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Northern Star (1837-1852), 6th January 1849, Edition 2 of 3, Page 1, AND NATIONAL TRADES' JOURNAL , rW/ J

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    • DEMOCRACY
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      Democracy

      DEMOCRACY

      To The Labouring Classes. [ Friends,—Alt...

      TO THE LABOURING CLASSES . [ Friends , —Although leading articles are considered to have more weight than letters having the name of the writer , in consequence of the whimsical importance attached to the pronoun we , as if the editor was a corporation , yet , as one of nvy great works has been to expose the prostitution , the trickery , and whimsicality of th ^ Press , I prefer submitting my thoughts * j > you ia the first person singular , in order tb / at in after time my dissertations upon the labour Question—the ; question of questions—may not be attributed ,

      whether wise rjT foolish , to others . You know what p leasure it gives me to he able torefrir to my old predictions , and to tell you the . olume , the page , and the column in which vou will find them . 1 have laboured studiously , zealously , and continuously , to take this . Labour Question out of the nutshell in which staticians , calling themselves political ' economists , have endeavoured to confine it . I have not limited my strictures upon the subject to Land alone , and : its capabilities , or to the application of the mere labour of the agriculturist to the cultivation of the Land , but

      I have shown you how every grievance , injustice , and hardship you bear , is consequent upon the misuse made of the Land ; and 1 have shown you that every paltry remedy suggested for the correction and mitigation of those several abuses , is consequent upon the misapp lication of the Land . No matter whether bastiles at home , or convict ships to transport you abroad ; no matter whether punishment for vice , which is a consequence of oppression and misrule ; or royal bounty distributed in the shape of prizes , for the best essays upon morality and relig ion ; no matter whether the political remedy be , the Charter or Repeal , Free Trade or Financial Reform ; no matter whether the Constitution is to be severely or mildly construed ; I no matter whether the

      laws are to be mercifully or tyrannically administered ; no matter whether the National Debt , tithes , and taxes are a greater burden in one year than another ; no matter what casualties , calamities , and sudden changes come upon you when you are not prepared to meet or resist their approach—I tell you that it matters not the reason , nay , the thousand and one reasons , which metaphysicians and economists , would assign for those several vicissitudes , they , oneand all , spring from the non-application , and the just and profitable app lication , of the industry of the country \ to the resources of the country , and the inequitable distribution of the profits .

      Now , pray bear this in mind , and from tbe p icture which I am about to draw , you > ill at once understand the value of the Charter , and the cause of the deadly hostility manifested towards it by those who understand that labour IS applied , the national resources cultivated , and the profits distributed by the rule of selfinterest under class legislation ; and ^ -as I have a thousand times reminded ' you , those who possess this monopoly will , of all things , take care that labour , cultivation , and profit shall

      be measured by the standard of self-interestthat is , if the present expensive system will allow the monopolists of legislation to appropriate a larger proportion of five hundred millions a year , with a heavy debt , for the preservation of peace , the correction of vice , and the suppression of public opinion , than they could appropriate out of a thousand millions a year , with a reign of peace , with no such thing as vice , and with a free expression of opinion , which would but lead to virtue and the

      correction of evil ;; in such case the monopolists would much prefer the smaller annual return , with the power of appropriating the larger proportion to their own kindly use . Now , do not lose sig ht of this fact , because from it you must come to the conclusion as to the real reason why the lights of Labour are denied b y those who make profit of its dependents and destitution . In 1845 , when I had

      made a tour through a large portion of the most important European countries , I told yon , on my return in October of that year , that Prussia would be one of the first countries to declare a free Constitution , and Prussia was , at that time , an absolute despotism . Some few weeks ago , I gave you a brief outline of the Prussian Constitution , as it is to be ; and I now submit for your perusal , tbe Address of the Chairman of the Conservative

      Central Committee of Berlin , the capital of Prussia . Here follows this address . It is printed jn large type , as it deserves , and should be printed in letters of gold . I hope every working man will read it to his familythat he will preserve it , and get it by heartand that it will be read aloud at the several meetings where ; the " Star" is read , and that it will be read distinctl y . Mr Harkort , in his address to the electors of Berlin , says : — " Whatever falsehoods the evil-disposed may have circulated , the King has effected great changes for your benefit . I will enumerate some of them . A law has been published abolishing a number ef dues

      and taxes ; all processes and suits respecting the regulation of landed properties and peasant holders art suspended ; bunting ia no longer an exclusive privilege ; a loan fund for makin g advances to the amount of 1 , 000 , 000 thalers has been formed ; 370 , 000 thalers were distributed among the destitute inhabitants of Silesia ; another million of thalers was appropriated to the employment of labourers out of work , and still more would have been done had not the disturbances in Berlin absorbed the rands reserved for the purpose . As soon as the leases of the farms on the Royal domains expire it is intended , according to circumstances , to divide

      there into smaller peasant holdings , so that , at a moderate rent , industrious cultivators will be enabled to earn a subsistence . Tbe idle quarrels and disputes of the National Assembly cost the country 300 , 000 thalers , and these men , so ready to mark the mote in others' eyes with the beam of refusing the payment of taxes in their own , would have brought both the country and the people to ruin . But at last the King intervened , and , like a man who considers his word inviolable , gave us the freest Constitution in Europe . This is not the place to dwell on all the Constitution contains , but some of tbe chief points I will bring under your

      notice . " All Prussians are equal before the laws ; the right of patronage in the Church is abolished , and you will elect your own pastors . Children will in future receive gratuitous instruction , and the communes will select the teachers . The privileged private jurisdictions and the domain police are abolished without recompense ; all the rig hts of property in land are to be freely exercised . The communes will regulate the local affairs by their own representatives , and even have the control of the local police . Your deputies will have a seat and voice in the provincial and district councils , and in the First

