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¦ 'TBE :WtfffTHBBlft 'STA R. _ - ¦ ¦ " "...
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ero coirreyoiffleutd.
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The Hosestv Fcsn.—Wa. IUtwoob, of Norwoo...
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THE SOBTEEEN STAB SAT57KDAY, JANUARY 10, IK52.
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THE EXaiNEERS AXJ) THEIR EMPLOYERS. INTE...
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WHAT IS TO BE OUR FOREIGN POLICY. Lord P...
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¦ THE CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT. The promise...
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THE liULER BY VOTE AND SABRE. Opponents ...
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THE RICKETTY WHIG MINISTRY ON ITS LAST L...
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IT,S7mr,Mf ln fc rVoid 2" that collects ...
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^ SftttW .ftrtpgence*
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NATIONAL ASSOOIATION OF TJNlTKr,. . . TR...
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
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Ad00412
( JKATIS TV 1 TH THE " DISPATCH" OF S 1 RDAY ,. JAN . 4 iu . rnflE SUBSCRIBERS to the " ^ Shrf I DISPATCH- Bill be presented ** » ? gf £ S £ coloured Chart , ah-ming bj diagrams and 1 £ ^ one view , ^ of persons who A % . during a period « £ n ^ h ^ wrsand received Crystal Mace , thenwmit of money »>?? fJ ^^ tins cliafiosi various sources at « d otter ttti «*»*^ Cgi « a to aU racur . And on SmdyVan . llOi . « ' « Owl £ « abictihet 3 . Fdrdwe « rfita / 'I « i |««^ The Cfcrt , which " ^ mounted w . h * n engrav ^ Exhibition of the Indostry of AU Nauons ^ j » " . ^ Corporals A . mission of the llojal ^^ S % X ^^^ aSSed GardnerandJ . 5 ! ack , « f UieEoyal & M ^ 3 ^ raatterscon-IiyaseaUcmantthoie inUmateacq . ^^ ^ comelaesSm 0 raera ™ HrH-J . Wood . 139 . F « r t- street « L " ndoa -
Ad00413
FKEKH 0 I . D MM * TO BS SOI « D ( In Ireland , wi & Parliamentary Title , ) For One Pound per Acre !!! Tn the N ' omhew SrisofKtU July last appeared an advertisMneiit headed-
Ero Coirreyoiffleutd.
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The Hosestv Fcsn.—Wa. Iutwoob, Of Norwoo...
The Hosestv Fcsn . —Wa . IUtwoob , of Norwood , asks the friends anil followers of Mr . O'Connor , if something cannot be done for that gentleman . If a proposition is made , W . IL will cheerfully contribute his mite . G . Maech , Brightluigsea . —Received . Pkeieu ) . Kedditcb . —Yes .
The Sobteeen Stab Sat57kday, January 10, Ik52.
THE SOBTEEEN STAB SAT 57 KDAY , JANUARY 10 , IK 52 .
The Exaineers Axj) Their Employers. Inte...
THE EXaiNEERS AXJ ) THEIR EMPLOYERS . INTELLIGENT CO-OPERATION . "We begin this subject by performing our last week ' s promise , of exposing the petty intrigue which has brought about tbe present struggle between the Operative Engineers and their Employers . In May last a dispute between Messrs . Hibbert and Plait , of Oldham , and their men , took place , which was apparently terminated mainly through the intervention of Mr . "W . ISetftoiv , by an agreement between the Masters and the Operatives . That agreement was reduced to writing , and duly signed by the representatives of tbe contending parties . But some
people—the Jesuits of Commerce—deal in mental reservations ; and it has transpired that Messrs . Hibbert and Platt , while seemingly negotiating in good faith with the men , were playing over again a narfc something similar to that of Pesky , of "W olverhampton , by endeavouring to stir up other employers to an organised resistance . At that time the attempt failed ; and , therefore , Messrs . Hibbekt and Platt executed an agreement which there is too much reason to suppose they did not mean to keep , and in the meantime set about exciting the feats of their brother capitalists , in order to gain allies .
