard have taken from him all authority over workmen in our employ , and that all illegal hands be discharged ; we further say that we disapprove of the practices alleged against Benard , and pledge ourselves that they shall not again be repeated . " Mr . Piatt said he was willing to agree to those resolu- ions , provided the same conditions were made with other employers , and hhimself wrote

      e out an agreement to secure that object . He hot only signed the resolutions , but he required that the workmen should endeavour to force other employers to do so ; and if that were not done at the expiration of three years , the whole arrangement was to bo null and void . His ( Mr . Newton's ) reason for interfering was , that it had been stated that when men interfered themselves they wera always marked by their employers , and were discharged the first opportunity . He ( Mr . Newton ) left Oldham with the distinct understanding that the agreement was to come into operation at Christmas ( Hear . ) ' The question of overtime was settled in Manchester on tho 1 st of November , before this agitation on the part of the employers was raised against it . ( Hear . ) The combination of employers was in consequence of Messrs , Hibbert and Piatt knowing that tha

      agreement was to be fulfilled at Christmas , and the object was to prevent its being fulfilled . Whether it was to he fulfilled or not was a question only for tho Oldham men ; i ' was not a question for this society . ( Hear . ) He id written to Mr . Piatt a fortnight ago , representing that to was not treating his men fairJy in identifying himself vit » the combination at Manchester , and Mr . Piatt answered that he approved of the document at tho time , and should have carried it intoeifect , but that the workmen had broken it themselves in July last . The men in July made some resist ance on the ground that the condition had not been fulfilled which related to Benard , who was a sort of middte man , taking a quantity of piecework and employing his fellow men to do it—what the tailors would call " » sweater" —( hear , hear)—ho was most despotic and t \ ra »*

      hical , and Mr . Piatt had said the system should not continue . ( Hear , hear . ) But the society had nothing to ; d * ¦ wit h all this , and had never taken part in tho proceeding-He himself attended at Oldham in his individual capacity to try to prevent a " strike , " which must be attended witn so much misery . ( Hear , hear . ) The question-was between Messrs . Hibbert and Piatt and their workmen ; the society were determined not to be dragged into the dispute . ( Hear . J They disavowed all attempts to remove men from machines ; they had no such intention . Their disposition was to roak fl common cause with such men , and assist them , rather that * they should be thrown idle upon the world . ( Hear , hear . ) Neither had the society any intention to try to equate , wages ; that would be to equalise themselves with the ag ' ' cultural labourer . ( Hear , hear . ) What they sought was *

      fair opportunity for every working man , as far as pract 1 * cable , to use his labour . ( Hear , hear . ) Thoy desired t » make it less precarious by regulating the work there * ' to he done . ( Hear , hear . ) As to identifying themse lves with Socialists and Communists , they had no conneswf with any political , social , or religious party , and they' a vocated their own views , not because Louis Blanc aof cated them ( if he did ) , but because experience tang " them that it was necessary some change should be ma , in order to elevate their social condition . ( Hear , nea- j They were 12 , 000 men banded together for the parpw »" charity and providence . They were a reflex of the ppi " of the country . They had amongst the 12 , 000 of * ^ their society was composed , men professing conserve j and Chartist and Social principles—men who »« . L what were called extreme Free Trade principles , » na > who advocated Protection . Was it not preposterous > to suppose that in a society composed of so . . many din ^ elements they entertained the sentiments attriW e

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 3, 1852, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_03011852/page/4/