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ton ^^cklani) buyfc ? %cwtof?cbar
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iehe^ cMiton: ^;^cklani) ™ . " -.n; ommo...
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WRETCHED STATE OF THE SPITALFIELDS WEAVE...
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PARLIAMENTARY AND FINANCIAL REFORM. MEET...
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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.
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Ton ^^Cklani) Buyfc ? %Cwtof?Cbar
ton _^^ cklani )
Iehe^ Cmiton: ^;^Cklani) ™ . " -.N; Ommo...
_iehe _^ _cMi : ; _™ . " -. n ; _ommoNf 1 ( Condensbd _^ tte Jfcn _«*^ Chrbni _^ A ¦ r .-a -iiTpV * A 3 fD EDUCATION , OF THE _^ _ItAtS _^ uba _lSopulation OF BUCKS , _^ _iffiSr _^ ND OXFORDSHIRE : _~ _-Tn Bnddnghamsnire and ' . the greater part of _Ox-;^ _wXf . races have been comparatively high ; ford- hire _^ _3 0 r " Berksbire _andthe . whole of S _nS _1 hey 0 _Lfb _^ _% e rylow- In _thefirst-W _^ _omi- _ks 10 s- a week have heen earned hy __^^ _nrer _^ whilst Ss . was the maximum rate , _m _ STe-fctime . inthe greater part of _ZtSSSS In _iU the _Jricnlturril dis-Scte the wages of course vary _wiUrthe season of _2 e year and the work , required to 3 be done .. It is * L _Aoril to _November that the highest wages are £ _T Sding the harvest _time _^ when they _every-SaTreach their m aximum . From November to
Anr _ . a < 'ain the scale of remuneration is compani-SlSw and emp loyment precarious , particularly H « - the winter . months , when , sometimes for _i = _ -r ?_ . t _ . th _ e great numbers are out . of work . _S _cLg _hainsmre and Oxfordshire 10 s . 6 d . and _CTen lls . a-week , the latter rarely , have been paid lo those at work in the neighbourhood ot the larger _tm-1 towns . These have since been reduced to 10 s . arid 9 s . 6 d . Taki-g the wages paid since January ever the greater _, portion of the surface of these counties , 9 s . 6 d . . is an ample figure at which to place fbeir average weekly amount . If the reductions alreadv made and those still contemplated for the remainder of the year be taken into account , the average for the whole year will certainly not exceed 9 s . a-week . In Berks and Wilts , even including the _higher rates paid during harvest times , the average
for the last nine months will scarcely exceed bs . a week ; whilst , _taking the reductions made and contemplated , as iri the other case , the average for the whole "vear vrill be but . little above 7 s . 63 . per week . Asmuch as 12 s . a week have heen earned dura . * ** the present . harvest in Wiltshire ;; but it must be remembered that against the high rates there said , must , in order to get the average , he pnt the verv low rates of winter , and the time when , longer OT shorter as it may be , they may receive no wages at aU , because there is no work to be had * "We must also hear in mind that when a poor wretch is prevented for a day , or even half a day , hy heavy lain from working , his wages are stopped for the time . It is not every employer that deals in . this -savbyhis workmen ; but the majority of the labourers themselves will toll you that this is the manner in wliich they are generally treated .
If the earnings of a working man are to he taken as indicating the extent to which both he and his _farailv cammand the necessaries and comforts of life , what are we to infer as the condition of families whose dependence is here upon 9 s ., and there on from 7 s . 6 < L to Ss . a week ? But it may be urged that this is not to he looked upon as their sole reliance , inasmuch as the wife and some of the children rot uufrcquently , by their labour in the -fields , add considerably to the common stock . It is seldom that a woman , except during harvest , earns more than 7 d . a-day , and this even when a man s wages may be from 9 s . to 10 s . a week . The extent of their earnings is frequently not more than
6 d . a-day , and in some parts of Wilts women have worked this year , during the harvest , for no more th-1 " 3 s . 6 d . a week . I was informed by one woman , near Mere , in the South-west part of that county , that she had worked ten hours a day for od . —that is , at the _itfce of one halfpenny per hour 1 Taking the year round , a woman ' s earnings will not average o 5 . a week .. _ In Bucks and Oxford , the earnings of a man and wife would thus together make 12 s . 3 week ; in Berks and Wilts , scarcely lis . If this additional sum were procured without any counter-Tailing disadvantages—if It were a clear money gain , without drawback of any kind , it should , not _ ind conld not be omitted . in our estimate ofa
family's circumstances . But it _ 3 not a gain without drawback , and the first drawback , is one of a pecuniary . nature . When a married woman goes to the fields to work , she must leave her children at home . In many cases they are too young to be left hy themselves , when they are generally left in charge ofa young girl hired for the purpose . The sn __ paid to this vicarious mother _, who is generally herself a mere child , is from Sd . to ls . per week , in addition to which she is fed and _lodged in the house . This is nearly equivalent to an addition of two more members to the family . If , therefore , the mother works in the fields for weekly wages equal to the maintenance of three children for the week , it is , in the first place , in
juany cases , at the . cost of having two additional mouths to feed . But this is far from being all the disadvantages attending out-door labour by the mother . One of ' the- worst features attending the system is the cheeriessness with which it invests the poor man ' s" house . On returning from , work , instead of finding his bouse in order and a meal comfortably prepared for him , his wife accompanies him home , or perhaps arrives after him , when all has to be done in his presence which should have been done for his reception . The result is , tbat home is made distasteful to him , and he hies to the nearest ale-house , where he soon spends - the balance of his wife ' s earnings for the week , and also those of his children , if any of them have been at work . '¦¦ .. '¦''
In a very large proportion of cases , the wife remains at home , attending to duties more appropriate to her sex arid . position , in which case there is no other test to be bad , unless it he trifling and fitful earnings of one or two of the children . We have seen that , in the counties in question , there are about 40 , 000 married couples . -v _ ho , with their children , numbering about 120 , 000 , - depend exclusively upon agricultural labour for support . Of the 40 ,-00 mothers , fully one-half stay at home , some being compelled to do so on account of the extreme youth of their children , and others , save when their families ' are somewhat advanced , pre- ' _ferring from calculation to do so , as being the best mode of turning their scanty means to good ac-— a _^ — 0— — .
count . This may be taken as the case with half the married couples , who , with their families , will number about-100 , 000 individuals . So far , therefore , as these are concerned , the children , in abont the same proportion of families , being too young to add anything to the common stock , / here i 3 nothing _-iseto _' adopt as the test of their condition and the standard cf their comforts but the earnings of the husband . . Let ns Inquire , now , into the condition of a family thus solely dependent upon such wages as the husband has , " on theaverage , received during the past-portion of-the current year . I can best illustrate that conditon by one of the numerous cases which came under my consideration in Wilt-Shire . The labourer in that case had had Ss . a week , but he was then only in receipt of 7 s . He had seven children , the ? eldest * of- . whom , a girl , was in her eighth year . Two of his children bad been at a
" dunce ' s school , " but they were not then attending it , simply because he could not afford the 4 d . a week which had to be paid for their education . To ascertain how far he was ? really incapable , in this respect , I requested him to detail to me the economy of his household for a week , taking his earnings at 8 s . The following- is the substance of the _eonver-• at-on _, _discarding for the reader ' s sake , tne portions in which the names are g iven . "When are your wages paid ?— On Saturday night , but often only once a fortnight . What do yob do with the money on receiving it ? —I first lay hy my rent , which is a shilling a week . I then go to the grocer ' s and lay in something for Sunday and the rest of the week . I buy a little tea , of which I get two ounces for six pence . Sugar s cheap , bnt I cannot afford it . We sometimes sweaien the tea -with a little treaclebnt generally
, . rink it nnsweatened . Do you purchase any butcher meat % — Generally for a Sunday we buy a bit of bacon . How much?—It is seldom that I can afford moire than half a pound . Half a pound amongst nine of yon ?—Yes ; it is hntamere taste , bnt we have not even that the rest ofthe week . It costs me about five pence . Do you buy your bread , or make it at home % — We buy it . We have not fire enough to make it at Lome , or it would be a great saving to ns . Do you buy a quantity at once , or a loaf when you need it ?—We buy it as we need it . Have yon a garden attached to your cottage ?—1 have about fifteen poles , for which I pay three ha ' _-pence a pole . It is less than the eighth of an acre .