      and Second Chambers . If your affairs do not improve now it is your own fault . Above all things choose honest and respectable electors and deputies . Have nothing to do wtth criers aloud in the market-place , or with breakers of the law , but with steady men who manage their own affairs well and quietly , who possess sound common sense , and who do not demand all things with injustice , aud therefore obtain nothing . Take heart and courage , and put the following questions d ' rect to the candidate : —Are you true to the King ? Are you satisfied with tie constitution , or would you renew the old unhappy contest ?• Can you conscientiously distinguish between ' mine' and ' thine , ' and do you know the commandment , * Thou shalt not covet or desire other men ' , goods ? ' Are you a tax refuser , that

      or do vou render unto Cccsar the things are Char ' s ? Look at tbe tumults at Berlin . The burnintr the artillery foundry cost the country 2 OGO COO thalers ; the King paid to redeem pledges of small value 400 , 000 thalers ; the savings-banks received an advance of 200 , 000 thalers ; the establishment of the constabulary cost 200 , 000 thalers , - 1 , 700 , 000 thalers were distributed among unemploved workmen ; the calling out the Landwelir , and putting ' the array on a v , ar footing , to protect life and property and uphold the authority of the laws , cost 2 , 000 , 000 thalers-in all a sum of six mi ' -lions and half , to be paid by tbe honest and industrious classes , whHe worthless vagabonds trod the laws under foor . Tor this amount 6 , 500 peasant holdings mig ht have been purchased and apportioned

      To The Labouring Classes. [ Friends,—Alt...

      to hardworking occupiers . The Democrats make no such calculations as this , bnt they point out to you the destruction of all order , human and divine , and the establishment of an equality like that which exists among a band of thieves . My friends , make use of your reason for a moment ; in the last National Assembly there were returned 121 advocates and judges , 53 clergymen , 25 teachers , 61 councillors , { rathe ) and officials , in all 260 , while there were only 57 landed proprietors in the whole Assembly ; for every cultivator of the land there were five

      who lived at his expense , and you wonder still that you are poorer than you were before the revolution . Just reverse this state of things ; elect five landowners or farmers to one lawyer , and even then there will be more than enough of these hair-splitters to Wow the alarm of fire at every act of the Government ; ' but you will never find them stand in to work the engines . They are fit for nothing but candidates for livings , for presidentships , and other posts that may gain them a living ; he who mutt take care of himself has no time to take care of

      you . A good choice at the election is the mam thing ; therefore chalk all praters and speechifiers out of the list . " ¦ _ . Let the reader understand that Prussia boasts of being the purest Protestant State in Europe—that the feudal system , up to tbe present time , has existed there in its fullest vigour —and let him glean the fact , from the above address , that these feudal barbarisms are not only to be totally destroyed , but that the royal domains are to . be divided into PEASANT

      HOLDINGS . Let him further observe , how local power is to be locally distributed and exercised , and that the local mind is to flow into the great reservoir of representation ; but , above all , aud before all , let the revilers of the Land Plan sea Prussia's future condition in the outline contained in the most sp iced morsel with which the electioneering trap is baited . Tbe candidate tells us , that 6 , 500 , 000 thalers , uselessly expended upon excitement and unproductive labour , would have located 6 , 500 hard-working occupiers upon their PEASANT HOLDINGS . What will the reader say when

      he finds Prussia—despotic Prussia—not only adopting our Chartist creed , but also expounding its value b y the proposed realisation of our social object : —the location of the poor upon the land of their birth ? Will not my dupes suppose that this Mr Harkort has been taking a leaf from our book , and is about to base his social and polities ! claim to support upon our Charter and our Land Plan ? A thaler is a fraction less than three shillings , and 6 , 500 , 000 thalers is nine hundred and seventy-five

      thousand pounds ; and if you divide 6 , 500—the number to be located—into that , you will find that it leaves one hundred and fifty pounds assigned to the location of each—while , with bonus , I estimate the . average cost of two , three , and four-acre men at 200 / . ; so that , if you take the cheapness of Prussian labour and materials into consideration , you will find that Mr Harkort , the Conservative Candidate , assumes as large a standard of expenditure as I do .

      Now , then , is this infant of ours longer to be confined within the narrow limits of Hertfordshire , Gloucestershire , Worcestershire , and Oxfordshire , or is it not rather likely to extend its influence , and spread its growth over the whole face of earth—ay , even to the plains of Poland and the fields of Russia ? for , depend upon it , that , before the year 1850 comes upon us all the revolutions of the year 1848 will be but as child ' s p lay compared with the scenes that will take place in Russia , where the confiding Autocrat is now pompously marshalling his universal King-preserving army . r Thank God . I have been the first to exhibit

      this little bantling , and , thank God that , ere long , all will be obliged to follow in its track , as it is the precursor , not to European , but to universal peace , prosperity , contentment , and virtue . Then again , think of the Prussian Constitution allowing the flock to elect its own shepherd , and administering education gratuitousl y to every child in the State ! Give me that Constitution with a king—ay , any king—at its head , a

      thousand times—ay , a million times before the bag of French moonshine , with a special constable at its head . But after the account given by Mr Harkort of the elements of which the recent Assembly was composed , can you wonder at the disasters that followed ? In describing the position of these candidates for livings , for presidentships , and other pests , the writer g raphically describes their patriotism in the following words : — " HE WHO MUST TAKE

      CARE OF HIMSELF HAS NO TIME TO TAKE CARE OF YOU . " Now , was ever a more true , a more graphic , or a more powerful description given of their position , and of your position . What did these parsons Tand this nest of LEGAL LOCUSTS care for the condition of the poor man ? Does it not remind you of the exuberant enthusiasm of the Free Trade Methodist parsons , when they showed you the big loaf at the top of the pole ? and will it not convince you of the truth of what I have often asserted—that the greatest pests , the greatest tools , and the greatest mercenaries in the House of Commons , were those of the legal profession ?