Matters were in this position when the Executive Council of the Amalgamated Society issued their circular againstcompulsoryovertime , and arbitrarily priced piecework . That was a godsend to Messrs . Hibbebt and Platt . That enabled them to terrify the alarmists into combined resistance . That was , probably , happening as it did at the time when the agreement was to he performed , just what thoy wanted . It was a pretext which exactly suited their purpose ; and as they did not think it necessary to tell the plain truth , they added to the requests of the Amalgamated Society the
matters in dispute between them and their own artisans ; assumed the existence of a wide-spread conspiracy , drew frightful pictures of tbe consequences , terrified the other manufacturers into joining them , and fixed all to the new masters' association by that strongest pledge of commcrcialists , a money deposit , to be forfeited in the event of withdrawal . Under the cover of this confusion , Messrs . Hibbert and Platt think to escape the performance of their own written bond , and to inaugurate a contest which shall degrade Labour into the abject bond slave of Capital , by depriving their men of the power in the future of
making terms with those who claim to he their irresponsible , absolute masters . Surely the annals of commerce never exhibited a more glaring instance of deliberate promise-breaking than that—no maker of false pretences ever descended to a meaner shuffle . If that be the morality of commerce , those are right who say that the savage is a higher being than those whose whole soul ia wrapped up in the love of wealth . Apart , however , from the morality of the affair , it is worth while considering it in another aspect . The papers on the side of the masters have been constantly reiterating the assertion that the Amalgamated Society is made up of a few designing scoundrels , and a host of i gnorant dupes—that the deceivers and
deceived are mingled , the small minority of the former leading the large majority of the latter to inevitable destruction . False as that assertion must evidently appear to those who are acquainted with the engineering operatives , it reall y does seem applicable in some degree to their employers . The Association have been made the dupes of Messrs . Hibbert and Platt , and a few others—they have been entrapped into a fearful struggle of which they cannot see the end , in order to cover a gross breach of faith , and it has oozed out that so sensible are some of them of this , that they have declared , if they had known at first as much as they know now , they would never have suffered themkefas to he betrayed into their present false and danga ? ons position .
It is worthwhile , also , to notice how tbbiavolantary tendency to describe themselves , while attempting to traduce others , has characterized some of the after proceedings of the Masters * Association . One of the charges the most constantly in their mouth was , that the leaders of the Operatives' Association were venal , greed y mercenaries . This is the cry always raised by those who would deprive working men of the power j o combine for their mutual support and protection . Conscious of the fact that the wants of the many will never be earnestl y represented except by men of their own order , and aware that whatever rich t jlu
men mot . .,. ~ t . i « *~ a * . _» __ . « .... _* . men may be able to do , poor men cannot give their time to the service of their follows Tntnont compensation , they are always ready « p -a - out ai tI , e fo P of tQeir Iun * rata agitators . ' TTe want , once for all . «> meet the catchword , which , contemptibly stupid as it is , when cunningly used produces an effect . -uiereis . no ^ sgrace in being paid for doing right—no siiame in receiving a fair reward for advocating that *«? JT ? riiere- Tbe mental labourer is as mncb ^ mied to his wages as the manual worker—he who aiafcea ideas , and spreads them abroad , is as useful as * "ho spins cotton fabrics , and contributes at . leant
WrS to fte real welfare of 80 ciet y- Wil 1 tboM beinpn ^ * ° WTery indignant at a working man ns a ^ anything else but physical force , show ciefip . m- - thafc does not P >' officers . Bible So-FrAir ? ^ Societies , Philanthropic Societies , and a hort t } Societies . Registration Societies , catRB « Ji . ^ tn « 8 whose name is LegionJpay advofrom rt A ^ tor 8- The state pays all its officers reVimorjl ' T to **» l *>* wt The ministers of Press rW ? raple to receivo tneir BaIaries - Th ( > which nrot ° * ' WOuM cease to exht ' Everything and » e fear , £ * . P ** 8 for *&« means of prosper ity ; paid no ^ Jf *™ ™ instituti ons we have mentioned * n ° Better than the Amal gamated Society does
The Exaineers Axj) Their Employers. Inte...
