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Northern Star (1837-1852), 6th November 1852, Edition 2 of 2, Page 12, EMIGRATION AND COLONIZATION IN THE PROVI...

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  • Departments (3)
    • TRADES.
    • CO-OPERATIVE,
    • PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS.
  • Text (12)
  • Transcript

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      Bjudmrd. — Municipal Election, Little Ho...

      misprinted on the burgess roll . At the close of the poll both parties claimed the victory , which cannot be decided until the official declaration is made by the Mayor . There is little doubt that next year several thoroug h democrats will be returned . Halifax . A number of Mr . O'Connor ' s friends , having some time ago subscribed a sum of money for that gentleman , a meeting was heldon Sunday nig ht to consider how the money was to be disposed of when there not being a sufficient number of subscribers present , the meeting was adjourned to Sunday , the ] 4 th , at 5 o ' clock , p . m ., when it is hoped the whole of the subscribers will attend . The meeting was held at Mr . Longbottom ' s , Mr . Sutcliff in the chair , to which place it stands adjourned .

      204 The Star Of Freedom. [November 6,

      204 THE STAR OF FREEDOM . [ November 6 ,

      Trades.

      TRADES .

      —O—National Association Of United Trades...

      —o—NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF UNITED TRADES . The Executive committee of the above Association are preparing bills to be laid before Parliament , for an amendment of the 6 th Geo . 4 th c . 129 , commonly called the Combination Law , affecting the management and conducting of trades' societies established for the purpose of "fixing and regulating the wages they will receive , or the hours or time they will work in any trade or manufacture . "

      They consider the legislature intended workmen—whether in employ or not—should be perfectlyfree to regulate their wages ; but the reading of the law by the judges ( in the case of the Queen on the prosecution of Messrs . Perry v . Rowland and others ) makes it very doubtful whether any real freedom exists when men are in employment , thus rendering inoperative the spirit of the law , and the evident intentions of the legislature .

      Also a bill to enforce the delivery of duplicates of all agreements or contracts between masters and workmen in trade or manufacturesthe same to be evidence in all cases of dispute in any court of law or equity . Also , a bill to amend the 5 th , Geo . 4 th c . 96 . entitled " An Act to Consolidate and Amend the laws relative to the Arbitration of Disputes between Masters and Workmen , " by the establishment of Courts of Conciliation , composed of employers and employed , to adjust all disputes between masters , agents , overlookers , journeymen , apprentices , or other workmen , and to fix and regulate from time to time all matters relating to their interests .

      The committee will take the earliest opportunity to lay the bills before the trades of Great Britain and Ireland for their advice , cooperation , and support in carrying the same into effect ; also the reasons for bringing before parliament such important measures . 259 , Tottenham-court Road . Loudon , Nov . 2 , 1852 .

      The "Sun" Newspaper And The London Compo...

      THE "SUN" NEWSPAPER AND THE LONDON COMPOSITORS . Bellow Workmen , The Compositors of London , in claiming your assistance and co-operation in their endeavour to legally resist an act of oppression which has been exercised towards them , beg to lay before you . the following brief statement of the facts and of the position which they have hitherto held with respect to their employers .

      For upwords of forty years the recognised system of paying work done by the associated Printers of London lias heen based upon a Scale mutually agreed to by the employers and employed—a Scale which has so hitherto been looked upon , and is now by a very great majority of the masters , as a protection to both parties—to the ememployer as a means of knowing exactly what he lias to pay for any description of work ; and to the workman that he would always receive a fair remuneration for his labour . That system , with a few alterations at different times sanctioned by the two parties concerned , has continued in operation until the present period . Such being the

      established custom , it is manifestly unjust for an individual member of one portion to break the contract which has virtually been entered into by both ; an injustice alike to the master as to the man , as giving him the advantage of unfairly competing with his fellow-cappifcaiists by the employment of underpaid labour . And , independently ofthe right of the compositors to withstand any innovation on their Scale of Prices , it also becomes their duty to those employers who continue to pay fair prices , to legally resist to the utmost of their power any attempt at a reduction of wages which may be made without the concurrence of all parties .

      Having thus stated the relation in which the majority of the master-printers and the compositors of London stand to each other , we will now proceed to detail the case which has compelled us to seek for your support . On Friday , October 1 , the whole of the compositors engaged on the liberal " Sun" newspaper ( 32 men , including the overseer ) were summarily discharged , the only reason assigned for this harsh measure being—that a similar step adopted by the protectionist" Morning Post , " some time before , had heen productive of a considerable

      saving to the proprietors of that paper . There was no complaint of insubordination or dictation—no refusal to work overtime—no charge of inefficiency—no accusation of neglect or inattention—no offer mada of compromise—no terms proposed to obviate the necessity of turning men adrift who had been day and night at the command of their employer—some of them for a period of upwards of 30 years , and whose advanced age must operate against them in seeking fresh employment ; there was no alternative—out they must go , to make room for a new set of hands who had been lured by delusive promises

      which were never meant to be , and never could he , kept ; as a convincing proof of which it may he stated , that the old hands at the " Sun " did not average 1 ? . 16 s . per week , taking the last three years ; and consequently the fact of the proprietor of that paper engaging a similar number of men nominally at 21 . 3 s . 6 d . per week , cannot but be a delusion , as the avowed object ofthe change is to lessen the cost of production—the real fact being , that it is intended to pay somewhere about 2 s . for the same amount of work as has hitherto been paid 3 s . 7 d . for .