      So much at present for the Prussian view , or rather adoption , of the Charter and Land Plan ; and as I have often told you , that the folly of to-day is the wisdom of to-morrow , I shall now call your attention to the condition of Ireland , and the simple remedy that I proposed in Parliament in the year 1833 , and have since impressed upon the public mind for the correction of every Irish abuse .

      My friends , you must understand , and you must think , too , and reflect—that no newspaper , whatever politics it professes to advocate , has ever published one single comment of mine upon the Labour Question , while one and all will greedily grasp at the ridiculous romance and Utopian schemes of X . Y ., G . B ., A . S . S ., and all the initials that the alphabet can furnish to the scribbling corps of fools .

      Travellers ride or drive through a country , and they draw their notions of its capabilities from the landscape or marine view , and they imbibe their national notions from the cham pagne , the claret ., and whiskey punch of their host , * while their relig ious crotchets are supplied by the spiritual staff officer of the conquering army . They do not converse with the farmer—sit in the hovel of the peasant—or gather their knowledge from the labourer in the field ; whereas , I have gleaned my

      knowledge of Labour and of society . from all classes —from the tinselled peer to the ragged beggar . You may rest assured that the " Times' Commissioner , who slept with the calf at Cabirsiveen , did not den > ean himself by scraping an acquaintance with the peasant class . His object was either to justify Ministerial neglect , or to establish Ministerial , or , indeed , human incapacity to deal with the great Irish difficulty ; and his reward was to be what it has been—a lucrative situation . With so much of

      a preface , I now invite your closest attention to the following disclosures made b y Mr Ohas . Colthurst , not as to the possibilities or probabilities , but as to the facility of regeneratiug Ireland ; and then I shall proudly call your attention , not to a single volume , asingle page , or a single column of the old book of prophecies—the much-reviled " Star "—but I shall call your attention to nearl y every number of that paper in which the state of Ireland has been discussed—to the " Labourer "—to my work on" Small Farms -f » my "Letters to

      To The Labouring Classes. [ Friends,—Alt...

      the Irish Landlords , and to my motions and speeches in the House of Commons . My dear friends , read every word « f the following admirable letter , not predicting what may be , but faithfully narrating what has been ; and mind , it treats of Ireland ; and that Irish poverty and destitution is , not only the English minister ' s great difficulty , but is likewise the English toilers ' great enemy . Here follows the correspondence : — In the year 1816 , the late Sir Nlchs . Colthnnt , ol Ardrum , got possession ef his Kerry estate , ( tbe lease to Mr Yielding having expired . ) I , as agent , got directions from Sir Nicholas not to make an ; permanent letting till the matter wa » ireU conitdvred . Ia consequence I proceeded to Kerry , and found the entire state in a most wretched condition . I lei the estate for a year , to com

      for table farcer * , who were anxious to become tenants permanently , and they promised to pay about £ 160 a year . At the end of the first year I found I conld not receive more than about £ 600 , but still . Sir Nicholas desired me to give those tenants another jear'e trial , to March , 1818 , bat they were still in arrear , and in fact it cost me more trouble and expense than I can tell yen . Perceiving clearly this system would not do , either as to landlord er tenant , I told Sir Nicholas I must resign hie agency in May , unless he made np bis mind to give an encouraging lease , for I bad good reason to believe that if he cenld be induced to give a lease In perpetuity well-secured £ 1 , 000 a year would be had for the estate at least . Hia answer ta me was , ' If yon get me a well , secured rental of £ 1 . 600 a year , you art at perfect liberty to use your own discretion . '

      I proceeded at once to Kerry with Mr Porter , a cur . veyor , divided the eitate into convenient lots , making roads , < feo ., isc , upon a map , put np aa advertisement that Sir Nicholas would let those lots in perpetuity , and the consequence was , that in a fortnight I let the entire estate for £ 1 , 350 Irish currency , blading each tenant to lay out a certain sum in permanent improvement ! , and the CAueequence has been , that from the year 1818 to tVieyear , 1848 , this rental has bee * paid by letters ol credit , a bailiff has never distrained a tenant , an agent has never had occasion to vlitt the property , except to admire the vast impravemint that has taken place , and that without one ehUHng lose to the proprietor , Sir Vichelas , by hie merely having given a lease In perpetuity , and the great result as regard * the community at large is , that a sum of at least £ 40 , 000 has been laid out , affording vast employment , and of course lessening the poor-rates . Now I ceme to the great advantage to the proprietor : —

      Upon an ordinary lease , isy of thirty-one years , be would not have got certainly more than £ 800 Irlah currency a year ; upan a perpetuity he receives at leist £ S 00 a year more , and if any man will take the trouble to calculate this additional sum of £ 500 for thirty . one year * , he will find the case stands thus : — Suppose yon calculate the £ 590 a year Sir Nicholas and Sir 0-sdrge Colthurst htve got from March , 1818 , to March , 1846 ( thirty years ) , the gross earn would be £ 15 , 000 , but if you add interest and compound interest , if invested at 5 percent ., the gross sum made by this

      perpetuity lease over and above a thirty . one years ' lease would be over £ 30 , 600—iu fact , a sum that would nearly purchase the fee simple of the eitate ; and the most glaring feet of all is , that a law agent is unnecessary , a land a gen ; unnecessary , and a bailiff unnecessary , for in truth an old woman would man'ge that estate by merely writing for the rent ; and if Sir George Colthurst conld be induced to sell this estate , I venture to aay it would sell like a debenture , for there ie eeourity in the land for £ 100 , 000 at least ia buildings and lm . provemectf .