What do yon raise from it ?—We raise some potatoes and cabbages . Do you raise a sufficient quantity of potatoes to serve you for the year % — So , not even if they were all sound . hi addition to the potatoes and the cabbages which * you raise , how much bread do you require for your own support , and that of your wife and seven children for the week ?—We require seven gallons of bread at least . What is a gallon of bread ?—It is a loaf whieh _"csed to weigh eight pounds eleven ounces , but _™» ichnow seldom weighs above eight pounds . Those who supply bread to the anion' seldom make " over eight pounds . "Wh at is the price ofthe gallon loaf ?—Tenpence . -it is cheaper than it was , but then there is not _iS . mwa ofit * _Bis oftcn of iu 0 Ti " _* ' £ _••*• wren gallons of bread at tenpence a gallon would _*"* * _Jke five shillings and tenpence , would it not ?—I j _^ -e . e it would make about that—you ought to
Do yon always get seven gaBons a week ? No , _^ moret-an _sL _.. _itofa J aa sPen '* five shillings in bread , and make •¦ * - _&» Want _of n _* ore _ty potatoes and cabbages ? it _^ aTes till somemoney left ; whatdoyoudo with _anjJj Cost 8 BS something _forswashing . For , soap 1 , eft _ ri " needIe 5 and thread for mending , _*"* about fivepence a week .
Iehe^ Cmiton: ^;^Cklani) ™ . " -.N; Ommo...
_^ m buyfc ? V _* eg % cwt . of ? cbar _ftfce . _shilhng _. and _Jhre _* -alf . pen 0 if we took _^ ariv _quantity and paid _^ ay ;? money : When / wo , do neither * costs us about one shilling rind fourpehce a cwt . Ifthere _^~ oiie-poorm- -n-who-can afford to buy it in anyquanttty . for " read y money , there are forty who cannot . " How lbng would ' a cwt . serve you . We make it last one way or another for two weeks _!; Tour fuel , therefore , will cost you about
eihtg pencea week ? rrlt . will .:, . ; . ° . Is . there anything , else you have ?—We buy k little salt butter sometimes ,, which we can get from sixpence half-penny to tenpence a pound . We ; are obliged , of course , to tako the cheapest , _* , " and really , sir , itis sometimes not hardly fit to grease a waggon with . " . . , v But your money is already all gone , how , do you pay for your butter ?—It is not always that we have it , and we can only have it by , stinting ourselves in other things .
You- have said nothing about your clothin _**— -how do you procure that ? : —But for the high wages we get during the harvest time we could not get it at all . How long does the time last when you get high wages?—About ten weeks , and but for what we then get I do not kriow how we could get on at all . This being the mode in which his weekly . wages were expended , I asked the same individual to give me an account of his daily life , including bis labour and fare . In reply to my questions on this point he answered , in substance , as follows ;—At what hour do you goto work ?—At six in the morning generally in suirimer , but I have gone much earlier . In winter time work _begins at a later hour . Do you breakfast at home ?—When I do not so out very early , I generally do .
Of what does your breakfast consist?—Principally of bread , and sometimes a little tea . Sometimes , too we have a few potatoes boiled . When do you dine ?— -About twelve . Of what does your dinner consist ?—On tbe Monday my wife gets a little flour and makes a pudding , which , with a few potatoes , forms my dinner . Sometimes we have a pudding on other , days , but generally our dinner is bread . and potatoes , with now and then a little , cabbage . When the famil y is not large , there may be a bit of bacon left that has not been used on Sunday , hut that is never the case with us . You return to work again % —I do , and when I come bome at night , may have a little tea again , with the bread which forms my supper . The tea is never strong with ns , but at night it is very weak . Do your children get tea ?—We have not enough for that .
What is their drink?—Water ; sometimes we get them a little milk . What is your own drink . —Water . Do you never drink beer?— -Never , but when it is given me ; 1 can't afford to buy it . When your dinner consists of bread , potatoes , and water , have you nothing to season it or make it palatable ?—Nothing but a little salt butter , and we can only afford that when the bread or potatoes happen not to be very good , or when we are ailing , and our stomachs are a little dainty .
When your bread or potatoes are bad , or your stomachs are dainty , you take as a relis ' j your butter which you said was " scarcely fit to grease a waggon with £ -We have nothing better to take . Suppose you had nothing but bread to eat , how much would you require to sustain you at work in the course of the day ?—Two pounds at least . _ lnd how much -wonld one of yonr children require . —About the same . A child , although not at work , will eat as much as a man ; children are always growing , and always ready to eat ; and one does not like to refuse food to them when they want it . I would sooner go without myself , than . stint my children , if ! could help it . Then , at the rate of two pounds a day for each , you would require for all about 126 pounds for the week?—I suppose about tbat :
And , as you only get about sixty pounds of bread a week , you have to rely on your potatoes and cabbages , your half-pound of bacoH , and two ounces of tea , to make up for the sixty-six pounds which you cannot get ?—We have nothing else to rely on . Have you enough of these to afford you asmuch nourishment as there would be in sixty-six pounds of bread ?—Not nearly enough ., _ _ . Is what yon have stated your manner of living from week to _. yeek?—It is when I have work . And when you have not work , how is it with v 0 U ?__ in the winter months we have sometimes scarcely a bit to put in our mouth .. " ?
It may be said that the case put is an extreme one . It is the case , however , of nearly one-half of those who are dependent upon labour in the fields . But it may De said that I have omitted to take into account some little privileges which the labourer has , and which , when he avails himself of them ; tend to enhance his comforts . . He may keep a pig , for instance , and his employer will sometimes find him straw for it , which , in process of time , will serve as manure for his little garden . This looks
very well on paper , bnt that is chiefly all . In the four counties -under consideration the number of labourers keeping p i gs is about one in twelve . It is also a striking illustration of the condition of the labourers , that even such of them as do , feed a pig , seldom participate in the eating of it . Then we hear a great deal about the coal and clothing clubs , to which I shall hereafter more particularly advert , and the chief merit of which is , that they tend to render life not pleasant , but barely tolerable to the poor .