      The discharging of the old hands was accompanied by an expression of regret on the part of the proprietor , and also by a declaration that it was not his own act—that he was not a free agent—and a promise of employment to such of the old hands as chose to accept it under the new arrangements ; and in . order to test the sincerity of his regard for them , being anxious naturally to retain their situations if they could do so upon fair terms , the companionship inquired what

      were the alterations which the owners of the property proposed ; hut to this plain question they could obtain no other than this evasive answer that the terms or conditions of employment , would be matter for future consideration . "iTlie men , being determined to have no cause of complaint against them , were , if possible , more attentive to their work during the fortnight they were under notice , than they had heen previously ; and

      The "Sun" Newspaper And The London Compo...

      this required no small effort , no small sacrifice of personal feeling , on the part of the men in their position—who knew that their employer ' s property was at their mercy every clay throughout that fortnight , and that he was a callous and unfeeling man , who cared not what became of them , and who rejected all their efforts to effect a reconciliation with rudeness or disdain . There were various ways by which the old hands might have retaliated without transgressing ; the law , if they had chosen to do so ; but they preferred setting their employers and capitalists generally an example of forbearance and regard for property , a consideration on the part of working men which they are too often accused of being incapable of feeling .

      In the present case / there is no demand whatever made by the compositors , as they have a scale of prices with which they are satisfied . The question , then , must be discussed on moral grounds , and morally we contend that no employer has a right to violate abruptly a compact which has been recognised as binding upon his workmen and himself for many years ; a fundamental principle existing that it is the duty of trade societies to protect employers equally with the employed , and to alter and amend the rules whenever it was found that they operated in their existing shape to the disadvantage of the employer .

      The proprietor of the Sun has chosen to stand upon his legal right , and disregard all moral obligations . So be it . We stand upon our moral right . He professes , day after day , in the Sun , to have the interest of the working man at heart—to be the advocate of progress and humanity . He appeals to the liberal portion of the English public for support . We therefore ask the working classes of England and their friends , whether such conduct is morally consistent , and whether a paper guilty of such hypocrisy is worthy of support ?—in fine , we ask them to decide between the Compositors of London and the Evening Sun .

      And now , brother-workmen , having thus explained the principal circumstances connected with this affair , we come to the mode in which we claim your assistance ; and it may not be out of place here , perhaps , to remind you that the Compositors of London have always been ready and among the foremost to assist other trades in their hour of need . We do not require your pecuniary assistance—what we require of you is , your moral support ; and under these circumstances it , becomes a question for the working classes , whether the Sun newspaper is any longer worthy of their countenance .

      In conclusion , it may be remarked , that it appears strange , but is not the less true , that those who are most intimately connected with the " Press , "—whose existence exclusively depends on it , and without whose agency , mechanical though it be , the " Press " itself could not exist , —the class of workmen called Compositors , who are the channels , as it were , between intelligence and ignorance , have less access to its columns than any other portion of the community . If anything arises to disturb the harmony between employer and employed in other branches of industry , there is usually at least an appearance of fair play ; and if one journal openly espouses the cause

      of " Capital , " others may be found to defend the " Rights of Labour . " In other words , if a newspaper proprietor wishes to reduce wages even to the extent or 30 or 4 : 0 per cent ., and to effect that , object has recourse even to " combinations" which employers affect to deprecate , the men are , as a general rule , denied the opportunity of explaining their grievances . This being the case , the above particulars are submitted to the public , or to that portion of it which takes an interest in the welfare of the working man . ' Exert yourselves for us , then , and we have no doubt of ultimate

      success . On behalf of the trade , The Committee of ~ Compositors London , October 28 , 1852 .

      Co-Operative,

      CO-OPERATIVE ,

      The National Land Company. The Official ...