      I now give another Instance of tbe results arising from a perpetuity lease in the middle of a wild mountain district , om Sir George Colthom ' s estate at BalljTOurney ; I got a lease In perpetuity of a large tract of waste land ; I was tainted to lay out £ 4 , 000 ; and I made a comfortable pretisien for my family , and have established a plan of improvement , without a shUllng loss to tbe proprietor tbaUs likely to be of considerable advantage to the locality ; bnt as this has appeared before the public I shall say bo more upon it . I shall now give you another Instance of tbe benefit of perpetuity leases in the parish I restue in , ( Magourney , near Coachford ) : — -

      This parish U principally let in perpetuity to proprietors , not in fee , but who constantly reside , and I must say there cannot be a more palpable illustration of the bentfltof leases of this ktnd thaw in this locality . I may say you can pitch a stone from one demesne to another—with most comfortable , respectable residences , with nice plantations , pleasure grounds , ke „ and ycu have at a'l tines a reepeetable class of gentlemen , ready to meet any pressing emergency , whether it be to relieve distress or to support the laws of the land , and the result is , by co-operatienand energy tbere is not an able-bodied labourer unemployed In the pariah , and the poor-rate e 2 £ d , In the ponnd .

      Having given you thres cases—one in Kerry , one in Ballyvouraey , and another in the parish of Magourney , of the beneficial results arising from leases of this de . scriptian , lam delighted that a maa of your siperlenoe and intelligence has given his opinion upon this important matter , for it is a vital question at this present mo ment ; aud I cannot tell you what pleasure it affords me to concur folly ia your opinion on the subject—that a number of small proprietors in perpetuity , resident , are much better than one great proprietor absent ; and if the lord in fee will calmly consider the cases I have stated above , and the pasting events of the day , I am sure that he will ceme to the conclusion that what I have pat forward deserves consideration at least , for I am clearly of opinion that if a landlord gets more than ( he real value for hie estate , letting in perpetuity , he ought to accept it ( for Instance , the Kerry Estate ) , ormata up his mind to reside upon his property , and give such just compensation for lasting and valuable improvements to

      respectable tenants as th « y deserve ; for I greatly fear that no act of Parliament , however cautiously worded , oaa settle tbe question of landlord and tenant aatisfac . torily , as it is beset with difficulties , but i f landlords and tenants agree in doing what is just aud fair towards each other , it would be a much wiser course than to have to deal with flu act ol Parliament that may eau » e endless litigation . This ia my humble opinion ; but if the case is not met in an amicable way the law ought to provide a remedy ; and I am persuaded that if some fair arrangement be made between landlord and tenant , we shall see the tide of emigration ia some degree stopped ( for it is lamentable to observe so much capital leaviag the country ) , and the money that Is cow lying in savings , banks and old stock ' . ngs would then be laid out in tb » land ( the most certain of all investments ) provided the tenant is allowed fair compensation for permanent lm provements , which would be an advantage ultimately to the landlord ,

      WishiDf you success in your manly struggle as re gardithe Poor . law , aud many happy returns of the season , I remain , my dear sir , your friend and fell : w labourer , Chaeees Comhubbt . Now , labourers , that letter is tin production , not of a mere casual observer—not of an itinerating bagman , but of one who tells you that for thirty years he has been engaged , not merely in the collection of rents , but in the reclamation , cultivation , and improvement of land . I have tbe pleasure to know Mr Charles Colthurst , and I venture to assert that he has never felt terror in the worst days of agrarian disturbance . He is a man of extensive knowledge , of powerful genius , and active habits .

      He does not base his notions upon mere theory . He draws his conclusions horn what has-been accomplished in three of the heretofore most impoverished districts of Ireland , and just picture to yourselves the fact of an estate being bad security for £ 600 a year thirty years ago , and sew being good security for £ 1 , 350 a year , and , as Mr Charles Colthurst says , would sell like a debenture in the market , £ 100 , 000 being expended in buildings and improvements . Then , think of the presence of an agent onl y being necessary to gratify his own taste and curiosity in the examina . tion of those improvements ; then , tbtnk of rents being paid in letters of credit sent to the landlord— nolaw-shark , —no bailiff— no TRUSTYbut , as he tells you , an old woman would

      collect the rents ; then , think of twopence-halfpenny in the pound being the charge for the poor rates in another parish ; while the half-witted old landlords are pestering us with the " area of taxation , " and complaining that , in many instances , this charge swallows up the whole rent ; then , think of the money being taken out of the savings-banks , and the old stockings , and expended upon profitable reproductive labour ; think of the landlord in those thirty years having received £ 30 , 000 , over and above the hig hest rent that could be obtained for the land thirty years ago , while , if let now , I venture to assert that it would fetch over £ 3 , 000 a year , besides paying for improvements , Mr Colthurst might have added , that there has been no importation of muskets to , or transportation of bodies from , that estate ; hemight

      To The Labouring Classes. [ Friends,—Alt...