Tlie number of schools for which public provision has , to some extent , been made in Wiltshire , is only 68 , being one school for every 3 , S 0 O of the population . In Oxford the number is only 33 , being but one school for every 4 , 900 of the population . In Berks it is still lower , - being only 25 , which gives but one school for every 6 , 200 of the population . The precise number in Bucks is not given ; but g iving that county as its proportion the average number ofthe other three counties , that proportion would be about 36 schools , or one for every --, 500 of the population . This will . rive us for the four counties-but 1 G 2 schools , or one for every 4 , 420 of their aggregate population . Let us compare this with what is being done elsewhere . ¦ _Thelateat
returns which we have in reference to education in Holland are those of 1846 . In that year there" were in Holland 3 , 214 schools for a population of about 3 , 857 , 000 souls , being one . school for about every 950 of the population . But of this number . 639 are returned as " private schools , " and 165 as schools on " special foundation , " leaving 2 , 410 as the number of the " public parish schools . " Now , taking these alone as the schools for which public provision is made , we have one school for every 1 , 600 of tbe population . In Prussia , during the same vear , the number of elementary and other public " schools amounted to upwards of 25 , 000 , which for a population of 16 , 000 , 000 gave one school for abont every 630 people . The contrast
to our own presented by the educational system established on the other side of the Atlantic is still more striking . In "Sew York , the population of which is about' 3 , 000 , 000 , the number of common public schools is about 10 , 000 , being one fbr . every 300 of the population . In Connecticut , again , there is one school for about every 250 ofthe population . Of Canada I cannot speak with the same degree of exactness , having no returns from the province before me ; but this much I can say from personal knowledge , that in Canada West an ample and a munificent provision has been made for popular instruction as in most of the states of the Union . As compared , therefore , with the public provision made for education in the four counties in question ,
we find that that made in Holland is at least three times ,, that in Prussia nearly seven times , that in New York fourteen times , and that in Connecticut seventeen times as ample as it is in these counties . Were the schools now existing in the four counties as perfect and efficient as they might be , a great deal of good might be effected by 162 schools , in addition to private institutions , amongst a population of about three-Quarters ofa million , and extending over an area of from three to four thousand square miles . But , iri a great many instances , they are wofully deficient as regards those appliances with which they should be liberal _^ supplied . Taking a bird ' s-eye view of a county in its educational aspect , we find that the combined
machinery at work consists of the national schools , British schools , diocesan schools , sometimes ; connected with the National Society , and at other times not ; endowed schools , private schools , and the schools of parochial unions . Of these the British and private schools are , generally speaking ; the most active and efficient . The national and diocesan schools are , in many cases , perfect in their organisation , adequate in their machinery , and efficient in their operation . But both the national and the British schools , which are the chief recipients ofthe public money , and particularly the former , are in too many instances de plorably wanting in what is essential to constitute a good elementary school . Some of the national schools are but caricatures of a proper educational establishment . To say nothing of inadequate
accommodation , or of their deficient supply of books , apparatus , <_ o ., they are in the character and attainments of their teachers lamentably behind what they should be . The parochial union schools are invariably connected with the workhouses of the different unions , their object being the instruction of pauper children , and are in most cases found within the walls ofthe workhouse . That at Aylesbury is the best arranged and the most efficient of an ? ( bat I _Itaye seen , but even its " efficiency . cannot date much farther back than a year . But in general the whole scheme is as ill devised as it is badly executed . It presents such a wreck , such an aspect of dilapidation throughout , thatit looks more like tbe nuns of an educational system which had gone Irretr _ievably into decay than like one which purports to be in active operation
Iehe^ Cmiton: ^;^Cklani) ™ . " -.N; Ommo...
. __ _! .-. ..-. ' !_? _o _^ P _^ m an _^ mAnchester //??; _^^^ _T _^ ' _^^^^^^ o _^ _- _verr formed . uppn _. the coarsest , sorts of cotton arecarriea on-numerous _mUls are ' ... spinning . waste V-as . itis _™™__ _7 __^ * T * _- _*?* P for _i _**••¦ ' commonest _punwseMhe . material :, _» -eted ,.. _* efu 3 e by the factories engaged lnnroducingthefinerandmedium _S & _' t _^ _^ _"ff subjected to the opera-Ferrand as ! . « Shoddy , _** . and . " . Devil ' s dust , " is speci _ally producedan its manufacture : ? ' _;^ _flut _! _l _: _ap _-. __ _aran _ce of the ' operatives' houses is faithj and smouldering ; , Airless little back streets and close nasty streets are common ; pieces / of dismal _wastoground-all covered with wreaths of mud
ana : pues oi . DiacKened brick and rubbish-separate the mills , which , are often of small dimensions and conhned , and crowded appearance . The shops cannot be complimented , the few , hotels are no better thani taverns , and altogetherthe place , to borrow a _musicalaimile , .. seems far ; under concert pitch . I observe-Las I , walked up from the railway station , melancholy _^ _lusters of gaunt ,, dirty , unshorn ? mei ., lounging on thb pavement . These , I heard , were principally , hatters , a vast number of whom are but of employment . Another feature ot the place was the quantity of dogs of all kinds which aboundeddog-races . and dog-fights bemg both common among the lowest orders of the inhabitants . JJnder the guidance of two intelligent relieving Officers , I set out to see some of the charasteristic manufactures and some of the characteristic
population of the place . It was about noon , and the peoplo were pouring out from the mills on their way home to dinner . I observed that , the . women almost universall y wore , silk bandanna liandkerchiefs fluttering round their heads . " It has always been ; so . in . Oldham , " I was informed . " They would pinch hard rather than go with a plain cap instead ofa silk handkerchief . , Presently I overtook two little , _gi'ris , the eldest not above ; eight years _pface , each carrying- a baby some three or four months old in pick-a-back fashion ,, the infant being snugly enough wrapped up , and only its head protruding from ; beneath the cloak of its bearer . These girls , I was informed , were nurses , paid for taking chargo . of the children while ? their motherlaboured in the mills , I accosted them , "So _. ' you have these children to nurse ? What do tlie mothers pay you ?" . . ,
' "Oh , please sir , they pay us ls . 6 d . a week for each . baby , " . " And where are you taking them now ?" " Oh , please sir , to , their mothers . , They come out ofthe mills now , and we carry the babies down to meet , them , and the mothers give them suck when they ' re at dinner . " , V And so you tako the babies in the morning , and nurse them all day till dinner-time , and then take tbem to their mothers , and then fetch them back , and at last take them back at night ? " . "Yes , sir , that ' s what wo do . ; but sometimes , you know , the babies have little sisters , as old as us , and then they are nursed at home . " The first manufactuiing _process which . we saw was
the cleaning of " Shcddy . " . Unlike any stage of the pn paration of cotton which I had seen , this was' carried on in an isolated building , situated in the midst ofa piece of doleful-looking waste ground . There was a small ; steam , engine at one extremity , which turned five or six "devils , " or coarse and primitivelooking blowing machines , each being placed in a compartment of i * s own , somewhat like the stall of a stable , arid attended by a single guardian , whose business it was to feed the machine with bandfuls of the coarse dirty cotton . The door was in each case open , or the dust and flying fibres from the machine would have - rendered the air unbreathable . ' Af ? it was . I could not but pity the gaunt-looking men who tended the devils . I questioned them , ; but' they seemed loath to complain , admitting , however , that the flying "dust and stnY" gave them pnins in the chest , and terrible backing coughs nnd asthma . One
of them only remarked ; " we don ' t get old men , sir , at this work . " They were paid from 8 * . to 12 s . per week . The refuse of each devil was consigned to the next coarser machine . The products of the better sort of machines are wrought up into quilts and coarse sheeting ; those of the next coarser kind are worked into a coarse paper ; from those of the third coarser kind are spun candlewicks ; the ; product of the lowest sort of devils is the material with which flock beds are stuffed ; and . the _refuse from these heaps of oily seeds and broken and tangled fibres , inseparably mashed up with dirt , is sold for manure . Each _shesl or stall in this , concern was let cut for £ 25 a year , the landlord finding the motive power . The engine spun ceaselessly on , and the / asthmatic labourers , each in his stall , betwe . n a heap of impure cotton and the whirling devil , pursued amid the dense and fibre-laden air , his monotonous and unwholesome toil .