its Council , ; they would speedily cease jto exist . Just imagine a Manchester political agent , receiving for attendance at a meeting , occupying six or seven hours of his time , the allowance awarded to a member of the Executive Council . How he would turn up his nose at the magnificent sum of two shillings as the recompense of his devotion , and how determinedly he would resolve never to again waste his time on so barren a cause . This objection of •« paid agitators conies , above all , badly from the Manchester School , whose whole political history has been one of paid agitation , From the League , with its quartet of a million fund , its
swarms of employes , audits hosts of paid lecturers , and its eighty thousand pounds testimonial to the arch-paid agitator jf all , through shoals of smaller combinations , runs the same vein of payment . ! N . o set of men have ever spent more on agitation . One would think , too , that common modesty would prevent Mr . Sidney Smith , the Secretary of the Masters' Association , from being the mouthpiece of this clamour , and from writing newspaper articles in which it is echoed . The men throughout have fought this battle themselves ; the men who have stood forward have stepped from their own
ranksnone but Engineersbave interfered ; but the Masters , perhaps labouring under a sense of their own inferiority and incapacity , have engaged a sort of literary gladiator who has no personal interest in the dispute , and no right to meddle in it . Is he a paid agitator ? We suppose the'Masters pay him , for his history tells us that he would not be likely to work for them without ample payment . He was a paid lecturer of the League— -a paid looker after the registration—a paid electioneering agent—a paid political writerand the paid instrument of almost as many other schemes as there are days in the year . What right has he to talk about venal mercenaries , when he
reviews his own life ? Mr . Smith may some day come again before the working-classes . They will do well to remember his present conduct , not so much because he is paid , as because there is something like proof that he receives wages for supporting what he believes to be wrong . A man cannot conscientiously believe two opposite creeds . 5 Tet Mr . Sidney Smith , who has been stigmatizing the Amalgamated Society as Socialist , wrote , only some twelve months ago , a little book called Mother Country , ' where Socialism is vividly
advocated ; and in that same work are assertions of the physical and moral evil of such constant labour as the English operative endures , to which is traced his asserted intellectual inferiority to his Continental compeer . Tet the same man who penned that , now asserts , as a matter of business , the right of masters to work men as long as they will , and calls those who oppose this industrial slavery , ' paid agitators , ' and unprincipled demagogues . Really , with such antecedents , Mr . Smith should be more careful and courteous , if he cannot be more straightforward and consistent .
We are glad to say , however , that all the efforts of their opponents have not , up to this time , frightened the operatives or alienated them from their natural leaders ; and it is probable that the result will be what the masters never reckoned on . They thought to force the men to consume in idleness the funds they have accumulated , and starve them into abjectuess ; but it is likely that the result will be such an Intelligent Industrial Co-operation as has never before occurred . If the roasters are mad enough to
strike , and refuse to help in doing the pubiic work , the men will do it themselves , without the roasters ' aid or the burden of the masters' profits . Easton and Amos's men have already subscribed their money for a Workmen's Factory , and the Amalgamated Society contemplates the application of £ 10 , 000 of its funds to the same purpose . In this effort the workmen are not alone . Men of station . and capital , disgusted with commercial tyranny and falsehood , are coming to their aid with offers of substantial help , and the Masters' Association of deceivers and
deceived , with their active and talented Secretary , bid fair to find that in striving to aggrandise their power into despotism , they have brought it to the verge of annihilation . Well , wiser men than they , sharp as they no doubt are , have , before now , realised the fable of the dog and shadow—losing the good they might have enjoyed in a greedy attempt to grasp the fancied benefit which they were unable to attain .
What Is To Be Our Foreign Policy. Lord P...
WHAT IS TO BE OUR FOREIGN POLICY . Lord Palmerston's dismissal and its causes still continue to occupy a large share of public attention , and various statements are put forth in the daily papers , each professing to be the most correct version of tbe affair . The general conclusion to be deduced from these explanations however is , that the substitution of Granville for Palmerston may be safely taken as an indication that the tone and tendency of our Foreign policy is not to become more liberal . However little may have been thought of-the lateJForagfl Minister's attachment to Constitutional Government ,
or his desire to aid foreign nations iu any legitimate attempt to secure the power of self -government , we shall have to think still less of the Foreign Policy directed by Russell , and administered by a younger member of the Family Party , if by any mishap these two * noble lords' should remain long in ofiice . It is tolerably certain that the coup d ' etat which so suddenly ejected Palmerston from ofiice , was entirely Lord John ' s concoction , and , though the fact has been denied by the ministerial 'Times , ' that it was with tbe previous knowledge and sanction of the Austrian Court . In fact , we shall probably find , when the
Parliamentary explanations are made , that the dismissal of ihe late Foreign Secretary was the price demanded by Prince Schwartzenberg for the official reception of our Ambassador , after he had been kept kicking his heels for six weeks in the ante-rooms of the Palace at Vienna . Should this be the case , it will demonstrate beyond the possibility of cavil , that the Whigs , whether in or out of office , do not intend to make common cause with the people of this country , so far as their feelings and opinions were
manifested by the enthusiastic reception given to Kossuth . Instead of fraternizing with the oppressed peoples of the Continent , and giving them such aid as we conld fairly give to enable them to free themselves , we shall , if this policy is consummated , once more see English treasure lent to despots for the purpose of trampling out iu blood every vestige of freedom in Europe ; perhaps even our fleet and our army may be called into action to aid in tho unholy and brutalizing task .