      have added , that if priest or demagogue went there . © "disturb the peasant ' s allegiance to his protection , or fealty to his landlord , that they would be treated as maniacs . Then , obserr 6 that Mr Coulthurst ' s letter is written in answer to one from a Mr Hamilton , who is anxious to acquire information upon the subject , and in speaking of the allotment system and leases in perpetuity , Mr Hamilton concludes his letter , thus : — Many which are now barely able to pay £ l & , or less , if let in perpetuity , ( would probably fetch £ i 0 , and la ten years be worth # > 8 i of course , care being taken to prevent excessive ' subdivisions . It would bring to light much latent ca sh , energy , and fertility . Tours faithfully ,

      John Hamilton . Let me ^ ask you if language can express , or thought could invent , words more strongly illustrative of the lessons I [ have taught you . Mr Colthurst further says , " That landlords themselves and not the law must correct those several Irish abuses , but if the landlords fail that then the law must step in . " ; In the year 1833 , I placed a motion upon the Journals of the House of Commons , to the effect that all landlords should be compelled to give lea * e 6 ; iri perpetuity , and that where lands were helorupon lease for years that the value should be assessed b y an impartial jury , in the same manner as property to be purchased by the Crown or corporations is now valued ; and I proposed Agricultural . and Labour Premiums as a substitute for Poor Laws .

      My friends , I am only too happy when 1 find my views supported by such men as Mr Colthurst , and as his success has been based upon practice , and , therefore , constitutes him good-authority , scquiescence in my views—with which he was wholl y unacquainted—does not strip him of a particle of the credit he deserves ; nor will you consider me vain or egotistical if I remind you of my several strictures upon this subject .

      In the House of Commons I proposed the system of leasing land in perpetuity , as a means of enriching , tranquilising and satisfying Ireland . I have shown you , that the same difference exists between land held upon capricious lease and badly cultivated , and land held in perpetuity and well cultivated , that exists between slave labour and task work , or free labour ; and I have shown you , that the hired slave represents the hired horse , while the task labourer , paid by the job , represents the petted horse of the owner ; that if you ride a hired horse , and if he drops a shoe nearly the end of his journey , you will hold him tight and keep the spurs in him till you return him to

      his master , having finished with htm when the journey is ended ; whereas , if your own horse drops a shoe you will dismount , lead him on the soft side of the road , and , however dark or disagreeable it may be , you will knock up the first blacksmith whose shop you pass , to get on a shoe , as the horse is your own . Last session of Parliament I outraged the Irish landlords prodigiously , by telling them that they themselves , and not the Government , must reclaim their country ; and 1 told them that a short Act of Parliament , in ten lines , would make Ireland a paradise , and that they would require no Poor Laws—and that that was perpetuity of tenure .

      In 1834 , in the discussion upon the Repeal of the Union , when Mr Spring Rice—now Lord Monieagle—attempted to measure the increasing prosperity of Ireland by the increasing deposits in the Savings Banks , I replied , t { That may be a source of gratification to the Government , but it was tbe strongest proof of poverty and want of confidence in the landlords because if farmers had leases ] in perpetuity the dead weig ht in the Savings Banks would be applied to the more profitable employment of reproductive labour ; " and I have told you a thousand times over , that Irish

      tenants with gold buried in crocks cultivate their holdings according to the existence standard , and not according to their will or their ability—that is , if a tenant rents twenty acres at 1 / . an acre , he will so manage it as to keep the roof over his head if he can , and a ^ potato in bis mouth , because , if by the expenditure of his labour and his capital he makes it worth 25 s . an acre , that moment his industry and cap ital become a tax upon him , as he has the option of raising his rent to 25 s . an acre , or

      seeing it let over his head to a stranger . Again , tracing the benefits of the perpetuity system , in all its bearings , I told you that under that system the landlord would require no griping attorney—no bailiff , nor TRUSTY , who is the landlord ' s spy and reports every bag of corn , every pig , every sack of potatoes , and every firkin of butter sold , and no matter what the necessities of the tenant or his family may be , the serf is obliged to render all to the shark .

      I have told you , that land in its present state is to land in its highest state , what raw flax is to the most splendid lace or cambric } and I have told you , that to bring land to that state the labourer must be the first partaker of the fruits of his own industry . Then see what Mr Hamilton says : he tells you that an allotment which will now barely pay Ibl . a year , or less , would , if let in perpetuity , fetch 20 / ., and in ten years would be worth 50 l . year . Now , what do you think of that ? There is a rise at once of twentyfive per cent- to the landlord , and at five per cent , there ia 600 ? . realised by the labourer , above the maintenance of his famil y , in ten

      years—that is—if he pays 20 / . a year and makes it worth 50 / . in ten years he has an interest ot 301 . a year , which , at five per cent ., is worth 600 / ., and thus , besides living , and better than a labourer , he has been enabled to save 60 / . a year . Will this be any consolation to my dupes ? Will this stagger the brandydrinking-, cigar-smoking nincompoops , who have so continuously and bitterl y nibbled at the capabilities of the Land r And will they now attack Mr Colthurst and Mr Hamilton ? No , certainly not ; because their operations are confined within a narrow sphere , and mine promise to spread themselves over the national surface . Will this development be an answer to

      overpopulation , and will you forget that I have told you many a time and oft , that if the Irish people had perpetuity of tenure , that all the ships in the carrying trade would be too few to bring back the expatriated Irish to the land of their birth ? But every day is giving me my revenge , and the greatest that I seek is the conversion of my malignant opponents . Even the "Times ? ' that has been so loud and enthusiastic upon , the question of emigration now begins to wince . This pilot , as long as the ship sails in smooth water , is contented and happy , but the moment a breaker or a ripple appears ' a-head , when too late , he tries to'BOUT SHIP . Donot you remember how

      this leading : journal used to classify emigrants for usj telling us that men of genius would go , that men of 5 , 000 / . capital , of 3 , 000 / ., of 2 , 000 / ., 1 , 000 / ., 500 / ., and then came to tens , and then to units , who were to live in comfort upon the profitable speculations of the tens , the hundreds , and the thousands ; and how every comfort was to be provided for them ; and that industry , energy , genius , and laudable speculation would be sure to find a resting place in the land of milk and honey f And , perhaps , you will remember how I described the suffering and anguish of those system-transported convicts , who braved the dangers of the deep in the hope of preserving a miserable existence for another hour of