. From thence we went to . visit two factories , in one of which are spun very coarse threads , . intended for the Indian market , _snd in the other of which * are manufactured candlewicks . . The proprietors of bo _ i politely . acc mpanied me in my rounds . They hail beeu working men , and were , in language , manner , and dress / very much akiu to the people they employed .. In the coarse spinning mill—a small airless building—1 found , an apparently chronic system of dirt and neglect prevailing . The stairs were rickety and filth , encrusted ; and the drawing and spinning rooms not only hot , but what is worse—chokey . and stifling , . and reeking with oil . The women
employed exhibited , in a palpably exaggerated degree , the unwholesome characteristics of the appearance of the Manchester mill-fforkers _.. They were not so much sallow or pale , as absolutely yellow , arid their leanness amounted to something unpleasant to look at . The mill was of the old construction , and had no means of ventilation . The wages of the people ranged a shilling or two beneath the average of the medium Manchester rate . I after wa ids went over two small mills , compartments of which are rented by different individuals . Both were dirty , and constructed in the old-fashioned unventilated style . - _*'
Understanding that here and there , scattered in cellars or perched in garrets , wero a few old mon who still wove cotton by the hand-loom , I requested to be introduced to one of the practi' ioners of this fast expiring trade . We _accordingly descended a narrow flight of area steps , ' leadi . g beneath the surface of a mean back street ; and discovered two stone paved rooms , dark and squalid ; one of which served for the common apartment ; the other , a mere closet , was almost ? entirely occupied by one of the old fashioned tre'ddle lo _» ms .. . In the first room was some coarse deal furniture , and one of those low broad bed . about a foot above the floor ,, and coven d with truckle , which by tlcir shape generally appear intended for accommodating at a pinch perhaps four
persons . Two dirty children were lying fighting and squalling upon ihe floor . The woman , of the , house was a sturdy dame of some sixty years . ; . The riian , who was athis ' work , had a gaunt , skeleton-like face arid head , anilthiri white hair . By way of beginning the . _conversation , ''I remarked that the' " . pegging stick" which he had just , laid down — that is , the stick used to jerk the shuttle — was beautifully _con-^ truct ed . I had never seen such , another . It was fluted arid wreathed , exactly suiting the grasp of Ihe fingers / and' thumb . " Constructed I" said the weaver— " constructed , indeed ! W . hy _, man , T did that myself . I wore ' theni ' hollow bits ; in the' hard wood with my own flesh ; in the Ion ? working ; days of fifteen years . I aye loved to weave , better nor to play in the road , I've riot been an idle man , sir . "
. I asked what he paid ; for his rooms ? The rent for the two was Is . 0 d .: a week . What , were his wages ?; He was old , and soom ' mut failed now , - and with bis wife to wind for him , he could only get 4 s ., work as hard as he might . They had parish assistance , however ; and , besides , his daughter worked at factory . Visiting the " low Irish _quartier , " we first enter * d a kitchen , where a haggard man and woman were seated at tea . Above , the relieving officer told me , wasnn old man dying upon _bundles of rags on the floor . He would not consent to be carried to the workhouse ,-and so he had 2 s . : a week where he was . Upon the floor of the kitchen were ranged a number of nicely tied brooms or brushes , made of
_fresh-sriieliinglurze , or , as the prop _' e here call it , " ling , " which grows in abundance on the neighbouring hills , and the cutting aud forming « f which into besomconstitutes almost the only work of the Irish adult population of Oldham ' .- The man before us bad , however _, been a mill worker , but his chest could not stand the flying cotton dust , so he had to take to besommaking instead . -It occupied him , he said , orieday to go to the bill , cut the _lingj aud carry it home ; anotber day to make ihe besoms , and the rest of the week was taken up , with the assistance of three of his children , in hawking them about for sale . A dozen fetched half-a-crown : once , but the price was much lower—not one half that now—so that in gnodweeks he could only make aboutfour shillings . Two of his
children . worked in a factory , which helped them in a little . ; The worst was , however , that , asheheard _, they were to be prevented from cutting ling because of destroying the cover for the _grou 30 . What would become of him _. if it was so , God only knew . ' The bread which he and his wife were eating , a » id upon which they chiefly lived , was made of oatmeal , baked soft , like the cakes called " barley scones" in Scotland , and of heavy and doughy texture . At another house , occupied by an Irish family , which was filled with the sbarp , pungent smoke of the refuse ling used for firewood , a man , grimy , unshaven , and _ha'f
clad , and yet who had in hi . face and proportions the making of a model stalwart Irish peasant , recapitulated the sad rumour tbat the ling cutting was to be stopped . > He had to walk eight and a half miles for the ling , and carry heme as much as he could ori his back . One ofthe cutters " got a month ( a month's imprisonment ) the other day . Oh ; begarra ! but it was hard on the poor the gentry was . " This man had been fifteen years residing in-Oldham . He came from the . county Sligo ; We now proceeded to visit one ofthe _IriBh lodging-houses . A description of one will nearly serve for al ) , ' In a low kitchen , amid some wretched rickety furniture , and pots , pans ,
Iehe^ Cmiton: ^;^Cklani) ™ . " -.N; Ommo...
'' - 'ii _liLk' _' _- ' ' ' ' _^' - 2-1 lr . \ U __' _, _ii' _-ii ci ; t . .. _' . : .: ' . . , _Wfl :.. r ? _M _4 R _* _ates , ; was 4 ittered huge heaps of thelini ? , a _» 0 . _* _K _wb _.-ehilay ; sprawling , ' , as , they , ; . bound it _; into 8 hape , jthree . o 5 four strapping , 'young- men , talking Irish ito . eaqh . other , and to the ; vfretched _. drabs of _" gged wpmen . _whpj . ivere _. cowering _^ _yithe _^ re place . ln tmsvopm there were tw , Q beds . ; . In a back room , a _^ simdar manufactory w _^ going _rn' and in it , among all sorte of wretched , household litter—broken tubs , cracked jars , _andpots full . of all manner of filthv slops _r-wai another bed-merelv a ; bundle of rags shaken down upon , a . substratum , pf ,. the , all-pervaded ; ling _, lliere was a .. back yard , . with , . an . ashpit , reeking of abomina _t ions . . _Ufi stairs were ; two ; _littlobrooms . In one werethree . or , four : beds ; in thefother and
larger , six . I examined the sheets ; they " were drab colour with unmitigated filth . The beds were made up on crazy -bedsteads ,, fastened . together _, with knotted ropes , and _-. sometimes , propped with' big stones .. The bed-posts ; broken of different heights , sloped hither and _. thithcr . 'It was latein _. theday , but tho beds had not been made—I question _whether they ever are—nor the slops emptied . , Sixpence a bod was the nominal price per night ; so that three tramps , could , as they , often do , sleep together , for twopcnce . each ; but the price varies with the influx of lodgers , sometimes sinking to a penny , to a halfpenny , indeed to anything which , the poor creatures bave . . In _^ tho , . lower , room . was , a daub of an oil painting , in four , compartments , _representing . four
events in the career , of a criminal—the robbery , the apprehension , the _atrial , and ; the execution . Near it ; wero paltry prints of the Virgin , and of saints . _exhibiting burning ; hearts ; and besides them was a sort of allegorical chart , called . « A Railway to Heaven , with a Tunnel . through Mount Calvary , " The lodgers were nearly all hawkers of besoms . The men I had seen working in the house would be next day miles off , upon , Saddleworth , gathering fresh materials . Sometimes more than thirty" people , men and women , slept in ,, the , three rooms ' which I have described . ; We went over more than a dozen of similar places—some a little . better _. somea little worre , than , I have described . The owner , of each house was always anxious to explain that half of the people we saw in the _; low rooms , cowering round the fire , wretched soddenlikeriien and women ,
wero ; not lodgers , . but merely " naybours ,. sure , that comes in . to see yez ; " and usually upon our descent from the bedrooms the kitchen , would be all but cleared of its occupants . ;? : . . , ; i The lowest , most filthy , most unhealthy , and most wicked locality in Manchester , is called , singularly enough , _^ Angel-meadow . " It lies off the Oldham-road , is full of cellars , and inhabited : by prostitutes , their , bullies , thieves , cadgers , vagrants , tramps , arid , in the very woi' 9 t sties of filth and darkness , by thbso unhappy wretches of the " low Irish . " My guide was a sub-inspector of police , an excellent conductor in one respect , but disadvantageous in another , seeing that his presence spread panic wherever he went .,- ¦; Many of , the people that night visited had , doubtless , ample cause tobe nervous touching the presence of ono of the guardians of the law . ; ; ..