At the present juncture , the foreign policy of any English government ia even superior in importance to its domestic . No one will suspect us of undervaluing the movement for Suffrage Reform or other measures long claimed and patiently advocated ; but when on all hands tho indications of another war against freedom by the combined despots of the Continent thicken around , it must be evident the first duty of to-day is to prepare for resistance to such a disastrous and threatening aspect of affairs .
Nothing is more certain than that the achievement of Political Emancipation for the millions at home will largely depend on the issue of the struggle for national freedom abroad . We cannot separate ourselves from Continental politics if we would . We are now , to all intents and purposes , part of the mainland . Steam ships , railways , and electric telegraphs , have placed as in direct communication , and we must be affected by all the perturbations—share in all the successes or reverses—which may occur in the course of the great struggle for Freedom .
If the British Government enters into alliances with the Absolutist Courts , the terms of which are shrouded in diplomatic secrecy , we shall know what to ' expect . Louis Kossuth has taught the great lesson that the only national foreign policy that can tend to national benefit is that which is honestly and openly proclaimed . That lesson we believe has sunk deep in the minds of the people of this country , and of the United States , as constituting the starting point of a new species of national diplomacy under
which the juggling and swindling of despots and their tools would be impossible . In the absence of such an avowal there is reason to fear that vtr ***»" again be involved in a similar war to that which at the closing straggle at Waterloo left us involved in debt , and which in its consequences has ever since hung like a millstone round our necks , and formed the ready answer to all appeals for the redaction of taxation or public improvement . That is a consideration which ought to set every man in Great Britain and Ireland thinking .
¦ The Co-Operative Movement. The Promise...
¦ THE CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT . The promises we : havo made in relation to the Cooperative Movement we mean to fulfil , not onlyifrom our own love of the subject , and our belief in its importance as a movement in the right direction ,. but also from the fact that Co-operation , in some former other , / issfouad in every corner of the Kingdom amongst the most liberal and enlightened of the working people ; not only as a faith , but as a most important living reality . forced
This faith in Co-operation is not a growth , springing under the breath of a vigorous agitation—it is rather a thing of slow and natural development , beginning , in its present form , with the people themselves , supported by them , arid managed by them , natural in its birth , healthy in its growth , and promising , in its ultimate development , large advantages to the masses of the people . ., ••¦' We do not mean that Co-operation , so far as it has gone either in shopkeeping or manufacturing , •'• however successful such concerns may be , should be regarded as final or satisfactory ; but as first steps they are most admirable .
Unadulterated food at prime co st , adding the cost of distribution , is a very great advantage , so is selfemployment in a Co-operative Workshop ; but the great value of a Co-operative Store does not Hein thc-e , so much as in the union of numbers which they command , and the machinery which they afford for organising completely the , consumption of the people , and controlling , by such organised consumption , the labour necessary for employing it . ' ••• ¦' ¦ The weekly consumption of the whole of the the
English people supplies , in a considerable degree , labour by which the working people subsist , and the larger the control they get over this by the means of co-operative shops , the more completely will they be enabled to command their own future destiny . ^ There aro means of development in the Cooperative idea , which many of those engaged in the work of Co-operation cannot now see ; but the more they work as Co-operators the more they will comprehend their true duties to the idea they are seeking to promote .
In Lancashire and Yorkshire , as well as in Scotland , these shops abound , and most of them have surmounted the difficulties and dangers of their infant efforts . In many of the towns in these localities they are doing very largo trades , and have obtained a character for honest dealing , and superior goods , highly creditable to them . Hitherto , however , individual men only , have cooperated with each other in their respective neighbourhoods . It is now full time that the stores and
manufacturing establishments should co-operate . Those engaged in this movement must not continue to call themselves Co-operators , unless they really mean to cooperate , and trade in perfect good faith tho one with the other , each aiding tho other by advice and custom , in fact by every species of assistance which men should render who are struggling in tho same
cause . Co-operation will never be safe so long as it allows its resources to flow into tho coffer of competition . Those who have tbe practical management of it , betray the cause they should promote , when they expend a single shilling outside their own movement that might be spent in it , as in doing so they are putting-the sinews of war into the hands of their enemies . Every member of a Co-opovative Store
should put every order he needs executing , whatever it may be for—shoes , stockings , shirts , coats , hats , bread , butter , tea , sugar—everything , and all things —into the store , and compel the managers to execute them , through organised labour if possible , if not possible , then the best way they can . Co-operation to be efficient must be complete , and it never can be complete unless it supplies all the ' wants of all its members with the produce of organised labour .