      To The Labouring Classes. [ Friends,—Alt...

      misery ; and how I exposed the bad accommodation , the reckless disregard of life and comfort , and the troubles , the calamities , and disappointments that were sure tomeetthem upon their landing . How I answered the charge of idleness , preferred against my countrymen , b y stating just what Mr Colthurst and Mr Hamilton now state , that in Ireland there is a premium for idleness and a tax upon industry : that those who are condemned to unwilling idleness there seek the lion ' s share of toil all over the world , where the hardest and most i gnominious drudgery will furnish the most miserable pittance ? Well , the Lord hath delivered the" Times " into our hands . As it is with young ladies so it is with the Old

      Lady' Out of the fashion , out of the world—" and the Old Lady , who seems to be furnished with the political fashion-book for winter , spring , autumn , and summer , has taken off her pilot jacket and donned the smock-frock . The " Times'' is now most lachrymose at the very thought of losing her sons of Labour . She now discovers that it will be hard to supp ly their place , and she inveighs bitterly , not against the system which compels them to

      emigrate , but against the facilities that are afforded for exportation . " Oh , " says the Old Lady , with her handkerchief in one hand , and her goose-quill in the other , " who shall we get to perform our HEAVY WORK if the LAZY IRISH leave us i" But the " Times , " ever bursting with loyalty , would now select the convicts' home upon that feeling . She says , " In selecting between the United States and Canada , ' LOYALTY WILL PREFER

      CANADA AND THE OTHER BRITISH COLONIES . '" There is a test of a convict ' s loyalty . The expatriated serf , who was compelled to handle the special ' s staff in return for that protection which left him the option of America or the British Colonies . But let ' me give you the "Times ' ' ' own words . Here they are , from the fashion-book of Wednesday last : — Ail that the British Government can do with emigration to that quarter is to gee that the emigrant is no * forced from his native soil , is not trepanned by fraudulen t agents , or is not exposed to disease , starvation , or shipwreck by dishonest shipowners , and is not landed

      absolutely helpless at the Canadian port . Once landed , he will take care of himself , and will even cross the frontier , and swell the anti-British party in the States , if such is his humour . We wish , indeed , that something could b * done with tbe selection of emigrants . Necessity and chance now decide . The impulse which drives out a quarter of a million will not discriminate . We hare passed the opportunity of a really national emigration , and now find the movement beyond our control . Now , you find , that our friend talks of selecting emigrants . Mayhap , he has taken a leaf from the Whig book , and would cull them from the Chartist ranks—but I incline to

      think , that the growth of the Land Question and the resuscitation of Chartism , will be strong inducements to remain at home . Mr friends , now I pray of you to have Mr Harkort ' s address , and Mr Charles Colthurst ' s letter , read at every Chartist meeting , and , above all things , bear in mind , that whatever description of agitation may be raised for the purpose of strengthening the hands and increasing the power of the capitalists , that they must and will come to the Land and the

      Charter , and for the reasons that I have impressed upon you a thousand times , because the cultivation of the land will give better profit'from the source of labour than all the artificial appliances at the command of the world . Mind , my motto has been , and is , " To make the rich richer and the poor rich , " by the better cultivation of our national resources ; and , I am sorry to say , that even you are not sufficiently instructed in the Labour Question .

      Let me trace Labour for you from the dungfork to the monarch ' s crown . The labourer who is rewarded b y the profit of his own industry is a better customer with the shoemaker , the tailor , the hatter , the butcher , the baker , and the blacksmith . Those several trades are better customers -with the printer , the haberdasher , the publican , ( I am sorry to say ) , the wine merchant , the watchmaker , the bookseller , the carpenter , the painter and glazier ; and those trades are better customers , as all are , with the Nvine merchant , the grocer , the silk mercer , the more aristocratic watchmakers , publishers , and manufacturers ; and they are better customers with brokers , merchants , bankers , horse

      dealers , coachmakers , and in the servant mart ; and all are better payers of taxes , and more loyal subjects to the monarch ' s crown , because the Crown is everything , as you can only commit treason againstj the Crown . And strip yourself of the foll y that a mechanic or an operative cannot be converted into an agricultural labourer ;¦ but even if you are of that opinion , let more machinery be applied to the cultivation of large farms , and allow eyen the surplus agricultural population to be located upon the Land , instead of in the bastile ; and then you would very speedily discover that every artificial trade , from the shipper to the weaver , would be benefitted by the increased ability ' of the agricultural labourer to produce and consume .