We first went into an ordinary " low lodging house . " . The hour , I should state , was about , nine o ' clock at night ; A stout , many partially undressed , was sitting , nursing a child , ' . upon * the ; bed ofthe outer room , . ; and' the , landlady emerged , from the inrier apartment , whence _. followed her a greatclack of male and female ; tongues . ; The woman spoke with , profund . deference to my ¦ ' companion , and began to assure him " that the house was . the best conducted in all Manchester . Mcantinio we had entered the inner room . It was a small , _stiflingly hot place ; with a large , fire , over which flickered a rush-light , or very small candle , stuck in a greased tin sconce . _,,., There were , eight or ten men . women seated on stools and . low chairs round the fire .
They had been talking loudly enough a minute ago , but on our entrance they , became as mute as fishes , staring stolidly into ; the , fire , and only casting furtive glances at my companion , and nodding to each other _lvlien . his back was turned . Hot as . tho place was , most of the women had shawls about their heads . They were coarse looking and repulsivemore than one with contused and discoloured faces . The men were of that class you often : remark in low , localities—squalid hulking fellows , with no particular mark , of any trade or calling on them . The women were of the worst class of prostitutes , and the men their bullies and partners in robberies . The beds . up , stairs were very much of the class already described as found in the Oldham
lowlodgingrhouses—broken and rickety bedsteads , and clothes whicb were bundles of brown rags . These couches were placed so close that you could only just make your way between them . The regular charge was fourpence a bed . The landlady stoutly asserted that only two were allowed to sleep in each bed , but as , the : sexes ; she was " noways particularlodgers , was lodgers , whether they was men or women . '' In the room in which we . stood , and which might be about fourteen feet by twelve , more than a score of filthy vagrants often pigged together , dressed and undressed , sick and well , sober and drunk .... These lodging-houses are under the superintendence of the police , and only a certain number of
beds are allowed to be in a room . But the law is continually . violated . " Shake-downs" are made on the floor , and threes and fours crammed into the same bed . In another lodging-hoiiso roy companion suddenly exclaimed to . the landlady , ' " Why , here ' s a bed more than you are licensed for , ' , ' pointing to a bundle of straw enclosed in a piece of coarse sacking , and set upright in a corner . " Guide us a ' , " answered the woman , in the richest patois of the Canongate , " guide us a " , what ' s the body havering about ? It ' s my .. in bed , man . Yewadna hae me sleep on the stancs ? But we _' se remove it , if that be a' ; " and so saying she caught up her
couch , andtrundled it down stairs . "Wheredo you generally sleep , " I said . "Oh , just ony gate . It depends on whether the hoose is full—but or been , or in the passage , or ony gate . " The nominal price of fourpence for a bed I found to be everywhere the same , ' and the general disposition of the bed-rooms w .. 3 equally identical . They consist simply of filty unscoured chambers , with stained and discoloured walls , , scribbled over with names and foul expressions . Sometimes the plaster had fallen , and lay in heaps in the corners . There was no article of furniture other than the beds—not even , so far ns I saw a chest . Still the worst of the places was quite weather-tight ?
Wretched State Of The Spitalfields Weave...
WRETCHED STATE OF THE SPITALFIELDS WEAVERS . The man . was working at brown silk , for vim brella s . ' / His \ yifo worked when she was- able , but she was nursing a sick child . He had made the same . work he was then engaged upon at Is . a yard not six months ; ago .,. He . was to have lOd . for it ; and ' he didn't know ; that there might not be another penny , takcn . _' off : next , . time . , Weavers ,. were all a-gettlng poorer , and masters all _a-getting , country houses . His master had been , a-losing terrible , * he said , and yet he'd just taken a , country mansion . They . ' only give you work just to oblige . you , .. as an act of . charity , and not to do themselves any goodoh / no . !; Works , fiteen ; hours , and . often _mjore . When He ' knocks off ; at night , : leaves lights up all
around , him—many go on till eleven . All he knows is , lie ? can't . They ' are . possessed of greater _strencth than lie is , he imagines . ; In tho deadof night he can always see one light . somewhcre- — -some mail . _*! ' ori the ' finish . " _-Wake _^ at five , and ,- then he can hear the looms . going . , Low . prices arises entirely from competition among themasters . The umbrella silk he was making would . most likely be charged a guinea ; what , would : sixpence . extra : on that be to the purchaser , and yet that . ' extra sixpence would be three or four . shillings a ; wcck to him " , and , go a ? long way : towards the rent ? Isn't able to tell exactly what is . the cause ofthe depression— " I only know Lsiiffers from it—aye , that I do !; I . do ! and have sover . ely ; for some time , '' said
the man , striking the silk , before him with his clenched fist . " The man that used to make this here is dead , and buried—he died of the cholera . I went to see him buried . He had . lid . for what I get lOd . ; What it will be ; next God only , knows , and I ' m ' suro I don't care—it can ' t be much worse . " " Mary , " snid he , to his . wife , as she sat blowing the fire , with the dying" infant on her , lap , " how much leg of beef do wc use ?—41 b ., ain't it , in thb week , and 311 ) . - of flank on Sunday—lucky to get that , too , eh ?—arid that ! s among half a dozen of us . Now , I should likq a piecp of . roast boof , with , tho potatoes doiie under it , but I shall never taste that again . And vet , " said he , with a savage chuckle ,
" that there sixpence on this umbrella would , just do . it / But / what that ' s ; to the people ? ,. What ' s it to them if . we starve ? " . And there _s- many . at that game just now , I can tell you . If we could depend upon a constancy of work , ' and get a good price , why ,, we should bo happy men ; but _Pm . sure , I don ' t know whether I shall get any . more workwhen my ' cane ' s' but . My children I'ni quite disheartened ; about . " , They must / turn , out . ' the world somewhere , biit whore Ileaveiipnly knows ., I often bother myself over that—more than iny father bothered himself , over me . What ' s to become of us all— _-riinothousand of us here—besides wives and children—I caii ' tsiiy . " , ' .