      THE NATIONAL LAND COMPANY . The official investigation into the affairs of this company as regarded the Gloucester and Worcester estates , called Snigg ' s End and Lowbands , has just been brought to a conclusion at Staunton , after a very lengthened inquiry . Tlie company was dissolved in 1850 , and a winding-up order was obtained , which was camtied out by Mr . Roxburgh , barrister , avS assessoi * , Mr . Gootlchap , official manager , and Messrs . Tucker , solicitors , who were the commissioners delegated by the Master . It appeared from the evidence that the Lowband ' s estate of 160 acres , cost 8 , 5601 ., and the Snigg ' sEnd , of 268 acres , cost 11 , 9001 ., included a charge of 5 , 8001 . left on the estate . Upon these estates are located forty-nine persons , having a cottage and two acres of land each , twenty-one persons having a cottage and three acres , and fifty-seven a cottage and four acres , giving a total of 127 persons and 389 acres . The two estates have the appearance of

      wellarranged colonies . The cottages cost about 1251 . each , and have every convenience on a small scale for homesteads . The occupants or allottees had been living nearly five years rent free , and had received advances from the company for cultivation . The land was originally of a very inferior quality , but has been greatly improved by the labour expended upon it . The yearly rent fixed for the allotments was 111 . 8 s . for the two-acre parcels , 141 . 12 s . for three acres , and 171 . 18 s . for four acres on the Snigg ' s End , and 101 . 4 s ., 121 . 16 s ., and 151 . 8 s ., respectively , on the Lowbnnds ; In consequence of the energy and industry which had been exercised in bringing the land into proper cultivation , tlie assessor decided upon remitting two ytars of the back rents , and to allow the sum claimed for improvements to be set off against the residue of the back rents . The allottees readily acceded to this decision . The question of future rents , subject to which the allottees will obtain a conveyance , was postponed for further valuations , and the inquiry stands adjourned .

      Emigration And Colonization In The Provi...

      EMIGRATION AND COLONIZATION IN THE PROVINCES OP BRIIISH NORTH AMERICA . Sir , —Having been permitted to address the Executive Council ofthe Amalgamated Engineers a few days ago , on the subject of regulated emigration and colonization in British North America , as a large and productive field for the safe investment of their surplus skill and labour , I submitted the following resolutions to the meeting , which were accepted as the statement of principles requiring the calm deliberation of the working classes . I hope , therefore , you will find space for their publicatiou in your paper , so that they may have the discussion which ihe meeting unanimously desired . I am , Sir , yours & c , Canadian Land and Railway Association , Alex . Campbell , 18 , Aldermanbury . Secretary .

      1 . Resolved . —That as skill and labour are the most essential elements for the production of wealth , it is therefore of great importance that every person able and willing to work should be found employment ; as idleness leads to individual poverty , to ignorance , and crime , and consequently to national depravity , anarchy , and ruin . 2 . Resolved . —That in order to avoid the evil consequences of compulsory idleness , resulting from trade societies , strikes , or otherwise , it is now indispensible that these societies should be reorganised , according to law , upon sound principles of association , for the regular employment of their skill , labour , and money capital .

      3 . —Resolved . —That the first practical steps towards a reorganization of trade societies , is the full recognition of individeal rights and duties . That skill and labour constitute individual capital , —that the wages received is the in-

      Emigration And Colonization In The Provi...

      terest of that capital ,- —and that sucli capital can be better employed and m a more productive for the individual and society , on the principle of co-operar joinUtock association , than can be obtained by isolated exertion and lVe .... com , petition . 4 . —RESOLVED . —That the plan submitted to the Executive Council of Amalgamated Society of Engineers , & c , by , Mr . Alexander Campbell , Secretof tlie Canadian Land and Railway Association for the establishment of j / 'f trious colonies in connexion with the railways about to be commenced in t \ ~ provinces of British North America , appears to this council to be . bascd on corre ' t principles of association , —offers a favourable opportunity for the establishment of engineering and other operations , combined with trades , manufact ures , J agriculture ; and is therefore well worthy of being supported by the ^ h 0 ] e trades of Great Britain and Ireland .

      -M-M —»Mn>N« W Pkoductive Labour In Poor...

      -m-m —» mn > n « w PKODUCTIVE LABOUR IN POOR LAW UNIONS . A conference of ministers and boards of guardians was held at Manchester , on Wednesday last , on the question of promoting the pro ductive employment of paupers in Poor Law unions and workhouses ' There were about 30 gentlemen present , Viscount Goderich took the chair ; and among others present at the meeting were—Mr . Scully M . P ., Mr . James Heywood , and Mr . Clay , M . P . The following r ^ solutions were adopted : — 1 . " That this Conference , having heard with satisfaction the statements made by guardians and others familiar with Poor Law administration , relative to the

      industrial employments successfully carried on ( m lieu of idleness and useless ' tests' ) , in various unions throughout the united kingdom , pledges itself jnfli . vidually and collectively to increased exertions in promoting the more general adoption of the humane and economical system of productive labour proposed by the Poor Law Association , and in procuring the abrogation of all legal and oilier restrictions which at present interfere with the free agency of boards of guardians in the purchase and taking of land , and the disposal of the produce of the industrial operations cai-ried on in various unions , so as not to interfere with independent labour .