      Let me call your attention to this fact , that if a tenant pays 5 s an acre for a thousand acres of land-lnore than it is worth , he loses QoOJ . a year , which at four per cent , ia the interest upon 6 , 250 / . of his capital ; whereas it is a matter of comparative insignificance to the small holder if he pays 5 s . an acre more for four acres of land than it is worth in the wholesale market ; and what I contend for is , that a landlord who now lets a farm at the rent of 1 / . an acre , would , if he subdivided that into farms of live acres , and built houses upon them , turn his 5 / . a year into 8 / . 10 s ., or increase his

      rental by seventy per cent , per annum . Let me map ] this out for you ; in its wholesale state he gets 5 J . a year or \ l , an acre , and with a house that would cost 100 ? . I estimate the rent of that house and five acres lowly at 12 / . 10 * . a year . He could raise the 100 / . for the house ut four per cent . ; so that saddling him with that , and the loss ol the 5 / ., the wholesale rent , he would be exchanging 91 . a year for 12 / . 10 s ., and he need have neither lawyer , steward , nor bailiff , and not a man during life would be a defaulter on rent day j and , believe me , that this must and will be the solution of Free Trade ; for observe , that a

      tax upon an article may amount to a complete prohibition of that article , and the tax that under Free Trade now remains upon the land of England , will very shortl y amount to a prohibition of the former use of a large portion of that Land ; while-its neglect , its non-use , or imperfect cultivation , consequent upon the indisposition to expend capital and employ labour , will enormously increase the burdens upon Land reduced in value , and will inevitably depress the manufacturing market , and the shopkeeping market , the trade market , the labour market ; and then Mr Barwise will learn that watches are purchased by labour , Mr Colbtirn will learn that the newest novels

      are purchased by labour ; Swan and Ed gar will learn that the newest fashions are purchased b y labour ; and Bellamy will learn ( hat wine is purchased by labour ; and the Queen will learn that loyalty can only be purchased bv protection to labour . You must bear in mind , that the struggles all over the world—whether wise or insanearise out . of the difficulties of the Labour Question ; and that Ireland—England ' s greatest difficulty— -could be turned , as if by magic , into

      To The Labouring Classes. [ Friends,—Alt...

      » r « 8 e , oy us proper solution ; while that incomparable ass , Master John O'Connell , is endeavouring to rall y the old paying cry , in the teeth of the glaring fact , that after more than thirty years of agitation , not one single attempt has been made to solve the Labour Question in Ireland ; and yet this poor little huxter has the ignorance , the folly , and the audacity to revile the men who were forced into danger , in the hope of retrieving the Irish mind from the old show-box moonshine , and still further to base laudation of the Irish Priesthood upon contempt and scorn for the victims of his Father . - Your faithful Friend , FflAEGUs O'Connor . ? paradise , b y Us proper solution ; wluVthafc

      < ( W V Zc A » R«Iuui8e, Oy Us Proper So...

      < ( W V ZC A iuui ^^^^^ ^^^ & t * * 6 & ls ^^^ // 6 tC ^ / ^^^^ £ ^/^ ^^^^/ rW / J

      And National Trades' Journal , Rw/ J

      AND NATIONAL TRADES' JOURNAL ,

      Vol. Xii. N? 585, London, Saturday, Janu...

      VOL . XII . N ? 585 , LONDON , SATURDAY , JANUAfiY 6 , 1849 . " ~ ™«* ^ W ™*

      ^ ! J! /! \I V R-I*

      ^ ! j ! /! \ i V r-I *

      To The Bradford Members Of The Land Comp...

      TO THE BRADFORD MEMBERS OF THE LAND COMPANY .

      Mr FniExnS , I fully agree with a great portion of your resolution published in last week ' s " Star , " but I can in no wise agree with the following sentence : — " Mr O'Connor has no ri ght to draw his money from the Company for that purpose , any more than we have . " Now , if you mean my share ef money paid as a member , I quite agree with you , and that is the only money in which your position and mine is identical ; but if you mean the money that I have advanced out of my own pocket , let me

      put a case to you , Tou fail in the performance of your duty , I have contracted debts for you , from confidence declared by you , and from assurances over and over again repeated by you ; your payments fall off , your debts are sent into me ; I receive 1 , 600 / . or 2 , 000 / . ef my own money , just at the time that those tradesmen ' s bills come in—I pay them out of my own money . In a few weeks my paper maker ' s bill cornea in , and thus , according to your argument , I should have no right to repay myself what I

      had advanced , and should allow my own bill to be dishonoured . Is that what you call justice ? And so far from repaying myself any portion of the 3 , 400 / . that the accountants declared was due to me , I have considerabl y added to that sum since ; however , I don'fc think the matter requires further comment , as I feel assured it must have been hurriedly and thoughtlessly penned . And , notwithstanding all opposition , from friend or foe , from

      members or Press , I am determined that tha LAND PLAN SHALL GO ON . Faithfully yours , Fbar gtj s O'Connor .

      The Executive Council Of The Na Tional C...

      THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OF THE NA TIONAL CHARTER ASSOCIATION .

      The Executive Committee met at the Rooms , Ui , High Holbern , on Friday evening , December 28 th—Preseat , Messrs Kydd , Stallwood , M ' Grath , Clark , aud Dixen—a letter of apology was read from Julian Harney , on th « ground of severe indisposition—Mr M'Grath was called to the chair . Correspondence was read from Newcastle-upon-Tyne , ' Carlisle , and South London—the agents named at each of the foregoiug places Were confirmed . On the motion of Mesirt Clark and Kydd , it waa uaanimously resolved : — ' That the subjects for discussion at the first public meeting to be held at the Institution , John Street , shall be' The Organisation of Chartism and the recent trials of Chartists . " Mr Kydd gave a spirit-stirring aeeount of his recent mission in Yorkshire , and the progress of Chartism in that district .