One weaver observed , " never a month passes but wages are lowered , in some way or other . In the work of reduction certain houses take the lead , taking advantage of the least depression to offer tho workmen less wages . It ' s useless talking about French goods , iWhy _. _i . we'vo driven tho French out ofthe market in umbrellas and parasols—but the peoplo aro a-starving while they ' re a-driving of ' em out . " All the weavers visited expressed the same warit of hope—the same doggedness and ; half-indifference as to 'their fate , 'All agreed in referring their misery to the spirit of competition on the part of the masters , : the same desire to '' cutunder . ' They _all'spoke most bitterly of one manufacturer in particular , and attributed to him the ruiri of the trade . : :: . _- .,- * _:- ; _,:: i * ,. _, ; .-.. ¦ .. _' » : '• _- '• * ' _: " ' . _'; - Wishingito be ' placed in communication with some of the worKmon who were _laiown to entertain
Wretched State Of The Spitalfields Weave...
violent _^ political , op inions , I was -conducted-to _* a tavern , ; where several ofthe weavers who advocate the pnnoiple 8 . of , the People ' s ; . Charter -wore irithe habit of assembling . ; I ? foHnd ; tho ? room' half full and . immediately proceeded . to _; explain Ho them < the objectofniy . visit / tellingtberii . that I intended to make . notes . of _whatevei-j _theyjiimight communicate topie , with . a _::-yiew to publication in the ? Morning Chronicle . After a short consultation aniorigthemsolves , they told me that , ; in their opinion , the primary cause ofthe depression of the prices among the weavers was the r . warit ofthe suffrage . ' " We consider that labour : _is ' Unrepresented , that the capitalist and tho landlord have it' all their own way . Prices ; have gone down among the weavers
since 1824 more than one half . Tho hours of labour have . decidedly increased among us , so that we may live ; The weavers now ; generally work one-third longer than formerly , and for : much . less . " " 1 know two . instances , " said one person , _M where the weavers : have to work frorn ten in the 'morning to twelve at night , and then they only get meat once . a week . ? The average time for labour before 1824 was ten hours a day , now itis fourteen . In 1824 there were about 14 , 000 hands employed , ' getting at an average 14 s , Od . a week , and now there are 0 , 000 haridb employed , getting at an average only 4 s . Od . a week , at increased hours of ; labour . This depreciation we attribute _^ not to any decrease ; in the demand for silk goods , but to foreign and home competition . We believe that the foreign
competition . Dungs us into competition with the foreign workman ; and it . is impossible for us tb compete with hirii at the present rate of English taxation . As , regards home competition , we are of opinion that _. ilrom tho continued desire oh the part of each trade to undersell the other , arid so get an extra amount of trade into his own hands , and make a large and rapid fortune thereby . The public , we are satisfied , do not derive any benefit from this extreme competition ., It is only a few individuals , who are termed by . the trade- slaughterhouse-menthey alone derive benefit from the system , and the public gain no advantage whatever by the depreciation in our rate of wages . It is our firm conviction that if affairs continue as at present , the fate of the working man must be pauperism ; crime , or death . " ' ( To be-Continu _ d ''
Parliamentary And Financial Reform. Meet...
PARLIAMENTARY AND FINANCIAL REFORM . _MEETI-. G AT THE _LONDON TAVERN . / One of the most crowded meetings-ever held within the walls , of . the London Tavern took place on Monday in furtherance of the great-cause of Parliamentary and Financial Reform . i _. Long before the appointed hour ( one , o ' clock ) the large room was crowded , and , the appearahcoof Sir , Joshua Walmsley on' the platform was the , signal for the most tumultuous cheering . The . immediate objects of the meeting were the statement of accounts , and an explanation of the plans of the association for the year ; but the entire question of Parliamentary and
Financial Reform was most , fully entered : into by the various speakers who addressed ? the densely packed ; arid enthusiastic meeting .. , Among thoso who siippoited Sir J . Walmsley on the , platform we bbseryed : Arthur Ander 8 on ,.: E 8 q ., M . P .,, William Leaf , ' E-q .,, _Samu ' el . ; Morley ,, Esq ., David Williams Wire , Esq ., Feargus O'Connor , _Eho ., M . P ., William Arthur Wilkirison , Esq ., William _Jchn Hall , Esq ., Thomas , Prout , ? Esq ., William Williams , Esq ., _ ipsk > yPellatt , ? Esq ., Edward Miall , Esq ., J . _Grossraith , : Esq ., Summers Harford , Esq ; , Robert Russeil , Esq , "William Pritchard , Es _^ , ( Ilighi Bailiff of : South _\ vark , )(_ e : „ i _ o .
Mr . T .. Atkinson , the hon . secretary , read the notice ' calling' the meeting , which was specially convened to hear the plans of the association for the ; year 1850 developed . ' The balance-sheet for the year 1840 was next read ,: from which it appearedthnt the receipts duringtho past year ,. were £ 1 ,. S 0 , and the payments £ 1 , 875 , leavinga balance of upwards of £ 100 in favour ofthe association / The _CiiAinMAN said he had received letters from Mr . Hume , Lord D . Stuart , and Mr . Roebuck , apologising lor tbeir , absence . , The latter , lion _, moinber had come to town iii . order to be present , but , unfortunately , ho had boon compelled by some domestic occurrences to go away , suddenly . He had also received a letter from Mr . .. Cobden , which he ' would read : — ; _.,., ¦ . 103 _AVestbourne-terraceJan 71850
, , , , , My dear . _Yaimslet , —I have bctn confined to tho house for a couple of days with a cold , and am sorry I can't be at your meeting . I am engaged to appear in Buckinghamshire on Wednesday next ( loud cheers ); and unless I nurse myself so as to . be well enough to go the Protectionists will say I am afraid . ; . by the . way , what better proof could be had of the , necessity pf an alteration of oiir representative system _tiian is to be found in the simple fact that the Protectionist party are claiming to have public opinion oil their side in favour of a revival ofthe _em-n-law . ( Loud laughter . ) _Theytcllus to look at the reaction in'the late elections for Kidderminster and Reading , where a few hundred men , more or less , under influence , returned Protectionists , "' . Kow' I would
_, as _; _hbiv many members would they return in favour ofa bread tax , if the constituencies ' numbered , as ? , they ' ought , 10 , 000 voters at least . ( Cheers ;) The necessity of placing the House ot Commons more under the influence ofthe people few will deny ; the only question is how-to' accomplish it .. I can ouly say that , whether it be attempted _l > y a direct vote of the House of Commons , or by as many as possible of the ' people' arming themselves with-the _.. Os . freehold franchise , Ahiilever plan may be resorted to-shall continue to have my hearty support . ( Cheers . J All I ask of the public is not to delude themselves with the idea-that _a-few Liberal numbers of the House can accomplish 1 anytliing without the _co-oiierution of the great majority of the people out of doors , \
And I remain , very truly vours , Sir Joshua _IValmsIey , 11 . P . Riohabd Cobden . He had also . reccived a letter from Dr . Sleigh , formerly a Protectionist , who said : — . , London , Jan . 5 , 1 S 50 . _Deah Sm , —Altliourii I have for , many years zealously advocated tlie principles of protection , as doubtless you are aware , and although my views remain conscientiously unaltered , yet ns ' free trade' is no longer a proposition , but a fact established by the laws of our . country , I feci it my duty to abandon from this time forth all controversy on the subject —( _elieers )—believing that the most judicious course for every _Pibtcctiouist to _ ido _* it is , to use his utmost e _ . _ i _. tions towards the removal of tliose burdens which oppress the people , so as to enable them to take advantage of their altered position . Moreover , ' I consider a restoration of the protection laws utterly hopeless—( cheers )—from the fact that those who are now endeavouring to rekindle the agitation possess , with very few