In Colonial and Foreign produce , the Central Agency , 76 , Charlotte-street , can do this admirably , and it is to be hoped that no one of tbe stoves neglects so excellent an opportunity as this establishment offers . If it is so , co-operation , so far as these parties are concerned , is a dead letter , and cannot be expected to do much good in their hvnds . In all movements , whether political or social , the great thing needed is a full comprehension of the work to be done by the people engaged in it . Sham republicans , and blind republicans , have assisted to destroy the Republic in France , and they did it too , with the vpry instruments given to them for its protection . Universal Suffrage and Vote by Ballot , in their hands , worked as effectually for the establishment of "despotism as tbe swords of the Cossacks could have done .
Let us not play this blind and false game in England ; let each man know his work and do it , wisely and faithfully , whether he be Chartist or Co-opera tor , and we doubt not that liberty in its truest forms will take root and grow in our land . We desire to see this , and as far as we can , to help it , and therefore we call upon all who can furnish us with the sober facts of the Co-operative Movement to da so , and we will take care that they shall be used for the benefit of the cause . % We shall return to this subject again and again .
The Liuler By Vote And Sabre. Opponents ...
THE liULER BY VOTE AND SABRE . Opponents of Universal Suffrage point with exultation to the vote by which M . Bonaparte has just been created Dictator in France . They consider that it demonstrates conclusively the . incapacity of the masses to distinguish political right from political wrong , and their consequent unfitness to be entrusted with the exercise of political power . We confess that if we looked upon that vote as tho free and unbiassed approval of the people of France of tbe acts of a perjured usurper and wholesale murderer , we should feel less sanguine as to the
progress of humanity than WO now do . But there are many reasons why this conclusion ought not to bo come to . In the first place , it is notorious that the only portions of the Press permitted to exist in France were in the hands of the Government , which dictated exactl y what it thought proper to appear , and , it is now confessed , has manufactured falsehoods upon the most astounding scale to suit its purposes . In the next place , the voting , however apparently accompanied by all the accessories for a fair and free exercise of the right , was defective at the very commencement , inasmuch as it left the voter no alternative but
a Dictator or no government at all . Besides , there was tho conviction , that even if the requisite majority was not deposited iu tho ballot boxes , the convenient tools whom M . Bonaparte had thrust into office throughout the whole country , would have no hesitation in cooking a majority to make things pleasant . The destruction of tho ballot papers immediatel y after tho result was ascertained , was a capital device foi preventing any scrutiny in after years , or any detection of the frauds that might be perpetrated by those functionaries . But with all their care and anxiety to their
please unprincipled employer , they have uncoasciously discovered the fact that the votes have been tampered , with . The whole population of France is about thirty-aix millions , and upwards of eight millions of adult males are s . aid to have voted . Now , it is a high average to take ono adult iu every five of the population , and that would give a " total of forty millions instead of thirt y six . The zealous functionaries have overdone it . They havo given us too much of a good thing , and it is clear that the return of tho number of votes is as much to he depended upon as Louis Napoleon ' s oaths .
Making all allowance , however , for these deductions , there still remains the fact , that a very large proportion of the people did say ' oui' to the demand of a man who had violated his most solemn engagement ! to the nation , and in the pursuit of a low selfish ambition , caused tho people of Paris to be shot down m the streets with as little compunction as if they had been game at a battue . How are we to account for that fact ? _ Perhaps the following may help to a solution : —It is now well known that the working classes took no part in tho late usurpation . They had nothing to fight for . It was , they saw very clearly , merely a struggle between the majority of the Assembly and
ineruESiDMT , which , should gain the upper hand . Why should they interfere ? All they knew of that majority _ was , that it had been the determined and coufijantfoe of Republican institutions and Republieaa freedom . It had cut off at least one-third of the Totes by which it w as elected , and systematically pursued a course of coercion , oppression and tyranny as far a 8 the liberty of speech , writing , and public meeting was concerned . The President had told themLwt . on . * but several times ! that the majority
The Liuler By Vote And Sabre. Opponents ...
was ever ready , to hound him on in attacks upon public liberty , but as invariably united to .. oppose him whenever he desiredto do anything for the amelioration of the ouviiei'S ; and , they had seen too many instances in which-this assertion looked like the truth . From the majority , therefore , they had nothing to expect . On the ' other hand , they saw M . Bonaparte offered them the restoration of the Suffrage , and by his audacious coup d ' etat ,, they , found he had swept that portion of their enemies out of the way . The political game became less . comp licated . Instead of having to ' deal with many tyrants in future , they would have to reckon only with one . Louis Napoleon could no longer throw the blame upon , the majority if he did not satisfy the demands of the people . By the
very mode he had himself se lected he became directly and personally responsible for the whole policy of his Government , and if he failed to fulfil either his prorhises or their expectations , it would be easier to settle accounts with one than many . They got rid of a complicated irresponsible Government , and had . in its place-a simple , definite , and responsible ruler . ' If , after a fair trial , that ruler abused , instead of using theimmense powers placed at his disposal , it was only necessary for the proletarians to have their coup d ' etat and sweep away , by force , a Government based upon force and bloodshed , and perjury—which has no moral claims on the allegiance or the confidence of the country , and which will only be tolerated as long as it is successful .