      South London Hall . — Application was mads by Mr Michael Pattison for some members of the Executive to attend that Mali on the erenings of Wednesday , the 10 th , 17 tb , and 24 th ol January . On the motion of Messrs Stallwood and Kydd , it was resolved : — ' That the application be acceded to . ' ' That Messrs M'Grath and Dixon , attend on the 10 th ; that the subject be' The Political and Social Condition of the People of England . '' ' That Messrs Kydd and Clark attend on the 17 th ; that the subject be « The Conditioa and Government of Ireland . ''

      The Parliamentary Demonstration . —The following deputies attended to aid the Executive in getting up the demonstration , — Mr John Milne , Westminster ; Mr James Leslie , Ernest Jones Locality ; Mr Mark Lee , Finsbury ; Mr James Bailey , and Mr John Ferdinando , Brunswick Hall Locality ; Mr J . H . Kaowles , Commercial Hall , Philpot Street ; Mr John Miller , Cripplegate . Mr Clark delivered in a report , relative to

      inquiries made for a suitable place in which to hold the demonstration . Mr Mark Lee suggested that the ' Druids Hall , ' Farringdon Street , was a fit and most appropriate building . On the motion of Messrs Stallwood and Dixon , Mr Lee was deputed to take the same , and in the event of his failing so to do , the Executive was instructed to take the Institution , John Street , for the occasion . The council then adjourned until Friday evening , January the 5 th .

      Mr K,Tdd's Lbcturb.—Mr S. Kydd, Who At T...

      Mr K , tdd ' s Lbcturb . —Mr S . Kydd , who at the recent nomination of candidates for the representation of tbe West Riding appeared on the hustings at Wakefield aa the exponent of Chartist dcctri & es , attended at Sheffield , on Tuesday evening , Dec . 26 th , and delivered a lecture on 'Labour—its Position and Prospeota . ' A numerous and orderly assembly of the working classes appeared in the Town Hall to listen to him . The early part of the lecture con * siated of a sketch of the relation which the labouring classes have always borne to the other Glasses of society . He argued that the greatness of our own country was attributable entirely or searly so to labour aa the creating agent , and that its future advancement or declension depended uainly upon tha

      influence of this agent . Hence the question of labour was the great question for the present day , and that on which depended the stability and the happiness of society . The sufferings of the working classes were owing to the centralisation of capital , » nd consequently the remedy was a more equitable distribution of wealth—some arrangement that would give every man a stake in the countrv . All men were naturally conservative ; the only differencewas that the werkine classes had nothing to conserve . Th e favourite remedy-proposed and encouraged by the iiwpetty owning clawes was emigration , on the supp osition that the country is over-populated . In tnie panacea he had no faith . He believed that the soil of England was capable to maintain her people , for

      tbe resources of the land knew no limit : they only needed to be developed . The cost of convtyine one labourer from this country to Australia was £ 20 . The same amount would pay for tne reclamation of twe > acres of moia land , of which in thiscouitry there is such an abundance . It was said by the advocates for emigration that every emigrant to our colonies wou . 'd become a liberal consumer of manufactured goodi . Perhaps bo ; but would it not be better to spend tha £ 20 in locating the unproductive labourer upon two acres of hitrerto waste land at home , where ha would be sure to be a consumer of our rmnufaoturei , and a producer of food likewise ? Mr Kydd retried with much satisfaction to the judicious and praise * worth ; application of unproductive pauper labour to

      the oul . Wationof waste lands at Hollow Meadows , n ^ ar this town , under the auspices of tbe Sheffield Board of Guardians , and argued that the policy of Government ought to be to carry ont the principle wherever applicable . They had all the requisi e machinery in the poor-law system . The government ; was quite powerful enough for such sn underUkiEF ; and it would contribute in a very great degree to render the country solvent and secure , and to make ^ he people contented and happy . ( Cheers . ) He next adverted to the severe evils resulting from the competitive principle , and recommended the adoption in this country of tte plan adopted a few jcara a » o by M . Lsoievc , & celtbrated house painter iu

      Paris , who admits all hia workmen to a participation , of profits proportionate to their value as workmen . Mr Kydd concluded his lecture by advising the working classes In the different tradea to organise themselves on the co-operative principle , like tha Bhoemakero of Limdon and the hatters of Deni , foe the employment of their unemployed brethren , and the crtation of capital by producing manufactured goods on their own account . Uia hopes for the future success of the country , he said , rested on the labouring classes . lie believed they would be traia to themselves , and would stand by tha Peop'h ' a Charter until it became the Jar ? of ffce land . ( Loud c l : eerP . )—Sheffield Times .

      Cost op the Chartist Mranxas xs April la >? . -An extract from the County Treasurer ' s a cow . - . b shows tbst the sums repaid by Mm to the churchwardens of the various parishes in Middlesex , for ' . xpeu ! C 3 inexmed kv them in providing staves find other necessary nrtiulea for the use of the special cv > nsUb ' ea , in April 1818 . oniountcd to £ 1 . 013 lis . 81 . ^ Paddinfetcn . £ ISS GVflaekc ' £ W 0 i # # Nonconformist . —[ This bawled— 'Cost of Realist rolling-pins . owavdlce and shop- ? uKi ? wi

      , Cy, . •.* Paragraph Shouw-Lfve &Ed . ^...

      , cy , . . * paragraph shouW-lfve & eD . ^ Bourgeois ^ rooWsflcks , trad ' So m « S ^ for- ' wealthy keeping ignoraiee ! I—& d . , a , ^ . , ; H . > yi » v > . xy ^ e .:-- ' ! paragraph sboulcj-have . ken . _ Bourgeois i / tamtilcH «&& > , , ' So mfir f P > ' wealthy \ aping ignoraiee ] r--En , , y , a , , , ^ \ : : ¦ / x h * . . ¦ . -a | ' r « w' v ~**<| W - ¦ ' < . : > \\ J * t / ? - - . ' ¦ . » ^ tg & ' ^ ^ tiB ^

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 6, 1849, page 1, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_06011849/page/1/