exceptions , neither , tlie spirit to adopt nor the brains to appreciate —( laughter)—tlie only possible means that could afford the remotest chance by which that object could be obtained ; while , by tlieir virtual rejection' of the only just species of protection , viz : ' Protection for all , or protection for none ' ( which was alwuys niy motto ) , they render tolerably apparent that tlie protection they now seek is not so much protection for British industry as protection for British idleness . : ( Cheer .. ) ' Hence , if anyone fancies that the protection laws ' will be restored , he may rely on it he is building his hopes on a broken reed , which Will only pierce him the deeper . The course I' am' now adopting does not , I conceive , involve any _inconsistency on my part , for both publicly and' privately , orally and iii _riiy publications on protection ; I always said , '' > Yheneyerfree tradebecomes the law of the land ; we must then have a cheap executive ; the burdens of the people ' ' must then be _remove _' d ; moreover , that ' whenever that . event- , should '' occur , 'I would , in that ease , adyocatfe as zealously ihe removal of those burdens as 1 was then pleading the cause of protection . ' :
• Desiring to act consistently with these predictions and declarations , I am determined tb use my liumble . ability in the cause of financial reform ; and lis I fear that cannot-be obtained without Parliamentary reform , then I say common justice to . yards the people , demands tlie latter ; also .. ' . - ( Loud Cll-U-S . ) .: ' ¦¦¦¦ ¦ ' " tVill you , ' therefore , do m . the honour of enrolling _mj humble n . imo as a monibcrof your society . - I have tho honour to b _., dear Sir , yours very faithfully , _,- ; . _- ¦ _- "W . . v ; s __ icri . _ I . D ., y : . Tlie preliminary business' having been disposed of the CirAinjiAN addressed the meeting as follows : —• Citizens of London , and Gentlemeri _^—Tt ; is ' nine months since I had'the honour of presidingbver a ?
meeting similar to the present j convened in this roorii . Tho object of that' _mbiitiiig was to ' celebrate the birth ofthe Sletropolitan Parliamentary lind Financial Reform Association . I riicet yoii to-day to congratulate you on the rapid and unexampled success of the riiovcment which ' yoii ? -th __ h- so cordially siipported .- Not many . months had elapsed after our meeting in this place before we felt it to' be ouv duty to convene an iiggrcgate meeting in _Drttry-lanc Tlientre . By this time it had become evident that the feeling in _ftivour of reform , which had been displayed throughout the districts of tho . metropolis , pervaded the country at large , and it was therefore resolved to _chanco the name of the association from that of
"Metropolitan" to that of ' _-JfatiOnhl . " Subse quent events have confirmed the wisdom and propriety of this step _* arid have proved that , when wc became in name a " national" body we did but . anticipate the feeling and wishes of the British nation . ' ( Hear , hear . ) Since the ' great meeting referred to , tho council of the association have , to the extent ' ¦ of their limited" means , and ' ''' 'the . ' ' agencies at their command , taken measures in keeping with tho name they had assumed . Deputations have , amongst ' other ? places , visited _Nortnamptorii Norwi ' ch , Newcastle , _Sundcrlarid , North ' and South Shields , Carlisle , Paisley , ' Greenock , _Pertlii Glasgow ,- _Aherdoenj Denbigh , Wrexham , Stockport , Southampton , and Edinburgh ?; Iri no instance have the representatives of the association failed to' meet a friendly and enthusiastic reception , targe arid influential committees havo been formed in most of
these places to carry out the objects of the body . In the towns and cities which havo been named , as well ( is in numerous ' other places , the friends of representative improvement ' are ready for act iori , arid will look to this assombly for counsel and example . I ; ' tbink I may say with truth that ' the ? influence _iWhicli this association has been able ; to ? exert has been owing less to any peculiar morit iri the ? plans which havo been ?' concocted' and stilllcss tp tjierank and talent . of the individuals connected withit ,-than tothe circ iimstarico that the country ? at * tbo timo this society ' csiiho into'existence , and ? _prpmuli gated its ' scheme of reform , was already convinced of the necessity for 'the change' proposed ,: and ripe for a ' great arid united movement in itsfarour . ( Cheers . ) -In Aword , - '' the feeling had not'to be created—it was already engendered , And had but to he developed and concentrated upon some practical
Parliamentary And Financial Reform. Meet...
proposition ! V Geritleinen , if , ? when ? tho _iysiie was doubtful , ? tlie council ofthe associatiorifelt it ? t »? be their ' duty to advance , how much more so , _wheriTtii -i _* had the unquestionable proof before them that ? the friends' bf progiess in _cvei-y ? part of the kingdom . wer- with them . They . were desirous , _howeirec , to proceed with discretiori / and in cbnc ' uiTence ? v » _ith the views and opinions of men of experience ? and judgment , in other parts of the country . They accordingly invited , a' select nuriiber of their tried -ripporters to ' a preliminary consultation . The meeting took place pn tho 20 th of liist month , when ; , after mature deliberation ,: three things were unanimous ]}* agreed to .-first , that , ii fund of not less than £ 10 , 000 should be raised _. tobo devoted during the present year to ? tho purposes of the association ;
secondly , that immediate rieasures should beadopted to arouse by simultaneous meetings the entire country ; and thirdly , that aconferenco should be convened in London in ; the month of . March next . ( Cheers . ) What wasjointly resolved upon at this consultation the council are determined to cany out , and , "if possible , accomplish . ! Of the ability of the council to fulfil the second and third resolutions there can be no doubt , if the first should be realised ; _andoirthopra . lability _ofdoingthis ,- there is , no cause for fear . , ( Hear . ) Before , however ,, makinaa general appeal to the country for pecuniary aid , the council deemed it their duty to set an example of liberality : _tlieriiselves —( cheers , )—and also to convoke this meeting as a " committee of ways and means . "; ( Hear , hear . ) Not many days will elapse ,
after the termination of our proceedings here , beforo a similar appeal will be made tothe next great towri of the empire . ( Cheers . ) . A list of those who have contributed to- this ' fund will be invited to swell that list by additional contributionlon the spot ; . that , it may be known to the ? world to-morrow that : this great metropolis , forward in every work of national philantroph y and coriimercial . enterprise , is foremost also in this great work of representative regeneration . ( Cheers . ) Gentlemen , it is my confident belief that before many months have passed away the expressions of sympathy with us will not bo confined to the British : Isles . Wife have fellow-subjects in , every ? section of . the globe , as virtuous , as intelligent , ay , as discontented with the present state ' of things _^ as ourselves . ( Loud
cheer _ . j in every essential particnlar their cans © and ours is ; the saine . They are wholly . without representation in this country , and in the majority of instances their so-called representation in the colonies is a fnero _. name and a , " mockeiy . ( Hear , hear . ) They are burdened beyond their means ; tliey are . tossed from governor to governor and from Minister to Minister , and are the . victims and the sport of the . schemes first of one theorist and then of another ; they are made to pay inordinately for the gew-gaw pageantry of courts —( _cheersj-r _* which' are maintained only for the benefit of an idle and tax * devouring aristocracy and worthless officials . ( _Cheeks . ) Our redemption from class legislation in Great Britain will be their acquisition of responsible self-government abroad . This they