      " 2 . That this Conference recommends that the requisite steps be taken for bringing the subject before Parliament during the ensuing session , and that a subscription be entered into for defraying the expenses attending upon this and the other measures proposed for promoting improved Poor Law

      administration . " 3 . That the gentlemen now present undertake in their respective localities the formation of branch associations , and for ( he delivery of lectures and tlie holding of public meetings upon the subject of productive labour ; and that the gentlemen now present , and the members of the Poor Law Association and boards of guardians in general , be respectfully solicited to promote tlie circulation of tlie monthly periodical ( the Constitutional ) , intended to form a medium of communication between boards of guardians , and a record of progress .

      " 4 . That to obviate misconceptions regarding the scope and objects of the association , it be , and his hereby , reconstituted under tlie title of the National Poor Law Association ; and that the general and executive committee u <» requested to continue their functions until the next general meeting of the association . " A committee was appointed , and this terminated the proceedings '

      A National Party. * To The Editor Of The...

      A NATIONAL PARTY . * To the Editor of the " Star of Freedom . " Sir , —I have read with great hope and satisfaction the correspondence which has from time to time appeared in your valuable columns concerning the formation of a party which shall be truly national in the end it has in view , and national also in the operations to achieve that end . Fully believing ; such a party to be the greatest want of the time , and consequently of the greatest possible importance , I ^ consider it my duty , although one of the humblest workers for human progress , to speak out fearlessly upon the

      question . The proposal that universal manhood suffrage should form the basis of such a party is , I think , the best . The agreement on one simple question of principle will afford a far wider ground for union and a stronger bond of unity than the addition of a multiplicity of expediencies , however necessary , consisting of the remaining five points of the Charter . With one object in view , for which we would unceasingly and individually strive , we should be able to build up a really powerful organisation , and a really united body , capable of turning favourable events to advantage , and of ultimately carrying the one great principle . The adoption of this course may ,

      nay , will raise against us a cry of political apostacy— -a cry that may serve ihe ends of a part ?/ for a time . I , for one , fear it not , for wc set aside no principle for expediency , but , on the contrary , divest the principle of a complexity of details , thereby making it a simple question , easily understood , and readily to be decided on by all . We each set aside , for the time being , our " pet notions" and theories , and unite for the accomplishment of the one comprehensive principle , which is the fundamental basis of true liberty and good

      government . This is , I think , the most practical course we can adopt in our endeavour to create such a power as shall make our legislature do us justice by proclaiming the natural right of all men to a vote in virtue of their existence . The selfsame power which could enforce such a demand would be able to enforce the necessary adjuncts for the protection and proper working of the right as time and experience would teach . —Yours , as ever , in the cause of P ° gress , j . Gloveb . Cheltenham , October 30 th , 1852 . '

      Public Amusements.

      PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS .

      Haymarket.—A Comedy In Three Acts, Calle...

      HaYmarket . —A comedy in three acts , called Richelieu in Love , was produced at this theatre on Saturday evening , and received with great favour . Though now acted for the first time , the piece is not exactl y new . It was published several years ago , its performance having been prevented by the refusal of the Lord Chamberlain ' s license , in consequence of something which was deemed objecti onable in the plot . Had it not been for this circumstance , the play would have been then , ( as it has been now ) brought out at the Haymarket ; the manuscript having been anonymously transmitted to Mr . Webster , and accepted by him .

      Lyceum . —A new comic drama , in two acts , called Married ¦ Daughters and Young Husbands , was ' performed at this theatre on Wednesday night . Jt is a piece of small dimensions , but of distinguished excellence , and may be compared , without disadvantage , to the best productions of the Varktes or the Oymnase . The acting was admirable ; the principal performers being Mr . Prank Matthews , Mr . Roxb y , Mr . Suter , Mr . Butler , Mrs . Frank Matthews , Miss Julia St . George , Miss Oliver , and Miss Fanny Baker . The piece was warmly applauded by a full house .

      Surrey . —Another , and upon the whole we think the best , stage adaptation of Mrs . Beecher Stowe ' s worldwide popular novel , Unae Tom ' s Cabin , has been produced at this theatre . The scenery was very good ; and the several parts of the dramatis persona were well filled , George Harris by Mr . Cresvvick ; Legree by 3 fr . !• Mead ; and Uncle Tom by Mr . H . Widdicombe especially so . The piece may be said to have been eminently successful , and will , doubtless , have a long run .

      ::: The Gentleman Who Went Out In The Au...

      ::: The gentleman who went out in the Australian mail packet Sydney and who refused to go farther than the Isle of Ascension on account or the bad accomodation he experienced on board the packet , has had his passage money returned to him .

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Nov. 6, 1852, page 12, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_06111852/page/12/