Reasoning like this , though unsuited to our sober country , where Parliamentary Government and popular agitations take the place of coups d ' etat , would be quite in place in France ; and it appears to us satisfactorily to' solve the otherwise anomalous fact , that such a man—or rather monster— -should have been placed in such a position . But the end is not yet . On the contrary , his troubles , perils , and difficulties are but beginning .
The Ricketty Whig Ministry On Its Last L...
THE RICKETTY WHIG MINISTRY ON ITS LAST LEGS . Last year the conclave of incapables , who have misgoverned the country since 1846 , broke down soon after the meeting of Parliament , and it was only because there was nobody willing to take their places , that they were allowed to retain office . This year , although we are so near the commencement of the Session , it is doubtful whether they will take their seats on the Treasury Bench . If any number . of public men of reasonable standing and abilities can be found to accept Ministerial responsibilities before that time , we shall be happily rid of the greatest
caricature of a Government ever seen in this country . But are there any such persons to be found ? We candidly confess that at present wo do not see where they are to come from . The composition of parties remains almost the same as it was last February . Tho Whigs are weakened by the dismissal of Lord Palmerston , but their political rivals are not strengthened . Lord Derby will still have to face the ' impracticable' men of his own party , who will look upon anything short of the restoration of ' Protection ' as a treason . There is still the same want of men accustomed to the routine of-office , and familiar with administrative functions—all the reasons which induced him on two successive occasions to decline the . duty of forming a Cabinet , exist as strongly as
ever . On the other hand the overtures made by Lord John to such practised officials as the Duke of Newcastle , Sir J . Graham , Mr . Cardwell , and others of tho Peelite section of the House , are said to havo experienced a similar reception to that of last year . They have been rejected , and , luixUhey been accepted , their accession would not have strengthened the Cabinet in popular estimation , but the contrary . Thoy are excellent chiefs of departments— ' good men of business '—but no one expects any large or liberal policy from them ; and Lord Jom ? has shown , that whatever may have been his pretensions in former times , he is becoming more and more reactionary ,
and opposed to popular progress . The course he has pursued has also had the effect of repressing whatever amount of administrative ability might have been found in the ranks of his own party . His Gorcrvmont has been purely a family clique . Out of fifteen Cabinet Ministers nine belong to a family cabal . The three houses of Grey , Bedford , and Howard consider they have a right to monopolise the Government ; and if the secret infiuenccs could bo traced , by which the nine * brothers-in-law ' and ' Cousins' have been induced to let in the six , whoso relationship does not appear in Debrett ' s Peerage , no doubt the same element would be found predominating .
This system of breeding in and in seems to be as fatal to Cabinei Ministers as it is to men and animals . It produces a stunted , feeble , imbecile race . If tho present Ministry were enumerated one by one , and described as they really are in truthful terms , the nation would be ashamed of having been so long subject to a body of men not fit to rule tho affairs of a petty corporation . We are certain that not one of the large merchants who sit behind the Chancellor of the Exchequer would give him £ 150 a year in their own counting-houses ; and yet they have been content to see him mismanaging the national finances , and committing , year after year , such arithmetical
blunders as would have drawn down smart punishment upon any boy on the third form of a public school . The few members of the Government not affected by congenital stupidity , or intractable capriciousness , are worn out , physically and mentally . 0 f some of them it may be literally said , that they can scarcely stand on their legs . Feebleness or wrong-headedness is stamped upon the Russell Ministry at a crisis in European affairs when energy , combined with farseeing wisdom , are peculiarly and urgently requisite . If we look outside the pure Whig party , to that which assumes the name of 'liberal' and gives the Government what is called an'independent' support , the prospect of finding efficient statesmen is not much improved . There are , no doubt , in the ranks
of that party , men of considerable ability , many of them in the prime ofiife , and accustomed to the transaction of business ; but their faculties and powers have never been systematically trained and applied to public business . Instead of applying themselves to the task of or ganising a party acting up ju one clear and definite principle upon all occasions , and mastering the details of administration , so that when the time came they might take office with the confidence of the country ; each individual 'liberal' has ridden his own hobby , despised all action in concert allowed Whigs or any other party to take the initiative in practical business ; and but for an oratorical display now and then , have been made mere political nobodies . Tbe light in which the head of the family clique looks upon them , may he seen by the insolent
snubbing he gave to some of them when they asked for an interview on the subject of the promised Reform Bill . Such , then , is the state to which aristocratic and middle class Government has reduced the nation at this momentous juncture . They have repudiated popular Government , and their own has expired from inanition . No violent revolution has thrown tho state machine out of gear—no factious opposition has caused the Ministry to break down . It has stopped cf itself , and there is no chance of its being set a going again , until it is wound up anew , and fresh springs and motive powers are added to it .