will clearly perceive ; and in this * great home inoveriient for a real reform of the House of Commons we : may reasonably rely upon the cfFcctivi - a 8 sistance ,-of our misgoverned ' fellow-siibjects throughout the , whole _Lritiah ; dependencies . ( Cheers . )? Thus , gentlemen , we have before us the prospect of ah association riot national merely , but comprehending in its purposes the ? polity ofthe empire . ( Hear , hear . ) The agricultural classes are fast becoming convinced thatthey have been duped and misled , arid they will soon cease . to put their faith in squires and landed oligarchs , and will trust only in themselves , " and seek relief , not' in a restorr iit'bnof protect " ,-but in fair rents— ( hear , )—in just and equitable leases —( hear _^)—in the abolition of game laws —( loud cheers , )—arid'a reduction of
national expenditure and taxation . They -will join your ranks , and be another and important element of strength . The middle classes have thought and _l'oasonod thomselvcs out of the fears awakened by politic Home'Secretaries , and that portion of the press which supports misrule .. They are fast learning thatthe : industrious classes are as much , the lovers of order and the . respecters of property aa themselves . ( Hear , hear . ) V They are now generally in favour of a large extension , of thesufirage , and are to us another element of strength . To the honour and credit of the producing classes let _ma say , —and ; I say it with feelings , of gratitude and thankfulness , —that , without abandonment of their principles , they are willing to be our fellow-labourers in the work of making the scheme which ; we
have propounded the law ofthe land ; _They-are thus ready to unite with us , because they perceive that they will , upon our basis , be assisted by the vigorous and essential co-operation ol large ., and influential classes of persona , of less extreme political opinion--, 'but equally , convinced ofthe absolute necessity of a real parliamentary reform . - I take upon me ; to _Tsay that ' -never in our history werfe elements more mighty cpmbiried to effect a peaceful political change . ( Hear ;) _, They will be at command for , all practical purposes . They will beeiaploycd for . the purification and freedom of counties by-the 40 .. freehold votes ; for the leriovatiori of boroughs by the £ 10 household register , and tbe enfranchisement of compound householders ;' and thev will be at command at every election which may
take place from this time forth , for the purpose of eveithrowing mere party men , and returning real . i . d true ' reformers . ( Cheers . ) I- sit down expressing my-hope and belief that this meoting in its objects and its issues will , be one of the greatest and most momentous ever convened in ; the City of Loridori ; but also strong in corifidence that whatever may be the acts by which the proceedings of this day may be characterised , the heart of our country is set upon the achievement of'the end we have in view ; and that as surely as our cause is . just and patriotic , so surely will our victory . be . glorious and complete .. ( Loud cheers . ) .. ? . -. . _,: .... ,.. , . -...... _, Mr . T . _Xtkikson , the hon ; secretary , ' then read tho resolutions referred to by the chairman ? as having been adopted at a preliminary meeting , held
for consulation , at . the King s Head Tavern , on the 20 th of December last . _,, . ; _.--.-Mr . S . _Morlky then rose to . move the following resolution : — " That this meeting ; co ' n _^ mced ? of . tlie necessity of a general agitation of . ' tho ; . Uriited Kingdom on the question of Parliamentary and Financial Reform , with a view to a _! n early _andpa & i . versul expression of public , opinion on that subject ; would record its cordial , and emphatic : approval of thc plans proposed by the council of the National Association for that purpose ,, and pledges itself to render immediate and efficient' co-operation . ' . ;? B ? e had not been so fortunate as to _hearahe ; chairm _.-ni give a detail of tho nlans which were intended to bb followed out ; but having , every confidence in' the integrity ofthose who conducted the movement , ho
had no hesitation in saying thut lie was . ready to support them by every _mearig . 'W- 'bis ' - power . If he understood tbis _questiorianghti it " was one which had _nothing whatever to _^ 'db with party polities . ( Cheers . ) lie presumed that they plight take the existence of that institution ; as a proof that the people _werie beginning to think , for themselves , and this was the first reason why he had formed a desire to co-operate with them for the object which the institution was intended to promote . Men throughout the country were shaking themselves loose from political parties ; they were looking moro ; to measures than men , and ho believ _ d ? lte was right'in saying that among a large _majority of earnest _^ reformers the return to power bf Sir Robert Peel would be hailed with the greatest satisfaction .. aviso to
( Cheers and disapprobation . ) _lieiiau-no stir up hostile feelings , but it was right they should come to a thorough _understanding on this subject ; and he would appeal to any man wh 6 had been lookin _<* calmly on whether he was not right in saying that Lord John Kussell _' s aristocratic sympathies were too strong —( cheers)—too strong to enablohim fully to appreciate the progress of public opinion on subjects which he chose to think were connected with the right ' s ' of his orilcr . ( Cheers . ) While speaking of the rights of that order , he would say tiiat they owed much to the House bf Lords —( hear _, hear , )—but he was at the same time prepared'to say that _perhaps tho people of Englarid might bo' led to conBiilcr whether or not they were paying too largo a _i ) _. ice for the maintenance of those rights . ( Hear ,
hear . ) Any one who had witnessed the saennces madoby Sir Kobert " Peel—sacrifices greater than rriany were able to appreciate—in breaking ofF from thepowerful party' with whieh ho was connected , would easily bfelievfc that that right hon . baronet was far better able , or at least far more willing , to read the signs of the times , and carrying his convictions to tbeir ultimate result , than Lord John Russell was . ( Cheers . ) Another reason ; why he rejoiced in and would support tbat association was , becauso ho believed it would promote peace at home and increaso the security of property .. ( Hear , hear . ) Ho was no alarmist ; ho had great _Aith m his principles , and had no doubt of tlieir ultimate triumph ; but then he saw the m _^ _P _^ Kf discontent , arid he would say of right discontent , _^ _m » the part of the people , who _^^^ _PgJW _^ _- he wished as a person who ? Jjad spmcth ng tp , lose , to see neccssarv reforms carried out , not in answer , itmi « ht be , to thc infunated demands of hisfcllow' concession to _lustice
countrymer . ; but as a .. . ( Cheers . ) Tliey . had lately / heard a yoic _^ from Lombard-street , bf one who _was ? well qualified ? to speak bii this ? subj ' ect . " Mr . Samu-i ; Gurriey ? , haa . statcdin a letter to the publio a few weeks ago that so enor _^ _- _inous was the amount ofthe publie ' experiditure , and so thoroughly were the people _. taxcd to . their utmost endurance , that in the event of certain cbiitingoncies , ' such as a rupture in ourforcign relations , or bad seasons , producing , as they always did , distress and difficulty , there would be nothing before us but embarrassments of the most startling Kind , _antl therefore be Wgued _i that nothing _; but ' a ; ., sweep-, irig ' . eduction of , expenditure ?; would ., pnt the cbuntrf iri"a safe positiori . ( Cheers . ) ; _* _Uemns _^ _fg that he looked sit tbo question of taxation w _^ _thgreM anxiety _. _viPwirig it in _thelight of _indOTctasopp _^ a todirect taxation ; and" as a . system _^_ b . _;™ _PJ ? 2 _- tho' ' greatest' burden on thoso , ; least able to _bearrfc He would greatly rejoice in the success QiW JF +
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Jan. 12, 1850, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_12011850/page/7/
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