me only immediate practical solution o ! tbe difficulty appears to bo a dissolution of Parliament and a General Election . Perhaps that mi ght so alter the Constitution of the present Parliament , that the ^ mpoi se of parties which imposes political sfcagnation upon it , would be succeeded by such a prepondeuSZlTJH r ° "I ° ° ther ' as ™* 1 Enable wouldbo Ul 1 I ' d ° bac Wd . Anything of aU hLl ! S 5 , T th ? «» i ^~ th 6 negation ot all healthful life and action-to which we have been accustomed for the last few
years miSb » i l * ff ' ' the People at large which hitfV ^ ° - , ? > P ° M * A » P » 4 . Jhfl nLJI- n at . " J us « fied by the appearance o ctrTn % * £ ° °£ ; TherG ™& t ™ ft » be J chance of getting a Reform Bill worthy the nam - * toJaf rn ^ U r ^ terly impossible as low as Lord John Russell , or anybodYhe will call to his assistance , remains in office
It,S7mr,Mf Ln Fc Rvoid 2" That Collects ...
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National Assooiation Of Tjnltkr,. . . Tr...
NATIONAL ASSOOIATION OF TJNlTKr , . . . TRADES . ^ T . S . Du . vcoMBE , Esq ., M , P . President . " PUT JOSTITU . " ' ¦ ' " " If it were possible for the - working classes , by conjbiy among themselves , to raise , or keep up the general tau' " wages , Jt need hardly be saidthat this would be a thing not ( <" punished , but to be welcomed and rejoiced at . "—Stuart liat , ' ™ We have been for a longtime aware that amonjM a small section of the democratic party a eonsbjl able hostility or jealousy existed against Trades ' Unions generally , and the National Association in particular . We have seen several manifestatioq 0 f this feeling , Wo have seen hybrid National 8 So
^ ciatious cunningly framed to catch the social , in ( jn a trial , and political tastes of the day . And wo lia J seen the difficulty which even the promoters haw , found in . framing workable institutions amidai the conflict of differing and opposing opinions . AiidWfl have seen with regret immense sacrifices of time ay talent—we think we may say wasted iu elaborating Eutopian—because impracticable socio political con . atitutious—which have died in their birth from wani of nourishment ; but we have not seen that any fo ^ man beings among the working classes o f * Greav Britain have been socially , industrially , or politically morally , or physically benefitted by these well ! intended , but unavailing efforts .
It certainly appears that the groat bulk of thj working classes of this country are either not demo , cratically inclined , or want faith in tho prudence and judgment of the political leaders of tho day . ft a know not how else to account for their apathy . ; But although , unfortunately , working men of En . gland will not , of do not , combine for political pur poses , they have always evinced a strong and \< ety natural disposition to band themselves together in , defence of their industrial rights , and it certainly j s not correct to . say that . these , their efforts , have been uniformly and entirely unsuccessful . It is equall y
incorrect to say that reductions of wages have not been prevented to a large extent , and in very many instances , by combination , and its usual weapon strikes . The Iron Trades of England have main , tained their wages by a non-political combination . Mr . Ernest Jones attributes , this to the absence of surplus labour . He is mistaken . During the years 1848-9 , they expended upwards of Eighteen Thousand Pounds to protect themselves : from the competitive action of redundant labour—this they could not have
done but ¦ by . combination . The Building Trades have maintained their wages by combination and strikes . The Great Builders' Union of 1831 , notwithstanding many serious defects in its constitution , and its consequent dissolution , completely established the power and eificacy of Union , and although existing now only in . isolated bodies , they still are so animated with the . spirit of Union , that every attempt to encroach upon their wages or . ' privi . leges have signally and invariably failed .
The Printers , the' Coopers ^ the Paper Makers , Brush Makers , Cork Cutters , and many other large and important bodies , have equally proved by experience the advantage and necessity of combination ; and although they have not yet discovered a perfect substitute for strikes , we believe they never resort to them but as a last resource . We cordially admit with Mr . Ernest Jones , the Editor of the 'Times ' and other opponents and enemies of Trades' Unions , of the evils of Strikes , and none could have worked more sedulously to introduce a more rational policv to both employers and employed , than the Executive of the National Association .
Our experience has proved that tho present impossibility of superseding strikes mainly rests with the employers . ' Thoy will not be dictated to . ' Mr . Perry and his friends would not be dictated to , and the machine masters will not be dictated to , ami hovtever averse tho men in either case may betoastrike , thc masters force it upon them . If tho men and masters cannot be brought mutually to concede the abolition of strikes , by submitting their disputes to impartial arbitration , we know of but one mode by which so desirable a consummation can be effected , and , that is , by a National Federal Combination , where each separate branch of labour will ho under the care ,
guardianship , and protection of all . Strikes , then , and not till then , will become impossible . But Mr . Ernest Jones is more opposed to tho nationalising of labour , than to isolated unions . He says ' That it appears to me much preferable that strikes should he supported on the voluntary principle , than by any organised compulsory subscription—the latter always fails to realise their objects . ' (?) And then he proceeds : — ' That he believes tho voluntary support of tho same trade and tho same neighbourhood is much more likely to be rendered when the emergency arisea , than a sum to be collected beforehand , for prospective cases which may or may not arise . Experience proves the truth of this . '
We beg respectfully to assure Mr . Jones that our united experience proves exactly the reverse , and is altogether in favour of the small compulsory payment , ranging over a wide field , and collected from a variety of different trades , instead of the voluntary subscription of men in the same trade , and in thessme neighbourhood , for tho following amongst other reasons * . — 1 st . One penny a week from 12 , 000 men is equally effective and less burdensome to the donor than one * shilling per week from 1 , 000 . 2 nd . The twelve thousand , consisting of different trades , and located iu different places , are less within the reach of tho counter combination of the capitalists , and entirely unaffected by local parochial and municipal middle-class influence .
3 rd . The regular and continued payment of the small compulsory penny is more to bo depended ou than the large voluntary shilling . A strike conducted and supported upon this principle can never fail , if the men are true and faithful to themselves and each other , and abstain from acts of illegality . A strike having nothing to depend upon but voluntary aid , seldom succeeds ; tbe act of voluntary contribution is very fatiguing , and soon tires the contributor—a fact which we thought Mr . Jones had already discovered in tho many unavailing efforts to recruit the Chartist exchequer by voluntary means . Ia short , if any improvement has taken place within these few years , in the conduct and policy of Trades ' Unions , it has certainly been by an extension of thejr base , by an amalgamation of isolated sections of the
same trade into one organisation , as is the case with the Engineers , Printers , Masons and many others , We therefore advocate an extension of this princip le . We think that Mr . Jones ' s opinion upon the general question is merely theoretical , which a moro intimate practical acquaintance with the subject would havo corrected , or materially modified . However desirable it may be that the working classes evince a move lively interest in their political position , we are of opinion thoy would commit a fatal error , if they permited the political question , upon which there are so many , and such wide differences , to be mixed up with tho wages question , upon which there is nearly an unity of sentiment .
We are not quite sure , that if the Charter were carried tomorrow that the position of Labour would be materiall y changed . We fear that the mere capitalists would , for a long time , greatly preponderate in tho Chartist Parliament , as wo find to be the case in the United States Congress , where the imprescriptible ri ghts of man are still held subservient t o the conventional rights of property . Need we refer to the protection still awarded to the slave owner ? I ' is not so much political as social changes we require , and a more extended knowledge of our social requirements would infallibly lead to the political action necessary to obtain them .
If we think the opinion of Mr . Jones , upon the general question of Trades' Unions , is crude and unsatisfactory , his views of tho National A ssociation of United Trades is still more lax and opposed to facts . We beg to state , for Mr . Jones ' s inform ation , that the wages of tbe members of the National Association have not been « constantly' reduced since ilieir adhesion . On the contrary ( we believe without one exception ) every attempt that has been made to reduce our members wages below the market pr '" has been defeated , and generally without the intervention of strikes . In many instances , ad vance have been obtained and maintained , while the part ieB
remained members of the Association , of which the ; were deprived immediatel y upon their withdrawal-The Wolverhampton affair , which Mr . Ernest Jon ® selects as a proof that tho National Association' has failed in its object , ' , has established the very oppoa » J conclusion . If tho Messrs ; Perry have to this pen
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 10, 1852, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_10011852/page/4/
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